Monthly Archives: September 2014

why voting is a terrible system

Posted on September 30, 2014 by christopher fisher

From Five Reasons Why You’re Too Dumb to Vote : As a procedure for sorting out complex policy issues, voting is of distinctly limited value: If you wanted to know whether the compressive strength of a particular material were sufficient … Continue reading →

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aslan describes the temple

Posted on September 28, 2014 by christopher fisher

The entire book is worth buying for this chapter alone. Aslan describes the temple in Jerusalem in his book Zealot: The Temple of Jerusalem is a roughly rectangular structure, some five hundred meters long and three hundred meters wide, balanced … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Jewish History | 1 Comment

friedman calls out bad global warming statistics

Posted on September 27, 2014 by christopher fisher

There is a common claim that 97% of climate scientists agree that the main cause of Global Warming is mankind. David Friedman quotes one such study that repeats the claim: Bedford and Cook (2013) contains the following sentence: “Cook et … Continue reading →

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Jesus preaches against the temple leaders

Posted on September 21, 2014 by christopher fisher

In Matthew 21, Jesus is in the temple preaching. The temple was the Jewish holy place, and the leaders of the temple did not take kindly to Jesus’ subversion of their own authority. They team up with the common religious … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dispensationalism, Jesus, Morality, Theology | 1 Comment

the record keeper – a review

Posted on September 16, 2014 by christopher fisher

The Record Keeper is a steampunk themed webseries centered around the angels’ perspectives as events occur throughout the Bible. If that sounds awesome, it is because it is awesome. The series was produced as an outreach project by Seventh Day … Continue reading →

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johnson on allende

Posted on September 15, 2014 by christopher fisher

The Chilean coup by Pinochet (1973) supplanted the rule of Allende. Allende’s rule had been utterly disastrous. From Paul Johnson’s Modern Times: But Allende was a weak man with a divided, part-revolutionary following, which quickly slipped from his control. While … Continue reading →

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understanding psalms 13

Posted on September 11, 2014 by christopher fisher

Psalms 13 was written by David during his time of tribulation. Like the psalms before and after it, it is filled with images of persecution and oppression. Whereas Psalms 12 is impersonal and reflects David’s observations of oppression in general, … Continue reading →

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understanding psalms 12

Posted on September 10, 2014 by christopher fisher

Psalms 12 is a psalm written by David. The major theme seems to be his observations on the current state of the land and his hope in a future protection by God of God’s people. It is a short psalm, … Continue reading →

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critical thinking and intellectual honesty

Posted on September 8, 2014 by christopher fisher

Critical thinking is crucial in forming rational beliefs about the world. Those who reject critical thinking risk highly irrational and false beliefs. Although individuals can believe truths independent of critical examination, the danger of such thinking is proportional to the … Continue reading →

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aslan on the jerusalem council

Posted on September 7, 2014 by christopher fisher

From Reza Aslan’s book Zealot: Paul’s second trip to Jerusalem took place about a decade later, sometime around 50 C.E., and was far less cordial than the first. He had been summoned to appear before a meeting of the Apostolic … Continue reading →

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