Category Archives: Bible

A Visit to Chinese Church

Posted on November 10, 2024 by N.S. Palmer

This morning, I went for the first time to a Chinese-language church service. It’s the first time I’ve been to church on Sunday for a while, because half of my family is Christian and half Jewish. The church service was … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity | Tagged Culture, Language learning, Mandarin | 2 Comments

Roll the Dice

Posted on November 5, 2024 by N.S. Palmer

Common wisdom gives us a lot of contradictory advice. There’s: And there’s: But I think the best advice comes from the Bible: “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Life, Philosophy, Psychology | Tagged Chance, Courage, Determination, Luck, Rudyard Kipling, Strength, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Publication Day for Why Sane People Believe Crazy Things!

Posted on October 29, 2024 by N.S. Palmer

Today is publication day for the second edition of my book Why Sane People Believe Crazy Things: How Belief Can Help or Hurt Social Peace! The new edition adds a chapter about the foundations of morality, as well as various … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Science | Tagged Evolutionary Psychology, Haidt, Jewish Philosophy, Maimonides, Morality, Psychology, Social Conflict, Tolerance, Wisdom | Leave a comment

No Law, No Heaven

Posted on October 24, 2024 by N.S. Palmer

Unless we know what we want our society to be like — its ideal state — then we have no basis for enacting or obeying any laws at all. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Political Science | Tagged Heaven, Law, Morality, Society | 2 Comments

Why Evil Exists

Posted on April 12, 2020 by N.S. Palmer

Today is Easter 2020, when Christians in Western countries celebrate (where permitted by law) the resurrection of Jesus. Eastern Orthodox Christians in Greece, Turkey, Russia and thereabouts celebrate it next week. Today is also the middle of Passover, when we … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, Science | Tagged Ethics, Ethics of Belief, Evil, God, Good and Evil, Metaphysics, Morality, Ontology, Problem of Evil, Theodicy | Leave a comment

Forgiveness Can Mean Freedom

Posted on November 4, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

When people have deceived or manipulated us, it’s difficult to forgive them. I’ve worked for some terrific bosses over the years. One of them is Jim Grey, whose luck with his own bosses hasn’t been quite as good as mine. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Human Relations, Life, Psychology | Tagged Forgiveness, Freedom, Life, Positive attitude, Pragmatism, Revenge, Wisdom | 2 Comments

Eavesdropping on God and the Devil

Posted on October 14, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Eavesdropping isn’t exactly a sin, but it’s certainly impolite. And yet I couldn’t help it. Much. I was getting some coffee in the break room. Outside, in the hallway, God was having an argument with the Devil. I tried not … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Jewish Philosophy, Philosophy | Tagged Excusivity, Free choice, Free Will, Inclusion, Inclusivity, John Milton, Moral Choice, Moral order, Moral universe, Paradise Lost, Problem of Evil, Theodicy | Leave a comment

Believe in the Future

Posted on August 21, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Many people dismiss faith as “believing what you know isn’t true.” But that’s wrong. At its most helpful, faith is believing what might be true: We will be alive tomorrow. The future can be good. Life has meaning and purpose. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Life, Psychology | Tagged Belief, Believe, Confidence, Faith, Hope, Moral order, Optimism, Set an example, Trust in God, Trust in the future, William James | 2 Comments

Some Comforting Thoughts

Posted on May 31, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Life can be troubling, especially during periods of heated social conflict. Politicians and the media are no help. Most now devote themselves to fomenting hatred and division. Schools are no help. Most now devote themselves to replacing knowledge with superstition. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Life, Psychology | Tagged Adages, Courage, Optimism, Perseverance, Serenity, Stoicism, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Do WMDs Make Religion Too Risky?

Posted on March 27, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

On his blog, philosopher Eric Kaplan posed a serious question (paraphrased here): If our weapons can destroy all life on earth, can we still afford to believe in a God who plays favorites? People sometimes claim that God is “… … Continue reading →