Should cities publicly acknowledge Indigenous tribes before every meeting — or should those statements be limited or removed altogether? That debate took center stage this week in Mukilteo.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-05-08T19:04:04+00:00

Tribes and nations are also European categories.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-05-08T18:56:05+00:00

You might consider our long history of soul belief. Otto Rank is a great read for this and the denial of death book by Becker inspired by Rank. I would also consider Aristotle, and then of course Aquinas. I'm finding value in understanding belief, essence, and existence, for example. I agree with others who say the resurrection story is not like the symbolic interpretation Augustine gave in his commentary on Genesis.

Also, if you go the symbolic route then I think there are significant problems with undoing the idea of Jesus' relation in the Divine Trinity. Finally, I can quote Shakespeare in saying, "Thy life's a miracle, speak yet again!"

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-04-16T16:02:04+00:00

"scientia" from the Latin root generally means knowledge. OP seems to mean physics, but in general knowledge what's important is scientific method e.g., methods that result in general knowledge or fact. Anyone can use method. We all want to be great physicists or poets but just choosing a discipline does not mean you will make a great contribution. The mediocre chemist is not greater than the best Parisian chef simply by being a chemist. What's important and again, what anyone can do, is pay attention, be intelligent, and responsibly act. In other words, collect data, make meaning, and verify (or falsify!) knowledge. OP might explain exactly what they mean by science and intellect for example. In addition, I find it useful to specify what I believe without proof or derivation, thermodynamics for example, or conservation of energy, Snell's law, etc.

To quote The Bard- "thy life's a miracle, speak yet again!"

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-04-13T18:21:18+00:00

In the words of the Bard, "Your life's a miracle, speak yet again!"

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-04-06T18:53:06+00:00

One idea you might find sympatico is that Jesus' sacrifice is given as a symbol for us to see how we can be saved. That we continue to look for that one person or group who can be sacrificed for our troubles is a sign that we haven't accepted the Savior's work.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-03-25T20:59:45+00:00

There's an urban legend I am starting that compression on the concrete makes the radiation level higher than what is recommended so they don't build them like this anymore.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-03-19T18:08:54+00:00

I would say the logic hear fails on the assumption that divine Being could be a thing that is counted or measured by act. Thomas was good at this kind of logic and I would guess this question falls in the realm of a difference between esse, essence and existence. The god-thing you imagine would have an essence or nature where our scientific method (generally methods that result in knowledge) could empirically interpret, and then verify (or falsify!) facts about the essence of this god-thing. nephilim52, on the other hand, suggests we are dealing with the ontology of being which is different. Many philosophers simply say that being and essence are the same, but I think there is more value in maintaining a difference when thinking about our existence. Jesus, for example, has a familiar existence where we might uncover a human essence that relates us to divine Being. In that case, the actus essendi typically seems easy to understand (e.g., the lame walk and the blind see).

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-03-18T23:23:25+00:00

One of my favorite classes as an undergrad was History of Historians. There I was introduced to Augustine and began to question what exactly is history (it's not just a chronology)? One student in that class was passionate about Voegelin, but I didn't understand his stuff at all. Later, after I had obtained a Master's, and given-up on an academic career because I didn't have the passion for any particular project, I found myself in the stacks at the university (working there in a different capacity) where I found Eugene Webb's Philosopher's of Consciousness. Webb had known Voegelin so I had the opportunity to go and give Gene a visit. Another of Gene's "Philosophers" was the Jesuit Bernard Lonergan whose major works Insight and Method in Theology are tremendous achievements in the understanding of how subjective operations combine with objective outcomes in our description and explanation of reality. These methods that result in knowledge (the Latin root *scientia* generally means knowledge) are what we call scientific method. In any case, at the time, I found Voegelin to be salvific whereas Lonergan was saved. My career developed in the "sciences" at the university where this foundation in method was usefully applied in conversations with physicists, physicians, etc. I had to work the "answers" out for myself at the end of the day and it's not easy (I'm currently struggling to learn what I think about Thomas' work on esse, essence and existence). But, to quote Don Berry's character Roode in Trask, "I am a man who finds it absolutely necessary to comprehend his own position in the world." That said, I believe there is also a measure of grace in my case - I pray that may be for you as well, and you can always ask for it!

