Woo! We're half way through the Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology, folks! I say "we" and "folks" but my metrics tell me very few people are actually reading these posts. (Fewer than my usual few, even!) I'm not at all offended or bummed by this. It's kind of what I expected, for a couple reasons … Continue reading I’m halfway through the OHPT and I have THOUGHTS
OHPT: Thoughts Petitionary Prayer (Chapter 13)
Whoosh, I have actually made it halfway through the OHPT. *pats self on back and pours self gigantic glass of wine* I have another post of thoughts on this process, both the reading and the writing, so I'll keep this post to a review of Chapter 13. In we go.... Chapter 13, "Petitionary Prayer," was … Continue reading OHPT: Thoughts Petitionary Prayer (Chapter 13)
Examining the anti-Black racism of my chosen spaces
The reality of this American life is that every. single. place has been shaped by anti-black racism. There is no structure, no institution, no system that has not been formed, in part, by white supremacy, by anti-POC bias, by all insidious kinds of racism. It's imperative that we acknowledge how broadly, deeply pervasive white supremacy … Continue reading Examining the anti-Black racism of my chosen spaces
OHPT: Thoughts on Divine Providence (Chapter 12)
This chapter gave me major déjà vu. It touched on new topics, but I felt like it was a little bit of a rehash or mash-up of the chapters on divine omniscience and divine power. Maybe this was a good thing?! It certainly illustrates part of what I'm starting to think about when reviewing this … Continue reading OHPT: Thoughts on Divine Providence (Chapter 12)
Unlearning “whiteness as the norm”
As many white people in the US these past couple of weeks, I've been taking a hard, hard look at who I am, how I behave and let myself be influenced, and what aspects of white supremacy I currently enable through my ignorance or desire to stay comfortable. It's not pretty. One of my biggest … Continue reading Unlearning “whiteness as the norm”
Two arguments against “the end justifies the means”
I recently listened to Dr. Shankar Vedantam interview Dr. Peter Singer on Vedantam's (excellent) podcast, Hidden Brain. Singer is a contemporary utilitarianism, a philosopher of ethics who argues that the right thing to do is that which produces the most amount of happiness (or the least amount of suffering) in the world. On the face … Continue reading Two arguments against “the end justifies the means”
OHPT: Thoughts on Divine Action and Evolution (Chapter 11)
WHEREIN a philosophical theologian (inadvertently?!) makes a case for Christian environmentalism. Better believe I "hearted" those passages. With last week's chapter on Moral Perfection, we finished the section on "Divine Attributes" and plowed forward into "God and Creation." Dr. Robin Collins leads off with a discussion of Divine Action and Evolution. Collins is Distinguished Professor … Continue reading OHPT: Thoughts on Divine Action and Evolution (Chapter 11)
I’ve been thinking…
I've been thinking about gratitude a lot lately. Is it possible to feel the emotion of gratitude if there is no person, or even no entity, to be grateful toward? Christians would characterize gratitude as a rightly cultivated feeling towards God. Buddhists encourage the cultivation of gratitude, as well, but Buddhists are not theists. Would … Continue reading I’ve been thinking…
OHPT: Thoughts on Moral Perfection (Chapter 10)
I have a bit of catch-up to do (HEGEL YOU BASTARD), so I thought I'd power through this chapter to get back on track. Luckily, I really enjoyed this chapter because philosophy of ethics is much more my thing than metaphysics, so thank goodness for this chapter as a breath of fresh, easily-breathable air. This … Continue reading OHPT: Thoughts on Moral Perfection (Chapter 10)
OHPT: Thoughts on Omnipresence (Chapter 9)
Well shiz, this has been a minute. Hegel ate my brain. I seriously have not been able to think of anything other than Hegel for the past month and it took until today (since turning in my paper on May 12) to be able to think or read about anything harder than Harry Potter. Yes, … Continue reading OHPT: Thoughts on Omnipresence (Chapter 9)
