I read an interesting interview of Meghan O’Gieblyn upon the publication of her book of essays Interior States, in an on-line version of Mockingbird magazine dated Feb 14, 2019. I’m excerpting one question and answer for you because it pertains to the so-called “New Atheists” of a few years ago. I used to get so exercised […]
Read more...Tag: materialism
Christian Violence
I am so weary of this worn-out old canard that Christian religion is responsible for violence and wars, and therefore the sooner we abandon it, the better. This is put forward relentlessly and Joseph-Goebbels-like: “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.” All the wars and violence of history that are attributed to religion […]
Read more...The Widening Chasm
The Widening Chasm The history of the western world in 1600 words. Before Christ There was a time when the world was mysterious at every turn. Much was inexplicable to us: what makes plants grow? How do children come from sexual union? What makes the sun rise and set? From ancient times much that was not yet understood […]
Read more...Zeitgeist
Two weeks ago I posted on the subject of materialism, and what it means to the concept of love. See Love, Materialist Style. It occurs to me that an explanation of that word, “materialism,” is in order. Not just to define it, but to explain its place in the thesis. “Materialism” in this context is […]
Read more...Wester
Easter In last year’s Easter post I talked about the origin of that word, “Easter.” It is a reference to the direction, east, where the morning sun rises as a metaphor for the resurrection to come. In the early days of Christianity, new believers understood they were embracing the God of the Jews, and the […]
Read more...Why Am I Here?
Is there any more fundamental question? It is so fundamental to human experience that it must be hard-wired into us that we find a purpose for ourselves; and if we don’t, that we invent it. Religion and Longing One might suppose that religion is just such an invention. But if religion is an invention of man, we’re still […]
Read more...Tunnel Vision
There is a disturbing trend afoot, and we should be aware of it. It is a trend which seems to be gaining momentum. It can be described as a collective tunneling of our vision, and not in the sense of healthy focus, but in the sense of disease-induced progressive exclusion of peripheral vision. Benjamin Jowett […]
Read more...Science vs. Religion?
Does science defeat religion? Is it true that science is equivalent to reason and rationality, and that religion is equivalent to superstition and irrationality? Those who are eager to advance a materialist perspective of ultimate reality would have us believe so. If we believe that there is a God, and that acknowledging Him is not […]
Read more...The Materialist Epoch
The Pagan and Christian Epochs The predominant worldview in the west before Christianity was paganism, which assumed the existence of something beyond the here-and-now of matter in space and time; gods who must be honored in their prescribed ways and seasons, for orderly human life. We discussed this in The Pagan Epoch. That “something beyond” […]
Read more...Agnosticism Is Not Religious Neutrality
In “Nothing” is Not Religious Neutrality, we suggested two competing ideas, A and Z. A and Z are mutually exclusive, and together they comprise the only two possibilities concerning the subject matter. If we disbelieve A, we should believe Z, and vice versa. After following the logic of the thought experiment involving generic ideas A […]
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