Well, it's been a hell of a ride, laying rubber all over the road for the past decade. But it's time to call it a day and park the Rogue in the garage. Effective today, I am shutting down my blog to focus my attention on other endeavours. My thanks to the more than 2.7 million people who regularly joined me on these sojourns through news stories over the years that dealt with the places with issues of religion and faith intersecting with public affairs. May God bless you with a continuing desire to learn about and help disseminate the issues of faith throughout the public square. Happy trails in your continuing travels! Fr. Tim Moyle, p.p. Diocese of Pembroke
Reflections from the pastoral ministry of an Evangelical Catholic Priest.
"Atheist: there’s no such thing as free will. Everything you do is already predetermined."
ReplyDeletePredeterminism is more the domain of Calvinism, not atheism. Sam Harris in his recent monograph (less a book) details some of the recent findings in neuroscience where our consciousness appears to be not the cause of our own volition. Indeed in some cases decisons being made by subjects can be discerned before the subject is aware of them.
The jury is still out on the science, being such a new field, but it is appearing that our concept of free will is an illusion of our minds where as the decisions are made in our brain outside of our consciousness.
Rationalist, You are as full of it as usual. IF FREE WILL does not exist, then you do not exist. You are just the result of my bad imagination !
DeleteGib Quinn - That's solipsism (a word I can never spell but fortunately others have compiled dictionaries so I can look up the spelling).
DeleteMy point, and I did say the jury is still out on this is that the agent of free will may not be us, our consciousness, but exists deeper than that in our brain.
To make this observation and then be attacked in such a way is telling on who strongly you must cling to the concept of free will. Bit then perhaps you don't have a choice in the matter.
You should change your handle to the Irrational one- that would be more accurate.
DeleteMy free will allows me to say this, and my brain agrees with my free will. Both, I believe, are pleasing to God!
The two of you and your over-the-back-fence conversations are getting even more laufable ! Try Immodium to block it !
"Atheist: there’s no such thing as free will. Everything you do is already predetermined."
ReplyDeletePredeterminism is more the domain of Calvinism, not atheism. Sam Harris in his recent monograph (less a book) details some of the recent findings in neuroscience where our consciousness appears to be not the cause of our own volition. Indeed in some cases decisons being made by subjects can be discerned before the subject is aware of them.
The jury is still out on the science, being such a new field, but it is appearing that our concept of free will is an illusion of our minds where as the decisions are made in our brain outside of our consciousness.
Interesting article.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/us/historian-says-piece-of-papyrus-refers-to-jesus-wife.html
Very speculative. Maybe I should read Dan Brown's Da Vinci code after all.