NewsTrust - Faith and Reason - Most Recent Stories

Christian pastor faces execution in Iran for refusing to renounce his faith

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Daily Mail - Sep. 29 (News) - Telegraph.co.ukChristian pastor faces execution in Iran for refusing to renounce his faithDaily MailBy Daily Mail Reporter A man who converted from Islam to Christianity is facing the death penalty in Iran for refusing to return to his former religion. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, of the Church of Iran, faces hanging after refusing a court order to ...Lawyer hopes Iran Christian pastor will be freedTelegraph.co.ukIran: Christian Convert May Still Be HangedSky NewsIran Prepares to Execute Christian PastorHuman EventsWashington Post -CNN (blog)all 274 news articles »

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The Republicans are now the anti-science party

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Sep. 04 (Opinion) - Jon Huntsman Jr, a former Utah governor and ambassador to China, isn't a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination. And that's too bad, because Mr Hunstman has been willing to say the unsayable about the Republican party in the United States, namely, that it is becoming the "anti-science party". This is an enormously important development. And it should terrify us. To see what Mr Huntsman means, consider recent statements by the two men who actually are serious contenders for the Republican nomination: Rick Perry and Mitt Romney.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The Baloney Detection Kit

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

YouTube - By Michael Shermer - Jul. 06 (Opinion) - With a sea of information coming at us from all directions, how do we sift out the misinformation and bogus claims, and get to the truth? Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine lays out a "Baloney Detection Kit," ten questions we should ask when encountering a claim. The 10 Questions: 1. How reliable is the source of the claim? 2.Does the source make similar claims? 3. Have the claims been verified by somebody else? 4. Does this fit with the way the world works? 5. Has anyone tried to disprove the claim? 6. Where does the preponderance of evidence point? 7. Is the claimant playing by the rules of science? 8. Is the claimant providing positive evidence? 9. Does the new theory account for as many phenomena as the old theory? 10. Are personal beliefs driving the claim?

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Argument, Truth and the Social Side of Reasoning

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Gary Gutting - Jun. 30 (Opinion) - In a recent discussion about reasoning, one point was overlooked: Knowledge of the truth is a social process. Philosophers rightly think of themselves as experts on reasoning. After all, it was a philosopher, Aristotle, who developed the science of logic. But psychologists have also had some interesting things to say about the subject. A fascinating paper by Dan Sperber and Hugo Mercier has recently generated a lot of discussion.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The Non-Science That Explains What’s Wrong with Science Explaining Non-Belief in Science

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Easily Distracted - By Easily Distracted - Apr. 26 (Opinion) - It is not irrational or unreasonable to regard scientific claims which recommend or insist upon particular public policy initiatives with sharply pronounced skepticism across the board. Not because science itself requires a particular form of skepticism (though it does) but because such skepticism is evidence-based, derived from the history of the relationship between policy, the modern state, and science, a history which even non-experts have often viscerally experienced or witnessed.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Overcoming political polarization… but not through facts

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

my heart's in accra - By Ethan Zuckerman - Apr. 25 (Opinion) - A recent New York Times poll suggests that Americans are in a dark mood. 70% of people think the country is moving in the wrong direction, a number not seen since the peak of the Great Recession two years ago. Their frustration may stem from higher gas p

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Chris Mooney - Apr. 18 (Special Report) - Through her, the aliens had given the precise date of an Earth-rending cataclysm: December 21, 1954. Some of Martin's followers quit their jobs and sold their property, expecting to be rescued by a flying saucer when the continent split asunder and a new

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average - 11 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Jewish prayers for Egypt's uprising

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Aljazeera - By Michael Lerner - Feb. 01 (Opinion) - Many Jews from around the world support Egyptian self-determination because of Judaism's own historic past with Egypt.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The American Debate: A death-row opponent: Be still, my heart

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Philadelphia Inquirer - By Dick Polman - Dec. 12 (Opinion) - Ever since a self-described loser named Steven Hayes went on trial this autumn for the murders of a Connecticut doctor's wife and two daughters, my gut has been warring with my brain.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Obama calls for religious tolerance

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:05:42 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Christi Parsons - Sep. 10 (News) - On the eve of the Sept. 11 remembrance, President Obama spoke of his own Christianity on Friday while calling on Americans to turn away from religious divisions and join together as "one nation, under God." It was a rare personal reference from the president, coming in a news conference that sounded more like a homily to the nation before a somber anniversary.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The Danger Of Science Denial

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

TED - By Michael Specter - Apr. 12 (Speech) - Vaccine-autism claims, "Frankenfood" bans, the herbal cure craze: All point to the public's growing fear (and, often, outright denial) of science and reason, says Michael Specter. He warns the trend spells disaster for human progress.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

UN judge calls for prosecution of Pope Benedict

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Raw Story - By Stephen C. Webster - Apr. 11 (Opinion) - Geoffrey Robertson, a renowned human rights lawyer and United Nations jurist, wants to see Pope Benedict put on trial for allegedly protecting predator priests. In a Guardian UK piece making its rounds this week in Catholic circles, Robertson demanded the pope be "put in the dock" so that the church might "feel the full weight [...]

