Recent Articles
Kierkegaard and Being
As a (non-humanistic) rationalist I have always relished in the works of Aristotle, Plato, Pythagoras, Descartes, Kant and the like. While I may not necessarily agree with all of the philosophical premises or ideas that they have discovered, I greatly admire them for their contribution to human thought and culture. Yet, nothing has been more foundational to my philosophical framework as the writings of Søren Kierkegaard.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Kierkegaard’s ultimate rejection of the authority of the Scriptures due to it’s objective propositional truth was erroneous at best and heretical at worst. This does not mean the rest of his work should be rejected, however. In fact, there is quite a lot of wisdom that Kierkegaard has to give the church and us as Christians.
Personhood and Dehumanization
What dimension of a person do you think would be the most offensive to insult? I’m sure that you do not have to think long to come up with a decent list of things: sex, race, economic status, disability, appearance. Some of you might even say that it depends on the person, their personal sensitivities and/or their history of pain.
While I might agree with all of this, I want to make the case that it is something else entirely. Enter: the ad hominem abusive argument. Its very nature is dehumanizing because it focuses in on attacking the person and does not even address the argument itself. From a psychological standpoint, it is the insult behind the insult that really breaks us. Think about it for a minute. What was it about the insult to your sex, race, or disability that really got to you?
The Diversity of Diversity: Why Unity is Necessary for Progress
By: Christian Shahzade & Derek Schoffstall (originally written as a response to an open letter written to our college about racial and ethnic minorities)
We can all agree that the Gordon community has confronted a provocative, potentially transformative discussion surrounding individuals’ ideas about racial and ethnic diversity. However, as a developing conversation, it is imperative to incorporate varying perspectives into our understanding of this topic and its resulting implications. For this reason, it is our intent to demonstrate an alternative approach to the concerns that have been laid out by our friends within the Gordon community. Ultimately, we aim to advocate for a unification of our community that avoids polarization, while embodying Christ-like love and understanding.
Disclaimer
The ideas and thoughts expressed in these posts do not reflect the beliefs of any organization or individual, except my own. Ironically enough, however, these posts may not even reflect how I currently think or feel. I have grown and changed over the years - and rather than delete or edit old content I have decided to leave my posts as I originally wrote them to preserve their authenticity.