In this video I look at what symbolism isn’t—a secret code for a simple message that could have just been said in a sentence or two—and what it is—the structure of reality presented in a simplified form to make it easier to grasp. Symbolism isn’t a code or a cipher, it’s not about hiding a simple message where clever people will find it. Symbolism is about what makes stories good—it’s about reflecting the structure of reality.
Category: Missing the Mark
When To Do the Right Thing For the Wrong Reasons
In this video I take a look at when you should do the right thing for the wrong reasons.
A Dime Store Heaven: The Big Rock Candy Mountains
In this video I look at the song The Big Rock Candy Mountains and how it describes a dime-store heaven, and how you can see this same sort of thing in all sorts of bad political philosophies which don’t even take themselves seriously.
My Favorite Proof For the Existence of God
In this video I talk about my favorite proof for the existence of God — the argument from contingency and necessity — because of how much this proof for God tells us about God, such as that God is love, God created creation for the sake of creation, as an act of generosity, etc.
The Easiest Proof For the Existence of God
In this video I look at what I think is the easiest proof for the existence of God, Saint Thomas’s fifth way—the governance of the world.
Jonah & The Great Fish
In this video I look at the book of Jonah and examine the idea that Jonah died and was brought back to life on the third day and Brant Pitre argues in The Case for Jesus. I also look at the rest of the Book of Jonah for fun, because it’s awesome and fascinating. NOTE: I’m just a layman offering what I get from it. I am not teaching with authority.
The Problem With Ex-Hominem Arguments
In this video I talk about the problem of ex-hominem arguments, that is, arguments “from the man”. These are arguments in which the person making the argument uses himself (or, more often, some trait of his) as a premise in his argument. The classic example is “I did X as a kid and I turned out all right” but it’s surprisingly common once you watch out for it. It’s not invalid to do, but it does cause some problems when a person does it, namely, that an ad-hominem argument becomes a necessary and valid response. In the example above, if the guy didn’t actually turn out OK, then how he turned out is not proof that the X was fine to do as a kid.
Can Multiple Artistic Interpretations Be Valid?
In this video I look at what artistic interpretations are and how multiple artistic interpretations of the same piece of art can be valid without devolving into nonsense like saying that it’s all in the eye of the beholder or every interpretation is valid.
Frozen is a Shockingly Christian Movie
In this video I look at Disney’s movie Frozen and how it’s a shockingly Christian movie.
Why I Keep Going Even Though My YouTube Channel Is Small
I was asked by someone why I keep going with my YouTube channel even though it’s small. So, here’s my answer.
Sayings Examined: Is The Perfect the Enemy of The Good?
In this video I take a look at the saying, “the perfect is the enemy of the good” and look at in what ways it’s true and in what ways it’s not.
Despair vs. Hope: Against Annihilation
In this video I answer a question from a viewer about the torment of despair and whether anihilation would be better than despair for all eternity. To do that, I also look at the related question of whether annihilation is even possible, given the immortality of the soul.
How to Not Be Bored
In this video I talk about how to not get tired of things but to keep finding them interesting.
Snake Talk Episode 6: Aphrodite Update
In this episode I give an update on how she’s doing, including some lessons I’ve learned in keeping her, such as how I’ve trained her to recognize when it’s feeding time and how much she loves burrows in the substrate over hides above it.
The Problem of Evil: Depression
This video is a response to a question. Gadowscar asked, “[M]y question regarding the problem of evil would be triggered by my own personal experience and be fairly narrow, and be an inquiry into how God can allow for such rampant depression among society. I wholeheartedly believe God exists with my intellect, there’s no doubt in my mind that He exists. However, because I suffer with depression(to the point of being suicidal at times), I have difficulty on an emotional and spiritual level believing that God loves me. How would you answer this?”
Here’s my answer.
When a Contradiction is True
In this video I look at the times when an apparent contradiction is actually true, without it being a violation of the principle of non-contradiction (the key is in the word “apparent”). I take a look at two verses from the book of proverbs as an example that shows how this works (Proverbs 26:4 and Proverbs 26:5):
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
