Author: Adam Lee

Summary: An outstanding book, broad in its sweep and compelling in its use of fascinating detail, that paints a clear picture of the international forces opposing women’s rights – and what’s at stake in the fight against them. I’ve said in the past that I believe all feminists should be atheists, the better to deny…

Next week there will be photos from my trip to St. Louis, once I’ve had time to do the normal cropping and processing. Until then, there’s this: I’m fascinated by the way the camera reveals unfamiliar-seeming details of familiar surfaces. Fallen timber, Hudson Highlands Nature Center, November 2009. Photo by the author. Camera details: Canon…

So, there’s an outside chance you’ve heard about a certain column by Nancy Graham Holm, who gifted the world with her thoughts on the ax attack on Kurt Westergaard earlier this month. Although we got a bit sidetracked, I still want to write a direct response to what she said, because I think there are…

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled flame war for this important announcement. As everyone has no doubt heard, Haiti was hit by a colossal earthquake last night; the city of Port-au-Prince is in ruins, and tens of thousands of people may be dead. If you’re able to help, please consider making a donation to the…

I’ve written in the past about religion’s harm to women, and the way modern sexism is aided and abetted by ancient religious prejudices that still survive today. Every major holy book has sexist verses, but some of the most misogynistic and the most virulent can be found in the books referred to by Christians as…

In case anyone missed the earlier announcement, a reminder: I’ll be in St. Louis, Missouri this coming weekend, January 16th and 17th. We’ve already made plans for a meetup of area atheists/skeptics on Saturday night. If you’re in the area and are interested, it’s not too late to attend – leave a comment or send…

Monterey Bay, California, June 17, 2006. Photo credit: Peter Nothnagle. Click for larger version.

A couple of noteworthy articles from this week that I didn’t have time to write more about: • To begin with, there’s this excellent and in-depth profile of the FFRF’s Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, from a local alternative paper in Madison. • Archaeologists have discovered a genuine burial shroud from the first century…

The Case for a Creator, Chapter 7 The final section of this chapter concerns Gonzalez’s argument that the Earth is uniquely designed to make scientific discovery possible. His argument is that our planet is fine-tuned not just to allow the existence of life, but to allow us to find out important facts about the nature…

Most of you have probably heard the name of William Dembski, one of the prominent advocates of intelligent-design creationism. Like all ID advocates, Dembski claims vehemently that his work is scientific and not in any way motivated by his religious beliefs, which is why he’s currently a professor of philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary…