John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes, that is. Hilarious. (source). The strip’s publisher has explained the reason Bill Watterson chose the names Calvin and Hobbes for his characters: Calvin is named for a sixteenth-centurn theologian who believed in predestination, while Hobbes is named after a seventeenth-century philosphoer with a dim view of human nature. The names… Continue reading Calvin and Hobbes
Tag: philosophy
Just Can’t Resist
Rarely is one’s entire belief system dismantled as quickly as Deepak Chopra’s is here: The argument works, of course, against post-modernism, and all forms of truth-claims which claim that “the truth is that there is no truth.” But most of the people peddling that junk don’t walk broadside into their inconsistencies in front of a… Continue reading Just Can’t Resist
The Drudgery of Utilitarianism
A few weeks ago, I was discussing the case of Sister Margaret McBride, who’s accused of authorizing an abortion to save the life of the mother. Lots of non-Catholics (and sadly, many Catholics) rushed to her aid: how could it be wrong to kill a baby, if the alternative to killing a baby was that… Continue reading The Drudgery of Utilitarianism
The Essence of God
Yesterday, I talked about what defines us – what it is that makes each of us “us.” I meant for the post to not only suggest that our individuality is greater than the physical, material sum of us parts, that the soul not only exists, but defines us. But what about the essence of God?… Continue reading The Essence of God
The Essence of Man
What’s your defining characteristic? I don’t mean this in the way that they mean this on job interviews. I mean this in a serious way. What is it that, if changed, would render you no longer you? Here are some possible answers which I find unconvincing, or at least, incomplete: DNA, since it “codes” much… Continue reading The Essence of Man
Greatest Question Ever?
This past week I was visiting one of the freshmen classes at the high school I serve at as chaplain. After giving them my vocation story, I asked if they had any questions. Silence. I told them that if they didn’t have any questions they would have to take the quiz their teacher had planned.… Continue reading Greatest Question Ever?
Does 2 Plus 2 Always Equal 4? An Answer to Skeptics
Yesterday, I was at a prayer group, and one of my friends, Carlos, and I were talking almost incredulously about the sort of debates which went on in the early to middle ages of the Church. One of the major debates over Mary was this: was she conceived without sin (the majority position in both… Continue reading Does 2 Plus 2 Always Equal 4? An Answer to Skeptics