Category Archives: Religion

Links and Comments: War on Science; How to Make a Prophecy; Nazis and Magic

Posted on Monday 2 October 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on some saved links from some weeks ago… NYT: long editorial, from Sept. 9th: President Trump’s War on Science Among the points: the Trump administration has — Stopped a study of the health risks of mountaintop-removal coal mining; … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: War on Science; How to Make a Prophecy; Nazis and Magic

Links and Comments: Reactions to Art; the Eclipse; Christianity and PKD

Posted on Saturday 16 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Saved from Facebook… A post by Adam-Troy Castro: Noted in a thread: Somebody (I forget who) told the story of leaving A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE as one of two teenage couples, being absolutely gobsmacked by it, and listening to his … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Movies, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Reactions to Art; the Eclipse; Christianity and PKD

Bertrand Russell: Why I Am Not a Christian: Summary and Comments

Posted on Thursday 14 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

This is a famous essay/lecture by one of the 20th century’s most influential philosophers. I first read the book containing this essay in 1979, when I was 23; I was thrilled to find someone so eminent unapologetically spell out the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Bertrand Russell: Why I Am Not a Christian: Summary and Comments

Pinker: Better Angels: Chapter 1: A Foreign Country

Posted on Tuesday 12 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

“If the past is a foreign country, it is a shockingly violent one.” This 30-page chapter is a “tour” of the past, from 8000 BCE to the 1970s, an impressionist portrait of how violence was so common in the past, … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Pinker: Better Angels: Chapter 1: A Foreign Country

Link and Comments: NYTBR reviews Kurt Andersen’s FANTASYLAND

Posted on Monday 11 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Just published, a big book by novelist and journalist Kurt Andersen, Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History (Random House), which is in my to-read stack. For the time being, here are some passages from Sunday’s front page review … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Religion, science fiction, TV Sci Fi | Comments Off on Link and Comments: NYTBR reviews Kurt Andersen’s FANTASYLAND

Links and Comments: Marcotte on Trump, and Evangelicals

Posted on Monday 11 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s becoming more and more clear that Trump has no values, no ideals, no standards. He’s only about making deals, and he’s willing to align himself with anyone to make deals, no matter for what, no matter with whom. Salon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Marcotte on Trump, and Evangelicals

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

Posted on Thursday 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 →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Personal history, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Science v Stories; Religion, Conservative Resistance, and Reality; a Freeway

Links and Comments: Tyson v. Douthat

Posted on Wednesday 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 →

Posted in Book Notes, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Tyson v. Douthat

Sapolsky on religion, and human behavior

Posted on Thursday 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 →

Posted in MInd, Religion | Comments Off on Sapolsky on religion, and human behavior

Link and Comment: Religion v. Reality

Posted on Wednesday 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 →

Posted in Religion, The Gays | Comments Off on Link and Comment: Religion v. Reality