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Prologue


At the beginning of the Metaphysics Aristotle declared that all humans have a natural desire to know. Whether curiosity is as universal a desire as he claimed or not, the desire for knowledge has certainly shaped my life.

This quest has been both complicated and facilitated by my faith. As a Christian raised in an evangelical home, I was brought up to expect the world to be comprehensible and that truth about the natural and social worlds would ultimately fit with the Christian faith. At the same time, much that was common knowledge to most of the world was off-limits had to be acquired late in life—I was woefully ignorant of the life sciences because of a commitment to young-earth Creationism, for example. Hope has proven stronger than fear and humility stronger than pride in enough cases, thankfully, that I have found my way out of some of my prior false dogmas. I remain committed to my faith, optimistic in the ability of humans to grow in wisdom and knowledge, and curious to learn more even though it comes with the pain of acknowledging my ignorance.

This blog is a space to try to continue to learn and share in community by working through questions that have attracted my interest for one reason or another. They will be essays in the traditional sense—attempts to make sense of something, tests of ideas. They will often fail to do their subjects justice or come to any conclusion. Nevertheless, I am persuaded that the attempt is worth the effort and I hope that they may prove worthwhile to anyone who happens to read them. I plan to be vulnerable and honest, and promise to do my best to avoid the natural tendency to react with hostility when faced with criticism. At the same time, I do not promise that every essay will work as a solution to its question and I reserve the right to revise my thoughts upon further reflection.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments.

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