Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
Quoted in S. Timoshenko's History of Strength of Materials: Since the fabric of the universe is most perfect, and is the work of a most wise Creator, nothing whatsoever takes place in the universe in which some relation of maximum and minimum does not appear. Wherefore there is absolutely no doubt that every effect in …
Continue reading "Leonhard Euler on the Creator and Mathematics"
To be called a "Pelagian" is about the worst insult that a Calvinist can hurl at you. So who was Pelagius? And how did his contemporaries react to it? Specifically, Pelagius was from Roman Britain; what did they think of it? Let's start with this, from Peter Salway's Roman Britain: One incident, in which the …
Continue reading "What the Britons Thought of Pelagius and Grace"
Recently received the following in the "electronic mailbag": Is there an essay, site, or book that describes the theological differences between the 1928 and 1979 prayer books? I have found one reference, "How Episcopalians Were Deceived," but not much else. I was raised (and remain) a Methodist. I developed an interest in the history of …
This, from Peter Freuchen's Book of the Seven Seas: Hans Egede, that holy man who became the apostle of Greenland after some very immoral earlier adventures, tells how his prayers stilled a storm which took him to the faraway island in 1721. The wind was so fierce and the waves so strong that the crew …
Continue reading "Preserving God's Reputation With the Heathen"
It's not easy to get a legislator to admit that he or she made a mistake, but former Ohio Rep. Mike Oxley finally gets around to it: "No law is perfect." True words. But not exactly what I expected to hear from Mike Oxley, the former Republican congressman who penned the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation with former …
Continue reading "Now He Tells Us: Mike Oxley "Fesses Up" on Sarbox"
Maureen Dowd, like many on the left, isn't really happy with the outcome of the DNC: In his renomination acceptance speech here on Thursday night, he told us that America’s problems were tougher to solve than he had originally thought. And that’s why he has kindly agreed to give us more time. Because, after all, …
Continue reading "Voting for Ourselves: The Reality of the 2012 Election"
David Virtue lays the unpleasant mess out: By any criteria, it has become one of the most disastrous and devastating ecclesiastical battles since the formation of the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMIA) and the later birth of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). It may well be the greatest single spiritual blot on …
Continue reading "Egos Inflatable to Any Size: The ACNA-AMiA Fiasco"
Although the "official" entry of Texas A&M to the SEC was 1 July, the "grand entrance" (and for a Palm Beacher, the importance of this cannot be understated) will be this Saturday, when the Florida Gators visit Kyle Field. One serious question, of course, is whether Kyle Field will stay, be remodelled, or built somewhere …
That, basically, is what the Hondurans are doing: The government of Honduras has signed a deal with private investors for the construction of three privately run cities with their own legal and tax systems. The memorandum of agreement signed Tuesday is part of a controversial experiment meant to bring badly needed economic growth to this …
Continue reading "No Dogs or…: Honduras Brings Back the Concession Areas"
It took long enough, but Jonathan Martin finally "threw his wallet on the table" about this: I do not hold to the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation-it is too speculative for my taste. But I do believe very much in real presence, that there is a mysterious way that we partake in the presence and power …
Continue reading "A Pentecostal Finally Gets It on the Eucharist"
Positive Infinity 