2014-02-06T09:08:14-05:00

Last updated on: February 6, 2014 at 9:08 am   By

I was struck to see this call for papers for an academic conference on religion here in Indianapolis: 2014 Annual Meeting Call for Papers Society for the Scientific Study of Religion October 31-November 2, 2014 JW Marriott, Indianapolis, Indiana Building Bridges SSSR’s current web site notes: The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion was founded in 1949 by scholars in religion and social science. Its purpose is to stimulate and communicate significant scientific research on religious institutions and religious... Read more

2014-02-06T07:36:24-05:00

Last updated on: February 6, 2014 at 7:36 am   By

In the past couple of days, I came across two sets of images which seem to me to be, shall we say, connected. The first was via George Takei’s page on Facebook: And the second was via Pinterest and Reddit, and explained visually what a theory is in the natural sciences and other academic disciplines:   Read more

2014-02-05T22:59:51-05:00

Last updated on: February 5, 2014 at 10:59 pm   By

Today’s Speed Bump cartoon intersects with two interests of mine – the Bible and science fiction. It alludes to the beatitudes, and hints that the fulfillment of Jesus’ saying regarding the meek inheriting the Earth might leave us prone to invasion by aliens in ways that we aren’t at present. It is a funny and unconventional angle on an all-too-familiar phrase, and thus one that could lead to interesting discussions about the beatitudes, meekness, self-defense, expectations regarding the future, and... Read more

2014-02-05T17:22:43-05:00

Last updated on: February 5, 2014 at 5:22 pm   By

There has been more discussion of the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham since I posted my round-up earlier today. And so here is more! Christian pastor Glenn Packiam compares Genesis to other ancient creation accounts. Biologos presents how pre-modern interpreters understood Genesis. The Lead explores what Bill Nye got wrong. Benjamin Corey discusses the detrimental influence of Ken Ham on Christianity, and Pat Robertson's warning to Ken Ham not to “make a joke of ourselves” (which Hemant Mehta... Read more

2014-02-05T13:20:02-05:00

Last updated on: February 5, 2014 at 1:20 pm   By

I shared an image yesterday that I made, based on the answers Ken Ham and Bill Nye gave to a question about what it would take to change their minds. The image above includes the precise transcripts of their answers, highlighting the beginnings and endings which make the contrast especially clear.   Read more

2014-02-05T12:00:11-05:00

Last updated on: February 5, 2014 at 12:00 pm   By

Lots of people are discussing what Ken Ham said in the debate. But I want to highlight what Ken Ham didn’t say. He didn’t say some of the things that you most regularly hear from young-earth creationists, such as “If we evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?” I am pretty sure he knew that if he had said something like that, Nye would have exposed the truth to an audience of his fans, a truth that everyone who has... Read more

2014-02-05T11:00:15-05:00

Last updated on: February 5, 2014 at 11:00 am   By

Lots of bloggers and news outlets are reflecting on the debate last night, which most agree that Bill Nye won. Below is a collection of what I have come across. But first, here is the debate for those who missed it and want to watch it online: Josh Rosenau of the NCSE reflected in detail on how Bill Nye won the debate. Biologos has several of its fellows commenting and reflecting in a single post. P. Z. Myers and Jerry... Read more

2014-02-05T07:33:01-05:00

Last updated on: February 5, 2014 at 7:33 am   By

Bob Cargill shared the above image on Facebook. It has a point. Ham was untrustworthy on most scientific details he mentioned. Nye was regularly wide of the mark when attempting to deal with the Biblical material (although Ham's treatment of the Bible is no less problematic in many respects). Who would you want to see have a debate or public discussion, who genuinely knows both sets of material? And how do you think the conversation would go?   Read more

2014-02-04T21:57:37-05:00

Last updated on: February 4, 2014 at 9:57 pm   By

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2014-02-04T19:50:29-05:00

Last updated on: February 4, 2014 at 7:50 pm   By

FINAL UPDATE 9:31: The live feed ended abruptly with an announcement about the weather. I think the debate went better than I feared it might. While some things that Nye said will have rubbed Ken Ham’s kind of Christians the wrong way, the clear and unambiguous presentation of the fact that Ham is not open to the evidence, while Nye is eager for people to offer evidence that he is wrong, says enough to have made the entire discussion worthwhile.... Read more

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