Category Archives: Religion

Links and Comments: Science v Stories; Religion, Conservative Resistance, and Reality; a Freeway

Posted on 13 July 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Science Fiction, Science, and Storytelling Tor.com: Nancy Kress: Science and Science Fiction: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Many, many more people see science fiction movies than read print SF. Almost all SF movies, and much print SF as … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Tyson v. Douthat

Posted on 24 May 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

I started writing up a few notes about the new (small) Neil deGrasse Tyson book, ASTROPHYSICS FOR PEOPLE IN A HURRY, and got sidetracked by a passage that reminded me of a Ross Douthat column from a few weeks ago. … Continue reading →

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Sapolsky on religion, and human behavior

Posted on 18 May 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Via today’s Morning Heresy blog by Paul Fidalgo, this item from Robert M. Sapolsky, a short video on a site called Big Think, called Atheism vs. Religion: Which Is the Healthier Viewpoint?. His thesis is that religious belief, in eternal … Continue reading →

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Link and Comment: Religion v. Reality

Posted on 17 May 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

One more item from last Sunday’s New York Times: the weekly “Modern Love” column, reader-submitted essays about “the joys and tribulations of love.” White Shirt, Black Name Tag, Big Secret It’s about a young Mormon man sent into the world … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: On believing; Waking up; Health care fantasies

Posted on 3 May 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a long, multi-panel cartoon from The Oatmeal called Believe, which illustrates how readily or not we take in new information that conflicts with our previous assumptions, or foundational beliefs. (Via We Should Celebrate New Information Even When It Means … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Social Progress | Comments Off on Links and Comments: On believing; Waking up; Health care fantasies

Link and Comments: Molly Worthen on Evangelicals and Fake News

Posted on 17 April 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

New York Times’ Sunday Review: Molly Worthen on The Evangelical Roots of Our Post-Truth Society. The arrival of the “post-truth” political climate came as a shock to many Americans. But to the Christian writer Rachel Held Evans, charges of “fake … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Thinking about the Future; Doctors and Fake News; Polls about Atheists

Posted on 17 April 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate: Our Puny Human Brains Are Terrible at Thinking About the Future, to follow up on the Elizabeth Kolbert post a few days ago. Some people regularly connect with their future selves, but a majority does not. And this matters, … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Bannon’s historical cycles; the Myth of Main Street; Late Bloomers

Posted on 10 April 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Interesting stories and essays from Sunday’s New York Times. Bannon’s Worldview: Dissecting the Message of ‘The Fourth Turning’ A news article about a book that has influence Steve Bannon’s thinking about the world, a book by two amateur historians, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Narrative, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Bannon’s historical cycles; the Myth of Main Street; Late Bloomers

Religious Zealotry in Science Fiction

Posted on 8 April 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

There has been a controversy within the SF field over the past few years about how groups called the “sad puppies” and the “rabid puppies”, for various reasons, have mounted campaigns to influence the Hugo Awards nominations. (They succeeded two … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Religious Intellectuals; Lawrence Krauss; Daniel Dennett

Posted on 30 March 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Jerry Coyne asks, Are religious people a bit thick?. He disagrees with someone who claims that many very smart people are also religious. Look at it this way: if someone spent much of their lives worshiping Santa, elves, fairies, or … Continue reading →

Posted in MInd, Physics, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Religious Intellectuals; Lawrence Krauss; Daniel Dennett