thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
I am currently reading Hugh Mackay’s book, Beyond Belief, which addresses the question of how people find meaning in life with or without religion. Hugh is probably Australia’s leading social researcher and commentator, regularly appearing on talk shows and in newspaper article. He is neither a christian nor an atheist, probably best described as having […]
It is good, every now and again, to reflect on what we believe and why, and to review if there is any reason to change our minds. I think it is good, too, for a blog author to remind their readers of what the blog is all about. So here’s my summary – what I […]
Sick people generally want to get better, and doctors work for that result. If there’s any way to improve the odds of recovery, then both doctors and patients want to know. Modern medicine can do amazing things, and the human body has amazing recuperative powers. But sometimes more is needed. Sometimes people ask God for […]
The Turin shroud is a famous piece of cloth which is claimed to have been Jesus’ burial cloth, and contains an image of him. Sceptics say it is a medieval fake. Is there any way to decide who is right?
It is clear that, whether we are believer or unbeliever, our choices about our belief in God are not always as rational as we might like to think. If there is no God, we probably cannot choose at all in any meaningful way. Sometimes (some would say always), we cannot choose our beliefs, they are […]
I reckon most of us like to think we make good decisions about what we believe – that is, ones that are based on good evidence and good reasoning, and which lead to true beliefs. Trouble is, there are people with quite different beliefs about God, morality and politics to what you or I believe, […]
faith is the most important thing a person needs to maintain a neurologically healthy brain Neuroscientists Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman I couldn’t resist …. I am researching my next post on Choosing our religion, which is taking a bit of work, and I came across this quote by two neuroscientists. Here is the quote […]
This post combines two of my interests – the statistics of belief and people’s stories. Are there many adult converts to christianity? Why do they convert? Were they really unbelievers beforehand?
I came across it yesterday, not for the first time, but maybe the 21st. Quoted as if it was significant and telling. You have almost certainly seen it too. I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other […]
It’s Christmas Eve. At a time when there’s so much scepticism about Jesus, as I discussed in my last post, is it reasonable to still believe?