Right Reason

The blog of Dr Glenn Andrew Peoples on Theology, Philosophy, and Social Issues

Oxford awaits

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I got some good news today. A few months ago I told you that there was a conference coming up this year that I’d like to take part in. Well, I’ve been chosen to present a paper at Merton College at the University of Oxford, as part of the 18th Conference of the European Society of the Philosophy of Religion.

The only reason I know this is that I bugged them about it. The official notifictions are about to be sent out, so I’m told.

The theme of the conference is Religion in the Public Square, one of my special interests, and the keynote speaker will be Nicholas Wolterstorff. My paper will present an argument that I’ve addressed in other formats, namely the question of whether or not religious convictions and by extension the policies that they might be used to support could meet any standard of “public justification.”

It’s a great opportunity for me. It is a way of getting exactly the right kind of exposure in the international academic arena, and for professional academic roles it’s a great addition to my C.V. It would, in theory, push me one step closer to that elusive big time. There’s one problem. The keynote speaker, as well as the other speakers on the schedule, along with virtually everyone presenting a paper, will be from university departments that provide funding for travel to conferences. I on the other hand am not, and will need to meet the expenses myself. I’ve been crunching the numbers and it’s pretty painful. Flights, conference registration and accommodation will cost around $4,400 New Zealand dollars (using today’s exchange rate, that’s about $3,136.02 US).

I’m putting the word out there: If you are able to and you would like to assist me in meeting these costs, I would warmly welcome and appreciate it. The “donate” button on the right, or the “buy me a beer” button at the bottom of each post is an easy way to do this via Paypal. If you’re in New Zealand and you think you might be able to assist, feel free to get in touch with me (Paypal is convenient for overseas payments, but there is a small fee involved). If you’re a blogger, I’d appreciate you putting the word out there and asking people if they’d be interested in supporting me with this.

2 Corinthians 12 – an “out of body” experience?

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Although I’m familiar with the view that the Apostle Paul is relating an “out of body experience” at the outset of 2 Corinthians 12, I’m pretty sure that he is not. That’s partly because I think human beings are material, so I don’t think that such events are even possible, but it’s also because the evidence for this claim about the meaning of this passage is pretty weak. I’ll explain why I say this.

Auckland beckons

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I live in the wrong part of the country. Dunedin is lovely, don’t get me wrong. However there are opportunities of a whole range of sorts that I am missing because of where I live. I won’t go into all the details of that, just trust me. We’ve decided that we should move to Auckland. Plus it’s much warmer, and we have family in that part of the country who we haven’t seen much of.

I’m a family man and we’re not particularly well off, so I can’t responsibily move unless there’s there’s a job to move to. I’m applying for jobs already, and while I’m explaining each time I apply that we do intend to move to Auckland, there’s going to be a natural reluctance to hire people from out of town when there are local applicants. I thought I’d give a shout out here in case there are readers in that part of the country who might know of something, or who might even be in a place of influence who might be able to offer something. There’s a whole range of areas that I could work in. I currently work for the Inland Revenue Department in Student loans, doing technical work on accounts and also liasing with other agencies (like Studylink, the Ministry of Education, the Immigration Department and tax agents). I also get in touch with customers by phone and also address their queries by email. It involves applying legislation, and I’ve also played a role over the last year and a bit in clarifying the legislative requirements of the roles that my team has been involved in, and also coaching fellow staff members. Prior to this role I worked as a customer service rep in the call centre for Inland Revenue. Prior to that I managed a bookstore.

You already know (probably) about my academic background, but in general my approach is that unless a role requires years of experience in a highly specialised field, I can do it: anything involving communication, coaching, training, tutoring, or anything that involves explaining technical information. I also work well with numbers, and I even have a couple of papers in accounting. I could do web based work and even some graphic design work (it’s not like I have professional expreience there, but I made this site and the graphics here – bearing in bind that the blog is a wordpress blog, although the graphics are mine). I also have a background in music, recording and audio engineering (have you seen my site www.podcastermusic.org ?).

So if you’re in a position to suggest anything in the Auckland area – anything at all really – please do drop me a line and let me know. 🙂

Full of the Holy Spirit? Show me your internet discussions!

