Monthly Archives: October 2011

“Why Experts Create Few New Ideas | Psychology Today”

Psychology Today on a topic that just might be of interest to evolutionary scientists: Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., thought the idea of a personal computer absurd, as he said, “there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry, was …

October 31, 2011 – 9:57 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Tagged , , | Comments (7)

David Heddle on Jerry Coyne

Thank you, David Heddle: Speaking of irony, Jerry’s little joke about [Thinking Christian as an] “oxymoron” in a post about debating is particularly ironic…. [From He Lives: Jerry Coyne, Slug] I didn’t even see that Jerry Coyne post you mentioned until just now, because this time he didn’t link to my blog. I only read …

October 26, 2011 – 7:42 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Ethics, New Atheism, Origins and Science | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Richard Dawkins’ Anti-Scientific Hypocrisy

In honor of Richard Dawkins’ refusal to debate William Lane Craig tomorrow, I’m re-posting a piece I wrote for the Newport News Daily Press early in 2007, highlighting his hypocritical willingness to ignore science when it suits his purpose. This article was also published at BreakPoint. Richard Dawkins’ book The God Delusion has been a …

October 24, 2011 – 3:29 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in New Atheism, Origins and Science | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (6)

A Fiction Book Signed By One of Its Characters

I’ve got something like a couple dozen books signed by their authors, but I never thought I’d own a fiction book signed by one of its characters! Cherri Allen, my parents’ former next-door neighbor and the owner of a marvelous bird-and-garden shop in my hometown of Auburn, Michigan, won an auction to have her name …

October 22, 2011 – 7:21 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in The Faith | Tagged , , | Comments Off

The Rationality of Spiritual Battle: An Irrational Answer

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Spiritual Battle

My series on spiritual battle has drawn some fire. The question I’ve been asking is whether it is rational to believe in the possibility of hostile spiritual forces. A blogger who goes by the grievous nom de blog “Forever In Hell” seems to want to show how much more rational the so-called “scientific” answer is. …

October 21, 2011 – 9:14 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in The Faith, Worldviews | Comments (3)

“Moon Not Made of Cheese, Physicist Explains”

Not as trivial as you might think it is: “Don’t think that you fully understand the properties of lunar green cheese…. The answer is that it’s absurd to think the moon is made of green cheese. “And the formalization of that absurdity is that we are allowed to use other things we know about the …

October 21, 2011 – 6:00 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Just For Fun, Origins and Science | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Friends and Bloggers

This morning at Panera Bread I ran into a good friend of mine, David Heddle, a professor of mathematics and physics who has recently re-activated his always interesting, frequently provocative blog, He Lives. I’m happy he’s blogging again, and I certainly recommend you follow him on it. On Monday he inaugurated the Jerry Coyne Lidless …

October 20, 2011 – 9:10 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Tagged , | Comments Off

The Primitive Belief in Satan and Demons

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Spiritual Battle

I’ve been talking about Satan, demons and other primitive, pre-scientific sorts of things here. The topic has reminded me how odd it is that labeling ancient ideas that way—”primitive,” “outdated,” and the like—tilts us toward counting them as wrong or worthless. Usually that has to do with their having preceded the Dawn of Science, which …

October 20, 2011 – 12:56 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science, Thinking Christianly, Worldviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (99)