Thought Experiment: What Determines the Facts of the Christian Religion?

Posted on August 24, 2012 by jackpelham

Interestingly, there is no passage in the Bible where one can find a deliberately-written definition of the Christian religion.  Neither are there clear definitions of the terms “Christian” or “Christianity”.   No doubt, this can lead to some “fuzzy math” for many as they seek to understand clearly that which may not be as clearly defined as they would expect.  What, therefore, was the intended nature of the Christian religion?  Is it now what it was intended to be in the beginning?  And by what method can such questions be answered?

In my view, questions like these naturally lead to the following question:

What determines the facts of the Christian religion? Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Leave a comment

A Walk in the Cemetery

Posted on August 22, 2012 by jackpelham

One of the late Stephen Covey’s famous “7 Habits of Highly Successful People” was “Start with the end in mind.”  He suggested that one should consider what he would like to have said about him at his funeral, and then take steps every day to be an authentic representative of those imagined statements.  For example, if one wants to be known as having been a good father, then each day, he can be about the work of being a good father as a simple matter of diligent habit. Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Paradigms, Philosophy, Religion | Leave a comment

Dysrationalia: I am not responsible for correcting my own government

Posted on August 22, 2012 by jackpelham

The following Facebook conversation happened months ago.  The original poster is more rational than many FB posters, but of particular interest in this thread is his continual denial that he bears any reasonable responsibility for attempting to reform the nation’s corrupt government.  You will see that I correct several of his facts and his logical arguments throughout, but even so, was not able to disabuse him of his insistence that he is not responsible for steering the ship of state on his watch.

Original Poster (OP)
Just in case you forgot I’m here to remind you, “free market capitalism is still the best path to prosperity”. Continue reading →

Posted in Dysrationalia, Politics | Leave a comment

Dysrationalia: God defending modern day Israel

Posted on August 22, 2012 by jackpelham

The following conversation (Facebook, on or about 21 August 2012)  shows an amazing display of irrational belief from the original poster.  Note the many attempts to elicit evidence from the OP, as well as the attempts to get him to acknowledge the incorrigibility of his own position.

Original Poster (OP): THE ENEMY SEEKS TO BOX ISRAEL IN FROM ALL SIDES. BUT WHAT THEY HAVE NEGLECTED TO RECOGNIZE IS THAT ISRAEL HAS A MIGHTY ALLY FROM ABOVE.  http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=281973

 Jack:  How do you know that God will fight for Israel? Last I Continue reading →

Posted in Dysrationalia, Politics, Religion | Leave a comment

Dysrationalia: God Sending a Hurricane Upon the GOP Convention

Posted on August 22, 2012 by jackpelham

The following conversation is from a Facebook conversation on 22 August 2012.

Original Poster (OP): I would think Republicans who typically label themselves as religious would take a hint when GOD sends a hurricane to their national convention. Continue reading →

Posted in Dysrationalia, Politics | Leave a comment

I was with you right up until…

Posted on August 15, 2012 by jackpelham

As I regularly discuss controversial topics with people, I’m often left to interpret the silence with which some people respond to certain logical challenges.  (I call this “crickets”, as in hearing nothing but the crickets chirping.)  Anyway, being always the one to wonder how the silence should be best interpreted, I think I have noticed a few trends along the way.  At times, certain conversations seem to be going along quite nicely until the silence comes, and it’s at that point that I always wonder what happened. Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Paradigms, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

Understanding What Does Not Constitute Logical Proof

Posted on August 12, 2012 by jackpelham

Let me say at the start that this is not an article on the nuts and bolts of logic.  No, this is an article about irrational human behavior that I have witnessed with such frequency and over such a long period of time that it seemed best I start writing about it.  I’ll be as brief as possible.

Let’s begin with some brief examples of what does not constitute logical proof.  Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Fallacy, Logic, Politics, Religion, Ron Paul | Leave a comment

On the “Shi” Strategy of the Ron Paul Campaign

Posted on August 5, 2012 by jackpelham

What follows is a repost of a response I wrote on DailyPaul.com this morning.  Someone had posted a link to this article at Forbes.com:  The Grand Shi Strategy of Ron Paul.  After having read the article, here is my response:

If we are waxing theoretical about the (Ron Paul) campaign, then let us consider the entire landscape, please. Continue reading →

Posted in Ron Paul | Leave a comment

The Dishonesty of Drive-By Assertions

Posted on July 30, 2012 by jackpelham

What’s a “drive-by assertion”?  It’s my name for an assertion that one makes and thereafter dodges rational debate on the matter.

Here are a few varied scenarios that I believe to be typical of what’s going on in our cavalier hearsay society:

  • Billy hears someone say that the Civil War was about states’ rights, so he immediately chimes in, “The Civil was about slavery.”  But when Billy is asked to prove that assertion, he fails to make a reasonable case that is based on actual evidence.
  • Sally hears a fellow church member criticize the church’s habit of calling the priest Continue reading →
Posted in History, Parenting, Politics, Religion, Science, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Character Not Included for Cognitive Misers

Posted on July 4, 2012 by jackpelham

I just finished writing the extremely-abridged version of my book, which I am calling: Character Not Included for Cognitive Misers. The full text is as follows:

America is an awesome idea but the people are messed up. Anybody wanna fix that?

Posted in Character, My Books, Politics | Leave a comment