A few weeks ago I happened to notice one of the daily prompts that some folks use as inspirations for writing posts. I forget the precise wording but it was something along the lines of what do you think schools ought to be teaching that they currently aren't? Of course, I think they ought to … Continue reading What Should Schools Be Teaching?
Religion
Florida Threatens Catholic Schools
Oh, no! Don’t tell me that I’m on the side of the Catholic bishops?! According to Letters from Leo: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter Friday to the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops demanding that the state’s Catholic schools grant religious exemptions from vaccination — exemptions the Church’s own moral theology says it … Continue reading Florida Threatens Catholic Schools
Picturing Jesus
Here’s another video from the Western Canadian Reason Conference. This one shows how Jesus has been pictured through the ages. Even though he was a Jewish Middle Eastern man, he’s been most commonly pictured as someone with the same ethnicity as those who were doing the picturing. There is a lot of humor in this … Continue reading Picturing Jesus
The Other Preamble
In the recent episode of The Thinking Atheist Seth Andrews includes a video of Dr. Phil Zuckerman giving a talk at Calgary's We Can Reason conference. Dr. Zuckerman is a sociologist and secular studies professor and author of several books including What It Means to Be Moral. He begins his lecture by pointing out that the … Continue reading The Other Preamble
Lattman
Shortly after arriving at Penn State I heard about Professor Laurence Lattman’s Introduction to Geology course. It was supposedly a piece of cake, an easy “A”. Lattman, so the story went, was a great lecturer, practically a stand-up comedian, he made Geology fun. Not only that, but the highpoint of every class was his lecture … Continue reading Lattman
The Singing Herod II
According to the Gospel of Luke 23:1-12: 23 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” 3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king … Continue reading The Singing Herod II
The Singing Herod I
According the Matthew 14:1-12: 14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put … Continue reading The Singing Herod I
O Little Town of Bethlehem II
As promised, here is the second part of my O Little Town of Bethlehem two-parter. Part I can be found by clicking the link on this sentence. Robert F. Young (June 8, 1915 – June 22, 1986), note the middle initial, was a science fiction writer whose career spanned thirty years, although his day job … Continue reading O Little Town of Bethlehem II
Herod the Great
Herod the Great (c. 73 – c. 4 BCE) was installed as king of Judea by the Romans around 37 BCE. He is known for his great building projects and for his tyrannical rule. His tyranny extended even unto his own family as he had three of his sons executed as well as his wife Mariamne I. … Continue reading Herod the Great
O Little Town of Bethlehem I
The Philadelphia Church of the Holy Trinity is an Episcopal church on Rittenhouse Square that was built in 1857. It may surprise some of this blog’s readers to find out that I’ve attended services there a few times. Not church services. Oh, god no. I’ve been there for music concerts. The interior has fine acoustics, … Continue reading O Little Town of Bethlehem I