Monthly Archives: April 2016

Links and Comments: Truth and Slavery

Posted on 30 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

This article in The New Yorker, After the Fact by Jill Lepore, considers the current US presidential race in light of a new book by Michael Patrick Lynch, The Internet of Us, subtitled “Knowing More and Understanding Less in the … Continue reading →

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Reading In and Around the Bible: Acts

Posted on 21 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Latest set of notes on my readings, for the first time in my life, of the books of the New Testament, reading as a non-believer, inclined to skepticism, often to simple bemusement. The history of the world of supernatural claims … Continue reading →

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Reading In and Around the Bible: Divorce and Homosexuality

Posted on 18 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Still writing up notes on the Biblical book of Acts, which I finished reading last Friday, and working my way through Ehrman’s JESUS BEFORE THE GOSPELS, which I’ve returned to after having read the four gospels. Ehrman’s comments about Jesus’ … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Irrational Voters; Republicans and Gays; Religious Liberty v Progress

Posted on 9 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Sapolsky in last week’s Los Angeles Times: We’re rarely rational when we vote because we’re rarely rational, period. How various discoveries about mental biases and motivated thinking play out in elections. Probably the most striking thing about any of … Continue reading →

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Reading In and Around the Bible, 5: John

Posted on 8 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Latest set of notes on my readings, the first in my life, of books of the New Testament, finishing yesterday the Gospel According to John. (I earlier skimmed the OT but have been reading the NT itself.) Sources of commentary … Continue reading →

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Founding Father Thomas Paine and the Bible

Posted on 8 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

I haven’t subscribed to Free Inquiry magazine for years, but I picked up the latest issue last week and was fascinated by a piece about Thomas Paine, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, whom the modern religious … Continue reading →

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Trump, Abortion, Conservatives, and Guns

Posted on 8 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

(From two posts on Facebook over the past week, somewhat edited.) 31 March: I confess a bit of bewilderment at the outrage over Donald Trump’s comments about abortion, not just from the pro-choice left, but also the anti-abortion (‘pro-life’) right. … Continue reading →

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Paul Kalanithi, WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR

Posted on 6 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

This is an almost unbearably sad, yet poignant and moving and thoughtful, memoir by a young Stanford neurosurgeon who is diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at the age of 36. His life changes from being the physician to being … Continue reading →

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Oliver Sacks, GRATITUDE

Posted on 6 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

An even shorter book than Rovelli’s, this is a collection of four short essays written by the neurologist and author after learning he had only a few months left to live, all of which originally appeared in the New York … Continue reading →

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Carlo Rovelli, SEVEN BRIEF LESSONS ON PHYSICS

Posted on 6 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Very slender book, drawn from a newspaper column and intended for readers who know nothing about science. I read it because it’s short and because a NYT review of the book, pointed out that its final chapter is about human … Continue reading →

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