TED Talk: Philosophy in Prison

Aside

You think you know right and wrong? Then can you tell me what wrong is? No, don’t just give me an example. I want to know about wrongness itself, the idea of wrong. What is that idea? What makes something wrong? How do we know that it’s wrong? Maybe you and I disagree. Maybe one of us is wrong about the wrong. Maybe it’s you, maybe it’s me — but we’re not here to trade opinions; everyone’s got an opinion. We are here for knowledge. Our enemy is thoughtlessness. This is philosophy.

Damon Horowitz is asking us the same question that Socrates posed to Euthyphro. What is right and what is wrong? Kant wrestled with that as well and came up with the “categorical imperative” which is mentioned at the end of the talk. If you are wondering what that is read this and if you are really interested read this.

Irenaeus On Election and Free Will

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This is a series that will be updated periodically that captures the early church views on free will and election. In part 1 we looked at some statements regarding Irenaeus’ views on free will and election. Some time ago we also examined the Rule of Faith (orthodoxy) held by Irenaus.

saint_irenaeus_oflyonsBefore looking at what else Irenaeus has to say, let’s take a look at what Charles Spurgeon has to say regarding this topic from his sermon titled “Election“. First he asserts that should one look through the doctrine of the ancients they would struggle to find those who did not hold to his views on election:

Were I a Pelagian, or a believer in the doctrine of free-will, I should have to walk for centuries all alone. Continue reading →

Blessed are those who Hunger for a Markan Sandwich

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This post is part of a series on the Gospel of Mark based on classes I am teaching.Bite of Sandwich

Mark, the writer of this gospel we are studying is helping us understand who Jesus is. Throughout the narrative he uses a literary technique called the “Markan Sandwich”. This technique involves starting a story that pulls the reader in, then switches to another story line before concluding the first story line. This is similar to how a movie tells concurrent story lines shifting from one character’s situation then panning out and dropping us into the events being tackled by another character. What makes this technique a “sandwich” is after the author finishes telling us the middle story the shift in the narrative moves immediately back to the story that was started and left unfinished.

One of the most obvious and identified “sandwiches” in the Markan narrative occurs in chapter 5. It looks like this: Continue reading →