Archive: January, 2011
How much are your principles worth? Lessons from Morgan Spurlock
When I started this website I vowed to myself not to put any advertising on it (save one little link to Kiva, and non-profits don’t qualify. Okay, I also included widgets for my books at Amazon but that’s it). I made this decision on principle. You see advertising everywhere these days. It is estimated that the average [...]
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Okay smart guy, who designed the designer?
We’ve all heard this one before. Here it is coming from atheist George Smith in an argument directed against cosmic fine-tuning: “If the universe is wonderfully designed, surely God is even more wonderfully designed. He must, therefore, have had a designer even more wonderful than He is. If God did not require a designer, then there is [...]
Read moreMisery loves company, especially more miserable company
For the last 8 years I’ve lived in Edmonton, Alberta on the Canadian prairies. There is a lot to be said for the region, particularly since it is a three hour drive to the Canadian Rockies. There is also a lot of sun, which is much appreciated after many years living in rainy Vancouver. But man, does it [...]
Read moreSignature in the Cell: Monologue on the Prologue
Believe it or not, I stated my intent to review Steve Meyer’s Signature in the Cell about seven months ago and I finally made it to the prologue. You can just imagine the kind of fines I have to pay at the library. The book opens by setting the stage: Meyer notes three significant events in 2004-5 [...]
Read moreHow to worship yourself: Lessons from Sheila Larson and Van Halen
In 1986 Robert Bellah and a coterie of other sociologists published a landmark study called Habits of the Heart. One of the most memorable characters described therein was “Sheila Larson” who describes her own religion as “Sheilaism. Just my own little voice.” (Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life (1986), 221) While this might [...]
Read moreKeep your eye on those “so called” Christians down the block
I attended an Anglican church for a couple years while living in London. (That’s par for the course, right? Like attending NASCAR events when you’re living in North Carolina.) The thing I always liked about Anglicanism is the theological tradition of “comprehension”, of seeking a big tent in which people of wide theological conviction can still come [...]
Read moreAbraham, Isaac and a big knife. Like, wassup with that?
James asks, “I’m pretty sure I just missed this and you’ve talked about it somewhere (if so, just point me to it), but how do you interpret the story in Genesis where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son if you believe that God would never ask someone to sacrifice their son? Or do you [...]
Read moreThe mutilation of Isaac
Matthew Flannagan, respected analytic theologian, Christian apologist and faithful blogger, has taken issue with my argument that God would not ask a parent to sacrifice their child. Matt asks us to consider why it is that killing a human being is wrong. It is wrong, he avers, because it deprives one of their future life. [...]
Read moreLosers who promote their own books on their blogs
“Don’t you get tired of losers who promote their own books on their blogs? Dude, that is really pathetic.” Yeah I know, it is pathetic. However, I’ve got no dignity so I don’t mind. Gimme a mic and an audience and I’ll start prattling off on myself shamelessly like a mallard preening or a peacock strutting, [...]
Read moreMichael Douglas on the upside of cancer
It came as a shock to many last August when Michael Douglas, in an appearance on David Letterman, announced that he had been diagnosed with stage four throat cancer. And the Letterman public appearance would be the last one before disappearing down the black hole of seven weeks of intense radiation therapy. Douglas has since [...]
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