How Philo-Semitic British Israelism Morphed into Anti-Semitic White Supremacism / Christian Identity

In a former life I was mixed up with British Israelism (the belief that the Anglo-Saxon races are the “lost ten tribes of Israel”) so recently I was interested to find a new research paper by J. M. Berger using British Israelism as a case study in how an innocuous if eccentric belief system was … Continue reading “How Philo-Semitic British Israelism Morphed into Anti-Semitic White Supremacism / Christian Identity”


Following that Debate: Do we follow the Facts or Do we choose what “Facts” to believe?

So why do you side with mythicism? Or why do you think mythicism is bollocks and mythicists are agenda-driven ignoramuses? And if you do know a lot about either the mythicist side or the historicist side of the question it might be even harder for you to answer honestly, given that your one-sided knowledge may … Continue reading “Following that Debate: Do we follow the Facts or Do we choose what “Facts” to believe?”


Our Stone Age Mulder Brains

Alternet has published an interview with the author of a book I have recently twice posted about: How Our Stone-Age Brains Get in the Way of Smart Politics My related posts: Do You Understand What You Argue Against? Once more on System 1 and System 2 thinking A few excerpts from the interview . . . … Continue reading “Our Stone Age Mulder Brains”


Once more on System 1 and System 2 thinking

When I wrote Do You Understand What You Argue Against I had only just finished reading Richard Shenkman’s Political Animals: How Our Stone Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics and was sharing some reflections arising out of that book. In particular, I had been thinking about how Shenkman’s overview of recent findings in psychology … Continue reading “Once more on System 1 and System 2 thinking”


Do You Understand What You Argue Against?

I’ve talked to creationists one-on-one about this before, and they can’t tell me what I’m thinking at all accurately — it’s usually some nonsense about hating God or loving Satan, and it’s not at all true. But at the same time, I’m able to explain to them why they’re promoting creationism in a way they … Continue reading “Do You Understand What You Argue Against?”