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Muslim students walking out of lectures on Darwinism because it 'clashes with the Koran'

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Daily Mail - Nov. 28 (News) - Professors at University College London have expressed concern over the increasing number of biology students boycotting lectures on Darwinist theory citing their religious beliefs.

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A Confraternity of the Fatherless

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

thehumanist.org - By Rebecca Goldstein - Nov. 01 (Speech) - When I think about religion at all, I feel as if I would like to found an order for those who cannot believe: the Confraternity of the Fatherless one might call it, where on an altar, on which no taper burned, a priest, in whose heart peace had no dwelling, might celebrate with unblessed bread and a chalice empty of wine. And as I look around, I feel like we are a realization of poor Oscar Wilde’s wistful fantasy—this order of those who can’t believe, the Confraternity of the Fatherless. And I wonder about the ambiguity of this phrase, “can’t believe.” Is this inability to believe an incapacity or is it an endowment? Is it a sign of failure or is it a sign of strength?

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When politicians distort science...and outright reject it.

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

thebulletin.org - By Robert Socolow - Oct. 20 (Opinion) - We must not underestimate the threat now looming. Another age of darkness could lie ahead. In what may someday be called the Science Wars, our opponents present science as dogma and construct a symmetric conflict: their dogma vs. our dogma.

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The Republican war on science is un-American

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - Oct. 16 (Opinion) - In his new book, “The Body Politic: The Battle Over Science in America,” (Bellevue Literary Press), Jonathan D. Moreno delivers an impassioned defense of scientific study. “The alternative to experimental confirmation is, in a word, dogma,” he writes. “Dogmatic statements may have many fine qualities. They may be beautiful, inspirational, and convey a kind of wisdom, or at least the impression of wisdom. But they can never be verifiable and self-correcting in the manner of science.”

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How Conservative Politicians Wait for God to Fix the Economy, With Frightening Results

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Joshua Holland - Sep. 30 (News Analysis) - A study released last fall suggests that the theology embraced by American religious conservatives may render them immune to evidence and reason when it comes to economic management. The study found that a sizable minority share a uniquely faith-based view of how the economy functions, believing that both good and bad outcomes are an expression of God's will, and are therefore beyond the reach of mere mortals.

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Wedges reaffirmed

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

thebulletin.org - By Robert Socolow - Sep. 27 (Special Report) - Robert Socolow reaffirms his Stabilization Wedges Theory regarding climate change, contrary to reports a few months ago that he now feels the wedges theory is a mistake. This lays the science out quite well, and also how to proceed forward in a way everyone can agree on. Here's a quote: "Confronted with unwelcome news, human beings often shoot the messenger. Consider two earlier occasions. Galileo argued that the Earth wasn't at the center of the universe. For this, he was excommunicated. Darwin argued that human beings were part of the animal kingdom, and he was cruelly mocked. The idea that humans can't change our planet is as out-of-date and wrong as the Earth-centered universe and the separate creation of Man, but all three ideas have such appeal that they will fade away only very slowly."

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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.

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Scientists: Aliens May Punish Our Species for Climate Change

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Atlantic Monthly - By Megan Mcardle - Aug. 19 (Opinion) - Via Jonathan Adler, I see that a group of scientists doing "scenario analysis" on the potential outcomes of human contact with extra-terrestrial intelligence is worried that global warming will encourage those aliens to wipe us out: The authors warn that extraterrestrials may be wary of civilisations that expand very rapidly, as these may be prone to destroy other life as they grow, just as humans have pushed species to extinction on Earth. In the most extreme scenario, aliens might choose to destroy humanity to protect other civilisations.

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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?

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Al Gore and the Referees

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Kevin Drum - Jul. 02 (Opinion) - Walter Russell Mead, in yet another lengthy critique of liberals who think that facts and empirical evidence ought to be taken seriously, explains to Al Gore the role of the referee in professional wrestling: Among other things, professional wrestling works as a kind of folk satire — and well meaning progressives and professionals like Mr. Gore are among its targets. The clownish referee represents exactly the well intentioned bumblers who seek to arbitrate and rationalize the endless competition between the good and the bad guys. It is the way much of the working class looks at ivory tower intellectuals, nanny state do-gooders. ....In other words, the referee in a professional wrestling match strikes a chord in popular culture in part because he is a representation of the class which sets itself up in our society as the arbiter and judge: the professional elite, the expert and the chattering classes. The referee at a wrestling match is a populist portrait of the FCC, the NLRB, NPR, the New York Times editorial board and everyone else who does exactly what Al Gore would like to spend his whole life doing: judging mankind impartially and ruling them well. The referee is part of the entertainment who is funny in part because he thinks he is above the fray.

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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.

