Monthly Archives: July 2015

A Brief History of Everything: Lucretius and Giordano Bruno Would Have Loved This Video by Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson

And they would have been astonished–astonished!–at how thoroughly atomism has vanquished Platonism–and supernaturalism generally–from the story of cosmic creation, evolution, and our origins. _____ Also, I notice that, toward the end of the video, Neil deGrasse Tyson sounds for all … Continue reading

Posted in atheism, atomism, Genesis, God, Lucretius, origins, philosophy, science | Leave a comment

Hume Hearts Buddha, Picasso, And Einstein–But Not Nazis, Aquinas, Or Monotheism

Hume hearts Buddha. In Hume Studies (Volume 35, Number 1&2, 2009, pp. 5–28), Alison Gopnik has a fascinating essay–“Could David Hume Have Known about Buddhism?”–in which she writes the following: Hume’s argument in the Treatise, like Nagasena’s “chariot” argument, points to the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Climate Scientists Contemplate Moves To Canada and Greenland

Buy land in Canada now? This is crazy. Wow. Climate scientists discuss their angst and frustration with Esquire over being ignored about global warming. They’re obviously seeing themselves as today’s Noahs, sounding the alarm–and like Noah, they’re not being heard. … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s Good About Monotheism, Again? What Part Of It Is Worth Treasuring And Rooting For? And Why, Exactly, Is God Always Gendered Male?

Robbed, killed, raped, enslaved–all in the name of God. Ain’t monotheism grand? Is This the End of Christianity in the Middle East? ISIS and other extremist movements across the region are enslaving, killing and uprooting Christians, with no aid in … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Has Darwin Put Adam And Eve In Checkmate?

The problem. Here’s the reality: Darwin upended special creation, leaving basically just one plausible chess move to anyone who accepts evolution and posits a literal Adam and Eve: the miraculous insertion of a soul into an already evolved species of … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Genesis vs. Evolution–with Edward Feser to Religion’s Rescue!

The cake God bakes. In Genesis, to get a community with souls, God has a simple recipe. He: spends six days making heaven and earth takes inorganic matter–dust–from the newly created ground forms the dust into a man and places … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Albert Mohler Calls Closeted Atheist Clergy “Charlatans and Cowards”

Who’s being the coward here? Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an unapologetic young Earth creationist, plays rough with secretly atheist clergy members who have talked in confidence to Daniel Dennett’s The Clergy Project, writing at … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Half Dome On Fire–Or Maybe Just Clouds? And Is The Photographer Who Caught The Image Skillful, Or Just Lucky?

Half Dome in Yosemite isn’t really on fire here, it’s just a cloud being hit by sunlight, but I like this photo because it: (1) illustrates aspect seeing (as in psychology textbooks, where the eye can’t decide if it’s looking … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Republican Congressmen Want Confederate Flags Displayed On Federal Land

The Republicans’ ongoing racism problem. Even after what just played out over the Confederate flag in South Carolina, there are now racist Republican Congressmen–Congressmen!–who want to shift the battle to Congress. They want Confederate flags displayed on federal lands. Wow. … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment