One statement I often hear from humanistic atheists like Stephen Fry that I think is obviously false is the claim that you can have morality without religion. I think that claim is not only untrue, but definitively untrue. And recent events should prove that. Sam Harris and Stephen Fry themselves would have to admit thatContinue reading “Morality without religion?”
Tag Archives: faith
Camille Paglia’s advice to Christians
There is quite a growing list of “friendly” atheists that Christians have been finding common ground with in the fight against postmodernism. James Lindsay, Jonathan Haidt, John McWhorter. I think you could also add Bret Weinstein and Heather Haying to that list. And maybe Camille Paglia and Christina Hoff Summers (if you want a feministContinue reading “Camille Paglia’s advice to Christians”
Religious musings
These are not only things that are, they are things that must be. 1. People crave moral legitimacy and moral justification. 2. Sacrifice is continual. 3. You can’t get rid of the need for sacrifice, it just goes somewhere else. We are piñoned between past and future, caught at their intersection. We must be releasedContinue reading “Religious musings”
Comments on the talk between Jordan Peterson and Michael Schermer
I think what Jordan is basically arguing about religion is that it is at least symbolically or psychologically or archetypally true. And that that’s an important, maybe the most important, way something can be true (in an almost Platonic sense, as an abstraction or a aggregate, a bit like math is true in relation toContinue reading “Comments on the talk between Jordan Peterson and Michael Schermer”
Why are humans so powerful?
What is a durable foundation for a life? What will last and create power, regardless of circumstances or technology? What is the fundamental mode of being that can make humans succeed and grow regardless of their situation? It cannot be something we invent, it must be something we already possess or possess access to, becauseContinue reading “Why are humans so powerful?”
Peterson vs Weinstein
What language best represents human experience? Scientific and materialistic language, the language of quantity? Or is it narrative and personification that beat capture our reality? https://youtu.be/O55mvoZbz4Y The later part of this episode is one of the greatest summaries of the culture War problem and how to conceptualize it I’ve ever heard. It’s solid gold andContinue reading “Peterson vs Weinstein”
Jordan Peterson and faith
https://youtu.be/2rAqVmZwqZM I think Joni Erickson Tada might be an interesting person for Jordan to learn about. I’m a bit of a natural skeptic myself. I always have been. And Jordan certainly has faith, the sort of faith that Kierkegaard espoused. It’s a choice to will a life “as if,” while recognizing that there is noContinue reading “Jordan Peterson and faith”
A letter to a friend
Dear J, as someone who has struggled through history and philosophy and religion for years, as well as shouldering a significant burden of depression that seems to arise almost inevitably as result of raising one’s awareness to the reality of such things, there is always one place I have found comfort, and I commend itContinue reading “A letter to a friend”
Sacredness
What does it mean that something is sacred? That it has some special importance and significance to someone, that it has a special power or meaning. It is easy to see, then, why sacredness persists as a quality even today. It may inhabit different idols, but sacredness is part of the furniture of human meaning,Continue reading “Sacredness”
An addendum to “meaning in life”
Life, of course, isn’t all about survival, any more than it is all about ambition or pleasure. But all of these are components of our lives. If there’s one peoole that we can learn something about finding meaning in the midst of uncertainly of survival from, it’s the Jews. It’s amazing that they are stillContinue reading “An addendum to “meaning in life””
Why the Bible uses stories instead of lectures
One challenge the writers of the Bible faced was the fact that there were no books. Written records were rare and took a lot of effort to produce, and there were a lot of different people in different places and situations the message needed to be able to reach. So the question is, how doContinue reading “Why the Bible uses stories instead of lectures”
Problems with atheistic Christianity
If it works, why does it work? Is it because it’s true? If it is true, why is is true? It seems like with these specific stories, people actually thought they were writing history. History as we conceive it, in fact, seems to have emerged out of the kind of unvarnished honesty of presentation thatContinue reading “Problems with atheistic Christianity “
The value of symbols
An example of an essay in utero, not yet developed. Just a sketch of ideas and a framework of threads to follow. The gods and their symbolic value Pagans, not as dumb or as different as you think The appropriate level for understanding and addressing reality Where humans live Culture heroes as a touch pointContinue reading “The value of symbols”
Dawkins and atheistic optimism
The problem with Richard Dawkins’ speculation that “Perhaps I am a Pollyanna to believe that people would remain good when unobserved and unpoliced by God” is that, if his own theory is correct, people actually are unobserved and unpoliced by God, but nevertheless have achieved the sum total of human suffering and evil across theContinue reading “Dawkins and atheistic optimism”
An incomplete farewell letter
In the event that I have Coronavirus, and in the less likely event that I die from it, I suppose I had better come up with some fitting last words while I still have the capacity instead of gasping them out in a delirium or making hand gestures while a ventilator keeps my weakened lungsContinue reading “An incomplete farewell letter”
The Jewish odyssey: historical, archetypal, or both?
The description of God in the Bible always seems to run just ahead of the mode of being at the time. So that looking back from each rung upon which his followers reach, they see how what came before makes sense in the greater context. The world slowly opens up. Their mode of being slowlyContinue reading “The Jewish odyssey: historical, archetypal, or both? “
Recreation vs redemption
There is much about humanity that could be complained about. There is much that is harsh, biased, infuriating, and even unjust. It would be nice if there were some other way of being in the world, some other kind of creature that we could be, some new man and new woman. And much of whatContinue reading “Recreation vs redemption “
The inadequacy of modern and postmodern Christs
The postmodernist Christ is completely unnecessary. He did not and cannot conquer death, because he was not truly unique or divine and did not rise. He was a divine story and rose in our hearts, but in reality he died, and he had no more real power than any other prophet or story in ourContinue reading “The inadequacy of modern and postmodern Christs”
The proper uses of grace
Grace has a powerful but often misunderstood role. It is like a powerful anasthetic that neutralizes negative feelings and severs the connection between the reality of our perceived identity and the reality of our perceived life outcomes. It gives us a free pass, essentially. This makes it both terribly dangerous, when used incorrectly, and aContinue reading “The proper uses of grace”
The prism of wisdom
Light comes from all directions, wisdom is the jewel where light is gathered and refracted into the places the light is needed. The more facets the prism has, the more complete it is, the more of the light of creation it gathers. God is the source of all light, he is the being of completion,Continue reading “The prism of wisdom”
Making Nobody Happy 