Religion Archive
March 17, 2010
Unbelievers In The Pulpit
Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola have published an abnormally interesting paper, “Preachers who are not Believers.” Their sample is very small and self-selecting and therefore by their own admission far from sufficient to draw reliable generalizations. Perhaps the most interesting...Read all of "Unbelievers In The Pulpit"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:40 PM
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February 10, 2010
Moral Intuitions And The Origin of Religion
Ilkka Pyysiäinen and Marc Hauser have published a paper in Trends in Cognitive Sciences on the perennial question of the origin of religion. Views on the subject generally divide between religion as an evolved adaptation and religion as a by-product...Read all of "Moral Intuitions And The Origin of Religion"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:02 PM
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February 9, 2010
Quotation of the Day Before Yesterday
Very little, if anything, can be absolutely proven about history even if it happened yesterday. One deals with probabilities. Sometimes these probabilities are overwhelming, but even so we should remember they are probabilities so as to deal reasonably with the...Read all of "Quotation of the Day Before Yesterday"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:49 PM
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January 20, 2010
Why Isn’t This Polytheism?
Haiti ... has been a disaster in almost every way long before this ever struck. And it is a nation, between you and me, I guess, that Satan has had absolutely free reign in that nation. This is from...Read all of "Why Isn’t This Polytheism?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:42 AM
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January 12, 2010
Daniel Dennett on "The Evolution of Confusion."
If you haven't heard it, you might enjoy this lecture by Daniel Dennett. By internet standards it's a little dated. It's also rather long and filled with Dennett's usual quirks of presentation but it rewards the diligent listener. I always...Read all of "Daniel Dennett on "The Evolution of Confusion.""
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:16 PM
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January 3, 2010
I'm Not Quite Sure What To Call Harold Camping
Dilettante is too kind; huckster, faker, fraud, or nut all seem more to the point. Whatever Harold Camping is, he certainly isn't a biblical scholar. So why would anyone call him a one? Camping says that the "end of times"...Read all of "I'm Not Quite Sure What To Call Harold Camping"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:33 AM
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December 31, 2009
On The Fight Of The Century Decade Year Month Week
I am very upset with that atheist Jim Linville. Over at his Think Shop and Tea Room he wrote a post that says much of what I was trying to write about the tiff between John Loftus and Jim West,...
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Posted by Duane Smith at 8:45 AM
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December 29, 2009
Will It Ever End?
Will the search for Noah's Ark ever end? Not any times soon if Randall Price has his way. If Noah’s Ark has been sitting on a mountain somewhere in the Middle East for a few millennia, a few more months...Read all of "Will It Ever End?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:16 PM
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December 9, 2009
Amanda Marcotte On Stephen Prothero
I've read a couple of bloggers who were directly or indirectly favorably disposed towards Stephen Prothero's opinion piece in USA Today. I wasn't one of them and neither was Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon. Yes John, there are girls in the...Read all of "Amanda Marcotte On Stephen Prothero"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:00 AM
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November 8, 2009
The Faith of Children
The other day, John Hobbins linked to "For the Love of Reason" by Louise Antony in Philosophers Without Gods: Meditations on Atheism and the Secular Life, a collection of essays that she edited. Antony's largely autobiographical essay reflects my own...Read all of "The Faith of Children"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:23 AM
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November 7, 2009
On Tennis and Reason
Neil Godfrey at Vridar reminds us of Dennett's metaphor on playing tennis without a net and in so doing, he reminds us of one of Dennett's most quotable quotations, Before you appeal to faith when reason has backed you into...Read all of "On Tennis and Reason"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:12 AM
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November 2, 2009
Incomplete Reporting or Complete Nonsense
The New York Times ran a rather weird piece on a supposed relationship between undergraduate majors and religiosity. There may be one, but you sure can't tell it from this article. It reports on a study conducted by a team...Read all of "Incomplete Reporting or Complete Nonsense"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:19 PM
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October 29, 2009
Following Twain's Divine Law
Some New Englanders are in tune with the divine law of their fellow New Englander, Mark Twain. Several Christian denominations see New England as a "mission field" — a term often associated with unchurched, foreign lands. As they evangelize and...Read all of "Following Twain's Divine Law"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:39 PM
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October 22, 2009
Freedom of Speech, Blasphemy and the Privileging of Religion
Jonathan Turley wrote this and much more for USA Today's Opinion, While attracting surprisingly little attention, the Obama administration supported the effort of largely Muslim nations in the U.N. Human Rights Council to recognize exceptions to free speech for any...Read all of "Freedom of Speech, Blasphemy and the Privileging of Religion"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:08 PM
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October 18, 2009
The Rapture: A Saga That Will Never End
At least it won't end in our life time. I'll make you a little bet. I'll bet you this blog, valued at $12,419.88, that the Rapture, whatever that is exactly, will not come before this Wednesday! Mail delivery will happen...Read all of "The Rapture: A Saga That Will Never End"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:00 PM
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October 17, 2009
On Teaching Theologians To Dance And Other Irritating Things
I started to write yet another post on ethics and theology but decided it wasn't worth my while or that of the theologians. For once, I decided to follow this excellent advice, “Stop trying to teach the theologians to dance....Read all of "On Teaching Theologians To Dance And Other Irritating Things"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:33 PM
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September 30, 2009
Happy Blasphemy Day
Today is International Blasphemy Day. If you like blasphemy, and who doesn't, head over to Dr Jim's Thinking Shop & Tea Room for some of the highest quality blasphemy since Mark Twain wrote this to Charles Warren Stoddard in 1885,...Read all of "Happy Blasphemy Day"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:57 AM
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September 27, 2009
Are How and Why Questions In Different Domains?
