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
Epistemology Is Santorum the finest mind of the 13th century? 11 Feb 201211 Feb 2012 Apparently a reviewer of one of his books so called him that because he applies natural law theory to moral and political policy. I think he’s just warmed over neo-Thomism with a dash of Newman, no small thing in itself, so far as Catholic intellectualism goes, but since I haven’t… Read More
Politics A bridge to nowhere 17 Sep 2010 The title of the head of the Roman Catholic Church is “pontiff”, which means, basically “bridge-builder” (in Latin: pontifex; I gather it’s thought by some that the Roman priests would bless new bridges, and the bishop of Rome inherited the term when ROme was Christianised). Evidence that the title is… Read More
History Turing: A poem 14 Sep 2009 By Matt Harvey from here: POEM: ALAN TURING here’s a toast to Alan Turing born in harsher, darker times who thought outside the container and loved outside the lines and so the code-breaker was broken and we’re sorry yes now the s-word has been spoken the official conscience woken –… Read More