thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
August 13th, 2011
In my last post, Why try to be good?, I discussed ethics in our secular postmodern western societies, and ended up with ethicist Peter Singer’s reflection that faith in a good God is the only way to provide a complete answer to the question, Why act morally? Today’s editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald, Britain […]
August 4th, 2011
For most people throughout the world and throughout time, being good has been related to belief in God. God defined what is good and evil, and offered positive or negative incentives for following his decrees. But in our secular western society, what is ‘good’ and what is the motive for being good?
August 1st, 2011
I have twice before (here and here) blogged about my favourite band at the moment, The Middle East. I am now devastated to report they have announced they are quitting.
July 31st, 2011
‘Sea Change’ was a popular Aussie TV series a few years back, in which a city lawyer quit her job and opted for the supposedly more laid-back life of a small coastal town. The term ‘sea change” became common usage to describe the increasing number of people who decided to leave the rat race and […]
July 28th, 2011
If you want to check out well-prepared and easy-to-read arguments for the existence of God, I recommend Existence of God. Tim was an atheist until he studied philosophy at university to post-graduate level, but he found the evidence and the philosophical arguments so persuasive that he was convinced of God’s existence. He is now a […]
July 22nd, 2011
People may hold their political, religious or ethical beliefs for all sorts of reasons, but we all like to think that we are very rational in the way we come to our own views. But some recent studies suggest few of us are as logical as we might think, as historian John Dickson reported in […]
July 18th, 2011
The Hong Kong walled city The Walled City of Kowloon in Hong Kong was an accident of history. No-one was sure who had jurisdiction over this area as it was on the border between China and Hong Kong, which until a decade ago was administered by Britain. So police and the authorities turned a blind […]
July 17th, 2011
Climate Change Debate Australia is currently engaged in (or suffering under?) a political debate on how we should address the issue of climate change. It isn’t so long ago that many conservatives did not believe the scientific evidence that earth is warming at an alarming rate, and this will have disastrous consequences within a century. […]
July 1st, 2011
“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence!” Ever since Carl Sagan said it, this aphorism (often abbreviated to the acronym ECREE) has been used to critique claims of miracles or the paranormal. It sounds neat and logical, and it can help you feel you have the ‘high logical ground’, but is it true?
June 25th, 2011
Among many of the more militant atheists, there are a number of common claims made about religion. Some are fair, some are not, but they have become as entrenched as dogma. It is refreshing when one of their own argues for a more thoughtful and nuanced view.
A list of all blog posts, in reverse chronological order, is on the Blog archive page.