I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one’s self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers.” –Sherlock Holmes “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter Although I was raised in a culture which ranks humility as a virtue, I never understood why it is a virtue, […]
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Beauty and the Ontological Argument: Never Labor In Vain
Not essential? I think you misunderstand the meaning of the word. No Blauschein, sir. Stand over there. Move. Next! What do you mean, “Not essential”? I teach history and literature. Since when it’s not essential? — A scene from Schindler’s List Your Labor is Not In Vain Recently another WP blog caught my attention, because the author published a series of posts on subjects (tags) I’ve been following, such as […]
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Beauty and the Ontological Argument: The Backstory
About a month ago I posted a video with the title “Beauty and the Ontological Argument”, without an accompanying article. At the time, I was a little exhausted after a long week at work, and beauty is a very difficult, if not impossible, subject to write, not to mention I’m not good at words to begin with, but I’ll try to complete what I started. A Glimpse of the Transcendent […]
Read moreOn the Dignity of the Person: Human Worth and Gift-giving
Man as Scrooge Watching the movie “Scrooge” (1951) starring Alastair Sim has become part of Christmas tradition for me. I’ve seen other film adaptions of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, but no actor conveys the joy of reclamation as infectiously as Sim did in the 1951 film. Scrooge was rich, but he lived as a poor wretch. He had no appreciation of human worth, neither the worth of his fellow human […]
Read moreBach and the Ontological Argument
There is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Therefore there must be a God. –Peter Kreeft, Professor of philosophy, Boston College In the fall of 1977, Voyagers I and II were sent into space, where they are expected to reach the edge of our galaxy. In the hope that someone somewhere would intercept these crafts, a variety of messages were placed on board that would be capable of communicating the […]
Read moreOn the Dignity of the Person: Freedom of Expression
A Personal Anecdote Many years ago, I was having trouble finding a job after graduate school. The situation lasted for some time, and I became quite depressed [1]. In desperation, I prayed earnestly: I wrote down a specific list of things I was looking for in a job, and even made a vow that if I ever found one I would confess the name of Christ before everyone. It was sort […]
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Suffering and Christian Hope: V. Wounds of Glory
The Wounds and Glory of Alexander When the thigh of his father Philip had been pierced by a spear in battle with the Triballians, and Philip, although he escaped with his life, was vexed with his lameness, Alexander said, ‘Be of good cheer, father, and go on your way rejoicing, that at each step you may recall your valour.’… How, then, think you, did he glory in his own wounds, […]
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