occasional reflections on culture & politics
We are living in a world with many dangers, threats and uncertainties. And yet, panic, fear or depression would be the wrong answer. The only thing that really helps anyone is cautious optimism. You may ask, how can you be optimistic? It is a legitimate question. On the surface, I seem to be worried about… Continue reading #202: Fear Not: Why We Need to be Optimistic About the Future
Why do bad things happen in the world? If there is a god, should he not be good? Does he not care? Why does he not help? This is maybe the oldest problem in theology, the so-called question of theodicy, of the justice of god. According to Lactantius, Epicurus famously framed is thusly: “Is God… Continue reading #167: The Pseudo-Problem of Theodicy and the Nature of Divinity
You can hardly turn on the news today without being faced with manifestations of every possible disaster known to humankind: war, genocide, disease, famine, climate change, etc. Death and its precursors are all around us. How can you stay sane in such a world? How can we ever tolerate the presence of so much death… Continue reading #164: The Answer to Death is Life
WE ALL Corvallis, April 28th, 2021 - P#773 we allhave hopeswe allhave dreamswe allseek solace of the soul for as we walkin this valley of darknessfar too oftenwe're all alonewe're all, deep down,a single being,reaching outfor all our lives:for all our sakes:and though we trythe only certainty in birthis death;and all that happens in betweencan… Continue reading #161: Poem: We All
We all die. It will probably happen sooner than we would have hoped. As Aristotle has made clear, every story has a definitive beginning (before which there was nothing relevant to the story), a middle, and an end, a conclusion, a destination, a telos which concludes this one specific story. Now, I am not sure… Continue reading #137: Live Every Day in Love
The basis of religion is a deep sense of trust in the universe. It is not just hope, but a sense of confidence that things will eventually work out. Whatever bad things may happen, we are not alone, we are not merely random souls that do not matter in the larger scheme of things. If… Continue reading #116: Religion Is Trust in the Universe
Our world has become increasingly noisy in too many ways. There appears to be the ever-present need to drown out the quiet, to avoid silence, to not ever sit still doing nothing. We are surrounded by music, traffic, conversation, and a constant flow of messages. No wonder we cannot concentrate on anything any longer. Every… Continue reading #114: Be Quiet Sometimes
TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD Corvallis, August 20th, 2021 – P#754 how it would beif finally wecould claim to comprehendwhatever it isthat daily surrounds us? are choosing weto blissfully ignoreall that life has to offer in joy and in pain,in bliss and damnation,in promise and anguish,in safety and danger,both heaven and hell? in this all-twisted worldyou… Continue reading #110: Poem: To Understand the World
In the classical tragedy, the hero fights against fate. The ending is already clear, and nothing the hero does, will change the outcome. Tragedy arises from this positionality. Caught between the now and the inevitable then, resistance is necessary but futile. Resistance is the resistance against death, the fight to stay alive against all odds,… Continue reading #89: Tragedy Is the Nature of Life, and That Is OK
I have never known how to meditate in the way that is typically depicted in all kinds of media today. I am not able to sit down comfortably in some cross-legged position or alleged “easy pose,” listening to my breath and somehow clear my head. Not possible. But there are other forms of meditation. Bruckner’s… Continue reading #88: Nature Is the Best Meditation
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