thinktoomuch.net

On the way home today, riding the bus for 3 minutes due to a downpour, I was running through possible wordings, phrases, ways of expressing myself, for the purpose of the “next” blog post, whenever that would be. Probably titled “The Lie”. During said ponderings, I decided to reduce my use of the word “science” [...]

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Europe typically seems quite open-minded and accepting of diverse cultures. There are so many reasons why this may be, from the second world war, to the philosophers they’ve had, to the worldly experience of being colonialists (and possibly learning the problems with it and suffering reverse colonisation). But I’m no historian, so I will refrain [...]

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Comments on the internet is certainly no substitute for one-on-one communication. H J and I have made amends, apologising to one another for flaring up in the comment thread. In looking back during the aftermath, a couple of things become clearer. Yay for hindsight! It seems to me that the most grief in such exchanges [...]

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(UPDATE: in an email conversation, H J and I have made amends, apologising to one another for getting riled up. This post hopes to encourage readers and commenters to avoid getting tangled up in such mutual-riling-uppings in the future. Understand how it happens, seek to avoid it.) On Monday, an ordained minister and author commenting [...]

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A blog newly added to my neglected reading list is teo @ UP, an Afrikaans blog by a couple of theology students at, or from, the University of Pretoria. (One of the bloggers is Cobus van Wyngaard, who also blogs in English at my contemplations.) A recent post by Cobus, generasiegapings, emerging, en ander dinge [...]

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As those following the comments may know, I was still wondering whether I should forward the Abusing the Story of Job post to my family or not. And so I continue wondering. If I do send it, I would include a cover letter that goes something like this: Dear Family, With some hesitance, I attach [...]

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People don’t realise the extent of human irrationality. We are emotional creatures. Our emotions are a part of us. Our emotions shape us. Yes, we also have rationality, but emotion and subjective experience is not controlled by rationality. The interplay between the two is complex. Much of human fighting and disconnectedness results from a lack [...]

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Tolerance without understanding seems dishonest. Many “atheists” simply do not understand religion. How could they? They either have not been exposed to it and do not know what it is about, or they come from a fundamentalistic background and have been hurt badly by religion. Many “atheists” simply do not understand religion, but are very [...]

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The Christians are not the only ones with a language problem. I’m sure atheists would agree that the term “atheist” is often grossly misunderstood. The history of the word is as an insult, a very negative word. Combine with that the fact that atheism lacks any memes encouraging people not to care what people think [...]

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On Facebook, there is a group titled “I’M A CHRISTIAN AND I’M PROUD TO SAY IT!” (Say it then, shouting isn’t necessary, y’know… ) This is a case of finding identity in the label, instead of the concept that the label is supposed to point to. What do other people hear when you say this? [...]

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