We all know that Africa is a troubled continent, often a legacy of European colonialism - poverty, AIDS, civil war and genocide are some of the worst problems. But most of us don't know what it is like to live with poverty.
Yet there is another side. Africans often seem to be such happy people. And there is hope for those in the grip of poverty.
Labels:
christianity,
good things,
justice
William Lane Craig is a philosopher and a christian. In recent years he has specialised in public formal debates with many unbelievers - philosophers, Biblical scholars, scientists and others. He seems to win most of these debates, but some people think he clearly loses.
How can his performance be assessed so differently by different people?
Labels:
atheism,
philosophy,
religion
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence!" Ever since Carl Sagan said it, this aphorism (often abbreviated to the acronym ECREE) has been used to critique claims of miracles or the paranormal. It sounds neat and logical, and it can help you feel you have the 'high logical ground', but is it true?
Labels:
atheism,
philosophy
Last tear I blogged in appreciation of martin rees, where I expressed admiration for this eminent scientist who refuses to get involved in the religion-atheist "wars", and who thinks we cannot know whether God exists or not.
But now he has received a lot more appreciation - a million pounds worth, no less - and some people are very angry.
Archaeology can tell us a lot about the world of first century Palestine, where Jesus lived, and this is a great help in understanding the New Testament. But can it tell us much about one of the most basic questions of all: are the New Testament gospels accurate accounts of Jesus' life, based on eyewitnesses?
It turns out that it can at least tell us something, especially about the gospel of John.
We have seen that those who attend church or have a religious belief have generally better wellbeing in terms of health and longevity. But some things don't work out so well - at least in the US.
Labels:
christianity
Jesus said his followers should avoid anger and make peace with enemies (Matthew 5:21-24); in fact we should love our enemies and pray for those who hurt us (Matthew 5:43-44). But does it work? It seems it does.
Labels:
christianity,
religion
Last post I looked at the conflict thesis - the idea that christianity (or even religion generally) opposed science down through history. Let's look at a few more myths....
It's one of the hottest topics on the internet, and so many people know the answer. Christians oppose evolution, and they've always opposed science, even persecuting and executing scientists who opposed the church in the Middle Ages.
But it seems the conventional wisdom is badly distorted, sometimes even outright wrong.
Labels:
christianity,
history,
science
A recent survey of religion in the US shows some curious and interesting results, including atheists who believe in God and christians who don't.
The theory of evolution is considered by most scientists to be pretty well proven. It tells us how life developed via natural selection to the complexities we see today. But evolution doesn't explain how life began, and so far science cannot do so either. What should we make of this?
Labels:
philosophy,
science
In the last post I mentioned that, statistically, believers have greater than average health and wellbeing, as indicated by a number of measures. Here's some data from the US that shows that churchgoers live longer.
Labels:
christianity,
wellbeing
Photo: MorgueFile
People all over the world pray that God will help them in their time of need, including when they are sick. But is there any evidence that their praying achieves anything? It may surprise you to know that dozens of medical research studies have been undertaken in recent years to answer this question.
Gordon Trickett died last month. No, I wouldn't have noticed it either had I not read his obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald. But he deserves to be remembered.
Labels:
Australia,
good things
Unless you've been under a rock, you know that there's a lot of anti-government unrest across North Africa and the Middle East right now. Libya is especially volatile, with the dictator, Colonel Qaddafi, reportedly unleashing significant weaponry on protesting civilians.
Avaaz is an international human rights organisation protesting this repression and calling for UN intervention to stop the killing. If you want to sign an online petition in support, you can do it here.
It used to be that no-one wanted to talk about God except christian evangelists. But now God has made a comeback, at least as the subject of best-selling books - by people who vehemently disbelieve in him. This is what some people call the "New Atheism".
What's going on?
Labels:
atheism,
philosophy
When I wrote about forgiveness a week ago, I didn't know I was going to so soon come across a story of deep grief and amazing forgiveness.
Labels:
christianity
an old post (November 2009) revived to support my post yesterday
For many years now, Australia has been the destination of "boat people" - refugees or would-be immigrants from troubled lands to the north and west. Decades ago they were from Vietnam, more recently from the Middle East, Afganistan and Sri Lanka.
And for the same period, debate has raged in Australia between those who want to keep out the "illegals", and those who want to offer help to people in distress. Elections have been fought over the issue, and opinions are highly polarised.
Australia is a relative rich and peaceful country. Elsewhere in Asia there are many countries which are either poor or not peaceful for some inhabitants (Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, etc). Migration to Australia, sometimes by the hazardous route of long sea voyages in often unsuitable boats, provides an option for a better life for many people. But it also provides a political and ethical problem for Australians.
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