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If you tell me that you’re a “Spirit filled Christian,” I want to see it. The internet presents a unique opportunity to see this very thing, actually.

I don’t care how you seem to be when you’re surrounded by other Christians, the lights are low, the band is playing, your eyes are closed and you’re singing worship songs. Anyone can appear spiritual under circumstances like that. If you want to see the evidence that a person is full of the Holy Spirit, this is not the time to find out. You won’t learn anything.

Podcast en route!

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OK I know it has been a while, but tomorrow I will start writing the next podcast episode. The subject will be the doctrine of original sin. Hopefully it will be finished within the next week or so.

The Peanut Butter Argument Against Evolution?

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Dear creationists,

Please don’t ever ever ever do this again.

Thanks.

John Key on the Anti-Smacking law change: Don’t let him forget

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Someone said this on the 22nd of March 2007:

The Labour Government has shown utter contempt for New Zealanders and the democratic process with its plan to railroad the anti-smacking bill through Parliament, says National Party Leader John Key. “The Labour-led Government knows the measure is deeply unpopular, so it plans to act against the wishes of the majority of Kiwis and ram the bill through under urgency. “This is a deeply cynical abuse of power as Labour tries to clear the decks of this controversial issue.

It’s almost unimaginable, in light of his reponse to public denunciation of the law change, that the person who said this is the same person who now leads the government. Let’s not let him forget.

Enemies in High Places?

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Earlier today, for the period between twelve and five hours ago, this website and blog may have been difficult (or impossible) for you to access. I’ve been discussing it with my tech friend, and it appears that somebody with an address locating them at Oxford University (i.e. ending with ox.ac.uk) has been engaging in malicious activity against the site, at one time hitting the blog 1599 times over four hours until the server was unable to cope. They were not alone, but this particular user/system was the main offender.

Of course it’s nice to attract attention from that particular part of the world, but this isn’t quite the sort I’m after! Some upgrades have been made to the server so this is less likely to have the same effect in the future should similar actions be taken. The IP address in question has been blocked.

Whenever security measures are upgraded, some innocent parties are affected. If you know of anyone who is having difficulty accessing the site, please let me know (or ask them to let me know). Email me: peoples dot glenn at gmail dot com.

Quote of the day: John Locke on the punishment for sin

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Quote of the day, from John Locke:

Death then entered, and showed his face, which before was shut out, and not known. So St. Paul, Rom. v. 19, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,” i.e. a state of death and mortality : and, 1 Cor. xv. 22, “In Adam all die;” i.e. by reason of his transgression, all men are mortal, and come to die.

This is so clear in these cited places, and so much the current of the New Testament, that nobody can deny, but that the doctrine of the gospel is, that death came on all men by Adam’s sin; only they differ about the signification of the word death: for some will have it to be a state of guilt, wherein not only he, but all his posterity was so involved, that every one descended of him deserved endless torment, in hell-fire. I shall say nothing more here, how far, in the apprehensions of men, this consists with the justice and goodness of God, having mentioned it above: but it seems a strange way of understanding a law, which requires the plainest and directest words, that by death should be meant eternal life in misery. Could any one be supposed, by a law, that says, “For felony thou shalt die;” not that he should lose his life; but be kept alive in perpetual, exquisite torments? And would any one think himself fairly dealt with, that was so used?

John Locke, The Reasonableness of Christianity as Delivered in the Scriptures in the Works of John Locke (1824 edition, volume 6, p. 4.),

I part ways with Locke when he says that Adam’s sin did not involve the whole human race. Perhaps disturbing to some readers, I think that “Adam” in the story of Eden actually represented the whole human race but I won’t delve into that now (although for what it is worth, I think that this understanding removes the rationale for some of the crasser theories of the “transmission” of sin from Adam to us).

Locke’s comments on the actual punishment for sin, however, seem to me to be not only true, but to be obviously so. If only such common sense prevailed among my evangelical brothers and sisters!

Glenn Peoples

Catalyst Books

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I received this message today, and thought I would pass it on for the benefit of my New Zealand readers. The message comes from Catalyst.

We are delighted to announce the launch of Catalyst Books today.

Catalyst books is a New Zealand initiative enabling students and graduates to find and purchase quality books from a christian worldview on their academic discipline or profession at fantastic prices with free shipping.

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