Christianity must be chosen, not forced, if it is to save a soul. And one can have a strong faith for oneself and believe it to be wrong to force that faith onto someone else — both because it will not save the other person’s soul, and because each individual ought to respect the choices … [Read more…]
The Old Testament and New Testament are each multigenre. Both have much historical narrative; both have some apocalyptic writing. Of course, the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, and there are songs, poetry, and prayers in each. The New Testament lacks a listing of laws per se (no surprise there!). The New Testament epistles most … [Read more…]
God already knows what we’re thinking, right, so what’s the point? A short answer is that Jesus taught us how to pray and, what’s more, prayed Himself. ‘Nuff said. But it makes sense, too. It is a way re-center our lives around God, a way to ensure we are not ignoring or forgetting Him. And … [Read more…]
Apologies beforehand, since I’m no expert on Protestant doctrine and know even less of Catholicism. But the issue I’m addressing is this: Is a system of greater individual choice in determining right theology to be preferred over one with more institutional authority? One can answer this question (1) just in terms of which approach is … [Read more…]
Interesting for intersection of classical thought and Christianity (although not overtly Christian, but monotheistic). Would love for Sarah Ruden to write about it! Book V, section II: The more depraved you are the less free will you have; the closer to God you are, the more free will you have. Long discussion in book V … [Read more…]
I know — very presumptuous, and of course we know that His ways are not our ways. Still, thinking along these lines can be useful: It can show, for example, that some features of the universe and Christian belief are not as counterintuitive (to what we would expect of a God-created Christian universe) as they … [Read more…]
God intervenes in this world, to achieve things that the natural order, left to its own devices, could not; but after the intervention takes place, natural processes may well reassert themselves. So, for example, Christ changes water into wine, but that wine may not stay wine forever. It can be drunk and digested. Or, if … [Read more…]
In my “600 words” essay, I said that Pascal’s wager should lead us to “cultivate one’s faith.” Here are some preliminary thoughts on that, and in particular on whether doing so is somehow dishonest. There are different models that can be followed in truth-seeking, and more than one can be legitimate. For starters, it is … [Read more…]
My “600 words” all apply to them, but Pascal’s wager is especially favorable to the old. Consider: (1) As a preliminary matter, they have less excuse to avoid making their choice. (2) The “next life” considerations are stronger for them, since the next life is closer. (3) The “this life” considerations — and this is … [Read more…]