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Saturday, 12 January 2008 |
In order to help me understand what faith is I need the good faithful
of Cif to join my thought experiment and answer this question
| FREETHINKTANK | 12 January 2008 - Guardian
- by Adam Rutherford - The essence of science is doubt,
as my old tutor Steve Jones is fond of saying. Scientists continuously
look for what is wrong with their work, and this beautiful system of constant
challenge results in a continuum, a process, where being wrong is an essential
part of gaining knowledge. I like the phrase biologist John Moore used:
"science as a way of knowing".
"What if you're wrong?" is a question I was asked over Christmas
by a Christian friend. The answer is quite simple: it really depends on
what you choose to believe. I'm not a bad man. Surely a God of love will
forgive the scepticism that he granted me and let me through the pearly
gates? Any being who would send a good person to eternal damnation just
because he has no faith doesn't deserve respect, let alone worship.
Is this arrogant? No, it's simply logical. I'd love to be wrong. Heaven
is surely a better option than nothingness. But there isn't enough doubt
about reality for me consider the divine as an option. Many of you will
be familiar with Pascal's Wager, a religious contingency plan from the
French philosopher scientist, which can be simplified thus: if you believe
in God the gains are infinite if he exists and the losses are none if
he doesn't; similarly, if you are an atheist and he doesn't exist you've
lost nothing. But if he does exist, you're screwed for all eternity. So
you might as well believe.
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Saturday, 12 January 2008 |
Worried about a push to take the religious references out of time,
a state senator has filed a bill that would mandate the use of B.C. (Before
Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini or “Year of our Lord”).
| FREETHINKTANK | 12 January 2008 - KANSAS
CITY STAR - by Chris Blank - Legislators
have started a fight with Father Time — at least with his name tag.
Worried about a push to take the religious references out of time, a state
senator has filed a bill that would mandate the use of B.C. (Before Christ)
and A.D. (Anno Domini or “Year of our Lord”). Many historians
and textbook publishers have switched to B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and
C.E. (Common Era) as a nod toward non-Christians.
And that's a problem, said Sen. John Loudon.
“There is an effort to sort of scrub our public institutions of
acknowledgment of God,” said Loudon, R-Chesterfield. He said it
would be costly to change dating systems — both financially and
culturally.
Loudon's bill, which was also filed last year and this year has also been
filed as a constitutional amendment, would make B.C. and A.D. the “official
dating standard” of Missouri. It would also bar the state and public
employees from using any other system in official capacities.
That would also seem to include public schools, which could set up a debate
about whether textbooks could be used if they use B.C.E. and C.E.
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Saturday, 12 January 2008 |
A man who believed he bore the "mark of the beast"
used a circular saw to cut off one hand, then he cooked it in the microwave
| FREETHINKTANK | 12 January 2008 - ABC
NEWS - A man in Idaho cut off his hand with a circular saw
and cooked in it a microwave oven because he believed it bore "the
mark of the beast," police in the western US state said.
Kootenai County sheriff's Deputy Ben Wolfinger said the man in Hayden,
who has not been named, called emergency services to inform authorities
that he had cut off his hand and was severely bleeding.
When deputies arrived at the man's home, he told police he had severed
the limb because he believed he "had the mark of the beast on his
hand."
His hand was discovered "cooked" in a microwave oven, Mr Wolfinger
said.
"He just felt he needed to cut off the hand," he said.
He was not able to say if doctors had managed to reattach the hand, he
added.
The man is undergoing a mental evaluation at Kootenai Medical Centre,
police said.
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