I remember a romance of a rambling but rather interesting sort which came out in one of the strange and sensational series that used to be produced by the late W. T. Stead. It began with the incident of a modern sceptical heroine going into a confessional-box and telling the priest that she did not believe in his religion.

He asked her what she did believe in and she said reflectively, “Well, I don’t believe in the Bible, and I don’t think I believe in the immortality of the soul, and I’m not sure that I believe in God,” and so on.

And the unmoved cleric replied, “I didn’t ask you what you didn’t believe, but what you do believe.”

“Well,” said the lady, “I believe that two and two make four.”

“Very well then,” said the priest, “live up to that.”

That always struck me as a good story, though it was in a queer setting; but it has had a still more queer sequel. In those last days of the nineteenth century, the sceptical lady did make that quotation from the multiplication table assuming it to be a minimum which nobody could possibly help believing. Yet somewhere about the same time the typical prophet of that period, Ibsen, may have been writing the words: “Who knows that two and two do not make five in the fixed stars?” One would have thought that in an age of such fine and finished rationalists, somebody would have been rational enough to answer him with the obvious question: “If you are not sure there are any fixed facts, how do you come to be sure there are any fixed stars?” The very existence of many fixed stars is only proved by mathematics; that is, it is made by making a million times over the assumption that two and two make four... The mathematical formula may be the maximum of the lady’s belief and the minimum of the priest’s philosophy, but he is more ready to stand up for his philosophy than she is for her religion.

__, God and Intelligence In Modern Philosophy

So tragic. God rest his soul.

Courage.

“I have often regretted having spoken, but never having kept silent.”

Abba Arsenius - Apophthegmata Patrum (Sayings of the Desert Fathers).

“if independent witnesses can be found… it is ALWAYS possible to assign a number of independent witnesses, the improbability of the falsehood of whose concurring testimony shall be greater than the improbability of the alleged miracle” —Charles Babbage (1837)

I have something really cool to announce soon. Related to education and seminary in Ethiopia.

Maor Lutheran Theological Seminary

John 8:12

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Open Registration Announcement

On this day, October 18, 2025 G.C., Maor Lutheran Theological Seminary (MLTS) announces the opening of registration for its online Certificate and Diploma programs.

As a seminary of The Lutheran Church of Ethiopia (LCE), we are committed to the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, preparing servants of Christ to faithfully proclaim the Word of God, administer the Sacraments rightly, and care for God’s people. These programs are designed to form faithful lay people, who will be firmly rooted in God’s Word and equipped for faithful service in the Kingdom of God.

If you desire to deepen your knowledge of God’s Word and be strengthened in confessional Lutheran teaching and practice, we warmly invite you to enroll.

👉 Fill out the Pre-Admission Form here:
https://forms.gle/aEK3jX5jvedvCgoe7

Now is the time. You can register for online classes

አ ን ደ ኛ ፡ ክ ፍ ል ።

የግኖሲዮሎጂ ፡ ጥናት ፡

ምዕራፍ ፡ አንድ ።
የሰው ፡ ዕውቀት ፡ ኀይልና ፡ ወሰን ።
፩ኛ ፤ ዶግማቲዝም ፡
፪ኛ ፤ ስኬፕቲሲዝም ፡
፫ኛ ፤ ፕራግማቲዝም ፡
፬ኛ ፤ ፖሲቲቪዝም ፡
፭ኛ ፤ ክሪቲሲዝም ፡

