Philosophical Materialism in the Church

https://www.saintstephenslutheranchurch.org/single-post/2019/08/14/where-does-religion-come-from

Virtually every time I turn on NPR there's an add for the 'Hidden Brain' show - I think it must be quite popular. Just from the clips they play, it's evident to me the show attempts to wrestle with various thought-related conundrums from an entirely materialistic standpoint. It is (needless to say) utterly godless in its approach to knowledge, ethics, existence, meaning, and a host of other questions. You are your brain - humans are just a mass of cells, and the attempt to extrapolate some kind of meaning, purpose, ethics, or hope from this model is an exercise in futility. In other words, the show is a waste of time.

Actual Numbers versus Statistical Projections: Another Look at Flu and Covid-19 Death Counts

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/comparing-covid-19-deaths-to-flu-deaths-is-like-comparing-apples-to-oranges/

In some respects I'm surprised this article (and this larger argument) hasn't gained more traction, because it reveals some critical information regarding the nature and quantity of Covid-19 deaths especially when compared to oft-quoted flu statistics. Additionally if the arguments made here are sound, it completely belies the naysayer's claims that this manifestation of Coronavirus is little more than a robust version of the flu.

Personally, I think there's a great irony here in the fact that flu deaths have been grossly inflated. And why?

How Should We Then Live Part 6: The Scientific Age (II)

This brings us back to the beginning of the episode and the questions surrounding Galileo, Copernicus and others. Schaeffer is adamant that the divide is not between science and religion but between Biblical science and Aristotelianism which had been embraced by the Roman Catholic Church.

How Should We Then Live Part 6: The Scientific Age (I)

This was a complicated episode with fairly weighty ideas being thrown out at a fast clip. I struggled to take notes without pausing. As such this episode and probably the next will also require two parts in order for me to review and respond to the material. Additionally in this episode I wish to interact on a slightly more involved level with some of the arguments assumptions made by Schaeffer. These are really important issues, especially today and these touch on some very basic and fundamental questions about the nature of knowledge that I think are critical when considering the nature of Biblical authority. I think Schaeffer and his followers have missed the mark on this latter albeit critical point.

A Coronavirus Miscellany: Statistics, Science and the Libertarian Sceptics

We're now in the midst of a week that was predicted to be Pearl Harbor and 9/11 all rolled into one. Deaths hit nearly 2,000 as of yesterday (7 April) but thus far the claims haven't quite matched reality. The media continues to argue that combined deaths in New York and New Jersey have now passed 9/11, a sobering statistic which is true but the cataclysm that was forecast, just hasn't quite panned out.

This is not to make light of the deaths that have occurred nor do I mean to give any credence to those dismissing Covid-19 as an overblown hoax.

Chimeras: Contra Naturam

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/03/first-human-monkey-chimera-raises-concern-among-scientists

Science is on the cusp of great change. There are social forces holding it back but given they have no ethical foundations or anchors, the flood that is coming will prove overwhelming. All it will take is for someone to poke a hole in the dyke and it will quickly collapse. This was proven true with regard to the ethics of sexuality. Science isn't any different.

The End of Christendom and Evil Unleashed

Overall I am greatly appreciative of Martyn Lloyd-Jones when it comes to the Kingdom and issues regarding Christendom. He was repeatedly sceptical regarding attempts to forge a Christian society and deemed all such endeavours as doomed to failure.

And yet he was not always consistent. Often he would assume that Christendom produced a general morality and that society in some ways had reflected Christian values and was (in the 20^th century) departing from them.

Wicked Experiments in Guatemala

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story/2017/02/guatemala_syphilis_experiments_worse_than_tuskegee.html

This is a well known story to those who look into such things but the bulk of the public knows nothing about it.

Trinity and Beyond

If you haven't seen this movie, then make a point to do so. Even if you're a fan of Nuclear Weapons, you should watch this movie.