Monthly Archives: May 2012

R. Joseph Hoffmann on the Jesus Mythicists Richard Carrier, Earl Doherty, Neil Godfrey and Tom Verenna

Posted on 31/05/2012 by

‘Richard Carrier & Co., Earl Doherty, Neil Godfrey and Tom Verenna for example, have no qualifications at all to be doing research in biblical studies . . . So I have to ask: what makes these guys so confident, if not … Continue reading →

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

Pic of the day: Please, no explanations inside the church — after all, we’re Christians!

Posted on 30/05/2012 by

From here.

Posted in Christian Churches, Humour, Visual Arts | Tagged ,

Book Review: ‘Man on a Short Leash’ by Oliver Jacks

Posted on 29/05/2012 by

‘Man on a Short Leash’ by Oliver Jacks, Hodder And Stoughton, 1974 ‘Oliver Jacks’ was a pseudonym used for several novels by British thriller writer Kenneth Royce, who has sadly fallen into near obscurity.  Going by the quality of this … Continue reading →

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Writers’ quote of the day: Stuart Kaminsky on writing historical novels

Posted on 29/05/2012 by

‘What do people do when they write historical novels?  Research.  Basic to all such books is the belief that human nature remains constant, that people change because of their circumstances and location, in addition to their time in history.  The … Continue reading →

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

Where I’d like to go to get some peace and quiet: Monastery of Rousanou, Greece

Posted on 28/05/2012 by

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Posted in Visual Arts | Tagged ,

Book Review: ‘The Invisible Boarder’ by Mildred Davis

Posted on 28/05/2012 by

‘The Invisible Boarder’ by Mildred Davis, Random House, 1974 The Invisible Boarder by Mildred Davis, an American writer, was published in 1974 but harks back to the Fifties in style or even earlier.  The plot is very simple but none … Continue reading →

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Pic of the day: No place for flyers, at least not active ones!

Posted on 28/05/2012 by
Posted in Humour, Visual Arts

Where I want to live, vol. 43: Architect Seymour Harris’ roundhouse on the Beaulieu River in Hampshire

Posted on 27/05/2012 by

Architect Seymour Harris’ roundhouse which comes complete with its own lake, 10-acre garden and private 18-metre pontoon on the Beaulieu River in Hampshire, England.

Posted in Visual Arts | Tagged , , ,

Quote of the day: Charles Foster on ‘pantomime dame’ Richard Dawkins

Posted on 27/05/2012 by

‘Richard Dawkins is at it again . . .  It’s the familiar stuff: a fluent, funny, whingeing litany of jibes about genocidal Israelites, filicidal Gods and benighted Tennessean Creationists.  We’ve all heard it all before, of course.  Dawkins has become a … Continue reading →

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

Pic of the day: DaHu Park, Taipei, Taiwan

Posted on 27/05/2012 by

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The real reasons for bullying in schools: the empirical facts show it’s not gay teens who need special attention

Posted on 26/05/2012 by

Church blindsided by Ontario government over gay-straight alliances: Catholic sources In 2006 the Toronto District School Board conducted a study to determine causes of bullying.  The most cited reason was “body image” (38% in grades 7 to 8; 27% in … Continue reading →

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

The wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI

Posted on 26/05/2012 by
Posted in Christian Churches, Quote of the Day, Theology | Tagged ,

British doctors could be banned from practising for refusing to give unmarried women contraceptives

Posted on 26/05/2012 by

Doctors who refuse to give contraceptives to unmarried women or carry out sex change operations face being banned from practicing under new guidelines Bishop Tom Williams of the Archdiocese of Liverpool claimed the advice discriminated against “certain groups of doctors” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, World Events, Popular Culture, Society, Secularism | Tagged , , , , ,

Quote of the day: Ludwig Wittgenstein on belief in God and the meaning of life

Posted on 25/05/2012 by

‘To believe in God is to see that life has a meaning.’ ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein

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

Pic of the day: There is no escape from God, no matter how hard you run!

Posted on 25/05/2012 by

From here.

Posted in Humour, Visual Arts

Book Review: ‘The Bornless Keeper’ by P. B. Yuill

Posted on 24/05/2012 by

‘The Bornless Keeper’ by P. B. Yuill, Walker & Company, 1975 The Bornless Keeper by P. B. Yuill is a novel I was keen to check out, so recently bought the U.S. hardcover first edition in a nice dustjacket from an online bookseller. … Continue reading →

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Quote of the day: Sigmund Freud on religion as the only supplier of purpose to life

Posted on 24/05/2012 by

‘The idea of life having a purpose stands and falls with the religious system.’ ~ Sigmund Freud

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An article well worth 10-15 minutes of your reading time: Theology, science and naturalism by Conor Cunningham

Posted on 24/05/2012 by

The bluey-green text on the bright bluish-white background is needlessly hard to read, but it’s well worth the effort: Theology must save science from naturalism by Conor Cunningham

Posted in Philosophy, Sciences, Theology | Tagged , ,

Empirical data the New Atheists will ignore (as usual): Attending religious services leads to better health

Posted on 23/05/2012 by

Attending religious services linked to better health People who attend religious services regularly are less likely than others in this country to develop diabetes or high blood pressure, a new study suggests, adding a Canadian dimension to the growing but … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Sciences | Tagged , , , , ,

Pic of the day: The most unnecessary sign ever?

Posted on 23/05/2012 by

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Do combox Atheists exist in the real world?

Posted on 22/05/2012 by

Do combox Atheists exist in the real world outside of blog comboxes?  Surely not, I hear you say.  No-one could be that vile, ignorant and intentionally obtuse in everyday life.  But, alas, you’re wrong: A Combox Atheist In The Real World … Continue reading →

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Quote of the day: Albert Einstein on the meaning of life and being religious

Posted on 21/05/2012 by

‘To know and to answer to the question, ‘What is the meaning of human life?’ is to be religious.’ ~ Albert Einstein

Posted in Quote of the Day, Sciences | Tagged ,

Quote of the day: Jonathan Sacks on science and religion

Posted on 20/05/2012 by

‘Science takes things apart to see how they work; religion puts things together to see what they mean.’ ~ Jonathan Sacks

Posted in Quote of the Day, Sciences | Tagged ,

Ralph McInerny on learning writing technique

Posted on 20/05/2012 by

‘Under the tutelage of my first editor . . . I learned to turn hitherto shapeless narratives into stories.  Later I saw that I was learning the hard way what I had read about in Aristotle’s Poetics.  And I was constrained … Continue reading →

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

Another atheist converts to Christianity

Posted on 19/05/2012 by

Why I Became Catholic (and Not Buddhist) I never even wanted to be a Christian.  When my husband convinced me to join him on a quest through major and minor religions nearly 15 years ago, I did it mostly to … Continue reading →

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