All educational institutions, including Balochistan University, will remain closed for two days.… Read the rest
Gunmen murder former senator in Balochistan
Jul 14th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSeparatist groups in the province have targeted opponents, have also been blamed for killings they deny.… Read the rest
Helen Ukpabio’s fans speak up
Jul 13th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson“Bartholomew whether you believe it or not, children are witches.”… Read the rest
A website bashes critics of Helen Ukpabio
Jul 13th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonRichard Bartholomew reports a smear campaign against Gary Foxcroft, Leo Igwe, Olusegun Fakoya and Bartholomew.… Read the rest
The scarecrow of “scientism”
Jul 13th, 2010 5:10 pm | By Ophelia BensonA note on Karl Giberson’s Huffington Post piece.
Can one accept the modern scientific view of the world and still hold to anything resembling a traditional belief in God?
My answer to this question is “yes, of course,” for I cannot see my way to clear to embrace either of the two alternatives — a fundamentalist religion prepared to reject science, or a pure scientism that denies the reality of anything beyond what science can discover.
But that isn’t the choice. Really, it’s not. Science can’t discover exactly what it feels like to be you, for example, but you know that that feeling is real. The complexity of personal experience alone is enough to keep you busy and happy … Read the rest
Barbara Forrest on philosophical naturalism
Jul 13th, 2010 11:51 am | By Ophelia BensonIf you’re tired of hearing people say that science cannot address the supernatural, Barbara Forrest’s “Methodological Naturalism and Philosophical Naturalism: Clarifying the Connection” is just what you want to read.
From the abstract:
I conclude that the relationship between methodological and philosophical naturalism, while not one of logical entailment, is the only reasonable metaphysical conclusion given (1) the demonstrated success of methodological naturalism, combined with (2) the massive amount of knowledge gained by it, (3) the lack of a method or epistemology for knowing the supernatural, and (4) the subsequent lack of evidence for the supernatural. The above factors together provide solid grounding for philosophical naturalism, while supernaturalism remains little more than a logical possibility.
From page 5
… Read the rest…the methodology
Christopher Hitchens interview
Jul 13th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWould you say you’re a neo-conservative now? I’m not a conservative of any kind.… Read the rest
A name change?
Jul 13th, 2010 10:51 am | By Ophelia BensonMooney doesn’t like being called an accommodationist. (Not unlike the way we don’t like being called “the New Atheist noise machine” or “the New Atheist comment machine,” perhaps.) He suggests different words.
I also am tired of the label “accommodationist.” It seems to imply that there is something weak about my view, as if I’m all ready to just cave to some common enemy. On the contrary, I think that I’m being tolerant and pragmatic.
Tolerant of what? Not of overt (explicit, non-apologetic, argumentative, reasoned) atheism, certainly. Tolerant of one side of a dispute that he himself has done a lot to create, so “tolerant” doesn’t really fit. (That’s not a very damning point, in my book – I think … Read the rest
Does theology progress?
Jul 13th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIf the spectacle of theology having to retreat in the face of advancing scientific knowledge does not undermine the enterprise, it is hard to imagine what does.… Read the rest
Jerry Coyne on Giberson on science and religion
Jul 13th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe disparity in “ways of knowing” is the true incompatibility between science and faith.… Read the rest
Are science and religion compatible?
Jul 13th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonKarl Giberson says yes, but finds his position precarious as both sides shoot at him.… Read the rest
Polanski walks
Jul 12th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSwiss authorities decided not to extradite him to LA to face sentencing for “having sex” with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.… Read the rest
al Shabab kills 74 football-watching infidels
Jul 12th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson“We will carry out attacks against our enemy wherever they are,” said a moron. “No one will deter us from performing our Islamic duty.”… Read the rest
Stoning is off – for the time being
Jul 12th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson“Whenever the judiciary chief deems it expedient, the verdict will be carried out regardless of western media propaganda.”… Read the rest
Chimp pant-grunts show social awareness
Jul 12th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson“What we found was a surprisingly high awareness of the potential social consequences of calling.”… Read the rest
What and faith in dialogue?
Jul 11th, 2010 5:50 pm | By Ophelia BensonBack when the new round of Toxic Sock-revelations set the felid among the passerines, I was having a quiet good time looking at the strange goings on at BioLogos, home of “science and faith in dialogue.” Now that the passerines are getting bored with Toxic Sock, let’s go back there. Let’s consider Albert Mohler’s sermon. It’s about Why Does the Universe Look So Old?
He says it’s an important question.
I want to invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter one. We dare not seek to answer this question without first looking to the Word of God. [Reads Genesis 1, 2:1-3].
Right. This is BioLogos. This is science and faith in dialogue. Remember? That’s what it … Read the rest
Jesus and Mo channel BioLogos
Jul 11th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe universe is way younger than it looks. It looks so old because we give it a pain.… Read the rest
“Draw Mo day” cartoonist on al-Awlaki’s hit list
Jul 11th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAnwar al-Awlaki has identified Molly Norris as a prime target, saying “her proper abode is Hellfire.”… Read the rest
Lawyer wants pope’s testimony in abuse case
Jul 11th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe Vatican, he said, should be treated “like any other corporation that is subject to the power of the American court system.”… Read the rest
Charles Windsor snubs Joseph Ratzinger
Jul 11th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonDeclines to meet pope in London, pope declines to meet in Edinburgh.… Read the rest