Search Results for: accommodationist

The Templeton-funded Faraday Institute proselytizes kids by promoting books on God

“Give me the child and I’ll give you a faith-ridden adult”.    (Implicit motto of the John Templeton Foundation and the Faraday Institute) The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge, England (webpage here) describes itself as “an interdisciplinary research enterprise based in Cambridge. In addition to academic research, the Institute engages in the … Continue reading The Templeton-funded Faraday Institute proselytizes kids by promoting books on God

Alan Lightman spouts accommodationist nonsense on PBS

Alan Lightman is an accomplished physicist and writer who has produced a ton of books, both fiction and nonfiction (I much enjoyed Einstein’s Dreams), and is Professor of the Practice of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His joint interest in science and the humanities is admirable, but if this video is any evidence, … Continue reading Alan Lightman spouts accommodationist nonsense on PBS

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

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

Accommodationism returns, this time with a nasty streak

There seems to be a resurgence of accommodationism this week, with people arguing that science and religion are perfectly compatible. The argument goes further, and along familiar lines: scientists like Dawkins and me are deemed “arrogant loudmouthed jerks” because our our vociferous atheism supposedly turns people away from science.  And so we encounter the familiar … Continue reading Accommodationism returns, this time with a nasty streak

A profile of George Church on 60 Minutes

60 Minutes is the only non-evening-news show I watch on television, but I missed this week’s episode that included a 13-minute segment on Harvard /MIT geneticist George Church. I’ve written about Church before, but only to kvetch about his accommodationism, for he truly has a soft spot for religion, is a big-time accommodationist, and has … Continue reading A profile of George Church on 60 Minutes

Sam Harris on ISIS: Why they hate us and why they fight us

Here’s a just reissued “Waking Up” podcast from Sam Harris, discussing whether Islamist fighters, like those in ISIS, really believe what they say they do, and whether religion is really responsible—at least in large part—for their acts. We all know the “religion denialists” about Islamic terrorism: ostrich people like Robert Pape, Karen Armstrong, and Reza … Continue reading Sam Harris on ISIS: Why they hate us and why they fight us

Wednesday: Hili dialogue

Greetings on Hump Day, or “Dan Grba” as they say in Croatia:  January 19, 2022, National Popcorn Day!! (I didn’t put the two exclamation marks in; somebody’s really excited about popcorn. It’s also World Quark Day (not the physics quark, but a cheeselike comestible), Brew a Potion Day, Tin Can Day, New Friends Day, and, … Continue reading Wednesday: Hili dialogue