... a mix of the satisfying and the dismaying. The satisfying was an interview with Glenn Reynolds. The dismaying is best forgotten. In the meantime, Dave Lull sends along a fascinating link to a an exchange between Richard Swinburne, Emeritus Nolloth professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion, University of Oxford and author of The Existence of God, and Daniel Dennett, author (most recently) of Breaking the Spell : Religion as a Natural Phenomenon .
My only comment for now is that by bringing in a multitude of hypothetical universes Dennett seems to be doing just what Ockham said one should never do: unnecessarily multiplying entities.
And that will be it for blogging tonight probably. We'll get back in the swing of things tomorrow.
Update: My colleague John Brumfield alerts me that I left off the link this post was about: How should we study religion? That's what happens when you do things late after night after a long day. Thank you, John.
Ugh...those guys all give me a headache...no disrespect to you, estimable editor that you are, but men always make things so complicated...Faith in God is simple enough for a child to get it!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, Bonnie, you are quite right. "The fool saith in his heart there is no God." But one is called upon to preach the truth even to those who can only come to grips with it when assured it is sufficiently complicated.
ReplyDeleteHope all is OK, Frank. I live in a permanent internal world of disaster. I wish sometimes that I had your enviable life-view, Bonnie! Even though this is denied to me, rest assured, I am no fan of Dennet and "making it complicated" either.
ReplyDeleteIt' realy quite easy Maxine...I just turn everything over to God, it's His show...I don't have to stress about it!
ReplyDeleteA Zen master once pointed out to his disciples that if you cup your hands gently together, you can raise water to your lips and drink. But if you clutch at the water it will only spill to the ground.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same with faith. You only have to open yourself to it. That glorious prose of the Authorized Version and the Book of Common Prayer -- just a brief, occasional visit to that will do, without hoping for anything, trying to make anything happen, expecting a miracle. Or a few moments alone in a church or chapel, alone with the Alone. God can take care of the rest. Miracles actually happen all the time, but most are so subtle we never notice them.