It’s only evolution, but I like it
Charles Darwin, 1863 I don’t know very much about evolution, really. But I fully support it. Does this make me hypocritical? Maybe, but I don’t think so. Here are five reasons why. (1) Biologists that I know. I have had the pleasure of knowing a number of biologists. They tell me that it’s a great [...]
Dream on
It’s a crazy dream, like finding the Theory of Everything: finding the Universal Theology, or some such. It would be nice, wouldn’t it, to reconcile all faiths once and for all, at some incomprehensibly deep level? Well, it’s not going to happen. A Sufi dhikr ceremony. These guys really have it going on. Photo by [...]
Put this in your pipe and smoke it
Speaking of being lost in the cosmos, here’s something for you to bear in mind. This is a video called The Known Universe. It is a beautiful thing. It is in some ways like the cosmic portion of Charles Eames‘s famous Powers of Ten, but the big difference is that in this case all the [...]
A tale of two apologetics
Back in 1990 I committed myself to a life of following Jesus. I’m not sure how well it has gone. Like Anne Lamott, I like to describe myself as “a Christian but not a very good one.” (Those of you who know me can keep the jokes to yourselves.) Anyway, back in 1990 the first [...]
It’s not about me
I must make a confession: I love traditional stained-glass windows. They remind me that I didn’t invent Christianity and that it will be around long after I shuffle off this mortal coil. As the chair of the physics department at the college I used to get lots of junk mail with some really entertaining stuff [...]
You are a rarity. So is Mars
Ask any astronomer what the universe is made of, and the answer will be: Hydrogen.* Press the astronomer more and she will say, Oh yes, and some helium. How about all the other stuff? You know, the carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and all those? There are only trace amounts of them. Also, smaller traces of neon, [...]
Nobody’s home. What a relief
The more I learn about Islam the more I believe something obvious: Religions are not the same. I don’t mean that Islam and Hinduism and the others do not point their adherents toward the one God (or “ultimate reality,” or whatever). I just mean that they do this in really different ways, ways that often [...]
I like atheists
I found this today and laughed out loud. You know, I don’t have much of a problem with atheists. It takes guts to disbelieve. Mainly, though, what I like about them is that they recognize the importance of the question of God. An atheist and I may not agree on some things, but we will [...]
Nostalgia for gamma rays
My homepage is NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. It’s a great place to call home. And today when I opened up Firefox I was presented with a large version of the above image. It is an image of the entire sky as you would see it if your eyes were sensitive to gamma rays [...]
Whatever Allah wills
I am taking a class on Islam at Emory. It’s really interesting. The other day I learned that when a Muslim (at least in Syria) sees a newborn baby, the normal response is “Whatever Allah wills.” Now to me that sounds like something a new and proud mother would not want to hear. But the [...]
