We all know that sin results when the sinner succumbs to temptation. One possible way to attack sin would be to stamp out temptation. This is the approach taken by the Taliban, with their hilariously-named “Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice”, and by the Saudis with their “Committee for the …
Many of our friends reacted with horror when they first found out we are raising our children Christian. The common response is something like, “I don’t want my children to be indoctrinated; I want them to be able to make up their own mind when they are old enough to decide!”. They eventually come to …
The claim is sometimes made that, “evidence for an intelligent designer should be readily available in the graffiti of DNA”. Perhaps something like “Designed by Yaweh” embedded in the sequences of DNA. Similar suggestions have been made about the number pi. Alex Tbarrok has dubbed this the “Slartibartfast Principle“, after the planetary designer in Douglas …
Years ago, I read a couple of Muslim theologians who argued strenuously that God’s “hand” in the Bible was truly a physical hand. At the time, I found the debate to be ridiculous and absurdly literalist. But I’m reconsidering that opinion. Christianity believes in a God incarnate, and Judaism initially believed in a physical God. …
Atheists are almost all materialists, asserting that everything in the universe is wholly reducible to the physical. For the atheist, this includes the mind — all of our memories, dreams, and intentions. The orthodox atheist position is that the mind is like a computer program running on the physical substrate of the brain (the computer). …
If atheism is true, why did so many ancient cultures hold to some form of theism? Why did none of them get it right? Why did our ancestors adopt theism, rather than atheism? Atheists sometimes feel compelled to answer these questions. The most common answer goes something like this: “Ancient people were superstitious and ignorant …
A friend is currently reading Peter Watson’s “Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud”, a book which promises to make you erudite about all of human religion, philosophy, and various “-isms”. The book plays to people’s vanities. When humanity as a whole has arrived at no consensus about the validity of …
If you’ve spent any time at all in reasoned discourse with people, you’ve seen people make “ad hominem” arguments, which are a form of logical fallacy. These are arguments like, “Your point is wrong, because you are high on drugs”. Calling you a drug abuser does nothing to disprove your point, unless of course you …
James Kwak at Baseline Scenario quotes a New Yorker article about the mega rich money managers in Manhattan who are watching the world come to an end right now. One of the successful money managers, one Colyn Negrych, has a particularly poignant observation: “What constituency is there for pessimism? People believe optimism is necessary, an …