Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
A week ago there were stories circulating about four women and two men in Pakistan who had been sentenced to death for singing and dancing at a wedding. I need not explain why, by now you will be familiar with the thinking .. it was of course yet another example of Islamic clerics demonstrating just … Read more
This one truly takes the biscuit … sitting smack bang in the middle of the careers advertisements within Today’s UK Guardian is an advert for a “Torturer”, starting on £16,000 to £21,000 a year. (This is the point at which you insert your completely gob smacked stunned silence) … the ad in question reads … The government of a Middle … Read more
Karen Armstrong writes in todays Guardian about a new exhibition at the British Museum, and claims that it shows that a respect for other faiths is central to Muslim tradition. <You can insert your stunned disbelief here>. Apparently “western people have often perceived Islam as a violent and intolerant faith“, but she asserts that this … Read more
First, lets start with a clear understanding of the “No True Scotsman” fallacy. This is basically where you challenge others about some rather unpleasant or even quite appalling actions by some group, and quickly discover that “they” are not “real” members of the group. The term was first deployed by philosopher Antony Flew in his … Read more
I do hope you are aware that a death sentence has been given to Youcef Nadarkhani. His hideous crime is that he was born to Muslim parents and so has been sentenced to death by hanging in Iran for refusing to recant and convert back to Islam. This is an affront to universal moral values. At … Read more
Did you know that 30th September was Blasphemy Day? Well it was. So what was it all about? It is the day when individuals and groups are encouraged to openly express their criticism of, or even disdain for religion, and was founded in 2009 by the Center for Inquiry. Did the media pick it up? … Read more