The Strange Persistence of Guilt: A Q&A with Wilfred McClay

"Guilt is a key aspect of what might be called our moral nervous system. It alerts us to our failures, and pushes us to make them right in some way."

Lynette Long | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2017

Against (Our Own) Heresies

[Heresy] starts with a narrow selective reading of scripture that is then over-emphasized and serves as a tangential point for one’s own desires.

Erik Johnson | MIT et Spiritus | Spring 2018

The Lovely Embrace of Pain

Another principle characteristic of Lucretius’ view is that it ultimately seeks painlessness. For this purpose, Lucretius urges isolation. However, there are two critical issues with this goal-orientation.

Jamie Har | Cornell Claritas | Fall 2017

War of the Words

Which areas on campus are to operate as safe havens for students who want to be surrounded by people who share their views, and which spaces are where respectable discourse and argument is permissible?

Zachary Lee | Cornell Claritas | Fall 2017

Who Do You Say That I Am? – Pseudo-Dionysius on the Divine Names

In brief, the problem of understanding the divine names is the problem of discovering how a superhuman significance could possibly dwell within a language that has developed squarely within the boundary lines of human realities and human concerns.

Nicholas Zahorodny | Swarthmore Peripateo | Fall 2015

History’s Jesus: An Exploration of Historical Analysis

Scholars have developed a number of criteria to inform an accurate reconstruction of the historical Jesus. Among Ehrman’s preferred methods are independent attestation and the principle of dissimilarity.

India Perdue | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2017

Wonder Woman: Is Love Really All We Need?

Wonder Woman has the opportunity to save humanity, but, especially in light of the human cruelty she witnesses in battle, she struggles with the fact that humans freely choose to commit such atrocities to each other.

Hailey Scherer | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2017

Lending and Borrowing: A Christian Perspective

This paper will delve further into what the Bible has to say about lending and borrowing, how its interpretation has changed over time, and how it can work in today’s society.

Roy Walker | Swarthmore Peripateo | Spring 2016

Letting Law Go? A Lutheran Perspective on Law in “Frozen”

By analyzing Elsa’s changing understanding of law, as it relates to her moral duties to her kingdom and to her sister, we hope to show how Frozen can be interpreted through the paradigm of Luther’s conception of law.

Luke Shurson and Alexander Quanbeck | St Olaf Avodah | Spring 2015

Faithful Activism

These forms of resistance are a reflection of that most radical message of all—that each of us is loved and valued and worthy in the eyes of God. No exceptions.

Joyce Tompkins | Swarthmore Peripateo | Spring 2017

John Calvin and the Case for Refugees

Central to Calvin’s social policy was an intense devotion to the less fortunate in society. However they may present themselves, whether as orphans or widows or refugees, Calvin believed that he had a solemn and God-given duty to care for them.

Noah Black | The Vanderbilt Synesis | Fall 2016

The Weariness and Work of Sloth

Sloth is farther reaching, more insidious, and better at hiding than laziness, arising from a deep emptiness or lack, and can exhibit itself as laziness, but also, counter-intuitively, as excessive busyness.

John Nystrom | The Cornell Claritas | Spring 2017

Postmodernism and the Paradox of Tolerance

Postmodernism conflates truth and personhood, and in doing so confines the person to a state of perpetual insecurity and vulnerability. It is this fear of violence that prevents modern persons from recognizing the inherent dignity of their peers.

Joshua Tseng-Tham | The Dartmouth Apologia | Spring 2017

The Problem of Christ as a Gift

Late 20th century philosopher Jacques Derrida calls into question the very possibility of gift-giving. The aporia of the gift, its dissipation upon coming into presence, presents a problem not only for philosophy, but also for Christianity.

Dan Ju | The Hopkins Dialectic | Spring 2017

Prophecy, Progress, and Repentance: The Role of the Individual in Human History

Therefore, prophecy is primarily concerned with what may occur if the errant currents of the present are allowed to flow unaltered into the local or temporally proximal future.

Jake Casale | The Dartmouth Apologia | Spring 2016

Engineering for God and Humanity

This past January, I had the opportunity to conduct field research on amputees through a partnership with two of India’s most impactful non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for people with disabilities.

