2020-11-23T22:17:53-05:00

Last updated on: November 23, 2020 at 10:17 pm   By

In 2007 I read and reviewed an interesting book relevant to those interested in science and religious beliefs, namely Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief by Lewis Wolpert. It is a very balanced treatment of a potentially sensistive topic, which is identified by the book’s subtitle: The Evolutionary Origins of Belief. In other words, the book represents a perspective from evolutionary biology on why we believe the things we do, how we come up with and accept beliefs, and among... Read more

2020-11-30T13:43:14-05:00

Last updated on: November 30, 2020 at 1:43 pm   By

We live in an era when we have become accustomed to information about the contents of foods, movies, CDs, and other things to be on the packaging. I’ve blogged before about what warning labels it might be deemed appropriate to put on Bibles. Compare these two, which you can find online along with a number of others, which I’ve set side by side here to contrast them more effectively: The question I want to tackle here is whether one of... Read more

2020-11-23T22:18:45-05:00

Last updated on: November 23, 2020 at 10:18 pm   By

I want to share this very cool upcoming lecture being held by the The American Association for the Advancement of Science: Imagining Different Worlds: Science, Ethics, and Faith in Science Fiction Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion Wednesday, December 9, 2020 5:00pm – 6:30pm REGISTER Science fiction imagines futuristic or alternate worlds, often exploring themes of science and technology, space exploration, and extraterrestrial life. The topics explored in science fiction are often at the interface of science and society issues. Origins of... Read more

2020-11-21T15:54:05-05:00

Last updated on: November 21, 2020 at 3:54 pm   By

Another blog post from a long time ago, on a blog far far away, written when I was still looking forward to watching Star Wars Episodes IV-VI again in light of Episodes I-III. Although having seen the prequels first spoils the surprise when Luke learns that Darth Vader is his father, knowing it beforehand creates a different sort of dramatic tension: Vader tortures Leia and pursues Luke, and the viewer watching the episodes starting with Episode I will ask “Are... Read more

2020-11-21T15:53:41-05:00

Last updated on: November 21, 2020 at 3:53 pm   By

Here are some thoughts I shared for the first time many years ago, after an on-campus discussion of the subject. If the question is understood to mean whether one can prove God’s existence, then presumably the answer is no, in the sense that no argument has been found that is entirely persuasive so as to convince any skeptic. If, on the other hand, we mean whether it is compatible with reason, then the answer may be yes. Is it reasonable for... Read more

2020-11-24T07:41:11-05:00

Last updated on: November 24, 2020 at 7:41 am   By

Star Trek fans will get the Kobayashi Maru reference immediately. Starfleet Academy prepared its cadets for no-win situations, which they will inevitably face as captains of starships, by using a simulation of a situation with no good options. Capt. Kirk became the first to successfully rescue the other ship that had drifted into the neutral zone, and he did so by cheating: he reprogrammed the computer to allow him to win. I think we’ll all agree that this isn’t a... Read more

2020-11-20T13:32:45-05:00

Last updated on: November 20, 2020 at 1:32 pm   By

I remain indebted to Stephen Colbert for coming up with the concept of ‘truthiness’. As a religion professor, I find this term denotes the most common hurdle students face in trying to do any kind of critical thinking, much less about religion. How can there be any historical uncertainty, much less doubt, about the details of the Exodus from Egypt, or the life of Jesus, when it feels so right? Let me simply reiterate the statement attributed to Jesus in John’s Gospel:... Read more

2020-11-21T22:33:32-05:00

Last updated on: November 21, 2020 at 10:33 pm   By

I have focused a lot on the way the Star Wars franchise depicts the two sides of the Force not as good vs. evil but as opposites which need to be kept in balance. If this way of viewing the matter is taken to an extreme, however, it can begin to sound like either the denialist call to “teach both sides of the controversy” or the stance that it is better in each and every case to be a moderate... Read more

2020-11-20T13:08:36-05:00

Last updated on: November 20, 2020 at 1:08 pm   By

Imagine you find the following page that has become detached from a book in your local public library. It is a modern book page and not an ancient manuscript, just to be clear. In which section of the library would you begin looking for the book to which it belongs? Judas Iscariot, at Jesus’ behest, informed the Sanhedrin where Jesus would be. Jesus had seen in a vision that the time had come for the kingdom to dawn, and thus... Read more

2020-11-20T06:29:17-05:00

Last updated on: November 20, 2020 at 6:29 am   By

As someone very concerned about social justice and inclusivity, I am struck that the only times when anything I have shared has met accusations of cultural appropriation, they have had to do with science fiction. One was when someone suggested that the Vulcan salute, originating from a priestly gesture in Judaism, is cultural appropriation. I was surprised, both because the creation of the Vulcan salute originated with Leonard Nemoy, a Jewish actor who saw it in a Jewish context and... Read more

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