The quote in the image above is from a conversation I had recently on Facebook. Since this point still needs to be made over and over again, I thought that turning it into a meme might help address the issue yet again. Read more
The quote in the image above is from a conversation I had recently on Facebook. Since this point still needs to be made over and over again, I thought that turning it into a meme might help address the issue yet again. Read more
People have sometimes complained when I have referred to young-earth creationists as liars. Hopefully the tweet above from Ken Ham will settle the matter, at least for those who have seen the TV series Cosmos. Read more
The above video about the philosophical and moral questions involved in using the transporter on Star Trek. These are precisely the kinds of issues that I discuss in my forthcoming book Theology and Science Fiction. I will be submitting the final manuscript today, and so that is as good an excuse as any to not write something more substantive. But I did want to mark the occasion. I’ve written a lot of shorter pieces about theology and science fiction in the past, and... Read more
I probably should not vent about my students’ parents on my blog, but I am feeling a bit frustrated. The stabbing of an American student in Israel is certainly a cause for concern. Like any parent would, I have imagined my own son traveling abroad as a student and being in that situation, being stabbed and bleeding to death as others or perhaps I myself tried desperately to save him. It is what parents do. We worry. We think, “What if... Read more
What would be in your pie chart? Mmmm, pie could definitely help the creative process. Here is a link to a recipe for the absolutely best apple pie I have ever tasted. Read more
Everyone is talking about Neil de Grasse Tyson’s problematic tweets – see the recent blog posts by Jerry Coyne, Hemant Mehta, and P. Z. Myers. But I think the most important post on the topic is that by Jonathan Bernier. He points out that, once someone moves outside of their field of expertise, no matter how smart they are or how well informed about other topics, they are liable to make blunders. Here is an excerpt: A number of interesting analogies... Read more
“The genre of SF, it seems to me, has the capacity to permit everyone, irrespective of their educational background, access to debates, discussions and speculations about some of the biggest questions that concern the human race.” – Mike Alsford, What If?: Religious Themes in Future Fiction p. vii. The book has a number of similarly nice quotes about things that make science fiction a particularly great genre for addressing contemporary social issues, as well as for exploring philosophical and religious topics. Read more
Yesterday I attended the funeral of my friend Steve Webb. Steve was one of the first people I met in Indianapolis who didn't teach at Butler University. He taught at Wabash College for a long time, and then more recently at CTS. The funeral included numerous tributes from students of his, as well as from a range of representatives of religious traditions with which he had some connection. Steve loved to argue – and if I had had more friends... Read more
Ken Perrott shared the above cartoon by Isabella Bannerman. That led me to discover more of her comics. I also especially liked this one: It got me thinking about the ways that blogging, and phones which might well be used for blogging, can succeed in making us more aware of and connected to the world around us, or more isolated from it. I hope reading this blog connects you and expands your horizons rather than isolates you, even as I... Read more
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