01.06
A new year, a new link bomb.
Philosopher Nicholas Everitt discusses God’s various attributes (omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, omnibenovelence) and their incompatibility. Everitt recommends that theists tweak these traditional attributes, and some Mormon thinkers have done just that.
I’m not very persuasive, and the movie Inception explains why.
Before 1971, less than one percent of Canadians reported having “no religion” on national surveys. Today, nearly a quarter say they aren’t religious. Secularism is making advances in the United States as well, with an overwhelming majority of Americans (70%) feeling that religion’s influence is on the decline. A recent study, though, claims that America isn’t becoming less religious, only more honest. Despite all our pious professions, we Americans don’t act more religious than our European and Canadian counterparts.
None of this spells religion’s demise, however. If birth rates are any indication, atheists are a dying breed.
The 20 most interesting studies on religion from 2008-2010.
Another study that has been receiving a lot of press was done by BYU. The study claims that those who wait until marriage to have sex are more likely to enjoy healthier marriages. The study’s conclusion may well be true, but its methodology is seriously flawed.
Atheists have a diversity problem. A survey of the members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation found that 95% were white, and the majority male. Readers of this site don’t fare much better: 88% of SHAFTers are white, and 76% male.
Women are often the most victimized by religion, and yet—as we established above—they are less likely to leave religion. In fact, of the over 100,000 Britons who have converted to Islam, the average convert is a 27-year-old white woman. And while some assume that Mormon women are chaffing under the patriarchy of their church, only 10% of them want the priesthood.
Common Sense Atheism and Debunking Christianity, two of my favorite atheist blogs, compile their best posts of 2010.
Among the most damning evidences against Mormonism, in my opinion, is the botched translation of Egyptian papyri that is the Book of Abraham. A popular apologetic response is that we’ve lost the papyri from which Joseph Smith translated. But new research published in Dialogue, which employed a sophisticated statistical analysis of the papyri, indicates that we possess roughly the entire scroll.
I like to seek out thoughtful arguments against gay marriage; they force me to challenge my gay marriage advocacy and help me play contrarian with my fellow liberals. This case against gay marriage falls short of being compelling, but it is nonetheless worth your consideration.
Mormon Stories is doing a series of podcasts called “Atheism after Mormonism.” You can listen to the first episode here.
I hope Santa didn’t bring you any Power Balance bracelets, because they’re bunk. (I have a friend who manages to sell these with a straight face.)
A fascinating fringe movement: do-it-yourself transhumanism.
From the makers of the Mormon blockbuster The Singles Ward comes The Real Life Singles Ward, a documentary that examines and pokes fun at Mormon dating culture.
You’re welcome for the Facebook fodder.
How in the world does one prove that marriage between a man and a woman is a moral reality? Well, you could make an argument for it philosophically and religiously, but it seems terribly strange to find this claim on the Social Science Research Network.
I don’t think “The Young Turks” provide a credible assessment of the methodology BYU study on happiness with sex in marriage. They identified limitations to the study that must be overcome to be used in the broader population, but they devolve into a fallacy laden dialogue against the study’s conclusions. I suggest reading the book “For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage” by Tara Parker-Pope. The author reviews what the current understanding of the science of marriage. She wanted to know after her first marriage ended in divorce.
Radio West Interview of Tara Parker-Pope
Actually, the study results make sense, but it is really only for the population that desires marriage. I also assume that their definition of ‘Marriage’ is a consensual/contractual sexually exclusive relationship of 2 people of the opposite sex. If they limit their conclusions to the population that desires to be in a marriage of that definition, then their conclusions might be correct.
It is also obvious that the results are statistical for a group. Like statistical studies of medications, some individuals will not respond to a statistically beneficial medicine.
I wonder if they examined the happiness level in couples with one partner who did have premarital sex and one who did not. Was that group unhappier than both groups where the partners had the same premarital sexual (non)-experience? That may be a more useful conclusion for couples considering marriage.
cI tried to listen to the interview but the link wouldn’t load. Could just be my computer, though
Like I said, Vince, it’s not that I necessarily doubt the studies conclusion. I just don’t think it was the most reliable study to prove said conclusion.
Jon, I hope a lot of your readers listen to the Radio West Interview of Tara Parker-Pope some time. It is quite interesting. Tara Parker-Pope makes a couple of interesting (but, in retrospect, obvious) comments on homosexual couples. I have purchased four copies of her book. I kept giving it away while I was reading it. I am glad I finally finished the book, because it was getting expensive.
FYI, the interview is about 50 minutes long.