Jimmy Carter reflects on his youth, his years in the Navy serving in the nuclear submarine program, his years as Governor of Georgia, and his years before, during, and after his Presidency. […]
One of Bonhoeffer’s most famous books carried the title, The Cost of Discipleship. In it he condemns what he calls cheap grace. He insists one cannot follow Christ without full commitment, wherever that commitment might lead. In his case it led to a Nazi gallows.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth were leaders in the Confessing Church that resisted the Nazi infiltration and cooption of German Christianity, opposing the Nazi notion that Jesus wasn’t Jewish and that Christianity should condone the persecution of the Jews. […]
How can we benefit by reflecting on Four Platonic Dialogues on Love: Lysis, Alcibiades, Symposium, and Phaedrus? How similar are they? Was it possible for men and women, and husbands and wives, to be friends in ancient Greece and Rome? Did the Platonic dialogues on love condone or encourage homosexuality […]
The wise stoic reign of Marcus Aurelius, beloved by all, was followed by the murderous reign of Commodus, hated and feared by all, who would be assassinated by his closest companions. The disastrously reckless cruelty of Commodus, and his neglectful reign, which nearly caused the disintegration of the Roman Empire, colors the opinion of both ancient and modern historians. What historians mention, but do not emphasize, are the similarities between the soldier Hadrian and Commodus. Both liked to fight in the ring as gladiators. Both decided to halt the Roman policy of expansion, seeking strategic withdrawal. And Marcus Aurelius was as wary of his adoptive grandfather Hadrian as he was of his wayward son Commodus. […]
Rehnquist notes that during the campaign, Hayes released a statement “recognizing the need for Southerners to control their own affairs but calling for respect for the constitutional rights of all citizens,” a promise made by Southerners that they never intended to keep. Hayes tried waving the bloody shirt during the campaign, but not only was Tilden a New York Democrat, he was over the mandatory draft age, as he was in his mid-forties during the Civil War. Everyone expected that the vote would be close in this Presidential election. […]
What is artificial intelligence? The original definition by Alan Turing is that a program is deemed artificially intelligent if the user conversing by keyboard is convinced that a live human being is responding. But keep in mind that artificially intelligent computer programs have zero comprehension. Although they can do quite well on intelligence tests, answering questions instantaneously, they are incapable of original thought. However, they excel at pattern matching, and the latest AI programs can replicate text from existing text samples. The program does not comprehend the meaning of these text samples, which means it has trouble evaluating their credibility. Thus, the generated output is often what programmers call GIGO: garbage-in, garbage-out. […]
What is artificial intelligence? The original definition by Alan Turing is that a program is deemed artificially intelligent if the user conversing by keyboard is convinced that a live human being is responding. But keep in mind that artificially intelligent computer programs have zero comprehension. Although they can do quite well on intelligence tests, answering questions instantaneously, they are incapable of original thought. However, they excel at pattern matching, and the latest AI programs can replicate text from existing text samples. The program does not comprehend the meaning of these text samples, which means it has trouble evaluating their credibility. Thus, the generated output is often what programmers call GIGO: garbage-in, garbage-out.
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Luther concludes by restating the positive and negative forms of the commandment, noting that tolerating theft by others by doing nothing also is a moral violation. “On one hand, we are forbidden to do our neighbor any injury or wrong in any way imaginable, whether by damaging, withholding, or interfering with his possession and property. We are not even to consent to or permit such a thing but are rather to avert and prevent it. On the other hand, we are commanded to promote and further our neighbor’s interests, and when he suffers want, we are to help, share, and lend to both friends and foes.” […]
In life, whenever someone criticizes you, or offers you advice, they always reveal more about themselves, their prejudices, their experiences, and sometimes their guilt, than they reveal about the situation at hand, and that applies to family members, friends, counselors, and doctors. […]
Copyright 2017
