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Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul, says this: In India, guru means “self-realized being.” To be self-actualized means divine self-mastery–you literally learn how to tell your thinking mind how to think and your feeling mind how to feel, so you pre-ordain your destiny. If all life is imaginal, meaning…

Religion and spirituality make two significant errors: they exaggerate the character of man and/or diminish the nature of God. These two errors put spiritual skeptics in a corner. They must either: 1) believe that man can fulfill the perfect standards of God (the only standards worthy of a true God); or 2) believe in a…

Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson waxes poetic in what he perceives as the “most astounding fact” about the universe. But is his assertion supported by scientific observation based on evidence or is it an interpretation based on assumptions? Watch the video (3:30) here:  http://vimeo.com/38101676 Evaluate Tyson’s claims in light of this article on the Big Bang:…

“Does biology determine behavior.” That’s the question Brian Godawa’s short (6:00) psychological thriller debates through two characters, a serial killer and the psychiatrist he holds captive. Although tense, there is nothing gratuitous in this short work (PG-level suspense, no profane language). Watch the video here: http://vimeo.com/5355398 Great basis for discussion about the origin of morality – is…

Death, especially death of a friend, makes most of us philosophical. It can reveal a person’s worldview and show his/her need for things to be resolved on the other side although many times, it’s clear he/she is not sure what is on the other side. How would you evaluate Michael Nesmith’s comments below from a…

Food for thought on whether social justice and redistribution of wealth are really the Moral remedy for economic disparity. (This film is rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content, and language [non-pervasive].) In the not too distant future, time literally is money. Genetic ‘advancement’ has allowed humans to stop aging at 25, but one must work…

Religion and spirituality are two approaches to spiritual freedom/perfection. Think of religion as a formal dress code for heaven (or whatever final destination is in view). One must clothe one’s self in good works and satisfy established ordinances to be admitted to a heavenly afterlife. Islam’s dress code is the Five Pillars (profession of faith,…

Spirituality is spiritual skepticism and includes both self-made beliefs and formal religious systems outside of Christianity. Spirituality fails as a worldview because it is self-defeating; people trust their own flawed works as the means to reach a state of perfection and perfect peace. People want the freedom to get to heaven their own way. This…

For each of the four kinds of skepticism in the Meet The Skeptic model, there is a Root Idea that feeds the various objections within that category. What we’re calling the Root Idea is the false premise. A false premise feeds objections like a root feeds a weed. Pulling a dandelion will only dislodge its…

Words can depict reality as it really is or they can twist it.  Words shape the culture. An integral tool in the Meet-The-Skeptic approach is the Red-Flag-Words list included in each category (Spiritual, Moral, Scientific, Biblical) in the book. These are words skeptics falsely redefine. For example, if a skeptic said that you were being “intolerant” because you…

Both skeptics and Christians are guilty of not thinking through their beliefs. Clichés and bumper-sticker wisdom are examples of unexamined philosophy that we all fall back on at times. Many skeptics don’t know why they believe what they believe and merely parrot the clichés of today’s culture with expressions such as: “All religions are the…

Skeptics are people who discard the biblical worldview in favor of other ways to see the world. Some had nonbelieving parents. Some had believing parents who were legalistic. Some have been deceived by false teachers and false religions. Some have been turned off by hypocrites. Some have put their trust in material success and their…