thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
I seem to have had this feeling of deja vu before! 🙂 Conversations on the internet where the topics were very different, but the discussions seem to go in the same direction. The other person might be an atheist or they might be a christian, but I seem to end up saying the same things.
We live in a physical world and most things we know are through our senses. Certainly we relate to each other through all the senses. So if God’s really there, why can’t we know him through our senses too? If God loves us, why wouldn’t he make himself more obvious, so we can all receive […]
Definitions of words can be boring stuff, but sometimes they are important. Sometimes people get quite excited, perhaps even angry, over them. The words atheist and agnostic have been examples of this in recent years.
Mark Bauerlein is Professor of English at Emory College. He has written books on modern culture, and written articles for several popular American magazines. He has been called one of the Independent Women’s Forum’s “favorite intellectuals”. And five years ago, after more than three decades as a comfortable atheist, Mark converted to christianity. What happened?
It is good, every now and again, to reflect on what we believe and why, and to review if there is any reason to change our minds. I think it is good, too, for a blog author to remind their readers of what the blog is all about. So here’s my summary – what I […]
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in his poem Maud wrote: Ah yet, we cannot be kind to each other here for an hour; We whisper, and hint, and chuckle, and grin at a brother’s shame; However we brave it out, we men are a little breed. Most of us, upon reading that, would probably smile ruefully and […]
I have been interested in astronomy and cosmology since I was a boy, and in recent years have done a bit of reading on the science of universal fine-tuning, and the philosophical questions that the science brings to our attention. Various cosmologists have written on the subject – Martin Rees and Paul Davies are two […]
I started my previous post with the observation that the internet is full of discussions between believers and unbelievers, and not all of them are civil, respectful and constructive.
Arguing about the existence of God seems to be a major part of the internet. But I wonder how much it achieves.
The purpose of science and philosophy is to explain difficult facts. If our current philosophy or science cannot explain some facts, we consider a new hypothesis or vary the current hypothesis. But one aspect of reality is proving impossible to reconcile with current science and philosophy, which creates tensions.