All entries by this author

Grayling on Clerical Cruelty and Dogmatism *

Jul 1st, 2009 | Filed by

The question of what archbishops and rabbis do to subvert the ethical maturation of humankind has to be addressed.… Read the rest



Andrew Brown on How to Think About Sharia *

Jul 1st, 2009 | Filed by

‘Perhaps the autonomous adult is an idealisation, useful for some purposes, but misleading for others.’… Read the rest



The return of the archbishop

Jun 30th, 2009 4:36 pm | By

Horrible man, the archbishop of Canterbury – cruel, callous, ruthless, tyrannical. He doesn’t think so of course, but he is. He’s again sticking his oar in to prevent suffering people from ending their own lives.

Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury; Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, and Sir Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, have come together for the first time to urge peers to reject proposals that would allow families to help loved ones to die abroad free from the threat of prosecution.

Why? No reason – just to show off the superior devoutness of devout people by straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.

It would surely put vulnerable people at serious risk, especially sick

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Full Text of ABC’s Wicked Letter *

Jun 30th, 2009 | Filed by

Hospices are better, he says.… Read the rest



Religious Bullies Try to Block Euthanasia Law *

Jun 30th, 2009 | Filed by

Archbishops of C and W and Chief Rabbi join to prevent people from ending terminal suffering.… Read the rest



Pope Delays Encyclical Because His Latin is Rusty *

Jun 30th, 2009 | Filed by

This encyclical will be the first written with the help of Google.… Read the rest



No Tent for God, No Sleeping Bag, No Smores *

Jun 30th, 2009 | Filed by

Plenty of games of ‘Find the unicorn’ though.… Read the rest



Interfaith Visit Goes Awry *

Jun 30th, 2009 | Filed by

Pupils and teacher on visit to Catholic college were asked to remove their niqabs.… Read the rest



Quantum Mechanics and Religion *

Jun 30th, 2009 | Filed by

‘A particle is everywhere in the universe at all times’ therefore all religions are true. Or something.… Read the rest



Newsweek Suggests 50 Books for Our Time *

Jun 30th, 2009 | Filed by

Including Jerry Coyne’s Why Evolution is True; also Persepolis, Midnight’s Children.… Read the rest



Male Victims of Forced Marriage *

Jun 30th, 2009 | Filed by

Dozens of men in NE England have contacted Karma Nirvana, which will open a new centre for both sexes.… Read the rest



If only everyone knew as much as I do

Jun 30th, 2009 10:06 am | By

I’m thoroughly tired of attempting to get a straight answer out of Chris Mooney, so I’ll drop the subject, but I just want to note that he has an annoying habit of attributing ignorance to people who disagree with him. He did it a month ago in his first reply to Jerry Coyne:

I guess you could say I’ve changed my view; certainly I’ve changed my emphasis. A lot more reading in philosophy and history has moved me toward a more accomodationist position. So has simple pragmatism; I don’t see what is to be gained by flailing indiscriminately against religion, other than a continuation of the culture wars. That’s especially so when those who flail against religion do so

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Pope Identifies Bones as Paul’s *

Jun 29th, 2009 | Filed by

Carbon dating confirms they are from the 1st or 2nd century, therefore they are Paul’s.… Read the rest



At the Paleontology Conference *

Jun 29th, 2009 | Filed by

A session entitled ‘The Nature of Science and Public-Science Literacy’ was devoted to theism.… Read the rest



Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years *

Jun 29th, 2009 | Filed by

No friends, family or other supporters submitted any letters attesting to good deeds Madoff did.… Read the rest



Arrested Iranian Journalists Prisoners of Conscience *

Jun 29th, 2009 | Filed by

The only message the authorities are sending is that they are seeking to hide the truth.… Read the rest



Rafsanjani Thanks Leader for Extending Deadline *

Jun 29th, 2009 | Filed by

Expediency Council Chairman Rafsanjani said Supreme Leader’s decision was valuable.… Read the rest



A quibble or two

Jun 29th, 2009 11:25 am | By

Allow me to run down a few of the claims in Sholto Byrnes’s review of our book that are not true.

Actually, first, let me start with a plain oddity, since it appears in the first sentence.

The question of whether God hates women is not one that can be answered with certainty; not least since, by the time any of us dared ask a putative deity such an impertinent question, we would be in no position to communicate the response to our fellows.

Ah – so he admits it. The putative deity is one that we cannot question or otherwise address until after we’re dead – by which time it is too late to ameliorate anything the putative god’s … Read the rest



What is it like to be an elephant calf?

Jun 29th, 2009 10:25 am | By

Yesterday, by way of refreshment from enumerating the falsehoods in Sholto Byrnes’s review of our book, Jeremy and I chatted a little about elephants. He’d sent me a picture of the Toronto elephants playing water games, so I made him envious by saying I used to join the Seattle elephants in their pool to scrub their backs and generally play with them. This led to a discussion of how one gets used to being around such large animals, and Jeremy asked if they knew not to tread on people by accident. I said they do, and told a little story to illustrate, and he thought I should share it, so I will. Consider it refreshment from whatever you need … Read the rest



Confidence

Jun 28th, 2009 4:42 pm | By

Chris Mooney wonders something.

Wilkins’ post stirs up something that, especially as a journalist, has always made me wonder about the New Atheists–how are they so confident?…I met a lot of moderate religious people, in the course of my life, who were anything but irrational or fundamentalist. And they changed me…[T]hey certainly made me less of an absolutist. They made me less confident that I had all the answers, that my way was the only way–not just for finding out the truth, but for getting through life.

How are ‘the New Atheists’ so confident of what? What is it that Mooney takes ‘the New Atheists’ to be so confident of? Apparently that they have all the answers and … Read the rest