KtBlog

Baseball Literalism
There is a long and often ridiculous history of comparing baseball to a religion. Rule-bound, slow to change, cyclic, and timeless; an assembly of people presided over by men in funny outfits, who say what is safe and what is out; a space sealed-off from the rest of society, yet definitional to a national culture: the…

The Problem With Jerry Coyne
In case you missed this August’s issue of the biology journal Evolution, it’s worth taking a look for a grim, late-summer illustration of the state of science-religion dialogue in the United States. Biologist Jerry Coyne, a professor at the University of Chicago and a New Atheist firebrand, offers a paper entitled “Science, Evolution, and Society:…

Richard Dawkins Loves the Bible
Richard Dawkins, the supposedly angry New Atheist constantly accused of knowing nothing about the religion he rails against, couldn’t even wait until January 1st to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible—”warts and all.” He riffs, in the New Statesman: The King James Bible occupies nearly 42 pages of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations,…

What’s the Web without God?
We all wish we could block out some things we see on the internet. No matter how carefully you try to tailor a search query, you’ll often find yourself with stinging eyes at the various dreadful things that populate the electronic collective consciousness. And often those examples of violence, sexual degradation, bigotry, and racism come…

Can We Be “Good without God”?
A billboard erected near Chicago’s loop posses this question “Are you good without God?” with the answer, “Millions are.” Also, on Monday, October 26, 2009, Manhattan commuters will be greeted at twelve subway stations with posters asking “A Million New Yorkers are good without God. Are you?” These ads sponsored by the United Coalition for…