Quote 17 May 2009 The custom of making abstract dogmatic assertions is not, certainly, derived from the teaching of Jesus, but has been a widespread weakness among religious teachers in subsequent centuries. I do not think that the word for the Christian virtue of faith should be prostituted to mean the credulous acceptance of all such piously intended assertions. Much self-deception in the young believer is needed to convince himself that he knows that of which in reality he knows himself to be ignorant. That surely is hypocrisy, against which we have been most conspicuously warned. [Ronald Aylmer Fisher, BBC broadcast on “Science and Christianity” 1955, from Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society of London, 9: 91-120, (1963), p96] History Religion
Evolution Another claim for priority from New Zealand 3 May 200818 Sep 2017 One of the enduring patterns of the history of the history of evolution is for historians to claim that their favourite individual, or their country’s best and brightest, invented evolution. The most recent appears to be this guy from New Zealand, claiming that evolution was actually invented by an artist,… Read More
Evolution Changing minds 1 Jan 2008 The Grauniad has a puff piece on what has changed the minds of “the intellectual elite”. It seems Alan Alda is one of them in virtue of his screen roles… still I have to like his comment: Until I was 20 I was sure there was a being who could… Read More
History No Father Christmas? also no Jesus. Get used to it. 25 Dec 2008 So what is it with Christians who are so able to debunk and demythologise the myths of everyone else, and fail to see that exactly the same logic applies to their own mythology? A priest in northern Italy told kids there was no Father Christmas at a children’s mass. Great…. Read More