asymptotes

“ Then I knelt, too, and prayed: 'O God, if there is a God, forgive him his sins, if there is such a thing as sin.'  ” - Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited “ I am assailed by the worst temptations of atheism. ” - St. Therese of Lisieux, from her diary “ Even the very wise cannot see all ends. ” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings “ May the odds be ever in your favor. ” - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games First, a disclaimer. This essay will not directly tackle the question of whether or not God exists. The reader is referred to a more profound and entertaining discussion on this topic by Dr. Peter Kreeft , a popular contemporary philosopher and speaker. Instead, this essay will consider God’s existence from the point of view of chance and consequence. I shall begin by relating a personal experience. A year ago, I received a series of anti-rabies shots for a cat bite. I was peacefully relaxing in a beach hut when I accidentally stepped on a c...

People tend to think that exams would be much easier if they're in multiple-choice format. But does having more choices really make them easier? Consider the test item below: Who among the following scientists contributed to the atomic theory? A.) John Dalton B.) Charles Darwin C.) J.J.Thompson D.) Albert Einstein ... ... ... S.) All of the above T.) All letters above that are valid Roman Numerals U.) All letters above that correspond to a Fibonacci number V.) All letters above which are valid symbols of an element in the periodic table W.) All letters above which are elements of the union of the sets in U and V X.) All letters above which are elements of the intersect of the sets in V and W Y.) None of the above Z.) Sirit (Filipino word for ¨I give up¨)   Post Script A few lessons we can gather from the above post: * Having a lot of choices may not be good all the time. * No matter how many choices you have, you always have to choose the right one. * ...

We don't have to go through life without a map. Many people have already gone to where we ought to go; we just have to follow their lead. These people have left us maps for understanding the terrain, showing us where the true path lies and where to expect dangers. I am, of course, referring to books on how to live life to the full. In this article, I have provided a shortlist of books I recommend for understanding and living better life in general and the Christian Life in particular. Basic Catholic Doctrine Books for systematically studying the Catholic faith; good reference materials for consulting articles of faith The Faith Explained by Leo Trese Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church The Catechism of the Catholic Church Living the Faith Books that give insights and suggestions on how to live the demands of the faith according to one's circumstance. Also useful for spiritual reading. Jesus as Friend  by Francisco Fernandez-Carvajal Friends of Go...

I attended the wedding of a cousin today. I was swept away by the ceremony and the liturgy. Not that I felt overly sentimental; I just appreciated more the beauty and the necessity of having signs and symbols to express meanings that otherwise would be impossible , difficult, or at least less effective to express. These signs and symbols are moreover matched by prayers that evoke their meaning. Then came to my mind this quotation from C.S. Lewis: "God never meant man to be a purely spiritual nature. That is why he uses, material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this is rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it.’” -C.S.Lewis, Mere Christianity Photo credit: 'Gold rings' by ollycb in www.sxc.hu

Act1v8  refers to WYD 08's theme taken from "ACT"s "1 V"erse" 8": “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses."  It’s been a year since World Youth Day 2008 . The chants, cheers, greetings and fanfare of those days have died down, but their memories still find echo in the minds and hearts of the participants. Memorable experiences With a bishop from US after the catechesis. Walking along the streets of Sydney, chanting with thousands of other pilgrims: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie… Oi, oi, oi”.  The youth of the world seems to be waking up the slumbering church in Australia.  Seeing the flags of China and other Middle East countries in the pilgrim walks . It encouraged praying for the Church in those countries where Christianity is a minority.  Singing the WYD theme song, in a dark night dotted by the lights of the candles held by the pilgrims.  It enkindled in the hearts of many a great hop...

Tells the history of mankind from an anthrocentric and Christocentric point of view- it explains why man is not just another kind of animal and why Christianity is not just another kind of religion. Chesterton is a master of wit, juggling ideas and words with extreme mastery. The book is a bit difficult to read at first, but read it the second and third time and you'll begin to appreciate (and love!) the author's fine humor and witty arguments. Read an online copy of the book View articles and quotations on The Everlasting Man See my   list of suggested books .

More than Many Sparrows / Wisdom Shall Enter / Many are One Answers to Critical Questions About Faith, Loving and Living by Leo J. Trese  I especially liked Wisdom Shall Enter , the second portion of this trilogy. As a cradle Catholic, I was struck at how the author provided reasons (and excellent ones at that!) for the many beliefs that I held but was not diligent enough to find the reasons for believing them. Another excellent thing about this book is that it explains the Catholic faith and its teachings from ground up- it doesn't assume you're Catholic, Christian or even Theist (one who believes in God). It provides explanations on why we have to believe in God, what is man's purpose on earth, why Jesus Christ is not just an extraordinary man, why Jesus Christ really and historically resurrected, why the Catholic church contains the fullness of faith, etc. An excellent book for non-Catholics interested in knowing more about the Catholic faith or for Catholics who...

I've  set up a web notebook on faith, science and reason.   I also call it Asymptotes . I collected some articles (personal and otherwise), quotations and notes on the topics mentioned above.  It's a continuous project. I intend to continue adding items as I progress in my readings. I used TiddlyWiki , an amazing tool that allows one to keep notes, organize them through tags, and retrieve them by searching- and all of that done by editing just one file! It's pretty amazing.   I'm in the process of developing a TiddlyWiki flavor customized for basic note-taking. I hope to be able to share it soon. Here's the link to my web notebook . Here's the link to TiddlyWiki's homepage .

I highly recommend  the official site of Peter Kreeft .   The site contains excellent resources for knowing the rational basis of Christian belief.    Dr.Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College. He is perhaps one of the best Christian apologists (one who defends Christianity against intellectual objections) of our time.  The site contains free downloadable  lectures in written and audio formats. I've listened to some lectures and I find them engaging,  enlightening, and entertaining   (My favorite quote so far: "If there was a Big Bang, there must be a Big Banger!").   Here is the listing of Peter Kreeft audio lectures . Kreeft is also a prolific writer.    I recommend the following books:  Handbook of Christian Apologetics — Hundreds of answers to life's most crucial questions Your Questions, God's Answers  — Solid responses for Catholic teens I've read some sections of the...