"So what is it about religion — exactly — that’s so harmful?
I’ve argued many times that religion is not only mistaken, but does more harm than good. But why do I think that is?
Sure, I can make a list of specific harms religion has done, from here to Texas. I’ve done exactly that. But that’s not enough to make my case. I could make long lists of harms done by plenty of human institutions: medicine, education, democracy. That doesn’t make them inherently malevolent."
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Communicating Science: The Difference Between Science and Common Sense
"One of the strongest features of science is that it can correct our seriously flawed cognition and give us an unfiltered view of reality. Most people put a lot of faith into relying on common sense and intuition, but as any psychologist will tell you, this faith is misplaced."
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“Balance Bracelets” Debunked by New Research
"Wholeheartedly Bogus
We have already talked here, here, here, and here about how and why “balance bracelets”, and any of their kin (ion bracelets, iRenew, Power Balance, magnets, etc.), are implausible (nigh impossible), have no mechanism for action, rely on simple physics to fool you, have been exposed in Australia as having no scientific basis whatsoever, and are thoroughly an exercise in pseudoscience."
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We have already talked here, here, here, and here about how and why “balance bracelets”, and any of their kin (ion bracelets, iRenew, Power Balance, magnets, etc.), are implausible (nigh impossible), have no mechanism for action, rely on simple physics to fool you, have been exposed in Australia as having no scientific basis whatsoever, and are thoroughly an exercise in pseudoscience."
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Researchers Again Verify That Near-Death Experiences Are All in Your Head
"Another report by researchers has found that all of the wacky phenomena experienced by people having a near-death experience have a biological basis. Translation: there is absolutely no evidence that NDE’s are supernatural, spiritual, or unexplainable. It’s all in your head. This report squares with what we have talked about before, as NDE’s are science after all."
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The Great Problem of Evil, Part I
"It comes as a surprise to no one that we live in a world filled with much suffering.
As you read this sentence, thousands of people will die from one cause or another — plagues, earthquakes, wars, genocide, and disease are among the few. Even more people suffer from less deadly evil — everything from prejudice and bigotry to outright slavery."
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Where is God?, Part I
"Where is God?
Even the most devout theist must agree that God’s existence is not obvious in the way that the existence of my Dad is obvious. I can see, touch, and directly talk to my Dad on a daily basis. God is much more difficult to reach — he is invisible, intangible, and does not communicate through any of our normal five senses. In fact, for at least 90% of the world’s population, he doesn’t communicate at all. Furthermore, God is either unwilling or unable to demonstrate his existence to those who doubt him. Instead, God relies on his believers to spread his word for him."
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Even the most devout theist must agree that God’s existence is not obvious in the way that the existence of my Dad is obvious. I can see, touch, and directly talk to my Dad on a daily basis. God is much more difficult to reach — he is invisible, intangible, and does not communicate through any of our normal five senses. In fact, for at least 90% of the world’s population, he doesn’t communicate at all. Furthermore, God is either unwilling or unable to demonstrate his existence to those who doubt him. Instead, God relies on his believers to spread his word for him."
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Penn Jillette's 10 Commandments for atheists
"In his new book, "God, No!" atheist magician Penn Jillette tells how he was challenged by conservative radio host Glenn Beck to come up with an atheist's version of The Ten Commandments."
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Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Websites
"The Internet is a dangerous place. It's full of resources, both good and bad; full of citations linking one to another, sometimes helpfully, sometimes not. Today we're going to point the skeptical eye at ten of the worst web sites in terms of quality of science information that they promote. To make this list, they not only need to have bad information, they also need to be popular enough to warrant our attention."
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William Lane Craig and the problem of pain
PZ Myers shreds Craig's counter to problem of pain in the world.
"Kitties experience pain and suffering, which turns out to be a theological problem. If a god introduced pain and death into the world because wicked ol’ Eve was disobedient, why is god punishing innocent animals? It seems like a bit of a rotten move to afflict the obedient along with the disobedient — shouldn’t god have just stricken humanity with the wages of sin (or better yet, just womankind)?"
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"Kitties experience pain and suffering, which turns out to be a theological problem. If a god introduced pain and death into the world because wicked ol’ Eve was disobedient, why is god punishing innocent animals? It seems like a bit of a rotten move to afflict the obedient along with the disobedient — shouldn’t god have just stricken humanity with the wages of sin (or better yet, just womankind)?"
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The Twelve Reasons I Don’t Believe in Supernatural Claims, Part I
What a great collection of arguments against believing in nonsense.
"The Twelve Reasons I Don’t Believe in Supernatural Claims, Part I"
The Twelve Reasons I Don’t Believe in Supernatural Claims, Part 2
The Twelve Reasons I Don’t Believe in Supernatural Claims, Part II
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