Religion Archive
July 16, 2008
Is There a Divine Curse on Our House?
According to J. Grank Swank Jr., there just might be. Here is a section of the top shelf of one bookcase in our living room. Back in January, Swank wrote, For instance, I believe there presently is a divine curse...Read all of "Is There a Divine Curse on Our House?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:52 PM
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June 24, 2008
The Problem With Those Unaffiliated
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life just published the latest "US religious landscape survey" and it is deserving of more study than I am able to give it at this time. There are a couple of rather strange...Read all of "The Problem With Those Unaffiliated"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:43 PM
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June 20, 2008
With Just One Exception He Taught Values
I don't know if you've been following the news of John Freshwater and his pedagogical exploits. Mr. Freshwater is was a middle school science teacher in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Today the Mount Vernon School Board fired him for teaching creationism...Read all of "With Just One Exception He Taught Values"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:47 PM
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May 29, 2008
Theodicy Happens
I've been tagged by Iyov. I like Iyov. I read her or his blog nearly every day. I think kindly of Iyov. But still I get tagged! And tagged to answer questions about theodicy of all things. The good news...Read all of "Theodicy Happens"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:28 AM
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May 18, 2008
Extra Baggage and the Enjoyment of the Trip
I'm a little late to the current mêlée about God, spirituality and other loosely defined, undefined or undefinable things. And I don't plan to take up all the issues here but one thing that James wrote yesterday at Exploring Our...Read all of "Extra Baggage and the Enjoyment of the Trip"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:28 PM
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May 16, 2008
Hazon Gabriel, Rephaim and an Ugaritic Text
I was going to write something about how an Ugaritic text (KTU 1.20 ii 5-7a) might inform the current discussion of the Hazon Gabriel inscription but N. T. Wrong did it for me. If you don't know what this is...Read all of "Hazon Gabriel, Rephaim and an Ugaritic Text"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:10 PM
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May 13, 2008
Einstein's 1954 Letter to Gutkind
There is kind of a cottage industry built around speculation on Albert Einstein's religious beliefs or lack of same. A new letter has surfaced that will no doubt fuel that industry. Writing in German to philosopher Eric Gutkind on January...Read all of "Einstein's 1954 Letter to Gutkind"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:14 PM
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April 24, 2008
Sectarian Science and Mecca Mean Time
Assuming you don't already have a headache and aren't afraid of getting one, check out this crazy stuff. Philip Plait at Bad Astronomy, whence comes the video link, has a few things to say about this nonsense. Here is one...Read all of "Sectarian Science and Mecca Mean Time"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:57 PM
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April 20, 2008
The Truly Expelled
Get thee over to Blake Stacey's Science After Sunclipse and read about individuals who have really been expelled. And I'm quite sure this is a short list. And then visit Christopher O’Brien's place and see what he has to say...Read all of "The Truly Expelled"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:43 PM
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April 17, 2008
Why Bother Answering Silly Questions?
Unfortunately, not everyone thinks they're silly. Someone new to the issue might think they're meaningful. Some silly questions have dangerous implications. They're easy to answer. For anyone who thinks it silly to answer silly questions...Read all of "Why Bother Answering Silly Questions?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:45 PM
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April 16, 2008
On A Very Strange Question
For a number of reasons, none of them very good, I wasn't going to address Jim West's rather strange and naive "Question For Evolutionists." If natural selection and 'survival of the fittest' are the core notions of evolutionary theory, why...Read all of "On A Very Strange Question"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:23 PM
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April 13, 2008
CNN and the Faith Meme
This evening CNN hosted a two part forum, not a debate, with the two remaining Democratic candidates for President on extricating us from the worst foreign policy decision of my lifetime restoring our constitutional protections combating terrorism national energy policy...Read all of "CNN and the Faith Meme"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:05 PM
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April 10, 2008
Complicating a False Dichotomy
Chris Heard explains "Why Ken Miller isn’t in Expelled" and he uses associate producer Mark Mathis's own words to do it. But I would tell you from a, my personal standpoint as somebody who’s worked on this project, that Ken...Read all of "Complicating a False Dichotomy"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:42 AM
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March 26, 2008
Do They Really Believe What They Say They Believe?
The epigraph to chapter 12 of Mark Twain's Following the Equator reads, There are those who scoff at the school boy, calling him frivolous and shallow. Yet it was the school boy who said, "Faith is believing what you know...Read all of "Do They Really Believe What They Say They Believe? "
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:44 PM
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March 8, 2008
The Fall of Adam and Eve and Ethiopian Tourism!
