All entries by this author

Libel Laws Silence Bloggers *

Sep 22nd, 2007 | Filed by

A worrying precedent.… Read the rest



Ian Hacking on ID as Degenerate Science *

Sep 22nd, 2007 | Filed by

Degenerate programs paint themselves into smaller and smaller corners, skirting problems they’d prefer not to face. … Read the rest



Jesus and Mo Interpret a Goddy Revelation *

Sep 22nd, 2007 | Filed by

Put a grand on red, and see what happens.… Read the rest



Ben Goldacre on a Fishy Reckoning *

Sep 22nd, 2007 | Filed by

Nonsense research undermines the credibility of trial research in general.… Read the rest



Bad Media Coverage Carries a Cost *

Sep 22nd, 2007 | Filed by

The media commentariat has not earned privileged early access to scientific knowledge and information. … Read the rest



Women and Islam *

Sep 22nd, 2007 | Filed by

Houzan Mahmoud of the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq. … Read the rest



Ferzanna Riley on Growing up Terrorized *

Sep 21st, 2007 | Filed by

For 14 weeks we were held against our will and threatened with murder and gang rape unless we agreed to marriage.… Read the rest



Life Sentence for Surjit Athwal Murder *

Sep 21st, 2007 | Filed by

‘The pair of you decided that the so-called honour of your family members was worth more than the life of this young woman.’… Read the rest



Keep Virgin Births and Gold Plates out of Politics *

Sep 21st, 2007 | Filed by

Christianity believes in resurrection yet it taunts Mormons about adding gold plates into the mix. … Read the rest



New Humanist Offers a Poll *

Sep 21st, 2007 | Filed by

Are Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens a good thing for humanism?… Read the rest



Peter Tatchell on Indifference to Human Rights *

Sep 21st, 2007 | Filed by

Palestinian Arabs get the support of progressives; Iranian Arabs swing from nooses in public squares.… Read the rest



Mary Midgley Still Misunderstanding Dawkins *

Sep 21st, 2007 | Filed by

One crude mistake after another.… Read the rest



There is no Atheist Pope *

Sep 21st, 2007 | Filed by

‘New Atheism’ isn’t all that new, either.… Read the rest



Why should the criticism of religion provoke such an outcry?

Sep 20th, 2007 1:27 pm | By

As we saw, Matthew Nisbet cites Paul Kurtz as someone whose lead he is following when he says things like ‘Messages must be positive and respect diversity…[M]any scientists not only fail to think strategically about how to communicate on evolution, but belittle and insult others’ religious beliefs.’ A helpful commenter on his Kurtz post pointed out a recent editorial by Kurtz in Free Inquiry – from the February/March 2007 issue, it was.

The fact that books by Dawkins and Harris have made it to The New York Times best-seller list has apparently sent chills down the spines of many commentators; not only conservative religionists but also some otherwise liberal secularists are worried about this unexpected development. We note that the

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Mo Says the Cartoon is Nothing Like Him *

Sep 20th, 2007 | Filed by

If people are going to commit blasphemy by portraying him, they should at least do a decent job of it.… Read the rest



Cardinal Wants Stem Cell Researchers Punished *

Sep 20th, 2007 | Filed by

Scientists who engage in stem cell research using human embryos should be excommunicated.… Read the rest



Kian Tajbakhsh Released from Evin Prison *

Sep 20th, 2007 | Filed by

Iranian government accused Tajbakhsh of spying and trying to help organise a ‘velvet revolution.’… Read the rest



Are ‘Evangelical Atheists’ Too Outspoken? *

Sep 20th, 2007 | Filed by

‘What disturbs us is the preposterous outcry that atheists have gone too far in their criticism of religion.’… Read the rest



Christianity’s War on Women *

Sep 20th, 2007 | Filed by

This is why AI is pro-abortion – the unnecessary deaths of thousands upon thousands of women. … Read the rest



Some affirmations

Sep 19th, 2007 12:27 pm | By

As we saw, Nisbet quotes Paul Kurtz on the need to be for things as well as against things. ‘It is what you are for that counts, not what you are against!’ I agree with that – and I’ll tell you some of the things I’m for.

I’m for free inquiry – open, fearless, unashamed, uninhibited inquiry. That means inquiry that is not expected to be deferential to majority opinion or belief; inquiry that follows the evidence wherever it goes without worrying about what the neighbours or bosses or ‘moderate believers’ will think.

I’m for telling the truth, on the whole, especially in public discourse. (That means no, I’m not for telling people they’re ugly or boring or fat … Read the rest