Wealth

A proper understanding of wealth is important in leading a holistic life. In previous blogs I have talked about the importance of growing and excelling in all areas of life, including, but not limited to, spiritual, intellectual, physical, occupational, social, and financial areas. In this blog, I want to talk specifically about the financial area.

First, let us define wealth. Wealth is anything of value, particularly having more than what you need to survive: an abundance. So what place does wealth have in a successful holistic life? Many fall into the trap of measuring their success purely in terms of wealth. Often, their success in this one area can come at the expense of growth in another area. Maybe they have sacrificed relationships (social) to gain financial success, or they might never take a break (occupational/recreational) in their pursuit of success. On the other extreme, I hear people make the mistake that that wealth is not important, or worse, that it is evil.

In another post I can deal with the moral value of wealth. For my Christian readers, I can talk about what the Bible does and does not say about wealth. However, for this post I want to talk a bit about how to view wealth, and how to excel in the financial area.

Two Views

There are at least two ways in which one can view wealth. The most common view that I hear, sees wealth being analogous to a pie. Those who hold this view protest that one percent of the population own forty percent of the wealth. If all the wealth in the world is one single pie, then it is only fair that we cut the pie into even pieces, and that no one gets more than their fair share. If this is true, than rich people are evil and greedy, because they took a bigger piece of the pie. Those greedy fat jerks! Also, as the population continues to grow, we will need to split the pie into even smaller pieces.

But what if there is a different way to view wealth? What if wealth is not in fact static, but actually grows? Instead of being a pie that must be divided into smaller pieces, what if wealth is like a seed, with potential to multiply. This might sound crazy. We are all told that money doesn't grow on trees.

Wealth Grows

We all have resources: time, skills, talents, and even money. Let's imagine that those resources are like seeds. Some may have more than others, but we all have something. A seed, when you plant it in the ground, it brings forth fruit and more seed. You have multiplied your resources. You can plant those seeds and continue to multiply your wealth.

Now let's connect this analogy to actual wealth. There are three ways that we can multiply wealth: innovation, effort, and trade.

Innovation

One of the ways in which we create wealth, add value to the world, is through innovation. I've talked about this is a previous blog. I can take relatively cheap canvas, paint, and utensils, then through innovation (creativity) I can create an artistic masterpiece. If I'm a talented or skilled artist, the final product could be worth far more than the sum of the original parts.

Another form of innovation is technology. Sand, for instance, is relatively cheap. However, with ingenuity, a little work, and a few more pieces we can create micro-chips. Through scientific innovation, the common component of sand has been transformed into a micro-chip, which is more valuable than the original sand.

Effort

Both of the above examples (of the painting and the micro-chip) require effort, but some instances of wealth creation require little or no innovation. If I work as a cashier, I provide a service to a store, which adds value to the store, and they pay me for it. I took a resource, my time, and used it to add value to the store. In return they pay me.

The same thing happens if you pay me ten bucks to mow your front lawn. You value the mowed lawn, and I value the ten dollars. Something else has happened in both of these cases, the cashier and the lawn mower. In both cases there was a trade, where both parties win! As a cashier, I provide a service for the store (which brings them revenue), and they pay me.

Trade

Let's say that I am selling hot dogs at a hot dog stand, and you are hungry for some hot dogs. I have hot dogs, but I want money to pay my bills. You have cash, and you want some hot dogs. So we trade hot dogs for cash. Who wins in this scenario? Answer: we both win!

Trade of this nature is mutually-beneficial. This means that we both win, because we both walk away with something we value more than what we previously had. Now if you took a hot dog from me by force, then only you win. If you took all of my hot dogs, and got away with it, then I would go out of business and lose big time.

Conclusion

So anyone can multiply their wealth through these three methods: innovation, effort, and trade. Wealth is not simply a pie that we must evenly redistribute. Therefore, a key to success in holistic life is to add value to the world around you. We can add value to our physical possessions, through the aforementioned methods. We can add value to others by investing time in them and encouraging them to become better persons. We can add value to ourselves, by growing in any of the areas of our own life.

There are so many implications to this concept, which I am hoping to unpack in future blogs. So what do you think? Tweet at me @frank_perseo or comment on this post on the “Frank Talks” Facebook page. What are some of the implications of wealth being able to multiply? What are some ways that you add value to the world? What are some things that you want to add value to the world?

