John Hick on religious experience and perception

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

John Hick, Philosophy of Religion, and the Clarity of God's Existence

Book reviewed in this article:
David Cheetham, John Hick: A Critical Introduction and Reflection     

John Hick,A Christian Theology of Religions: The Rainbow of Faiths

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

Kenneth Rose,Knowing the Real: John Hick on the Cognitivity of Religions and Religious Pluralism

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

Anonymous Skeptics: Swinburne, Hick, and Alston

Book reviewed:
Lance Ashdown. Anonymous Skeptics: Swinburne, Hick, and Alston. Reviewed by John H. Whittaker     

Intelligence and reaction times in the Hick, Sternberg and Posner paradigms

The relationship between psychometric intelligence and reaction times (RTs) in three well-known elementary cognitive tasks (Hick simple and choice reaction time task, Sternberg's short-term memory scanning, Posner's letter matching) was studied in a sample of 116 participants. In conformity with other studies mean RTs and intraindividual variabilities (SDs) of RT were correlated significantly with Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM). On the basis of the mental speed theory the processing measures or component scores (like slopes in the Hick and Sternberg paradigm and the NI-PI measure in the Posner task) should give the most substantial relationships with intelligence. However, as in other previous studies these measures displayed rather low, albeit significant, relationships with intelligence, which was probably due to the low reliability of these parameters. For the Posner paradigm, we proposed alternative approaches to compute an indicator for long-term memory (LTM) access that gave substantial correlations with intelligence. We conclude that LTM access is significantly associated with psychometric intelligence, whereas up to now there has been no unequivocal evidence for a substantial relationship between short-term memory access in the Sternberg task and intelligence.     

Do we image God on-line? The opportunities and challenges for authentic relationships in cyberspace

ABSTRACT

Genesis 1 states that we are created in the image of God. While Biblical scholars have taken a performative approach, viewing God's image in our actions, systematic theologians have viewed God's image in relational terms. Thus, the quality of our relationships is crucial, not only for the health of our day to day lives but for our very identity. What makes a relationship authentic? Karl Barth suggests four criteria: that we look the other in the eye, speak to and hear the other, aid the other, and do it gladly. We look ?rst at how our authentic relationships function to make God present among us and then use Barth's criteria to examine the quality of relationships that exist primarily in cyberspace. Social media, in particular, present unique opportunities and challenges for forming authentic relationships and raise fundamental questions about who we are and where God is found among us.     

Reincarnation and infinite punishment in hell

In the first part of the paper, I argue that Christians should incorporate the theory of reincarnation into their belief system. The problem of the apparent disproportion between finite human sin and infinite punishment in Hell becomes far more tractable against the background of reincarnation. In the second part of the paper, I address and answer three objections that may be raised against a Christian theory of reincarnation. The first objection is based on the role of memory in identity, the second points to the essential unity of body and soul, and the third revolves around the suggestion that living multiple lives may more easily lead to damnation than to salvation.