Category: Religion
-
How your brain creates God
Related to the post below on the intuitiveness or innateness of religious belief is this article from New Scientist. Some interesting notes: The origin of religious belief is something of a mystery, but in recent years scientists have started to make suggestions. One leading idea is that religion is an evolutionary adaptation that makes people…
-
Teapots and spaghetti monsters
My philosophical interest in religion has been revived in recent weeks thanks to the writing of Ross Douthat over at the Atlantic. First the quote from the Pope, and then a reference to Bertrand Russell’s teapot analogy. It is a curious debate. But I am also struck by Douthat’s language: I see the genesis of…
-
Pray for rain?
Remember this guy? He wanted it to rain for Obama’s open air speech on Thursday. It didn’t happen, in fact it was a gorgeous evening. He later claimed it was only meant in jest. But the GOP must now change plans for their convention, not because of rain, but because of a hurricane of biblical…
-
Julia Sweeney on letting go of God
I like her comparison between the crazy stories told to us by Mormons, and the equally crazy stories told to us by Catholicism.
-
Fitna the Movie: Geert Wilders' film about the Quran
Explicit warning: This video contains some VERY graphic images and audio, please do not watch it unless you are prepared to see and hear them. BBC news story here. Personally, I found the film extremely upsetting. If you would rather not experience that upset, do not watch it. I do see merit in the argument…
-
Catholic dot ie
Michael points to the excellent Catholic.ie, which features this video. Hilarious.
-
Religion and secularism
Ross Douthat, writing in this month’s Atlantic, argues that the US is becoming increasingly secular, while Europe – thanks to Islam – may be turning back to its religious roots. Douthat makes an interesting case for the secularisation of the US: A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 20 percent of 18-to-25-year-olds reported no…
-
How the West lost God
Mary Eberstadt with a cover story in Policy Review on the subject of secularisation: In sum, and given what we know now about the religious and familial situation in Western Europe some 125 years later, Nietzsche was right to declare that the great Christian cathedrals of Europe had become tombs. But he may have been…
-
Scientology orientation video
Looks like someone smuggled a video camera into a Scientology induction screening, fascinating stuff. These guys are nuts. Best quotes: You are at the threshold of your next trillion years. You will live it, in shrivelling agonised darkness or you will live it triumphantly in the light – the choice is yours, not ours. If…
-
Religion
Amazing what religion can do to some people. You would have to wonder why Fox invited her on at all.