If the spectacle of theology having to retreat in the face of advancing scientific knowledge does not undermine the enterprise, it is hard to imagine what does.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Jerry Coyne on Giberson on science and religion 
Jul 13th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The disparity in “ways of knowing” is the true incompatibility between science and faith.… Read the rest
Are science and religion compatible?
Jul 13th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Karl Giberson says yes, but finds his position precarious as both sides shoot at him.… Read the rest
Polanski walks
Jul 12th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Swiss authorities decided not to extradite him to LA to face sentencing for “having sex” with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.… Read the rest
al Shabab kills 74 football-watching infidels
Jul 12th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“We will carry out attacks against our enemy wherever they are,” said a moron. “No one will deter us from performing our Islamic duty.”… Read the rest
Stoning is off – for the time being
Jul 12th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Whenever the judiciary chief deems it expedient, the verdict will be carried out regardless of western media propaganda.”… Read the rest
Chimp pant-grunts show social awareness
Jul 12th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“What we found was a surprisingly high awareness of the potential social consequences of calling.”… Read the rest
What and faith in dialogue?
Jul 11th, 2010 5:50 pm | By Ophelia BensonBack when the new round of Toxic Sock-revelations set the felid among the passerines, I was having a quiet good time looking at the strange goings on at BioLogos, home of “science and faith in dialogue.” Now that the passerines are getting bored with Toxic Sock, let’s go back there. Let’s consider Albert Mohler’s sermon. It’s about Why Does the Universe Look So Old?
He says it’s an important question.
I want to invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter one. We dare not seek to answer this question without first looking to the Word of God. [Reads Genesis 1, 2:1-3].
Right. This is BioLogos. This is science and faith in dialogue. Remember? That’s what it … Read the rest
Jesus and Mo channel BioLogos
Jul 11th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The universe is way younger than it looks. It looks so old because we give it a pain.… Read the rest
“Draw Mo day” cartoonist on al-Awlaki’s hit list
Jul 11th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Anwar al-Awlaki has identified Molly Norris as a prime target, saying “her proper abode is Hellfire.”… Read the rest
Lawyer wants pope’s testimony in abuse case
Jul 11th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Vatican, he said, should be treated “like any other corporation that is subject to the power of the American court system.”… Read the rest
Charles Windsor snubs Joseph Ratzinger
Jul 11th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Declines to meet pope in London, pope declines to meet in Edinburgh.… Read the rest
Hitchens reviews Pullman
Jul 11th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Atheist though he is, Pullman turns out to be a Protestant atheist.… Read the rest
Cats have Theory of Mind
Jul 11th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The margay imitates the sounds of baby monkeys to lure its prey within reach.… Read the rest
Stop Stoning and Sharia Laws!
Jul 10th, 2010 | By Maryam Namazie
11 July is the International Day against Stoning – a day we would do well to mark especially given that Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani faces imminent death by stoning for adultery.
Appealing on her behalf, her two children have said: “Today we reach out to the people of the world. It is now five years that we have lived in fear and in horror, deprived of motherly love. Is the world so cruel that it can watch this catastrophe and do nothing?”
Don’t stand by and watch. Let’s end this once and for all.
To show your condemnation against stoning and support for Sakine, during the week of 5-11 July, take stones to your city centres, universities, media outlets, workplaces… and… Read the rest
The Secret of New Age Thinking
Jul 10th, 2010 | By Paula CerniAre we still living in a New Age? To judge by the stream of popular texts and movements that mix together self-help and spirituality, we are. But what is it about? And what is the secret of its popularity? Such are the questions this book tries to answer through a survey of recent mystical fads and plenty of references to the hallowed traditions of TV, movie, and comic-book fantasy. Read ‘Karma Chameleon’, the chapter on Deepak Chopra, or ‘A Course in Malarkey’, on Helen Schucman’s A Course in Miracles, and you’ll long for the days when all we needed to save us from evil was Superman.
Alas, today’s make-believe issues not from heaven, but from personal commitment. Besides money … Read the rest
Baying for blood? Moi?
Jul 10th, 2010 12:50 pm | By Ophelia BensonAre the few people who commented on JK’s post on the Toxic Sock affair really (though metaphorically) “participants in [a] witch-hunt” and “the 21st century, virtual-world, equivalent of a medieval mob baying for the blood their latest victim”?
No.
I can see why they (we – I was one) look like a crowd, because there are quite a few comments and they are critical and sometimes hostile. On the other hand, there are only (if I counted correctly) 23 people total, not counting Jean, and a few of them are friendly; there’s a total of 63 comments. So a rush of mostly-critical comments, yes; a mob baying for blood, no.
But more to the point: are we the Bad People? … Read the rest
Russell review on East Anglia climate scientists
Jul 10th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Review rejected all claims of serious scientific misconduct, but identifies failures, evasions, misleading actions.… Read the rest
Johann Hari on copycat murder sprees
Jul 10th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Saturation media coverage of mass murder triggers copycat murders.… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on the bullshit box
Jul 10th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Trusting nobody, and as a very boring man, I decided to read some adjudications.”… Read the rest
