Jeff Palomar Observatory Religion teaches hope for everlasting life, but current scientific cosmology seems to deprive that hope of material support. In The Last Three Minutes, Paul Davies first observes how speculative it is for astrophysics to extrapolate from present trends to a handful of possible scenarios about the “end of the universe,” but then he … Read more
In a cartoon strip by Scott Adams, the boss says, “We can make this a great place to work by following the golden rule. Treat others as you would want them to treat you.” Dilbert replies, “That’s dumb.” Boss: “It’s not dumb.” Dilbert: “Let’s test your rule. Would you like it if someone gave you … Read more
Receiving and giving To construct a philosophy of living project, we first identify some area of our lives that we would like to work on, some growth frontier. It is important to be realistic, not take on too much, but the greatest growth usually comes from focusing on our front-burner issue, the problem that would … Read more
Over the years, the sculptor who moved me most was Auguste Rodin, whose Burgers of Calais continues to symbolize for me the heights of human greatness. The work commemorates the men of the French city of Calais, who in 1347 responded to the offer of the victorious English king who had besieged their city but … Read more
A leader in liberal theology, Marcus Borg died last Wednesday, January 21. I remember using his 1993 book, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith. In that best-seller he told of his traditional Christian upbringing, his questioning, the collapse of his childhood faith, the beginning of … Read more
Peter Kreeft Scrambling at the last minute to get all the data required to submit a book proposal to an editor. They all want to know how your book compares with similar books on the market. You think you know the “competition,” but just to see if anything has appeared recently, go to amazon. Type … Read more
When I think of the hard problems we are dealing with on this planet, I ask how the divine light that shines through the clouds is going to work its way into the eventual triumph of the way of truth and love. I am convinced that we have a historic opportunity to learn to … Read more
Reggio Emilia preschool piazza (common space) It’s generally a good idea to get to know and learn from people you want to teach before you try to teach them anything. Here’s something huge that I just learned from Howard Gardner, who has probably reached more people with a message about the importance of truth, beauty, … Read more
Reggio Emilia preschool piazza (common space) It’s generally a good idea to get to know and learn from people you want to teach before you try to teach them anything. Here’s something huge that I just learned from Howard Gardner, who has probably reached more people with a message about the importance of truth, beauty, … Read more