Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the famous Enlightenment philosopher of the 1700s, wrote in The Social Contract that “the larger the State, the less the liberty”. As a freedom-loving American, I fear the potential that Earth’s population could doom the freedoms of future generations. But, in the first place, is a populous world doomed to ever fewer freedoms?Continue reading “Is Freedom Doomed in Populated Nations?”
Author Archives: Christian Poole
Christianity in The Lord of the Rings: (Part IV): World Elements
Middle Earth is full of characters exhibiting Christian symbolism through their words, actions, and relationships, as covered in Parts I, II, and III of this series on Christianity in The Lord of the Rings. However, the Christian symbolism extends beyond characters to include objects and places. Already, the Ring was covered in Part III dueContinue reading “Christianity in The Lord of the Rings: (Part IV): World Elements”
Christianity in The Lord of the Rings: (Part III) Evil in Middle Earth
The Lord of the Rings is full of Christian symbolism, ranging from the Threefold Office of priest, prophet, and king represented by Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn (respectively) as covered in Part I to the slew of “good guys” representing various Christian aspects and relationships as covered in Part II of this series. This Part III covers the darker aspects of Middle Earth and their connections to Christian concepts of evil.
Christianity in The Lord of the Rings (Part II): The Good in Middle Earth
The Lord of the Rings has many characters with aspects reflecting a Christian worldview. In this Part II of Christianity in The Lord of the Rings, we’ll be exploring various allies of the Threefold Office (Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo) covered in Part I. Some bear similarities to prominent Christian figures, while most demonstrate the qualitiesContinue reading “Christianity in The Lord of the Rings (Part II): The Good in Middle Earth”
Christianity in The Lord of the Rings (Part I): The Threefold Office
J.R.R. Tolkien’s legacy-defining book The Lord of the Rings is not an explicitly Christian work. In fact, Tolkien disliked on-the-nose allegory, when a story contains a one-to-one function to some exterior idea and permits a message to lead the story. Nonetheless, in a 1953 letter responding to a Father Robert Murray, Tolkien admitted the followingContinue reading “Christianity in The Lord of the Rings (Part I): The Threefold Office”
The Importance of Fairy Tales for Children
For the past year, I’ve been reading stories from classic children’s anthologies (many printed in the 1940s – 1960s era) to my kids before bed. One such collection of stories is from a series called Childcraft, which I find so aptly named since reading good stories is so critical in “crafting” children to be virtuous,Continue reading “The Importance of Fairy Tales for Children”
The Four Domains of War: From Self to Spiritual
Wherever there are people, there is war. Taken in its most general interpretation, bellum or war is a constant in the human condition. War was waged among the first men thousands of years ago; war is waged today; and war will be waged far into the future. Though war is constant, it is not necessarilyContinue reading “The Four Domains of War: From Self to Spiritual”
The Benefits of Reading the Great Books
Why read the great books? Apart from fulfilling some antiquarian dream or feeding an ego pining for intellectual praise, these books serve a useful purpose. That the books are (usually) old is of little consequence except in evidence that these books are important enough to have survived so long. Hence, we do not read theseContinue reading “The Benefits of Reading the Great Books”
A Year of Reading: Books I Read in 2021
As is customary, let’s take a look at the books I read in 2021. My reading heavily favored nonfiction and has begun leaning toward histories. Overall, my time spent reading declined from 2020 as the last year was busier than ever. My reading of the Great Books especially slowed down since I had little timeContinue reading “A Year of Reading: Books I Read in 2021”
Are Humans Natural?: The Contradictory Ideas of How We Think About Our Species
Humanity is a strange thing. It cannot decide whether it is part of nature or apart from nature. Mankind’s identity crisis has emerged from the clashing of naturalist and theistic philosophies, with political, religious, and philosophical fallout on how we treat ourselves. The Scope of Scientific Inquiry No matter how good the science is, itContinue reading “Are Humans Natural?: The Contradictory Ideas of How We Think About Our Species”