I am posting today about a dangerous teaching that is passing itself off as science, when in fact it is an anti-religious philosophy that has the potential to undermine the moral foundations of our society. I am referring, of course, to Intelligent Design. Let me begin with the many ways in which it is antithetical to Biblical morality, before moving on to address the ways in which it is opposed to key American values as well. We may as well... Read more

I just posted this comment on one of Denyse O’Leary’s blogs, where, instead of providing her own usual antiscientific tirade, she reproduced one in the form of a dialogue between Phillip Johnson and Casey Luskin. The claim that was being made was that those who say evolution and faith are compatible are falling for a trojan horse scam which will eventually undermine their faith. Here’s what I wrote to her, and since I would like to those involved in the... Read more

“Mommy why do they say it is science when they haven’t done any testing yet? They should test their ideas first” (9 year old homeschooled child in a Christian family, reacting to the claims of proponents of Intelligent Design as depicted in the NOVA documentary “Judgment Day”). I just had to share this second ‘quote of the day’. It was left in a comment on Panda’s Thumb by the child’s parent, who was proud of their thoughtful and clear-sighted response.... Read more

“I wonder what Mr. Rogers, Elmo, and the Teletubbies have to say about PBS’s leftist atheist agenda?” (N.B., an anonymous blogger) I’ve been made aware of a new blog belonging to a pharmacy student, and he had this great quote in response to the Discovery Institute’s accusation that PBS had “turned to the usual suspects” to promote their “agenda”. If the usual suspects are a basis for judging, their agenda is to educate people with information from credible sources. If... Read more

The National Center for Science Education has issued a press release affirming the accuracy of last night’s NOVA documentary “Judgment Day” about the Dover intelligent design trial. I notice that over at Uncommon Descent they are not mentioning it. Presumably they are keeping quiet and hoping it will be forgotten. Presumably if anyone does try to mention it they will be summarily banned… The Discovery Institute is lamenting the bias NOVA and PBS have against intelligent design (but, inexplicably, not... Read more

I just finished watching tonight’s episode of NOVA, “Judgment Day”, about the Dover intelligent design trial. What I liked best about it was the way it highlighted the predictive power of evolutionary theory, something often denied by creationists of various sorts. When we hear about the discovery of a transitional form or ‘missing link’ like Tiktaalik, it would be possible to presume that this discovery came about by accident. In fact, the paleontologists who found the fossil were looking for... Read more

“I believe robots have the buddha-nature within them – that is, the potential for attaining buddhahood” (Masahiro Mori, The Buddha in the Robot (Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 1981) p.13) Read more

I don’t know if it is a good idea to announce one’s plans before one is really able to tackle them, but I’ve decided to take the risk. For some time I’ve had thoughts about Paul’s letter to the Romans that I’ve wanted to blog about at some length, and occasionally I’ve touched on some topics, but not in any great depth. I know the idea is not new, but I’ve still been thinking what a great thing a blogmentary... Read more

Presumably most readers of this blog will already be aware of this, but tonight on PBS there will be a show about Intelligent Design entitled “Judgment Day”. I’m sharing a copy of the press release in pdf format for those interested. Over the past two days we’ve had John Hart visiting with us from Boston University’s School of Theology. In my religion and science class he talked about terrestrial and extraterrestrial environmental ethics, after sharing with the class a chapter... Read more

I am posting this to update readers of this blog on the status of my complaint about Sterling Who’s Who. They have refunded my money, and so I consider the matter closed and have no outstanding or unresolved complaint against the company. They did at one point threaten to sue me for defamation of character because of my earlier posts, although in a fax they sent they referred to having been able to “amicably resolve” my issue, so I hope... Read more