Why the hell…? [3] – Do we need one?
July 21st, 2010 § 3 Comments
Jeroen Bosch, The Seven Cardinal Sins
Poem of the Week [10.9]
July 12th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
There is always hope for those who wait upon the Lord. Therefore we shall rejoice and not give up. Please note that the ‘refrain’ bit ‘rejoice, rejoice we have no choice’ is taken from a beautiful song from the album Deja Vu by Crosby, Stills Nash and Young. Hippie stuff, but so good. « Read the rest of this entry »
Why the hell…? [2] – The Warmongering God
July 4th, 2010 § 1 Comment
This is the second installment in my three part series ‘Why the hell…?’ in which I attempt to address some fundamental questions related to evil and suffering. In this article I will be looking at the perplexing nature of the character of God in the Old Testament. Why is it that in the Old Testament we encounter what seems to be a cruel God who demands people to be killed? « Read the rest of this entry »
Poem of the Week [10.8]
June 27th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
When God speaks you have to listen, when He moves you have to surrender and accept whatever comes your way. This poem is about just that. « Read the rest of this entry »
Why the Hell…? [1] – Toward a Livable Theodicy
June 19th, 2010 § 4 Comments
Dante primarily depicted hell as a place with several stages of suffering meted out in accordance with one's moral life
‘Why the hell…‘ is often used as a rather rude exclamation to express irritation when one is puzzled or annoyed. Taken on face value however it expresses quite well the profound questions that are are brought up in this new three part series of blogposts. Why is there a hell? Why is there suffering? Why is violence condoned in the Old Testament? ‘Why the hell’ is it so very difficult to wrestle with these issues? « Read the rest of this entry »
Poem of the Week [10.7]
June 13th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Another poem inspired by one of my favorite (wordless songs) that speak for themselves more clearly than words ever could. The impetus comes from The Gathering Sky by the Pat Metheny Group. A couple of years ago my daughter and I listened to this song while driving and we imagined how the song starts with a quite summer afternoon. In the distance however dark cloud formations gather and approach. Soon a breathtaking storm is unleashed until after rain, lightening and wind the quiet gentle atmosphere returns. Both of us didn’t realize that was exactly what the song was all about. Of course this poem has a much deeper meaning far beyond the mere description of a storm… « Read the rest of this entry »
How Dangerous Can An Argument for God Be? – Addressing fideistic concerns
June 12th, 2010 § 5 Comments
Translation of the draft of a rebuttal to a published response, by Jos Quist, to my newspaper article ‘A Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God.’ The rebuttal was published in the Reformatorische Dagblad, a conservative newspaper in the Netherlands. « Read the rest of this entry »
Poem of the Week [10.6]
May 31st, 2010 § Leave a Comment
'Travels' Album Cover
When I returned from two years traveling abroad I suffered from re-entry-shock. At one point I picked up the seminal Pat Metheny Group album Travels. How it helped me.
It is time to honor this music with a poem along the same line as the previous one about prodigals and exiles. Travelers need to arrive at one point or else the entire idea of traveling has lost its meaning. Traveler, come to your destination! « Read the rest of this entry »
Aquinas and the Integrated Worldview [IV]
May 29th, 2010 § 2 Comments
IV. Towards an Integrated Worldview
Christopher Hitchens discussing Aquinas ‘living in a time of abysmal ignorance and fear‘[1] writes: ‘(…) we (…) never again have to confront the impressive faith of an Aquinas or Maimonides (…). This is for a simple reason. Faith of that sort ―the sort that can stand up at least for a while in a confrontation with reason― is now plainly impossible.’[2] Or is it?[3] After discussing the synthesis that Aquinas achieved between reason and faith I think it becomes quite clear that not only was it impressive but that it stands out as a shining example of what needs to be done today. « Read the rest of this entry »
Poem of the Week [10.5]
May 18th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
There are prodigals and exiles. They differ from each other though they have a lot in common too. Both are not where they should be. Both are not where they want to be (eventually). Though prodigals went away on their own initiative and exiles involuntarily, the foreign status of both is the result of their own action. Though one tries to forget home as much as he can and the other cannot think of anything else, eventually it is time to return. It is time for prodigals and exiles to come home. « Read the rest of this entry »
