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Category Archives: religion
Free Will and (Divine?) Foreknowledge
Various defenders of academic philosophy are offended (see, eg Jean Kazez and Daniel Fincke)by the contempt expressed by some for the idea of “Divine Foreknowledge” as a topic of serious philosophical investigation (especially when funded by the “notorious” Templeton Foundation). But while I … Continue reading
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Is Religion Above the Law?
What intrigues me about this is what appears to be the choice by various Supreme Court justices to use quite naive language to express questions which cannot fail to have occurred to anyone who has really considered this issue at any … Continue reading
Posted in law, religion
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Why do you believe in God?
This series from the New Statesman may (or may not) provide some of the insight I have been looking for into why intelligent decent people can adopt traditional-sounding religious positions. The answers I have been able to get from personal friends … Continue reading
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Faith, Belief, and Unbelief
John S Wilkins of ‘Evolving Thoughts’ is exploring some definitions to facilitate a discussion of the philosophical landscape around the issues of atheism, agnosticism, theism, and so on. One point I took issue with in his first post was his statement … Continue reading
Posted in religion
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Religions, cults and wacos
John S Wilkins’ piece on Religions, cults and wacos reproduces a couple of cartoons from Wiley Miller’s Non Sequitur which make an amusing and important point about the various levels of respect accorded to different words for superstitious belief systems. There … Continue reading
Posted in law, religion, social issues
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Creationism at the Royal Society
This would be old news but for the fact that the Royal Society’s president at the time was Martin Rees – who might now be seen by some as finally getting his reward for letting it happen. On the other … Continue reading
New Atheism=The Tea Party?
I do not self-identify as an “atheist” let alone a “new” one and certainly not a wildebeest (with which I only identify in the context of computer software). But having read a bit of what is written by some of … Continue reading
The Sine Qua Non
. . .for inclusion in an interfaith convention is to have a representative to whom one delegates moral authority, be (s)he priest, rabbi, imam, or “secular chaplain”. But that excludes all who reject such immoral authorities whether they be true atheists or … Continue reading
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Origin of Religion
How Did God Get Started? by Colin Wells in Boston University’s ‘Arion’ magazine gives a part of the story but fails to address some key questions.
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Value of Religion
The great debate between Tony Blair and Christopher Hitchens was a bit of a bust – with Blair citing the roles of moderate religious leaders in “bringing together” Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland (without any acknowledgement of the fact … Continue reading
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Defining Evolution
When I read the title of this piece (Theologians Lobby Successfully to Change Definition of Evolution | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine)I was prepared to get angry. But instead I am embarrassed on behalf of those who are complaining about … Continue reading
Posted in evolution, religion
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“The Belief Instinct”
Jesse Bering’s “The Belief Instinct” is described as an exploration of possible sources of religion in cognitive tendencies towards a sense of being observed even when we have no evidence for it. To support this idea he reportedly both cites … Continue reading
Posted in evolution, psychology, religion
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Muslim Reactions to Violence
What a contrast between this and this!
Confounding
Apparently, religion is no more likely than any other kind of group affiliation to be associated with either charity or emotional well-being. So the argument that religion provides a positive contribution in these areas may like saying that baseball is … Continue reading
Bishop Explains Christmas as Myth
In his annual Christmas message the Rt Rev John Davies, Bishop of the Church in Wales diocese of Swansea and Brecon, complained about atheists timing their contrary message so as to “coincide with two of the church’s greatest festivals, Christmas … Continue reading
Al Sharpton vs Christopher Hitchens
This old debate (which came up when I looked up Al Sharpton in response to Obama’s use of his name in contrast with James Dobson) is quite good, but Hitchens’ failure to take up Sharpton’s (repeated) invitation to raise things … Continue reading
Obama Speech on Religion
This comes from before he was president. But note that (at 2:30 on the tape) he says “politics involves compromise” and perhaps that is being applied also to the very principles advocated in this speech.
The Inheritors of What?
A new book by Eric Kaufmann entitled Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century is
Posted in biology, religion, sustainability
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The Myth of Separate Magisteria | Big Questions Online
The Myth of Separate Magisteria | Big Questions Online. The main problem (aside from its pretentious name) with Stephen Jay Gould’s concept of “Non-overlapping Magisteria” as a resolution of the “conflict” between science and religion is the fact that many … Continue reading
Posted in religion, science, uncategorized
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Killing Blasphemers on the Peace Train
This is apparently old news, but I was previously unaware of it. I recall being shocked when Cat Stevens was treated as potentially dangerous after his conversion to Islam. Now not so much!