SCIENCE: Measuring the Universe
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Category Archives: Science
ATHEIST COMEDY: The Great Flood
Aphorism: On Spontaneous Human Combustion
By Madison S. Hughes (05.09.2012)
I cannot say that spontaneous human combustion is my forte; however, judging from the bits and pieces of information concerning such that have entered my realm of thought, I must say that I am not convinced by any evidence that proponents have put forth to support such claims.
Certainly, a “loving” God would not allow such, but somehow I doubt One that engages in world genocide would take issue with a burning here and there. As a matter of fact, His followers have historically proven rather fond to burnings. I wonder if those that spontaneously combust are also of the more intellectual among us.
MUSIC – SYMPHONY: “We Are Star Dust” / Symphony of Science
Conversion on Mount Improbable: How Evolution Challenges Christian Dogma
During most of my years as a liberal Protestant minister, I never saw a contradiction between my Christian faith and the fact of evolution. Like many progressive Christians, I did not understand evolution as a challenge to the doctrine of divine creation ex nihilo; evolution was merely the mechanism that God used for creating life on our planet.
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My indifference towards evolution changed dramatically when I ran across Richard Dawkins’ analogy of natural selection as “climbing Mount Improbable.” In that memorable and vivid metaphor, Dawkins illustrates the truly incremental and gradual nature of the evolutionary process. Opponents of evolution have contended that, while change within species can occur, the leap from one species to a new species is just too improbably great to have happened by purely natural processes. Outside assistance must have been involved. Dawkins addresses that claim by acknowledging that, yes, the leap from one species to the next seems improbably difficult—like scaling the cliff of a mountain to reach the peak. However, if one approaches the peak not from the formidable cliff but instead moves slowly along the slope on the other side of the mountain, reaching the peak of “Mount Improbable” becomes quite possible, although it might take a very long time.
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Which core doctrines of Christianity does evolution challenge? Well, basically all of them. The doctrine of original sin is a prime example. If my rudimentary grasp of the science is accurate, then Darwin’s theory tells us that because new species only emerge extremely gradually, there really is no “first” prototype or model of any species at all—no “first” dog or “first” giraffe and certainly no “first” homo sapiens created instantaneously. The transition from predecessor hominid species was almost imperceptible. So, if there was no “first” human, there was clearly no original couple through whom the contagion of “sin” could be transmitted to the entire human race. The history of our species does not contain a “fall” into sin from a mythical, pristine sinless paradise that never existed.
Prayer: What Does The Science Say? (VIDEO)
An overwhelming 83 percent of Americans say that God answers prayers–which begs the question, does prayer work? Is it something that we can even begin to approach scientifically? Unsettling as these questions may be, I [Cara Santa Maria] think it’s important to attempt to get to the bottom of them.
For help, I reached out to two researchers,Tanya Marie Luhrmann, an anthropologist at Stanford and author of the book “When God Talks Back” and Michael Shermer, executive director of the Skeptics Society and author of “The Believing Brain.”
Beautiful Minds: Professor Richard Dawkins
Losing Your Religion: Analytic Thinking Can Undermine Belief
People who are intuitive thinkers are more likely to be religious, but getting them to think analytically even in subtle ways decreases the strength of their belief, according to a new study in Science.
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Analytic thinking undermines belief because, as cognitive psychologists have shown, it can override intuition. And we know from past research that religious beliefs—such as the idea that objects and events don’t simply exist but have a purpose—are rooted in intuition. “Analytic processing inhibits these intuitions, which in turn discourages religious belief,” [British Columbia psychologist, Ara] Norenzayan explains.
The Periodic Table of Irrational Nonsense
Click HERE for The Interactive Periodic Table of Irrational Nonsense
Source: Science, Reason and Critical Thinking
BBC Documentary: The Romantics / Liberty / 2005
The 18th century was a time of opulence and privilege for some. Europe was dominated by the twin authority of the Church and King – but beneath the surface, new forces were gathering to challenge their absolute rule.
Always Question Authority 