Radically Happy

  • Eternal Life by Philip John

    But almost everyone believes that you need to earn your place in heaven by your good works and pious living.There is a saying that the road to Hell is broad and easy but the road to heaven is narrow and hard — but is it?Before we look at that we…

  • DiaBlogue: E-TOE, the Line of Argument

    In his exploration of The Ethical Universe, Alan clarified that he no longer thinks of (I) [belief in] Truth as “inherently good”, but what I might term ‘instrumentally good‘ in relation to (II)Love [for others] and [III] [personal] Happiness. I am pleased that he concurred with my analysis of the…

  • DiaBlogue: Good and True

    To help address that suspicion, let me ask Alan a few (hopefully simple) questions:a) Do you consider (I) a statement about objective reality, or of personal preference?To use our earlier terminology, is this (i) a “real” statement which is objectively true or false, or is it merely (ii) an “imaginary”…

  • DiaBlogue: The Ethical Trilemma

    Having finally Found: Two Goalposts, which I support and he denies: I. Ontological dependence on an omnipotent, benevolent Deity as the ultimate source of virtue and truth II. Epistemic dependence on received Scripture as a reliable indicator of divine will Alan and I can now turn our attention to pursuing…

  • God, On Divorce

    A friend of mine recently asked me about God’s thoughts on divorce. I figured I should do some research, so here’s a (partial) list of the passages I’ve found that use the word in the NIV.

  • DiaBlogue: Looking for an Argument

    I must commend Alan for his diligence in following through on my recommended reading, given that I’ve only now got around to reading his last three posts — from July! To be sure, I regret that Chesterton was such a disappointment, but I will (perhaps too generously) ascribe that to…

  • Psalm 40 Wait/Lift-ing

    Questions: Why do we wait? Will God lift us up? Has he already done so? Even if we’re still surrounded by trouble? Is that rational? Is there sufficient evidence? “Read More” to pursue answers in the Psalms.

  • Diary of a Ziegenbalgian

    [The following is an email my mother sent out after her trip to India for the 300th anniversary of Protestant Missions. – Ernie P.] Diary of a Ziegenbalgian. “Trust in the Lord and do good and so shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shall be fed.” Ps.…

  • Salvation across many religions, by Philip John

    They take pride in the Gothic architecture of their church building or wonderful stained glass windows and of course the Alter is a holy place so you approach it without shoes and talk in hushed tones.And all this while God is looking on in bewilderment and wondering what on earth…

  • Psalm 39 Tongue-Tied

    Questions: Is it better to say nothing that to say something wrong? What is our overriding purpose? For what do we wait? Is there anything worth hoping in? “Read More” to pursue answers in the Psalms.

  • Psalm 38 Buke, Buke, Re-Buke

    Questions: Does God rebuke us? In anger? Should He? Why or why not? Dare we face our ultimate accountability to God? How? And if so, then what happens next? “Read More” to pursue answers in the Psalms.

  • Psalm 37 Un-fret-tered

    Questions: Why do we fret ourselves? Why might we envy the wicked? How is “delight” the alternative? Is God worth waiting for? Upon? Is meekness worth the reward? “Read More” to pursue answers in the Psalms.

  • Psalm 36 Wicked!

    Questions: Why does David dwell on the wicked? Is that fair? Should we? How does wickedness co-exist with the holiness of God? How can we avoid falling into wickedness ourselves? “Read More” to pursue answers in the Psalms.

  • A Family Affair

    Whew! After a month or so of neglect, I’m finally catching up on my blog reading (and writing). One thing in particular I want to do is link to a blog post by my mother, Esther Prabhakar, who last month was celebrating 300 years of Christianity in India.

  • A Moving Experience

    In case anyone’s wondering why I’ve been posting so infrequently (sorry, Alan), it is because we have been moving! After three years in Sacramento while Sandhya attend residency in Family Medicine, we’ve moved back to the San Jose area (actually, Santa Clara). She starts with the Camino Medical Group on…

  • Psalm 35 Fight, Song

    Questions: Is God on our side? Dare we ask him to fight for us? Dare we not? Does he care? Should he? “Read More” to pursue answers in the Psalms.

  • The Creed of Love’s Dominion (CoLD)

    This Creed of Love’s Dominion (CoLD) is the theological counterpart of my Radical Centrist Manifesto. It summarizes my religious (non-contingent) beliefs about the nature of divinity. After one, two, three, four-and-a-half attempts, [Read More] to see what I’m happy with enough to label “Version 1.0.” It may not be perfect…

  • Psalm 34 Mad, Mad Faith

    Questions: Is it crazy to trust God at all times? Can we trust him to deliver us from all our fears? Or do we need to take matters into our own hands? “Read More” to pursue answers in the Psalms.

  • A Bottom-Up Creed, Take 4c: Love’s Dominion

    Well, I think I’m converging. At least, I haven’t come up with a better name (or numbering scheme :-). What do you think? They say perfection comes, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing to take away. Is there any more to take away?

  • A Bottom-Up Creed, Take 3: Love’s Dominion

    If at first (or second) you don’t succeed, try, try again. 🙂 This time with yet another nifty title, focusing more on the approach itself rather than (merely) reacting against modernity. [Read more] to see if I’m making any progress…