I find attempts to synchronize religious beliefs and modern science abnormally interesting. In fact, most attempts like this one are just plain abnormal. The Holy Books of the two foremost religions – Islam and Christianity – scrupulously explain that the...Read all of "The Fall of Adam and Eve and Ethiopian Tourism!"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:17 PM
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February 16, 2008
Bart Ehrman and the Hypothesis of God
Reflecting on an article about New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Jim West says of Ehrman's agnosticism, Things aren’t rendered untrue simply because our finite intellect cannot grasp them. Jim's concern is that Ehrman's growing agnosticism...Read all of "Bart Ehrman and the Hypothesis of God"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:29 PM
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January 9, 2008
I'm on My Way to Annapolis, Missouri
I have 500 copies of Dawkins' The God Delusion and I'm going to pass them out to the elementary school children in the South Iron School District. You think they might not let me do it? Well, the head of...Read all of "I'm on My Way to Annapolis, Missouri"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:39 PM
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December 27, 2007
The Big Theological Issue
The Council of Chalcedon and monophysitism? No. The real issue is the placement of ladders. Seven people were injured on Thursday when Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows in a dispute over how to clean the Church of...Read all of "The Big Theological Issue"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:36 PM
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December 23, 2007
I'm a Grade 6 Athorist
Get over to Clioaudio and let Alun explain what this means. In the course of his explanation, he will also provide insight into the views of Barry Morgan (the Archbishop of Wales), Richard Dawkins, Theo Hobson, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel...Read all of "I'm a Grade 6 Athorist"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:00 PM
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December 19, 2007
I-35 - God's Highway
This is a little hard to get my brain around. Some of the faithful believe that in order to fulfill the prophecy of I-35 being the "holy" highway, it needs some intensive prayer first. So we watched as about 25...Read all of "I-35 - God's Highway"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:48 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
November 25, 2007
"Psalms for Safety"
I'm can't remember who or what led me to this abnormally interesting paper, "Psalms for Safety: Magico-Religious Responses to Threats of Terror," by Richard Sosis. I was finally able to get hold of Sosis' paper today. It appears in the...Read all of ""Psalms for Safety""
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:45 PM
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November 14, 2007
The Gods of the Philosophers Don't Bring Rain
John Hobbins of Ancient Hebrew Poetry and I had a little dialog over a period of a few of days last week on . . . Well, I'm never exactly sure what these kinds of discussions are on. At one...Read all of "The Gods of the Philosophers Don't Bring Rain"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:47 PM
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November 3, 2007
The "Difference-Maker" and Samuel Beckett
John Hobbins asked two questions of Chris Hallquist. I'll take the liberty of answering them for myself. The first question is, (1) Is there a need for a difference-maker beyond the human individual or a human collectivity, depending on the...Read all of "The "Difference-Maker" and Samuel Beckett"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:59 AM
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October 23, 2007
Faith Based Baseball
Check out what Christopher O'Brien at Northstate Science has to say. If Chris is too mild for you, then read PZ Myer's comments at Pharyngula. Or if you are more into primary sources, read The Independent's story on "Batting for...Read all of "Faith Based Baseball"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:59 PM
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October 20, 2007
Does the Universe Have a Purpose?
The Templeton Foundation asked a group of intellectuals if the universe has a purpose. You can read their varying responses at the Templeton website. Answers range from "no" to "certainly" with "unlikely," "perhaps," "not sure," and "I hope so" making...Read all of "Does the Universe Have a Purpose?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:19 PM
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October 4, 2007
More Evidence for Duane's Inverse Bookshelf Length Law
J.P. Moreland of the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University wrote, A vast literature supports the reality of demons . . . For those who may not remember, my law states, "The amount of actual knowledge on any specific...Read all of "More Evidence for Duane's Inverse Bookshelf Length Law"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:05 AM
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September 7, 2007
Two Goats for Akash Bhairab and a 757
From Wednesday's Reuters, Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday. Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing...Read all of "Two Goats for Akash Bhairab and a 757"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:43 AM
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September 3, 2007
Alun Salt Has a Big Theological Problem
Just as he was mounting a vigorous defense of Hekate against the godless atheists, he discovers a wholesale assault on Poseidon. When will it ever end?...Read all of "Alun Salt Has a Big Theological Problem"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:12 PM
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August 16, 2007
Imprecatory Prayer - Oh Dear God, Please Let Them Die!
Wiley S. Drake, a Buena Park pastor and a former national leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, called on his followers to pray for the deaths of two leaders of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. [Los Angeles...Read all of "Imprecatory Prayer - Oh Dear God, Please Let Them Die!"
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August 7, 2007
Denying Little While Affirming Much
Claude Mariottini is again worrying about atheists and the Bible. This time he is responding to Chris Hallquist of The Uncredible Hallq. I don't want to reenter this discussion in all its complexity. I've said my piece and within what...Read all of "Denying Little While Affirming Much"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:19 PM
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