5,569 reputation
1440
bio website fivesecondreview.wordpress.co…
location Pasadena, CA
age 39
visits member for 1 year, 7 months
seen 32 mins ago
stats profile views 208

My day-to-day work is with a combination of C, ksh and PL/SQL. I enjoy asking and answering questions that come up at work. I also dabble in Perl, lua and LaTeX. My boss has asked me to learn Python as well.

My favorite living philosopher is Alvin Plantinga and my favorite dead philosopher is Blaise Pascal. I think Paul of Tarsus is too little credited as a force in Western philosophy. If you think I'm a Christian, you're right.

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. -- 1 Corinthians 1:20-25 (ESV)

At home, I have a potted herb garden, potted dwarfed citrus, and a hanging hummingbird garden. My wife and I are also trying to grow a son, but he's harder to feed and train properly.


Apr
17
comment Why was God so upset with Moses for striking the rock the second time in the desert?
See also: What exactly did Moses do wrong at Meribah?
Apr
17
comment What is the basis of the view that Jesus was separated from the Father and Holy Spirit upon death?
@svidgen: I should point out that Nestorius rejected the title "Mother of God" because he believed that Jesus' divinity could (and at times, must) be separated from His humanity. The heresy is a slippery little bugger, so it's not surprising that we lapse into it when we aren't on guard for it.
Apr
17
awarded  Revival
Apr
17
comment Why is the Trinity a Trinity?
@Alypius: I encourage you to read Edwards' essay, which is deeply rooted in philosophy and the Scriptures. It can be difficult to read, but it's utterly fascinating. The conclusion is largely my own construction (with some guidance from a paper [PDF] that analyzed the orthodoxy of the view). As always, no image of the Trinity can hope to be accurate.
Apr
16
comment Why is the Trinity a Trinity?
@Drew: Actually the problem is the word Son which was added to the Latin translation of the Creed.
Apr
16
answered Why is the Trinity a Trinity?
Apr
16
comment How diverse or united is Christian history on the imagery of “Father” and “Son”?
I've looked at trying to answer this question and it's just more than I can reasonably bite off. Your first point is already difficult since there's debate over whether Jesus introduced the concept of God as "Father" or if He was continuing an existing tradition.
Apr
16
comment What is the basis of the view that Jesus was separated from the Father and Holy Spirit upon death?
Nestorianism also has the unfortunate consequence (for many Christians) of denying Mary the title "Mother of God". If only the humanity of Jesus died on the cross, it logically means that Mary was only responsible for bringing that human portion of Jesus into the world.
Apr
12
accepted How do schisms in the church fit into the plans of a monotheistic God?
Apr
11
comment What language did Jesus speak?
See also: What language did Jesus commonly speak?
Apr
11
comment Why did Joseph only present five brothers?
I've voted to close because this is less a question about Christianity and more a question about the interpretation of the Bible. If there's a specific Christian angle (messianic?) you'd like to bring out, that would be helpful.
Apr
9
revised Why did Joseph only present five brothers?
Most of the answer is a quotation from Clarke's Commentary.
Apr
9
comment Does the Nicene Creed condemn Chiliasm?
@Dan O'Day: I did a lot of reading yesterday, but I never got around to digging into the links you provided in the question. My impression is that there's a lot of guesswork (read "speculation") involved in trying to determine what the councils thought about Chiliasm because the councils had more pressing issues and never got around to addressing it. Does that seem accurate?
Apr
9
answered Does the Nicene Creed condemn Chiliasm?
Apr
5
comment What is the Catholic position on Exodus 20:4?
Hi John. While I appreciate the thoughts, I was really hoping for answers that explained the Catholic perspective in detail. Please see How to Answer.
Apr
4
revised When and how did the names Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John get attached to the gospels?
Refactoring and bringing out a wider variety of sources.
Apr
4
awarded  Necromancer
Apr
1
answered When and how did the names Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John get attached to the gospels?
Mar
18
comment What is the LDS Church's affiliation with the Boy Scouts?
This is an excellent question I've had myself. Certainly I've noticed many of my son's scouting friends are Mormon and many of my LDS friends and family are active in scouting.
Mar
18
comment What personal possessions did Pope John Paul II have at the time of death?
Good find. According to Wikipedia, Ostrów Wielkopolski is the birthplace of the Red Baron. A news article asserts John Paul II sponsored a school (named after him) that received a part of his cloak as a relic.