I’m sorry, I’ve been doing a string of religious posts recently, and it’s because every time I turn around something else stirs some thoughts that I want to pass along. I’m trying to space them out with items of other interest, but because I know not everyone here necessarily wants to see me pick on religion all the time, I will break the post up between the teaser and the
Category: Critical Thinking
Ask me, and tell me
Two quick notes here. The first: I added a new standing page at top, “Ask An Atheist,” dedicated to fielding any questions anyone wants to throw specifically at an atheist. Credit to Hemant Mehta at Friendly Atheist for the idea. I’m game to just about anything – fire away!
Second, I noticed that my spam filter had improperly tagged a comment, and I’m not sure how often
Missing the forest: religious violence
In the latest issue of Skeptic magazine (Vol 16 No 2), there’s an article by Benjamin Grant Purzycki and Kyle Gibson regarding religious violence, which raises the question: does religion cause violence, or are we mistaking correlation for causation? This is an exceptionally intriguing question. Confusing correlation for causation is one of the fallacies with which
That was easy
All right, let me throw a couple of questions at you – don’t worry, I grade leniently. This is just an exercise.
The US, like most countries with significant vehicle ownership, has speed limits on virtually all of its roads, and while I’m trying to go metric myself, I’d confuse people by switching the examples – 65 miles per hour on many interstate highways, 30 mph in
Book Review: Why Evolution Is True
I know it might seem like I have a theme going, but it’s unintentional the book lineup just kind of fell together. Nonetheless, the progression is actually interesting. Previously, I reviewed Why Evolution Works (and Creationism Fails), which
Now, a little better news
Okay, as much as I shy away from things like this, I find that, if I’m reaching anyone at all with this blog, I am a little obligated to wield that power like a flaming sword of redemption try to alert this audience to some worthwhile goals. Skepticon IV is on its way,
As long as he’s got his religious ethics
Very frustrating, yet entirely expected news: The Fort Bragg Garrison Commander, responsible for the final approval of the aforementioned Rock Beyond Belief event, did not. Despite claims, and in fact the legal requirement, that the US Army would treat the secular event with impartiality, Garrison Commander Colonel Stephen
Not as I do
This follows from an earlier post about science and religion, as well as numerous other posts where I’ve talked about respect, accommodationism, and double-standards. They’re not necessary to make sense of this one, but I recommend checking them out anyway for a deeper appreciation of the points I’m making.
A very common occurrence right now, especially in the blogoblob, is someone
Rock Beyond Belief
If you’re like me and have been muttering that all the cool stuff seems to be happening on the west coast, this one’s for you. “Rock Beyond Belief” is a first, a brand-new, secular-themed one-day festival taking place in the parade grounds at the US Army base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Science and religion
[The following post was originally written some time back, when the referenced posts within were still “current.” For one reason or another, I never finished it off, which I now find unfortunate because it contains several factors that I want to use as a springboard. So I’m resurrecting this post, and ask that you excuse the reliance on ancient-in-webby-terms, yet