On the Value of Philosophy

Health Care Reform Bill and the Town Hall Meetings

I am annoyed by the recent town hall meetings with some U.S. senators and representatives. With angry citizens who are clearly misinformed by the conservative media and conservative politicians, rational discourses regarding Obama’s health care reform bill seem impossible. How can one have a rational discourse with anyone who is overwhelmed by his or her irrational impulses, in addition to deeply held false beliefs? They are misinformed considering that their claims are drawn from fallacious inferences (e.g. slippery slope, red herring, straw man, ad hominem, etc.). They are moved by their fears, prejudices, paranoia, insecurities, false assumptions, etc. Of course, conservative media (like Fox News) and conservative politicians (like Sarah Palin) are responsible for fanning the flame with fallacious, sensationalist, exaggerated, and caricatured claims about the proposed health care reform bill. Loud mouths with messages lacking in substance usually work in inspiring the masses. Substa...

Politicization of the Pulpit

After the death of Jerry Falwell and the declining popularity of Pat Robertson, surprisingly the legacy of the evangelical right persists in politically conservative media (like Fox News) and conservative evangelical churches (like some Southern Baptist and Assemblies of God churches). Equipped with sensationalistic jesters and political preachers, bearers of such legacy can pester the current administration. No wonder Obama and his advisers are launching an attack on Fox News, the main source of information for the evangelical right. Since the presidential campaign season for the 2008 election, I heard numerous anti-Obama sermons in a large congregation with a devoutly Republican pastor. A devoutly Republican pastor is one who cleverly subsumes the Christian message under the Republican agendas. Many conservative evangelical churches have devoutly Republican pastors, who regularly politicize the pulpit by unnecessarily turning congregants against Obama. In a subtle way, this is danger...

Marilyn McCord Adams on the Mission of a Christian Philosopher

"Being a Christian philosopher is a distinctive kind of missionary work. The proximate goal is not the personal conversion of die-hard secularists for whom belief in God is not a live option. It is rather to expose and dislodge anti-religious prejudice and to foster understanding. Understanding philosophical problems involves appreciating the costs and benefits of alternative solutions. The theoretical map is not complete without Christian options. The role of the Christian philosopher is to develop Christian approaches in, say, ethics and metaphysics and philosophy of mind with such rigor and detail as to exhibit their coherence, explanatory power, and fruitfulness. The aim is to show that Christian theories are strong enough to be viable competitors in the theoretical market-place. Such work is a form of service to the Truth, and for that very reason is good for professional philosophy" Source: http://www.epsociety.org/userfiles/art-AdamsM%20(Ch...

Academia & Ecclesia

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