Category Archives: Science & Faith

Re: Agora

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Bradlaugh

Then you could read about Hypatia on pages 44-45 of my history of algebra. You could also cast an eye on Charles William Mitchell’s melodramatic (and to my eye, sexually ambiguous) painting of the lady’s last moments, in the photo … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, Science & Faith | 6 Comments

Mumbo Jumbo Medicine, Taxpayer-Paid

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Via the Daily Telegraph: Hundreds of members of the BMA [The British equivalent of the AMA] have passed a motion denouncing the use of [homeopathy], saying taxpayers should not foot the bill for remedies with no scientific basis to support … Continue reading →

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

Atheists are “vincibly ignorant”

Posted on May 13, 2010 by David Hume

Joe Carter at First Things, The Vincible Ignorance of Atheism: Even as a fervent believer I can acknowledge that skepticism and atheism can be inspired by the reasons Hart lists. But I fail to understand how that makes them noble, … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, Science & Faith | Tagged | 39 Comments

Okey Dokey

Posted on May 8, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

From the London Times In normally liberal Connecticut,voters recently returned a creationist to the state school board for the first time. In Illinois, the Republican candidate for governor will be a Darwin doubter. In Christian universities in Virginia and Colorado, … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Faith | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Natural-Born Supernaturalists?

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

This WSJ piece by Michael Shermer is well worth a look. Some key extracts: According to Oxford University Press’s “World Christian Encyclopedia,” 84% of the world’s population belongs to some form of organized religion. That equals 5.7 billion people who … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Faith | Tagged | 14 Comments

Near-Death Experiences

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

The idea of the supernaturally flavored “near-death experience” (shining lights, angels, cheerily waving, long-dead relatives and so on) is one that seems to have been gaining traction in recent years. And that’s no surprise; they make for a good story … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, Science & Faith | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Liberalism Claims the Transcendent

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Bradlaugh

Of the great mid-2000s tranche of “celebrity atheists,” each has his own distinctive style: the professorial Dennett, the street-fighter Hitchens, the smartypants Dawkins, and so on. For me at least, Sam Harris is the least distinctive of the crowd, the … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, philosophy, Science & Faith | 29 Comments

Apocalypse Postponed

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

The reason that stories of apocalypse run through so many religions is partly due, I suspect, to the persistent and widespread belief that this wicked old planet needs a sharp sheep-and-goats moment and, also, to the fact that the end of the world is … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Faith | Tagged , | 3 Comments

No More New Moore

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Here’s how a contributor to the Skeptic’s Dictionary defines confirmation bias: Confirmation bias refers to a type of selective thinking whereby one tends to notice and to look for what confirms one’s beliefs, and to ignore, not look for, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Faith | Tagged , | 11 Comments

The Church of Climate Change (Again)

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Andrew Stuttaford

Here’s the Sunday Telegraph’s Christopher Booker: As the roof continues to fall in on them, in an endless succession of scandals, the beleaguered defenders of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have at last managed to mount a riposte … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Faith | Tagged | 2 Comments