Category Archives: debate

The Church of Climate Change: Whitewashed Sepulchure Watch

Posted on January 31, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

One of the features of a good number of religions is their tendency to urge asceticism /simplicity/don’t bother with all those material things on their followers. Another no less striking feature of those same religions is the way that such hair … Continue reading →

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Trouble in the Church (of Climate Change)

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

One of the clearest ways in which, for some, a belief in anthropogenic global warming has taken on the characteristics of a religion is in the way it has provided them with an organizing principle that helps ‘explain’ so much … Continue reading →

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The Church of Climate Change (Again)

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Via Andrew Sullivan, I read that the FrumForum’s Andrew Gelman is unhappy about the way that “the newest way to slam a belief you disagree with — or maybe it’s not so new — is to call it “religious.” For … Continue reading →

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The Church of Climate Change? (3)

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

Here’s a fairly even-handed summary of the Warmergate scandal from the London Times. These sections are particularly relevant to the idea that a belief in AGW has mutated, for some, into a quasi-religious faith: …There is unease even among researchers … Continue reading →

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

The Church of Climate Change? (2)

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

Via the New York Times come these comments from a climate scientist at the University of East Anglia (the hacked documents came from the UEA’s Climatic Research Unit). They are particularly interesting for what he has to say about the … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, science, Science & Faith | Tagged | 3 Comments

The Church of Climate Change?

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

Heather, in the course of your (fine) post on Syncopation and Thanksgiving, you reject the notion “that global warming theory represents some atavistic religious impulse.” In one sense, of course, you are quite right to do so. The idea that we … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, science, Science & Faith | Tagged , | 10 Comments

The Bells, The Bells

Posted on November 14, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

Given the extraordinary record of success that Christianity’s various sects have shown in predicting the arrival of the apocalypse, this story made me laugh: GENEVA — The World Council of Churches on Thursday called on churches around the world to … Continue reading →

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Heaven For Climate, Hell For Company

Posted on November 14, 2009 by Bradlaugh

The front page of my New York Post this morning, following the news that foreign terrorists are to be brought to New York to be tried in civilian courts, showed a mock-up of a New York City postcard featuring the Twin … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, Science & Faith | 10 Comments

Nicholas Wade’s New Book

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Nick Wade’s new book The Faith Instinct comes out next week.  I’ve been reading it for review, and it’s excellent.  He seems (I’m only 60 pages in) to plant himself firmly in the religion-is-adaptive camp. This puts him in a … Continue reading →

Posted in science, Science & Faith | 4 Comments

Secular Fic

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Having just promoted two nonfiction books about religion, I should add some fiction to the mix. Check out Rebecca Goldstein’s latest novel, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction. It’s very Goldstein: a perfect blend of intellectual … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Faith | 3 Comments