Google Reader is a great little service. I have some of my favorite blogs registered there, so that I don’t miss new posts when they are written. I have a few theist blogs that I monitor, and occasionally comment on, because, well, it good to keep track of the “other side”, so to speak.
Rather than post one of my rather long winded diatribes on a specific topic, I thought I’d mention a few things I’ve seen and found interesting on other blogs, in the news or elsewhere. So, without further adieu…
A recent commenter here, Justin, got me to finally register with YouTube, though he won’t know it until he reads this. I clicked back on his name in my comments last week, and found he was in the process of an anticipated series of posts at his blog 100 Treatises, responding to a Christian YouTube video entitled, 5 Questions every intelligent atheist MUST answer. He’s completed them, addressing each question seriatum in five posts, in the process smashing the premise of the video to little tiny bits. Take a look at them here, here, here, here and here. As a read these, I thought “It would be so simple to create a video in response that asked 5 questions Christians MUST answer.” If only I had the technical capability. Then I looked in the list of suggested similar videos in the right column on YouTube, and saw that someone beat me to it. Not only that, but the response was 10 questions every intelligent Christian MUST answer.
As a kid I grew up with the American space program. It all started with Sputnik, and when JFK was in office, he really upped the ante in the space race, declaring that we would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Unfortunately, he didn’t live to see his promise fulfilled. From the early sixties through that moon landing, it seemed like we were constantly sending men into space (alas, no women at that time). First the Mercury, then the Apollo missions.
Galileo’s head was on the block
The crime was looking up the truth
After a couple of very heavy, existential, somewhat contentious posts, I thought I’d lighten things up a little. Everybody knows who Galileo was. He was born 445 year ago last February, so it’s not exactly a nice round anniversary to celebrate. Lets just say that he inspired a song by the Indigo Girls that I like a lot, and that’s a good enough reason to write a post about him. For those that like their music pulled down towards heavy metal, I don’t think Megadeth has a song in their repertoire about Galileo. (And that’s not a slur on metal music, just a bad allusion to the weight of , you know, heavy metal). Besides, as I said, I’m trying to lighten things up a bit.
Embedding is disabled, but double-click on the video to go to YouTube
How about that?
The Vatican is recasting the most famous victim of its Inquisition as a man of faith, just in time for the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s telescope and the U.N.-designated International Year of Astronomy next year.
You really do.
Two items about science caught my eye recently, one awe inspiring, one depressing.
Our ability to detect things lights years away from us seems to be increasing in leaps and bounds. Scientists are predicting that it will be only a matter of time, perhaps as soon as five years, before they are able to say they’ve discovered Earth’s twin, another planet in another solar system, circling another star, capable of supporting some form of life.
SPANISH INQUISITOR 