Thomas Gataker was a disputatious Puritan divine. His The Nature and Uses of Lotteries (1627) was the first systematic exposition of a modern view of lotteries, not just as a form of gambling, but as a fair method of division. Gataker approved of these uses, but condemned divination and sorcery using random signs or spells. This important treatise is often referred to, but is generally inaccessible due to its rarity and old-style of language. The text of this edition has been fully modernised, with notes on important sources used by Gataker and includes a new introduction.
Have you ever wondered... How Did God Do It? How did God perform the many miracles and supernatural events described in the Holy Bible - without violating the laws of physics and chemistry that He Himself put into place? And without conflicting with the basic tenets of Judaism and Christianity? This book proposes a theory that marries faith and rationality in a symphony of science and scripture....
Bioethicists, moral philosophers and social policy analysts have long debated about how we should decide who shall be saved with scarce, lifesaving resources when not all can be saved. It is often claimed that it is fairer to save younger persons and that age is an ethically relevant consideration in such tragic decisions. Medical benefit should be maximized and final selection should aim to minimize the contaminating influence of chance. These claims are challenged by Duff R. Waring in Medical Benefit and the Human Lottery, one of the few books that attempts a sustained defence of random patient selection. This book combines ethics and political philosophy in its novel and strict egalitarian approach to patient selection for transplantable organs. Waring addresses the question of whether we should choose between lives on the basis of fair chances or best outcomes. He argues that final selection criteria should be based on fair chances that equalize opportunity as opposed to best outcomes. His defence of "hardy" egalitarianism aims to show that random selection by lottery can affirm both a common humanity and the equal value of lives. The notion of patient selection by lottery has not fared well in bioethics and has been regarded by some as a moral affront. Waring argues that a human selection lottery may be neither as crude nor as ethically anomalous as some have supposed. Indeed, it can reflect a familiar conception of equality as a political and moral ideal. This conception abstracts from many undeniable differences between patients and claims that scarce resources should be allocated on the principled assumption that each of their lives is equally worth saving. The book is also notable for its critiques of some recent utilitarian notions of medical benefit which can have an age-biased impact on elderly patients. Waring then argues against the leading, contemporary age-based approaches to patient selection. He explores the way random selection by lottery can affirm his egalitarian ethos in cases where eligible transplant candidates have each passed a threshold level of prospective medical benefit that has been set by democratic deliberation. Taming chance with a human lottery is defended as the most lucid means of ensuring equal opportunity. In so doing, Waring argues that we give the principle of equal concern and respect a radical expression: above a noncomparative threshold of medical benefit, each candidate can have an equal claim to life.
How to Prove god Does Not Exist is the complete guide to the nonbeliever stance. The most diverse validation of atheism ever written, it deconstructs every major criticism of atheism and defense of religion through logical, philosophical, historical, cultural, moral and scientific means. This builds towards a more strident approach towards asserting atheism, with five key justifications outlined for why god does not exist. This expansive work employs the philosophy of Epicurus, David Hume and Friedrich Nietzsche, the science of Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, plus the logic of Bertrand Russell, the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, and the contemporized insights of New Atheism advocates such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. It features original concluding insights with prominent atheists such as scientists Vic Stenger and Michael Shermer, plus philosophers Peter Singer and Michel Onfray. There are also unprecedented views of atheism by notable believers, including the 21st century's leading Christian philosopher, Professor Richard Swinburne, while journalist Peter Hitchens unveils why his late brother Christopher's arguments for atheism were "unoriginal, trivial and often ill-informed." The all-encompassing How to Prove god Does Not Exist is the complete armory of arguments that every atheist should know.
Christopher Hitchens's personally curated New York Times bestselling anthology of the most influential and important writings on atheism, including original pieces by Salman Rushdie and Ian McEwan From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of God Is Not Great, a provocative and entertaining guided tour of atheist and agnostic thought through the ages--with never-before-published pieces by Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.Christopher Hitchens continues to make the case for a splendidly godless universe in this first-ever gathering of the influential voices--past and present--that have shaped his side of the current (and raging) God/no-god debate. With Hitchens as your erudite and witty guide, you'll be led through a wealth of philosophy, literature, and scientific inquiry, including generous portions of the words of Lucretius, Benedict de Spinoza, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Mark Twain, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, H. L. Mencken, Albert Einstein, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and many others well-known and lesser known. And they're all set in context and commented upon as only Christopher Hitchens--"political and literary journalist extraordinaire" (Los Angeles Times)--can. Atheist? Believer? Uncertain? No matter: The Portable Atheist will speak to you and engage you every step of the way.
Do you ever wish you would win the lottery? Would it surprise you to know that you can win the lottery without buying a ticket? By using the metaphor of winning twenty-five million dollars in the lottery, author Larry Steinhouse will guide you to a better and more successful life in the areas of money, hope, and happiness. If I Won 25 Million Dollars in the Lottery describes several ways to take your destiny into your own hands. You will learn how to: Harness the power to put money aside for retirement, for investment, or for the right opportunity Understand the rules of money that will help you control your financial future Control your feelings and avoid distractions from your true meaning of life Make your pursuit of happiness a joyous pursuit Live a better life and break away from this recession Move forward and avoid any future recessions Have the power to control all that you want in your life Filled with real-life examples, Steinhouse, a self-described "regular" guy, shares the keys to his success and his future success and helps guide you to yours.
Between 1986 and 2005, nearly every state in the Southeast grappled with one or more proposals for a state-run lottery. The political battles and marketing campaigns leading up to the decisions generated considerable public debate and media attention. Pro-lottery and anti-lottery groups executed costly and labor-intensive campaigns aimed at generating the involvement of the media, politicians, and voters. Using a variety of case studies, Lottery Wars examines those debates and campaigns from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Using thousands of media articles and government documents, in addition to dozens of interviews with politicians, religious leaders, and journalists who covered the campaigns, Bobbitt brings up-to-date the research on state lotteries in the Southeast United States. Accessible and journalistic in style, Lottery Wars is an ideal supplement to any political communication course.
