To finish up my series of posts about Burke’s ’s Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), here are a few other assorted profound and interesting passages from Reflections. In this first passage (p. 14), Burke writes about being true to your proper character: Those who quit their proper character, to assume what does not belong to them, are, for thei greater part, ignorant both of the character they leave, and of the character they assume. In this passage (pp….
Note: This is a re-post of a post originally from July 25, 2017. I am reposting because it is more relevant than ever. I will be posting more on this subject. I’ve previously written that Religion is an inescapable part of human nature—it has been a part of all human cultures everywhere and at all times. Religion serves important functions by providing, among other things: 1) a way to make parts of our lives sacred and allow us to commune…
Note: This is a re-post of a post originally from June 20, 2016. I am reposting because it is more relevant than ever. I will be posting more on this subject. Summary: Religiosity is an inescapable part of human nature. Secularization won’t—can’t—overcome it. Instead, the growing trend of secularization has just led those professing no religion to express their innate religious natures in sub-optimal, ill-thought-out, ad hoc ways. I just finished reading Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions by Catherine Bell. It…
Summary: Religiosity is an inescapable part of human nature. Secularization won’t—can’t—overcome it. Instead, the growing trend of secularization has just led those professing no religion to express their innate religious natures in sub-optimal, ill-thought-out, ad hoc ways. I just finished reading Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions by Catherine Bell. It is an academic work surveying the field of ritual studies, describing the role rituals play in human existence, and discussing the various types of rituals. I found particularly interesting this passage…
During the Christmas season, I’ve been reading the Illustrated Classics version of A Christmas Carol with my young preschool-aged son. We’ve both been enjoying it (he likes that it’s a bit spooky because it has ghosts in the story), I very much like the message of charity and love of the story. But something has hit me this time around that I dislike with the story that I’ve never noticed before. On the surface, the book is supposed to be…
I’ve finished my very first children’s book, and it is now available for sale. I wanted to write a book about astronomy that had good rhymes my 2 year old son would enjoy. The result is my first book, “Let’s go visit the planets.” You can download a PDF version here. A high-quality, full color, soft cover copy of the book costs $8 plus shipping, available here.