Britain is no more a Christian nation than a White nation

Coel Hellier reflects on what the reaction would be if David Cameron had described Britain as a "White country":

Britain is no more a Christian nation than a White nation | coelsblog

If Britain is a Christian nation then it is also a White nation. The majority of the population is white and our history and cultural heritage are predominantly White. Nearly all of our institutions and our cultural traditions derive from people who were white.

Once again we have a demonstration of why secularism is the obvious way to go.

Wanna buy some 'E'? Sure you do!

No, not that 'E' — this is The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson, a feature length documentary film by Julien Temple, previously shown in BBC1's Imagine series, and which until Christmas Eve 2015 was available to view on iPlayer.

Now you can buy it on DVD:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ecstasy-Wilko-Johnson-DVD-y/dp/B017DFEBEK/

Anyone who enjoyed the two-part BBC Radio 4 Mastertapes on Wilko Johnson will absolutely want to see this extraordinary documentary shown on BBC1 in November. Superlatives escape me — this is probably the best biographical documentary film about a living artist I have ever seen. Truly brilliant, uplifting, and surprising on so many levels.

Final Burnee links for 2015

Unbelievable? Is God the best explanation for apparent design in nature? – Jonathan McLatchie & Cory Markum - Saturday 24th October 2015 02:30 pm
Anyone who listened to the Unbelievable? show about Intelligent Design might like to check out the discussion of it over on the Unbelievable? Facebook profile (not the Group), including some highly percipient contributions from previous Skepticule guest James Croft.

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John Maddox Prize: Scientist who once claimed Prince Charles tried to silence him wins for 'standing up for science' | Science | News | The Independent
Deserved recognition, after persecution by the Prince of Woo.

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Evolution and creationism; a valuable new resource | Primate's Progress
Critique of creationism from those closest to it.

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East Herts Council's decision to stick with prayers leaves it wide open to accusations of prejudice | Herts & Essex Observer
Yet another example of why we need secularism in the UK.

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On the tragic events in Paris: an attack on freedom and human dignity - British Humanist Association
Human dignity and value.

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Conversion via Twitter - The New Yorker
Is this a damaged life? I believe so, but in my judgement (yes, I judge) such lives can rectify themselves. Listen to Skepticule Extra 012 for our 2011 conversation with Megan's parents: http://www.skepticule.co.uk/…/08/skepextra-012-20110812.html

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National Secular Society - So called Lord’s Prayer ‘Ban’: It’s Winterval all over again
Stephen Evans congratulates the CofE on its cinema prayer "ban".

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These Pranksters Read Bible Passages to People, Telling Them It Was the Qur’an; They Were Shocked
It's OK Christians, I'm sure these mischievous Dutch cherry-picked the extremely rare nasty bits....

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Mr Green and Mr Grey will not be visiting us today — with Stevyn Colgan at Winchester Skeptics | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Mr Green and Mr Grey did not visit us at Winchester Skeptics last Thursday. But Stevyn Colgan did (and some of us got the inside scoop over a curry afterwards).

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Good Dinosaur review - creation.com
Haha, this is disarmingly cute of those wacky creationists, getting all twisted up about a cartoon. Makes me wonder what goes on inside their heads (something, obviously).

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Unbelievable? Is the UK's Christian heritage history? Peter Hitchens vs Terry Sanderson - Saturday 19th December 2015 02:30 pm
Peter Hitchens and Terry Sanderson on this week's Unbelievable? were ostensibly talking about the recent Woolf Commission Report on Religion and Belief in British Public Life, but the programme mostly consisted of Terry Sanderson repeatedly denying that he wants to eliminate all religion and Peter Hitchens repeatedly claiming that morality is impossible without Christianity, that everything good about Britain is due to its Christian heritage, and that secularists, humanists and atheists want to throw it all away.

Peter Hitchens doesn't really understand what secularism is, stubbornly conflating it with humanism and atheism — or possibly he does but deliberately misrepresents it in order to bolster a false premise. As Terry Sanderson pointed out, Peter Hitchens' view of human nature is inherently pessimistic, which makes him appear a bit misanthropic and sad.

In all, a frustrating and unedifying episode, demonstrating that while the British public would probably be more or less OK with secularism, secularists still have some way to go in persuading certain vocal sections of the media.

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John Gray’s awful review of Dawkins’s “An Appetite for Wonder” | Center for Inquiry
Hey, that Dawkins fella wrote another book. Must be crap because ... well ... Dawkins!
It continues to amaze me that people criticise Richard Dawkins for writing stuff he hasn't written.

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The Fallen of World War 2: A Data Visualization of War and Peace | Omeleto
Extraordinary and thought-provoking animation.

Peace.

Housekeeping and change of blogging strategy for 2016

For several years I've compiled an occasional series of "Burnee links" on this blog, intended as an archive of various posts, articles and general bits and pieces that have caught my attention and might otherwise get submerged in the social-media noise. Most of these have comprised a link and a brief comment to remind me what the article or post was about, and recently these have come almost exclusively from Facebook.

