Monthly Archives: April 2009

Moving away from superstition

British Philosopher A. C. Grayling has a short essay on religion and moving away from superstition. What religious people mean by “god” means nothing to me beyond an incoherent cluster of concepts from which the aforesaid folk choose the subset … Continue reading

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A.N. Wilson’s journey

I didn’t realize that A.N. Wilson wasn’t always an atheist. He’s now a theist (again). I just read about his journey on Wikipedia. But it was his article on the New Statesman that reflects lots of the comments on the … Continue reading

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Philosophical discussion and mutual respect

I’ve watched the discussion forum devolve a bit into some sniping. (Not happy about that, but not unexpected.) In the syllabus for any “religion” course I teach I always include the “play nice” notice. Second, besides reading and writing well, … Continue reading

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Atheist and church musician

This isn’t so surprising. I had a roommate in college who was a atheist and a church musician. I couldn’t do it. But it’s an interesting relationship to be sure.

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Death and grieving

From Slate.com where there’s been a series on death and grieving: The other morning I looked at my BlackBerry and saw an e-mail from my mother. At last! I thought. I’ve missed her so much. Then I caught myself. The … Continue reading

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It is well with my soul

One of my favorite hymns. I only recently read about its history. From Wikipedia, here’s a snip: “It Is Well with My Soul” is a very influential hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. This hymn … Continue reading

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Arguing for atheism

We began reading Rowe’s “The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism”. I change the poor, burned fawn to “Bambie being burned”. Love it — but only in the most philosophically uplifting way. Rowe’s essay is provacative even if … Continue reading

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Re-enacting Good Friday

Ouch!

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Good Friday photos

From LA Times, some cool photos on Good Friday in LA and beyond.

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Disciplined for praying

I hadn’t heard about this. SF Gate reports: Two students who were threatened with suspension at the College of Alameda after one of them prayed with an ailing teacher in a faculty office can sue the community college district for … Continue reading

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