One of the more interesting places in the blogosphere, Right Reason, has called it a day. This is the word from editor Max Goss:

Dear friends of Right Reason,

I want to announce that I am retiring Right Reason. At its best, I believe the blog has succeeded in presenting a diversity of philosophically informed conservative opinion and providing a forum for lively, intelligent, civil debate. Many discussions here have been unmatched anywhere in the blogosphere — which is no doubt why Right Reason has had such a strong following, and why it has consistently been recognized by leading web publications on both the right and the left.

Many thanks to the contributors and many readers who have helped make this site a success. Please keep in touch.

It’s a real shame, but the archives will remain online, which is good. There’s some excellent material there to be digested.

Today was ANZAC day in New Zealand and Australia.

For those of you who don’t know what that is, ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. The Kiwis and Aussies fought together in World War I, and they gained the nickname “ANZACs,” a label that came to be worn with pride.

ANZAC day commemorates the sacrifice that those soldiers made, especially in World War I, and more especially still in the campaign in Gallipoli, Turkey. The place where they landed on the shore has been dubbed “Anzac Cove” (read about it at http://www.anzacday.org.au/spirit/hero/chp07.html)

As a Christian, the idea of commemorating the voluntary self-sacrifice of another for the benefit of others is familiar territory. Every time the church meets, and more importantly every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we remember the supreme sacrifice of Jesus for us. He came into enemy territory and laid down His life to save those who rally to His cause.
ANZAC day is one of the few public holidays that I genuinely believe in. It teaches us to be thankful for the sacrifices that have made for us by others. That’s a vital lesson for Christians to take on board and to present to the world. Christians more than many people should attach a special significance to the phrase so often heard on ANZAC Day, “lest we forget.”

Modern philosophy of religion has ably defended Classical theism against the traditional ‘problem of evil.’ The final and insurmountable blow, however, will undoubtedly be the formidable question of why an all powerful good God would allow the existence of Internet Explorer. Indeed, the ‘problem of Internet Explorer’ may be the death-knell of theism as we know it.

This message has been brought to you by my recent coding attempts.

A number of you have no doubt seen this map of “Jesusland.”

I’ve seen a wide range of comments on this. It’s basically an illustration of where the conservative voting states are, as opposed to the left/liberal states. Some American bloggers (leftist ones, naturally) make comments like “Isn’t it scary/interesting how all the sane states are contiguous with Canada?”

I prefer to put it another way: Look out, apparently Canada is contagious. Avoid contact.

I haven’t posted much lately, and I won’t be doing so for a little while longer. I’m preparing a paper called “Theo Ethical Equilibrium?” for presentation at the annual conference of the Evangelical Theological Society next week in Washington DC.

The theme of the conference is “Christians in the Public Square,” and since my recently completed PhD thesis was on the subject of religion in the public square, it caught my eye. It’s the biggest conference I’ve spoken at thus far, so I’m looking forward to it. Right now I’m trying to cut the paper down to size) as in theory I’m supposed to be able to present the whole thing in just 30 minutes) and making last minute arrangements (like airport shuttles etc).

So on Tuesday the 14th of November I get on the plane, and return in six days. I’ll have more to say then, and before too long I imagine I’ll be putting a version of the paper online.

Apparently, Vegemite is banned from the United States!

When Animals Attack? Kid’s Stuff! When Stunts go wrong? Kindergarten! These shows have nothing on When University Admin Systems Attack!

As I anounced here back on the 13th of September, I have handed in my PhD Thesis in Philosophy at the University of Otago. Here’s what was supposed to happen next: I applied (via my supervisor – who I have to say at the start, has been great, none of this is his fault or directed at him) for what’s known as a bridging stipend. It’s three month’s worth of income while I prepare work for publication, including a presentation at a conference in Washington DC in mid November. This application would have been completed, and I would go about my work for three months. Now, of course I won’t have a job in three months. Well, not a job in philosophy anyway. Those things don’t start until the academic year of a University starts. But anyway, this is the deal with the University.

Here’s what actually happened: After I handed over my PhD, it sat in a box in an office for a month. Since the University people who deal with bridging stipends didn’t know it was submitted (it was, after all, in a box in an office), they hadn’t approved the application for the stipend. So we’ve been sitting here on a grand income of zilch, wondering when I’ll get paid. I phoned them up the other day: “Any idea when this is going to happen?” The answer: “We can’t approve it until you submit your thesis.” Uh oh.

Now that the thesis has been passed on to the right people, the application process is about to get underway. Problem #1: I have about 60 copies of my dossier to print out for job applications, and I have to then send them away with application letters for jobs. Printing costs money (especially 32 pages per copy, x 50 copies, as does international postage (these are not little envelopes, they are thick and A4 size). None of this can be done until we get paid, which will probably not be until late November. Further problem: Most of the academic jobs I am applying for have application deadlines of mid November. Why is this a problem? It wouldn’t have been if we had an income. Was this my fault? Not at all. Is there anything I can do about it? Apparently not. How many employment opportunities am I missing out on? Oh, about 60. But how many more vacancies are still open after that deadline? Very few.

Problem #2. I’m flying to Washington DC in mid November. The Airfare is taken care of, fortunately. Accomodation is booked, but not yet paid for. I’ll be paying for the room, and then splitting the cost with my roommate from England when I get there. But not to worry, now that I’m on this bridging stipend because the University did what it was supposed to, I’ll have the money by the time I get there, as well as transport costs and meals- Oh wait, no I won’t. I’ve prepared this paper, made all the travel arrangements, made sure that my thesis was submitted in time, made sure that all the right applications were filled out, gone through numerous hotels until I could find one with vacancies, and now – Oh woops, while you were waiting after you did everything you were supposed to do, we left your thesis sitting in a box in an office for a month, so you won’t be paid until after the conference is over. But don’t worry, your current income of $0 will get you through!

Oh, and it’s even more beautiful. Since my thesis wasn’t noticed for a month, there is another month’s worth of University fees to pay. The joy of admin “systems.” A system doesn’t feel bad, and doesn’t have to compensate you for its mistakes. When University Admin Systems Attack! Too scary for TV.

Just in case anyone cares, which I am inclined to doubt, I have finished my PhD.

My PhD Thesis in philosophy, titled: Religion in the Public Square: Liberal Political Philosophy and the Place of Religious Convictions, was handed in today at the philosophy department of the University of Otago.

It is finished.