Monday, September 15, 2014

Breaking the Spirit

“No one gives up on something until it turns on them, whether or not that thing is real or unreal.”
― Thomas Ligotti
Ligotti’s statement may or may not be true, but there is something to be said for people who live consistently.

Those who have become disillusioned by Christians are among the most intensely disillusioned people I have ever met. They are the hardest to reach, the hardest to talk to about my faith, the most difficult to even know where to begin with.

How do you initiate any kind of dialogue with those who believe they have already taken the measure of your faith and found it wanting?

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Head to Head: Theism and the Skeptics [Part 1]

The most recent version of this post is available here.

You Don’t Know My Father

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Saturday, September 13, 2014

“It’s Not What We Came For”

The Daily Mail Online has this interesting headline:
‘I don’t want to be a jihadi ... I want to come home’: How dozens of British Muslims who went to Syria to join ISIS ‘plead to return to UK after becoming disillusioned with the conflict’
Of course, after the fashion of many news outlets, the actual story fails to provide sufficient facts to judge whether its headline is accurate or whether it is merely the fond wish of the British media. Other news stories about ISIS show at least some of its adherents demonstrating considerable enthusiasm for their cause, to say the least.

Assuming the story is accurate, this is one ISIS fighter’s reason for his disillusionment:
“We came to fight the regime and instead we are involved in gang warfare. It’s not what we came for but if we go back [to Britain] we will go to jail.”
I’ll decline to express an opinion on what the British government should do with individuals of this sort since I don’t have a dog in their fight. I’m more interested in the sort of regret they are expressing, because it seems rather insubstantial.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Too Hot to Handle: The “Divinity” of Christ

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Inbox: Agnosticism and Folly

HS has managed to find Blogger’s word limit for comments with the following reflection on my September 6 post, so I’ll post his email in full here, as I think he makes some interesting and thought-provoking points:
“It has always been my contention that Christ’s existence and the validity of his teaching (and of the bible in general) can be assigned a relatively high probability of correctness.

What You Don’t Know Can Kill You

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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Atheist’s New Clothes

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Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Is the Holy Spirit ‘Racist’?

Forgive the scare quotes, but they’re employed in the title with good reason, as will hopefully become clear.

We have been discussing the modern, leftist redefinition of the word ‘racism’ to include any and all generalizations about race, speaking out against sinful behaviour (or even identifying it) and even gently humorous references to obvious differences between racial groups.

This is not ‘hatred’ or ‘intolerance’, as racism has historically been defined, but an evanescent, constantly morphing definition of what is acceptable that functions largely as a means of disqualifying and marginalizing opponents of progressive social engineering.

Monday, September 08, 2014

Christianity and Racism

A more current version of this post is available here.

Sunday, September 07, 2014

Is Christianity a Religion?

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Saturday, September 06, 2014

Agnosticism and Folly

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Friday, September 05, 2014

Too Hot to Handle: A Reason Outside Ourselves

The most current version of this post is available here.

Thursday, September 04, 2014

The Moment That A Human Being Encounters

A more current version of this post is available here.

Wednesday, September 03, 2014

The Deadliest Attack on Happiness

Author Trent Hand lists what he believes are the deadliest attacks on happiness:

1.   Comparing yourself to others
2.   Talking about your dreams instead of going to work on them
3.   Listening to people with nothing positive to say
4.   Focusing on the news
5.   Deciding someone else needs to change
6.   Thinking “happiness” is a destination you can reach
7.   Forgetting to say “thank you”

Clearing negative influences out of our lives does have a certain utility.

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

You Don’t Want to be ‘That Guy’

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Monday, September 01, 2014

Big Questions and the Loss of Faith

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over

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Saturday, August 30, 2014

The Bible Contains the Word of God

The most recent version of this post is available here.

Friday, August 29, 2014

Too Hot to Handle: Why I Don’t Share My Faith

The most recent version of this post is available here.