Into The Abyss

An infinite series is a sum of infinitely many numbers or terms, related in a given way and listed in a given order. They can be used to calculate the values of irrational numbers, like pi, out to trillions of decimal places. Or to calculate values of trigonometric and exponential functions. And of greatest interest, they can be used to see non-obvious relations between different areas of mathemat...

An introduction to eight of the Early Church Fathers: Clement, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen of Alexandria. Important witnesses to the Christian faith in its earliest days who everyone should know about.

Mike and Todd discuss Mormon, the man who compiled and narrated the Book of Mormon. Who was Mormon and what clues about his life and character are hidden in the text? We consider the Book of Mormon text with the hermeneutic of Mormon's biography as an important Nephite leader, even ruler, who had responsibility for the righteousness and security of his people, in light of the ultimate corruption a...

On having a personal "collection" of beautiful things. And making beautiful things. The Transcendentals: beauty, truth, and goodness. The theology of icons, physical objects that direct us toward higher things. The way beautiful things seize us and stop us in our tracks. On attending to beauty in life's vocations in marriage and family.

Rick and Todd talk about the Ferengi and their development in the Star Trek canon, especially in Deep Space Nine. We go through all 285 Rules of Acquisition (OK not really, but we talk about them). We talk about Ferengi characters like Quark, Rom, Nog, Grand Nagus Zek ("Inconceivable") and female Ferengi characters Pel and Ishka, who fight the misogyny of Ferengi society.

A special Christmas episode with piano and vocals from yours truly and my wife, featuring music from my favorite Christmas film, "Scrooge" (1970), starring Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, and Kenneth More. Music by Leslie Bricusse.

The primacy of Logos entails that all things are intellectually structured, that the order of reality is rationally intelligible. All things come to pass in accordance with the Logos (Heraclitus) and all things were made through the Logos (John 1:3). This episode looks at Logos through the thought of Benedict XVI, who calls Logos the intellectual structure of being. The implications are significan...

Rick and Todd talk about the Star Trek character Q. We review episodes in which Q has made an appearance and discuss his significance to the development of the characters and of humanity. As a method of interpretation we look at Q as a kind of mythological ‘Trickster’ archetype, common to many world mythologies and great works of literature; a character who causes mischief but also shakes things u...

The Neoplatonists were a group of philosophers active in the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. Their most important "big idea" of significance to the history of philosophy and theology was that all things ultimately originate from a single source, called "The One". This idea had important affinities with Christian monotheism. Neoplatonists believe in “The One”, a single source underlying all things. Jews...

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise? I thought not. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you. Jeff and Todd turn to the dark side to study the Force in all its aspects. Who are Plagueis and Palpatine? What are the sources of their power? The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. We look at the Sith's use of biotechnology throughou...

Jared, Jack, and Todd discuss the study of personality, in particular comparing two prominent models: the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator and the Big Five Personality Traits. While Myers–Briggs is more widely used, notably in the workplace, the Big Five is preferred in academia. Why is that? We discuss factor analysis, the nature of models, and the consistency and stability of personality. Would you r...

Rick and Todd discuss lessons of leadership from the great leaders of the Star Trek canon. What were the different leadership styles of Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and others? What worked? What didn't? We also discuss some of the other captains of the canon, including some who offer excellent lessons of how not to lead.

What is the Christian doctrine of Hell? How many people will be in Hell? Will they be there forever? Is it possible to repent once in Hell? Do you have to be Christian to be saved from Hell? Does it matter if you die as an infant before being baptized? Does it matter if you never hear the Gospel? Does it matter if your exposure to the Gospel is only cursory? Do you have to have a detailed understa...

I'll be releasing an episode soon with the title “Considering Hell and Confronting Sin”. Since it will be quite long I decided to make a short preview and summary version.

This episode in the philosophy of structure series looks at the way structure inheres in material substances. Starting with Aristotle's concept of hylomorphism (matter + form) we look at contemporary studies of this perspective in the thought of Kathrin Koslicki and Edward Feser. Most basic to this perspective is the idea of structures as the sorts of entities which make available positions or "sl...

Rick and Todd get together to talk about humanoid origins in the Star Trek universe. We discuss two episodes. In "The Chase" the crew of the Enterprise discovers the traces of an ancient ancestor common, via panspermia, to humanoid species across the galaxy. In "Distant Origin" the crew of Voyager encounters a Voth scientist who has discovered that the Voth originated from Earth and are humanoid d...

Jeff and Todd discuss Count Dooku and his apprentice Qui-Gon Jinn. Two complicated and interesting characters. Both great Jedi who pushed the boundaries of the Jedi way. But one stayed in the light. The other crossed into the dark.

A life with the Holy Spirit is wonderful, exciting, challenging, and meaningful. One of my core beliefs is that there’s much more to reality and the possibilities of our existence than we can possibly imagine. Just a tremendous “more”. Greater in scope, finer in detail, richer in complexity and beauty. And this is something I can see most fully through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. It’s lik...

In scripture Christ is called "the image of the invisible God". As such Christ is supremely important to our access to and understanding of God. As God made his goodness pass over Moses and declared his graciousness and compassion, Christ shows us the Father in his words and in his works. Three important philosopher-theologians: Origen of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, and Thomas Aquinas develope...

The Gospel of Mark starts off at a frenetic pace, matching the boundless and exuberant energy of John and Jesus as they announce the gospel message: "The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Jesus called disciples to "Follow" and they did, immediately. This is a gospel, good news, whose power and import we can still sense today.

Jared and Todd discuss the theory of constructed emotion and the work of Lisa Feldman Barrett. In contrast to a location-based understanding, in which discrete emotion categories consistently and specifically correspond to distinct brain regions, constructionism proposes that such emotion categories are constructed of more general brain networks not specific to those categories. We discuss degener...

Rachel and Todd talk about Flannery O'Connor. We discuss the unusual way that O'Connor developed Christian themes in her stories making use of violence and the grotesque. We look closely at four of her stories in particular, at her Southern regional style and humor as well as common themes like intergenerational conflict, urban and rural culture clashes, and racial tension as well as religious the...

Rick and Todd talk about Star Trek: an overview of the series, timeline continuity, development of the Klingons, the philosophy of Star Trek, genetic engineering, diversity, the Prime Directive and non-intervention, the secular values of Star Trek, the religious beliefs of other species and their productive tension with the secular Federation.

Jakob and Todd talk about set theory, its historical origins, Georg Cantor, trigonometric series, cardinalities of number systems, the continuum hypothesis, cardinalities of infinite sets, set theory as a foundation for mathematics, Cantor's paradox, Russell's paradox, axiomatization, the Zermelo–Fraenkel axiomatic system, the axiom of choice, and the understanding of mathematical objects as "sets...

Jared and Todd talk about the study of judgment and decision making, the work of Kahneman and Tversky, System 1 and System 2, heuristics and biases, naturalistic decision making, prospect theory and value functions, loss aversion, anchoring, and nudge theory.