In the modern world, naturalism exerts a potent influence on our way of thinking. The exuberance produced by the success of science caused an overconfidence in its ability to explain the world. As scientific discoveries accumulated, people assumed this trend would continue indefinitely. Eventually, science would discover the Theory of Everything, a complete description of…… Continue reading The Substance of Reality – Consciousness filtered through space-time
Author: Prudence Louise
The Inner Dimensions of Nature
There is a lot of debate about the characteristics of nature and the existence of the supernatural, but through it all the concept of nature is often obscure. We may use the same word, but often we’re not talking about the same thing. For the materialist, nature consists of the objective properties studied by science…… Continue reading The Inner Dimensions of Nature
The Law of Karma – cosmic justice or natural law?
The doctrine of karma is sometimes interpreted as a system of cosmic justice. God as judge, enforcing his laws through reward and punishment. Suffering is divine retribution for sin, and sin is disobeying God’s commands. With this interpretation of karma, it follows logically that people deserve to suffer. Their suffering is a just punishment for…… Continue reading The Law of Karma – cosmic justice or natural law?
How to Construct a Worldview – A blueprint for building tolerance and humility.
Human beings need a worldview to function. A worldview isn’t a single belief or even a collection of beliefs. It’s the widest possible view we can take of reality. A worldview is an interpretative framework, a conceptual map containing all the various facts about the world. It orientates us to the world and informs us…… Continue reading How to Construct a Worldview – A blueprint for building tolerance and humility.
Reflections on the Nature of Faith – Transcending the limits of the intellect.
Faith is sometimes described as belief without evidence. Non-believers promote this idea, but many believers also say this is the substance of faith. If we had evidence, why would we need faith? But if that was the substance of faith, faith would be irrational. But the deeper understanding is that faith transcends the rational. Faith…… Continue reading Reflections on the Nature of Faith – Transcending the limits of the intellect.
In Pursuit of the Good Life
The search for the foundation of ethics. Everyone wants to live a good life, but what does that mean? Generally we picture a life with enough money to make us independent, time to pursue activities we enjoy, and opportunity for sensual pleasures. But can you live a good life even if you don’t have the…… Continue reading In Pursuit of the Good Life
The Fingerprints of God – A finely tuned universe
Modern physics has produced some amazing insights into the nature of the universe. One of the most astonishing is the discovery that the fundamental forces of nature are balanced with a delicate precision. Upset this delicate balance and the universe could have collapsed in on itself before getting started. No atoms could form, which means…… Continue reading The Fingerprints of God – A finely tuned universe
The End of Knowledge – Introduction to Vedanta
Vedanta has been called the science of spirituality. It’s one of the six schools of Indian philosophy and takes its inspiration from the literature of the Upanishads. Upanishad means to sit nearby. It suggests the texts contain the secret knowledge of the sages. The Upanishads give the conclusions of India’s sacred Vedic literature. Veda means…… Continue reading The End of Knowledge – Introduction to Vedanta
What Caused God? – misunderstandings of the cosmological argument
The cosmological argument is a formidable argument for the existence of God. It’s not a single argument but a family of arguments with a similar theme. While there are several different versions of the argument, it’s unfortunately one of the most misunderstood. This is a vast topic, but this article outlines the general form of…… Continue reading What Caused God? – misunderstandings of the cosmological argument
The Impossibly Hard Problem of Consciousness
In 1994 the philosopher David Chalmers raised questions about consciousness that ignited a zombie apocalypse. These weren’t questions no one had asked before. These were questions that rattled the modern orthodoxy. Many people assumed that advances in science had settled questions about an immaterial mind or soul. According to the modern story, science had exorcised…… Continue reading The Impossibly Hard Problem of Consciousness
