classics digests, reflections and reviews
The Natural Law The word morality comes from the Latin root mos (meaning “custom or law”), which in turn is a translation of the Greek word ἠθικός (“character or moral nature”). The idea of natural law originated with Plato and the Stoics, and found its full expression in Cicero. God, who governs the universe, has implanted the immortal soul in man from His own divine nature. The Mind of God […]
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One way that’s kind of a fun analogy to try to get some idea of what we’re doing in trying to understand nature is to imagine that the gods are playing some great game like chess. Let’s say a chess game. And you don’t know the rules of the game, but you’re allowed to look at the board at least from time to time and in a little corner, perhaps. […]
Read moreWilliam James anticipated modern debate on the relationship between science and religion, and provided practical reasons to take religion seriously. His personal and common sense approach works particularly well within a pluralistic and consumer culture. Choosing a Religion For Yourself First, every human being must face the reality of life, death, suffering, and something beyond ourselves. How do we respond to this reality? James surveys responses from atheists (Voltaire), transcendentalists […]
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The Meaning of Reality I’ve learned since childhood that reality is what exists independently of human perception and knowledge. We gain knowledge of reality if and only if our ideas correspond to it. Fantasy is that which has no correspondence in reality, and exists only in the mind of an individual. Unless he communicates his fantasy, others have no way of knowing it. George Berkeley shows a different way of […]
Read moreA Matter of Identity As an armchair Platonist, I find the philosophy behind Darwinian evolution not only intellectually unsatisfactory, but also self-contradictory. On the one hand, it asserts constant change, that, given enough time and proper conditions, anything can change into anything else; on the other hand, it asserts identity, that there is a “struggle for existence” of the individual and/or group. It is a self-contradiction to state that something […]
Read moreCreation in Seven Acts In my previous post “A Layman’s Interpretation of Genesis”, I made the point that the Days in Genesis 1 are defined, not by any physical entity, but by divine command. The Days, and time itself, are God’s creation. To give a further illustration, I’d liken the Creation account in Genesis 1 to a seven-act play, and the recurring phrase “there was evening and there was morning, […]
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Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9 Preface When I first read the Book of Genesis many years ago, I did it out of scientific curiosity. I was an atheist who believed all religions were superstitions. But, I was very curious why many otherwise highly intelligent human beings believed in the existence of God. So I attempted to examine faith on […]
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