“You’re not like the non-Muslims out there,” the teacher says. “All that evil you see in the streets, people not wearing the hijab properly, people smoking… you should hate it, you should hate walking down that street.”… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Guardian interviews Tim Flannery 
Mar 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“For 20 years after his return from the Beagle voyage, [Darwin] sat on what he knew were astonishing discoveries.” That’s a myth.… Read the rest
Can we be Good without believing in God?
Mar 16th, 2011 | By Leo IgweCan human beings be good without leaning on a god or dogma? Can we be moral without being religious? The answer to these questions is an unequivocal “Yes”. Human beings indeed do not need to believe in a deity or to belong to any religion in order to be good or to do good. The whole idea of the good-of doing good-preceded the idea of a god and religion. In fact the entity called god is alien to the equation of human goodness and morality.
We, humans, do not need to belong to any religion in order to have a sense of moral right or wrong. Moral rectitude is natural, and not predicated on supernatural faith. Morality is a product … Read the rest
It does no work because it purportedly does all work
Mar 16th, 2011 1:07 pm | By Ophelia BensonAnthony Grayling said more about this possibility of evidence for god question.
I don’t think that every effort has been made to look for evidence and none has turned up…You and Richard think it’s an empirical matter whether there are deities (or fairies? goblins? consider why you think the latter are zoological non-starters) and I think it’s a matter of coherence of the concept…
And, I find, so do I. The more I think about it the more I think that.
… Read the restThe point is that ‘god’ is not like ‘ether’ – it is not amenable to empirical investigation, and does not occupy a slot in some systematic framework of thinking about the world that might be improved on in
“The Evolution and Theology of Cooperation”
Mar 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
And other treats.… Read the rest
Can the brain explain your mind?
Mar 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is thinking what the brain does in the way that walking is what the body does? Colin McGinn asks.… Read the rest
Defamation Bill intended to end libel tourism
Mar 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The draft Defamation Bill will propose a new defence of “honest opinion.” It’s about time!… Read the rest
Pakistan: Xian convicted of “blasphemy” dies in prison
Mar 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Qamar David was serving a life sentence for insulting the Koran and Muhammad.… Read the rest
Cairo: the army is above the nation, especially women
Mar 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
11 women arrested in Tahrir square were stripped and forcibly examined to determine whether they were virgins.… Read the rest
The Italian government swears the cross is neutral
Mar 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A gathering place for Jew and Gentile, believer and non-believer. The most ecumenical goddamn thing you ever saw. How can you not just love it?… Read the rest
Thomas Nagel reviews David Brooks
Mar 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Brooks seems willing to take seriously any claim by a cognitive scientist, however idiotic.… Read the rest
Senegal, Mali villages to ban female genital mutilation
Mar 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Representatives of almost 90 villages in Senegal and Mali agreed to ban FGM at a ceremony in eastern Senegal, a local NGO said Monday.… Read the rest
More on “what is this god thing anyway?”
Mar 15th, 2011 1:43 pm | By Ophelia BensonJerry Coyne is discussing the “what would you consider evidence” question with Anthony Grayling. Anthony says what makes the whole enterprise nonsensical from the start:
on the standard definition of an infinite, omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent etc being – on inspection such a concept collapses into contradiction and absurdity; as omnipotent, god can eat himself for breakfast…as omniscient it knows the world it created will cause immense suffering through tsunamis and earthquakes, and therefore has willed that suffering, which contradicts the benevolence claim…etc etc…
Which it seems to me is undeniable, and relevant. What could be evidence for the existence of the usual normal mainstream “God”? Given that the usual normal mainstream “God” is an absurdity, it’s not even possible … Read the rest
No freedom from religion for you
Mar 15th, 2011 1:19 pm | By Ophelia BensonMarc Alan di Martino told me an Italian judge had been fired for refusing to work under a crucifix. Yes really. There’s no reporting on it in English; all I could find was a blog post by…well, a theology-fan. The blogger could be writing approvingly.
… Read the restItaly’s highest court of appeal — the Cassation Court — confirmed today (March 14, 2011) the sacking of a judge who refused to hear cases with the crucifix in the courtroom, according to the Life In Italy website…
The CSM said in its ruling that Tosti – who is a Jew – was guilty of refusing to do his job in the Marche town of Camerino from May 2005 to January 2006, when he withdrew
MP wants “responsible neutrality” on honor killing
Mar 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Liberal MP Justin Trudeau said the government should not call honour killings “barbaric” in a study guide for would-be Canadian citizens.… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on science journalism
Mar 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Having a science degree” is partly just a proxy for “caring enough about science generally that you also care about not getting stuff completely wrong.”… Read the rest
Problems in science journalism
Mar 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We ought to have a rule: if you can’t read the research and comprehend it, you shouldn’t be writing about it.… Read the rest
Grayling and Coyne discuss evidence for “God”
Mar 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Could there be such a thing?… Read the rest
If it’s new and different, it’s god
Mar 14th, 2011 6:03 pm | By Ophelia BensonWhy would something new and astonishing and apparently a violation of what we know about nature be evidence of “God” or a god or the supernatural rather than…something new and astonishing and apparently a violation of what we know about nature?
I can easily imagine evidence of something new and astonishing and apparently a violation of what we know about nature. I have a harder time thinking of something that would convince me it was evidence of “God” or a god or the supernatural.
I’m not being stubborn or dogmatic in saying that. I’m saying I just don’t see why something new and the rest of it couldn’t point to A Big Unknown as opposed to the familiar though speculative … Read the rest
A C Grayling on God and disaster
Mar 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If he is powerful enough to stop an earthquake, but created a world that inflicts agonizing sufferings arbitrarily on sentient creatures, then he is vile.… Read the rest