በነዚህ ፡ ከዚህ ፡ በላይ ፡ በተጠቀሱት ፡ ዐምስት ፡ ቲዎሪዎች ፡ ላይ ፡ ልናደርገው ፡የሚቻለን ፡ ጥቂት ፡ ፍርድ ፡

ምዕራፍ ፡ ኹለት ።
የሰው ፡ ዕውቀት ፡ ምንጭ ።
፩ኛ ፤ ኢምፔሪሲዝም ፡
፪ኛ ፤ ሬሺናሊዝም ፡
፫ኛ ፤ ክሪቲሲዝም ፡

ከዚህ ፡ በላይ ፡ በተጠቀሱት ፡ በሦስቱም ፡ ቲዎሪዎች ፡ ላይ ፡ ልንሰጠው ፡ የሚቻል ፡ጥቂት ፡ ፍርድ ።

ምዕራፍ ፡ ሦስት ።
የዕውቀት ፡ ተሳቢ ።
፩ኛ ፤ ሪያሊዝም ፡
፪ኛ ፤ አይዲያሊዝም ፡
፫ኛ ፤ ፌኖሜኖሎጂ

በነዚህ ፡ አሁን ፡ ከዚህ ፡ በላይ ፡ በተዘረዘሩት ፡ ሦስት ፡ ቲዎሪዎች ፡ ላይ ፡ ለማድረግ ፡ የሚቻል ፡ ጥቂት ፡ ፍርድ ።

ኹለተኛ ፡ ክፍል ።

የሜታፊዚክስ ፡ ጥናት

ምዕራፍ ፡ አንድ ።
ኦንቶሎጂ ።
፩ኛ ፤ ማቲሪያሊዝም ፡
፪ኛ 1 አይዲያሊዝም ፡
፫ኛ ፤ ፓራለሊዝም ፡
፬ኛ ፤ ዱያሊዝም ፡

አሁን ፡ ከዚህ ፡ በላይ ፡ በተጠቀሱት ፡ ቲዎሪዎች ፡ ላይ ፡ ለማድረግ ፡ የሚቻል ፡ጥቂት ፡ የሐሳብ ፡ ፍርድ ።

....

ምዕራፍ፡፩ ፤ የሎጂክ ፡ ጥናት, ግዙፍና ፡ ረቂቅ ፡ ነገሮች - ቍጥር - አዎንታና፡ አሉታ ።

ምዕራፍ፡፪፤ ለየብቻቸው ፡ ሆነው ፡ ሊነገሩ ፡ ስለሚቻሉና፡ ከሌላው፡ጋራ፡ ካልሆነ፡ በቀር ፡ ተለይተው፡ ሊጠቀሱ፡ ስለማይቻሉ፡ አንዳንድ ፡ ነገሮች፤ እንዲሁም ፡ ስለ ፡ ልዩ ፡ ልዩ ፡ ነገሮች ፡ ጠባይና ፡ መታ ወቂያ ፡ ወይም ፡ መለያ፡ ሁኔታዎች ።

ምዕራፍ፡፫፤ ተወራራሽ ፡ ነገሮችና ፡ ሁኔታዎች — ባለቤትና ፡ አንቀጽ — ውለታ አመልካችና፡ አወላዋይ፡ሐሳቦች ሌሎችም፡ነገሮች። ...

ምዕራፍ ፡፬ ፤ የሲሎጂዝም ፡ አቀራረብና ፡ አሰካክ ፤ እንዲሁም፡ በውስጡ ፡ ስለሚገኙ ፡ ቀጥታን ፡ ወይም ፡ አወላዋይ ፡ መንገድን ፡ በመከ ተል ፡ ስለሚነገሩ ፡ አንዳንድ ፡ ሁኔታዎች ።

ምዕራፍ ፡ ፭ ፤ ውሳኔና ፡ በእንዲህ፡ ዐይነት ፡ ተግባር ፡ ላይ ፡ ሊጠበቁ ፡ ስለ ሚገቡ ፡ አንዳንድ፡ ደንቦች ፤ እንዲሁም ፡ ስለ ፡ ስሕተት፡ አመጣጥ ፡ ጕዳይ ።

ከዚህ ፡ በላይ ፡ ለተገለጸው፡ የሎጂክ ፡ ጥናት ፡ ጠቀም ፡ ያለ ፡ ሐሳብ ፡ ለማግኘት ፡ ሲፈለግ ፡ ቀጥለው ፡ የተመለከቱትን ፡ መጻሕፍት ፡ መመልከት ፡ ይቻላል ።

ምዕራፍ፡ ፩፤ የኤቲክስ ፡ ክፍል ፡ ምን ፡ አቋም ፡ እንዳለውና ፡ ምንስ ፡ ነገሮ ችን ፡ እንደሚያጠና ፡

አንድ ፡ ሥራ ፡ መልካምነቱና ፡ መጥፎነቱ ፡ የሚለየው ፡ በምን ፡ እንደሆነ ።

(ሀ) ሂዶኒዝም ፡
(ለ)ዩቲሊቴሪያኒዝም ፡
(ሐ) ፔርፌክሽኒዝም ፡

፪ (ሀ) የሚታየው፡ የሰውየው ፡ ፈቃደኛነት፡ እንጂ፤ የሥራው፡ ውጤት፡እንዳይደለ ፡ ከዚህ፡በላይ፡ በተገለጹት ሐሳቦች፡ላይ፡የምናቀርበው፡ፍርድ፡ .. ፺፪

ምዕራፍ፡፪ ፡ስለ ፡ ደግና ፡ ስለ ፡ ክፉ ፡ ሥራ'ያለን፡ የሞራል' ስሜት ፡ አመጣጡ ፡ እንዴት ፡ እንደሆነና ፡ ከየት ፡ እንደሆነ ።
( ሀ) ኤምፒሪሲዝም ፡
(ለ) ሬሽናሊዝም ፡

....