Monthly Archives: July 2010
How Guidance Prayer Works
Joe had been out of work for three months. He had diligently applied, without success, to every newspaper job listing in his field. He did not know what to do next. So Joe prayed to God (in Jesus’ name, of … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Religion
Reincarnating as a Pig
I was chatting with my friend in his sandwich shop. He and I met each other as actors in a Japanese improv theater group. We were both gaijin (foreigners) who were pretty emerged in Japanese culture — I was practicing … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Religion
The Economics of Salvation
Imagine two economic offers: A B Wait 12 months and you get $150 Wait 13 months and you get $165 In the above choice, most people choose offer B. Now, keep the same financial offer, but change the time offer: … Continue reading
Index Posts & Pages
Index Posts A common mistake among bloggers is to have their sidebar cluttered with a long, rambling list of “Catagories”. To avoid this, experienced bloggers advise new bloggers to think carefully before creating their categories, but my blog is constantly … Continue reading
Filed under Blogging
Blogging
Here are my posts on blogging. Last updated August 2011: Stop Comment Hierarchy: They are confusing and ugly! Table of Contents: How to build a Table of Content Index Posts : Blog organization better than categories Black & White Deserts: Improve your … Continue reading
Comments Off
Filed under Blogging
I write like …
Just because you are an atheist, doesn’t mean you are free of all superstitious thinking. I have lately seen several atheist sites that are posting a badge like the one below. The badge this site offers is your own personalized … Continue reading
Filed under Cognitive Science, Religion
Images of SELF
How do you see your Self? Depending on your perceptive and cognitive tendencies, your world may be informed variously by narratives (for the auditory brain) and images (for the visual brain). Some folks even have kinesthetic models. Because I am … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
Religion as Whole Package Thinking
“Whole Package Thinking” (WPT) is one of the common notions of “religion”. WPT is the habit of mind which seeks identity in a community’s shared system of thought, feeling and behavior. For this benefit of identity and meaning, the mind … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Religion
NT Sources & Translations
————————————– The diagram above is my attempt to make an illustration of key concepts in the evolution of New Testament translations. My post “Translation Pathways” was a similar attempt but from different angles. I love wrestling with images — they … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity
Your Violence Policy
When are you willing to harm another human being? I hope the diagram below captures your answer to some degree. Your stance on this question is what I will call your “Violence Policy”. Some may prefer a positive spin by … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Religion
The Upside Down Religious World
Today I tried to read a fascinating article by Max Tegmark (MIT physicist) called “The Mathematical Universe (HT: Shane). Below I reproduced one of Tegmark’s diagrams of how “theories can be crudely organized into a family tree where each might, … Continue reading
Filed under Religion
Repulsed by Jesus
I was raised Lutheran, had thoughts of being a pastor at 12 years-old, was confirmed at 14 years-old, became an atheist at 15 years-old, re-convert, born-again and spirit-filled at 17 years-old but fell away again about 6 or 7 years … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Religion
My Son’s Teddy Bear
This week my 10 year-old son dug up his old Teddy Bear, “Blueberry”. I had picked up the blue bear for him 5 years ago when I was back visiting one of my alma mater’s (Duke University – “Blue Devils”). He has been sleeping with Blueberry in … Continue reading
Filed under Events, Philosophy, Religion
Orthodoxy in Oriental Medicine
This weekend I was sorting through dozens and dozens of my old Japanese Oriental Medicine (OM) texts that I hope to sell to clear up my basement shelves –anyone interested? One of those OM texts was the 傷寒論 (Treatise … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
Superficial Conversation
Since I was young, I have loved deep conversations, either personal, philosophical or controversial. But I wonder if those of us who make a hobby of romping in mental space are less tolerant of superficial conversations. For certainly superficial conversations … Continue reading
Filed under Events, Philosophy
Vulnerability and Self-Disclosure
Over the years I have found debates about abstract principles can be greatly enhanced by self-disclosure. I will use two up-coming posts on Pacifism and Suicide to illustrate this point. If your debating-partner discloses their experiences with violence or suicide, … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Philosophy, Religion
Book & Movie Reviews
This is an index to my posts on movies and books. Last updated 8/2011. Foreign Films The Song of Sparrows (2008). Iranian A man working on an ostrich farm makes several bad choices and almost unravels his life. Sleep Dealer … Continue reading
Comments Off
Filed under Blogging
