Thursday, March 06, 2008

A theology of common sense

I am in the process of final PhD thesis revisions, and I am therefore very busy. I have presented a fairly short new article on thekingpin68 dealing with my MPhil and PhD thesis topic, the problem of evil.

In life, philosophy and theology can be used in all types of practical settings. Much of what this blog is about is philosophy and theology in everyday life situations, with often a satirical twist. Thekingpin68 blog allows me to write with academic theology, philosophy and Biblical studies and this blog allows me to examine these disciplines in everyday situations. I reason theologically, within a Christian tradition, God desires followers to have and use common sense. Human beings are corrupted by sin (Romans 1-3) and have finite, limited, minds, but we are to attempt to avoid situations where we can hurt ourselves, others, or damage property. The book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is a text which uses much common sense.


The Book of Proverbs is a collection of moral and philosophical maxims of a wide range of subjects presented in a poetic form. This book sets forth the "philosophy of practical life". It is the sign to us that the Bible does not despise common sense and discretion. It impresses upon us in the most forcible manner the value of intelligence and prudence and of a good education. Easton Illustrated Dictionary 


Ancient proverbs are usually short statements that give advice or express some truth about human behavior. Wisdom and common sense were important in all ancient cultures. The wise sayings in Proverbs share a view of wisdom commonly held in the ancient world, but they differ from the wisdom of other nations on the key point of where wisdom comes from. In Proverbs, wisdom is seen as directly related to the LORD’s instruction. The truly wise person is the one who worships and honors the LORD and lives according to the LORD’s commandments. American Bible Society 

Trusting in the Biblical God is deemed essential as Proverbs 14:12 implies: There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. New American Standard Bible Common sense is something which for me seems to increase with age. I have never been charged for an automobile accident and lost any standing with insurance, but when I was younger and learning how to drive I had a few mishaps, which were due largely to lack of experience and common sense. In the first clip the driver must be a four-wheel drive ace, and in the second clip the driver wants to drive through the car wash on his/her own terms. 

My Dad was part owner of a service station which included a car wash in the 1970s and an older gentleman rather than turning his engine off and having his car taken through the car wash on the tracks, decided to drive through. He then complained to my Dad about the damage to the car. My Dad had heard the crashing sound from the garage.

This just in via email...I'm rich, I'm rich! 

Pin No:9387001 Serial No:5388/02 Attention: Lucky Winner, We are happy to announce that you are one of our Lucky Four(4) Star Prize Winner in this months edition of UK National Lottery held on 6th March, 2008 in England. This makes you a proud owner of sum of 950,000.00 GBP. It is important that you acknowledge your receipt of this correspondence. To proceeds with the claiming of your winnings, contact the claims agent with the information below via email or telephone: Mr. David Bucks Email: uknlfoundation11@hotmail.com Tel: +44 701 112 1877

12 comments:

  1. Funny that the UK National Lottery would use a hotmail email address...

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  2. Yea Chuck, and so how should I spend my winnings, dear friends?

    Should I buy a $2,000 comic book?

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  3. Hey Chuck,

    I have read on-line in two places unofficially that the car wash incident was caused by an old guy looking for his glasses, but it sure looks like the driver smashed up the car wash on purpose.

    1

    "all this was over a pair of "missing"
    glasses"

    2

    "Old Man Goes Nuts In Car Wash (All of it was captured by CCT watch! youtube.com — The police report states that this old guy went nuts in a car was because he lost his glasses."

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  4. That reminds me of the old story about the guy that left the wheel of his motor home to get a drink from the back, thinking cruise control = autopilot, and ends up in a body cast...
    In fact a woman in the States actually won a lawsuit giving her 1.75 million smackers after smashing up her Winnebago while getting a sandwich. Someone has blogged on this here.

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  5. Another more recent Stella award (from 2007):

    Sentry Insurance Company. The company provided worker's compensation insurance for a Wisconsin "Meals on Wheels" program. Delivering a meal, a MoW volunteer (who was allegedly not even wearing boots) slipped and fell on a participant's driveway that had been cleared of snow, and Sentry had to pay to care for her resulting injuries. Sentry wanted its money back, so it sued the 81-year-old homeowner getting the Meals on Wheels service. It could have simply filed for "subrogation" from her homeowner's insurance company, but by naming her in the action, it dragged an old lady into court, reinforcing the image of insurance companies as concerned only about the bottom line, not "protecting" policyholders from loss.

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  6. Thanks, Chucky.

    The first story is silly, and the second one disturbing. Uncle Einar used to tell me a story similar to the first one in the 1970s and 80s.

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  7. I truly enjoy the way you incorporate videos into your blog articles, what a great teaching tool. I'm the wiser already!
    Wisdom can take you a very long way in this world and it should be everyone's endeavour to pursue wisdom and understanding before wealth, fame, and fortune.
    -Bee Weiser-

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  8. It must feel great to be so nearly done with your PhD!

    And as always, you seem to be a magnet for weirdly-implausible email scams... keep them coming!

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  9. Thanks, Ruthie.

    Good luck with the graduate studies. It seems the scammers will not give up on me.

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  10. Well, as long as you share their amusing letters with us, everyone wins :)

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