1. Still in Maine, but about to head home. The next three days will be travel, one way or another. 2. Spending a week by the sea was a fascinating experience; to look out to the very edge of the world, to watch the tides rise and fall, to hear the waves crashing against the … Continue reading Saturday Sundry: On Gods, the Ocean, and Bad Books
Musings
Reflections: First Principles
Note: I've been toying with the idea of putting together a series of essays of my worldview and thoughts on different subjects. Partly as a way of working them out myself, and partly just for the interest. Below is a draft of the first installment. No one starts from first principles when developing a worldview; … Continue reading Reflections: First Principles
Musings: On Certainty and Uncertainty
There is an idea – almost an axiom in our world – that strong, dogmatic belief leads to intolerance, social oppression, and the decay of reason, while an uncertain agnosticism that subjects everything to reason and logic leads to tolerance and open-minded harmony. Actually, it’s almost the opposite. I say almost because dogmatism certainly can … Continue reading Musings: On Certainty and Uncertainty
To Build a Fire
I sometimes visit my sister, who lives in Maine. The cabin on their land has a wood stove (fireplaces aren’t used much in Maine, since they don’t radiate heat very well), so I’ve had a fair amount of experience making up fires. You start by arranging a pile of kindling: ‘fat wood’, sticks, pieces of … Continue reading To Build a Fire
“Tonight, I Am Nemesis”
Revenge stories never grow old. Though as Christians we know that wrath is a sin and vengeance belongs to the Lord, yet we still get a visceral satisfaction from a well-told tale of revenge. Don't believe me? Go read The Count of Monte Christo. We may deplore it morally, but...well, it feel rights. This isn't … Continue reading “Tonight, I Am Nemesis”
Thought of the Day: A Solution to the Immaculate Conception – Evolution Problem
Honestly, I have no bone in the evolution fight. To my mind it makes no practical difference whether, as a matter of prehistoric fact, humans are or are not bodily descended from apes or other animals. I think most of the 'conclusions' that people derive from the theory (e.g. "see, everything is just a chemical … Continue reading Thought of the Day: A Solution to the Immaculate Conception – Evolution Problem
Altering Thoughts
As I’ve shared before, I suffer from moderate depression. Lately, in my effort to combat it, I’ve been reading a book called Feeling Good by David Burns, MD. Though I’m very skeptical of most modern psychology, this one is actually based on pretty solid insights, ones that harmonize with what I read from older authors … Continue reading Altering Thoughts
Catholic Match Post on Being a Provider
Another essay up on Catholic Match, this one on man as provider: Okay, so what constitutes ‘providing’? Well, in this sense, to provide simply means that a man gives his family what they need to live; not just in the sense of what they need to survive, but a context in which to live and … Continue reading Catholic Match Post on Being a Provider
New Essay Up at the Federalist
Don't particularly care for the title they gave it, but such is life. This one is a semi-sarcastic examination of the idea of 'The Age of Faith' as it applies to the modern age Sample: We’re not taught how to reason in school: we’re just presented with “right answers” and told to put those down. Science … Continue reading New Essay Up at the Federalist
5 Impossible Things
Found this video drifting around YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mVRc80vhhQ Assuming any of these things are actually true (when you're looking at something lightyears away you will forgive me if I don't absolutely buy that you're seeing what you think you're seeing). Two Shadows: Okay, this is pure padding. Multiple shadows happen all the time on the Earth, … Continue reading 5 Impossible Things
Serpent's Den 