Two Tips For Productive Holistic Living

For the past five years, I've been interested in this concept of improving personally in a well-rounded way. In fact, last year, I created an entire blog founded on this theme. I was inspired by many real and fictional characters who excelled physically, intellectually, and in other areas as well. My life goal is to strive for excellence, and be well-rounded.

I was inspired by a line from the movie "Limitless", talking about being "the perfect version of yourself". Can you imagine what that would be like? Well, maybe not perfect, but if you could live your dream life. What would that look like? Now some of the things that we dream about, may be things that we can't change. But what can you change? What are some things in your life that you wish were better in your life?

I am of the firm belief that the key to this excellence is well-roundedness. If you focus too much on one area (say intellect) you can burn yourself out. You burn yourself out by neglecting your health and social life. Conversely, improving your health can improve your brain. Working out and staying healthy is one way to raise your IQ.

I clearly have not arrived at my life goal (for those who know me personally), but let me pass along two tips that have helped me, from heroes of mine who have made it.

One bite at a time

When looking at your dreams and what it takes to be well-rounded, it can be overwhelming. How can you take on these gargantuan tasks? I would propose that you do so, in the same way that one would eat an elephant: one bite at a time. Start with a smaller goal and work your way up to where you want to be.

In my personal experience, the health arena has always been the worst for me, but I'm making real strides. All through college I ate terrible foods and did the minimum amount of exercise. However, in the past year, I've seen my eating habits improve immensely, through small, seemingly insignificant changes in my diet. First, slowly switching out all the soda that I drank with water (to the point where I now drink water almost exclusively). Overall meals have improved (although not by my doing), and I've made conscious efforts to cut down on snack foods. All this stuff happened a little at a time.

Normal or Successful

"Listen kid, you can either be normal or be successful." You simply can't be both. If you want to get ahead and feel the satisfaction of achievement, you will need to do things that others aren't doing. We are wired with a natural inclination to be normal, to fit in. Children have the inherent ability and desire to imitate those around them. They learn through imitation. Then we grow up, and we have this strong desire to be cool or relatively normal. Even in this "hipster", "self-aware" generation, they may stray from normal a bit, but never too far.

However, it is this straying from the beaten path that often breeds success. Not always. Sometimes you stray off the path and get stuck in the mud. Stray from the path with wisdom.

If you want to be successful academically (intellectually), you need to study. It's probably a no-brainer for most of my readers. However, in my college experience, I have many classmates ask me how I get good grades. I watched these guys, and they are the same people that I see messing around instead of studying. Same thing with fitness: you need to put in the time and effort if you want to be fit.

One final example is with money and time. You need to budget and make a schedule. It's weird. It makes you feel like a nerd. Writing stuff out. Planning. God forbid that your friends hear that you do this kind of stuff. That mentality used to keep me from planning out my time. I had to get over it. I don't keep a rigid schedule, it's more of a loose to-do list and a list of goals, but planning that out has been the key to living the life that I want to live.

As far as budgeting, my parents used to have me do that from a young age. They'd give me an allowance for chores I did around the house, then they'd have me save some, give some away, and keep some to spend. When I grew up, it was just a matter of making my budget slightly more complicated. 

So what do you think?

So what do you think? Tweet at me @frank_perseo or comment on the Frank Talks Facebook page. Is this all elementary for you? Are these all things that you do? Any suggestions hit you particularly? Does the idea of living a balanced life interest you? Please tweet at me, or comment on the Facebook post. I want to hear from you.

The Challenge

My interest in polymaths traces it's influence back to many characters, both fictional and historical. Maybe one of the earliest influences is Batman, the epitome of humanism and being all that you can be. Other fictional influences include Mr Terrific, Dr Samuel Beckett, Eddie Morra from Limitless, and a character that I created named Dr John Reyes. Historical influences included American President James A Garfield, King Solomon, and most of all Jesus.

I was inspired by their physical, intellectual, and sometimes spiritual excellence, and their success in multiple things. Clearly I have not attained to the level of my heroes. However, in this case it is not about the destination, but about the journey instead. On this journey I would like to invite as many friends with me as possible.

My challenge to you reader: pursue excellence in every arena that you can.

The first question

What are the arenas that you must grow in, to live a holistic human life? For me there are six areas of the human experience: spiritual, intellectual, physical, occupational, social, and financial. Even within those, there are sub-arenas and cross-sections. Two that come to mind being politics and art. Some may disagree with my model. An atheist reader may say that there is no "spiritual arena". Well, those people are wrong, but they have their right to be. (My definition for religion here is your world philosophy and the practice of you ethical philosophy.)

