Category Archives: osculating the rump of faith

Once again: the supposed need for the self-justification of science

September 23, 2020 – 12:00 pm

Reading the latest edition of The Chicago Maroon, our student newspaper, I saw an op-ed about self care by Ada Palmer, an associate professor of History. I’m not going to write about that; her piece is pretty straightforward and empathic towards our students, who will be having a rather stressful semester. Rather, when I looked […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in book reviews, books, osculation of faith, philosophy, Science | Comments (40)

Big new British monument to answered prayers

September 13, 2020 – 8:45 am

As Britain races towards secularism faster than the U.S., the faithful are making their last stands. One such stand is this Mobius strip of a memorial slated to be started next spring in Coleshill, near Birmingham. As this article in The Times explains, it’s to be called “The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer”, and it’s […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in freedom from religion, freedom of religion, osculation of faith, prayer | Comments (34)

Andrew Sullivan: Sustainable liberalism requires God

August 29, 2020 – 1:45 pm

I want to add one comment to today’s earlier post on Andrew Sullivan. It gets its own space here because it’s is unrelated to the issue of violent vs. nonviolent protests. One good feature of The Weekly Dish is that thoughtful readers write in offering criticisms of what Sullivan wrote earlier.  Sullivan then responds, and, […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in Andrew Sullivan, Catholics behaving badly, osculation of faith | Comments (52)

Russell Blackford reviews Elaine Ecklund’s latest religion-osculating book

August 13, 2020 – 11:15 am

It’s been roughly four years since I wrote about Elaine Ecklund‘s efforts to show that religion and science aren’t in conflict and also that scientists are more religious than one might suspect (see posts here). A sociologist at Rice University, Ecklund has been funded, as far as I can see, nearly continuously by various Templeton […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in Accommodationism, book reviews, books, osculation of faith, Templeton, Templeton's shenanigans | Comments (10)

Five misconceptions about evolution: one is dubious, another wrong

July 3, 2020 – 1:45 pm

Prowling around at The Conversation, I came across a 2016 article by Paula Kover on common misunderstandings about evolution.  It’s important for those of us who teach evolution to know these, for we need to dispel them implicitly—or, better, explicitly—when we teach evolutionary biology. I keep a list on my computer, and you can see […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in Accommodationism, evolution, osculation of faith | Comments (52)

The Wall Street Journal touts “the science of prayer”

May 18, 2020 – 12:45 pm

Reader Frank sent me a copy of this article, which, being in the Wall Street Journal, is paywalled (judicious inquiry might yield you a copy).  Since I’ve become a more vociferous atheist, I tend to notice these things more often, and to me this sounds like a paean to God pitched as a “scientific” analysis […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in journalists behaving badly, osculation of faith | Comments (52)

Another ludicrous “Thought of the Day” from the BBC: The Bishop of Manchester assures us that we have libertarian free will

May 14, 2020 – 9:00 am

I’ve long known that BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a religious homily every day at a bit before 8 a.m. I’ve heard it many times, and grumble loudly at each homily. Yesterday, reader Neil called my attention to a particularly galling homily given yesterday by the Right Reverend Dr. David Walker, the Bishop of Manchester. It […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in determinism, free will, osculation of faith, radio | Comments (69)

NBC News, reporting Jerry Stiller’s death, touts heaven

May 11, 2020 – 6:15 pm

The great comedian Jerry Stiller, who often performed with his wife Anne Meara, passed away this morning at age 92. Reporting on his life and comedy, NBC News finished the report with these words: “Meara passed away five years ago. Now this legendary pair is laughing together again.” Now if that isn’t a paean to […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in obituary, osculation of faith | Comments (26)

A physicist and science popularizer osculates the rump of faith

February 9, 2020 – 10:30 am

I have mixed feelings about physicist Brian Greene. On the one hand he’s a good popularizer of science (I don’t know much about his achievements in physics research), and an eloquent speaker.  In collaboration with his partner Tracy Day, he also organizes the World Science Festival in New York, a good endeavor. On the other […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in Accommodationism, osculation of faith | Comments (44)

Andrew Sullivan is back to touting religion

February 3, 2020 – 9:00 am

Andrew Sullivan’s weekly Intelligencer column is not as good as usual, though it’s always worth reading. And, as always, it’s tripartite, dealing this week with American tribalism—especially with respect to race—Alastair Stewart’s demonization (and firing) for using a Shakespeare quote containing the word “ape” when responding to a black critic, and Sullivan’s personal appreciation for a […]

By whyevolutionistrue | Also posted in politics, race | Comments (41)