The cold “clickety-clack” sound, the motion, the rolling down the hall on the cart, you shiver. Eyes on the ceiling, studded cold bright lights flash past, you turn the corner into the elevator. Exiting the ‘cave’, your gurney is shoved past streams of scrub clad humans flying around. A ruptured appendix, you feel sick with […]
How To Spot Deception and Prevent Yourself From Being Swayed by Illicit Arguments (Post 2)
The Maxim I Like Most catch phrases concern me, especially when one uses them at whim without reflection and deep background knowledge of the meaning and potential pitfalls. However, there is one I kind of like. Penned by nineteenth century Alexander Campbell, this maxim address Christian religious authority: “Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where […]
The One View Some Christians and Some Atheists Agree On – And Why It is Wrong!
Interestingly, prominent agnostics, atheists [1] and Christians of various persuasions agree on at least one thing, philosophy is of little worth. Other Christians are afraid of the enterprise. Our Western culture downplays classical education – such as philosophy. Even so, philosophy is pivotal, yes pivotal. Especially for our days. We all have a philosophy and use it, […]
Why Critical Thinking Skills are Essential, But Not Sufficient
For one like me, whose mind never seems to rest, there is a burden that I call “the thinker’s bane.” You see, as thoughts increasingly swirl around in my mind my brain at times aches some. It’s genetic. Writing helps releases those thoughts. But there is a concern when one thinks, one needs true knowledge […]
Gangster Grandma
Grandma Someone’s grandma is shuffling down the street about to cross that busy road. Being the generous self that you are, you slowly walk next to her, making sure she arrives safe on the other side. She thanks you and starts into a sob story of her life and her poverty. You are moved with […]
The Brainwashing
Are you being brainwashed? In a post by Stella Morabito (see source below, it is worth the read), she tells the story of Patricia Hearst, who within two months was brainwashed into a totally different person. There were a number of things that she went through but here are some of the techniques her kidnappers […]
Don’t Trust, Written by Man
A friend tells you, “you shouldn’t take the Bible too seriously since it was only written by men, and men make mistakes.” What do you say? Many things could be said, the more you know, the more prepared you will be for this type of encounter. Believe me this is a real argument that people […]
Why Respect?
I already talked about one very important question “what do you mean by that?” This question is powerful because it can clear up misunderstandings fast, decreasing conflict. Danger Many don’t know what they mean when they make claims, they just repeat the talking points. This means that this question, along with others, are powerful but […]
What do you mean by that?
In a previous post, I talked about fifteen things that I am trying to focus on more. The last five were under the title of “culture of inquiry”. I am trying to ask more questions for a number of reasons. Also, I talked about questions in my post on how to talk to those who […]
Confidence In Conversation
Should I talk to Non Believers? Are you afraid to talk to atheists, agnostics, people from other religions and nominal Christians? If there is a God and the Bible is true, then its message compels us to talk to others while living a godly life. We can avoid pitfalls in interaction through learning. This is […]