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Files show future pope resisted defrocking priest - Yahoo! News

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Gillian Flaccus, Brooke Donald, Eric Gorski, John Mone, ,Raquel Maria Dillon,VictorL.Simpson - Apr. 10 (Investigative Report) - LOS ANGELES – The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including "the good of the universal church," according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Ex-Scientology lawsuits reveal elite Sea Org group

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - Mar. 28 (News) -

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Death Becomes Him

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Atlantic Monthly - By Bruce Falkner - Mar. 03 (Investigative Report) - Over the past decade, Ludwig Minelli has helped more than 1,000 people kill themselves and has turned Zurich into the undisputed world capital of assisted suicide. Minelli sees himself as a crusader for what he calls “the last human right”—and he believes that helping more and more people to die advances his cause. Even if you believe in an absolute right to die on your own terms, how far is too far in the quest to secure that right? By Bruce Falconer

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

How Christian Were the Founders?

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Russell Shorto - Feb. 12 (Special Report) - Conservative activists on the Texas Board of Education say that the authors of the Constitution intended the United States to be a Christian nation. And they want America’s history textbooks to say so, too.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.2 average - 8 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Freedom vs. the Public Option

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

TruthOut - By George Lakoff - Jan. 25 (Editorial) - Which would you prefer, consumer choice or freedom? Extended coverage or freedom? Bending the cost curve or freedom? John Boehner, House minority leader, speaking of health care, said recently, "This bill is the greatest threat to freedom that I have seen in the 19 years I have been here in Washington.... It's going to lead to a government takeover of our health care system, with tens of thousands of new bureaucrats right down the street, making these decisions [choose your doctor, buy your own health insurance] for you." read more

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

"Climategate"

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Jess Henig - Dec. 10 (Special Report) - Climate skeptics are claiming that they show scientific misconduct that amounts to the complete fabrication of man-made global warming. We find that to be unfounded.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.4 average - 14 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Who Needs God When We've Got Mammon?

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Miller-McCune - By David Villano - Nov. 29 (News Report) - "Popular religion," Paul proposes, "is a coping mechanism for the anxieties of a dysfunctional social and economic environment." Paul, who was criticized, mostly on statistical grounds, for a similar study published in 2005, says his new findings lend support to the belief that mass acceptance of popular religion is determined more by environmental influences and less by selective, evolutionary forces, as scholars and philosophers have long debated.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

His name: Jihad. His message: peace

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Duke Helfand - Nov. 29 (Special Report) - ... prominent community members see Turk as representative of a new generation of American-born Muslims who can break down stereotypes and more easily explain the Muslim experience to those beyond the walls of their mosques.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Did Christianity Cause the Crash?

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Atlantic Monthly - By Hanna Rosin - Nov. 15 (Special Report) - "America's mainstream religious denominations used to teach the faithful that they would be rewarded in the afterlife. But over the past generation, a different strain of Christian faith has proliferated- one that promises to make believers rich in the here and now."Hair-raising and horrifying, truly scary, and truly sad. Jesus wept.

NewsTrust Rating: Not rated yet - See Info » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Iraqi searches for brothers in ancient cemetery

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Sameer N. Yacoub , Bushra Juhi - Oct. 27 (News Report) - Nobody knows just how many Iraqis went missing during the sectarian warfare that tore the country apart. But at least 17,477 unidentified bodies have been found since May 2005, according to an Associated Press tally based on reports from morgue and police officials. That figure is only a minimum. Many Iraqis were afraid to report loved ones missing, and many more people may be buried in still-undiscovered mass grave

NewsTrust Rating: 4.3 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Prayer Effort Seeks 'Right Thinking' From Liberals

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Barbara Bradley Hagerty - Oct. 04 (Special Report) - A Christian conservative group, fearing a liberal drift in the country's leadership, has put 11 prominent politicians and activists on an "Adopt a Liberal" roster. They're asking God to help their targets change their stances on a variety of social issues.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

The folly of pretence

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Daniel Dennett - Jul. 16 (Opinion) - I am confident that those who believe in belief are wrong. That is, we no more need to preserve the myth of God in order to preserve a just and stable society than we needed to cling to the Gold Standard to keep our currency sound.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.6 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Mind Matters

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Steven Johnson, Jonah Lehrer - Mar. 18 (Review) - Most great stories revolve around decisions: the snap brilliance of Captain Sullenberger choosing to land his plane in the Hudson, or Dorothea’s prolonged, agonizing choice of whether to forsake her husband for true love in “Middlemarch,” or your parents’ oft-told account of the day they decided to marry. There is something powerfully human in the act of deliberately choosing a path; other animals have drives, emotions, problem-solving skills, but none rival our capacity for self-consciously weighing all the options, imagining potential outcomes and arriving at a choice. As George W. Bush might have put it, we are a species of deciders.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer