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Changing My Mind
Most of us believe a myth about how knowledge is acquired, especially about how we ourselves go from ignorance and error to knowledge and truth. We tell ourselves that when evident facts contradict what we believe, then we will change our minds. That has not been my experience. Deeply held beliefs require a lot of…
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Patience and Power
Love begins with patience. Fundamental to every act of love is respect for the agency of the one loved. This is the main reason why God does not intervene in ways we think he should to prevent war, pestilence, famine, and other causes of large-scale suffering. His intervention takes the form of individual acts of…
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Doing God’s Will
In Matthew 7:21–23, Jesus warns his followers against a facile faith that trusts in saying the right words and doing notable deeds in his name. Not everyone who calls him Lord will enter his kingdom, but only those who do his Father’s will. Then he declares that on Judgment Day, many will appear before him,…
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Love is not Self-Seeking
One of my favorite movies is Marvin’s Room, starring Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Nero among others. It’s by no means a perfect film. It was obviously adapted from a stage play, and it consequently relies more on dialog than on visual storytelling. But what I like is what it has…