All entries by this author

A Secular ‘Third Way’ in Religion *

Dec 17th, 2009 | Filed by

Whatever.… Read the rest



William Dalrymple on Religion in India *

Dec 17th, 2009 | Filed by

More 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

A 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

If 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

I’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:

Collins 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

Read the rest


Essence and expectation

Dec 16th, 2009 12:11 pm | By

If 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

Unexamined 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

Women 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

More 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

Science 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

Progressive 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

I 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

Tell Independent Word Report of any neglected human rights issues you know about.… Read the rest



Oral Roberts is Now With God *

Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by

Or not.… Read the rest



Attack on Home of Editor of Weekly Blitz *

Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by

Sohail 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

The 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

Too 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

Harassment 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

Ghosts, astrology, the ability of trees to trap spiritual energy.… Read the rest



A Church That ‘Exorcizes’ Gays *

Dec 15th, 2009 | Filed by

Boris Johnson went for a sing-song; Peter Tatchell is not amused.… Read the rest