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One of the first symptoms they discover of a selfish and mischievous ambition, is a profligate disregard of a dignity which they partake with others. To be attached to the subdivision, to love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of public affections. It is the first link in the series by which we proceed towards a love to our country, and to mankind. The interest of that portion of social arrangement is a trust in the hands of all those who compose it; and as none but bad men would justify it in abuse, none but traitors would barter it away for their own personal advantage. Edmund Burke (1729–1797). Reflections on the French Revolution. The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. ...

I recently took my daughter to see Tangled. In the movie Rapunzel is stolen from her parents and raised by the evil witch for her own ends (to keep your young). After the movie ended I asked my daughter how she knew her mother and I weren’t like the evil witch. After some exploration she came to the conclusion that she couldn’t really know, although there were a few. The most important, of which, is the knowledge that my wife and I are, in fact, her biological parents. We created her and it logically follows that we should seek the best for her. ...

A section out of this story caught my eye recently: A Baptist of Calvinist leanings, Chandler believes everything is in God’s hands and foreordained in a way people can’t fully understand. As he’s tried to stay well, he’s continued to preach to his youthful audience that they should get ready for suffering, and trust God will walk them through. Trusting God to bring us through difficult circumstances is one thing, praising God for giving us a life-threatening disease is quite another. ...

Ed Young Goes After Access to Bank Accounts of Church Members from FBCJax Watchdog on Vimeo. What you say if I told you that the tithe, which is preached as gospel truth from most pulpits, like the one above, is not something a Christian is required to obey? Would say what one deacon did that he “didn’t care if it wasn’t in there, don’t give and watch you get you for it”. ...

[HT Muslim Fact] Muslims lie not because they are liars by nature but by choice. Systematic lying as a religious policy is deadly, and if our politicians do not understand this, thousands could die. Muslims lie when it is in their interest to do so and “Allah” will not hold them accountable for lying when it is beneficial to the cause of Islam. They can lie without any guilt or fear of accountability or retribution. A lie in the defense of Islam is approved even applauded in their “holy” books. ...

A friend on Facebook recently asked me how the Bible came to be in it’s present form and how Irenaeus decided which books to throw out and which books to keep. Here’s my response: Thanks for the question. I always love a challenge, especially since its bee a while since I’ve studied Irenaeus or the formation of the NT canon. The first thing I would point out is that Irenaeus didn’t come up with the canon. Even though it is a popular argument from critics that Irenaeus arbitrarily chose the 4 gospels “because there are 4 winds”, the truth is that the gospels were already in widespread circulation long before Irenaeus came on the scene. ...

A new study shows compelling evidence that we are wired to be social, even from the womb. Of course, this should come as no surprise to the Christian who was told long ago that The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. -Genesis 2:18 And also Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! -Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 ...

A while ago I Tweeted: Are tax cuts for “millionaires” a good idea? Sure they are. I’ve never gotten a job from someone on welfare. To which a friend of mine responded: Ebenezer Scrooge: Why are these people out here? Wearing rags, eating scraps! Why aren’t they in poorhouses…? Ghost of Christmas Present: Have you VISITED any of these poorhouses you speak of? Ebenezer Scrooge: No, but I’m taxed for them; isn’t that enough? ...

Previously I raised the question of whether we could judge whether something qualified as art or not. I explored the objective definition of art and how two criteria must be met before something can be considered art or not. Now I want to delve into the topic of whether we can measure good art from bad art and, if so, how we can go about determining the quality of art in an objective sense. ...

[HT SuniPath] Among the verses in the Quran containing orders or laws there are verses that abrogate verses previously revealed and acted upon. These abrogating verse are called _nasikh_ and those whose validity they terminate are called _mansukh_. The common notion of abrogation, that is, canceling of one law or code by another, is based on the idea that a new law is needed because of a mistake or shortcoming in the previous one. It is clearly inappropriate to ascribe a mistake in law-making to God, Who is perfect, and whose creation admit of no flaws. ...