when evidence says no but doctors say yes

A long read on why sometimes your doctor is wrong, she knows it but still goes on to prescribe a procedure or a drug and why you should ask questions.

who is to say

Jesus was not a mushroom?

 

Rational agnostic

I think my friends Bob and Liberty will agree that

All rational agnostics are atheist by default.

I guess they live their lives as if there are no gods and their position in relation to things supernatural is that we can’t know.

And I don’t think they are in the same boat with this rational agnostic who claims to have known god at some point.

Pascal’s Wager is not a great argument.

to believe

in god is both ridiculous and beneath human dignity

Max Demian to Sinclair in Demian by H. Hesse

What effect does abolishing capital punishment have

On conviction? 

This summary attempts to answer the question. I don’t know if it applies elsewhere or is confiner to the UK only. 

Marriage

it is a moral offence to bring children into the world with no prospect of being able to provide for them.

Lecky

In the Map of Life, Lecky has an interesting chapter on marriage. He talks of finances, past times and states of minds among many other things.

And the author of this is broaching the subject of graded marriage contracts.

I couldn’t help it

Check out @droid254’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/droid254/status/851766792720658433?s=09

Invisibility of atheism in Africa

I guess my friend VP  will find this post on the invisibility of atheism in Africa interesting

This is almost prophetic

Lecky writing many years ago opined that

A state of great internal disquietude is often a temptation to war, not because it leads to it directly, but because rulers find a foreign war the best means of turning dangerous and disturbing energies into new channels, and at the same time of strengthening the military and authoritative elements in the community. 

And this is almost true to a T in the US presently. It is like they have all but forgotten about Russiagate, Ivanka, Kushner, Gorsuch? and their orange president. 

And while we are at it. The president has banned Syrians from going to the US but he can bomb it. And while bombing Syria he behaves like the god of the old testament, destroy whatever you can, kill whoever you want except the one responsible. Isn’t the act of the US government an act of war? 

When is easter

The Economist looks at the problem and offers a solution. 

As an atheist, I suggest easter should be the whole week. Who doesn’t want time off?

And I here somewhere in the UK, May and the bishop are not impressed with an add. What does rabbits have to do with Jesus and eggs?