Computer programming is a creative activity in which you have to build coherent, rational systems. This can teach us something about faith.
Computer Programming as a Lesson in Faith
Posted in Life, Theology, and Thinking Out Loud
Tag: God
Idea: Reductionism is incompatible with one form of generalism, but not the other. Reductionists believe reality is at the bottom. You don’t really exist. You are just your parts,…
Idea: There are good reasons for believing that the more original a thing is, the realer it is. Let’s call reality-is-at-the-top-ism in general, “generalism.” The…
Idea: The Bible has no solution to the Problem of Evil (and that’s a good thing).
I claim God’s speech in the Book of Job — the one about it being impossible for humans to understand God — is a critique of Job’s friends. They thought they had God figured out: God must be punishing Job for his sins! But God’s conclusion is that Job’s friends were wrong, and Job hadn’t said anything wrong about God1 (in spite of all his challenging and complaining).
I also claim people misunderstand Jesus’s “solution” to the problem of evil. Here’s how I think John 9:3-4 should be translated:
Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But we must do God’s work in daylight if that work is going to be visible/seen. Night is coming when no one can work.2
Instead of offering glib answers to the problem, then, the Bible (1) praises a guy who complains about it, (2) tells people who think they’ve got God figure out that they’re wrong, and (2) tells everyone to get to work helping instead of speculating.
FOOTNOTES
Have you ever noticed how important “realness” is to musicians these days? Listening to a rap song, you’d think you were listening to Boethius or…
This song is as far back as I’ve been able to trace the recent saxophone revival. Alexandra Stan’s “Mr. Saxobeat” came out in 2011 and…
Why the Problem of Evil Is Incoherent
Posted in Friendly Philosophy, and Theology
My first article on Conciliar Post: http://www.conciliarpost.com/philosophy/why-the-problem-of-evil-is-incoherent-2/ In it, I argue that on the standard philosophical view of the Abrahamic God, there theodicies are helpful, but…
Top 40 Philosophy: The Foo Fighters, “Something from Nothing”
Posted in Friendly Philosophy, Music, and Top 40 Philosophy
Now that we’re sufficiently nostalgic from doing a week on the Beatles, and sufficiently jolly from doing a week of Christmas songs, let’s do a…
Top 40 Philosophy: Hozier, “Take Me to Church”
Posted in Friendly Philosophy, Music, Theology, and Top 40 Philosophy
We’ve done all the other songs in the top 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, so today we’re jumping down to #6, Hozier’s “Take Me…