myth Genesis and the Garden of Eden: It's Just a Just So Story This quote, from Kevin K, was pretty much spot on in its thrust: I honestly think people try to read too much into the tale. It's a "Just So" myth, that explains many, many things about the human condition, most-specifically why we are separate and apart
Adam and Eve Having a Chop at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil I recently posted on the incoherence of the narrative in Genesis concerning Adam and Eve and the eating of the apple. The upshot was this: Adam and Eve were expected to morally follow the moral proclamation of God in not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and
Biblical Exegesis The Incoherence of Knowingly Eating from the Tree of Knowledge for the First Time To most sensible people, the story of Adam and Eve is symbolic at most. But to a lot of other people, it records a real event. However, even taken symbolically, there are some glaring logical hole. I was recently on the Naked Diner podcast and mentioned this one, which I&
Trump Wow. Just Wow. Praise the Lord! "Orange-Haired Orangutan!" This is perhaps the most hilarious video I have seen this year. Oh, the tension between evangelicals and their defence of Trump. Here, Trump loses. Big.
death 'God should decide' when baby dies Should the baby be made to live or allowed to die? Let me set the context with something from the BBC: A woman fighting to stop doctors ending life support treatment for her sick 11-month-old son has told a judge that God should decide when he dies. Specialists at King&
Epistemology Trump makes 2,140 False Claims in First Year According to The Fact Checker's database, Trump has made a staggering number (2,140) of false or misleading claims in his first year, equating to about 5.9 a day. An interesting graphic for these claims can be found at The Washington Post here. As the Post said
Consciousness Interactionism, Descartes and Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia René Descartes was famous for his belief in substance dualism - that the mind and the body are two separate substances and, in his view, they interacted with each other in the pineal gland. Forgetting the nonsense of the pineal gland being where it all happens, the general notion of
Law Judge Interrupts Jury to Declare God Told Him Defendant Was Not Guilty This is insane and would simply never happen in the UK, I'm sure.A state district judge in Comal County, Texas said God told him to intervene in jury deliberations to sway jurors to return a not guilty verdict in the trial of a Buda woman accused of
Cosmology Black Holes Ripping Up Stars I thought I'd share this little video of epic destruction, and it appears it is only 8000 light years away. Our universe appears to arguably be better at producing death-inducing black holes than life. At least, inductively speaking, that is what we know. We know of more black
Trump Hilarious Trump Hypocrisy on Government Shutdown Except it's not really very funny. Firstly, this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx-tebD7uws&feature=youtu.be So, the government is shut down and Republicans are going nuts over blaming the Democrats. But they control both houses. Nope, doesn't cut it. And then there
Interview Check out My Interview on Atheism, Politics and Whatnot Just a reminder of a recent interview on a podcast where I talk about all manner of things. I'd be interested in feedback in whether you agree or not with some of the things I say! I have appeared on the Naked Diner Podcast for the second time,
atheism Ed Buckner on Not Seeing God Ed Buckner is a good man, not least because he kindly agreed to write the forward to the recent anthology of Patheos Nonreligious writers, Not Seeing God: Atheism in the 21st Century, released last month. Here is his foreword (and a massive thanks to him): Something to Learn By Ed
atheism Conservative Crackdown: Egypt Could Outlaw Atheism Yes, I am sure other Patheos writers have been quicker than me to post about this, but that's what comes from having an insanely busy week. Apologies for being out of the equation. As Newsweek, amongst many other sources, have reported: Lawmakers in Egypt are seriously considering passing
Epistemology My Local Church: The Bible is True Because...The Bible Says So. I have been meaning to snap this picture of the sign outside my local church. It has been there for a good few years. Great circular reasoning! 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
Daily Mail Stats: The Daily Mail Is by Far the Most Inaccurate (Dishonest?) Paper in Britain IPSO, the press self-regulatory body, have recently released the stats concerning inaccurate claims that have been challenged and upheld: Staunch left-wing site Another Angry Voice reports it as follows: It's important to bear in mind that these 37 upheld complaints only scratch the surface of the dishonesty and
morality Utilitarianism, Pragmatism and Selfishness I recently posted a link to a questionnaire that seeks to work out how utilitarian people are who take the test. It's very short, and has questions that some may want to think more closely about the wording. When I took it, I must admit that I experienced
ethics How Utilitarian Are You? There is a very short utilitarian questionnaire from the University of Oxford Practical Ethics blog. Check it out. I scored 45, which is somewhat utilitarian. http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/test/how-utilitarian-are-you-the-oxford-utilitarianism-scale/ Where do you score?
atheism My Naked Diner Interview: Atheism, Politics and...Stuff. I have appeared on the Naked Diner Podcast for the second time, and what an enjoyable experience it was. Check out the casual conversation. I hope it is to your liking. If you run a podcast and fancy having me on for a chat, then let me know. We go
Robert Green Ingersoll How Would God Feel Then? This is (only structurally) adapted from the great Ingersoll. Ingersoll nails a poignant idea here. HOW WOULD GOD FEEL THEN? Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899) In the sixth chapter [of Matthew] I find the following, and it comes directly after the prayer known as the Lord's prayer: "For if
Astrology QI: British Comedy Panel Show Takes on the Nativity... and Scientific Comedy! I'm not particularly nationalistic, but there are certain things that I rate about Britain, and one of them is our comedy. We have a rich variety of comedy and we can pretty much say what we like. I have previously posted a good selection of clips that take
Biblical Exegesis (The Worst) Quote of the Day (Ever): JohnM on Probability and Whatnot. Holy cow. Get ready for this. I am not trying to be rhetorical here, but these are corkers, and none of them in a good way. The total lack of understanding is almost embarrassing. Should I waste my time dealing with these comments? Probably not. It gets frustrating when an
Trump Steve Bannon Quits Breitbart Steve Bannon, the Grim Reaper that sat menacingly behind Trump, has quit Breitbart News. The BBC have reported: Ex-Trump strategist Steve Bannon has stepped down from the right-wing Breitbart News organisation where he built his reputation. The move comes amid a furore over remarks he reportedly made about President Donald
nativity Conflicting Genealogies of Jesus and JohnM's Thesis of a Matrilineal Bloodline Refuted. Again. It's all so painful, watching apologists insist and insist on a thesis in light of it being thoroughly refuted. So here I go again, in some kind of masochistic use of my time. I will say this again, as I did a few years ago, because the same
Biblical Exegesis Debunking the Nativity: Ancestral Maths As I have pointed out numerous times, the census as claimed in the Gospel of Luke, is simply incoherent. I have given out a challenge to one of the commenters here. Here is my challenge in the form of statements that the apologist has to address: 1. A client kingdom
Conservatives Is Rising Crime a Result of Conservative Policy? I was recently presented with a sort of gotcha moment (at least, that's what the intention seemed to be) by a regular commenter, who asked: Speaking of meaning, what's the meaning of the significant increase in crime in London? See chart with the mainly red column:
