One of my favorite things about blogging here is the interesting comment threads that develop on the posts. I’ve really enjoyed the discussions we’ve had these past few weeks, and I particularly appreciate everyone who’s taken time to patiently explain their views to someone on the opposite side of a religious divide. It was one of my goals when I started this blog to have a place where religious people and atheists could spat respectfully and productively, and to further... Read more
CL of The Warfare is Mental posed a couple of questions about being prayed for this week, and, since my opinions on the matter have changed substantially in the past few years, I want to have a crack at them. He asked: Has anybody ever told you that they were praying for you? If so, do you know why they were? Regardless of 2, how did this make you feel, and why? What do you think of people who tell... Read more
–1– I’ve been working on my senior essay and I’d like to spread the misery around. So this week’s Quick Takes are a round up of aggravating social developments (though I promise a respite at the end). –2– I was pretty dubious about David Brook’s new book The Social Animal when I read the awful excerpt of it in The New Yorker. My suspicions were confirmed when I read Will Wilkinson’s review. Feel free to forward to anyone considering buying the book.... Read more
First Things has started a new online feature I enjoy called “Family Facts.” The series is described as “an occasional series of data presentations about family and religious practice and analysis of their role in maintaining civil society.” Given how much I love data and data visualization, I’m delighted. I’m not so delighted with the most recent installment on who children live with. Here’s the chart: See that note on the side, where it says “Figures for 1961 to 1967... Read more
I’ve been travelling, so you’ll have to wait until this afternoon for meaty new content, but, I had to share one quick thing. While away, I went trawling through a going-out-of-business Borders, trying to find some quality, discounted books. I didn’t really succeed, in large part because terrible paranormal romances seem to have taken over all the shelf space. (Where are E. Nesbit and Edward Eager?) It’s terrible to see the spawn of Twilight have taken over the YA section, but this... Read more
As a follow-up to this morning’s post about miracles and skepticism, I wanted to share an example of an extraordinary evidence that is hard to account for. According to a video released online, China recently appeared to have two suns overhead. Scifi site io9 asked a few astronomers to make sense of the data, but the scientists were semibaffled. One scientist said: “This is not a common optical phenomenon that we’re seeing here. I’m asking myself if this is an... Read more
Many Christians or religious people of any faith tradition, argue that miracles are compelling evidence for the truth of their religion. There are plenty of atheist rejoinders — the most obvious is that many religions claim the evidence of miracles. Either miracles are the result of natural processes or delusions, which are plausible enough to fool a wide variety of people, or there is some kind of supernatural force, but good luck linking it to any single religion. Telling the... Read more
This week, The King and I blog (which is doing a guided reading through the whole King James Bible in a year) finished the Pentateuch. I’ve been keeping up with the readings, and I’m often struck by the strong contrasts between the passages in the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels and epistles I hear weekly at Sunday Masses. In the Gospels, Jesus speaks in parables, using specific examples to teach higher, more abstract lessons. Most of the parables end using more general... Read more
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions about choosing a discipline for Lent! Your comments ranged from the very practical to the illuminatingly philosophical. And the clear majority of comments started with thoughts about food. The trouble is, I’m already a very picky eater with a small appetite. My meals tend to be bread (or bagels or pasta) and seltzer with fruit on the side. My friend Tristyn knew this when she caveated her recommendation that I join her in... Read more
–1– I’ve almost made it to Spring Break (also known as lock-myself-in-a-room-and-write-my-senior-thesis-for-two-weeks-so-why-the-heck-is-it-called-break?), so I’ll be able to catch up on neglected posts and comments soon. Today I’ll have a roundup of your comments and my responses to my plea for suggestions for Lenten sacrifices. If you’ve been waiting to add your two cents, jump in this morning! After that, I’ll finally be able to jump back into the discussion Alex Knapp, Eli of Rust Belt, and I are having about... Read more
Unequally Yoked
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In