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$43 million tax break approved for Ark Encounter theme park

Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Lexington Herald-Leader - By Beth Musgrave - May. 19 (News Report) - A controversial biblical-themed amusement park received approval Thursday for up to $43 million in Kentucky tax incentives over a 10-year period. The Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority, which oversees tax credits for tourism and film-related projects, unanimously approved the tax credit for the Arc Encounter project, which is scheduled to break ground in August outside Williamstown in Grant County.

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Doomsdayers put faith in Apocalypse now redu

Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Australian Broadcasting - By Cassie White - May. 19 (News Report) - If you have seen the billboards while driving to work, then you will know tomorrow is Judgment Day - well, that's according to US evangelical broadcaster Harold Camping.

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Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven, it's a fairy story'

Mon, 16 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Ian Sample - May. 16 (Opinion) - In an exclusive interview with the Guardian the cosmologist shares his thoughts on death, M-theory, human purpose and our chance existence A belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a "fairy story" for people afraid of death, Stephen Hawking has said. In a dismissal that underlines his firm rejection of religious comforts, Britain's most eminent scientist said there was nothing beyond the moment when the brain flickers for the final time. Hawking, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21, shares his thoughts on death, human purpose and our chance existence in an exclusive interview with the Guardian today. The incurable illness was expected to kill Hawking within a few years of its symptoms arising, an outlook that turned the young scientist to Wagner, but ultimately led him to enjoy life more, he has said, despite the cloud hanging over his future. "I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm ...

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Texas GOP Fights Catastrophic Wildfires With Prayer and Global Warming Denial

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Bill McKibben - Apr. 28 (News Report) - Praying for rain will be little help while Texas politicians work to deny global warming and prevent the changes that might actually deal with their troubles.

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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.

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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

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Prehistoric Cave With a Hornet on the Wall

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Larry Rohter - Apr. 24 (News Report) - The director Werner Herzog remembers being about 12 years old when he saw, and was transfixed by, a picture of a horse on the cover of a book about Paleolithic art, displayed in the window of a bookstore in the isolated Bavarian village where he lived. Ever since, even as he was making films like “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” and “Nosferatu,” that image “has engaged me and haunted my mind,” he said. “It has never left me.” But it took more than 50 years after that first exposure to prehistoric cave art for Mr. Herzog to be able to act on his childhood fascination. In the spring of 2010 he was allowed to film in the Chauvet cave in southeastern France, where archaeologists have found exquisite wall paintings some 32,000 years old, the oldest ever discovered, and the result is an 90-minute documentary called “Cave of Forgotten Dreams.”

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What effect has the internet had on religion?

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Aleks Krotoski - Apr. 17 (Opinion) - Online, God has been released from traditional doctrine to become everything to everybody I remember several years ago, when the virtual world Second Life was the thing on the web, wandering in the embodiment of my avatar through a most extraordinary representation of a cathedral. The frescoes, stained glass and flying buttresses were replicated to a degree that would make even the most cynical architect weep. Also enjoying the experience were 30 other virtual people from around the world, dressed in all manner of outerwear, from 1950s party dresses to slinky black outfits with impossible heels to squirrel costumes. They, as it turned out, were gathered in this cyber-place to celebrate a religious service. I watched from the safe distance of a back-of-the-nave pew, listening to the officiant lead his digital flock through a very traditional Catholic ceremony. I left after transubstantiation, just as they were processing in a typically sombre way to receive the Eucharist. The concept of ...

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Liberty University sure is skilled at sucking on the government teat

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

ScienceBlogs.com - By PZ Myers - Apr. 06 (Opinion) - Liberty University gets half a billion dollars a year in federal aid.

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Louisiana Student Gears Up For Attack On State’s Anti-Science Law

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AU.org - Apr. 04 (News Report) - A Louisiana law designed to undermine the teaching of evolution in public schools is under attack from someone who knows best why it’s dangerous: a high school student.

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Texas Bill Would Outlaw Discrimination Against Creationists | Mother Jones

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Josh Harkinson - Mar. 17 (News Report) - Last week, Republican State Rep. Bill Zedler introduced HB 2454, a bill that would establish new workplace protections for proponents of intelligent design.

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Church approves confession app

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Feb. 09 (News) - The Catholic Church has approved an smart phone app that helps guide worshippers through confession. Patrick Leinen is the developer, and explains the concept on BBC Radio 5 live. ...

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A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An Atheist

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

blogs.wsj.com - By Ricky Gervais - Dec. 19 (Opinion) - Why don’t you believe in God? I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming and pointless.

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Stem cell research can continue throughout appeal, court says

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By David G. Savage - Sep. 29 (News) - Government-funded research on embryonic stem cells can continue, a U.S. appellate court said Tuesday, while lawyers appeal a judge's decision that found such research illegal.

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