thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
Many non-believers argue that the only things we can know are what can be proved by science. Yet many believers say that one of the main reasons they believe is because of their experience of God, something science cannot easily examine. So how can we approach this question reasonably?
I came across another story of an apparently miraculous healing the other day. But can I believe it really happened and it was really a miracle? How can we avoid both naive gullibility and closed-minded scepticism? Does it really matter?
I have come across on the internet many atheists who were once christians. With church attendance dropping in most western countries, it may seem like changes in belief are all one way. But statistics show otherwise – that there are almost as many people changing from atheism to belief in God as are going the […]
Many modern atheists oppose the teaching of religion to children. Richard Dawkins has famously said that teaching religion to children is a form of child abuse. In 2004 he wrote: “Isn’t it a form of child abuse to label children as possessors of beliefs that they are too young to have thought about?”. And in […]
I’m always interested in people’s stories, and I’m always on the lookout for ways in which God may make himself known to us. So I have done some research on people having visions of Jesus – whether there are credible stories, and what they tell us.
In a recent talk, Richard Dawkins spoke about education, atheism and intelligence. His comments are interesting.
Are christians more likely to be socially and politically conservative or liberal/progressive? If you asked most people’s opinion, I reckon they would think christians are generally conservative. But some new surveys suggest this isn’t the full story.
Steven and I have been discussing the Richard Dawkins vs William Lane Craig fracas on his blog Think That Through. At one point we referenced the ethical views of Peter Singer, and Steven suggested I do a critique of Peter Singer’s views on infanticide. This is not something I have studied a great deal, but […]
I have twice before blogged about high-profile atheist Sam Harris, none too favourably – in Sam Harris – man of reason? and Sam Harris on faith – sensible or silly?. So it is pleasing to report some of Sam’s thinking that I can resonate with. It came in a post, The mystery of consciousness, on […]
We often hear that religion “poisons everything“, and that it is a delusion that causes people to do evil things (Physicist Stephen Weinberg once said: “for good people to do evil — that takes religion”.) Some people claim that religion is responsible for many of the evils in history – the crusades, witch-burning, war, genocide, […]