Thoughts Across The Bow

Can God Make a Rock so Big…? I remember when I first had this question brought to my attention.   I was sitting in a coffee shop a block from my college campus.   I had just talked with my roommate who had just wrecked on his bicycle going to meet a girl and his face looked like he had just lost a fight with a bear (apparently his face absorbed most of the impact generated by his flailing body).   My friend Sean put the question out there, “Can God make a rock so big that he cannot lift it?”   I felt a lot like my friend’s face looked, the mass and gravity of the question registered with me.   I had just finished my first philosophy class and all I could muster at the time was, “Can a car be too fast, can you have too much fun, or can a girl be too pretty?”   My distraction highlighted the contradiction apparent in the question, but this was not a satisfactory answer in my mind.   I logged the question for another day. Philosophers an...

The Mandalorian, a Compelling Pro-life Argument: While I am far from a Star Wars aficionado, the TV show “The Mandalorian” caught my attention.  For some context, the TV show centers around a professional bounty hunter who ends up saving a child (baby Yoda), protecting this child, and the mantra “this is the way” becomes a powerful moral theme throughout the show. Recently at the pro-life march in Washington, the March for Life, several people were holding signs that utilized this bit of pop-culture.  The signs capitalized on the popularity of this television show and its captivating plot.  The signs depicted the Mandalorian (a bounty hunter) holding baby Yoda and displayed the caption, “Protect the child, this is the way.”  The signs themselves represent a compelling argument that questions the internal consistency of naturalism and the pro-choice position. While the philosophy of naturalism has wide ranging associations, the main tenant is the philos...