My major “service” activity at work is involvement with the Minerva program, which attempts to blur the line between academic and residential life. I enjoy this because it gives me the opportunity to work closely with students outside a narrow academic context, and I’ve been very impressed with the creativity and responsibility of the students… Continue reading Time Scales, on Campus and in the Blogosphere
Category: Religion
Tolkien, Religion, and the Death of Western Culture
I was rather surprised when Friday’s quick post about Tolkien spawned a lengthy comment thread full of people arguing against the suggestion that The Lord of the Rings is affected by Tolkien’s Catholic faith. I’m no Tolkien scholar, but my impression of the field is that this is simply not a controversial statement, that there… Continue reading Tolkien, Religion, and the Death of Western Culture
Foundation and Left Behind
In Friday’s installment of his ongoing examination of Left Behind: The Movie, Fred Clark points out some gaps in the movie-Antichrist’s plan, where it departs from the loopy prophetic cosmology of the Left Behind books. He then notes how they could’ve done better: If Team Nicolae had really done their homework, they’d have consulted with… Continue reading Foundation and Left Behind
Buddhists Are Citizens Too
Lots of people are giving Obama props for the shout-out to atheists in his inaugural address, but I’m deeply concerned about what he said. Or, rather, what he didn’t say: We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. Where are the Buddhists? He left out a major world religion!… Continue reading Buddhists Are Citizens Too
Uncomfortable Question: Creationist Theology
In the uncomfortable questions thread, David White asks: Ever entertained the notion that attacks on true science from the muscular political creationism/ID lobby might be vitiated by exposure of their great and inexplicable theological flaw (gasp!) dating all the way back to William Paley? Not really, no. Because, you know, there are only so many… Continue reading Uncomfortable Question: Creationist Theology
Race, Gender, and a Job for Slacktivist
I was on Baby Duty today, so I spent some time listening to Bloggingheads dialogs, including Kerry Howley and Richard Rodriguez: There’s a lot of good stuff in here, but I almost hesitate to post about it, because it’s practically guaranteed to bring out the worst sorts of commentary. There’s a bunch of stuff about… Continue reading Race, Gender, and a Job for Slacktivist
No Mock Trials Without Preconditions
Inside Higher Ed this morning has a story about a mock trial to be held at Northern Kentucky University: The trial centers around the termination of fictitious biology teacher Susan Scott (a traditionally trained evolution adherent), who according to her complaint, encouraged students to “explore creation theories.” Scott, who will be played by Simon Kenton… Continue reading No Mock Trials Without Preconditions
A Word from Our Middle East Correspondant
Checking in from Cairo, Senior Uncertain Principles Middle East Correspondant Paul Schemm, with a wire story titled “Ultraconservative Islam on Rise in Mideast”: Critics worry that the rise of Salafists in Egypt, as well as in other Arab countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, will crowd out the more liberal and tolerant version of Islam… Continue reading A Word from Our Middle East Correspondant
The Pope’s Astronomer, and Galileo’s Telescope
Some time back, I saw Brother Guy Consolmagno talk at Boskone, and said “You know, I should invite him to campus.” For those who don’t recognize the name, he’s an SF fan and an astronomer (well, planetary scientist) who also happens to be a Jesuit brother. He works at the Vatican Observatory, where he is… Continue reading The Pope’s Astronomer, and Galileo’s Telescope
The End Is Here
After five long years, Fred Clark has reached the final pages in his exhaustive deconstruction of Left Behind (fittingly enough, they include a phone call). If you would like to see the beginning, the first few pages are here, but the series really starts with Left Behind Is Evil. Fred’s analysis has run to much… Continue reading The End Is Here