Chris Hallquist said: “Some relationships make the switch from monogamy to non-monogamy and are the better for it….” I replied: “According to what standard?” Chris replied: “???” Yes folks, he gave me a triple IS (incredulity score). That is serious. Chris continued: “Both people are happier about their marriage? Seriously, what kind of question is […]
ethics
Are you unreasonably closed to an open marriage?
It all started when I asked: “would I stigmatize the lifestyle of a couple who are in an open marriage? Darn right I would.” Ray Ingles, incredulous, challenged me to defend that position: “what’s the case for it being bad in your moral framework? (I.e., start from premises, through intermediate conclusions, to the conclusion that […]
The Inherent Value of Human Beings: A Response to Stephen Maitzen
A couple weeks ago philosopher Stephen Maitzen left three comments to my article “Must existence be everlasting to be meaningful?” Over the week that followed I offered extensive critical engagement with Maitzen’s position. In this post and the next I’m going to circle back to the questions/comments themselves and engage them in two steps. In this article I’ll […]
A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. Really?
This quote is from Ingrid Newkirk (sans the indignant “Really?” at the end). Most people will react to it with indignation bordering on revulsion bordering on outrage. However, it may not warrant such a strong response. As I have argued elsewhere (see You’re not as Crazy as I Think, chapter 9), Newkirk’s ecumenical message is […]
Moral debate in a pluralistic world: A meandering conversation with Jerry Rivard
This morning we are going to have a little discussion about moral epistemology. A few days ago I noted that on an externalist epistemology “you can know p without being able to show that p.” In other words, you can know that a proposition is true without being able to demonstrate the way you know […]
The grounds for excluding religious voices in secular society
Jerry commented: “I believe that everyone has the right to express their beliefs on public policy, whatever it is that has contributed to the formation of those beliefs.” Jerry may think that. But these days he may find himself in opposition to the secular state. Case in point, the debate in the Surrey School Board […]
The day turns to night: on the sexualization of childhood
I first encountered Bratz dolls when my daughter was young and I started spending time in the toy aisles. What the hell?! I said in horror. The doll looks like a prostitute and its being aimed at three year olds. Make up, jewelery, provocative clothing, and, in this case, riding a decidedly phallic banana split seat? What […]
Would you want your daughter to become a pediatrician … or a porn star?
A few years ago an anti-porn ministry named XXX Church visited the LA Erotica Convention and handed out a provocative edition of NavPress’s The Message New Testament complete with “Jesus loves porn stars” emblazoned on the cover and a picture of a fellow wearing aviator shades (a porn star presumably?). (I bet he drives a Trans-Am with […]
Lessons from the Pool of Life
I just returned from a brief two day trip with my family. While I will be getting caught up with the discussions in the next couple days I thought I would offer a little reflection based on my experience at the hotel’s waterpark. Over our two day stay my daughter and I visited the waterpark […]
On moral failure in the pastorate
I was surprised to learn a few months ago of a pastor who up and left the church he’d been pastoring. It was a surprise because he was a good pastor, bright, incisive, pastoral and well liked by the congregation. I had been meaning to send him an email asking why the sudden move when […]
A jerk before Jesus becomes a jerk for Jesus
The story behind “Machine Gun Preacher” is made for Hollywood. The film tells the (true) story of Sam Childers, a biker who becomes a Christian and then is deeply moved when he hears a missionary describe the plight of Sudanese orphans. So moved is he that he leaves his family, flies to Sudan, gets a gun, and begins […]
Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. But which leaves you more damned?
I take anything ethicist J. Budziszewski writes with the utmost seriousness. He is a first-rate Christian philosopher and a retro-Thomist in a world of ethical relativists. I can relate, for as the world turned to hip hop I faithfully kept playing my Steve Miller. Like Budziszewski, I appreciate the wisdom of “an oldie but a goodie”. […]
The moral confusion of Steve Hays
I was happy to see Steve Hays provide some explanation at Triablogue for how I got labeled an “ethical subjectivist”. Unfortunately by offering an explanation he ended up typing himself into a deeper hole. Let’s look at his comments and then consider how deep the hole is: i) For the record, I think I’m the one, not Patrick […]
Marriage, ethics and the new ascetics
In this post I’m going to deal with a couple commentaries on my recent posts on the ethics of marriage and illness. Steve Hays of Triablogue The first is a brief response to Steve Hays of Triablogue. I feel obliged to respond to Hays, however briefly, because the poor fellow seems desperate for some attention. […]
