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Some different senses of the word/concept ‘religion’: Like a bellybutton: a basic and unifying characteristic of humanity – we are all ‘religious’ in the broadest sense. We all have a worldview, beliefs and values which inform and shape the way we live our lives. Like a band: a particular and distinguishing characteristic of a group – this is my/our ‘religion’, . . . → Read More: religion …a somewhat better way to phrase the question (remember, words matter!) about god and reality, etc. would this: Why does existence exist? Answering the question by reference to any particular ‘thing’ that exists (a ‘force’, ‘singularity’, ‘multi-verse’, ‘string’, etc.) is to completely not pay attention to the question. The answer cannot be in terms of any merely-existing thing, but must . . . → Read More: god and reality 2 -you can’t say something is ‘evil’ if you’re not already assuming some concept of ‘goodness’ -you can’t say something is ‘poorly designed’ unless you’re assuming what ‘good design’ looks like -you can’t say something is ‘chaotic’ unless you know what ‘order’ is -and you don’t have goodness, design or order without some idea of teleology The problem with questions like is God “real?” or does God “exist“? is that the most basic understanding of God (let’s assume monotheistic belief for the moment) is that the sum total of existing reality (the Bible says ‘all things’) was created (caused, desired, effected, brought about) by Him. If this stretches the mind (not to mention language) – then . . . → Read More: god and reality Prof. John Stackhouse’s post (here) on the recent “bus campaigns” is quite good and balanced I think. Apparently, the board of a Vancouver bus company has the following regulation on bus ads: “No advertisement will be accepted which promotes or opposes a specific theology or religious ethic, point of view, policy or action.” . . . → Read More: buses, religion and life I’ve checked out a book from the Carey Baptist library that’s proving to be very interesting: The Future of Atheism: Alister McGrath & Daniel Dennett in Dialogue It’s essentially a written copy of a 2007 conference including the McGrath/Dennett debate and the other papers presented – plus a few additional chapters and an introduction by the author/editor, Robert B. Stewart. . . . → Read More: the future of atheism TANSAA (Theology and Natural Sciences Aotearoa Auckland – a group emerging from Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School) is finalising their programme for 2009, and it’s looking great. I’m particularly chuffed about the Conference planned for August 1, hosted by my church, Northcote Baptist. Details: . . . → Read More: tansaa events in 2009 Cambridge Geophysicist, Professor Robert (Bob) White is coming to New Zealand to take part in 3 events. The first and second are the same talk both in Wellington and Auckland – a Christian Response to Global Warming (I’m planning on attending the Auckland talk). For the third event (which I am sad to miss, due to a wedding up north), . . . → Read More: bob white in new zealand I’ve quite enjoyed reading through “Is Nature Enough: Meaning and Truth in the Age of Science“, by John Haught. One of the many points he articulates well is what he refers to as “layered explanation”. . . . → Read More: atheism and explanatory monism A new-ish series of vids with Bishop N.T. Wright speaking to various issues related to Christian belief. Tom really works hard here to offer very well-compressed and summarised statements on some very intricate and rich concepts. Enjoy. |
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