Second question

What arena comes easiest for you? Or which is the one you spend the most time on? For me it used to be either the intellectual or spiritual arena (or a cross section of the two). Today it probably still is in the intellect arena. I have spent a lot of time reading about (and writing here about) politics. You need to look at your strongest arena and look for ways to continue to cultivate it. I talk about well-roundness, but everyone has a sharp point, and that's OK.

Take time to sharpen yours. If you are a young person reading this, find a specific thing within that arena that you can make a living off of, and go pursue a career in that. If you are a little older, hopefully you've done that already. There is also life outside of a job, so you can also consider volunteering in something of that area.

Weak spot

Next, identify your weak spot. I had two when I started this journey: I was out of shape, and an task-oriented introvert. OK, maybe I still have those problems, but I have made great strides. I have a small group of friends that I am regularly in touch with, and I am making more conscious efforts to make more healthy choices.

You have to start by thinking: how do I want to improve in these areas? Maybe you don't do a lot of reading. You can start by doing a little at a time. After finishing high school, I started reading one book a month. OK, it only lasted for a month, but I picked that goal up again the next year and it stuck. Now I read all the time. Still not as much as I'd like to, but far more than I used to.

So figure out what arenas you are weak in. Then think of small ways that you can grow in those areas. Take small bites. A little at a time.

Get organized

If you haven't rolled your eyes at the whole idea of this challenge, this is normally the part where people begin to roll their eyes. If you want to succeed in this challenge, if you want to have progress, you need to get organized. You need to do difficult things. You need to do things that all your friends are not doing. I have said before "you can be either normal or successful, you can't be both."

If you want to get ahead financially, it will require you to curb your spending and save some for a rainy day (and invest it). You won't be spending as frivolously as your friends. They may laugh at you, but you will benefit from it in the end. If you want to be more productive, you may need to schedule your time, and be more strict with it. It may not be fun, others may chide you, but you will benefit.

If you want to grow in different arenas, you need to set goals in each one. You need to be specific with your goals, and you want to write them down. You probably have a strong desire to put off what I am saying. You don't feel like it. Maybe you know that you should do (and even want to do) some of the stuff that I am talking about. I was there once, and in one brief moment I decided to actually do the things I had been putting off. Little by little. I'm doing a little bit more all the time. I am so glad that I do. My life is so much fuller now than it was five years ago.

So, tell me what you think. Tweet at me @frank_perseo or like Frank Talks on Facebook, then comment on the post for this blog. Are you interested in this challenge? Is this the kind of thing you already do? Am I totally off my rocker? What did you take away from this?

Faith • Life • Civics

The Christian Faith, holistic life, and politics. These three themes have increasingly become part of my life over the past five years. To me, their importance go in that order, each one flowing from the preceding. My recent interest in politics over the past four years has come from a desire to live a full life. If I want to do that, how can I neglect being informed about and involved in politics? (Admittedly, I've gotten a little carried away.)

I have chosen to focus my blog on these three themes, because I believe that they are important for everyone. I consider religion to be your beliefs (narrative/worldview or whatever term you choose to use) and your moral code and practices. Even if you are an atheist, or "not religious", have system like this that you live by. After religion comes holistic life. I believe that there are many "areas" of life, including religion (as previously defined), intellect, health, social, occupational, and more. One may be better in some areas than in others, but we shouldn't neglect one area because we are week in that one area.

Politics exists in two of the aforementioned areas: intellect, as you must have an understanding of the issues, and occupation, as you often must get involved. It is also influenced by religion, since your worldview and moral beliefs will effect your political ones. Now my religious views don't call for me to use political power to foist my faith on you. In fact, quite the opposite. However, as I've said before, I believe that there are certain self-evident moral laws which most of us can agree on and build our laws on. For instance, most of us can agree that murder and theft are wrong.

Therefore, these three topics, in my mind, encompass everything. These three themes are what I eat, sleep, and breathe. So it would only make sense for me to write a blog revolving around them.

My story

I was raised in the midst of Christianity. I was first Catholic, before switching to a non-denominational evangelical church. However, from a very early age, I suffered from deep existential and epistemological doubts. How could I know anything for certain, let alone the existence of an invisible God.

This doubt followed me until I was 18 or 19, when I took an apologetics and critical thinking class.

