Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
[W]e are increasingly seeing a shift away from networks of individuals linked by shared ethnicity to parts of the world where dangerous groups gather, and towards jihadist ideas acting as beacons which draw in both disenfranchised young Muslims but also estranged individuals who were not born into Islam. The continuing presence of relatively recent converts … Continue reading “The changed profile of terrorism”
Steven, I really do love your books, at least I loved all of the ones I had read (Stuff of Thought; Language Instinct; Blank Slate; How the Mind Works) up to Better Angels — though I cannot deny you did give a slight warning of what was to come in Blank Slate, iirc. (Better Angels … Continue reading “Oh Steven Pinker, please, you are better than this…..”
Jerry Coyne is at it again, posting stuff guaranteed to upset certain theologians fervidly hostile towards mythicism. Peter Nothnagle: No evidence for a historical Jesus Reader Peter Nothnagle sent me the transcript of an Easter talk, “Jesus: Fact or Fiction?”, that he gave last March to a joint meeting of the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Iowa City … Continue reading “Guy with a Hobby Versus an Airline Pilot”
With Vridar’s addition to the Top 30 Atheist Blogs it is apropos to discuss my position on atheism and religion. The Feedspot site Top 30 Atheist Blogs And Websites Every Atheist Must Follow updates atheist blogs regularly. From the site: The Best Atheist blogs from thousands of top Atheist blogs in our index using search … Continue reading “Atheism, Vridar and Blogging Research in Religion, History, Politics, Science. . . .”
I’ll try to update this page regularly . . . . — and do let me know of others I miss. For the Mythicist Milwaukee sponsored debate video go to MythCon III and Price-Ehrman Debate Round-Up Since the debate MM has posted the following: 3 November 2016 Mythicist Milwaukee Post Debate Special: Did Jesus Exist? … Continue reading “List of Posts on the Bart Ehrman-Robert Price Debate”
I’ve been struggling with a virus since returning from my recent o/seas trip and unable to focus on blogging after work hours these past two weeks but a Jerry Coyne blog post has roused me from my lethargy: The anti-Semitism of UNESCO The visceral illogic of his post leaves me somewhat dismayed. Does he really believe … Continue reading “Archaeology as Manufacturer and Destroyer of Historical and Contemporary Identities”
New Atheism . . . must recognize the humanity in religion while maintaining a candid dialogue about deep-rooted conflicts between reason and faith. A matured New Atheism is needed more today than ever before . . . Those words are from New Atheist writers, Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay & Phil Torres, published in Time: How … Continue reading “New Atheists Who Want to be Nicer (and Smarter) with Religion, esp Islam!”
At about the 40th minute in Waking Up with Sam Harris:#43 — What Do Jihadists Really Want? Sam Harris explains his understanding of the nature and origin of religion. The same fundamental error is made by New Atheists more generally according to my understanding of the writings of the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. … Continue reading “Sam Harris: Wrong (again) about Religion and Radicalization”
I have enjoyed or found profitable a recent exchange with a commenter calling him/herself pastasauceror in relation to my post, Why Petty Criminals Can Radicalize within Weeks and Kill Dozens of Innocents. As the conversation has proceeded we have found it increasingly difficult to keep our comments brief. It’s so damn hard to read walls … Continue reading “Is fear of Islam a healthy fear?”
Scholar of religion Jonathan Bernier drops an interesting aside in his blog post, The Quest for the Historical Hiawatha: From what I understand, virtually all archaeologists and historians who study the matter agree that the Iroquois confederacy–the bringing together into political and religious union the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca peoples–was carried out as … Continue reading “The Quest for the Historical Hiawatha — & the historical-mythical Jesus debate”
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?”
I believe Professor James McGrath is quite sincere in his inability to grasp why it is that Jerry Coyne (as one example of a mainstream public intellectual failing to be convinced by the claims of biblical scholars that Jesus existed) cannot see that mythicism is any different from creationism. McGrath has demonstrated repeatedly an apparent … Continue reading “Blinded by the Trivialities of the Mythicist-Creationist Comparisons”
Several excellent articles have appeared recently on the nature of ISIS and terrorism, and some appalling ones have also been published. I normally prefer to share what I understand the experts themselves to be saying, but here I’m stepping back a minute to pause. Some (it sometimes seems like most) readers do not want to hear the … Continue reading “Fearing to Understand Terrorism and ISIS”
Sam Harris is making the news circuit again. (Who is this Sam Harris guy, anyway?) He’d choose Ben Carson over Noam Chomsky for President apparently because Ben Carson has a better understanding of the Islamist threat to the West; Jerry Coyne writes that Sam Harris drains the intellectual cesspool at Salon and sees himself and … Continue reading “(“Misrepresenting”) Sam Harris On Progressivism, Torture, Religion & Foreign Policy”