Animated Video on the Problem of Evil

June 12, 2013 Leave a comment


Image.People.Greg GanssleI’m pleased to direct your attention to a new series of videos on the problem of evil for Christian theism, narrated by my friend Greg Ganssle. Greg is a philosopher at Yale University and a Senior Fellow of the Rivendell Institute at Yale. These are effective animated videos that encapsulate a treatment of the problem of evil concisely and in an engaging format. Have a look. Then come back here and leave your comments!

Click here for a link to the first 5-minute video in the series. More about Greg can be found here.

 

Filed under Existence of God, Philosophy of Religion, Problem of Evil Tagged with , , ,

No One Born on June 8? Context Matters

June 8, 2013 6 Comments


At the university where I teach there is a convenient website called “Inside Story,” intended for the edification of Biola University Employees. The page is updated daily. There are regular features—Announcements, Community News, a Schedule of Events, the Cafeteria Menu, etc. In one column there is a daily list titled “Happy Birthday!” Today (June 8, 2013) the following cryptic announcement jumped out at me: “No one has a birthday today.”

That is the Inside Story! You have it on Biola’s authority. Anyone born on June 8 will simply have to pick another day to have been born.

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First Lines: On Not Knowing the Answers to Questions Raised by Knowing

June 8, 2013 Leave a comment


Who wrote this?

Human reason has this peculiar fate that in one species of its knowledge it is burdened by questions which, as prescribed by the very nature of reason itself, it is not able to ignore, but which, as transcending all its powers, it is also not able to answer.

ImageImmanuel Kant, of course. Except Kant wrote in German . . . and was no more perspicuous for doing so. He meant, of course, that some of the knowledge we actually have generates additional questions which are both insistent and unanswerable.

Here, for example, is a question for Kant’s claim, a question that is itself insistent: How did Kant know such a thing? As far as I can tell, the question is unanswerable.

Note: The above quotation is the first line in the Preface to the First Edition of Kant’s frequently impenetrable book Critique of Pure Reason, in the translation by Norman Kemp Smith.

Filed under Epistemology, First Lines, Philosophy Posts, Quotations, Quotations: On Philosophy Tagged with , , , , , ,

Not many people…

April 29, 2013 Leave a comment


English: W. Somerset Maugham British writer

English: W. Somerset Maugham British writer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not many people know how much bitterness, how much bargaining, how much intrigue goes into the awarding of a prize or the election of a candidate.

From the Preface of W. Somerset Maugham, A Writer’s Notebook

This is true regardless of profession, and it shows up even among Christian leaders. Perhaps no one is above campaigning on his own behalf for something he thinks he deserves from his constituency or the general public. This includes authors, public speakers, and university professors.

Filed under Academia, Quotations, Quotations to Live By, Teaching, The Academic Life, Thought for the Day, Virtue, Writing Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

It is well that…

April 29, 2013 Leave a comment


English: W. Somerset Maugham early in his career.

English: W. Somerset Maugham early in his career. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is well that a writer should think not only that the book he himself is writing is important, but that the books other people are writing are important too.

From the Preface to W. Somerset Maugham, A Writer’s Notebook

Filed under Quotations, Quotations to Live By, Reading, Thought for the Day, Writing Tagged with , , , ,

It Works for Me: Cleaning Drill Bits

April 29, 2013 Leave a comment


If you’re looking for a way to clean those caked or otherwise dirty drill bits, here’s what I suggest:

Image.Goof Off the Miracle RemoverSquirt a small amount of Goof Off The Miracle Remover (available pretty much wherever hardware is sold, Home Depot included) on a small piece of cotton cloth or the corner of a cloth. Seize the drill bit on the friendly end (i.e., the shank) between thumb and index finger, and, with the bit pointed away from you, wrap the Goof Off soaked portion of the cloth around the base of the bit near your fingers. Applying only a little pressure with fingers on the bit, twist the bit counterclockwise and let the cloth thread itself up the bit to the end. You should see results immediately. Continue twisting in this fashion until you’re satisfied with the results.

Make sure you close the tip on the container of Goof Off before returning it to its storage place, where you’ll want to keep it handy for miscellaneous other tasks.

Note: Do not expect Goof Off to remove miracles.

Filed under How To, It Works for Me, Try This Tagged with , , , , ,

Doug on Day of Discovery Broadcast/February & March 2013

February 21, 2013 1 Comment


Day of Discovery is re-airing a couple of programs that included Doug’s participation. The programs are “What Jesus Said About God: Is There a Higher Power?” and “What Jesus Said About Life After Death.”
Following is the upcoming broadcast schedule:
 
Sunday, February 24, 2013         “What Jesus Said About God”
Sunday, March 3, 2013               “What Jesus Said About Life After Death” 
 

As a reminder Day of Discovery can be seen on Ion TV Sundays at 7:30 a.m. Eastern and Pacific, and 6:30 a.m. Central and Mountain time. A listing of local station air times can be found by visiting the website at www.dod.org and following the “Where to Watch” link in the left column. Additionally, the program is available to view at no cost via the Day of Discovery website.

