At times of the pandemic, some people shelter in their homes in immobilizing fear, stockpile (and then price gouge) hand sanitizer, shake hands indiscriminately with the elderly, and/or buy an extra gun. But others reach out to fearful neighbors to see how they can help, they give an extra bottle of hand sanitizer to a […]
virtue
There are some forms of stupidity that one must be highly intelligent and educated to commit
Eighteen years ago when I was doing my PhD in England I knew a Christian theologian who was pursuing a doctorate with a focus on Christian ethics. (Let’s call him Don.) One day when I was hanging out with Don, he showed me an ethics book he had stolen from a library in continental Europe. […]
Patience: A Sermon
In this sermon (preached at Greenfield Community Church on July 26th), I explore the spiritual fruit of patience. It is a virtue with which I have little first hand acquaintance, so I had to do some research first. As with all my sermons, there are several additional points that I would like to have discussed, […]
If There Is No God, Then Everything Is Permitted: A Reader’s Journey Through God or Godless (Part 5)
In the third debate in God or Godless Loftus and I talk about moral value and moral accountability. The title is borrowed from Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov so that what it lacks in precision it makes up for in literary and historical significance. My opening statement recounts a serial killer entering retirement after a successful “career” […]
Could Jesus perform moral atrocities?
In the essay “If it’s okay for God to do something, then is it okay for him to command it?” I provided a response to the following question from Vincent: “Would you agree or disagree with the proposition that if it’s morally OK for God to do something, then it’s OK for Him to command […]
Is the non-practicing pedophile better than the rest of us?
Three rock climbers are preparing for an ascent of El Capitain, that glorious three thousand foot rock face in Yosemite National Park. Climber 1 is able of body and mind. Climber 2 however has only one arm. And climber 3 has acrophobia, a fear of heights. When the three successfully complete their ascent, the accolades […]
