Category Archives: Religion

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

Posted on Wednesday 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 →

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Link and Comments: Molly Worthen on Evangelicals and Fake News

Posted on Monday 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 Monday 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 Monday 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 Saturday 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 Thursday 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

Science v Religion: New v Old

Posted on Tuesday 21 February 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s another way in which religion and science are unalike. (Aside from one being a deference to the supposed wisdom of the ancients and to primitive myths about the nature of the universe and the centrality of humanity within it; … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Trump’s Lies; Right Wing Media; Christian Education Agenda; Blowfish Fallacy

Posted on Saturday 18 February 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate’s Will Oremus compiled The Lies, Exaggerations, and Obfuscations That Came Out of Trump’s Mouth While He Called the Media “Dishonest”. Bottom line: When Trump or his advisers say things that aren’t true, it’s not their fault; the real villains … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Trump’s Lies; Right Wing Media; Christian Education Agenda; Blowfish Fallacy

Zuckerman on Evangelical Immorality

Posted on Thursday 16 February 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Phil Zuckerman on The Immorality Of Evangelical Christians In The Age Of Trump. Donald Trump has proven himself – by the hour – as a cold, heartless lover of lies and hater of humanity. And 81% of white Evangelicals voted … Continue reading →

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Link and Comments: science visions; the retrograde government; multiverse; faith; Wars v Trek; California as the future; Haidt on tribalism and the national rift

Posted on Wednesday 8 February 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

For today here are several links I’ve ‘saved’ on Facebook in recent weeks, with comments. First, Plate Tectonics Movement During the Last 540 Million Years, a cool video animation, from a Facebook group called Geology Wonders, that shows the continents … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Psychology, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Link and Comments: science visions; the retrograde government; multiverse; faith; Wars v Trek; California as the future; Haidt on tribalism and the national rift