If you pick up the biography that the third-century Neoplatonist philosopher Porphyry wrote about his teacher Plotinus, you may be struck by just how slight it is on actual facts and details. It’s less a biography and more a few personal notes.Porphyry explains that because Plotinus despised his own bodily existence–true to his philosophy–he was…
The misuse of scientific concepts within theology causes me exceptional annoyance. After all, before I suddenly switched to theology, I had intended to pursue a doctorate in physics. To be clear, this unfulfilled aspiration does not provide me with any noteworthy credentials. I cannot pretend to have the scientific expertise of, for example, the man…
My latest amusing find is from the autobiography of Charles Darwin. Often delightful in its candor, the book recounts how the young Darwin had plenty of bad habits related to his predilection for collection and cataloguing. He wasted massive stretches of time shooting birds and tracking his kills, so much so that his father sent…
Ancient pagans had no shortage of gods. In the first century, Varro categorized the Roman gods into three groups: the “certain,” the “uncertain,” and the “chosen.” The latter were the gods more specifically worshipped by Roman tradition. Yet Augustine mocks Varro’s categories with the fact that many of these so-called “chosen” gods performed such trifling…
An insightful essay by Joe D. Burchfield entitled “The Age of the Earth and the Invention of Geological Time” [mfn]Burchfield, Joe D. “The Age of the Earth and the Invention of Geological Time.” Lyell: The Past is the Key to the Present (Geological Society, London, Special Publications) 143, no. 1 (1998): 137–43. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1998.143.01.12[/mfn] discusses the concepts…
I’ve recently been reading Thomas Malthus’s 1798 first edition of The Principle of Population because of its significance for Charles Darwin, which I mention in my draft book on evolutionary theology, Evolution and Grace. Darwin was reluctant at first to apply natural selection to humans, but in fact it was Malthus’s teaching in regard to…
So, you have to record a lecture, make it as clear as possible, and cut out that bit where you lost your train of thought and started rambling about typos in your lecture notes. What do you do? Well, you just pull up a voice recorder app on your phone… Or not. All of the…
But when the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct. Judges 2:19 He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good.” Matthew 19:17 The readings for…
Even with all of the new apps for children these days, there’s very few that are actually very helpful or truly educational. Watching cartoon animals in between Candy Crush ads does not really constitute education. Older kids can learn from a variety of games, especially complex simulation games, but younger kids really don’t have much…
Even the best storycrafter shapes a tale after his or her own likeness, and yet, stories have a way of getting away from us and shaping us in return. The most powerful of these stories become cultural myths, broad-sweeping metanarratives that reinterpret reality through a particular lens. Such myths may point to a deeper truth, but…