Monthly Archives: July 2008

Food for Thought

Custom is our nature. He who is accustomed to the faith believes in it, can no longer fear hell, and believes in nothing else. He who is accustomed to believe that the king is terrible … etc. Who doubts then that our soul, being accustomed to see number, space, motion, believes that and nothing else? …

July 26, 2008 – 5:23 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Thinking Christianly | Tagged | Comments Off

“Many Paths To What You Call God”

A close friend of the family brought this up: another video of Oprah Winfrey as theologian. The video begins with Oprah in dialogue with an unidentified woman representing Biblical Christianity (as far as I can tell). Note the use of language here. Oprah says, There are many paths to what you call God. Her [another …

July 26, 2008 – 6:00 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in New Age | Tagged , | Comments Off

Christian Carnival CCXXXIV

Christian Carnival CCXXXIV is up at True Believer’s Weblog.

July 24, 2008 – 7:14 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Miscellanea | Comments Off

“Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup – Times Online”

Kate Muir, writing in The Times (London) positively fawns over Richard Dawkins, as he is releasing his new three-part series Dawkins on Darwin on British TV. I fairly fell over when I read this—even though I was sitting down: In these barren, thoughtless times, Dawkins gives people something substantial to chew on. [Link: Richard Dawkins …

July 23, 2008 – 9:34 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in New Atheism, Origins and Science | Tagged | Comments (5)

Postmodernism 101: A First Course for the Curious Christian

Book Review My generation grew up saturated with scientific optimism. I was born just a few months before Sputnik took man into space for the first time, and I can vividly remember watching the TV broadcast of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the surface of the moon. Science—both physical and behavioral—was succeeding spectacularly. There was just …

July 22, 2008 – 12:23 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Thinking Christianly | Tagged , | Comments (1)

“We Honor All Faiths”

Christ Church Unity, Kansas City, MO, says, “We honor all faiths.” This affirming and inclusive statement stands near the heart of a minor social movement: the Complaint Bracelet (“21 days to a complaint-free life”), invented by the church’s pastor, Rev. Will Bowen. Bown has been featured on The Today Show and Oprah, and, more than …

July 19, 2008 – 5:45 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in New Age | Tagged , , | Comments (9)

Comment Editing Fixed?

I’m installing a fix for the comment editor plugin, which has been broken for a few days. Please let me know if it works for you.

July 19, 2008 – 5:57 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in The Faith | Comments (4)

PETA Ad Campaign: Teen Pregnancy, Pet Pregnancy, What’s the Difference?

PETA is based not far from here, in Norfolk, Virginia. A few years ago their director, Ingrid Newkirk, wrote a letter to the editor responding to a guest column I’d written. She was objecting to the way I had referenced her infamous phrase, “A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.” As …

July 18, 2008 – 9:38 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Life and Choices | Tagged | Comments (1)

“May be confusing or unclear”

I laughed when I saw this: “Please help clarify the article.” To anyone who tries, I wish you lots of luck!

July 18, 2008 – 11:48 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Just For Fun | Tagged , | Comments Off

Religion Dispatches: “Rumors of God’s Death are Greatly Exaggerated”

Nathan Schneider emailed me today, informing me of his response to William Lane Craig’s recent cover article in Christianity Today. I mentioned that article briefly here on July 4, which was a day for family and not for blogging. Nathan’s article, Rumors of God’s Death are Greatly Exaggerated, provides a timely opportunity to say more. …

July 17, 2008 – 8:24 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Evidences | Tagged , | Comments (17)