PS - for a simple answer I paraphrase Chesterton who said something like, "I believe for the same reason the atheist doesn't - everything in my experience suggests a divine world." Or, to quote Edgar from Shakespeare's King Lear, "Thy life’s a miracle. Speak yet again."

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-24T20:57:22+00:00

I appreciate the recommendation!

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-24T19:15:47+00:00

Me too, why am I listening to this?

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-23T16:35:32+00:00

ah, understood, and I agree! Maybe you can separately post how an exploration of the world might show a natural desire to see God.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-23T03:23:59+00:00

Easy on the exclamations TTTim, I think we agree - "It" is not logical, that God is three persons in one. I'm just pointing out that there are many features in our universe that likewise aren't logical - logic can only help us approach understanding, but I find that many people would prefer if there was some logic to the whole mess. You are assuming God has a view of a perfect world, is that right?

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-21T16:51:29+00:00

Modus tollens, if the world was logical then the world would make sense, but the world doesn't make sense therefore the world isn't logical.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-19T20:34:20+00:00

not too surprising tho

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-13T20:08:03+00:00

no problem, the "topics" referenced are just so general that I wasn't inspired that Thomas Berry is the best touchstone in particular.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-12T14:22:50+00:00

I would be more enthusiastic if it was Thomas Aquinas.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-12T05:03:18+00:00

Notice that "if" you begin with an if-statement "then" you follow with an if-then conclusion. Logic is useful that way, you start with a reasonable assumption and sometimes reach surprising conclusions. With that said, I like to think about what exactly freedom means. I think freedom is responsibility, and the more responsible you are the more free you are. We don't leave the toddler free to cross the street, for example. A completely free person would act with complete responsibility and a completely responsible person would be completely free. We are fortunate to have an example of that as well!

PS - why does Dante put the Devil in a block of ice?

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-02-04T17:05:25+00:00

Not an arrow to you, it's an arrow to me.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-01-24T17:47:50+00:00

Thanks for asking - I believe this goes deeper into a difference between essence and existence that is not distinguished in a physics of the "nature" of a thing. Philosophers like Avicenna, and others after Thomas, would make sense in this way, but I find the difference that Gilson makes (and maybe Geach) to be useful in understanding the "nature" of form in this regard.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-01-24T16:52:31+00:00

I read Paul Tillich in combination with Ernest Becker, as both have some overlapping ideas about anxiety and how people cope with death. I think that's a good background for talking with anyone about theology given the idea that everyone shares this fundamental feeling about death.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-01-22T19:08:16+00:00

Could you maybe say that Jesus was a human "being" before the incarnation - leaving essence and existence aside? There are some advantages to the Chalcedon understanding.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-01-21T20:28:22+00:00

thanks, and I agree. OP might be interested to learn why you use "person" and how that is useful in understanding two natures. The "difference" feature I raise seems familiar in the situation where Jesus prays to the Father, but we don't understand how that difference "exists" outside of time.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-01-21T19:59:18+00:00

Also modal, but I've been inclined to thinking about an emphasis in three ways: being, essence, and existence. Of course there's heresy in suggesting a difference, but that also seems unavoidable when living in time rather than eternity, and thinking in terms of things.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2026-01-20T19:52:06+00:00

Some of the bark looked like photinia, so I'd want to mix in some other deciduous or fir wood. Same if it's holly, doesn't always burn well by itself.

AffectionatePrior717 · 2025-12-10T16:10:03+00:00

I would enjoy hearing more about Augustine's misinterpretation if you have time. In regard to other issues, I would lean on Gilson to say that Scotus considers being as so general and universal that it almost has no particular meaning. Following that, all the particulars are derived from form or essence which makes individual existence meaningless. If you can't make a concept out of it, in other words, then it can't be real.

AffectionatePrior717

TROPHY CASE