tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60187772011-04-21T16:19:49.299-07:00Mark's MentationsEssays on various subjectsMarknoreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1128151164524922852005-10-01T00:18:00.000-07:002005-10-01T00:19:24.526-07:00The Genius of meWant to make millions of dollars? Here you go. Simply create a new suit of cards. Besides Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs add Triangles and invent a whole series of games from that.Or simply add a new order to each suit such as Emperor above Kings. Above Emperor you could add Demi-Urge or something. And God above them all.Think about it. A fortune can be made from all that mayMarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1128061347013129292005-09-29T23:22:00.000-07:002005-10-01T00:17:05.426-07:00God can build you a better brainA couple of scientists are claiming that the evolution of the human brain has not stopped, but is ongoing. Two brain gene mutations were found in certain groups of people. "We think each gene conveys some sort of fitness advantage in brain biology. It could be an improved cognitive function or a personality trait. We're not sure. But we know whatever consequence Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1121456062644396902005-07-15T12:32:00.000-07:002005-07-15T12:34:22.653-07:00God is not as clever as Dante.The recent Islamofascist terror bombings in London give rise to the occasional speculation of what the perpetrators will suffer in Hell (much to their surprise).Self-congratulating “compassionate” Christians tend to say things like, “there is a Hell but no one’s in it”, or “Hell is separation from God.” Some may add eternal, but they don’t really believe God is that Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1119753083354738622005-06-25T19:28:00.000-07:002005-06-25T19:31:23.430-07:00The Crux of CriticismThis missive is in response to a book review at First Things here. Mr. Barr,Regarding Polkinghorne’s open theology regarding omniscience, you write:“The first was demolished by St. Augustine, who pointed out that God’s knowledge of future acts no more renders them unfree than our own knowledge of past acts renders them unfree.” This leaves St. Augustine’s absurdity Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1118955366675901512005-06-16T13:56:00.000-07:002005-06-16T13:56:06.683-07:00Mind, Creativity, MiracleI had a dream last night in which I was going to play the romantic lead in a Shakespeare comedy. The actress and I read the play and worked on our lines from a small playbook which also contained a few other plays of the Bard. The typeface was difficult to read in our play at times, while in other places it reproduced more antique styles which were more crude.At some Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1078032608177819832004-02-28T21:30:00.000-08:002004-02-28T21:39:23.123-08:00Why was Rome?
The study of Rome is essential to the American experiment. Why? Because the parallels are simply too great to ignore.
The development of Rome into an empire and what it allowed for and resulted in, was until the establishment of America, the most unique event in world history. Yes, there were other empires East and West before and after Rome's, but none equal the breadth, depth, Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1077223634841941782004-02-19T12:47:00.000-08:002004-02-19T12:52:21.250-08:00Why the artists hate you
Conservatives have a problem with artists, just as most artists have a problem with conservatives. For example, there is a provision in Bush's new Medicare program (the prescription drug boondoggle) which attempts to allow individuals to create their own sort of 401K plan for medical care. Catastrophic health care would be insured for them, but ordinary medical care Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1071120188498465182003-12-10T21:23:00.000-08:002003-12-10T21:29:21.913-08:00How is it possible?
I often wonder when encountering an old fool how someone can live so long, and still be incredibly idiotic. Let's take five justices of SCOTUS who all but rewrote the First Amendment regarding Freedom of Speech, by allowing Congress to outlaw certain donations and the timing of ads in political campaigns.
I mean, if I were in the room where the justices meet to discuss the Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1068803322808481672003-11-14T01:48:00.000-08:002003-11-14T01:48:48.030-08:00A Civil War meme is starting
Mark Byron wrote an interesting set of blogs from a comment of mine on his criticism of Judge Moore.
He creates a chilling scenario (which Tom Clancy might use) of a Christian militant group assaulting the Congress and Supreme Court, killing Democrats and liberal judges in order to make the government more conservative.
It's not all that far-fetched when you Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1068596535818647902003-11-11T16:22:00.000-08:002003-11-11T16:28:52.843-08:00Open Theology - a more human God
Mark Rathel gives an overview of what Open theology is.
First, open theists affirm a qualified divine omniscience (all-knowing). God possesses exhaustive knowledge about proper subjects of knowledge. Since the future does not exist to know, God cannot know the future free choices of His creatures. God possesses present knowledge, that is, perfect knowledge of Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1068205332119825192003-11-07T03:42:00.000-08:002003-11-07T03:54:41.753-08:00Why I Believe In True Love Between Men and Women
Yes, because God is perfect and loves perfectly as Shakespeare wrote in a sonnet:
Let me not to the marriage to true minds,
admit impediments, Love is not love
which alters, when it, alteration finds.
Nor bends with the remover to remove.
Oh, no. It is an ever fixed mark.
But not because of that. If humans had to live only on the hope of Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1068010022976239752003-11-04T21:27:00.000-08:002003-11-05T21:34:21.776-08:00Physics and Science
I've been exchanging emails in a debate with Steven Den Beste on physics and its impossibilities. He responded to two emails here.
I responded with a short blog here, the gist of which is:
...to Steven and non-euclidian geometry, I say this - I know how the idea of triangles drawn on a basketball (sphere) form more degrees than 360.
That still doesn't explain how you can Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1067932080351524092003-11-03T23:48:00.000-08:002003-11-03T23:48:03.056-08:00I Stump Einstein
Steven Den Beste replied to an email and follow up of mine at his site.
If you're at all familiar with 20th century physics, my query and his replies may interest you. But to Steven and non-euclidian geometry, I say this - I know how the idea of triangles drawn on a basketball (sphere) form more degrees than 360.
That still doesn't explain how you can curve Space, particularlyMarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1067680768660983342003-11-01T01:59:00.000-08:002003-11-01T03:41:33.930-08:00Asking Others - What is Truth?
I decided on a simple quest of asking various people, professional journalists in particular, to comment on a single question - What is Truth?
People freely express many notions and ideas which must have some fundamental basis, but rarely do they tell us what they actually believe about life or reality. We somehow assume that we either share the same framework Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1067679718527632102003-11-01T01:41:00.000-08:002003-11-01T01:42:00.333-08:00The Road to Perdition - the movie, not our colleges
I saw The Road to Perdition the other day. I believe it may be one of the greatest movies ever made. It is ten times better than The Godfather, which was an Italian mafia soap opera, revenge story. This new movie is like a Greek Tragedy with the power to arouse pity and terror just as Aristotle described in his Poetics. This movie is pure art -Marknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6018777.post-1067679408349141472003-11-01T01:36:00.000-08:002003-11-01T01:36:50.226-08:00Human Sacrifice and Magical Thinking Redux
Human beings once practiced the rite of human sacrifice for one reason - they believed it was an effective form of prayer. That is, it caused answered prayers to happen for their benefit. People got this notion because they considered human life the most valuable of all possible offerings one or a group could make to God or the gods.
The magical Marknoreply@blogger.com