Frank Tipler makes a startling statement in his book The Physics of Christanity: I have a salary at Tulane… some 40 percent lower than the average for a full professor at Tulane as a consequence of my belief.” He’s referring to his belief in God, which he says he does not share with his colleagues. And I’m not sure how university salaries work… but I thought you got paid by how credentialed you were, and how many published papers you… Read more
It’s really exciting to hear what people think of I Sold My Soul on eBay after they’ve read it. It may not always be what I want to hear, but it’s great to learn about how various people took in the book. It’s especially interesting to me what Christians have to say, because they are the target audience for the book. There are a few Christian bloggers who have recently shared their thoughts. I apologize for putting them all together… Read more
Here’s an interesting take on the current atheist rage in America, from The Phoenix. There are several lines that strike me in a bad way, though, even when I know the reporter James Parker is just trying to be cute with words. There’s no doubt about it: right now, God is on the side of the atheists. … The apostles of unbelief are having their Pentecostal moment. The spirit is upon them, endowing them with the gift of tongues and… Read more
Pappa Cambria has created a deck of cards you can use for your next round of Creationism: The Card Game. Here are the rules: Briefly the game will be Creationist versus Scientist. The Scientist’s goal will be to gain 30 credibility points, which ends the game. The Creationist’s aim will be to gain as many credibility points as possible before the Scientist wins. What cards are we talking about? All pirates get +1 power. Number of creationists in play cannot… Read more
Remember this graphic? (Miller JD, Scott EC, Okamoto S (2006) Public acceptance of evolution. Science 313:765-766.) Now we know why Turkey was more ignorant than America. Tarkan Yavas. It’s his fault. The Washington Times reports this: [Yavas’] aim in life is “to cleanse Turkey of the atheist materialism and the immorality Darwin opened the door to.” Yavas is the “public face” of the Science Research Foundation (BAV). That’s a misnomer if ever there was one… it’s run by college dropout… Read more
Chris Harper, a.k.a. Pastor Deacon Fred (creator of the satirical Landover Baptist Church), speaks at the Godless Americans March on Washington (2002). (via Ain’t Christian) Read more
***Update: The Chicago Sun-Times says this book signing is the literary Event of the Week! So now, you have to come…*** If you live within a 300 mile radius of Naperville, IL, then you will be spending Tuesday evening at Anderson’s Bookshop (recently named one of Chicago’s 10 best bookstores!) for a book reading/signing/discussion/sing-along with yours truly. As you can see from the Anderson’s events listings, I am comfortably nestled between corn and Dr. BBQ. Awesome 🙂 It’ll be a… Read more
Ok, it won’t be called Praiseland. In fact, it’s Bible Park USA, in Murfreesboro, TN. But according to tomorrow’s New York Times, there is opposition to the theme park coming from unexpected places. Pastor Bryan Brooks leads Blackman United Methodist Church. The park would be built near there: “Would I rather look at the theme park or would I rather look at the farmland and the forest here?” Mr. Brooks said, looking out at the proposed site. “I would pick… Read more
Lisa Miller of Newsweek is reporting in the upcoming issue that there’s a controversy brewing in the atheist community. … what’s happening in the “atheist, humanist, freethinkers” community is more like what happens to any ideological or political group as it matures: the hard-liners knock heads with the folks who want to just get along, and the cracks are beginning to show. The article focuses on Harvard’s Humanist chaplain, Greg Epstein, and the (misquoted) comment he made way back when… Read more
I know a lot about Heaven. For example, I know that you meet five people when you get there. And I know it’s full of Mormons. But some Christians claim to have experienced it first-hand. And then they write all about it. And sell many, many, many books. It’s interesting how much time they spend up there, though… Marietta Davis fell into a “trance” for nine days. As authors Dennis and Nolene Prince (who retell her original story) say: When… Read more