Ink Blots & Spilled Thoughts

Covenant, Cosmos, and the Continuity of Love A secular and spiritual dissertation on enduring union, the living Earth, polytheistic devotion, and the responsibilities of shared life - Rev. Dustin Ray Irish-Webb Introduction: The Meaning of an Enduring Undertaking I understand a lifelong union as more than the persistence of attraction, more than the maintenance of a household, and more than the possession of a certificate. It is an undertaking through which two persons deliberately make their lives consequential to one another. They establish expectations, create shared memories, accept dependencies, and organize a future around the possibility that their relationship will endure beyond the circumstances in which it began. The distinctive force of such an undertaking lies in its relationship to time. A promise of lifelong companionship does not merely describe how I feel today. It addresses the person I will become, the circumstances I cannot yet foresee, and the partn...

FAITH WITHOUT BLINDNESS An Epistemological Investigation of Belief, Trust, Discernment, Conscience, and Reckless Confidence Research framework: Epistemology, ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, cognitive science, behavioral psychology, anthropology, religious studies, and the mechanics of interpersonal trust. Central question: What distinguishes a belief supported by adequate grounds from an assertion accepted without examination, and what happens when faith, courage, loyalty, or forgiveness are invoked to discourage independent judgment? INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM OF BELIEVING WITHOUT EXAMINING Human beings routinely encounter demands to believe, trust, commit, forgive, take risks, and proceed despite uncertainty. These demands appear in religious teachings, family relationships, romantic partnerships, political movements, employment, business, popular psychology, and everyday conversation. They are often communicated through familiar expressions: "Have faith." ...