The Journal of Analytic Theology

From their website:

The Journal of Analytic Theology is an open access, international journal that twice anually publishes articles, book reviews, and book symposia that explore theological and meta-theological topics in a manner that prizes terminological clarity and argumentative rigor.  This includes historical studies that seek to elucidate conceptual challenges or explore strategies for addressing them.

At least for the time being, this seems to be an open access journal. There are plenty of interesting articles to check out. My favorite is particularly the one by Eleonore Stump titled “Athens and Jerusalem: The Relationship of Philosophy and Theology”. Philosophical theology is a project that I think will help make sense out of some of the deep truths that can be found in the Scripture (e.g, the Trinity) and I think it is something that theologians should utilize more often. Hopefully it continues to be open access!

Yousif’s Rap: The Decline of Human Society

I met this dude at Biola and he surprised me when he showed me this video. Never would’ve guessed a philosopher like him would be into rap, but now that I look back on it, he does have that “white rapper” look. This is seriously good and not just saying that because it sounds nice but because it has some great lyrics that stand true of society today. It also just inspires people to do simple acts of kindness to make the world a better place and I think that is something that any person should strive for.

Quick Thoughts on Biola’s “Neuroscience and the Soul” Conference

Quick Thoughts on Biola’s “Neuroscience and the Soul” Conference

This past week has been nothing but a constant blast, but as a result I have been too busy and too tired to make posts. I’m now preoccupied with applying for college and getting all the financial aid necessary to double major in computer information systems and philosophy so I’m going to make this post short, which is probably all that needs to be said anyway. First I want to thank Rinku and Alfredo for making this trip possible. Rinku provided the transportation and was kind enough to pay for my food expenses because I am low in money right now. Alfredo helped work out the details and his aunt allowed me to stay at her home. I really owe them one! 

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I’ll be attending a Biola Conference this Friday through Saturday with ex bloggers Alfredo and David like I had before. The discussion will be on “Neuroscience and the Soul“, it should prove to be quite interesting given that there are some well known philosophers coming to speak on this issue (e.g, JP Moreland, Richard Swinburne, and William Hasker). Not everyone is in agreement, however, as it seems Timothy O’Conner is a property dualist. I’ll be updating you guys with photos (possibly videos) and thoughts. Stay tuned!

Job’s Whirlwind

Job’s Whirlwind

This is an incredible whirlwind, it makes me think back to when God answered Job:

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind. He said:

Who is this who obscures My counsel
with ignorant words?
Get ready to answer Me like a man;
when I question you, you will inform Me.
Where were you when I established the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
What supports its foundations?
Or who laid its cornerstone
while the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Can you imagine God answering you from a whirlwind like that? You’ll be put to utter shame by His knowledge. By His power, fear should strike your very bones. Like Job, sometimes we have our moments of despair and perhaps even frustration. Where is God when a certain tragedy occurs to us? Why did God ever choose to create me? During our hard times, we feel like it is better that we die. Everything that we do seems to end up destroyed in the end. That’s how it is sometimes in the Christian life, but we need to know our place. God is in control and knows what He is doing better than we do. We deserve nothing. Remember how great God is and how little you are, then you’ll remember how loving He is and how undeserving you are.

As I Lay Dying Singer Tim Lambesis Arrested for Alleged Murder Plot

As I Lay Dying Singer Tim Lambesis Arrested for Alleged Murder Plot

In what is perhaps the biggest news in christian music today, Tim Lambesis has been arrested for allegedly attempting to hire someone to murder his estranged wife:

Tim Lambesis, 32, was arrested at a shop in Oceanside, Southern California yesterday according to a statement released by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. He was detained on suspicion on hiring an undercover detective to murder his estranged wife Meggan, who is believed to have started legal proceedings for divorce last September. 

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Apple Prefers Debt Over Taxes

Apple Prefers Debt Over Taxes

According to an article on Slate, Apple avoids taxes by accumulating debt (emphasis mine):

On the earnings call, Apple’s leadership did more to explain why they’re going to start borrowing money and it turns out to be pretty uninteresting: Tax avoidance. [...] But by hook or by crook, the upshot is that a very large share of Apple’s cash is located “offshore” and in order to use it for share repurchases or dividends, Apple would need to “repatriate” it and pay corporate income tax. The statutory corporate income tax rate is quite high—35 percent—so it turns out to be cheaper to borrow the money and pay interest than to repatriate cash and pay taxes.

Ironic, is it not? It’s better to be in debt than to pay taxes to the government. This remains true even if you have $145 billion sitting in the bank which could go toward share repurchases and dividends but because of the high corporate income tax, it can be done more efficiently by accumulating debt. In other words, the government rewards debt and kills with taxes. Knowing that companies operate like this, how in the world can we expect taxing the rich to work? The higher the taxes, the more likely companies are motivated to avoid them. Even small time investors like myself get charged these ridiculous income tax rates. Is it any wonder that companies don’t want to pay them?

Infographic: Science & Religion, Are They Compatible?

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The only issue of difficulty here is evolution, but this is only a part of the ‘findings’ of modern science. I’m not sure what qualifies as “denying the findings of modern science” here, but it seems as if they took a more moderate interpretation of Genesis in order to hold this view. Not that this is necessarily bad, even St Augustine held similar views long before evolution’s debut, but it just shows that this is a little more complicated. However, I think the main point can be sustained since science is not just evolution but is a collective methodology that incorporates various discoveries. Nothing about that is strictly incompatible with theology as a discipline that studies truths about God. And it is not at all immediately obvious that there is one definitive interpretation of Genesis at this moment as there are some formidable scholars that take a different approach.

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Sexual Insanity: Morning After Pill, Sex Ed & Bathrooms

Sexual Insanity: Morning After Pill, Sex Ed & Bathrooms

According to a recent article by the AP:

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday had lowered the age at which people can buy the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill without a prescription to 15 – younger than the current limit of 17. The FDA decided that the pill could be sold on drugstore shelves near condoms, instead of locked behind pharmacy counters.

Sex today has become an immediate commodity, something that you can conveniently “separate” from its procreative functions in order to trade non-committed pleasure with someone at your leisure. Any commitment that a person does have is completely incidental and emotional now, it has no objective reason for being pursued. A committed partner is just as good as say a friend with benefits; it’s just a matter of what works best for you. So it is no surprise then that we find sex increasing with the youth because it’s easy, takes no responsibility, and it is relatively painless. The FDA sees that there’s more demand for this with younger ages, so they’re naturally going to cater to that. Pills are for treating sicknesses, which fertility apparently is since it gets in the way of sexual pleasure. There’s a sickness alright, but it’s a sickness that’s in the depraved heart of men.

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Ditchard Rawkins: Lincolnism as Indoctrination

Ditchard Rawkins

Clearly proof of Lincoln’s non-existence, anyone who doesn’t see this is deluded. Belief in Lincoln is the product of faith, tradition, and authority, which do not substantiate his existence but shows it to be a mere invention of man. As Ditchard Rawkins brilliantly points out, there is no such thing as a lincolnist child: only a child of lincolnist parents. Many supporters of Lincoln point to his signature as proof that he existed, but this is obviously just a Lincoln of the Gaps argument. You’re appealing to some gap in history to suggest that it is best explained by Lincoln’s existence, but such reasoning has been thoroughly refuted by science. Even if we cannot find an explanation for it now, there will come a more plausible explanation in the future. 

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