The teacher of the class, Keith, is a Christian apologist who hosts a radio show and podcast. I was familiar with apologetics, and very interested in the topic, but critical thinking principles helped me to look at it in a different way. The course helped me to realize that I can know certain truths for certain, and that I can be certain of God's existence.

Being certain of what you believe has a way of igniting your passion for it. Long after the critical thinking class, Keith began to mentor me one-on-one. We met up once a week for the entire summer, and talked about literally everything. One of our recurring themes, however, was the holistic life; particularly how the Christian faith applies to each area of life.

I don't know where my interest in holistic life started, but it continues to grow. I had an interest in a number of both real and fictional polymaths (or Renaissance men) like Leonardo Divinci, Bruce Wayne, and President James A Garfield (who became my favorite president after reading his biography my senior year of high school). I adopted my model of the six areas of life (spiritual, intellectual, physical, social, occupational, and financial) from Dave Ramsey and Zig Ziglar. Every year I've been setting more and more goals in these areas. There is always a sense of self-gratification when you make a change that betters your life. My goals for this current year include reading the whole Bible, reading a number of fiction and non-fiction books, learning one song on an instrument, writing these blogs, and ceasing my task-orientedness every so often to invest time in others.

During these meetings with Keith, I became convinced of the need to be an informed voter. I always liked controversy, but understood little about politics. It was at this time that I came to identify as a conservative (rather than a moderate or libertarian). After that, I have spent more and more time over the years learning more about politics from different perspectives. I wanted to share the things that I was learning, which is one of the reasons I started this blog. I also want to use this to share some of my thoughts on Christianity and holistic life, since I believe all three themes are connected.

Your Thoughts

So what do you think? Tweet at me @frank_perseo or comment on the Frank Talks Facebook page. Are these themes important in your life as well? If not, do you want them to be? Are you interested in reading more about these themes? What do you think of the definition I presented for "religion"? Do you think we talk about politics too much here on Frank Talks, or not enough?

Who Should You Vote For?

How do you determine who to vote for? Some people wouldn't dare to tell you who to vote for, but if you're reading this, I'm assuming that you are looking for a set of criteria to determine which candidate to pick. This set of criteria works for any elected office, in federal, state or local politics. I am arguing that these criteria are in the best interest of any person from any political position.

Here are the two criteria, you want someone who:

1. Will abide by and enforce the Laws
   and
2. Will represent the people

You see, we live in a nation of laws, and a nation of, by, and for the people.

The Law

Any candidate, for any office, must be someone who agrees to abide by and enforce the laws. At the federal level, this would be the US Constitution. At the state level, it would be the state's constitution, and at the local level, it would be the local laws. "What if the laws are unjust?" you may ask. Well, there is a system to change that, and we will get to this in the next point, but you want to work within the system.

If you have a candidate who is willing to break some rules to push an agenda, then you have a deal-breaker. You may even agree with their agenda, but think of it this way: you wouldn't want someone to break the rules to push an agenda that you disagree with. Remember, it goes both ways. What goes around comes around.

The Constitution prevents government officials from infringing on your rights. Among such rights are life, liberty, property, free speech, free religious exercise (meaning the ability to believe what you want and do what you want, without infringing on the aforementioned rights of others). These rights are basic, because they don't cost anything to recognize.

Bottom line: you want a candidate who will agree to be bound to the Constitutional restrictions. It is in everyone's best interest to elect a candidate who will not be his or her own arbiter of what rules to follow.

The Representative

We do not live in a pure democracy. Instead, we live in a Constitutional-Republic, where leaders rule by consent of the governed. In a pure democracy, there is simply a majority rule. Majority rule sounds nice, but then it sucks when you happen to be in a minority. Ideally, we want our leaders to represent all of their constituents, not just those in their party.

Our leaders need to represent both the majority and the minority. If they only represent the majority which voted them in, we will have a country which neglects (or worse) oppresses those in minority groups. Our representatives should promote greater liberty, while at the same time protecting all citizens from having their rights infringed.

You can also vote for a candidate who will work within the system (not infringing on the rights of others) to bring about a change that is necessary in our society. The best example of this would be Lincoln, who represented the abolitionist movement. The newly formed Republican party believed that slavery went against the philosophy of America, and were taking political action to end it.

Lincoln is the best example of this, because he made the change within the Constitutional perimeters.

