thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
I’ve long been interested in the science of what makes people happy, and what doesn’t, and have written about it often on this blog and website. It’s a subject of important research, and new studies and reports are appearing all the time. Here’s the results of some significant studies that have been reported in the […]
The christian religion has lost numbers in most western countries over the past half century, but there are still people becoming christians too. But what leads them to believe in Jesus? Do they just believe what they were brought up to believe? Do they sift the evidence? Or do they experience God in some way? […]
“The moon rose over an open field.” Teen angst. Most of us experienced it at one time. The teenage years, and into our early 20s are a time of new experiences that can often lead to feelings of extreme helplessness, alienation, even suicide. Most of us get over it in time – most of the […]
Many of my fellow bloggers, some friends, some more like protagonists, have written up the story of their spiritual journeys, mostly from christian belief or a christian upbringing to disbelief or atheism. I decided it was time I did the same thing. So here it is, a reflection on 69 years of life and more […]
J Warner (Jim) Wallace is a homicide detective, and an atheist-turned christian. This is his story and the reasons why he changed his mind about Jesus.
Eva, a fellow Aussie who blogs as The Aspirational Agnostic asked me to write a guest post, and so I tried something different – three short, short stories under the title There is love. You may like to check it out.
Over the years I’ve met many people, in ‘real life’ and on the internet, who have changed their beliefs about God. Some have moved from unbelief to belief in Jesus, others have moved from belief to atheism. And I have come across a few who have changed their belief twice – from faith to unbelief […]
Another interesting article, perhaps you could call it a rant, from Connor Wood on the Science on Religion blog, this time about those who want to turn science and religion into a battle.
Scientific studies have suggested that religious belief (regardless of whether it is true or not) has many social and personal benefits, but may encourage more sexist attitudes and a lesser degree of openness to others. Some recent studies have looked at the association of religion with prejudice.
We all like to think we are thoughtful, rational people. In our modern scientific world, it has become an ideal. To label someone as ‘irrational’ is a severe insult. But have we taken this ideal a little too far?