Monthly Archives: April 2011
Your Image of Religion
Images are important–they inform our ideas, feelings and beliefs. Look at the images below. Which images do you find primarily linked to your notions and feelings about the function of “religion” in general. Please take the surveys below the images … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
Our Easter Dilemma
I will soon be faced with a religious decision: Should we go to church for Easter. I am not a Christian, though I will attend churches occasionally out of anthropological interests. And since I don’t buy the whole salvation package … Continue reading
Filed under Religion
Luck in Science
Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. – Thomas Edison Chance plays a leading role in science, but to gain the glittering prizes it is not sufficient to be in the right place at the right time. – Frank … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Science
Luck in Games – Part II
Thinking of games simply in terms of skill vs. luck is an oversimplification. With the help of my kind commentors, I have made the chart below to illustrate some of the many components of games that belie the image of … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
Luck in Games
Luck plays prominently in human thinking and thus, in religion. But before getting into that, I would like to ask readers to help me with something I have wondered about for ages: Is it possible to order mind games in … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
Genesis is Right Again: Penis Story
Research up to now inquired as to which unique genes humans have when compared to other primates. In other words, “What genes make us better than other apes?” (perspective “A” in the illustration above). But maybe we should look at … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity
Belonging & “God”
The need to belong is huge because “belonging” can be extremely useful. Believing that one belongs to God’s kingdom, no matter how much of a fantasy, can satisfy this need to some degree. But, interestingly, the reverse is true too: … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Religion
The Song of Sparrows – Movie
The Song of Sparrows is a 2008 Iranian film which reminded me of a story in Chapter 12 of “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis. Both in Lewis’ excellent book (in Google books) and Majid Majidi’s film, we see a … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
Soteriological Slide
I quickly drew this diagram as a dialogue tool to facilitate discussing the question “Who is a Christian?” with ‘progressive’ Christians. This diagram is only the condensed form of the full version below. Click “read more” if you care to … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Religious Dialogue
Language Faux Pas: Part III
My Japanese Embarrassment When I arrived in Japan I spoke absolutely no Japanese and I had no money for lessons and so I taught myself the language which meant lots of mistakes. But immersion helped me learn quickly. My first … Continue reading
Filed under Religion
Language Faux Pas: Part II
My English Faux Pas Right from the early days, my life was full of faux pas. I grew up in a virtually all-white urban town where the biggest prejudices were between the various Europeans (with Poles getting the brunt of … Continue reading
Filed under Judaism
Language Faux Pas: Part I
I am going to do few posts sharing some of the many embarrassing mistakes I have made when fumbling around learning a new language. I love the excitement of being a raw novice, so these mistakes were always good fun … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
Lessons from Philosophy Grad School
My undergraduate degree was in Psychology and Education with minors in Biology and German. Most of that was at a Christian College (Wheaton College). But as I became disillusioned with Christianity, I still had all the big questions and started … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
Conversing with Cleverbot
I have never been good at “normal” conversations in that I try to avoid standard dialogues because life is short and besides, I never feel I get to know someone via generic, perfunctory exchanges. Today I heard about “Cleverbot” — … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
April Fool’s Buddhist Omelet
This morning, for April Fool’s day I made my kids a very ugly omelet. I knew my daughter wouldn’t touch it, but I knew my son would try it — especially if it grossed out his sister. The omelet was … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
The Japanese Pagans Don’t Loot?
Japan’s people are primary affiliated with Buddhism and/or Shintoism, yet even that has a largely secular and loose flavor. Their moral fabric is very different from the various American moral fabrics. And there is no truer test of morality than … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy
