Monthly Archives: September 2011

Pic of the day: St. Mary’s Church, Whitby, the place Dracula takes Lucy Westernra in Bram Stoker’s novel

Posted on 30/09/2011 by

St. Mary’s Church, Whitby, the place Dracula takes his victim Lucy Westernra during the night in Bram Stoker’s classic novel.

Posted in Authors, Visual Arts | Tagged , , ,

Quote of the day: Fulton Sheen on Noah’s Ark, photographs, and the Church

Posted on 29/09/2011 by

‘The Church is like Noah’s ark that was full of both clean and unclean animals.  It must have had an unholy smell, and yet it was carrying eight persons to salvation.  The world today is tearing up the photographs of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Churches, Quote of the Day | Tagged , , , , ,

Quote of the day: Lillian Daniel on being “spiritual but not religious”

Posted on 28/09/2011 by

‘On airplanes I dread the conversation with the person who finds out I am a minister and wants to use the flight time to explain to me that he is “spiritual but not religious.”  Such a person will always share … Continue reading →

Posted in Quote of the Day, Secularism | Tagged , ,

Writers’ quote of the day: Shona MacLean on starting a new novel

Posted on 27/09/2011 by

‘I buy myself a really nice notebook, take myself off in the car with a flask of coffee or hot chocolate, stop at the local bakers for a bun, and go down to look at the sea and day dream.  … Continue reading →

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Teenage girl dies in Japanese Buddhist ‘exorcism’

Posted on 27/09/2011 by

Teenage girl dies in Japanese Buddhist ’exorcism’ A 13-year-old girl suffocated after she was strapped down and doused with water by her father and a monk who were trying to expel an “evil spirit”, Japanese police said Tuesday. Fifty-six-year-old monk Kazuaki Kinoshita and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, World Events | Tagged , , , , ,

A wonderful, and truthful, piece of satire from Milo Yiannopoulos: ‘Covering the Pope, a guide for journalists’

Posted on 26/09/2011 by

Covering the Pope: a guide for journalists Milo Yiannopoulos sheds some light on the arcane world of Catholicism, for the benefit of befuddled mainstream reporters! Don’t just seize on perceived tensions, but actively foment discontent by Googling for as many … Continue reading →

Posted in Secularism | Tagged , , , , , ,

French Canada’s militant secularism: Montrealer faces charge of cultic activity, fine, for holding a Catholic mass

Posted on 26/09/2011 by

Montrealer faces charge of cultic activity, fine, for holding a Catholic mass Paula Celani will be in a Montreal courtroom Nov. 1 fighting a fine for attending an illegal Roman Catholic Mass.  Canadians of all religious faiths – and even those … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , , , , ,

Poem of the day: ‘Advent’ by Patrick Kavanagh

Posted on 25/09/2011 by

‘Advent’ by Patrick Kavanagh We have tested and tasted too much, lover- Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder. But here in the Advent-darkened room Where the dry black bread and the sugarless tea Of penance will … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , ,

Britain’s proactive thought-police always alert and on the job of keeping the streets and cafes publicly secular

Posted on 24/09/2011 by

Police ban the Bible from Christian ‘Salt & Light’ café Police in Lancashire have told the owner of a Christian café to stop displaying Bible texts on a video screen, because it breaches public order laws. Officers attended the Salt & … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Bravo! Euan Murray, a modern-day Eric Liddell, refuses to play rugby for Scottish national team on Sundays

Posted on 23/09/2011 by

Scots rugby star questions need for Sunday matches A Scottish rugby player who will miss a crucial World Cup match on Sunday because of his Christian faith says he hopes matches will be scheduled on other days in the future.

Posted in Secularism, Sport | Tagged , , , , , ,

Writers’ quote of the day: Katherine Webb on the importance of getting your work read

Posted on 22/09/2011 by

‘Get your work read — sounds obvious, since most aspiring writers are probably busy submitting work to agents and editors.  But often these professionals are just too busy to read any more than a brief sample of work, or to … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Quote of the Day, Writing | Tagged , , , ,

Jewish Young Earth Creationism: enough to make Ken Ham proud

Posted on 22/09/2011 by
Posted in Fundamentalism | Tagged , ,

Quote of the day: historian Michael Burleigh on the limits of Richard Dawkins

Posted on 22/09/2011 by

‘Richard Dawkins writing about theology would be like asking me to write about nuclear physics.’ ~ historian Michael Burleigh

Posted in Atheism, History, Quote of the Day | Tagged , , , ,

Photograph of the day: Five weeks’ old baby squirrels rescued after being blown out of nest by Hurricane Katia

Posted on 22/09/2011 by

Click on the photograph to enlarge it.

