It’s out! An Illusion of Harmony: Science and Religion in Islam is now available in bookstores, amazon.com, etc. etc. Just in time, John Gray has a full-length review in the latest New Scientist. With any luck, An Illusion of Harmony will benefit from the current public interest in all things Islamic. Buy the book! It … An Illusion of Harmony

On March 4, 5, in St Petersburg, Florida, a “Secular Islam Summit” appears to be scheduled. Nice idea. It wouldn’t hurt to have more discussion of secularist ideas in a Muslim context. And it could be interesting to see what comes out of a gathering of secular-oriented dissidents with Muslim roots. Unfortunately, I don’t see … Secular Islam Summit

My Science and Nonbelief came out in 2006. Unfortunately, the hardcover costs $65, which is absurdly expensive. Too bad, because it’s a damn good book, and I like that I was able to include a good number of illustrations to help the text along. Anyway, the good news is that Prometheus picked up the paperback … Forthcoming books

International Jewish conspiracies and anti-evolution screeds all rolled into one [link]. The money quote: The memo points to “indisputable evidence” that “evolution science has a very specific religious agenda” and refers readers to a Web site that asserts the universe revolves around the earth. It also suggests that Jewish physicists are part of the force … Those Crazy Jewish Evolutionists

A previous student of mine pointed out an interesting article in The New York Times, on a fundamentalist Ph.D. geologist who is a young earther. Now there’s someone who’s going to have an interesting career. Not that this sort of thing is hugely unusual. Back when I was in graduate school (almost 20 years ago … Fundamentalist scientists

Or rather, are being worshipped again in Greece: To the astonishment of onlookers, [Doreta] Peppa also began babbling Orphic hymns, before thrusting her arms upwards into the Attic skies and proceeding, somewhat deliriously, to warble her love for the gods of Mount Olympus. But, then, for the motley group of modern pagans coalesced around the … The Greek gods are back

Taner Edis lists one of Harris’ “silly arguments” against atheism in which “religion is used as a rationale for other aims.” He concludes, correctly I think, that “paying attention to the political, economic, and social background of religious groups is indispensable.” I agree. After all, the Abolitionist Movement in the U.S. probably would not have … Silly Arguments

In his latest column in Free Inquiry, Sam Harris gives a list of “silly retorts to atheism” made by atheists reluctant to oppose religion, and announces a contest to come up with short replies. Now, the four items on Harris’s list are indeed dubious. Nonetheless, I think most of them bring up good questions, which … “Silly retorts to atheism”: Really?

I’ve occasionally remarked that I don’t care so much what people believe as I do how they act. The people I enjoy spending time with are not always those who share my beliefs, but are those who demonstrate integrity, respect, honesty, and other virtues. These virtues are associated with not just holding beliefs in the … Belief, behavior, and bumper sticker religion