Sunny Hundal notes lack of media coverage in both India and the UK.… Read the rest
Andrew Brown Ponders a Stupidfilter 
Oct 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
An application of spam-fighting algorithms to the problem of stupidity.… Read the rest
An Exciting History of German Romanticism
Oct 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Surpassing of religion through release of the powers of imagination, which re-invented the world.… Read the rest
Protests at Saudi King’s State Visit to UK
Oct 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Saudi human rights record less than stellar.… Read the rest
Normblog Ponders Science and Wonder
Oct 29th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The desire to understand is every bit as much a human given as is our wonder at the world.… Read the rest
Contemplative wonder is doomed, doomed, I tell you
Oct 28th, 2007 12:23 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’m told by more than one witness that Mark Vernon is a nice guy (and I don’t doubt it) – but he does talk the most godawful crap.
Do you need to be religious to truly experience wonder at the world? This question lurks behind much of the ongoing debate about atheism. If everything can be explained by science, what is worthy of awe?
That’s a ridiculous question, and also a sinister one. It’s ridiculous because of its gormless assumption that explanation is for some reason inimical to awe. But why should it be? Think of the first atomic bomb, dropped in the desert at Alomogordo. The physicists and engineers watching knew how it worked, obviously; they could explain … Read the rest
Cruising With Sylvia Browne
Oct 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘There is no doubt that she makes a fortune saying very serious, cruel, show-stopping things to people in distress.’… Read the rest
Mark Vernon Urges Preservation of Ignorance
Oct 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Scientific knowledge must be limited or else it will ‘erode the capacity for contemplative wonder.’… Read the rest
Vatican ‘Beatifies’ Spanish Civil War Dead
Oct 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Franco side only, of course; cites ‘reconciliation.’… Read the rest
Nick Cohen on the Dangers of Alt Med
Oct 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Society of Homeopaths promises to provide ‘fascinating insights’ for World Aids Day.… Read the rest
Srebrenica Revisited
Oct 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Srebrenica massacre cast a shadow on the viability of international law and organizations. … Read the rest
Hinduism Still State Religion in ‘Secular’ Nepal
Oct 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The state spends over Rs.50 million annually on Hindu rituals, including slaughter of birds and animals.… Read the rest
The Echoes of the Bell
Oct 28th, 2007 | By Ravi DhungelEvery morning, the bell rings. It’s not my cell-phone alarm nor the siren broadcast by big mansions for the periodical shifting of laborers. The bell rings everyday and I am hearing it for the last twenty-eight years (apart from a few odd days). It’s evident that millions of Hindus throughout the world hear these bell-echoes every day in the early morning. The frequency of this bell must have been raised exponentially these days as the Hindu’s greatest festival Dashain has finished recently.
Being a Hindu by birth and a secular humanist by thought, I am always at a cross-roads in shaping myself into the proper track with regard to atheism and theism. The trail is muddy and complicated, but I … Read the rest
Wichita Disenchanted With Political Evangelicals
Oct 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Secular sociologists say evangelicals’ changing view of society reflects their changing place in it. … Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on Infant Survival Statistics
Oct 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Science is about clarity and transparency, especially for public policy – such as abortion law.… Read the rest
She Brought the Killing on Herself, Husband Says
Oct 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A man who murdered his wife and three children in an ‘honour’ killing feels ‘totally justified in what he did.’… Read the rest
Disgrace: Is the Shunning of Watson Justified?
Oct 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Dawkins, Blakemore, Wilson say no; politicians worry about aiding racist fringe.… Read the rest
Westboro Baptist Church Sued Over Funeral
Oct 26th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The case raises difficult free speech issues.… Read the rest
Haleh Esfandiari on the Crackdown in Iran
Oct 26th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It has criminalized the activities of academics, journalists, and activists for women’s and human rights.… Read the rest
No Free School Bus Pass Without Baptism
Oct 26th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why ‘faith’ schools are such a good idea.… Read the rest
