Category Archives: God

God knows no better than Heisenberg

Posted on June 13, 2007 by acb

I have thought for many years that the point of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle was that you could not measure a system without disturbing it. Hence the idea that your measurement of one aspect (say, momentum) must disturb another, like position, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God, Science without worms | 7 Comments

A snippet from the Culture Wars

Posted on June 13, 2007 by acb

An astrophysicist’s story: I was giving a talk in Houston and I was told that there was a group of people coming who were going to make their protest by walking out when they heard the word “Evolution”. So I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Science and Religion (1)

Posted on June 13, 2007 by acb

One of the theological points of Pope Benedict’s speech in Regensburg last year was that the Muslim conception of God was flawed because it allowed him complete and unfettered freedom, even from logic: The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: “For the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God, Science without worms | 1 Comment

More on “The Islamist”

Posted on June 6, 2007 by acb

Two reviews of this book have cropped up this week: there is a very sympathetic one from John Gray in the Literary Review. I think his conclusion is absolutely the right one — that the term for this stuff ought … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Another thought on Tariq Ramadan

Posted on June 3, 2007 by acb

inspired by Rupert in the comments. TR is a real hate-figure for the likudnik Right in America. I recently had a flier from The New Republic advertising a 40,000 word hatchet job on him, no doubt timed to coincide with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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A thought on reading Tariq Ramadan

Posted on June 1, 2007 by acb

Perhaps the most important thing about learning religion young is that we tend to internalise the phrases and the doctrine, gradually introducing sense into our understanding, as well as meaning. And then one comes across the same thing done from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Some notes on “The Islamist”

Posted on June 1, 2007 by acb

As part of my Templeton reading I have finally grabbed a copy of (Moham)Ed Husain’s book the Islamist, which is an account of a smart Bangladeshi kid and how he got drawn into Hizb ut Tahrir before rejecting them for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Another hack at a dead horse

Posted on May 14, 2007 by acb

Oh for fuck’s sake Dawkins! “If, as one self-consciously intellectual critic wished, I had expounded the epistemological differences between Aquinas and Duns Scotus, Eriugena on subjectivity, Rahner on grace or Moltmann on hope (as he vainly hoped I would), my … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in God | 4 Comments

An early example of lay participation

Posted on May 11, 2007 by acb

in the affairs of the Catholic Church: Du Guesclin, having completed his levies, led the army first to Avignon, where the pope thea resided, and demanded, sword in hand, an absolu­tion for his soldiers, and the sum of 200,000 livres. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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On Buggering Hedgehogs

Posted on May 11, 2007 by acb

An interesting example of cultural deafness came my way this morning: a blog entry claiming that there are licensed witchdoctors in Bulgaria, one of whom had advised a patient to cure his premature ejaculation by attempting congress with a hedgehog. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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