An article in the New Statesman, "The Social Cell" by Daniel Dennett (April 13, 2012), is an interesting work on the effects of information on some social systems. One of these is religion. The writer believes that the free flow of information challenges religion (most certainly) and will likely lead to its extinction (most "doubt"-ful). …
Month: April 2012
Belief versus Doubt versus Disbelief I
People always like to contrast Faith and Doubt. I think that this is in error. I believe (and I am not alone in this assessment) that faith is empowered by doubt. Doubt is simply honesty... and honesty is not bad. We are limited in knowledge (we don't know everything). We are limited in time and …
“Websterian” Theology and the “Spirit”
A couple of years ago, I was editing a journal for our organization here: "Bukal Life Journal." One article that I am going through right now is a reprint (most articles are original submissions, but we really wanted to print this one, and we were happily given the permission) of one by Dr. Raymond J. …
God as a Big Purple Dinosaur
When I was in high school and college, there was Barney the Dinosaur. Big purple plush costume and a silly voice. Little children loved Barney. But I was not a little child. I was like many others who found the silly songs and overacting annoying. “I Love You... You Love Me... We're a Happy Family. …
Why Don’t We Contextualize Our Faith?
Here are a few thoughts on why we, as in Christians, commonly don't contextualize our faith to be understandable to and "respondable" by people of other cultures. I am sure this list is not exhaustive. Fear of Syncretism and Heresy. It is clear in the Bible that the Christian faith needs to be contextualized. Within …
In Praise of Little Faith
So I saw the following quote once or twice, Little faith says, “God can do it.” Big faith says, "God will do it." But great faith says, "It is done, for nothing is impossible with God." What should my response be? Being a navy officer in the past, as well as a mechanical design engineer, …
The Unethical Church? Part III
Okay, up to this point I have felt quite comfortable with what I have written and felt that I have written it, if not well, at least saying what and how I want it said. Summarizing those points, 1. I don't believe Christian ethics should be viewed as deontological (rule based) or teleological (result-based) [or …
The Unethical Church? Part II
Problem #2. What is the correct foundation for Christian Ethics? Norman Geisler (again in the book “Christian Ethics: Options and Issues”) states that there are six basic systems of ethics. This is not Deontological versus Teleological, but rather that most all ethical systems can be classified in one of 6 categories. These are: Non-Absolutist (No …
The Unethical Church? Part I
Having attended church since before I was born, I have long been aware of the difficulties that churches have with member discipline. That is, maintaining and enforcing ethical/moral standards. Matthew 18:15-17 has often been used as the sum of discipline, yet the passage is completely inadequate. First, it provides, at best, a loose set of …
Lessons I Learned About Online Interreligious Dialogue Before “The Internet”
Long ago and far away (22 years ago, late 1980s, and 9,000 miles away) back before the Internet was called the Internet, I used to hang out on the Religion Forum of Compuserve (especially the Christian Subforum). It was a strange place. Although proselytism was strictly forbidden and language was fairly strongly controlled, I felt …
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