classics digests, reflections and reviews
For those interested in the devotional practices of earliest Christians, in particular, whether, how and why they worshipped Jesus. this is a valuable read. Prof. Dunn, in dialogue with Profs. Larry Hurtado and Richard Bauckham, presents the complexity and richness of New Testament Christology. Although answers provided by these scholars are far from satisfactory — partly because they all disagree with one another on certain points, it is very interesting […]
Read more
(Mad) Scientist Manifesto Popular lectures are the easiest to listen to, but they are necessarily both superficial and misleading, since they have to be graded to the comprehension of an ignorant audience. Popular lecturers are in their nature parasitic. They exploit for fame or cash the work which has been done by their indigent and unknown brethren. One smallest new fact obtained in the laboratory, one brick built into the […]
Read more
Psychoanalyzing Nietzsche Nietzsche seems to have a life-long obsession with Christianity, which he blames for the subversion of all noble values, and the corruption of the Western civilization. Underneath the facade of “noble” contempt for Christianity, however, I suspect Nietzsche is really blaming it for his own unhappiness. He sounds as if he would be happier with any other belief system, Darwinism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Epicureanism, Paganism, anything but Christianity, and […]
Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic and government lockdown have turned my leisure reading to old -almost a century old- science fiction/dystopian/horror novels, such as The Island of Doctor Moreau, Dracula and 1984. Looking back, I noticed a pattern in my choices: all these novels make references to religion and God, and the destiny of man, both as an individual and as a species. Like Aldous Huxley, whose Brave New World is often […]
Read more
Tyranny vs. Democracy A united force is more efficacious in producing its effect than a force which is scattered or divided. … Therefore, just as it is more useful for a force operating for a good to be more united, in order that it may work good more effectively, so a force operating for evil is more harmful when it is one than when it is divided. … for the […]
Read more
Preface To paraphrase Plato, the price we pay for indifference to reason is to be ruled by unreasonable people. On a personal level, I seek to understand the laws that affect or govern my life. If I cannot understand the laws, but am forced to abide by them, I’m no different from a slave; On a societal level, true democracy depends on reason. A democratic society is healthy only so […]
Read more
Having grown up as an atheist, I used to treat all religious practices with contempt. Even after my conversion to theism, rituals and liturgy have remained alien to me, partly by choice, partly due to circumstances. My experience and understanding of Christianity have been mostly on the intellectual level. In this regard, Prof. Hurtado made a significant impact on me, as he piqued my interest in the lives of the […]
Read more