Sunday School

[Reg the Fronkey Farmer]

The latest report from Pew Research shows that young people tend to be less religious than older generations across the world.

The reign in Spain of the Catholic Church has reached a turning point as the new government sees the separation of Church and State as a priority. In Dallas, Southern Baptists were stunned to hear Mike Pence tell them he wanted a complete separation of Church and State. Oh sorry, I mean he wants the complete opposite of that.

Still in our sights is the removal of Irish Blasphemy Laws. I am years trying to get arrested for it but I cannot find enough Irish people who can be bothered to get offended. Jesus must be spinning in his grave.

Not all swans are white but it makes perfect sense that not all Republicans are theists.

The Cuddly One compares abortion to thinking like a Nazi. In Florida some Nazi taxpayers are apparently preventing children from being indoctrinated with alternative facts.

Religion now has its own blockchain ledger.

Jeff Sessions gets all biblical as he sucks the freedom out of the air for the huddle masses. Does he want to replace the torch with a set of handcuffs?

British public opposes religious influence in education.

This weeks’ Woo: Pseudoscience needs a detox and hyper-macho men need to exfoliate in public.

Climate Change: Time is running out for Antarctica.

The evolution of religious belief systems.

Five important rules for scientists who write about science.

The harm caused by conspiracy theorists.

From what are the ties that bind us made of?

Why does pain exist?

Why Social Science needs Evolutionary Theory.

This week I am reading this book: The Darkening Age on the Christian destruction of the ancient world.

Have you backed Germany to win the World Cup?

We pause to remember: John Rowan, the father of British humanistic psychology.

Some photographs taken last week

While you are waiting for the kettle to boil…..

Coffee Break Video:  Bonya Ahmed, the wife of Avijit Roy, murdered by the religion of peace, wonders “Why not me?” The secrets of Quantum Physics. Four billion years of evolution in six minutes.

[Reg the Fronkey Farmer]

“I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door;
So I turn’d to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore.

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb-stones where flowers should be:
And Priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars, my joys & desires.

William Blake, The Garden of Love.

 

Have a great week everyone!!

[Simon Paynton]

“The evolution of religious belief systems.”

– I agree with Brett Weinstein that religion began as a way to facilitate fitness (by policing people’s behaviour on a large scale) and continues to do so (with its emphasis on the pressure to thrive: individual and inclusive fitness) sometimes.

I disagree with him that people necessarily turn nasty during times of austerity (I think that is what he is saying).  I find that just as much, giving and sharing increases when times are hard.

[Strega]

Thanks, Reg!

[Strega]

Two things.  One, that poem was beautiful, thank you for posting it.  Two, a small anecdote regarding the footie.

I have a good friend in Germany, and when Germany won the European Cup a few years ago, I texted him a Well Done!

He replied, “Thank you! I am in a bar in Cologne and the crowd has gone wild!  Biggest success for us since we were Pope!

[Reg the Fronkey Farmer]

Strega, I think William Blake is very underrated. I am considering get this as a tattoo. I know it has a biblical theme but I will be getting Leviticus 19:28 at the same time 🙂

Pope Rottweiler turned his back on the job as God’s representative here on planet Earth. I much prefer the Cuddly One who has decided to come to Ireland in a few months time. He will be playing the same venue as Taylor Swift did last night so he has a lot to live up to.

[Old Account]

Thanks Reg for some thought provoking links.

On the topic of race-related thinking, and what amounts to reverse racism, here is the author.  https://beetsnoodz.com/2017/10/15/coleman-hughes-cc-20-interview/

I think that my thinking about politically correct progressivism and antiracism is becoming more nuanced.  I think the rightwingers are vile especially about racism.  But I think we need to actually think about what we think, and that article was very well written.  NY Times has a number of articles about the ways that elite academic institutions discriminate against Asians, specifically Chinese-Americans, and the fear that they will overtake other groups with what amounts to academic excellence, studiousness, and work ethic; while setting much lower standards for other ethnic groups in the interest of “diversity”, and coming up with “personality” criteria that discriminate against high achieving Chinese-American applicants.  But if we want people to achieve, we need to instill studiousness and work ethic in everyone, not punish one group of people for working hard.

I still dont know what to think.  There are historic reasons and current social and economic unfairness for some groups.  That doesnt mean that all politically correct progressivism is right, either.

 

 

• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by Old Account.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by Old Account.

[Strega]

Reg, regarding that tattoo idea, if you were to turn the forked light beams into a triangle, and add the Pink Floyd diffraction, I think it would be perfect!!!

[Davis]

Simon Paynton wrote:

I disagree with him that people necessarily turn nasty during times of austerity

And you base that Simon on detailed research in the change of social dynamics during scarcity and political oppression of which modern and older societies? Could you give some examples of such societies (year, description of living standards, description of changing circumstances and discription on how social cooperation and civility broke down and description of society afterwards)?

• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by Davis.

[Simon Paynton]

“And you base that Simon on”

– having very little, and living around people who have very little – people are more likely to share what they have with each other in my experience.

[Davis]

I see. So you discount what this author claimed based on extensive research…with your opposite claim based on a single personal experience. That’s difficult to take seriously. However I also highly doubt you lived in an environment where society broke down, the government gave no welfare or subsidies or handouts, law and order disappeared and your survival depended on multiple neighbours sharing their extremely limited means of survival with all of you working together to fend off street gangs. That must have been a very remote and forgotten corner of England! If this is true than I am very sorry Simon. It must have been a very traumatising childhood.

[Simon Paynton]

“Five important rules for scientists who write about science.”

“From what are the ties that bind us made of?”

– I really enjoyed these articles.

[Author]

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