Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
With another North American academic year getting under way, it’s time for geotechnical professors and practitioners alike to think about where our industry has been and where it’s headed. This past summer three of our most eminent people (Garland Likins, Bengt Fellenius and Robert Holtz) came together and wrote an excellent piece for the 2Q …
Continue reading "A Sea Fight in a Fog: Revisiting the ASCE Controversy about Dynamic Formulae"
One thing that surprises me in Anglican circles is the growing trend to insist on a literal interpretation of the Scriptures. In the old days Anglicans/Episcopalians used to believe that such hermeneutics was for “them”, a term loaded with educational, ecclesiastical and socio-economic overtones. After a half century of revisionism, however, a correction is understandable. …
Continue reading "The Significance of the Literal Meaning of Scripture: An Example from Origen"
Every now and then I have stop and protest one thing or another that has become fashionable among Evangelicals. We’re always told that every good and trendy thing comes from the Throne Room. But that isn’t really the case, and it makes sense to call some of these things out. I have friends on Facebook …
I have to confess that I enjoyed the "Ugley Vicar" John Richardson's exposition on women bishops in the Church of England as it relates to the CoE's relationship with the state. I recommend it highly, especially to my American readers, who generally don't think in terms other than the construct we have. (And that, sad …
Continue reading "Women Bishops in the CoE: Cutting the Knot or Tying It?"
(Destiny D-4404-S) 1971 "Jesus Music" was, by definition, evangelistic. It also tended to be folksy; there were many in the movement who had strong reservations about the use of straight-up rock 'n roll for Christian music. (There were others who didn't, but I digress.) Phoenix Sonshine epitomised that sound and that message with this evangelistic, …
And why not? Wild bottlenose dolphins bond over their use of tools, with distinct cliques and classes forming over decades as a result of their skills, scientists have found. The communities, which have been compared with societies such as the Bullingdon Club in humans, mean the aquatic animals share their knowledge only with those in …
Continue reading "The Palm Beach Way of Exclusivity is in the Animal Kingdom, Too"
One question that Christians often ask each other is “What preacher (or minister or priest) had the greatest influence on your life?” For me that’s never been an easy question to answer, especially in the church I’m in now. Most people would assume that the church I’ve ended up with produced the most influential one, …
Continue reading "The Most Important Minister: My Tribute to Fr. Donald F.X. Connolly"
However small, however modest, however tentative this may be, it will perpetually give rise to contests and divisions. And this quest of a common denominator in contrasting convictions can develop nothing but intellectual cowardice and mediocrity, a weakening of minds and a betrayal of the rights of truth. (Jaques Maritain, True Humanism, Bles, 1938, p. …
Continue reading "What Happens When Everyone Is Supposed to Believe the Same"
Next month, Lord willing, I start the second year of my PhD adventure in Computational Engineering. "Adventure" is a good way to describe it, especially in my superannuated state. In the midst of getting the coursework started last fall (yes, Europeans, sad to say we have coursework with PhD programmes) we had a "freshman" orientation. …
Century 27269 (1965) For those of you who survived the 1960's folk Mass scene, some questions: did you ever wonder how "Kumbayah" became emblematic of people sitting around, holding hands? Or why Michael had to row the boat ashore when technology of the time had outboard motors (as depicted on the right)? Or why, with …
Continue reading "Frederick Gere and Milton Williams: The Winds of God"
Positive Infinity 