Wednesday, March 29, 2006

 

On the existence of Jesus

Of what aspects of the life of Jesus may we be certain? Stephen Spignesi's "The Odd Index" lists sixteen crucified saviors other than Jesus Christ. Examples of Christ legends appear to predate Christianity. Note that:

More discussion can be found here and here.


Thursday, March 23, 2006

 

A Scientist Reflects on Religious Belief

Famous astronmer Dr. Sandage was born of Jewish background, but at age 60 became a Christian. He responded to the question, "Can a person be a scientist and a Christian?", with "Yes. As I said before, the world is too complicated in all its parts and interconnections to be due to chance alone." Read his essay here.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

 

Free Will and an Omniscient God

Most Christian and Islamic sects believe in an omniscient God who knows every future event. If this is true, can our will be truly free? And if we do not have free will, then how could we be morally responsible? Why would God punish us if we were bad, as he does throughout the Old Testament.

Theologians like Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon, 1135-1204), St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) believed that God is outside of time and can see all history at once. It is from our own limited perspective that we are making choices. But still, they are choices. However, if an omniscient God sees all time at once, does the future exist even now for him, and do you think our decisions are truly free?

Monday, March 06, 2006

 

Images of Heaven

I typed Heaven into Google and found this image by Sven Geier. He calls it "Heaven 2005." Can you find other images of heaven that you prefer?

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