Review of Ross Douthat’s ‘Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious’
I have always appreciated Ross Douthat’s writing. For many years, he has written columns as both a committed Catholic and a conservative in the New York Times. He is an astute observer of culture who manages to write with great depth without being condescending or “hackish.” In other words, his voice is one that I […]
What Is Logic & Why Does It Matter? A Q&A with Dr. Winfried Corduan
*Editor’s Note: As Christians, we ought to strive to be the best thinkers we can be. Why? It’s because thinking reasonably is one of the hallmarks of humanity as God intended us to be. Thinking well helps us avoid painful mistakes and seek wise solutions. Thinking well helps us wisely engage people who are far […]
Jesus and the Buddha: How Did They React to Suffering?
If we were to name the most important religious figures of the Western and Eastern world, they would be Jesus Christ for the West and Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, for the East. In this article, we’re going to contrast how Gautama and Jesus reacted when facing the troubles of the world. We […]
Is God Silent? Making Sense of “Divine Hiddenness”
Is God silent when we can’t sense him? Although many who seek God find him, others experience him as hidden and absent. What are we to make of this “divine hiddenness”? Often, we struggle to believe in and trust God, not necessarily because we fail to recognize His existence or suppress evidence of His existence, […]
The Scariest Nice Person in Your Church
What comes to mind when you think of “one-hand clapping”? Perhaps you think of the Zen “koan” in which the Zen master asks the student, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” For months, the student searches for it in vain until meditating and arriving at the “soundless sound” that transcends all sound.[1] “One […]
The Watchmaker Parable Revisited
Imagine you are enjoying an afternoon picnic in a high mountain meadow. Lush grasses stretch out from under your feet. Wildflowers add brilliant splashes of color to the scene. The distant mountain peaks still hold some snow. Most of last winter’s snowfall is still working its way out of the mountain springs and lakes into […]
The Sign I Missed: Reflections on John Donne
“You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, Lord, You know it all.” (Psalm 139:3-4, NASB) I sat in a grungy Exxon Gas station repair shop estimating the dollars remaining in my bank account. I’d come in for […]
Philosophy Questions: God Is in Everything?
Is God in everything? There is a sense in which, as the Catholic philosopher Thomas Aquinas put it, “God operates in all things. . . . Therefore God exists in all things.” To make this point, Aquinas quotes Isaiah 26:12b, which says, “All that we have accomplished you have done for us” (NIV). So far, […]
