Whatever.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
William Dalrymple on Religion in India
Dec 17th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMore local, composite and pluralistic traditions are under threat, but the Sufis are fighting back.… Read the rest
US Plans to Rely on Evidence in AIDS Fight
Dec 17th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA shift from the moralistic approach of the Bush administration.… Read the rest
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Dec 17th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIf there are more believers, good. If there are fewer believers, good – it means they’re more thoughtful.… Read the rest
‘We may never fully understand the reasons’
Dec 16th, 2009 5:46 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’m reading Decoding the Language of God: Can a Scientist Really Be a Believer? by George Cunningham, a retired geneticist. It’s an extended response to Francis Collins’s The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. It’s good stuff.
Cunningham asks some telling questions on page 65:
… Read the restCollins finally gives up any claim of being a reasonable scientist when he says, “we may never fully understand the reasons” for suffering as part of God’s plan. What kind of God expects us to live according to a plan that makes no sense to us and is beyond our comprehension? What kind of God would give us a brain that can reason and follow logic then expect us to believe
Essence and expectation
Dec 16th, 2009 12:11 pm | By Ophelia BensonIf you checked News today you may have noticed that I did a Q&A at Science and Religion. This is faintly interesting or amusing or both because back at the beginning of the month, a mere couple of weeks ago, I was pointing out the different language used there for three men on the one hand and one woman on the other hand. Well they’re good sports at Science and Religion; Heather Wax thanked me for my comments and invited me to do this Q and A. So I did.
I enjoyed doing it, because this question interests me. I’m interested in social pressure and expectations and how they can become internalized and taken for granted so that we … Read the rest
Hitchens on the Theocratic US Military
Dec 16th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonUnexamined extremist Christian conservatism is the cultural norm in many military circles. … Read the rest
Baghdad’s Underground Shelters for Women
Dec 16th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWomen who have been raped, battered, forced into prostitution, or accused of dishonor for being abused.… Read the rest
A Thousand Women a Year Call IKWRO
Dec 16th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMore women have confidence to come forward, but forced marriages and ‘honor’ killings are also increasing.… Read the rest
Is ‘Aggressive’ Atheism a Turn-off for Women?
Dec 16th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonScience and Religion asks; I offer an answer.… Read the rest
End the Killing of Women in the Name of ‘Honour’
Dec 16th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonProgressive Centre for Studies and Research on women’s equality aims to make this campaign global.… Read the rest
Soapy Joe yet again
Dec 15th, 2009 5:04 pm | By Ophelia BensonI despise Joe Lieberman. I always have, but every time I hear about him again, I despise him more. Treacherous, self-satisfied, self-aggrandizing, self-admiring – happy to make millions of fellow-citizens worse off than they would otherwise be, just for the sake of his own preening smirking ego. What a sack of shit.… Read the rest
Forgotten People, Forgotten Stories
Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonTell Independent Word Report of any neglected human rights issues you know about.… Read the rest
Attack on Home of Editor of Weekly Blitz
Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSohail Choudhury’s housekeeper was injured, but Dhaka police are ignoring him.… Read the rest
Funding for IKWRO is Life and Death
Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe Forced Marriage Unit said they are one of the best organisations to work with yet their funding is withdrawn.… Read the rest
Where’s the Outcry About Oppression of Women?
Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonToo many people still say: ‘Well, that’s their culture and we musn’t interfere.’… Read the rest
Cairo Conference on the Harassment of Women
Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHarassment of women in the streets, schools and work places of the Arab world confines them to home.… Read the rest
Many Americans Believe All Sorts of Nonsense
Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonGhosts, astrology, the ability of trees to trap spiritual energy.… Read the rest
A Church That ‘Exorcizes’ Gays
Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBoris Johnson went for a sing-song; Peter Tatchell is not amused.… Read the rest