Theme Previews!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a [review](http://www.puretext.us/2005/02/25/wordpress-15/) of WordPress 1.5. My biggest complaint was that WP 1.5 had no way to preview new themes without showing off your broken design to the whole world. It was something like having a big bay window installed instead of tile in your shower. You just had to hope nobody was walking by while you were… uh… changing.

Well, this is why the WP community is a beautiful thing. [Ryan Boren](http://boren.nu/) already has a [Theme Preview Plugin](http://boren.nu/archives/2005/03/08/preview-theme-plugin/) that allows me to quickly check my design without drawing the curtains. I just type in *?preview_theme=* at the end of the address, plus the theme name. So:

http://www.puretext.us/?preview_theme=Neumatikos

pulls up the “Neumatikos ” theme I’ve been working on.

But you can’t see it, can you? That’s right. This ain’t no peep show!

Of course, there is one thing I wish he’d included, which my non-hacker skills are unable to impliment myself: I’d like a preview button in the Themes pages so I don’t have to remember long strings like “?preview_theme=”

Full integration, man. That’s all I’m asking. Full integration!

Calvinism and the Problem of Evil

Victor Reppert at [Dangerous Idea](http://dangerousidea.blogspot.com/) has a lovely discussion up on the [Problem of Evil](http://dangerousidea.blogspot.com/2005/03/why-calvinists-cant-solve-problem-of.html) which could stand some looking into. It has a very narrow focus, and doesn’t by any mreans try to “solve” the problem of evil. Instead, he’s does a little work toward demonstrating that the traditional Calvinist solution has some problems.

Continue reading “Calvinism and the Problem of Evil”

Pluralism Notes

*More from the archives. This is the finished part of an unfinished paper on pluralism I was supposed to write for a class on apologetics, which project marriage and moving forced me to abandon. My professor was pleased enough with my other paper (one half of the requirements) to give me a D- for the class. (Imagine if I had completed all the work!)*

One of the most shocking experiences for me happened during my first year at a new liberal arts college. The class was Logic and the lesson was on the law of non-contradiction: “‘A’ and ‘not a’ cannot both be true at the same time and in the same manner.” The example given was a man saying to his neighbor, “My grandfather has passed away, but it’s all right, because I know he’s in heaven now.” The neighbor replies, “How can he be alive in heaven if he’s dead, since death means the cessation of life?” Either he’s alive in heaven, or he’s completely dead and gone. But one girl on the right side of the room raised her hand and asked, “Why can’t he be both?” And she could not be dissuaded. As far as she was concerned there was no fallacy in assuming that he could be in heaven for his grandson, and nowhere at all for the neighbor—in the same sense, at the same time. Continue reading “Pluralism Notes”

Black Conservatism

[LaShawn Barber](http://www.lashawnbarber.com) has an excellent post up on what [Black Conservatism](http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2005/03/08/black/) is supposed to mean. In the process she’s done a lot of name dropping, which of course, has reminded me how big my library is supposed to be.

New names on the wishlist: Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Dubois (who I know has some excellent essays on religion thrown in there as well), and Ralph Ellison. Missing from LaShawn’s litany of black conservatives is Zora Neale Hurston. But she’s on my list! 🙂

Makes Me Jealous

I don’t read my sister’s blog nearly as regularly as I should. I have been being lazy and only reading the blogs that popped up as “recently upadated” on my list. Blogger doesn’t ping the Proper Places, and so a certain subsection of my list (including family!) wasn’t getting read.

But now the blogroll is broke and it’s caused me to do some exploring. And Lo! I discovered that my sister updates her site.

Back in the day when she introduced me to blogging, her site was ridden with youthful angst about how she hated her job. Nowadays it’s dedicated to the mundaneities of raising 3 children.

I’ve never seen someone acquire children so fast.

Makes me jealous. The gir’s four years younger than me. Almost five. She gets married first, gets a house first, has three kids. Three!

Understand, our current target date for the first child is in about 6 years. Meanwhile I’ve got nephews. I’m nervous that I may be shirking my avuncular duties because I’m too busy and too far away.

Anyway, if you love family life, take a peak in [On Fragile Wings](http://on-fragile-wings.blogspot.com/). She’s playing Kanga with little Roos.

Imago Dei

This is a late recognition, but I want to point out that Serge at [Imago Dei](http://www.imago-dei.net/imago_dei/) has a really good blog going on. Dentist by day, crack philosopher by night, Serge has provided a lot of grist for the mill since I started checking him out.

I’m starting to realize that “Imago Dei” is more than just the name of the blog. It’s actually the focal point of everything that he writes about on it. *Imago Dei* is the technical term for the doctrine that man is created in the image of God, with the implication that we each have intrensic value and certain characteristics that separate us from the rest of creation. Among these characteristics would be reason, an ethical sense, and certain inalienable rights. So we get discussion on creation vs. evolution, abortion and other human rights issues.

He gets added to the Religion category, which is now too cumbersome and needs to be divided into subcategories.

I have only one disappointment: Never once have I seen a thoroughgoing discussion on why it is that ***everyone*** has to get their wisdom teeth removed.

The Food of your God?

Priests may not make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies. They are to be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, because they present the fire offerings to the LORD, the food of their God. They must be holy. They are not to marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. You are to consider him holy since he presents the food of your God. (Leviticus 21:5-8)

The priest presents the food of your God? What’s up with that? What about,

If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
(Psalm 5012-13)

My confused.