KtBlog

Two Big New God Debates
You may not be as big a fan of debates about the existence of God as I am (I’m writing a whole book about them), but maybe you care enough to appreciate that there was big news in that department this past week. First: Dawkins-Craig. William Lane Craig, if you don’t know him, is the…

Divine Simplity and OkCupid Complexity
If I’ve gotten my zero dollars’ worth from my OkCupid membership, it’s for the data more than the dates. (My scientist uncle suggests that five dates would be an adequate sample. I’ve been on two and am having trouble bringing myself to try a third.) The site seems aware of this bit of consolation; their…

Hand-waving and Healing Energy
In today’s Providence Journal, KtB associate editor Alex Rose kills the Buddhas of the alternative medicine fads: I don’t mind the practice, or that acupuncturists assert that the practice works. (Studies suggest that its success rate does in fact slightly exceed pure chance.) What I do mind is the assertion that it works for the…

The Pleasure of Proof
I’m really pleased to report that the excellent New York Times blog Happy Days—a series of reflections on “the pursuit of what matters in troubled times”—has just posted an essay of mine: “The Self-Thinking Thought.” It’s a reflection on my experience spending part of a summer with St. Anselm, the 11th-century monk-turned-archbishop who introduced the…

The Proof Industry
Today at The Guardian, a bit of a glimpse into my ongoing obsessions about proofs for the existence of God. Just last night, sifting through a novella I wrote as a freshman in college, I discovered a whole forgotten chapter about the proofs—for some reason, they have been following me so doggedly all these years.…

The Collector’s Lair, part 1
An atheist descends into the underworld of the Israeli antiquities trade.

Proof Enough for Me
When the usual proofs for God don’t do the trick, sometimes you have to think up your own.

The New Agnosticism?
An old word putting forth new shoots — agnosticism is being tugged toward faith.