Applied Epistemology - Theology

The problem of evil

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:35:44 -0500

James Wood aptly observes: "Perhaps the disciples just meant more to Jesus than a few hundred thousand Asians." He does a good job explaining J.L. Mackie's old point that the free will defense is a total failure for traditional Christianity, since the notion of Heaven (e.g.) implies a world

The decline of religion

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:57:03 -0600

Alan Wolfe (whom I have long regarded as one of America's most shallow public intellectuals) read a Pew study on religions around the world and draws the obvious conclusion: that religion is slowly dying. It's gratifying to find others draw the same conclusions I did a while back.

Jesus, Meerkats -- same deal

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:43:37 -0500

Bryce alerted me to the grief-stricken aftermath of Flower's passing.

Animal Planet's forums are worth a browse, assuming that you're not, say, a human being from Namibia, in which case you might get offended (or maybe just hungry for meerkat). This thread in particular is theologically penetrating:

The "writer as guinea pig" genre

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 10:00:42 -0500

...now includes The Year of Living Biblically. What started this genre? Diet books?

I pray to, you know, God, or whatever.

Tue, 08 May 2007 10:32:36 -0500

Here's a link to an interesting article about a study on the religious "beliefs" of American teenagers. It certainly fits with my own anecdotal evidence on the matter. And Rev. Al Sharpton offers confirmation that the American Religion is not merely a youth phenomenon as well:

A different world

Fri, 04 May 2007 20:04:00 -0500

So I'm scanning the news and the use of the present progressive tense in one headline momentarily baffles me:

"Giuliani Says Saddam Paying for Offenses"

All I can think for a moment is "is this a gaffe story where Rudy, talking off the cuff, forgets that Saddam is dead?" Then I realize the correct interpretation.

Philosophy via the pull down menu

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 11:37:34 -0500

A generally well-done philosophy quiz.

Hellbound Tiny Tots

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 12:32:42 -0500

Following a trend that has been building momentum since the 5th century, Benedict XVI looks ready to excise the dimension of Limbo from the Catholic manual of the planes. The LAT article actually does a fair job of noting that the underlying issue has to do with the necessity of baptism and original sin.