John Anderson at Hesed we 'emet thinks they are. I had planned to leave some of this as a comment on John's site where it would have perhaps been more appropriate but for reasons I cannot fully articulate I decided...Read all of "Are How and Why Questions In Different Domains?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:24 PM
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August 9, 2009
Goat Sacrifice and Forced Circumcision
Two recent stories illustrate the conflicts between religions traditions and cultural norms. José Merced is a priest attempting to practice his Santería religion in Texas. His religion requires that he sacrifice goats and, until a recent ruling, Texas law forbid...Read all of "Goat Sacrifice and Forced Circumcision"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:51 AM
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July 16, 2009
On Not Thinking About Gods
From Alun Salt at "The increasingly Inaccurately Named Archaeoastronomy Weblog." Not only do I go days without thinking about gods, I also go for days not thinking about not thinking about gods. I do think about gods for hours each...Read all of "On Not Thinking About Gods"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:51 PM
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July 3, 2009
Evangelism As A Reality Show
Evangelism to what religion? In Turkey, like the United States, it doesn't seem to matter all that much as long as nonbelievers convert to some religion or other. Here's a couple of snippets from the Guardian. "The project aims to...Read all of "Evangelism As A Reality Show"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:44 PM
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June 28, 2009
A Slippery Soul
This post began life as a draft comment to a post by Chris Heard at Higgaion. But it outgrew what I think of as an optimum comment length. Chris' post is an opening salvo in review of S.T. Joshi's God’s...Posted by Duane Smith at 10:16 AM
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June 20, 2009
Fredrick Sontag Dies At 84
I just read in the Los Angeles Times that Fredrick Sontag, longtime Professor of Philosophy at Pomona College, died last Sunday of congestive heart failure. Sontag, who was planning to retire this month, taught at Pomona College for 57 years....Read all of "Fredrick Sontag Dies At 84"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:13 AM
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June 15, 2009
But Don't Buy Anything On Shabbat
Are you afraid of what you might get if you Google "abnormal interests"? Well, try the ‘kosher’ search engine, Koogle. It's safe and its only available in Hebrew. The Telegraph has the story in English. Is a mixture of noodles,...Read all of "But Don't Buy Anything On Shabbat "
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:06 PM
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June 14, 2009
Tweeting Religion 101
It seems that Stephen Prothero of Boston University is experimenting with Tweeter to communicate the stuff of world religions. His first tweet was on Islam. If I were tweeting Religion 101, my first tweet would be something like, "Humans and...Read all of "Tweeting Religion 101"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:50 AM
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April 25, 2009
Religion and Cognitive Science
I hope both my readers will find this lecture abnormally interesting. While I am far from an expert on cognitive science or much else for that matter, Andy Thomson's remarks align well with my own less schooled thoughts on the...Read all of "Religion and Cognitive Science"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:45 PM
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April 16, 2009
Biblical Scholars and Personal Religion: A New Blog; A New Project
Yesterday, Alan Lenzi of Bible and Ancient Near East introduced a new project and a new blog, Biblical Scholars and Personal Religion. Here's a little of what Alan has to say about the project and the new blog, This blog...Read all of "Biblical Scholars and Personal Religion: A New Blog; A New Project"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:54 AM
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March 20, 2009
Follow the Leader
At least that seems to go for some. Do you see a process for the continuance of rituals among Homo sapiens in this little experiment? I do. Please notice that I didn't ask about the origin of rituals. That's another...Read all of "Follow the Leader"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:48 PM
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March 8, 2009
Among The Lesser Reasons I Am Not A Theist
"Our great God is not surprised by this, or anything," Nate Adams, executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association, said in a statement. "That He allows evil and free will to have their way in tragedies like this is...Read all of "Among The Lesser Reasons I Am Not A Theist"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:10 PM
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December 17, 2008
Why?
