Yesterday on NPR, Talk of the Nation host Neal Conan conducted a fascinating interview (Christians Divided Over Science of Human Origins) with Daniel Harlow, religion professor at Calvin College, and Albert Mohler, head of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The topic: Whether Genesis should be interpreted literally or metaphorically. NPR religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty [...]
Tags:Adam·Albert Mohler·Barbara Bradley Hagerty·bible·Calvin College·Christian·creationism·Daniel Harlow·DNA·evangelicals·Eve·evolution·fundamentalist·Garden of Eden·Genesis·genetics·Homo·literalism·Neal Conan·origins·progressives·Southern Baptist·theology
At a fundamental level, evolutionary religious studies depend on geology. While this sounds a bit strange – What do rocks have to do with religion? — Darwin relied heavily on the work of pioneering geologists James Hutton (1726-1797) and Charles Lyell (1797-1875). Indeed it is safe to say that without Hutton and Lyell, Darwin might [...]
Tags:Annals of the Former World·Charles Lyell·Darwin·deep time·evolution·geology·James Hutton·John McPhee·natural selection·Paris Review·Peter Hessler
A high school physics and chemistry teacher in Pennsylvania has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that evolution is atheism and because atheism is a religion, it cannot be taught in public schools. Here is the complaint:
1. The Plaintiff is Thomas J. Ritter, Jr., an adult individual residing at 320 MacArthur Drive, Orwigsburg, PA 17961.
2. [...]
Tags:Anne Creyer·atheism·binary·evolution·federal lawsuit·ID·intelligent design·Kitzmiller·logic·religion·The Blue Mountain School District·Thomas Ritter
“Prepare to believe”! This is the injunction found underneath the Creation Museum’s logo, helpfully reminding us that credulity is more important than fact. What are we supposed to believe? That the biblical creation story is literally true and explains everything:
The state-of-the-art 70,000 square foot museum brings the pages of the Bible to life, casting its [...]
Tags:Abraham·Adam·Answers in Genesis·Ark Encounter·Bedrock City·biblical literalism·Brontosaurus ribs·Christians·creation·Creation Museum·creationists·Custer·dinosaurs·Eve·evolution·Flintstones·Garden of Eden·incest·Muslims·Noah's ark·Paleolithic·separation of church and state·South Dakota·theme park·Tower of Babel·young earth
Martin Gaskell is by all accounts an accomplished astronomer. He applied for a job as the director of the University of Kentucky’s observatory. On its face, his application was deemed to be the best of the bunch. He was, however, denied the job and is now suing for religious discrimination.
By all accounts, Gaskell is a [...]
Tags:astronomy·Christian·Creation Museum·creationism·creationist·discrimination·evolution·Genesis·Martin Gaskell·Pharyngula·pseudoscience·PZ Myers·Shelly Steiner·University of Kentucky
Gunning for God: Over at the Atlantic Wire, Heather Horn reports on a new Louisiana law that allows concealed carry permit holders to bring their guns to church, but only if they receive an additional 8 hours of training. No word on whether this additional training includes doctrinal or theological instruction on who may be [...]
Tags:aliens·burqa·Chinese UFO·Christian cosmology·contact·Copernicus·creation·discourse·evolution·Foucault·French law·Gallileo·God the deceiver·guns in churches·Hangzhou·heavenly joke·hijab·Islamic garb·Kepler·Louisiana gun law·Marilynne Robinson·mystification·niqab·religious symbolism·Ruth Harris·science·theology of guns
While doing some background research on the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), I discovered that he had been much influenced by Lucretius, who lived in the first century BCE (around the time of Julius Caesar) and published a six-volume treatise titled On the Nature of Things. As if writing philosophy in narrative form were [...]
Tags:ancestor worship·atomic theory·Charles Darwin·Christianity·classics·cultural evolution·David Hume·David Sedley·Epicurean·Epicurus·evolution·Greco-Roman·Herbert Spencer·Julius Caesar·Lucretius·materialism·naturalism·Nietzsche·On the Nature of Things·Plato·Platonic philosophy·prehistory·Scottish Enlightenment·skepticism·survival of the fittest·Thomas Hobbes
Over at HuffPo Religion, Deepak Chopra opines on the non-existent “war between science and religion.” Religion is of course being investigated by scientists and examined by historians, but this does not make the interrogation a war. Religion is simply another object or category of positivist inquiry.
Chopra’s piece begins with some surprising concessions:
What is the war [...]
Tags:awareness·consciousness·cosmos·creativity·Darwin·Deepak Chopra·evolution·experiment·fact·facts·faith·Genesis·godhead·intelligence·matter·mind·mysticism·New Age·observation·origins·positivism·premises·religion·replication·science·self-regulation·theory·universe·war
Over at HuffPo Religion, the evolutionary biologist Michael Zimmerman has posted an article titled “Religion and Science: Respecting the Differences.” Zimmerman argues that science has its domain and boundaries and that religion has its domain and boundaries, and that science should stick to science and religion should stick to religion.
It all sounds measured and reasonable [...]
Tags:appeasement·boundaries·creationism·detente·ecumenical·evolution·intelligent design·Michael Zimmerman·positivism·positivist·religion·science·truth