Matthew Chun | MIT et Spiritus | Spring 2016

Hope in the Midst of Hurt: A Critique of Between the World and Me

Ta-Nehisi Coates has been labeled this generation’s flagbearer for social justice and chief warrior against anti-Black racism.

Noah Black | The Vanderbilt Synesis | Spring 2016

A Literature Survey of the Kierkegaardian Concept of “Neighbor Love”

[Kierkegaard's] controversial claim has been the subject of extensive academic debate, since preferential love is such an inherent human experience.

Emmanuel Hui | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2015

What God Expects: The Paradox of the Standards of the Christian Community

Therefore, the standard to be Christian and to become part of the Christian community is to understand this paradox: we cannot achieve God’s standards.

Cindy Wu | The Cornell Claritas | Fall 2015

The Sin of Adam: Two Allegorical Accounts of the Fall

Recovering the literal sense of the Greek hamartia—translated in our Bibles as "sin"—we have "missed the mark."

Erin Kast | Swarthmore Peripateo | Spring 2015

To Become the One Who is Near to Others

Beneficent action does not entail benevolent action, does not entail that we learn to genuinely love the good of others for their sake,

Michael Spezio | The Claremont Ekklesia | Spring 2015

The Abortion Doula Paradox

I would not for a minute occlude the compassion and self-sacrifice that abortion doulas freely display, nor can I deem their actions good in light of how their work undercuts specific potential for human life.

Veronica Wickline | The Harvard Ichthus | Spring 2015

And He Began to Teach Them Many Things

An interview with Professor Matthew Harrison, who previously wrote an article called "Invited to Care" about his calling to teach mathematics to those in prison.

Elizabeth Jean-Marie | The Brown & RISD Cornerstone | Spring 2015

Mathematizing the Mind

A history of uncertainty in the field of Mathematics reveals ways we might scrutinize our own philosophies and faiths through a conventionally “rational” lens.

Hong Suh | The Claremont Ekklesia | Spring 2015

Freedom Redefined: A Christian Perspective on the Meaning of Freedom

While it is paradoxical that something so rigid-sounding as “law” results in freedom, Christianity asserts this bold claim.

Marissa Le Coz | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2014

A Few Thoughts on “the Future”

This problematic tension between one’s desires to make an indelible mark upon the memory of this world and the elusive nature of the future is resolved in a very unexpected way within the Christian tradition.

Viktor Palenyy | UC Berkeley TAUG | Fall 2014

Why Apologetics? An interview with David Skeel

Rather than assuming that most people hold loosely Christian views, or trying to demonstrate that non-Christian views have no foundation, I focus on how Christianity explains the world as we actually experience it.

Nathaniel Schmucker | The Dartmouth Apologia | Spring 2014

A Response to James Hunter’s To Change the World

While Hunter asserts that Christians should not be trying to change the world, there is nuance, for he does not advocate or condone passivity.

Ryan Bouton | The Dartmouth Apologia | Spring 2014

The Rebellion of Faith

Christians do not know concretely how God will produce a favorable outcome from difficult situations, but they trust in Him because of evidence supporting His promise to do so and His overall track record throughout the Bible.

Brionna Atkins | The Harvard Ichthus | Spring 2013

On God and Suffering

Things become distorted when we are suffering, and it takes an understanding of something bigger than ourselves to realign life’s dimensions again.

Monica Perez and Michael Robinson | The Brown & RISD Cornerstone | Spring 2014

Cantor's Theorem (image illustrates Zeno's Paradox)

Cantor’s Theorem and Jesu

The Christological claim that Jesus is both human and divine at the same time is analogous to the claim that Jesus is both finite and infinite.

Drew Voight | St. Olaf Avodah | Spring 2014

God’s Sovereignty in the Midst of Depression

Reconciling the Christian hope we are meant to have with the crushing experience of hopelessness, anxiety and sadness we may actually feel can seem like an irresolvable struggle.

Tatianna Kufferath | The Columbia Crown & Cross |

Christ’s Crowning Glory

Most directly, [the symbol of the Crown and Cross] refers to Columbia’s founding as an Anglican college: the fruit of a Christian Church under the British monarch.

Luke Foster | The Columbia Crown and Cross | Spring 2014

Affliction Furthers the Flight in Me

Inspired by the story of the resurrection, 17th century English poet George Herbert wrote his short poem “Easter Wings.” The poem beautifully recreates the restorative power of Christ’s resurrection.

