No Longer in the Center

Although I am a second generation Star Trek fan (i.e. I grew up watching Star Trek: TNG), I enjoyed the original Star Trek and even most of the later spinoffs. I am also an avid movie fan, and as such could talk for hours about the different themes presented in the many Star Trek movies, both original and TNG. But the creation of the new Star Trek universe by J.J. Abrams presents a problem for me. Is it a gateway by which new fans will be introduced to the Star Trek I love or is it just an action movie to be enjoyed and forgotten? It is both a celebration of the old and a creation of something new to enjoy and a well balanced combination. But part of me fears that the enjoyment of the new characters and CGI action will distract some from realizing why the old Star Trek is worth celebrating. After seeing the new Star Trek with my friends I was disturbed to discover they had not seen The Wrath of Kahn. How could you understand the Kobyashi Maru, or the welling of tears you should feel ...

Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe in one God. A supreme being that created our world. Atheists believe that there is no such God or Creator. And the popular description of Agnostics is that they don't care. So what do you call a person who refuses to define beliefs based on insufficient evidence but who cares a lot about the questions of creation and faith? I am not a Protestant, despite my baptism, because I don't believe that a God exists who consciously planned and created the Universe, created people for a purpose, and then bore a human son who was later killed and resurrected. I do believe that many of the teachings of the Protestant and Christian faith are laudable, but I don't think they're the teachings of a divine offspring. In fact I believe this possibility to be unlikely given the lack of evidence to support such an elaborate theory. This means that I am not a Protestant even if I was raised to be one. In fact I think it is just as unlikely as the ...

The Geek Answer: Come on! Of course it does. The Philosopher Answer: Define "Better", and "Technology", and "Make."... Just kidding. The reality is that technology makes your life better even if you don't realize the many ways that it does. Even if you're the type of person who believes that focusing on the simple things in life are what make your life better, then consider the following: Do you enjoy sunsets or sunrises? Well, now you'll get to enjoy more of them. The average life expectancy in 1901 was 49 and by 2000 it was 77. This is due mostly to technology that allowed us to have cleaner (disease free) drinking water, better medicine and safer transportation. That's 10,277 more sunsets. Do you think food should be simpler and "organic"? Well, you can thank modern transportation for giving you the options. Although food was simplest when raised in your own background on your family farm, the choice was greatly limited ...

What happened to The Ten Commandments? Although there are a few versions (depending on how you number them) the basics stay the same. At the Catholic High School I attended we were taught the following ten commandments: 1. You shall not worship any other gods or make yourself a false idol. 2. You shall not use god's name in vain. 3. You shall remember the sabbath and keep it holy. 4. You shall honor your mother and father. 5. You shall not kill. 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal. 8. You shall not bear false witness. 9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. 10. You shall not covet your neighbor's possessions. There is nothing simpler in the complicated world of religion than the ten commandments. There is no ambiguity (or at least very little) and the list is short enough to remember. It was certainly easier to understand religion when I was a child and I was told these are the ten things you need to know. I was remind...