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Atheist Pastors in Holland

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The BBC reports today about a cleric who is actually an atheist …

The Rev Klaas Hendrikse can offer his congregation little hope of life after death, and he’s not the sort of man to sugar the pill.

An imposing figure in black robes and white clerical collar, Mr Hendrikse presides over the Sunday service at the Exodus Church in Gorinchem, central Holland.

It is part of the mainstream Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN), and the service is conventional enough, with hymns, readings from the Bible, and the Lord’s Prayer. But the message from Mr Hendrikse’s sermon seems bleak – “Make the most of life on earth, because it will probably be the only one you get”.

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Punching a Hole in Time

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This latest item of science news leaves me wondering just how much of it is hype and how much is real, so I’m pushing it out into a couple of skeptic communities to see what folks think. Here is the claim …

First Demonstration of Time Cloaking

Physicists have created a “hole in time” using the temporal equivalent of an invisibility cloak.

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Geologists press for recognition of Earth-changing ‘human epoch’

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A decade ago, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Paul Crutzen first suggested we were living in the “Anthropocene,” a new geological epoch in which humans had altered the planet. Now, in an article for Yale Environment 360, Crutzen and a coauthor explain why adopting this term could help transform the perception of our role as stewards of the Earth.

  • You can read that Yale Environment article here (published 24 Jan 2011)

(Oh and lest you wonder, he knows what he is on about. Paul J. Crutzen is an atmospheric chemist who won the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his research on ozone-depleting chemicals. From 1980 to 2000.)

Anyway, today’s UK Guardian also has an article all about this here. Here are a couple of extracts to tempt you into clicking on over there to read it all …

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An Interview with Julian Assang’s lawyer

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Jack of Kent, the famous legal blogger, had a brief (informal) telephone interview with his friend and fellow libel reform campaigner Mark Stephens as he was in a cab going to Wandsworth Prison to see his client Julian Assange,  then blogged about it all. It makes fasinating reading … here are some extracts … Mark … Read more

Catholics – What happens next?

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So the popes UK visit is done now and he is on his way back home. The Churches PR machine has declared victory and life will go on. But were any of the deep concerns addressed? Tragically no. Yes, he did indeed do the “I’m so terribly and deeply ashamed for the abuse” speech … … Read more