Quotes from the Office

It's been a while since I last blogged. 

Since then, I've submitted the final copy of my thesis, moved to live in a new city and have started my new job. God has been good in providing for all those things. But it hasn't left me much time for blogging. So in lieu of a serious post, here are some quotes from my time as a mathematics PhD student. Comments from postgrads are denoted by a P and those by lecturers with an L to protect the... ahem... guilty?

P: I hate mathematicans you know.

L: Maths is the best way to learn how stupid you are.

L: Seminars are a great place to have a quiet think.

P: I do the lottery because I'm supposed to be rich.

P (female): I was swapped with Prince William at birth.

P: Does break imply working before and after?
L: It's not a necessary condition.

P: You're growing your hair, aren't you. Radially.

L: It's confusing, just like a good piece of mathematics should be.

P: I don't read the news. I read facebook.

P: I was in the middle of textin' an' I thought I'd lost my phone.

L: I have a bizarre question. Where do we live?

P: sigh I haven't used a ruler in years!

P: It's not everyday I come to work in my slippers.

P: It's on facebook so it must be true.

P: I'm not a feminist: I'm bolshy.

P: One die, two dice or if it's a really bad day everybody diiiies!

And finally a quote from by an undergraduate on their coursework, to which I can truly relate:

Do not know where to go with this. Not happy with it, but spent way too much time on it, and may throw my computer out the window if I see this on it again!

When are You Most Happy?

 

When are you most happy?  What are occasions when you're most contented?  What do they all have in common?

I might be happy running in the woods, staring at a sunset or listening to choral masterpiece.  Sometimes it might be basking in the glow of some accomplishment: but that doesn't last. There's greater pleasure in performing some task well. Reveling in the mastery of some human faculty.  Or more simply: in making someone else's day.

Mostly I think I'm happiest, when I'm most self forgetful.  When I just enjoy being, without introspection.  When my focus is external to myself.

Is this just me?

What about you?

And what does this tell us about humanity?

Hallelujah! I've Passed!

Praise God! Yesterday I had my viva voce and I passed my PhD subject to minor corrections.  I displayed my complete ignorance on a couple of occasions but somehow they let me through.

God has been good to me.  I've been really stressed about passing my PhD and finding a job afterwards. But, in the last two weeks, He has provided both for me.  So when life gets really stressful, don't give up. Trust God. He loves and provides for His children.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good;
   dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the LORD,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
   trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
   your vindication like the noonday sun. 

Psalm 37:3-6

Bible in Brief

I've just remebered I have this picture.  A bible overview created by the LIFE 2010 team. I hope you enjoy.

From Whence Comes Morality?

 

Where do objective moral values come from?  What makes something good or evil?

Before looking at this question, what do I mean by an objective moral value?  I mean something that can be considered good or bad throughout time and space.  An objective moral value doesn't change.   So where do they come from? Assuming they exist.

Let's assume there's a God. That He is the creator of the universe.  Are morals external to Him?  Something for Him to obey and be judged against?  Or are they His arbitrary rules to which we must conform?

Can there be an evil God?

The first question suggests that there is something that God is not sovereign over, so can He really be God?  And the second is hardly satisfactory: morals just become some crazy test for us to pass.  So here's a better proposal: that morality reflects God's character.  An action is good in so far as it conforms to how God would act.  Lets see how this leads to objective morals.

If there is a creator then He transcends the universe and time.
Therefore His character does not change in space or time.
Morals reflect God's character.
Therefore morals transcend space and time.
Therefore morality is objective.

So morals are neither arbitrary nor some external rule which God must obey.  So to talk of God as evil makes no sense.  Because if God was different then what we refer to as good or evil would be different.  God is good by definition.

Let's look at some examples. 
Why is adultery wrong?  Because God is faithful and loving, existing as a Trinity.
Why is lying wrong?  Because God is truthful.
Why is murder wrong? Because God is the giver of life, and to take a life is His prerogative.

So how can we know objectively what is right or wrong?  We need to look at how God has revealed Himself.  We need to look to Christ.

This then raises a final question:
If there is no God, can there be objective moral values?