Dearest Rachel – Of all the topics I could discuss with you that you have left behind and find meaningless from where you are, there’s nothing that has less impact upon you as the subject of money and investments. I always find myself thinking of your perspective as that of Saint Peter in some oldContinue reading “Bet Against the Idiots”
Category Archives: Secular Answers
Fine With the Evil Choice
Dearest Rachel – I realize that the ‘you’ I saw in last night’s dream was wildly out of character, but I’ve come to accept that this is how dreams operate. Considering that there was a whole other level of distance from reality involved, it shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. In the dreamContinue reading “Fine With the Evil Choice”
The False Dichotomy of the Heroic Binary
Dearest Rachel – I know that has to sound to you like an absurdly pretentious title; you’d think it belongs on some psych or sociology major’s graduate thesis. I realize that I sometimes refer to these letters to you as ‘essays,’ but this is a little over-the-top. And that’s more than a fair assessment. TheContinue reading “The False Dichotomy of the Heroic Binary”
In Lieu of Conscience
Dearest Rachel – The other day, I was reading an article about the reliability of one’s conscience, and how – despite being pointed to as a rationale for faith (by no less than the apostle Paul himself!) and the proof of a fairly universal standard of good and evil – it is no substitute forContinue reading “In Lieu of Conscience”
I Still Can Be Happy
Dearest Rachel – There’s a certain unfortunate bias in my letters to you. This is in part because I generally make a point of writing to you first thing in the morning. To a certain extent, this is so I can get the task out of the way, and get on with the rest ofContinue reading “I Still Can Be Happy”
A Feature, Not a Bug
Dearest Rachel – I was probably dealing with a little bit of overconfidence after having helped the table I had been sitting at win the Christmas trivia contest – which I really should not have had, seeing that I had also been responsible for a run of three wrong answers in a row, that hadContinue reading “A Feature, Not a Bug”
The Point of Power
Dearest Rachel – As soon as I wrote it out, it occurred to me that someone might read the title and assume it was something like the Five Point Palm technique from Kill Bill or some such. And while I understand that something along these lines actually exists among certain aboriginal tribes in Australia –Continue reading “The Point of Power”
A Message to the Newlyweds
Dearest Rachel – Believe it or not, I found myself dealing with a couple of dreams last night, both of which I thought you might as well hear about. To be sure, the first was a little more than an ironic bit of punishment visited upon some quack con man, but the whole concept behindContinue reading “A Message to the Newlyweds”
Cultivating Karma
Dearest Rachel – There wasn’t much to remember about last night’s first dream, only a news item. Still, it was sufficient to take into consideration, and perhaps turn into an essay of sorts. It would seem that this fellow, whose name I can’t remember, and may never have been dropped (since it didn’t really matterContinue reading “Cultivating Karma”
Take Him Out of the Ba’al Game
Dearest Rachel – Sometimes, I don’t know what to do or think about Daniel. Some of the views he listens to and believes seem so ‘out there’ that I wonder where they come from. I realize just about any kind of crazy idea can be found out there on the internet, but how is itContinue reading “Take Him Out of the Ba’al Game”
You’d Always Check In
Dearest Rachel – I have a hard time with the whole “What Would [fill in the blank; it’s usually Jesus, but some people use other names as well where applicable] Do?” question sometimes. Not because I don’t know what they’d do in the given situation, necessarily, but because, with enough rationalization, you can claim justificationContinue reading “You’d Always Check In”
The Bitter Taste of Flavor-Aid
Dearest Rachel – I mentioned that the story of my conversion is ridiculously unremarkable; in comparison, it seems like almost everyone I know at church has a turnaround moment in their life that is leagues more dramatic than mine. Even you, while brought up in the church so as to have a faith-based anchor inContinue reading “The Bitter Taste of Flavor-Aid”
The Wind Has No Answer
Dearest Rachel – I wonder if you ever bother to look down on the earth from wherever you may be. How fast is it moving, from your perspective? They say that the spin is a thousand miles an hour at the equator, but what is that on a sphere of 24,000 miles in circumference? CanContinue reading “The Wind Has No Answer”
Adapting
Dearest Rachel – No, I’m not talking about that EU-to-US plug thingamajig that got half-fried (and fried my surge protector in turn) by the desk-based plug. I’m talking about adjusting to life in stir, especially when you’d been expecting to travel abroad and see the sights. As I’ve said a number of times already, IContinue reading “Adapting”
Secular Answers
Dearest Rachel – You might remember the many times that we would talk together about various issues of the day, and what’s up with the younger generation. Part of that had to do with one of my ideas for a YouTube channel – I was hoping to illustrate to a younger audience than ourselves (which,Continue reading “Secular Answers”
Trying to Take My Own Advice
Dearest Rachel – I’m sure by now that you’ve noticed a lot of my letters to you seem a little bit disjointed and disorganized. They do tend to bounce around from thought to thought within the alleged confines of the topic I’ve decided to cover in the letter (and even then sometimes it’s hard toContinue reading “Trying to Take My Own Advice”
from Rachel: Letter to Oprah
“Dear Oprah, “[I love your show… blah blah blah] I also love your new song. I think that was so terrific of Paul Simon to write that for you. The song is running through my head at the moment because as he sings about you ‘A story in your eye / Well, speak until yourContinue reading “from Rachel: Letter to Oprah”
Letters to Rachel 