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Monthly Archives: December 2011
Islamic Herderianism is Coming to Egypt
As a result of recent Egyptian elections, the (so-called moderate) Islamic Brotherhood and (all agree fanatic) Salafists will represent two-thirds of the seats in the new parliament. Erik Trager of the New Republic interviewed seven of these election winners, all … Continue reading
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Tagged 2012, 21st century, coptic christians, Egypt, fundamentalism, Islam, islamic brotherhood, muhammad, salafists, theocracy
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H5N1: The Airborne Experiment Cannot Be Kept Secret
More bad news on the H5N1 airborne experiment front (from the Los Angeles Times yesterday): [Dutch virologist Ron] Fouchier [whose lab created airborne H5N1] said he was cooperating [with the US government], but he thought the [experiment sharing] strategy was impractical. When he … Continue reading
The Most Beautiful Sentiment I Encountered at Christmas 2011
I have to ignore the odious source (the pedophile enabling Pope Benedict XVI), but it’s quite insightful (if God exists). It comes from Benedict’s Christmas homily: Francis loved the child Jesus, because for him it was in this childish estate that … Continue reading
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Tagged God, Jesus, love, pedophiles, pope benedict, the poor
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Catholic Church Christmas Bombing 2011: Boko Haram Means “Western Learning is Sinful”
The Islamist group that calls itself “Boko Haram”—northern Hausa language, meaning “Western learning is sinful”—and that blew up Catholics at a Christmas service yesterday, is described in the following manner by Reuters: The shadowy group from Nigeria’s Muslim north, blamed for … Continue reading
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Tagged boko haram, Christmas, herderianism, holidays, Islam, Jesus, muhammad, nihilism, religion
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Why It’s Better to Say “Happy Holidays” Than “Merry Christmas” to Strangers
Because saying “Happy Holidays” to a stranger is not “taking Christ out of Christmas”; instead, it’s acknowledging the plurality of ways that late December is treated in a world in which not everyone is Christian. “Happy Holidays” is a catch-all that … Continue reading
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Tagged 2011, agnostic, atheism, Christmas, etiquette, holidays, Jesus, life, merry christmas, new years, religion
2 Comments
Tim Minchin’s “Woody Allen Jesus” Christmas Song
The best new Christmas song of the year (by Tim Minchin): —- Unfortunately, though Tim Minchin’s segment was taped for the Jonathan Ross Show, it didn’t actually air. It was nixed as too controversial. But Minchin, given a copy of … Continue reading
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Tagged atheism, christmas music, deconstruction, God, Jesus, muhammad, music, philosophy, religion, the Bible
2 Comments
Albert Mohler: Christopher Hitchens in Hell for Unbelief
Albert Mohler is President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and Darrel Falk, past President of BioLogos, calls Albert Mohler “among the most important evangelicals in the world” and a “giant” in evangelical and fundamentalist circles. In April of … Continue reading
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Tagged agnostic, albert mohler, apologetics, atheism, atheist, certainty, Christopher Hitchens, God, heaven, hell, Jesus
8 Comments
H5N1: A Threat to Human Civilization in 2012?
It’s hard to imagine a nervier end-of-the-year story. H5N1 is a highly virulent strain of bird flu. If it ever went aerosol, transmitting itself between humans through coughing or sneezing, it would probably kill a billion people before a vaccine got … Continue reading
North Korea Mass Cult Watch: Weeping and Bowing Before the Golden Jackass
Below, North Koreans react to news of Kim Jong-il’s death. My first thought on seeing this was the Christian notion of Judgment Day (with Jesus, not Kim Jong-il, inhabiting the Big Brother space). Every knee shall bow and every tongue … Continue reading
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Tagged atheism, atheist, Christianity, cultism, cults, Jesus, kim jong-il, north korea, religion
2 Comments
Bottom Line: Exercise 30 Minutes a Day
A must-see YouTube by Dr. Mike Evans of the University of Toronto:
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Tagged discipline, exercise, fitness, habits, health, heart disease, life, new year resolutions
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The Passion of the Christopher: Hitchens’s Death Eerily Enacts That of Jesus’s
When I read the following portion of an account in the New York Times, by Ian McEwan, of Christopher Hitchens’s last days, I find myself in jaw-dropping awe: [T]his was a man in constant pain. Denied drinking or eating, he sucked on … Continue reading
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Tagged angels unaware, atheism, atheist, Christopher Hitchens, death, hitch, hope, Jesus, life, love, the crucifixion
2 Comments
Christopher Hitchens’s Opiate: Not Religion, But Alcohol
Marx was right. Religion is an opiate. But Sophocles was right as well. In the furnace of this world, it’s understandable if, Oedipus-like, a person avoids too naked and persistent a confrontation with the world by plucking out her eyes. … Continue reading
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Tagged alcohol, Allah, atheism, atheist, Christopher Hitchens, death, God, intellectuals, Jesus, obituary, Oedipus, wine
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Christopher Hitchens on Billy Graham: An Antisemite Who Made of Lying a Career
An example of Christopher Hitchens telling it like it is. In an age suffused with fakery and obfuscation, Hitchens was a breath of fresh air.
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Tagged antisemitism, apologetics, atheism, atheist, billy graham, Christopher Hitchens, clergy, directness, Jesus, religion
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In Memoriam of Christopher Hitchens
On hearing of Christopher Hitchens’s death this morning, my first thoughts went to something he had once said as a play on Socrates: The unlived life is not worth examining. Christopher Hitchens lived a life worth examining. May his future … Continue reading
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Tagged atheism, atheist, Christopher Hitchens, death, George Orwell, God, hitch, Jesus, life, Socrates
3 Comments
Burger King in Russia, Circa 2011
Thought experiment. Imagine resurrecting the following figures from the Russian and Soviet past: Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Czar Nicholas, and Lenin. Show them the ad below. Tell them this is what is being promoted to Russian youth as desirable in the year … Continue reading
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Tagged burger king, capitalism, Communism, Dostoevsky, globalism, hamburgers, lenin, life, Russia, Soviet Union, Tolstoy
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In the Beginning Wasn’t the Word?
If you’re inclined to believe that your dog or cat has thoughts, but lacks a sophisticated vocal language for communicating them, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker agrees with you. He argues that language isn’t, strictly speaking, necessary for thought. Interesting. ___
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Tagged cats, dogs, language, life, philosophy, psychology, reason, steven pinker, thought
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