In a USA Today editorial from two days ago, Professor Jerry Coyne attempts to argue that science and religion are irreconcilable foes. The editorial is frustrating, in that it’s a series of assertions which never really rise to the level of a developed argument: he simply makes a series of arguably-true and patently-false claims, one… Continue reading Why Jerry Coyne is Wrong on Science and Religion
Tag: atheism
The Case for an Ultimate Creator
Seth argues in the comments of my most recent post on Mormonism that: It is important to keep in mind that Mormonism, unlike Nicene Christianity, does not experience a theological need for the sort of metaphysical unity described by homoousios. We don’t posit God as a different species from the rest of us, because –… Continue reading The Case for an Ultimate Creator
One Atheist’s Take on the Anti-Papal Fervor in the UK
Padraig Reidy, Irish-born self-proclaimed “professional atheist” (in other words, a former deputy editor of the atheist magazine New Humanist), has penned an interesting article for the Guardian entitled, “I’m an atheist but this anti-Catholic rhetoric is making me nervous.” The article’s worth reading, but a little background may be in order. The pope is planning… Continue reading One Atheist’s Take on the Anti-Papal Fervor in the UK
Religious Intolerance and “Islamophobia”
Frank Beckwith had a great post responding to Time Magazine’s latest cover, which reads “Is America Islamophobic?” To answer Time’s question, there are certainly some people who have irrational fears about Islam. No question. But those folks are clearly in the minority, as Islamic-related polls tend to show pretty clearly. More troubling is the tendency… Continue reading Religious Intolerance and “Islamophobia”
The Elephant-Horse and Catholicism
Michael Novak, on page 43 of No One Sees God: The Dark Night of Atheists and Believers, uses a wonderful analogy: In an inn in the little village of Bressanone (Brixen) in northern Italy, there is a fresco painted many centuries ago, whose main subject is an elephant, by a painter who had obviously never… Continue reading The Elephant-Horse and Catholicism
God in the Eternal Present
In my opinion, one of the best proofs for the authenticity of the Biblical accounts is the manner in which God speaks of Himself. He speaks of Himself as existing outside of time. When the pagans thought of the gods, they thought of them as having been around from the beginning. The grasp of the… Continue reading God in the Eternal Present
G.K. Chesterton, Sam Harris, and Margaret Downey on American Morals
John Armstrong has a good primer on the great G.K. Chesterton, easily one of the finest Catholic writers of the 20th Century. One of the commenters made reference to an essay Chesterton had written on American morals from 1929. It is called, incidentally, “On American Morals,” and it’s delightful: America is sometimes offered to us,… Continue reading G.K. Chesterton, Sam Harris, and Margaret Downey on American Morals
Moms, Dads, and Mary Karr
I. Atheism and DadPope John Paul II described the connection between original sin, fatherhood, and atheism beautifully in Crossing the Threshold of Hope: Original sin attempts, then, to abolish fatherhood, destroying its rays which permeate the created world, placing in doubt the truth about God who is Love and leaving man only with a sense… Continue reading Moms, Dads, and Mary Karr
Sam Harris on Drugs (so to Speak)
I’ve mentioned before how poorly written and thought out I find Sam Harris’ anti-religious screed The End of Faith. Previously, I showed how his book begins with a premise that he admitted to be false in the endnotes: the idea that most suicide bombings occur because of religion generally, and Islam specifically. In fact, most… Continue reading Sam Harris on Drugs (so to Speak)