Monthly Archives: August 2013

What Steven Pinker Should Have Said

Posted on August 24, 2013 by hessd

On August 6, The New Republic published “Science Is Not Your Enemy: An impassioned plea to neglected novelists, embattled professors, and tenure-less historians,” an essay by Steven Pinker.  It was an attempt to claim the word “scientism” for scientists and … Continue reading →

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Grants Pass (rhymes with Alas), Oregon

Posted on August 14, 2013 by hessd

For some time, I have been pitching a schema that relates society, economy, and polity.  The goal of this device is to explore ways of keeping issues away from the polity, as small government advocates have been proposing. In Grants … Continue reading →

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Secularism 2

Posted on August 12, 2013 by hessd

It came to my mind, as I was reflecting on “secularism”—my son, Doug, remarked in passing that he was a “secularist” and I got to thinking about how good a term that is—that it was an “extent of time” word, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Living My Life, Words | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Secularism 1

Posted on August 10, 2013 by hessd

My son Doug has taken to calling himself a “secularist.”  I think it is the perfect word for him, but he used it very casually in a conversation we were having about something else (the influence of Norman French on … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Still Mine

Posted on August 5, 2013 by hessd

I am not honestly sure whether this is a really good time for movies about old people or whether I have just started to get interested in movies about old people.  I think it’s just a good time.  When Ron … Continue reading →

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What Pope Francis said

Posted on August 3, 2013 by hessd

How shall we understand the new pope, Pope Francis? “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Francis told reporters, speaking in Italian but using the English word “gay.” … Continue reading →

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