Posted in Visual Arts | Tagged ,

Photograph of the day: Daredevil kayaker paddles over 100ft. high Oregon waterfall

Posted on 21/09/2011 by

The moment it was too late to turn back: Daredevil kayaker paddles over 100ft. high waterfall.

Posted in Visual Arts | Tagged , , , ,

Philosopher Edward Feser on Lady Gaga

Posted on 21/09/2011 by

Goo goo ga ga Perhaps the one thing truly novel about the ex-Miss Germanotta is her choice of stage name.  Not the goofiness of it, of course, but its “truth in advertising” quality.  None of the absurd pretentiousness of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Popular Culture, Society | Tagged , , , , , ,

Quote of the day: Cristina Odone on Richard Dawkins, “the Cliff Richard of atheism”

Posted on 19/09/2011 by

‘As for Richard Dawkins, his non-stop exposure and fanatically loyal ageing groupies have turned him into the Cliff Richard of atheism.’ ~ Cristina Odone

Posted in Atheism, Quote of the Day | Tagged , , , ,

Jane Williams on the Book of Genesis

Posted on 18/09/2011 by

Jane Williams: The Book of Genesis Genesis looks at what the culture around it believes about the nature of the material world, and disagrees with it profoundly. The Book of Genesis, part 1: God created The Book of Genesis, part … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Real-life tale of Irish zombies: archaeologists discover 8th. century human skeletons with stones in their mouths

Posted on 17/09/2011 by

Revealed, Ireland’s real-life zombie scare: Eighth century skeletons buried with stones in mouths ‘One of them was lying with his head looking straight up.  A large black stone had been deliberately thrust into his mouth. ‘The other had his head … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, History | Tagged , , , , , ,

Michael Licona on Matthew 27:52-53, the ‘mini’ resurrection of the saints (or why they were NOT zombies!)

Posted on 17/09/2011 by

‘It seems to me that an understanding of the language in Matthew 27:52-53 as ‘special effects’ with eschatological Jewish texts and thought in mind is most plausible.  There is further support for this interpretation.  If the tombs were opened and … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies | Tagged , , , , ,

Philosopher Edward Feser breaks down the varieties of atheism and explains why New Atheists are irrational

Posted on 17/09/2011 by

Some varieties of atheism I find that atheists who fall on the most negative ends of these scales — A1 territory — are invariably the ones who are the least well-informed about what the religions they criticize actually believe, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Canadian theologian John Stackhouse on public prayer: says “keep our public life . . . empty of all religious rituals”

Posted on 17/09/2011 by

Note to evangelicals: not every event calls for prayer Evangelical Christians of all people shouldn’t agree to pray at public events such as 9/11 services.  Prayer is too great to be sprinkled on a secular occasion.  That’s why I’m against … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Society, Theology | Tagged , , , , ,

Writers’ quote of the day: Steve Mosby on persevering with your first draft when writing a novel

Posted on 16/09/2011 by

‘The main advice for all writers – aspiring or established – is to sit down and write.  A book takes such a long time to create, and it’s too easy to get bogged down in the early stages, re-writing beginning sections rather … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Quote of the Day, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Pic of the day: John Mennie’s drawing of prisoners in a Japanese PoW camp singing Christmas carols

Posted on 16/09/2011 by

Drawing by PoW John Mennie of Allied prisoners in a Japanese PoW camp singing Christmas carols to keep their spirits up.  Click on the image to enlarge it. From a recently discovered archive of drawings.  Artist soldier John Mennie trained at the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Visual Arts | Tagged , , , , , ,

Paul Helm on John Calvin

Posted on 15/09/2011 by

Paul Helm: On Calvin Calvin’s influence is still being felt today.  But the reformer was a complex man, with a dark side. On Calvin, part 1: Global reach On Calvin, part 2: A practical theology On Calvin, part 3: Knowledge … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Philosophy, Presbyterian, Reformed, Theology | Tagged , , , , , ,