Friday, October 28, 2005
Sunday, October 23, 2005
A New Leaf
I am turning over a new leaf at a place to muse. Or at least I hope to.
I have a new host and new blogging software (Word Press) that I am hoping to have running this week. As you check back this week I will eventually post a new link for you to visit the new site.
Until then...wish me luck. I am in way over my non-techy head.
I have a new host and new blogging software (Word Press) that I am hoping to have running this week. As you check back this week I will eventually post a new link for you to visit the new site.
Until then...wish me luck. I am in way over my non-techy head.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Another Friday Poem
Fall is when
leaves join my heart
in yearly retrospect
that although we have
experienced much growth
we are still of the fallen
and...
When you smile
your eyes look
like sunny sky-lit
teardrops
turned on their side--
falling to one another
as if your slender nose
has gravity.
leaves join my heart
in yearly retrospect
that although we have
experienced much growth
we are still of the fallen
and...
When you smile
your eyes look
like sunny sky-lit
teardrops
turned on their side--
falling to one another
as if your slender nose
has gravity.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Power Ball Update
Laura and I did not win at Power Ball.
Out of the 72 numbers we had claim to I think that we matched three of them.
I have never matched more than one number on any given series of six numbers.
I think I need to switch gas stations.
Out of the 72 numbers we had claim to I think that we matched three of them.
I have never matched more than one number on any given series of six numbers.
I think I need to switch gas stations.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
South Africa Here We Go
Laura and I just spent $3,800 for plane tickets to Durban South Africa. That was a big decision!...especially since that is about what our bank acount has in it right now.
It is going to be Christmas South Africa style--Hot.
My sister, Kristy, and her husband, Ben, have lived in South Africa for almost 4 years now and we have yet to visit them. They are an incredible couple and we are tight. I can't wait.
They are 'missionaries' to college students in South Africa. I don't like using the word missionary because it can conjure up many images that don't apply to Kristy and Ben Carlson.
As a tribute to my excitement here are a couple pics of my sis and bro-in-law...the pictures are about three years old. I will have to get some new pics when we see them in December.
It is going to be Christmas South Africa style--Hot.
My sister, Kristy, and her husband, Ben, have lived in South Africa for almost 4 years now and we have yet to visit them. They are an incredible couple and we are tight. I can't wait.
They are 'missionaries' to college students in South Africa. I don't like using the word missionary because it can conjure up many images that don't apply to Kristy and Ben Carlson.
As a tribute to my excitement here are a couple pics of my sis and bro-in-law...the pictures are about three years old. I will have to get some new pics when we see them in December.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Chicken or the Egg (cont. again)
After writing the last two Chicken or the Egg posts (here and here) I realized that some of you may have some questions for me lurking in your minds. One in particular came to my mind. I could imagine being asked whether or not I believed in absolutes.
This is a very big question for a Christian. Many postmoderns have done away with absolutes and have chastised anyone who claims their existence. A Christian consequently is set on the defensive because they repeatedly make claims to absolutes.
If some one were to ask me, “Do you believe in absolutes?” I would have to answer both yes and no. There are two distinctions that need to be made to clarify this question (bear with me—this is helpful I think). The two distinctions are epistemological and ontological. Epistemology deals with the study of knowing (how we know things) while Ontology deals with the study of existence or being.
Consequently, when someone asks whether or not there are absolutes they could be asking one of two questions. They could be asking the epistemological question: “Do you believe that absolutes are knowable in an absolute sense?” They could otherwise be asking the ontological question: “Do you believe that absolutes exist?” It is important not to mix these questions up and always good to clarify what someone is asking.
The Modern era (see previous Chicken or the Egg posts) believed that absolutes both existed and were wholly knowable. However, they could never prove that they actually existed because their empirical knowledge proved to be subjective. This has led some postmoderns to conclude that absolutes must not exist at all. Long story short, these postmodern thinkers who claim that absolutes must not exist at all are probably not as postmodern as they think that they are. They are still using failed Modern methods of proof for claims to knowledge.
Most postmodern thinkers do not have a problem with whether or not absolutes actually exist. What they have a problem with is those who claim absolute knowledge. If the Modern era experiment showed us anything about knowledge it was that we all have limited perspectives from which we view the world—to claim an absolute objectivity is absurd. God says as much to Job and his friends—what human can comprehend God? (See story here).
