Critical Thinking

Why Doesn’t Arguing Scientifically Work?

Here’s a truism we’re all familiar with:  The wiser we get, the more we realize how little we know.  It’s especially true of scientific investigation and education.  More importantly, it’s a foundational difference between religion and science.  The hallmark of science is its malleability.  When the data changes, the hypotheses change.  The best scientific thinkers are … Continue reading »

Non-Skeptical Thinking

Teaching and Indoctrination

Among the many words we tend to misuse and conflate, teaching and indoctrination are two of the most important.  In order to fully understand the danger of religious indoctrination we must understand just what indoctrination is, and how it differs both in method and effect, from teaching. Teaching, in it’s most basic form, is the reduction of … Continue reading »

Claims and Counter-Claims

I’d like to offer you a quick example of the kind of flip I am seeing repeatedly in comment threads recently. Suppose I invite you to my house and show you an object you’ve never seen before.  It’s roughly spherical, about a foot in radius, and shiny.  Beyond that, you can’t really tell by looking … Continue reading »

The Atheist and the Christian

If my previous post seems a bit out of the ordinary, it’s because it is.  A new reader is a born again Christian and has done me the honor of inviting me to the National Conference on Christian Apologetics next month.   I’ve happily accepted.  The list of speakers is very impressive.  Check it out … Continue reading »

A Parable of Knowledge

avi was born in a small village on a small island in a large sea.  His childhood was tranquil and carefree.  He learned how to fish and how to farm and pilot a boat, and when he had mastered these trades, he learned how to dance and sing.  Life was good. But something tugged at … Continue reading »

How Do You Explain Healing?

A reader writes: How do you explain healing again? Here’s a video of Delia Knox being healed.  And at www.Deliamusic.com under videos you can see her being interviewed in a wheelchair, performing and also exercising her upper body.  She was in a car accident in 1987 and paralyzed for 23 years until last Friday in downtown Mobile!  She … Continue reading »

Teach Critical Thinking, Please

Paul Harris of Harvard University is interested in learning how children think about knowledge.  He and his colleagues recently completed a study of 10-12 year olds who believe in God.  The children were asked various questions about different kinds of entities to determine how their beliefs were established.  They were asked about supernatural beings like … Continue reading »

Denial

I’m happy to report that I’m more than a lone voice in the wilderness.  It turns out that I’m jumping on a bandwagon.   My article on scientific certainty came out the same day as a series of articles in New Scientist about denial.  The two subjects are closely related, so I’ll spend some time … Continue reading »

What is Reason Based Faith?

In response to my last post, Dean Cameron has made the following snarky reply: Perhaps some of us Religious People should consider taking up Reason-Based Faith! Oh, wait. Some already have! Never mind. I’m actually glad someone said this.  It brings into sharp relief a problem we run into in almost every discussion of religion. … Continue reading »