When the mathematical genius John von Neumann (1903 – 1957) sat down to figure out how he could use mathematics to improve his poker playing, little did he realize the repercussions of his inquiry, not only in mathematics but also in almost every other field of inquiry. Considered the father of game theory, Neumann, with [...]
“You have to know the truth before you can lie to yourself.” (comment heard during a recent meeting of technology executives) Humanity is a highly adaptive, extremely pragmatic species not satisfied with just survival. We aspire to meaning and significance: life, beauty, love. We defy death. We relentless pursue wisdom using tools that [...]
The gospel of Mark shares a story where Jesus interacts with a man who has asked him to heal his son “if he can”. When Jesus challenges him on his faith the man anguishes “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief”. (Mark 9:24) This tension describes a crisis to which I think many of [...]
One notable problem plaguing our species is tribalism. Raiding and war for resources and territory has gone on for tens of thousands of years and possibly longer. Furthermore, in documented history, religion has played an active role in conflict. Even today, Christianity often promotes an insider-outsider mentality. All too often, we find churches, denominations, and [...]
When tackling the topic of transformation, we need to identify areas that need transforming. The church has traditionally defined these areas as “sin.” But what is sin and how do we know? Do we look to history? But here we often find behavior that was once acceptable, yet it is now abhorrent to us today. [...]
Christianity is in trouble. The intellectual and moral challenges facing it are considerable, perhaps overwhelming. Intellectually: developments in almost every academic discipline are undermining traditional beliefs. To name a few: archeology, anthropology, biological sciences, neuroscience, psychology, paleontology. And morally: the child abuse scandal and cover-up is sufficient to defile the church forever. Often churches have [...]
The core memes of the Christian gospel emerge from the story of Jesus. As early Christians contemplated Jesus they, of course, drew implications for life, community, and spirituality. But, they also grappled with the meaning of Jesus for life, the universe, and everything. They speculated that the Jesus story was singular but also universal. His [...]
