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Browsing All Posts filed under »Religion & Philosophy«
Missed Chances — a short story
There are joys that long to be ours. God sends ten thousand truths which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away. — Henry Ward Beecher “Are you okay?” “I’m … […]
God in the Eyes
December 23, 2018
Out of nothing I have created a strange new universe. — Janos Bolyai Is there a God? I have no idea. But if there is one, He (or She or It) ought to be really, really impressive. The standard God who watches the Game Board of the Universe and occasionally moves some of the pieces, is so … so … human. And that’s a […]
Prevail
November 18, 2018
All my misfortunes have been my honored teachers. — anon. Sometimes bad things hit you in waves. First an election goes badly for your side. Then your favorite night spot gets shot up by a madman, and people you know are murdered for no reason. Then fires break out around the city and you must […]
Glakreg, cont. — a short story
July 8, 2018
[Glakreg’s story begins at this link] No one knows they’re not dreaming. Not one of us. Not ever. Not for one single moment of our lives. — Doctor Who I was doing fine until I set off the quantum fluctuation. It’s been trouble ever since. I was finishing up my college physics project, an experiment […]
God and Gays — a short story
February 11, 2018
Faith is trusting so much that God is fond of us that we just fricken relax. — Nadia Bolz-Weber “Look, being homosexual is a choice! It has to be.” “Why?” “Because God wouldn’t create a person whose yearnings violate His Law. That would be sadistic.” “Are you saying God would never deliberately create somebody who’s […]
God Gets a Makeover — a short story
October 22, 2017
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in . . . — Matthew 25:43 “Have you met Jesus?” “Beg pardon?” “Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” “Um … it’s on my to-do list.” “I’m serious. There’s still time, you know.” “Until…?” “Until you’re judged.” “By…?” “By God. If you […]
Brain Replacement Surgery — a short story
September 24, 2017
I would be glad to know . . . whether, when my brain has lost its original structure, and when some hundred years after the same materials are fabricated so curiously as to become an intelligent being, whether I say that being will be me . . . — Thomas Reid Since you asked, the real […]
83 Problems
September 10, 2017
Love God and do what you will. — St. Augustine Early in my teens, one afternoon it hit me like a ton of bricks: I really wanted to get involved with girls. It was clear as day, as if someone suddenly had switched on the sun. Within months I had a girlfriend, the first of […]
Things We Get Wrong
February 12, 2017
People are irrational and their decisions are based on emotion, influence, and random variables. Reason is mostly an illusion. — Scott Adams My group is always right — We evolved as tribal villagers, living in groups that hardly changed over the generations. We depended on those people, couldn’t live without them. Outsiders — strangers from faraway — […]
Will We Control AI?
January 8, 2017
. . . If we just build an AI without tuning its values, the argument goes, one of the first things it will do is destroy humanity. — Maciej Cegłowski We “live in interesting times” fraught with “dangerous opportunities”. But enough about China. Within the next 30 years or so, due to rapid advances in […]
New Year’s Wisdom
January 2, 2017
Sometimes [the typical citizen] drinks heavily while listening to the flute; at other times, he drinks only water and is on a diet; sometimes he goes in for physical training; at other times, he’s idle and neglects everything. — Plato It’s easy to make New Year’s resolutions — lose weight, make more money, be nicer […]
Quippy the Gadfly
July 3, 2016
Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds. — Henry Adams Politics is a bloodless form of civil war. Political power is wielded, not by people who are good, but by people who are good at obtaining power. Everyone who speaks in public has an ulterior motive — usually […]
Dear Elon Musk: Nick Bostram Is Messing With You
June 5, 2016
If realistic simulations of the universe are possible, then there would very quickly be far more simulations of reality than actual reality. Without any reason to assume we’re in reality rather than a simulation, the chances of us randomly happening to be in the one option among billions that isn’t fake is billions to one. […]
A Cento of Direction
April 10, 2016
cento n. a piece of writing composed wholly of quotations from the works of other authors. It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste […]
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