Monthly Archives: May 2014

Clarke, Childhood’s End, part 1

Posted on 31 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I have been re-reading several classic novels by Arthur C. Clarke, published in the 1950s and ‘60s, because they were books that I read in my formative years (i.e. ages 13 to 15), and so influenced my early thinking and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthur C. Clarke, Book Notes, Personal history, science fiction | Leave a comment

Sean Carroll: The Meaning of Life

Posted on 31 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I was checking out Sean Carroll’s blog today, and saw this post with a YouTube excerpt of comments he made during a debate with Michael Shermer, Dinesh D’Souza, and Ian Hutchinson. Can’t resist quoting extensively, since he summarizes much of … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Psychology, Quote at Length, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

Believers, the Bible, the Internet, and Humanity’s Future

Posted on 30 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

The writer is a blogger who deconverted from Christianity and is frustrated by discussions he has on the internet: Why don’t theists admit they’re wrong? He’s reacting as I did earlier to the New Yorker article about how no evidence … Continue reading →

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Kalam, Infinities, and Intellectual Honesty

Posted on 30 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I was glancing around Adam Lee’s website and noticed his archive of foundational essays (some of which have been partially incorporated into his book). One is a very long, detailed response to the traditional arguments for the existence of God. … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history, Philosophy, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

Assorted Links and Quotes: Selective Thinking, Southern Atheists, Creationist Logic, Fox News, Neuroscience

Posted on 27 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Assorted links from the past couple days: Neil deGrasse Tyson vs. the right: “Cosmos,” Christians, and the battle for American science, by Sean McElwee. About the selective thinking of the religious right in denying those Enlightenment values that threaten their … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Culture, Evolution, MInd, Religion, Science, The Gays | Leave a comment

Cosmos and the Future of Humanity

Posted on 25 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Last week’s episode of Cosmos, episode 11, The Immortals, was one of the best and most moving. Neil deGrasse Tyson examines humanity’s desire for immortality, and the ways that this has happened in some sense: writing, that captures thoughts for … Continue reading →

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Noah and Science

Posted on 25 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

The ever incisive David Brin has a recent post on his blog, Noah, the Tower of Babel… and Science, which, somewhat analogously to the scientific argument (see previous post) that DNA analysis undermines the idea of a literal Adam and … Continue reading →

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It’s in the DNA

Posted on 25 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

The controversy about the revised “statement of belief” professors at the evangelical Bryan College, in Tennessee (named after Scopes trial prosecutor William Jennings Bryan), are being asked to sign, gets a fairly even-handed coverage in the New York Times: Bryan … Continue reading →

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A Handy List of Bible Verses that Christians tend to ignore

Posted on 23 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

http://backyardskeptics.com/wordpress/new-testament-bible-verses-xtians-tend-to-ignore/ Such as: Women Should Shut Up in Church Women: Don’t Dress Up, Fix Your Hair, or Wear Jewelry Gouge Out Your Eyeball Don’t Defend Yourself if Attacked Do NOT Pray in Public Give Away EVERYTHING You Own

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The Perception of Patterns in Nature

Posted on 23 May 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Fascinating essay by science-writer George Johnson in Tuesday’s NYT Science section, Creation, in the Eye of the Beholder, about the eternal tendency of humans to perceive patterns in nature as evidence of some designer. Whereas in fact, it’s evidence of … Continue reading →

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