Well one good thing is, the Templeton prize is being treated as controversial. The Guardian, the Independent, Radio 4, Science – they all treat it as controversial. That makes a change!
The critics have gotten through at last. That makes a change, and a very good one.
Jerry Coyne is a little tired of being the go-to dissenter. Hmph – too bad. It’s his duty. He’s good at it, so that makes him the go-to guy, so it’s too late to be tired of that now.… Read the rest
The controversial Templeton Foundation has awarded its controversial prize to an agnostic; that’s controversial.… Read the rest
Narendra Modi decided to defend Gujarat’s pride and banned Lelyveld’s biography of Gandhi. He hadn’t read it, but that’s the nature of fundamentalists.… Read the rest
Do listen to Lewis Wolpert and Peter Atkins and the matey Today presenter whose voice I don’t recognize, talking about the Templeton Prize. It’s just Wolpert and the presenter at first and it’s all quite cozy, with Wolpert agreeing that religion is fine as long as it doesn’t interfere, and saying that he doesn’t know enough about the Templeton Foundation to know if it’s a problem or not. But then at the end Peter Atkins joins in and it becomes a matter of Atkins and Wolpert agreeing while the presenter gets all squeaky in the voice.
“The Templeton Foundation is an insidious foundation which is trying to insert itself into all kinds of rational bodies,” says Atkins.
“But,” the … Read the rest
“But does all religion necessarily undermine rationality?” “Oh, absolutely.”… Read the rest
Women face coercion to wear hijab as part of a “virtues” campaign, men are allowed polygamous marriage and alcohol is forbidden.… Read the rest
A rational mind has room for conviction, commitment, passion, perhaps even for parochialism and bias. But not for the sacred.… Read the rest
Al-‘Obeidy says she has tried to leave Tripoli three times since she first told journalists about the rape on March 26, but was stopped by government forces.… Read the rest
50,000 more Catholics cancelled their church membership last year than in 2009, an increase of 40 percent.… Read the rest
Thus need for lots of exorcists. Jobs for Catholic priests! And in the nick of time, too…… Read the rest
Dawkins, Kroto, Coyne, and Grayling point out that in religion, faith is a virtue, while in science, faith is a vice.… Read the rest
Must stop must stop must stop. Must stop arguing with ridiculous guy on Facebook who calls Ibn Warraq, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Wafa Sultan “racists” because he dislikes them. He’s lily white himself of course. Must stop must stop must stop.
He’s a “humanist,” according to him. He’s yet another anti-gnu. He’s a chump. Must stop must stop must stop.
I did a podcast interview earlier this afternoon with Johan Signert of the Swedish Humanists.
I’m invited to the Let the Light Howthelightgetsin thingy at Hay on Wye. I just might do it.… Read the rest
The terrible thing about indiscriminate violence and religious hysteria is how much damage a little of it can do.… Read the rest
The local Health Care Director unambiguously stated that lack of vaccinations caused this outbreak and that the children affected were unvaccinated.… Read the rest
Jerry Coyne’s take on the Templeton Prize is slightly different from Mark Vernon’s.
Templeton plies its enormous wealth with a single aim: to give credibility to religion by blurring its well-demarcated border with science. The Templeton Prize, which once went to people like Mother Teresa and the Reverend Billy Graham, now goes to scientists who are either religious themselves or say nice things about religion.
That’s why it really is a form of bribery. It’s open, transparent, accountable bribery, as opposed to back-room under the table bribery, but it is bribery: the prize rewards a predetermined ideological viewpoint, as opposed to research or inquiry or art. It rewards various versions of the claim that religion and science somehow work … Read the rest
Mark Vernon is excited that Martin Rees won the Templeton Prize. He sees it as deliberate revenge for something Richard Dawkins said.
Last year, Dawkins published an ugly outburst against the softly spoken astronomer, calling him a “compliant Quisling” because of his views on religion. And now, Rees has seemingly hit back. He has accepted the 2011 Templeton prize, awarded for making an exceptional contribution to investigating life’s spiritual dimension. It is worth an incongruous $1m.
Funny kind of hitting back – it’s not as if Rees awarded himself the prize. It’s also not as if accepting the prize is a way to rebut what Dawkins said. As a matter of fact, it’s more like agreement … Read the rest
Dawkins called Rees a quisling. Now Rees has “hit back” by winning the Templeton prize. This is a turning point in the God wars. Wut?… Read the rest
When it gives the prize to someone like Dawkins, who doesn’t go to church and is not prepared to say nice things about religion, then…… Read the rest
Templeton plies its enormous wealth with a single aim: to give credibility to religion by blurring its well-demarcated border with science.… Read the rest
“I’ve got no religious beliefs at all. Of course some of the winners have, but I think not all of them.”… Read the rest
