Death, pain & predation
A biochemist considers why predation and death are an inevitable part of the world we live in.
Tag: Evil
Where is God in this sad and weary world?
Are you feeling weary of the this world, do its problems weight heavily on you? Does God feel the same? What’s he doing about it?
The evolution of hell
This scene from the Egyptian Book of the Dead (c 1275 BCE), shows the dead scribe Hunefer’s heart being weighed by the canine-headed Anubis on the scale of Maat. The ibis-headed Thoth, scribe of the gods, records the result. If his heart is lighter than the feather of truth, Hunefer is allowed to pass into […]
Is God a Jokerman?
If you are sometimes troubled about the apparent actions of God, or if you are interested in the songs of Bob Dylan, this post may strike a chord.
Light at the end of the tunnel for some of the world’s poorest people
Bithi started work in a Bangladeshi clothing factory when she was 12. Abject poverty and a sick father forced Bithi’s family to send the two oldest daughters to the garment factories to sew designer clothes sold mainly in North America. It was either that, or watch the girls slowly starve. Now 15, Bithi helps create […]
Does religion cause terrorism?
It is often said that religion causes terrorism. Until recently the facts said otherwise. But now it appears to be true, in five countries at any rate.
Christianity – the good and the bad?
The good and harm done by christianity is a topic of much discussion and argument, and I have written on it many times (e.g. Does religion poison everything? and Do religious believers have better health and wellbeing, like, really?). Keith Parsons is a US philosopher and atheist who writes about the philosophy of religion, and […]
Death to the death penalty?
Today is World Day Against the Death Penalty.
Slavery in the spotlight
When I was at school, we were taught about how slavery was abolished in Britain and the USA. This was obviously a good thing. It came as a shock to find out, some years ago now, that there are more slaves in the world than ever before.
The oppression goes on?
Indonesia has, at various times over the years, been both the victim of oppression and colonial rule and the oppressor. For two centuries the Dutch East India Company virtually ruled the islands that comprise Indonesia as they profited from the spice trade. Later, the Dutch East Indies was a part of the Dutch colonial empire, […]