The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has some ads broadcast on CNN recently. The spokesperson, Ron Reagan, ended the ad with the phrase " "life-long atheist, not afraid of burning in hell." The FFRF has an excellent blog post addressing the outcry about that particular phrase and the idea of "hell" here. I have not much to add … Continue reading Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – The case against Hell
Month: March 2015
What the Boss Likes – a new book, One Nation Under Gods
A new book, One Nation, Under Gods by Peter Manseau, is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Mr. Manseau reviews the history of religion in the United States of America from 1492 (with some info on religion in North America before the Europeans came) up to the present day. … Continue reading What the Boss Likes – a new book, One Nation Under Gods
Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – geology, poster style
I decided to do a riff on a webposter I saw on Mike's website here. This is an amazing example of layers and cross-bedding, where the direction of the propelling force (in this case both wind and water) changed repeatedly over time, a lot longer than 40 days and 40 nights. This webpage is a very … Continue reading Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – geology, poster style
What the Boss Likes – Antibiotics, I love them and the science that discovered them!
(warning: may be a little more medically graphic than some care to read) Humans aren’t impervious. We can get infections from a lot of things. The germ theory allowed us to get into hygiene, and then determined scientists got us arsphenamine, penicillin, and so many more antibiotics. When I watch a historical documentary, especially about … Continue reading What the Boss Likes – Antibiotics, I love them and the science that discovered them!
Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – room for another debate
Rather than take up space on another's comments area, I've brought a debate over here. I'll post Seth's post, and in comments, I'll put my response. After a discussion here, this is Seth's reply to my comment (the italicized bits are parts of my comment): "What awesome, thought-provoking questions! I’ll be intentionally brief, so clarifying … Continue reading Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – room for another debate
Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – follow those laws….or not
This week, there were a couple of fascinating columns from the usual theistic suspects, Rabbi Gellman and Billy Graham. Billy has a column on the “ten” commandments. The querent asks why we should follow them now. Billy asks in return “which of them would you do away with if you could?” as a challenge, because … Continue reading Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – follow those laws….or not
From the Kitchen – off to warmer climes in my mind, tom kha gai
Whee, it’s snowing again here in PA. 😛 I wanted to try to make a soup, so I got out my copy of Wright’s The Best Soups in the World, and tried to find something I had most of the ingredients for. As luck would have it, I had most of the ingredients for tom … Continue reading From the Kitchen – off to warmer climes in my mind, tom kha gai
Club Schadenfreude 