HOME > Brilliant and Beautiful Blog

The Illusory Freedom of Pop Culture

imagesWestern culture is changing at an astonishing speed today. Twenty-five years ago, when I graduated from college, cell phones were barely a known commodity. Today smart phones are a staple of contemporary life. Al Gore had not yet invented the internet. Today our family panics if the Wi-Fi goes out. Socially the country was largely conservative and the values were largely biblical. Oh how things have changed. The guiding principle today is “freedom”—freedom to do and be whatever one wants. Casting off the shackles of a repressive morality—anything goes. An important question to consider, however, is this; does the new “anything goes” morality work? In other words, does the pursuit of unfettered freedom really make one free?

Why Did God Create Armadillos?

imagesGod is often portrayed as serious and cranky; a curmudgeon holding a thunder bolt in his hand ready to strike anyone having too much fun. God has no sense of humor, we are told. As a result, church is often portrayed as somber and formal, a weighty place where we sober-minded creatures go to worship our cranky grandpa in the sky.

Three Reasons We Should Care about Logic According to Isaac Watts

imagesThe great English theologian and hymn writer Isaac Watts is best known for classics such as “Joy to the World” or “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” Lesser known is that Watts was one of the premier logicians of his day. He wrote a text in logic that became the standard text at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and Yale for well over 100 years. In the introduction to his Logic: The Right use of Reason in the Inquiry after Truth Watts provides three reasons why we should care about logic. These reasons are as relevant today as they were in 1724. Dare I say, they carry even more relevance today in a culture focused on image, overrun with anti-intellectualism, and captivated by mindless and constant attention to social media.

Three Surprising Facts about Atheists

UnknownThe Pew Research Center recently released a report entitled 10 Facts About Atheism. Many of the facts cited are unsurprising: while on the rise, atheist represent a small percentage of the American population (3.1%), atheists tend to lean liberal and democratic, tend to be younger and male, and are slightly more educated than the general public. Three facts embedded in this report however were quite interesting.

Get off the Religious Treadmill

unnamed(Guest post from Lucas Shipman, see video below) What is the “religious treadmill?” It is works based salvation; the lie that we can earn our way into the presence of God. Billions of people are stuck in this false system with no hope of going anywhere. They are spiritually running in place. 

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Next >>