So my answer to the question of whether or not I believe in absolutes is two fold. Yes, I believe in the existence of absolutes—I believe in the Christian God and Jesus and the stories unfolded in the Bible. No, I do not believe that I have absolute objective knowledge about anything. I would, however, claim that I have knowledge of Jesus and God and the Bible, but I just believe that my knowledge is warranted (it makes sense, it is cohesive, coherent and comprehendible)—not wholly objective or absolute.
Does this open the door for the Christian’s latest and greatest fear—relativity? Maybe. However, even in the postmodern world one cannot just pull a belief or claim to knowledge out of nowhere and expect to have a hearing of those who take them seriously. We still attempt to make sense of the world and to gather knowledge--we do this to a great degree--even knowledge of God. We just do so with a much greater sense of humility.
This is a very big question for a Christian. Many postmoderns have done away with absolutes and have chastised anyone who claims their existence. A Christian consequently is set on the defensive because they repeatedly make claims to absolutes.
If some one were to ask me, “Do you believe in absolutes?” I would have to answer both yes and no. There are two distinctions that need to be made to clarify this question (bear with me—this is helpful I think). The two distinctions are epistemological and ontological. Epistemology deals with the study of knowing (how we know things) while Ontology deals with the study of existence or being.
Consequently, when someone asks whether or not there are absolutes they could be asking one of two questions. They could be asking the epistemological question: “Do you believe that absolutes are knowable in an absolute sense?” They could otherwise be asking the ontological question: “Do you believe that absolutes exist?” It is important not to mix these questions up and always good to clarify what someone is asking.
The Modern era (see previous Chicken or the Egg posts) believed that absolutes both existed and were wholly knowable. However, they could never prove that they actually existed because their empirical knowledge proved to be subjective. This has led some postmoderns to conclude that absolutes must not exist at all. Long story short, these postmodern thinkers who claim that absolutes must not exist at all are probably not as postmodern as they think that they are. They are still using failed Modern methods of proof for claims to knowledge.
Most postmodern thinkers do not have a problem with whether or not absolutes actually exist. What they have a problem with is those who claim absolute knowledge. If the Modern era experiment showed us anything about knowledge it was that we all have limited perspectives from which we view the world—to claim an absolute objectivity is absurd. God says as much to Job and his friends—what human can comprehend God? (See story here).
So my answer to the question of whether or not I believe in absolutes is two fold. Yes, I believe in the existence of absolutes—I believe in the Christian God and Jesus and the stories unfolded in the Bible. No, I do not believe that I have absolute objective knowledge about anything. I would, however, claim that I have knowledge of Jesus and God and the Bible, but I just believe that my knowledge is warranted (it makes sense, it is cohesive, coherent and comprehendible)—not wholly objective or absolute.
Does this open the door for the Christian’s latest and greatest fear—relativity? Maybe. However, even in the postmodern world one cannot just pull a belief or claim to knowledge out of nowhere and expect to have a hearing of those who take them seriously. We still attempt to make sense of the world and to gather knowledge--we do this to a great degree--even knowledge of God. We just do so with a much greater sense of humility.
Friday, October 14, 2005
A Friday Poem
Tender is the night
that brings distance to our sight
with every creeping cautious deception
Shall I compare thee
to a darkened day
O time, my misery
when hope runs away
Secure fades to fright
these deep silhouettes by night
withhold the secrets of their complexion
And I follow lies
ever told my worthless eyes
to the hollow of broken ambition
Arise wayward heart
to Justice be true
that Love hath ne'er part
nor Hope hath fled you
Tender is the night
that crouches round my faith's Light
O me, stand wise in Glory's reception
Tender is tonight!
that brings distance to our sight
with every creeping cautious deception
Shall I compare thee
to a darkened day
O time, my misery
when hope runs away
Secure fades to fright
these deep silhouettes by night
withhold the secrets of their complexion
And I follow lies
ever told my worthless eyes
to the hollow of broken ambition
Arise wayward heart
to Justice be true
that Love hath ne'er part
nor Hope hath fled you
Tender is the night
that crouches round my faith's Light
O me, stand wise in Glory's reception
Tender is tonight!
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