Monthly Archives: August 2009

Pascal’s Wager

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

Piling one irrationality onto another, the town fathers in the Sicilian town of Ficarra have collectively invested in Italy’s $165 million lottery: ”We chose numbers which were connected with the town’s patron saint, the Virgin Mary of the Assumption,” Mayor … Continue reading →

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The Mysteries of Faith

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

A xeroxed announcement appeared in the mail room of my Manhattan apartment building a while ago: “Our Lady of Fatima Visits Our Parish.”  The notice had a photo of one of those creepy painted sculptures of Mary with oversized, tear-encrusted  … Continue reading →

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The Evolution of God

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

I have been reading in Robert Wright’s The Evolution of God. Lucidly written and cockily iconoclastic, it contains many mischievous pleasures. Wright rehearses the patent inconsistencies among the four gospels regarding the circumstances of Jesus’ birth (he is obviously not … Continue reading →

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Take that, Francis Collins!

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

I was listening with equal parts fascination and incredulity to Christian radio KBRT 740 am this morning while driving back from the pool.  The topic on today’s segment of “Defending the Truth”: the self-delusion of “progressive creationists” and “theistic evolutionists”—those … Continue reading →

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More on Collins

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Interesting comment thread on the Collins appointment. Just a few. P.Z. Myers bitterly attacks Kenneth Miller, who has provided expert testimony against “Intelligent Design” in court, as a “creationist.” Perhaps Myers does so attack Miller somewhere, but in a posting this morning … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics, science, Science & Faith | 17 Comments

Convictions matter

Posted on August 6, 2009 by David Hume

Tom Rees reports on data which suggests that people with firmer convictions, atheists and theists, tend to be happier. The methodological issue is that since sample sizes are small for those who are not religious in the United States those … Continue reading →

Posted in data | Tagged | 16 Comments

Francis Collins Tossed and Gored

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Bigfoot atheist Sam Harris lays into Francis Collins, the new NIH Director, here. It’s a considerably expanded version (7,570 words vs. 953) of an Op-Ed Harris did for the New York Times.

Posted in science, Science & Faith | 37 Comments

European dreams, a uniquely American pastime

Posted on August 2, 2009 by David Hume

Americans are rather stupid people, as is the norm among humans. This stupidity is manifest in a general lack of knowledge or understanding of the goings on in the rest of the world. And just as dull elementary school age … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | Tagged | 43 Comments

Mark Twain on God’s love

Posted on August 2, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

I recently read Mark Twain’s brilliantly acid Letters from the Earth, written in 1909, a year before his death.  I highly recommend it.    Satan visits the earth and sends back dispatches to his fellow archangels about humans’ conception of God, … Continue reading →

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Beer Summit Theology

Posted on August 2, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. concluded the Beer Summit on a far more gracious, even presidential, note than President Obama.  Gates had the courtesy to acknowledge, however belatedly, that “police officers put their lives at risk to protect us every day.”  … Continue reading →

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