Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
Back in 2014 a geologist named Andrew Snelling who works for Answers in Genesis, the Young Earth Creationist organisation, formally applied to the National Park Service for a permit to remove rock samples from the Grand Canyon. You can find his actual permit application buried in a subsequent lawsuit that he made when his application was … Read more
Hemant Mehta has written a recent posting in which he describes in precise detail how words can be lifted out of context and then re-purposed as a weapon. It is a fascinating read, and to tempt you into reading it all let me give you a summary. Last January Sam Harris interviewed his friend and … Read more
In some respects, almost every religious belief is weird. We simply don’t notice because it has blended into the background and become part of the culture, so we don’t perceive the weirdness. Take for example what is perhaps the most popular belief on the planet – Catholicism. At its core you have a ritual called … Read more
If you ask people to list other words that they associate with the word “Christian” then those that embrace some variation of Christianity might suggest terms such as “Love”, “Compassion”, “Tolerance”, etc… However, ask those that are not inside the bubble and you will at times find a rather different list that includes terms such … Read more
Filter out the con men such as Jim Bakker and you are still left with the vast majority of weirdness. This is because the con men are leveraging the existence of such ideas, they are not the root cause. When faced with absurd religiously inspired claims, then there are two things that you can be … Read more
Since I create this top 3 list each and every week you might perhaps wonder if I ever struggle to actually find three bits of religious weirdness for the past week. In short … er no, just no, I’m simply spoiled for choice. As an example, apart from the three I’ve opted for this week, … Read more