What would happen if the demented patient is turned out in the street by the eviction? If a lost and wandering dementia patient is not found within two days, there is a one in four chance they will be found face down in a ditch or canal. But if someone is not looking for a demented patient, the odds are worse. […]
Scholars, like most everyone else, are social creatures, and are eager to please their teachers. This means they usually repeat the narratives they have been taught. Additionally, professors are often so hyper-specialized that they overlook connections to other fields. And, as Professor Steven Pinker noted, back in the day, professors dared not study consciousness until they attained tenure.
Is there anything new under the sun? What I hope to find is someone from the past who confirms my insights, because original insights are most valuable when they are old truths long forgotten, or connections are overlooked because prior generations were blind to how current events affected their views. Even when there is no direct confirmation, I sometimes find reflections from past generations that indirectly confirm, or at least do not disprove my perspectives.
For me, creativity is not a problem, so I prefer to include quotes from ancient and modern authors, to encourage my listeners to read them on their own. Why restate aphorisms in my own words when they are so inspiring when originally uttered? The eastern Church Fathers did not see a need to reword inherited ancient teachings, so why should I? […]
Reading Robin Waterfield’s translation was like breathing fresh alpine air. When I thought that Plato’s Republic was about justice, I reasoned that this was because Socrates sought to train Athenians to be better citizens in a direct democracy, a skill that would not be needed in the later totalitarian Roman Empire. But Robin Waterfield’s translation of the Republic makes more sense and is more in line with Stoic and Christian moral values. I demur from the conventional scholarly opinion that who the translator is does not matter. […]
Many scholars speculate on whether CS Lewis was inspired by the writings of Richard Baxter, a Puritan and prolific author who first coined the phrase “Mere Christianity.” Baxter lived during the intense religious struggle in the late 1600’s, a century after Henry VIII split from the Catholic Church to form the Anglican Church. Baxter was appointed to the royal chaplaincy, but he left his post after the passage of the Act of Uniformity in 1662, which required that all pastors exclusively use the Book of Common Prayer and be ordained as Anglican ministers. Baxter was reluctant to adopt a denomination, proclaiming that “I am a Christian, a MEER CHRISTIAN, of no other religion,” and “I am against all sects and dividing parties.” He did not want to identify either with Catholics, or Anglicans, or Presbyterians. […]
CS Lewis has “two bits of evidence that the Somebody,” whom we worship as the Almighty God, truly exists. “One is the universe he made.” “The other bit of evidence is that Moral Law which He has put into our minds. And this is a better bit of evidence than the other because it is inside information.” In the Judeo-Christian traditions, “we conclude that the Being behind the universe is intensely interested in right conduct: in fair play, unselfishness, courage, good faith, honesty and truthfulness.” […]
To a Stoic Philosopher, the question of Theodicy, or why God permits bad things to happen to good people, why God permits suffering, is simply absurd. The fact is, we do suffer, we will face injustices, we will suffer illnesses and death, and the rain falls on both the good man and the bad man. God will not shield us from suffering and injustice, but God will provide us with the strength to endure the challenges of this life. […]
Copyright 2017
