I was interviewed and hired as Assistant Professor in Religious Studies at Temple University in 1968 in view of my specialization in Christian ethics and Catholic moral theology. After studies at the Catholic University of America, I had earned a doctorate in moral theology at the Lateran University’s new special institute in Rome for the […]
Archive | Religion
Story-telling Myths
Story-telling myths exist in fictional realms which point to ideals in real life. The tale of Cinderella and the prince signals, for example, an ideal happiness wished for every loving couple. Visits to earth by aliens from other planets express human longing to interact with other life-forms beyond earth’s lonely orbit. “Sherlockian” powers of acute […]
Problems with Intelligent Design
Myths may not be proven by logic alone. If they are true they may emerge from some sense of trans-rational belief, a sense of intelligent designs which are interwoven with seemingly unintelligent designs, like those which occur in galactic collisions or among miniscule life forms which devour one another. A most challenging problem with intelligent […]
Myths: Fabrications or Symbols?
On the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo pictured the creation of the first human being as an old man channeling life to the first man, Adam, through his creative finger. Some viewers may still take this picture literally, at least in their residual imagination. Critics complain that such literalistic belief is not compatible […]
Does the Universe Emerge from Nothingness or from Intelligent Design?
Does the universe or multi-verse emerge from randomness, nothingness, or intelligent design (ID)? Does complexity, for example that of DNA, point to ID or not? Although the majority of scientists seem to exclude the existence of ID from the data in their specific expertise, some leave open the possibility that ID exists from the perspective […]
Pope Francis Condemns Spiritual Manipulation
Pope Francis warns the Church to resist great temptations to manipulate minds with theological brainwashing. The church, he says, should avoid this “spiritual form of abuse” and let persons make their own decisions freely.
Higgs Boson Particles, Belief, & Science
Recent Nobel prize awards to Peter Higgs and Francois Englert for their theory about Higgs boson particles prompt us to review whether the existence of one or more universes stems from some boundless, intelligent source or by random occurrence. Either answer, intelligent design or randomness, may evolve from cultural indoctrination, propaganda, and self-deception–or by critical […]
Ideology, Rigid Authoritarianism, & Papal Elections
Ideological thinking should not be included among criteria for papal elections. Neither should electoral criteria include factors like race, gender, geographical location, marital status, ethnicity, and so on. Of all incorrect criteria, ideological closed-mindedness is the most pivotal one to be avoided. These erroneous factors date not from charismatic sources of the first three Christian […]