*****

So there you have it. Two simple criteria. They must follow the Constitution, acting within it's perimeters; and they must represent all their constituents, not infringing on the Constitutional rights of any to push an agenda.

So, tell me what you think. Tweet at me @frank_perseo or comment on the Frank Talks Facebook page. Do you agree or disagree with these criteria? What would be your criteria for picking candidates? And based on this, who do you think that I support?

6 Conservative Principles

(Or the six principles which conservatives seek to conserve)

I want to continue with a theme that I started with at the beginning of the year: what does it mean to be a conservative. Now even among conservatives, there are many definitions for conservatism, but the the broadest definition that I can come up is that conservatism* is about conserving the ideas and principles which preserve our liberty. Conservatism is not about maintaining outdated traditions or some status quo.

*This is conservatism in American politics.

What are these principles which preserve our liberty? Well, I want to take a look at that. I have come up with at least 6 principles which conservatives seek to maintain.

1. Truth- conservatives unique attitude towards the Truth, and the method for finding it.
2. Natural Law- the system of ethics that our legal system is founded on.
3. Human rights- part of Natural Law, we believe that all humans are born with certain rights
4. Liberty- the purest form of freedom
5. Justice- we cannot maintain liberty without justice
6. Checks and balances- Our country has an intricate system of checks and balances that must be maintained.

Now most people who identify as conservatives are pragmatists. That is to say, they believe (at least some if not all) conservative policies work to create a society with greater liberty and prosperity for all. However, historically, and today in a growing movement, conservatism is becoming more and more about following a conservative interpretation of the Constitution.

Truth

Ok, everyone is going to make the claim that their position in the truth. I am of, course doing no different here. However, even beyond that, conservatives have an entirely different view of the truth. I would argue that conservatives and progressives have an entirely different ways of dealing with unpleasant ideas.

Conservatives generally have a pragmatic view of truth. That is to say that they seek what works best to create liberty and prosperity.

Natural law

Conservatives hold that morality is not relative. We also hold that there are some ethical laws, which are universally applicable, no matter what religion or culture you come from. We believe that certain moral truths are self-evident, and can be known intuitively. Whether you believe that it comes from a God-given conscience, or from your sub-conscious (System 1 thinking). The people can then elect representatives to pass legislation, to reflect the conscience of the people.

Human rights

In political philosophy, there are two theories on the meaning of rights: positive rights and negative rights. They are misnamed in my opinion, because negative rights are not a negative thing. Positive rights means that the government (and by extension society) must give you something, like free healthcare or education. Negative rights means that the government (and society) will not prevent you from doing something, like speaking freely.

I will dive into this more in a future post, but conservatives take the negative rights approach. Why? Because negative rights do not harm anyone, and they don't cost anyone time or money. It shouldn't cost anything to be a decent person. If you want to help someone out, you are free to do that, but no one should force you to do so. That would take away the joy of helping: doing it willingly.

Conservatives recognize many of these negative rights. Among them are the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That "pursuit of happiness" is an old-fashioned term, I like to redefine it as the pursuit of anything material or immaterial that leads to human flourishing. If you want to make money, you are free to do that. If you want to spend money on health care or education, you are free to do that. If you want to give money to charities so that the less fortunate can afford things, awesome!

Liberty

Liberty is not the freedom to do whatever you want. Did your parents ever tell you that? It's true. First off, you do not have the freedom to trample on some else's rights. If you do that, then we no longer have freedom for everyone, but instead tyranny from the strongest. So we all must agree not to infringe on the rights of others.

Second, on a personal level, you should use your liberty to do good instead of evil. The government cannot make you a moral person. It can only pass laws and try to enforce them. However, if you personally are using your freedom to do things that are less-than-good you are wasting your freedom. Also, if you are using your freedom to do something that is addictive or dangerous, you risk throwing away your life or your liberty. Now, liberty is about letting people make their own choices, but I will always promote liberty coupled with personal responsibility.

Justice

You cannot have liberty and a civil society without justice. Without justice, there is no repercussions for those who trample on the rights of others. Without laws and a system to enforce them, criminals will simply bully the week. Conservatives believe that the role of mediating and dispensing justice belongs to the government (at least when individuals can't resolve it peacefully).

This is one of the main differences between conservatives and those like "liberal-tarian", voluntarians, and anarchists. Those ideologies tend to believe that government is inherently immoral, because it uses force. Conservatives understand that we need the institution of government to protect the rights of the weak from those who would trample them by force.

