Eldon Taylor's Blog, page 9

Injustices

In today’s spotlight I want to turn to injustices. Webster defines injustice this way, “lack of fairness or justice; an unjust act or occurrence; the quality or fact of being unjust; inequity; violation of the rights of others; unjust or unfair action or treatment; an unjust or unfair act; wrong.” How do we correct an injustice? Jason Van Dyke was sentenced to nearly 7 years for murdering Laquan McDonald. Mr. Van Dyke was the first Chicago police officer in decades convicted of murder for an on-duty shooting. He shot Laquan 16 times in 2014. Is less than seven years imprisonment ...

Changing World: Changing Beliefs

In this week’s spotlight I wish to ask the question: What if everything you believed was wrong? Pause for a moment, and ask yourself, “What if the manner in which you piloted your life was constructed from error, false beliefs, groundless foundations, incorrect assumptions, and so forth?” What would that mean to you, to how you live, to what you prioritize, with whom you associate, etc.? Old Beliefs There are many things that we think and believe that time tends to lay bare as undeserving of our investment in their veracity. Take for example the beliefs of many in our ...

The Power in Humility

In today’s spotlight I want to approach the idea of humility through the back door, if you will. Over the holidays I discovered a TV that I found enjoyable, albeit irreverent. The series is called Lucifer. In the series, Lucifer, played by Tom Ellis, has the ability to look you straight in the eye and know your every weakness, every sin. Think about that for a moment. Our Errors Imagine that you are in the presence of some being who knows your deepest darkest secrets, your every transgression—thought and deed. Not only does this being see everything about you—you suddenly ...

Wining and Losing

In this week’s spotlight I would like to discuss the idea of winning. It seems today that there are many who discourage winning for everyone is a winner. Now the idea is applaudable for it is designed to encourage people to participate who might not otherwise. As such, schools across the country, by way of example, often reward mediocre effort. Real Life The problem with this strategy is real life. In real life the best candidate wins the job, the most attractive wins the beauty contest, the best grade point earns the scholarship, the best athlete goes on to play ...

Animals and Compassion

In this week’s spotlight I would like to address an important subject—one very meaningful to me and dear to the heart of my pretty bride: animal rights. We live at a time when many rights are hotly debated. We discuss the rights of minorities, the right to life, the right to bear arms, the right to privacy, the right to protest, and so forth; but in my mind, any truly compassionate person should also be thinking about animal rights. 3 Per Hour Toward Extinction Did you know that 2.7 million animals that go to shelters are destroyed every year? Further, ...

Founded, Fantasy, or Folly?

In today’s spotlight, I would like to discuss magic. Not the magic of Harry Houdini or David Copperfield, but the magic found in fairies, angels, and other otherworldly figures. According to an article by Jerry Coyne. “A new Associated Press poll, manages to unwittingly combine two superstitions: belief in Santa and belief in angels. It’s a very strange poll, but here are the salient results: Only 84% of children ever believed in Santa. 16% didn’t. 16% of Santa atheists is a number much higher than the proportion of God atheists! The mean age at which kids stopped believing in Santa ...

Success Dreams

In this week’s spotlight I would like to discuss dreams. Now I’m not addressing the dreams we have while sleeping. No, I want to focus on our dreams of prosperity, happiness, success, relationships, and the like. We all have goals, ambitions, desires, passions, and so forth that march us forward toward the realization of our dreams—the retirement cottage in the woods, the trip to Europe, the boat we have always wanted, the time to relax and read by the seaside, and on and on. Think—what are you dreams? Working toward our dreams Most of us work everyday in one way ...

Terminal vs Eternal

I wish to focus today’s spotlight on the idea central to some sort of survival following physical death. “A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 62% of American Adults believe in life after death. Just 17% do not, but 20% are still unsure if there’s an afterlife.”1 That said, “Fewer Americans say they believe in God or pray regularly — yet more people believe in an afterlife nonetheless, a new study finds. It’s a generational thing, with millennials the least likely generation to say they’re religious or to take the Bible literally, the team at San ...

Are Premonitions Real?

In today’s spotlight I would like to discuss the idea that we all may in some way be connected to one mind, a collective mind, the collective unconscious as suggested by Carl Jung, or one larger sense of intelligence that exists—and that we draw upon it from time to time. Think for a moment about your own experiences. Have you ever had a premonition that came true? Have you ever thought of someone just before that person rang you on the phone? Have you ever had a gut feeling that warned you—only to discover why the warning a short time ...

Suggestibility

In today’s spotlight I would like to discuss the power of suggestion. I have often addressed the various sorts of primes that can influence our decisions, such as the presence of a hand sanitizer. This is how it might work. Provide a computerized test designed to measure conservative or liberal attitudes, wait a few minutes after the subject finishes the test, bring the subject back into the test room on the pretense that there was a computer glitch, and have them take the same test again, but this time with a jar of hand sanitizer on the desk where they ...