Sat
May
5
I am interested in quantum physics, but have no facility to approach it in any way. Yes, I went to college but I studied art and journalism. And that was many years ago.
That’s like a Chinese person saying that they are interested in the American verb conjugation before they know a word of English.
But the so-called God particle is extremely interesting to me and the atom splitter in Switzerland is ground zero for this effort.
At MSNBC, there is a link that has some cartoons and other elemenary video explanations that put this into somewhat approachable territory for me. Try it.
Fri
May
4
If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.
— Confucius
(Source: bizville.com)
Thu
May
3
A person with a new idea is a crank until his idea succeeds. Then he is Steve Jobs.
I am supporting Obama because I am a citizen of the future, not the past. We live in an interconnected society, not a libertarian culture of Social Darwinism. In the 20th century, we finally emerged into a society where race, gender, economic standing, and birthright was less important than ability, creativity and foresight. Now, the Republicans want to take us back to the Dark Ages. I personally will not let them. On behalf of my children, I will not yield to their coercion, believe their myths, or participate in their suicide mission. How about you?
This article pretty near expresses my current thoughts on homosexuality. Jesus actually never mentions the topic but another passage is instructive. Jesus didn’t condemn the woman caught in adultery. Read the article as well as the comments. Its a good discussion.
Clearly, Christians need to stop worrying about how liberal they will look if they comfort a LGBT, or defend them from attacks. As one of the commenters said, its unlikely that, on judgment day, God will say, Nice life, but you were a bit too compassionate. No, Matthew 25 doesn’t really give us permission to hate other human begins in the name of God.
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Sat
Apr
21
Ross Douthat, columnist for the New York Times, has written a book called Bad Religion. It seeks to explore American Christianity for the last 60 years and point out what is happening today.
I find myself in agreement with so much of what he says. He bemoans the loss of orthodoxy and the institutional church because, for all its faults, it provided a wholistic view of the entire Christian gospel.
Millions have left mainline denominations and are wandering in the wilderness. They flit from one sect to another, hoping to discover the Truth. Eventually, this leads inside themselves and they start listening to that still small voice inside for guidance. But without a larger spiritual community to check individual musings, one may find that they are listening to their own ego, or libido, and not the Holy Spirit. This voice may have no reverence for humility or soundness and may determine that God in telling you to hate all who are not like you. You have no way, and no one, to help you triangulate on what’s true and what’s not.
America has always tolerated sects and unorthodox beliefs but always against a framework of orthodoxy, said Ross. But today, we are on dangerous ground. We have abandoned the Mother Ship but now have no idea where we are going. Without a compass, we make it up—often in the vacuum of our own minds.
Another problem is that orthodoxy has moved to the Right. If returning to orthodoxy means that I must embrace the weird theology of the Republican party and join the NRA, then the wilderness looks pretty good right now.
A radio interview with Ross Douthat is located here.
Thu
Apr
19
“Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote”
I like this quote. The U.S. was formed as a Republic. With a constitution to share power, protect the vulnerable, and an amendment process to form a more perfect union.