Checks and balances

Conservatives believe in a system of checks and balances. Our Constitution sets up such a system between different entities, namely the three branches of government. While the Constitution does not say the words "separation of church and state" (go ahead, look it up), it does guarantee that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,".

Now before you get too excited, the sentence finishes out "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". Now I am talking about religion in the broadest sense: any philosophical and ethical system and practices. You have the right to exercise your beliefs, so long as you don't infringe on the rights of others. You also have the right to exercise, by using your moral code as a guide in your voting.

We believe in the tenth amendment that delegates all other powers to the states and to the people, rather than having a federal government which micromanages everything. However, during the 1800s, conservative Republican Party was founded to abolish slavery, because we believed that states rights do not trump human rights.

Finally, we have a democratic-republic rather than a pure democracy. This is an important distinction to make, conservatives don't believe in a simple "majority-rule". Why not? Because if we have majority-rule, then it sucks to be in the minority. This leads to the sort of mob-rule which allowed for slavery, segregation, and Nazism. Just because the majority says something doesn't make it right. Do you remember your parents asking you "if all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you go too?"

These are my 6 principles, which define conservatism. Different people may define it different ways, but I am arguing that these are the ones which are essential to conservatism. What do you think? Does this change how you see conservatives?

Biblical veracity

In apologetics, one issue has always been interesting to me: Biblical veracity. (How do we know that the Bible is true?) Four years ago I was introduced to the cosmological argument, which really simplified and solidified my confidence in God's existence. Still, I couldn't figure out: why the Bible? Why do Christians cling to it? Is it reasonable to treat the Bible as authoritative in all areas of life? Where does this book come from? Why should anyone believe it? I don't have all the answers. In fact, I would like to study apologetics in graduate school, and focus specifically on this issue. But before I do that, let me share some things I have already learned on the subject.

This post only covers the premise for my argument of biblical veracity, and a few sources to help you along on your own research.

Paradigms

You could also use the word narrative, or worldview. These are different terms, but for the purpose of this discussion they can be interchangeable. We all have a paradigm through which we view the world. You can deny religion, by saying that you are an atheist (or just non-religious or whatever), but everyone has a paradigm through which they view the world. Atheists may tend to adopt a purely empirical (naturalistic) paradigm which denies anything supernatural... and they may also chose a side of an objective ethical theory to go with that (like deontology or utilitarianism).

Now although our paradigms are embedded into our very psyche, let’s pretend that you were to detach from it and (possibly) choose a new one. There are at least two things that your paradigm should be. First, the paradigm should be logically coherent within itself. Now, I think that we are fallible humans, so there may always be incoherencies in our personal reasoning, but we should seek to have paradigms which are as coherent as possible. Any religion or paradigm will have questions or problems to solve. Secondly, we want to find the paradigm which best matches the evidence. It can't just look good in theory, it must match the way things actually are in reality.

My Premise

Now, of course, I would argue that the Christian paradigm is the one that fits this criteria. Of course it would take me years of study to get a grasp on the subject, and an entire book to explain it sufficiently. Hopefully, I will be able to do that another day. I also do not have enough time (or expertise) to write on the origins of the Christian Bible.

Aren’t there contradictions?

Theologians have studied the Bible for centuries to form a paradigm from its texts. You may object "what about all the contradictions in the Bible? Don't they make biblical Christianity an incoherent paradigm?" Well, historians and theologians and other thinkers have found explanations for many of these apparent contradictions. If you search for it, you can probably find plausible answers to virtually all of your questions.

Furthermore, as with life, there are paradoxes: phenomenon that seem to be a contradiction (like light being both a wave and a particle) but are not. These apparent contradictions are only signs of our limited understanding. No matter what you believe (atheism, Christianity, Islam) none of us has it all figured out. We are all still learning.

In Closing

So that is the premise for my argument: the paradigm set forth by the Bible (when interpreted correctly) is the paradigm which best matches reality. Keep your eyes open for my book, which maybe I'll release in the next ten years on the origins of the Scriptures, and my arguments for their veracity.

Further Research

In the meantime I would recommend Me, The Professor, Fuzzy, and The Meaning of Life and Evidence that Demands a Verdict. The first is written as a comic book, targeted to a younger audience, and gives two solid syllogistic arguments: one for the existence of God, and one for the Christian religion. The second book is much more deep, but it talks about the origin of the Scriptures and evidence for the Christian faith.