Chih McDermott | The Williams Telos | Fall 2013

Finding Oneself Beyond the Empirical Fence

But wouldn’t everybody act more or less the same if there were no religion and instead most of the same rules were held on a purely secular basis?

Nicholas Zahorodny | Swarthmore Peripateo | Fall 2013

A Response to Ross Douthat’s Bad Religion

Adopting C.S. Lewis’ concept of love’s responsibility, Ross Douthat harshly criticizes American Christianity in hopes of encouraging a stronger future.

Elena Zinski | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2012

Hands and Feet

In medical school, we are taught to strive to be “humanistic”. We have an honor society dedicated to humanism in medicine, but we are never told exactly what it means.

David D. Chen | Princeton Revisions | Spring 2012

Faith and Reason

Truth, the great 13th century philosopher Thomas Aquinas insisted, can only ever be one.

Christopher Hauser | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2012

Symbols of God

But how are symbols to be used when the divine—whether as God the Father, the divine aspect of Christ, or the Holy Spirit—is as St. John of Damascus puts it: “uncircumscribed and unable to be represented?”

Rachel Himes | The Brown & RISD Cornerstone | Spring 2013

Grasping for Grace: The Strangeness and Difficulty of Faith in T.S. Eliot’s “Ash Wednesday”

Instants of intellectual ecstasy are close to what the Romantics meant when they contemplated the Sublime, which Edmund Burke classified as the “strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling.”

Danielle Charette | Swarthmore Peripateo | Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2013

Language and Its Uses: The Difficulty in Communicating with a Heavenly God

Scripture is littered with evidence that our voices — our interaction with God through language — have divine importance and implication.

Gabriel Brotzman | The Brown & RISD Cornerstone | Spring 2013 Volume II Issue II

Eternity

I am afraid of death. I don’t mean in the buried-six-feet-under sense. Rather, I am afraid of dying by way of the American dream: to wake up some day in a life so comfortable that I have forgotten my dreams.

Shirley Li | The Williams Telos | Issue 9, Spring 2013

Why Ask Why?

It is not my point to argue here, only to ask. Is Christianity a philosophical system? Or is it a way of life? Both? Or something else altogether?

Kelly Maeshiro | The Harvard Ichthus | Fall 2012, Volume 8, Number 3

A Scholar’s Parrot

Do we, as humans, really just fake sentiments such as selfless love in the same way parrots babble with no true understanding behind their speech?

Linnea Peckham | The Wheaton Pub | Fall 2012, Vol. 8, Issue 1

Why Obey?

Acting in accordance with one’s desires is more a fact than a flaw of human beings. Any moral system that actually gets people to follow it must (not ought, must) not run counter to the personal desires of human beings.

Aaron Gyde | The Harvard Ichthus | Fall 2012, Volume 8, Number 3

Whom Are We Friends with and Why?

As the ancient philosophers recognized the ease with which we can settle for less from our relationships, the current cultural context challenges us, diverts us from what it means to have a true friend and be one.

Hannah Jung | The Dartmouth Apologia | Fall 2012, Volume 7, Issue 1

Euthyphro’s Dilemma and the Goodness of God

One of the most persistent issues in the philosophy of religion has been the origin of our concept of “moral good.”

Brendan Woods | The Dartmouth Apologia | Winter 2011,Volume 5 Issue 1

Physics and the Idea of God

The way in which we think the natural laws work suggests a new way of thinking about God and how God may act in the world: energizing, guiding, and holding all things together.

Prof. Stuart Crampton | The Williams Telos | Spring 2011, Issue 5

Sacramental Complications: Sufjan Stevens’ “Casimir Pulaski Day”

Sufjan Stevens is adored by the indie music movement, which is often antiestablishment and anti-religious, yet his music honestly handles the grittiness of lived faith. “Casimir Pulaski Day” is the firsthand narration of the death of a loved one within a Christian community.

Tristan Macdonald | 5 College Slant | Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2012

Mustard Seed Faith

Confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon which describes our tendency to seek out information that confirms our opinions and beliefs while avoiding information that contradicts what we believe. I take a lot more time on each page when I’m reading C.S. Lewis compared to Richard Dawkins.

Andy Morgosh | The Williams Telos | Spring 2012

October 2018