Lost in the Marketplace of Ideas: A Case for Christian Apologetics as the Church’s Defense Against Youth Apostasy

The increasing polarization between the ideologies of Western culture and that of Protestant Christianity threatens the reception and retention of the gospel. The inability to biblically and reasonably assess these various cultural doctrines has revealed a great weakness in the church. This is demonstrated by the increasing apostasy of young Christians in the West. The youth are ill-equipped to reason about their faith and reconcile their beliefs with contradictory ideologies perpetuated by culture and held by the majority. Not only does the increasing secularity of education impose anti-Christian beliefs, but so do the recent advances in technology and subsequent access to information. Therefore, many are either rejecting their faith altogether or modifying their beliefs to fit within the overwhelming cultural opinion. Christian apologetics is necessary as a normative function in every local congregation in order to properly equip the church body to defend their faith against these false ideas. Just as certain types of ministers are essential for the functioning of the church body, the apologist should become a normative role in the local church. Apologetics should become a normal practice, not a separate/specialized ministry. Successful employment of apologetic thinking in the church will create an environment in which Christians think critically about their faith and are able to engage effectively with the Western culture of the 21st century. Implementing such a foundational change will cause a downstream effect on the youth. As parents are encouraged and equipped in reasoning about their faith, as well as given the skills to teach their children, the youth will become steadfast in their Christian beliefs despite the opposition from the secular West

Why Philosophers Should Care About Computational Complexity

One might think that, once we know something is computable, how efficiently it can be computed is a practical question with little further philosophical importance. In this essay, I offer a detailed case that one would be wrong. In particular, I argue that computational complexity theory---the field that studies the resources (such as time, space, and randomness) needed to solve computational problems---leads to new perspectives on the nature of mathematical knowledge, the strong AI debate, computationalism, the problem of logical omniscience, Hume's problem of induction, Goodman's grue riddle, the foundations of quantum mechanics, economic rationality, closed timelike curves, and several other topics of philosophical interest. I end by discussing aspects of complexity theory itself that could benefit from philosophical analysis.Comment: 58 pages, to appear in "Computability: G\"odel, Turing, Church, and beyond," MIT Press, 2012. Some minor clarifications and corrections; new references adde

Theoretical Framework Of Competition As Applied To Banking Industry

Concepts evolve through time and over time they assume different meanings. The concept of competition is no exception. This paper discusses the evolution of the concept of competition in general with a view to derive a theoretical framework for analyzing competition in banking industry. Starting from the classical notions of competition it proceeds to some of the latest approaches (Northcott (2004), Neuberger (1998), Toolsema (2003), Bolt and Tieman (2001)). The ordinary Structure-Conduct-Performance approach does not involve any analysis of market dynamics. Our approach introduces various aspects of industry dynamics and growth. It provides a methodology to arrive at the market form in banking industry through an analysis of all the aspects of basic conditions, structure, conduct and performance. It is argued that sustained growth and dynamics of the industry is not price led. Growth arises out of changing basic conditions and dynamics arises out of sharing the new market created by basic conditions. Hence the prime mover of competition is rivalry among firms to control market share and to internalize externalities rather than adjustments brought about by the price mechanism.Structure-Conduct-Performance;Competition theory;Banking competition;Basic Conditions;Entry facilitator

Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality

Building upon a process-and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and under search for information online, how they evaluate information, and how their related practices of content creation, levels of new literacies, general digital media usage, and social patterns affect these activities. A review of selected literature at the intersection of digital media, youth, and information quality -- primarily works from library and information science, sociology, education, and selected ethnographic studies -- reveals patterns in youth's information-seeking behavior, but also highlights the importance of contextual and demographic factors both for search and evaluation. Looking at the phenomenon from an information-learning and educational perspective, the literature shows that youth develop competencies for personal goals that sometimes do not transfer to school, and are sometimes not appropriate for school. Thus far, educational initiatives to educate youth about search, evaluation, or creation have depended greatly on the local circumstances for their success or failure

Are we living in the middle of an Industrial Revolution?

The concept of a new Industrial Revolution has recently become of great interest to general economists of all persuasions. For example, the New Growth Theory has placed renewed emphasis on the importance of technological change in modern economic growth, and a number of authors have suggested that we are entering a new period of technological advances that could profoundly affect the world economy. ; In an article based on comments at the Tenth District Monetary Policy Roundtable, Mr. Mokyr looks at the events of our time in relation to events of the British Industrial Revolution. He cautions that the temptation to look at the past to guide us in making predictions and policy recommendations should be resisted. Historical analogies often mislead as much as they instruct, and in technological progress, where change is unpredictable, cumulative, and irreversible, the analogies are more dangerous than anywhere.Technology ; Economic history ; Economic conditions - United States

Workshop Report from the 33rd Workshop of the Pugwash Study Group on the Implementation of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions: 'Achieving realistic decisions at the seventh BWC review conference in 2011'

This workshop was hosted by the Association Suisse de Pugwash in association with the Geneva International Peace Research Institute GIPRI. The meeting was supported by a grant provided by the Swiss federal authorities. The workshop took place immediately prior to the Seventh Review Conference on the operation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in December 2011. It was attended by 57 participants, all by invitation and in their personal capacities, from 17 countries including, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA) and Ukraine. This report is the sole responsibility of its author, who was asked to prepare a brief account of the proceedings of the meeting in consultation with the Steering Committee. It does not necessarily reflect a consensus of the workshop as a whole, nor of the Study Group. The workshop was strictly governed by the Chatham House Rule, so reference to specific speakers is not detailed here

Technology and the economy

Overview of economics of innovatio

General Relativity and Gravitation: A Centennial Perspective

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of general relativity, the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (ISGRG) commissioned a Centennial Volume, edited by the authors of this article. We jointly wrote introductions to the four Parts of the Volume which are collected here. Our goal is to provide a bird's eye view of the advances that have been made especially during the last 35 years, i.e., since the publication of volumes commemorating Einstein's 100th birthday. The article also serves as a brief preview of the 12 invited chapters that contain in-depth reviews of these advances. The volume will be published by Cambridge University Press and released in June 2015 at a Centennial conference sponsored by ISGRG and the Topical Group of Gravitation of the American Physical Society.Comment: 37 page

THE THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF ADAM SMITH'S WORK

The paper will discuss the theological foundation to Smith's writings. Teleology, final causes and divine design were initially seen as central to understanding Smith's writings. Over time, this view fell out of fashion. In the period after World War II, with the rise of positivism, commentators tended to overlook or downplay this interpretation. In the last decade, or so, teleology has started to be restored to its former position as an essential element in understanding Smith. After spelling out Smith's teleology and his view of final causes, divine design and the ends of nature, we try to explain the Panglossian nature of the 'new theistic view' of Smith. While our view differs somewhat, we agree with the essence of the 'new view' claim: a theological view exists in Smith which underpins his moral and economic theories.Political Economy,