The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
Posted in Catholic, History, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Science, Theology on Apr 27th, 2008
It’s been several months now since the latest encyclical letter from Pope Benedict was issued. This was the first encyclical that I read all the way through, and it is very good. The theme is that we need hope, and that ultimate hope can only be found in Christ. That’s nothing new for anyone who [...]
Posted in Patristics, Philosophy on Mar 30th, 2008
René Descartes is known for his saying, “I think, therefore I am.” However, I’ve found virtually the same idea expressed by St. Augustine of Hippo, over a thousand years earlier, in his work, The Trinity, book X, chapter 13. In this chapter, St. Augustine is trying to figure out what we know for sure about [...]
Posted in Philosophy, Religion on Feb 20th, 2008
John DePoe is a doctoral student in Philosophy whose blog posts I’ve enjoyed for quite a while. Some of his stuff is beyond me, but I thought his post on Friendly Atheism to be interesting, and possibly helpful to some of my readers.
Posted in Philosophy, Religion on Feb 16th, 2008
Here is a 3 minute video of Dr. William Lane Craig responding to a typical argument for atheism. Dr. Craig is a logic machine. He has the ability to cut through the cloud of rhetoric with a laser beam of logic, and explain his case step-by-step so that his argument seems irrefutable.
Posted in Catholic, Philosophy, Theology on Jan 24th, 2007
I saw the following quote from the opening paragraph of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason) on the Intentional Disciples blog:
Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know [...]
Posted in Education, Philosophy, Science on Dec 28th, 2006
There has been an ongoing debate about whether or not Intelligent Design is science, and should it be taught in public schools. First of all, I would say that there are at least three parts to intelligent design. The first part examines the incredible complexity of various mechanisms in living organisms. This part is definitely [...]
Posted in Catholic, Free Software, Philosophy, Theology on Dec 28th, 2006
As someone who works in computer technology, I find it interesting that religion is a term that is now often used in reference to issues that have nothing to do with God. Some people who like the Apple Macintosh or Free Software are sometimes labeled as religious, even though they may in fact be atheists. [...]
Posted in Catholic, History, Philosophy, Politics, Theology on Dec 28th, 2006
Wired Magazine published a story about the New Atheists last October. These new atheists “… condemn not just belief in God but respect for belief in God. Religion is not only wrong; it’s evil.” The concern is that religion is irrational and naturally leads to irrational and violent behavior, including crusades, wars of religion, and [...]
Posted in Philosophy, Theology on Dec 27th, 2006
Before I embraced the Christian faith, my hero was Mr. Spock from Star Trek. For Mr. Spock, logic was supreme. The Vulcan race from which Spock descended on his father’s side had subjected all emotion and passion to the rule of logic. Even though Spock was half human, he also subjected the emotions of his [...]
Posted in History, Philosophy, Theology on Dec 8th, 2006
Last April I saw Dr. William Lane Craig at the Austin C. S. Lewis conference, and I asked him for advice for self-study in Philosophy. He recommended the six volume set, A History of Philosophy by Frederick Copleston. I’m about a quarter of the way through the first volume, and it’s looking like a good [...]