PhD: Twitter quote 99
Preface
I resided in this area of Gorton for about eight months. This was my second of three locations in Greater Manchester where I lived.
I studied for a very short time at the University of Manchester (ungraded) before finishing my MPhil/PhD theses degrees through the University of Wales. I started my Wales, MPhil work while living in Burnage, Manchester and then finished my degrees from my present desk here in Maple Ridge, British Columbia.
I studied @ Wales, Lampeter, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, campus, three times. I enjoyed staying in Wales.
Image 1: Inkl photo: Hyde Road Bridge, Gorton, Manchester. I used to walk on the left (sidewalk) there. One day after church I did a three hour walk, with some side journeys, from church in Didsbury to back home in Gorton (1.5 hour walk). I could still do that easily, by the way. It helps having toenails removed, but I digress and shall spare you the details.
Image 2: St. James Church (1871), Gorton, Manchester, England. From the official website.
I walked past that church many times. I enjoyed viewing the Church from my flat's window and pondered on the years of history. I wondered about all the various people that had attended.
Gorton was a working class area with some nice parks nearby, a fantastic local butcher shop with UK grass fed beef and an excellent grocer with fruit from Spain and France. I will state once again that I thought the food in England at that time was mainly excellent. This contrary to many opinions.
A neighbour in a nearby building was beaten to death, tied to a chair, with reportedly nothing stolen and the door to his flat left open. The owner of the grocery store stated that when he first heard the news, he thought it might be me that was the victim. I think I was expected to be an undercover 'copper'. I had been accused of this at least once, perhaps twice. I did get in more trouble in my two year stay in Manchester than in the rest of my life. See my archives for the bottle incident on my second Blogger website.
I was burgled at my first residence @ Crumpsall and while back in Canada, temporarily, and had my computer taken which I needed to do my academic work. I moved to Gorton and once again, while in Canada, temporarily, and was again burgled, but this time the kind Bobby Singh was storing my goods. I still own the custom Windows XP, PC that Bobby Singh made for me, as it is my old games back-up computer.
A good friend's Dad, a retired police officer, suspected my landlord from both Crumpsall and Gorton, was the burglar. I have no firm opinion...
Apparently, while I lived in Gorton, an elderly lady down the road was killed with a screwdriver in her home...
Eventually, I went into a downtown Manchester weapons shop looking for some legal protection. The first thing I was offered was a samurai sword, I declined. (Paraphrased) Thank you sir, but I am not looking to decapitate a bloke, just to defend myself.
Reading this, I have actually lived a pretty interesting life.
---
PhD: Twitter quote 99
Twitter version
Scientific progress has helped humanity tremendously to live better lives, but humanity is still capable of committing grotesque & intense evils.
2010 Theodicy and Practical Theology: PhD thesis, the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Lampeter
I reason that scientific progress has
helped humanity tremendously to live better quality lives,[1]
but human beings are capable of committing as grotesque and intense evils as
ever in the twenty-first century.[2]
[1] Krikorian
(1944)(2007: 1).
[2] For
example, nuclear technology has made nuclear weapons possible since the 1940s
and there are nuclear weapons in the world which can do tremendous damage to
humanity on a large scale within a few hours.
THE CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY (1995) Della Thompson (ed.), Oxford, Clarendon Press.
BLOESCH, DONALD G. (1987) Freedom for Obedience, San Francisco, Harper and Rowe Publishers.
FRANCIS, LESLIE J. and Practical Theology Team (2005) ‘Practical and Empirical Theology’, University of Wales, Bangor website, University of Wales, Bangor.
DUBRAY, C.A. (1911)(2007) ‘Naturalism’ in New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia, New York, Robert Appleton Company.
GANZEVOORT, R. RUARD (2004)(2005) ‘Van der Ven’s Empirical/Practical Theology and the Theological Encyclopedia’, in Hermans, pp.53-74, C.A.M. & Moore M.E. (eds), Amsterdam.
HEIMBROCK, HANS-GUNTER (2005) ‘From Data to Theory: Elements of Methodology in Empirical Phenomenological Research in Practical Theology’ in International Journal of Practical Theology, Volume 9, December, Berlin, Walter D. Gruyter.
KLEIN, WILLIAM W. CRAIG, C. BLOMBERG, AND ROBERT L. HUBBARD, JR. (1993) Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, London, Word Publishing.
KRIKORIAN, K. (1944)(2007) (ed.), Naturalism and the Human Spirit, New York, Columbia University Press, in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University.
PETERS, KARL, E. (1992) ‘Empirical Theology in the Light of Science, in The Journal of Religion and Science, Volume 27 Issue 3 Page 297-325, September, Oxford, Zygon, Blackwell Publishing.
SIRE, JAME W (1975) The Universe Next Door, Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press.
THIESSEN, HENRY C. (1956) Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
WEBER, OTTO (1955)(1981) Foundations of Dogmatics, Volumes 1 and 2, Translated and annotated by Darrell L. Guder, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
