When reading a blog, of which there are many, it's sometimes nice to know whose thoughts you are reading.
I study physics, mathematics and philosophy as an undergraduate at the University of Queensland in Australia. As a philosophy student, I am interested in logic, epistemology and metaphysics, although as all thinking people, I also have opinions in the areas of philosophy of mind, the problem of personal identity, ethics and philosophy of science. Obviously, as a Catholic theist, I am very interested also in the area of philosophy of religion.
You can see some of my views short-listed on the page "A few of my views."
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Like all good Catholic ventures, my blog has patron saints:
St Francis of Assisi: The most revered saint in all of Western Church history, this almost mythical figure is the picture of self-sacrifice and of love for people in poverty.
St Paul of Tarsus: This legendary Apostle was the first great missionary, his theology forms the rock of the New Testament, he is (with St Peter) one of the pillars of the two Church. He was a divisive figure in his time, and his theology still proves divisive today (the Protestant-Catholic split was a division over interpretation of Pauline theology, basically), but he has a pastor's heart, as any avid reader of his epistles will tell you. Most importantly, he is the saint I have commended myself to in the sacrament of confirmation.
St
Francis Xavier: if St Paul was the first great missionary, then St Francis Xavier must be labelled in his class: this founding member of the Jesuits, a Spaniard, went from Spain to Paris, through India and almost got into China is his missionary travels. With the renewed emphasis on mission in the Church since the Second Vatican Council (labelled by John Paul II the great "missionary council"), St Francis Xavier is a saint for our times.
St Augustine of Hippo: a Doctor of the Church, the Doctor of Grace, this great Church Father and theologian has shaped Western theology like nobody else, perhaps not even as much as St Thomas Aquinas: his pastoral and theological wisdom remains relevant today.
St Ignatius of Loyola: my dear brother in the Lord, and founder of the Jesuits, his spirituality shapes me like almost no other saint. And as an aspiring member of his religious order, his intercession is dear to me.
Bl. John Henry Newman: it was rumoured that his canonization may lead to his being declared Doctor of the Church - may it come to pass! As St Augustine was to the early period, St Thomas Aquinas to the Middle Ages, so too is the wisdom of Blessed John Henry Newman precious and directly relevant to us today.
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This blog is not so much about me, but it does contain my views. These may or may not be the views of the Catholic Church, and they are certainly not necessarily the views of the University of Queensland.
