Articles written by Mary W. Matthews - Page 5

What is Helium

About me - Mary W. Matthews

I've been a writer and editor for my entire professional life. As an editor, I have won awards for excellence from several national educational nonprofits.

I've also been deeply interested in the philosophy of religion all my life: IS there a God? What has

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Religion & Spirituality > Thoughts on God Is God relevant in today's world?: 49 of 66
Short answer: If God were irrelevant, no one at Helium would have thought the debate was worth starting in the first place. After all, is having an "innie" belly button relevant in today's world? Is knowing how to hunt wooly mammoths relevant in today's world?Long answer: As with so many Helium debate questions, this is actua... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Presidential Elections 2008 Senator McCain: Not my choice for president: 24 of 30
Why should John S. McCain NOT be president? Let me count the ways!(1) Eight years ago, George W. Bush spent several months spreading vicious lies about John McCain. McCain was "the fag candidate," Bush repeatedly said. McCain's time as a prisoner of war had made him mentally unstable. McCain's temper was too explosive for the... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Bible Study Homosexuality and the Bible: What does it really say?: 7 of 8
All this hullaballoo about homosexuality and the Bible. Doesn't anyone understand that most of the Bible was written anywhere from 3,200 to 1,700 years ago — the Bronze Age and the Iron Age? Doesn't anyone understand that they didn't think out of anywhere NEAR the same terms, concepts, or zeitgeist as we moderns do? For... More..
Home & Garden > Home Interior Home decor: Do it yourself or hire an interior decorator?: 22 of 25
Whether to decorate your home yourself or hire a professional depends a great deal on how much you care and how confident you are in your own taste. A good designer has access to goods, services, and discounts that ordinary people don't. A good designer can make a room look even better than you dreamed it could.On the other h... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Bible Study Can information contained in the Bible be placed in the realm of absolute truth, or does it simply present us with fables and myths?: 34 of 37
First, it must be stressed that the debate over the Bible's truth or fictionality is irrelevant. The Bible contains little or no "information." The Bible presents us NOT with "information," but with myths, legends, poetry, songs (the psalms), wisdom literature, a novella (the Joseph story), and even a fable (the fable of the ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Should charity be voluntary or compelled?: 24 of 26
Charity: an act of good will. A feeling of good will. VOLUNTARY giving of money or other help to those in need.To compel: to force someone to do something against that person's resistance.If you FORCE someone to give money or other help to those in need, what results is NOT "a feeling of good will," but rather, a feeling of a... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Bible Study Is the information in the Bible relevant to today's classroom as a textbook on every subject?: 15 of 15
The question is ludicrous. The Bible is not a textbook on ANY subject. The Bible is THEOLOGY.Most of the Bible was inscribed onto tanned animal skins ("parchment") by the shamans ("priests") of nomadic tribesmen in the Bronze Age, between about 925 BCE and about 550 BCE. Parts of the Bible can be traced back to the Stone Age.... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Thoughts on God Top ten things to know about God: 11 of 11
What are the top ten things to know about God?(1) GOD IS INFINITE. There are many different ways to say this: God is omnipresent. God is everywhere. God is all the way on the other side of the Universe, roughly 28 billion light-years from Earth, AND God is inside your head, listening to your thoughts. Both at the same time. G... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Bible Study Was Jesus' mother Mary divine or just human?: 7 of 7
Before we worry about Mary, let's go back a step: Was JESUS divine or "just" human? As far back as 325 CE at the Council of Nicea, Christian theologians said that Jesus was "true God and true human being" (usually mistranslated "man"). Jesus was not "just" human, except in the sense that he was just as much human as he was di... More..
Home & Garden > Home Interior A guide to decorating for a shabby chic look: 3 of 3
"Shabby chic." This is the latest term for a style of decorating that students, 20-somethings, and people who work for nonprofit organizations have used for decades: Either you can't afford to buy new or costly furnishings, or you have better things to do with your money. (Some people like the look so much they deliberately "... More..