Author Archives: Maryann Spikes

Authentic Truth in an Authentic Community

This may come out sort of mumbled. This morning the sermon focused on authenticity. I had no pen and no paper, which is unusual, so I’m having to write this from sleepy memory, and quickly. But, basically the idea is … Continue reading →

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Signs

SIGNS I. Under What Conditions Does God Grant Signs?II. Studying the Concordance on SignsIII. How Do We Know a Sign is Genuine or False?IV. Various Camps Regarding SignsV. Hume / MiraclesVI. Spinoza / MiraclesVII. Signs are Supernatural, not UnnaturalVIII. The … Continue reading →

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A Christian Alternative to the Marxist Revolution :^)

The selected reading shows how Christianity started out crossing class boundaries (as it does today), and suggests a better alternative to all-out revolution (as exemplified in modern aid programs funded with government and tithe money, and more so in the … Continue reading →

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Is sexual preference decided by biological factors?

People decide their sexual preference depending on how aware they are of their options and of their ability to choose, with social norms and biological predispositions playing an influential, but not a determinate, role in the decision. Arousal, subject to … Continue reading →

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Napoleon on how Christ conquers.

This is an excerpt from Ravi Zacharias’ “Jesus Among Other Gods” (p. 149-150, Thomas Nelson, 2000) — I was on the verge of quoting what Aleksander Solzhenitsyn once said, that the thin line between good and evil does not run … Continue reading →

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Biological Homeostasis and Existentialist Intelligence

This is just an excerpt from my final biology project. My goal was to describe how the organ systems of the body work together to maintain homeostasis, putting into practice all the known types of intelligence according to Howard Gardner’s … Continue reading →

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Overcoming and Yeats’ "Lapis Lazuli"

A few thoughts on William Butler Yeats’ “Lapis Lazuli”. My apologies to Yeats, who must be rolling in his resting place. I found this poem by Googling for “lapis lazuli” – I wanted to see what the stone/color mentioned in … Continue reading →

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The Importance of Authentic Truth

Not all beliefs can be true. The statement “all beliefs can be true” logically cancels itself out, because if it were true, it would mean the belief “not all beliefs can be true” is as true as the belief “all … Continue reading →

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Selflessness

You are definitely an other, otherwise you would be able to predict what I will say next, and vice versa. Even if our minds were hooked together, we would be able to recognize “self” thoughts from “other” thoughts (because, for … Continue reading →

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Dawkins’ "Meme" and the Living Word of God :^)

I have been reading “Consciousness Explained” by Daniel Dennet (Back Bay Books, 1991) – in it he talks a lot about Richard Dawkins’ memes. “Meme” is the title Dawkins gives to the “idea” (in his book “The Selfish Gene”) to … Continue reading →

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