Albert Einstein On God: “Nothing More Than the Expression and Product of Human Weakness”

November 27th, 2015 3 Comments

 

With dependable frequency, the religious views of Albert Einstein get revised and re-revised according to some re-discovered or re-interpreted quotation from his scientific work or personal correspondence. It’s not especially surprising that Einstein had a few things to say on the subject. As the pre-eminent theoretical physicist of his age, he spent his days pondering the mysteries of the universe.

Is Evolution a Secular Religion?

 

Michael Ruse*

Summary

The fact of evolution postulated by Charles Darwin in his Origin of Species was quickly embraced by the great thinkers of Victorian society, but its mechanism, natural selection, seemed to be less appealing. As Michael Ruse ponders in his essay, evolution seemed to have been adopted as a new secular religion, complete with commandments for how to progress to a better life and cathedrals of natural history housing valuable fossil relics.

The disconnect between religion and culture

Μαγιάσης Σταύρος – Stavros Magiasis [1921-1976] Λίνδος, 1944

It is no longer possible to contrast a «secular» West with a «religious» East, writes Olivier Roy. Secularization and the de-culturation of religion are taking place in both East and West. The difference is the political forms that the de-culturated religions take.

Olivier Roy

William Blake’s Masterpiece Illustrations of the Book of Job (1793-1827)

 

September 9th, 2016

http://www.openculture.com/

 

Orthodox thinkers have not often found the answers to suffering in the Book of Job particularly comforting—an early scribe likely going so far as interpolating the speech of one of Job’s more Pollyannaish friends. The gnarly metaphysical issues raised and never quite resolved strike us so powerfully because of the kinds of things that happen to Job—unimaginable things, excruciatingly painful in every respect, and almost patently impossible, marking them as legend or literary embellishment, at least.

Religious Madonnas / Εικόνες της βρεφοκρατούσας Παναγίας – Μοναδικό αφιέρωμα!

ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ

Theotokos

Paintings of Madonnas (mostly Renaissance)

Steve Chapra

Religious Madonnas

Μια από τις καλύτερες συλλογές εικόνων της Βρεφοκρατούσας Θεοτόκου: εικόνες από τη Δύση, ρωσικές, βυζαντινές κλπ. Συνεχίστε και μετά τη δική μου παρουσίαση στην ιστοσελίδα που αναφέρεται στο τέλος! Μπορείτε να μεγεθύνετε και να αντιγράψετε…

Morning Madonna

Unknown Master, Bohemian (active 1350s). Virgin and Child Enthroned
In this blog, I try to begin each day with a painting of the Madonna & Child. It centers me; connects me to the past; & encourages me to post some of the religious paintings which were the core of early Western art.

Different kinds of truth: religion, science and fiction

Truth is provisional, shifting, temporary and subjective, and the quest for elucidation is forever incomplete and wholly narrative. Fiction gives scientists a chance to explore reality in a way the day job doesn’t allow

Henry Gee, Friday 31 August 2012  guardian.co.uk

The announcement earlier this year of the ‘discovery’ of the Higgs boson was framed as a quantification of doubt. Photograph: Cern

The possibility of God

Religious studies is enjoying a boom. But in a multicultural society, what is it now for? Victoria Neumark reports

• Victoria Neumark, The Guardian, Tuesday 10 July 2007

Niqabs in the classroom, creationism knocking at the door of the science lab, the threat of suicide bombers: big challenges face religious education (RE) in UK classrooms. A critical report by Ofsted last month demanded that RE "contributes strongly to pupils’ understanding of the changing role of religion, diversity and community cohesion". It said children should be taught more about religion’s role in a modern world under the threat of terrorism – and that they should learn that religion is not always a force for good.

Gods of science: Stephen Hawking and Brian Cox discuss mind over matter

 

We paired up Britain’s most celebrated scientists to chat about the big issues: the unity of life, ethics, energy, Handel – and the joy of riding a snowmobile

• Stephen Hawking and Brian Cox
• The Guardian, Saturday 11 September 2010