If you like Philosophy, Zombies and Ghosts

This is perhaps one of the best comics, ever, of all time, plus one.  Read first before the philosophy commences.

Privilege: Seeing the Invisible

A comment by PortlyDyke responding to the Marcotte Book Imagery issue got me thinking (emphasis mine): I honestly cannot believe the number of people here who have claimed that the use of racist imagery was some form of intentional irony, and who have chided others for not getting “the joke”, or to “lighten up”. In [...]

The Psychological Victims of Fundamentalist Christianity

This is incredibly fucked, but it is a topic of some interest for me, and one I plan on revisiting.  As Amanda notes, this stuff is “fucking frightening”.  Matt Taibi writes in Rolling Stone about his experiences at a three day intensive convert-a-thon.  He starts things off by discussing the contrast between the soon-to-be-converted and [...]

Finding Happiness: Do You Love Your Job?

Wall Street Journal (emphasis mine): Mr. Magness’s parents say they no longer ask when he’s coming to visit or about his plans. “You can’t buy him the things you might buy a normal kid, since he doesn’t live in one place,” says his mother, Linda Magness. Mr. Magness’s father, Mark Magness, a retired Air Force [...]

Natural Relations and Fear

Sush has posted a really thoughtful thread on what meanings one might find behind the phrase Unnatural Relations (emphasis mine): In that way I’ve always thought of human sexuality as transcending “natural relations”, because we have made sex about more than fulfilling a lust or procreating. Sex, to me, is about two people learning to [...]

God is Not Just

A random encounter on the metro yesterday turned into an unexpected debate. Upon reflection, I realized that the evangelical mindset has a worrying impact on our justice system, and how we approach both crime and criminals. In other words, I had run smack into the premise of one of Amanda’s posts over at Pandagon. During [...]

Apparently Theists Can’t Argue

In a piece short on logic but long on bias, Simple Light attempts to present the killer arguments that support intelligent design.  The stage is set by presenting Christopher Hitchens as disoganized and cynical, and Jay Richards as rational and full of hope.  The painful illusion being cast over the debate becomes painfully clear early [...]

Cloverfield and Assumptions

If you don’t like spoilers, if you have not seen this film, go watch it, then come back. I’ll wait…. (Are they gone? Let’s start without them. Posers.) I saw Cloverfield this weekend, and it is a good flick. And hell, anything even tangentially related to this is happy awesome good pop. But underneath the [...]

Our Religious Litmus Test

The myths we tell ourselves shape our world. So let’s take a look at one man and his problematic relationship with reality, and the politics that surround it. Aside from Mitt Romney, Huckabee has generated the most enthusiastic press coverage concerning his religion. This in itself isn’t bad. A preacher turned politician could make a [...]

The Bible Makes a Poor Premise

Adam Smith has a fascinating post, in which he tries his very best to prove atheism does not exist. Poor chap doesn’t quite make it: Notice how I titled this thing “Why Atheism Does Not Exist,” and not “Why I Believe Atheism Does Not Exist.” I did this because it is not only what I [...]

Love, Don’t Fear God

Philosophy starts (and one may effectively joke ends) with a question.  Here’s one.  Why fear God?  Mike writes: The total lack of the fear of God is what marks the ungodly. (Romans 3:18) I’d argue that it is a transpersonal love of God and all sentient beings which marks the godly.  If it says anything, [...]

Faith and Religion vs Belief and Spirituality

Faith is not religion.  It is a way of knowing that intersects with religion in a vital way.  Religion makes use of faith, one might say. I bring this up after reading an illuminating post by Amanda at Pandagon: Goddamn, this is tiresome, just this headline: Why “new atheists” are ignorant about God That’s like [...]

Faith, Poor Logic and Health

ibadah writes: To all the atheists out there – and I know that a few are reading this – studies have shown that religious individuals recover quicker, have longer lives, and are better able to cope with long-term illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. So, don’t give up on faith just yet This argument cannot prove anything [...]

Science, Religion, Reason and Faith

Onwards and Forwards writes: Alonzo Fyfe wonders about scientists waxing eloquent (pro and con) about faith: It would be quite interesting, I think, if the scientific-minded people in this dispute were to actually call forth their expertise to look for the evidence for and against their various positions and examine that evidence critically, just as [...]

The Creationist Trap

There’s an interesting post by Cory over at Josiah Concept Ministries.  In the post and the ensuing thread, we can see an old battle taking place.  Cory (representing creationists) is asking scientists to defend evolution, and Elizabeth (representing scientists) is stating that there is no science on their side.  Cory responds by criticizing Elizabeth’s knowledge [...]