St Paul and Anime

I am not sure what to make of this, but St Paul's famous verse about "seeing through the glass, darkly" is used in the original "Ghost in the Shell" anime film. The quote is actually significant in the story's development. Hard to say, what sort of spiritual clout St Paul possesses in the world of anime, but the situation is probably similar to what is sometimes experienced in the West: religious texts from distant lands are perceived as intrinsically profound, mysterious and almost like hidden knowledge of unfathomable magnitude.


Motoko Kusanagi blog

New Testament Greek on iPhone

This little app called QuickMem is free. It includes most of the words found in the Greek New Testament. The only problem seems to be that it is impossible to store "difficult" words in a master list. You have to use individual sets, based on frequency.

"In God We Trust" coin controversy

A few days ago I have received a chain email that warned about apparently the most horrific development that took place in recent history. The government decided to stop printing and engraving "In God We Trust" on US currency. It did not take me long to figure out that this is a bit of a hoax, due to the changed location of the motto on some newly minted coins. Plus some of them were minted without the motto. Honest mistake. But even if the government did decide to drop the motto?

Jesus did not really have a problem with the design of coins in his time when they included images of Roman emperors, legally considered divine. Does anyone really think that using a semi-religious slogan on money has anything to do with the course that the country is taking? Does "In God We Trust" on every single bill or coin somehow sanctify the many abominable ways in which Americans and the rest of the world spend their money? Is a drug transaction less or more of a crime when carried out using religious money?

The "In God We Trust" Christians are calling on everybody not to accept "godless" coins as change. I suppose, it should not take long before someone asks folks to send such coins to him, so he may "dispose" of them :)

The Lost Symbol review (a Christian perspective)

This review of Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" contains no spoilers.

It does not happen often that an author has to meet expectations of the reading public on such a grand scale as did Dan Brown, who after achieving commercial success with his novel The Da Vinci Code spent several years researching and writing before finally submitting another manuscript to the publisher.

One thing must be admitted. Dan Brown has definitely matured and came to understand his position of authority in matters of religion (it may sound unbelievable, but many people found Brown's novel insightful and thought-provoking). It is my opinion that the author of The Lost Symbol deals with his subject matter in a much more responsible way. He clearly avoided openly attacking any denomination. Instead, Dan Brown chose the unoriginal route of proclaiming the basic unity of all religions. Confusing New Age theology of eternal feminine was replaced with a version of Deism which, especially given the locale of The Lost Symbol (Washington, D.C.), has distinct taste of American ceremonial Deism -- a much more palatable choice for most readers. It is not surprising that Dan Brown's deity is unapproachable and distant, a merely aesthetic touch to the picture of the world according to Robert Langdon.This really, is the gist of what a Christian reader should know before picking up this novel. The book is just as badly written as the rest of Brown's prose. The movie should be somewhat amusing, though. I'd wait for that.

Sermon Idea: Anthropic Principle in Human Psyche

Perhaps the terminology I have chosen is not the most likely to be heard from any pulpit, but I sure hope that some educated pastor out there will find words suitable for his congregation to express what I think is no less important that observations of order and precision with which this Universe is sculpted.

First of all, I have to give credit where it's due. The gist of what follows was inspired by a few pages in a rather incongruous book called "The Secret History of the World: As Laid Down by the Secret Societies". The book itself is not very useful, and at times simply shockingly ridiculous, but, like I said, credit where credit is due...

Ok, it is a rather well known fact that many properties of the Universe are so finely tuned that even a slightest change would make the existence of humankind impossible. You probably heard of physicists who (quite correctly) assume that if some basic constants that we see in place were different in the slightest degree the Universe would either never be able to sustain its shape or quite likely never would have existed. One such example is the force of gravity. It is exactly as strong as it should be in order for planet Earth to remain comfortably where it belongs: not too far from the Sun and not too close to it. On a greater level gravity also seems to be fine tuned to keep the entire Universe in fairly good balance.

Now, consider this. Our internal makeup is equally dependent on the balance of many forces. A gentle equilibrium is required in order for us to live our lives. Italo Calvino says:"Memory has to be strong enough to enable us to act without forgetting what we wanted to do, to learn without ceasing to be the same person, but it also has to be weak enough to allow us to keep moving into the future." You can apply the same principle to other human capacities. For instance, being able to concentrate on specific tasks is a wonderful thing. However, imagine a person who cannot be pulled away from something not matter what happens. Conversely, imagine someone who is distracted by the least significant things, noises and mental events, thus unable to concentrate on the same idea for more than a second. Both conditions present serious disorders. And yet, the majority of us happily exist within a balanced internal universe of our souls. This truly is the freedom of spirit, if you will. Unlike animals who can safely exist by following instincts only, humans possess the capacity to freely choose between various scenarios of life minute by minute, day by day, remaining the same and yet ever evolving.

What I am proposing here is that the anthropic principle that is sometimes seen as a major component in the Universe's master plan is also at work in the anthropos proper! How could it be otherwise?

Screwtape letters read by John Cleese (audio book)

If you asked someone to come up with a perfect narrator for C. S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" many names would surface, some would probably sound like a rather good choice, by all would be trumped as soon as you retorted: "Now, how about John Cleese?" Sure enough, in the 1970s, at the very peak of Monty Python's glory, the great comedian recorded a full-length audio version of "The Screwtape letters", including "Screwtape Proposes a Toast", as a bonus track. Recently released as a CD, this audiobook can very successfully serve as an introduction to C. S. Lewis, as well as a welcome surprise for a seasoned reader of the great British theologian.

See also:
John Eldredge. Epic - A review

If Chicago exists, so does God

Writer John Hodgman, who owes most of his dubious notoriety to the appearances as "PC" in often misleading Mac commercials, is better known amongst intellectuals, such as myself, for his outrageous, albeit somewhat well supported, claim that the city of Chicago, Illinois does not exist. The so-called Windy City is purely a figment of imagination, as well as a product of Midwestern longing for identity and, ultimately, a comforting urban legend of a "a fantasy world ... of gangsters and Italian beef sandwiches and two—not just one—but two baseball teams competing with each other all the time, and streets paved with gold where lobsters walk, or whatever."

I must admit, that I am a bit partial to this Chicago myth (having visited this ephemerous town a few times). But the idea that something quite universally deemed to be true may have no factual claim to verity is well-known and dear to me. For years I have doubted the existence of the Pope. That's right. I am not at all that convinced that the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Servus Servorum Dei et cetera, et cetera is an actual human being. We may very well deal with a craftily devised representation of our collective need to have a spiritual leader of considerable importance. All public appearances of "the Pope" (a well-paid actor, no doubt), all his actions and proclamations are nothing but an orchestrated attempt to give flesh to certain fundamental values and institutions of the Western civilization. I am willing to debate anyone who claims to have proof of the Pope's existence.

Now, seriously speaking, these two instances demonstrate that some beliefs are better understood when seen through the eyes of a community. The consensus of believers is an extremely powerful epistemological force. I would even claim that certain beliefs cannot be fully maintained by a single individual other than while being a part of a community. Such beliefs also cannot be successfully challenged due to their overwhelming complexity and far-reaching implications, as interpreted and accepted by the community. Therefore, if Chicago exists, so does God.