Religion and war: evidence and misinformation
It’s a common theme of atheist critiques of religion: religion causes war and mass killing. And yet the historical evidence shows something different.
Tag: World
Is religion dying out? Is this inevitable in the modern world?
I’ve seen it many times. A confident statement by a committed atheist that religion is dying out. It is inevitable. Modernisation, especially science, has made it impossible for the virus of faith to survive much longer. Scandinavia is a peaceful paradise and almost godless, and shows that once society rides itself of God, prosperity and […]
A brief addendum on climate science
Further to my rave on climate science yesterday, here is a website where a geochemist reports he reviewed thousands of peer reviewed articles on climate science, dated November 2012 to December 2013. Of 2258 papers, with a total of 9136 authors, he found only one paper and one author who denied that human-caused global warming […]
World climate 2013: honest disagreement, wilful blindness or deliberate deception?
I have looked at Australia’s climate in 2013. Now, how did the world’s climate fare in 2013? And what does the recent “polar vortex” in the US say about climate change?
2013 – that was the year that was ….. hot!
The Daily Telegraph in Sydney has been mounting an extensive disinformation campaign on climate change for years now. The tactic is simple, and apparently effective, if not truthful – latch onto any isolated “fact” that seems to show some evidence of a cool world, ignore all the facts, evidence and reports to the contrary, and […]
Wealth, poverty and inequality
Try this brief quiz: Which country is the richest in the world in terms of median wealth? Which countries come close? Which countries have the greatest and least disparity between the rich and the rest? In the richest country, what percentage of people live in poverty? Have a guess, then check out the answers.
How much did your T-shirt cost?
Aussies wear T-shirts. We wear them at the beach, or around the house, or under a shirt when we go out. So we buy lots of them. And we like to pick up a bargain. And we’re not alone – T-shirts seem to be popular all over the world. So how much did your last […]
Death to the death penalty?
Today is World Day Against the Death Penalty.
Are many christians converts?
How do people get to be christians? Do many convert by their own choice, or do most just get born into christian families or christian countries Critics of christianity sometimes point to the “fact” that most people in the world follow the religion of the country they were born into. Therefore, they argue, most people’s […]
Two films about Australia’s boat refugees
Persecution and death threats in their home countries lead many Afghanis, Sri Lankans and others to seek to enter Australia as refugees. Many attempt the often perilous journey to Australia by crowded boat. Many die in the attempt, but most are found to be genuine refugees. We can assimilate these people without too much difficulty, […]