Sunday 13 March 2011

Burnee links for Sunday

A One Man Ode to Joy « Choice in Dying
Yet in what sense is theology an “intellectual discipline”? The phrasing is significant, for Polkinghorne is past master at the art of misdirection. Astrology, for instance, or alchemy, could justly be called intellectual disciplines. Anything with an esoteric vocabulary, and transformation rules for using that vocabulary in well-formed expressions, is an intellectual discipline; and until someone asks whether the words actually refer to anything that can confirm the truth, or establish the falsity, of those expressions, it can seem as though participants in the language game are actually talking about important matters, when, in fact, the whole activity might be entirely self-contained, a very complex, intellectual jeu d’esprit in which many enjoyable hours may be spent. Religion is, in my view, such a language, and the question whether it can have any relationship to an intellectual discipline which actually confirms or disconfirms propositions on the basis of things external to the manipulation of expressions within the discipline is the point at issue.
Eric MacDonald deconstructs the accommodationist theology of Templeton-prize-winner Sir John Polkinghorne.

Why are atheists so angry? - Butterflies and Wheels
Ophelia Benson is tired of sanctimonious nagging.

Daylight Atheism > Stepping Across the Is-Ought Gap
Catching up with Ebonmuse I'm pleased to see he agrees with Sam Harris.

Daylight Atheism > Curiosity as a Purpose of Life
More from Ebonmuse; I particularly enjoyed "the universe is like a wiki...."

Another Christian voice against the Christian Legal Centre | HumanistLife
More confirmation that Eunice and Owen Johns are simply wrong.

Ban the Blame | HumanistLife
Bob Churchill on the BHA's Census Campaign and those shockingly offensive ads.