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Friday, August 17, 2012

ARM CHAIRS

I've been reading "The Case For A Creator" by Lee Strobel. He shows how the Cosmologists and Astronomers make lots of statements about size, composition and distance of stars. All anyone can see of a star is a pinpoint of light. A distant star can not be resolved optically into a disk the way planets can.

From just a pinpoint of light and an armchair they make all these confident statements. "This star is this many billions of miles away and uses these nuclear processes to burn up this kind of gas." I have an armchair too; I can make confident statements.

Let us be fair. To the side of their armchairs they have advanced instrumentation to measure electromagnetic radiation and sophisticated optical devices (both on earth and in space). They have experience with nuclear processes here on earth. They have knowledge and skill with high mathematics while I need a hand-held calculator to do my checkbook.

Many times what you say from your armchair is as good or better that what the other guy is saying. But some times what the other guy is saying is better. Listen carefully before you become too proud of your armchair.

Monday, August 13, 2012

INERTIA

I have inertia and sometimes don't want to come away from my house to do things with people, or to have them come into my house. If I am alone I seem to desire to stay that way. I need to be very careful not to let this attitude over-take me.

All of us do not have much value alone, by ourselves. We need to have interaction with others: it's the only thing we leave behind. The only thing that changes and moves the world (or at least society) is the conversation, the letter, the touch, the physical presence. Of those, only the letter persists so as you can touch it.

Although -- the expression of love can persist through generations demonstrated by the attitudes and actions of those effected by it.

You can't do those things by siting in your house. I want to be known as a friendly, hopeful, knowledgeable man. But I can not do this if I do not see people. "He that will have friends must show himself friendly".