If you watch and have comments or questions, feel free to return to this post and use the Comments box below.

Filed under Christianity Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Doug’s Publications List Updated

February 14, 2013 Leave a comment


Doug’s Publications list has been updated to reflect more recent publications. Click here.

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Doug’s Speaking Calendar Is Public Again

February 14, 2013 Leave a comment


Doug’s Speaking Calendar can once again be viewed from inside his website. Click here for information about scheduling a speaking event with Doug.

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A Valentine Lament

February 14, 2013 Leave a comment


I didn’t plan for Valentine’s Day. But it happened anyway.

Filed under Quotations, Thought for the Day Tagged with

My Friend, Frank Pastore

December 17, 2012 5 Comments


frank-pastoreMy good friend Frank Pastore passed into glory today—after four weeks of silence in a hospital bed. This was following a serious motorcycle accident. Four weeks ago he was on his way home after a broadcast on the Frank Pastore Show when a vehicle crossed into the diamond lane and struck his motorcycle. From that moment on he was in a coma.
There are no words for my feeling of loss and for my deep affection for Gina and the family as they travel this difficult path.
We weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice. Sometimes we are strangely conflicted—both weeping and rejoicing. That we weep during this moment everyone will understand; but we also rejoice, and this the world cannot understand. We weep because this is a broken world. We rejoice because we look forward to a new world.
So long, my friend. See you soon! —2 Peter 3:8

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General Sentiment and the General Election—Some Wisdom for Today after Yesterday

November 7, 2012 3 Comments


I’m not ready to comment on the results of the 2012 General Election, other than to quote these words from Isaac Watts (1674-1748):

If we had nothing but the reason of men to deal with, and that reason were pure and uncorrupted, it would then be a matter of no great skill or labour to convince another person of common mistakes, or to persuade him to assent to plain and obvious truths; but alas! mankind stand wrapt round in errors, and intrenched in prejudices; and every one of their opinions is supported and guarded by something else beside reason.

—Isaac Watts, The Improvement of the Mind

Filed under Quotations, Quotations to Live By, Thought for the Day Tagged with , , ,

One Last Chance to Blame George Bush

October 31, 2012 Leave a comment


If President Obama loses to Mitt Romney next week, wouldn’t it be ironic if he blamed George Bush?

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Bible.Is App for iPhone and iPad

October 30, 2012 1 Comment


Nothing can replace reading the Bible from the page, and this iPhone and iPad app—called Bible.Is—is no substitute for that. But audio is an excellent supplement to a Bible reading and study program. This app is convenient to use and makes the Bible available in surprisingly many languages.

  • Use it to “read” whole books of the Bible one at a time.
  • Learn unfamiliar dimensions of Scripture truth from the cadences of the spoken Word (e.g., the Book of Leviticus).
  • Learn and improve your knowledge of a foreign language through audio exposure to biblical truth.
  • Memorize extended passages through repetition.
  • Listen with your Bible open and read along with the audio.

I doubt if any app does as well what this app so effectively does what it’s designed to do. It rivals every audio version of the Bible I know of. I would like to see the New American Standard Version (NASV) in its repertoire, since this is my preference for Scripture memory. But publishers of the NASV have enforced strict proprietary controls on the publication of this valuable translation, and so have, regrettably, limited its dissemination—not the fault of this app designer (though they might be able to obtain permission at a price). The English Standard Version (ESV), available on Bible.Is is an excellent alternative to the NASV.

You can also use Bible.Is from any computer with a browser. Just visit their home page here.
By the way, the Bible.Is app can be downloaded to your iOS device for free. And yes, it is available for Android, as well.

 

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Brief Post about “Undecideds”

October 30, 2012 Leave a comment


Here’s my take on the much talked-about “undecideds” in this general election:

Undecideds won’t go for President Obama. This explains why they’re “undecided.” They’ve had plenty of time to decide (four years), so why are they undecided? Either they aren’t really undecided and are planning to vote for Mitt Romney, or they’re undecided about Romney, if not about Obama. In the first instance, Romney wins. In the second, undecideds stay home—unless the undecideds make a last minute decision as undecideds to vote against Obama by voting for Romney. In other words, undecideds represent a referendum on President Obama.

Ditto for independents.

This assumes a rational electorate. And if the electorate can be counted on to be rational, this bodes well for Romney. Of course, the electorate cannot be counted on to be . . . . well, you know.

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