Monday Joke

In light of the recent change in weather...

It's late fall and the Native Americans on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold  or mild.

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Monday Joke

A woman was golfing one day, when she hit her ball into the woods. She went into the woods to look for it and found a frog in a trap.

The frog said to her, "If you release me from this trap, I will grant you 3 wishes." She did and the frog said, "Thank you, but I failed to mention that there is a condition to your wishes. Whatever you wish for, your husband will get 10 times more or better!"

The woman said, "That's okay." For her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

The frog warned her, "You do realize that this wish will also make your husband the most handsome man in the world, and women will flock to him."

The woman replied, " That's okay, because I will be the most beautiful woman, and he will only have eyes for me." So, KAZAM - she became the most beautiful woman in the world!

For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world. The frog said, "That will make your husband the richest man in the world, and he will be ten times richer than you."

The woman said, " That's okay because what's mine is his and what's his is mine." So, KAZAM she became the richest woman in the world!

The frog asked her what she would like for her third wish. She said, "I'd like a mild heart attack."

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Logic

I had several discussions over the last day with different friends on the topic of logic. One such discussion was whether logic could prove the existence of God. There was debate, but I wanted to expand on my thoughts a big here.

Logic per se can prove anything and noting. It depends on the axioms you start with. For instance, take the argument for God's existence from design. It goes along the lines of "Complex things need an intelligence to design them. The universe is complex. Therefore there is a designer. We call that designer 'God.'"

I have yet to see an atheist who was convinced by that logic, even though it is perfectly sound. The problem is that the atheist rejects the axiom that complex things need an intelligent designer. Therefore the proof, while perfectly valid as a proof, is rejected. But let's continue to follow that chain of logic where it leads.

Ask the atheist why he rejects the notion that complex systems have a designer and he will ask you to show why he should accept that notion. You reply that everything we see that is complex has a designer. My iPhone, car, house all had an intelligent designer. "Ah" replies the atheist, "but you are overlooking the prime example of a complex thing that has no designer - the universe!" And of course they hold the truth of the statement that the universe has no designer based on the axiom that there isn't a God.

And so their logic is consistent as well, only it is circular. If you are trying to determine whether or not there is a God, you can't start with the axiom "there is no God" and see where logic takes you. You have to start with the axiom "there may or may no be a God" or you are being intellectually dishonest. It has nothing to do with logic, and everything to do with faith. The atheist has blind faith in his axiom.

N.B. As Deacon Will on Plurk pointed out, the first reading for the next day was Wisdom 13:1-9 (emphasis mine):

All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,
and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;
But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,
or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.
Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.
Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them.
For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.
But yet, for these the blame is less;
For they indeed have gone astray perhaps,
though they seek God and wish to find him.
For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.
But again, not even these are pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord?

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Monday Joke

This joke come courtesy of Therese R. (AussieMama). I have translated it painstakingly from Australian to English. Enjoy! You can go over to her blog and read it there and tell me how I've ruined it.

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Any color, as long as it's black

There is an old quote attributed to Henry Ford that goes "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." I reminded of this by the recent kerfuffle between Michael Voris and Fr. Robert Barron. Below are the two videos, if you haven't seen them and care to.




OK, ready? First off, if you notice, Michael Voris accuses Fr. Barron of not saying things he says, and saying things he doesn't say. Nowhere does Fr. Barron say that hell is empty, but that there is a hope that in the end it will be. Now hoping for something is a lot different from asserting something.

But I wanted to add my own $0.02 on the issue of "is hell empty?" I say "no" with great confidence. That's not to say that I can't have hope that God will someday save all, but there are individuals who have chosen hell over heaven. My logic relates to the quote by Ford.

One of the things atheists (and some Christians) accuse God of is making people just to throw them in unquenchable fire and torture them forever. Seems cruel, if it's true, but the explanation is that God doesn't intend for us to be thrown into unquenchable fire, but gives us the gift of free will, and we can choose whether or not we want the fire. This is also an answer to the problem of evil - why a good God would tolerate people choosing evil. Again, free will necessitates that evil is at least possible, just as it necessitate hell is possible. It is pretty clear that some people choose evil over good, and therefore I would say it is clear some people choose hell over heaven.

But then, why doesn't God make people who have free will, but only create those whom He knows will choose good? the problem is like Henry Ford's car color choices. If the only people God creates are those who will always choose good over evil, He has not created people with free will. If you are given a choice of colors, but the only color you can possibly choose is black, you haven't actually been given a choice of colors.

Therefore I conclude that not only is there a hell, but there must be people in it. I just hope I never wind up joining them.

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