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Why do people who claim that they feel they are born in the wrong body insist that the answer to their feeling is to change that body to conform to their feelings? I have never really understood their argument. Is it because they feel their feelings are immutable ?  In other words they believe what they feel is who they really are.  Now if that is their rationale it follows that their underlying assumption is that the true authentic part of us is that which is unchanging.  The problem is human beings by nature  are mutable. There is nothing immutable about us.  Only God is immutable.  We are always changing. We grow and decay. Indeed that is the order of the universe according to Big Bang cosmology and evolutionary theory that these people old dear.   So one cannot ground their identity in a some immutable characteristic they possess  because such a characteristic does not exist. The logic that being true to self is confirming one’s feeling, ...

I have read a number of books that touches on emotions, but this is the first one that focuses specifically  on the subject. Although the book does discuss what emotions are, its quite light on theology of emotions per se. For example, the authors do not sufficiently wrestle with the falleness of the human condition. Instead of discussion  emotions in terms of sinfful and non-signiful emotions, they opt for positive and negative. This is because fundamentally they see emotions as not sinful in of themselves.  The problem is that the Bible does speak of "evil desire". The whole questions of what emotions really are is not discussed in depth, which is surprising. I have read books which are not about emotions give an indepth treatment to this question.  The weak theological foundation aside, I think the book is immensely helpful to every Christian in terms of how to engage with emotions. I particularly found section 3 on enganging the hardest emotions helpful. It is de...

Equilibrium is an excellent movie set in a futuristic world where a totalitarian government has solved the problem of violence by suppressing emotions. Books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Christian Bale starts as Cleric John Preston, a top ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist the rules. When he misses a dose of Prozium, the mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston suddenly begins to question the regime.  In one of the most fascinating scenes, John interviews Mary, a sense offender under custody : Mary : Let me ask you something. [Grabs John's hand] Mary : Why are you alive? John Preston: [Breaks free] I'm alive... I live... to safeguard the continuity of this great society. To serve Libria. Mary : It's circular. You exist to continue your existence. What's the point? John Preston : What's the point of your existence? Mary : To feel. 'Cause you've neve...

I have watched Dark City many times, but it is only recently that I have reflected on its fascinating plot. The story revolves around John Murdorch who wakes up one day in an hotel, totally unaware of who he is. He stumbles around looking for clues, when the phone rings with a voice urging him to flee from danger. As he looks around he sees a brutalised corpse of the woman, forcing him to runaway. As the story unfolds, we learn that John is developing supernatural abilities and that a shadowy group called the Strangers are after him. Who are these Strangers? Why are they here? Why is the city always dark? Why does no one seem to remember things? Dr Schreber a forced labourer of the Strangers fills in the blanks for us: First there was darkness. Then came the Strangers. They were a race as old as time itself. They had mastered the ultimate technology. The ability to alter physical reality by will alone. They called this ability "Tuning". But they were dying. Thei...