One thing I hear frequently is, “Well, God is beyond logic.” This move helps struggling Christians who don’t like where the logic is headed in a conversation. But it is a bad move to make. One reason Christians say this … Continue reading Stuff Christians Say . . .
How should a society decide what to do on the big questions? Questions like, “should abortion be legal?”, “should same-sex marriage be legal?”, or “should we build a wall?” I think there are really just two choices. We can decide … Continue reading The Importance of Civil Discourse
In the iconic film, Star Wars, (Episode IV) Ben Kenobi begins to instruct young Luke Skywalker in the intuitive ways of the force while traveling on the Milennium Falcon. Watch the clip and notice the language about how a Jedi … Continue reading Star Wars Epistemology
I often hear people talk about what you “choose to believe,” or saying “I choose to believe” such and such. It typically happens in religious or political conversations. People say these things when they think you’re wrong about something, or sometimes when you present evidence against their view and they retreat into “that’s just my opinion” territory. It’s kind of a conversation stopper. As if, once a person has “chosen” certain beliefs, that’s the end of the matter. But can we even choose our beliefs? I don’t think that’s how it happens. There are some beliefs we simply cannot choose … Continue reading Choosing Our Beliefs?
I’ve played the lottery once in my life. I was living in California, and a friend thought it would be fun if we all bought a ticket for the next drawing. And guess what? I didn’t win. This came as no surprise, because I expected not to win. In fact, any rational person who buys a lottery ticket should believe that her ticket is a loser. But oddly, this rational belief leads us into believing a contradiction. Maybe this tells us something about the limits of rationality. Winner, Winner? Here’s principle of rationality #1:If something is 99.99% probable to be … Continue reading Lotteries and the Limits of Rationality
Last week, I critiqued an excerpt from Joyce Meyer’s book, Battlefield of the Mind. I considered this important because Meyer’s misguided and self-contradicting attitude (“reasoning is dangerous”) likely represents a large swath of the Christian community. Why bother to write about it? Because I believe that this mindset is harmful–both to society in general, and to the Church. But rather than focusing on the harms as reasons to reject Meyer’s view, I will focus chiefly on the fact that being anti-reason is thoroughly unbiblical. That approach provides more persuasive power among Christians. Reason In the Bible Aside from the numerous passages … Continue reading Faith, Reason, and the Spirit, Part 2
Summer, 1998. I traveled to Europe (Hungary, to be precise) and sat down in a little restaurant one day for a bite. I ordered the “Greek salad.” I love Greek salad! I’ve eaten many Greek salads growing up in Florida: … Continue reading Is There Evidence for God?
In the interest of well-formed and grounded political beliefs, I’m presenting a challenge. Give me your opinion of how President Trump is doing. I’m hoping to hear a variety of perspectives, since I have friends all along the political spectrum … Continue reading Reason, Evidence, and Politics
Rarely do I come across something so closely aligned with my own goals in blogging that I use it in place of an original post. But this video is such a thing. In the context of the Kavanaugh hearings, Kyle Blanchette skillfully breaks down how we tend to view those who disagree with us as stupid or evil. This is NOT about which side is right, or even the reasons behind each side. It’s about how we judge those who disagree with us. Worth you time. Continue reading The Other Side Is Evil (Moralized Disagreements)
I loved Star Trek from the time I was five years old. The show inspired my early artistic skills, here displayed in the marker sketch made by my 5 year old self. Star Wars hadn’t come out yet, so there … Continue reading That Is Not Logical, Part 1