Author Archives: mikhailovich
in defense of the Enlightenment, etc.
“We don’t realize how fundamentally all of our worldviews are shaped by the Enlightenment. Throughout the vast majority of human history, it was unthinkable to discount the spiritual, boil reality down to our material experience, or approach history apart from … Continue reading
cherry picking faith
Over the weekend, I briefly participated in a conversation with someone who used the term “Christian values” to describe what I would simply call “moral values.” It’s not a big deal – we basically agreed on the issue anyway. But … Continue reading
Abortion & God
I recently had a bit of interaction on facebook with a conservative Christian–regarding abortion. I know, I shouldn’t. It proceeded predictably with me talking about women’s rights and how the path of pregnancy is this long gray line and my … Continue reading
School Prayer — a very simple issue
Another year in America, another rash of emotionally fueled disputes over school-sponsored prayer. I just read this one, but examples aren’t hard to come by. No matter how many times the courts spell out American government’s mandated neutrality toward religion, … Continue reading
Consider your implications
Since moving to _____, which is actually a seminary disguised as a small town, I have been in frequent (almost exclusive) contact with theologians and missionaries. Tonight was dinner with a nice couple who have spent portions of their lives … Continue reading
Tract browsing
We have a good selection of Christian (protestant-evangelical-charismatic) evangelism tracts here in the office, and I spent a portion of my lunch break perusing them. They are all written by the same author, and they target a wide range of … Continue reading
first, let's agree on our standards
A recent post on Pharyngula (worth reading) has me thinking about standards of evidence. So many theist/atheist conversations could be truncated if the two parties declared at the outset exactly what is required for them to accept any given claim … Continue reading
The Unlikely Disciple
Last week I finally got around to reading Kevin Roose‘s excellent book The Unlikely Disciple. If you are at all interested in evangelical subculture, pick up a copy of the book at Borders or Barnes&Noble. In short, Roose is a … Continue reading
[anti-]abortion is homicide
For the past few days, I’ve been meaning to write down some thoughts on the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortion doctor who was shot in his church last Sunday. The murder was, of course, reprehensible; but I’d … Continue reading
faith healing
For the past couple weeks, I’ve been receiving regular e-mail updates on the status of a friend’s friend who had an accident that left her essentially paralyzed. Naturally, it’s a very sad situation, and the doctors are doing everything in … Continue reading
