I wanted to dedicate a post to some of the greatest intellectuals of all time, in my personal opinion, of course. These men are united in their skepticism of religion, yet their philosophies and greatest theories ironically face near-perfect alignment with various religious teachings. Each of these men: Immanuel Kant, Albert Ellis, and Stephen Hawking... Continue Reading →
Netflix: “The Good Place” & Hidden Truths
My most recent Netflix binge has been of one of its new originals The Good Place. In summary, Kristen Bell and 3 other souls wind up in what appears to be "The Good Place." There is no heaven or hell in the Judeo-Christian sense, but rather an afterlife that judges each and every action one makes in... Continue Reading →
Is morality objective?
Of course, there are many different perspectives of this topic with those who debate morality is always objective, objective only in certain contexts, or entirely subjective. Most religions today support and firmly teach the first two, although it appears that our popular culture prefers the latter. Let's examine why and see if we can answer... Continue Reading →
Why correlation โ causation: an exploration of free-will
According to the academic community, there are 3 conditions necessary to establish causation, the idea that one event directly causes the occurrence of another: Co-variation of events: the events occur together (not isolated events at random times and random places) Time-order relationship: The "cause" event occurs before the "effect" event Elimination of plausible alternative causes: other potential... Continue Reading →
Why there’s no ‘proof’ of God: exploring signs and faith
If you've ever watched a theist vs atheist debate, you've probably realized that both have very valid arguments, using science (theist vs atheist) or philosophy (theist vs atheist) to back up their claims. The two are typically "experts" in their respective fields (though, I'd say some are more well-versed in their traditions' roots than others),... Continue Reading →
J.H. Newman’s Quest for Truth
โThe heart is commonly reached, not through the reason, but through the imagination. โฆ. Persons influence us, voices melt us, looks subdue us, deeds inflame us. Many a man will live and die upon a dogma: no man will be a martyr for a conclusion.โJohn Henry Newman, Grammar of Assent John Henry Newman (1801-1890) Newman was born... Continue Reading →
Jesus in Major World Religions
Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism Each of these 5 major world religions acknowledge a man referred to as Jesus existed, yet he plays a very different role in each respective tradition. In fact, most historians and archeologists will argue that evidence exists from over 2,000 years ago that Jesus was far more than just... Continue Reading →
Love (and?) Sex
Here's a video to sort of put this post into some context: "Stop Saying 'I Love you'" Now, the video above describes the difference between love and possession. I want to go even further and categorize possession as lust, which is it really is---the antithesis of love. I'll go more in depth about this vice... Continue Reading →
Why so many “branches” of Christianity?
I honestly ask myself this all of the time. A better word for "branch" is "denomination," and there are so many that exist that I have not even heard of. I can attempt to summarize this for you very briefly and provide more information for you to go deeper, though, in case you're curious. People... Continue Reading →