This is going to change, but not much. Rather than copying links to posts that originate on Facebook, I shall be posting my comments and links here at Evil Burnee first. Blog-fu will ensure those links get automatically copied to Facebook and Twitter (though I may revise this to avoid undue duplication).

By such means I hope to make Evil Burnee the central platform for my skeptical commentary, with everything automatically in one place without my having to force it so.

We'll see how it goes.

Burnee linkee catchup

I read the 100 “best” fantasy and sci-fi novels - and they were shockingly offensive
It so happens I've just finished reading Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice.

Assisted dying would be ‘profoundly Christian and moral’ – former Archbishop of Canterbury - Telegraph
Well, that's a surprise, given that he's previously maintained that Christians should be prepared to die in the fight against humanism.

Deepest Mandelbrot Set Zoom Animation ever - a New Record! 10^275 (2.1E275 or 2^915) - YouTube

Complexity from simplicity.

Unbelievable? Is atheism a belief system? Andy Bannister vs Ed Turner - Saturday 22nd August 2015 02:30 pm
Andy Bannister's book sounds like more of the same run-of-the-mill apologetics texts that profess to be targeted at non-believers while being convincing only to those who already believe. His main thesis appears to be the usual attempt to shift the burden of proof. Ed Turner​ was having none of it.

Sunday Times on our Peter Popoff Investigation: “Debt-busting ‘con’ comes to Britain” » Good Thinking Society
Fraudulent or just deluded? Presumably some of these "prosperity gospel" preachers genuinely believe what they preach. Others, however, have previous form.

Dr. Eben Alexander Proof of Heaven Investigation - Proof of Heaven Factual Omissions
To some, Eben Alexander's thesis is obviously false, and his motivation questionable at least.

3quarksdaily: The Scopes "Monkey trial", Part 1: Issues, Fact, and Fiction
Inherit the wind, but not the facts.

What Is Science? | Sean Carroll
Sean Carroll in questioning mode. Hypotheses + Data = ?

The Dad Who Wrote a Check Using “Common Core” Math Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About
It looks weird, but as Hemant Mehta (a maths teacher) explains, it isn't.

‘But…but…I JUST KNOW!’ | Center for Inquiry
Stephen Law​ gives a brief and to-the-point exposition on knowledge and belief with examples of the difference between justified and unjustified true belief.

US man sets petrol pump alight over spider - BBC News
Idiot.

Sleep – the eight-hour live-broadcast lullaby for a frenetic world | Culture | The Guardian
Those who went to Richard Wiseman's talk in Winchester — "How to be Great" — during which he talked about sleep research, you may be interested in reading about a live "sleep concert" reported in the Guardian.

Woman has benefits stopped because taxman believes she is having an affair - with the post office | UK | News | The Independent
Guilty. (Until you prove yourself innocent.)

How to defend the arts using liberal values - Spectator Blogs
When it takes courage to say no.

UFO sightings used to be ‘better’ — what happened? - Science
What happened? Smartphones with hi-res cameras, that's what. It's all about the quality of the evidence.

“If you suggest we have anything to do with sex, we’ll sue you!” says “COUGAR” dating website | Bad PR
Glad Michael Marshall isn't taking the easy way to victory here (which would be simply telling them he works for libel-reformer Simon Singh).

Scientists have found one tactic that can change anti-vaccers' minds - ScienceAlert
For those who tend to be a bit cynical about advertising and PR (myself included) this is a bit depressing. But perhaps the positive take is to admit that what science and skepticism need is a really good spin-doctor.

Advice From the Creator of Calvin and Hobbes (Comic by Zen Pencils) | High Existence
Meaning.

Philosophy Tech Support - Existential Comics
Who says philosophy is no use in real life? Not me (I wouldn't dare).

Jesus and Mo
Time to repair your irony meter again...

The Great Richard Wiseman

Well, I'm surprised. Went to Richard Wiseman's "How to be Great" yesterday evening in Winchester. The second half was about sleep research, and he promised the best night's sleep for the audience that night.

Got back home after midnight (after a curry with friends), and followed just a couple of the points he mentioned in his talk. Results: woke up once during the night, and then slept through till morning (no alarm), knowing that I'd slept well, even if only five and a half hours. And so far I've not even opened his book (signed, of course).

After my disappointment with the Dream:On iPhone App this is a refreshing improvement.

Here are some pics of the event:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskkhDqqX

We know what we believe — now let's find some evidence to support it

In an email today:

“No matter the political or educational background, we can all agree that individuals from all walks of life have contributed to the success of America, and of democracy as a whole, through their hard work and dedication.

“There is another group of people who are largely unnoticed as they labor day in and day out for the cause of truth.”

Who are these paragons?

“Of course I am talking about the scientists, scholars, and administrative staff who work to present the truth of intelligent design.”

Oh, them.

“They are paving the way for an era of scientific endeavor guided by the overarching principle that life on earth and all aspects of the Universe are the result of intelligent design, and not the product of blind purposeless processes.”

I see, a scientific endeavour that is deliberately steered in a particular direction. So much for going where the evidence leads.

(Yes, the Discovery Institute is yet again asking me for money.)