.... Dr. Rick Warren, an evangelical minister of the Saddleback Church, [is] among the select group of people who will participate in Barack Obama’s inaugural swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20. [New York Times] Warren will deliver the invocation. I know...Posted by Duane Smith at 8:22 PM
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Titles Only From Here On
December 14, 2008
Ghosts and UFOs and Witches, Oh My!
December 7, 2008
From Religious Tract to Musical Classic
October 21, 2008
The Unmentionable and the Unnamed
October 13, 2008
Just Try To Parody This
October 5, 2008
The Theology of Cats
September 18, 2008
Why Was This On The News?
September 15, 2008
Creationism and Intelligent Design
September 10, 2008
It's A Legend, So Pass It On To The Kids
July 31, 2008
Seeking the Virgin? Don't Look at the Sun
July 24, 2008
Faith and Science: No Meaningful Common Epistemology
July 16, 2008
Is There a Divine Curse on Our House?
June 24, 2008
The Problem With Those Unaffiliated
June 20, 2008
With Just One Exception He Taught Values
May 29, 2008
Theodicy Happens
May 18, 2008
Extra Baggage and the Enjoyment of the Trip
May 16, 2008
Hazon Gabriel, Rephaim and an Ugaritic Text
May 13, 2008
Einstein's 1954 Letter to Gutkind
April 24, 2008
Sectarian Science and Mecca Mean Time
April 20, 2008
The Truly Expelled
April 17, 2008
Why Bother Answering Silly Questions?
April 16, 2008
On A Very Strange Question
April 13, 2008
CNN and the Faith Meme
April 10, 2008
Complicating a False Dichotomy
March 26, 2008
Do They Really Believe What They Say They Believe?
March 8, 2008
The Fall of Adam and Eve and Ethiopian Tourism!
February 16, 2008
Bart Ehrman and the Hypothesis of God
January 9, 2008
I'm on My Way to Annapolis, Missouri
December 27, 2007
The Big Theological Issue
December 23, 2007
I'm a Grade 6 Athorist
December 19, 2007
I-35 - God's Highway
November 25, 2007
"Psalms for Safety"
November 14, 2007
The Gods of the Philosophers Don't Bring Rain
November 3, 2007
The "Difference-Maker" and Samuel Beckett
October 23, 2007
Faith Based Baseball
October 20, 2007
Does the Universe Have a Purpose?
October 4, 2007
More Evidence for Duane's Inverse Bookshelf Length Law
September 7, 2007
Two Goats for Akash Bhairab and a 757
September 3, 2007
Alun Salt Has a Big Theological Problem
August 16, 2007
Imprecatory Prayer - Oh Dear God, Please Let Them Die!
August 7, 2007
Denying Little While Affirming Much
July 22, 2007
There is No Excuse for This
July 17, 2007
New Religions
July 14, 2007
Two Simple Challenges
July 7, 2007
"Intercourse with God" or Simply a Mirage
July 1, 2007
God's Floods
June 17, 2007
Two Related Unrelated Items
June 12, 2007
On Canon: A Thought Experiment
June 8, 2007
Why The Need for a Canon
June 3, 2007
Tipler vs. Krauss
May 20, 2007
I Like This, But I Think Something Is Wrong
May 17, 2007
The Westboro Baptist Church Plans to Picket Jerry Falwell's Funeral
May 2, 2007
How Words Lose Their Meaning: When Criticism Equals Terrorism
April 24, 2007
Chris Heard on Virginia Tech, Religion and the Problem of Evil
April 15, 2007
This From A Religious Leader in Malaysia
February 24, 2007
"They Kneeled. They Cried. They Asked for Healing."
February 19, 2007
Maricica Irina Cornici's Exorcist Get 14 Years
February 18, 2007
It Looks Like Just Any Faith Will Do
February 3, 2007
Is a Better Score Better or Worse?
January 25, 2007
Dennett on the Evaporation of the Mystique of Religion
January 24, 2007
An Interesting Take on Dawkins
January 12, 2007
One Cool Virgin
January 2, 2007
I Don't Believe It
December 30, 2006
Richard Dawkins and Petitions to the UK Government Concerning Religion
December 20, 2006
Oh, For the Peace and Joy of the Monastic Life at this Blessed Time of Year
November 25, 2006
Where Did You Learn Your Errors?
November 20, 2006
Settling Theological Debates
November 19, 2006
And You Thought It Was In Jerusalem
November 17, 2006
Muslims and Hindus and Christians, Oh My!
November 15, 2006
Gigantic Tsunami 4,800 Years Ago?
November 12, 2006
Report of a Very Bad Teacher
October 29, 2006
Thoughts on Richard Dawkins at Cal Tech
October 5, 2006
When God Came to My Classroom
September 25, 2006
We Aren't Creationists; We Just Believe in the Bible
September 21, 2006
Following the Heard
September 19, 2006
John Adams on the Bible