I just finished reading Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle by Chris Hedges. He’s an interesting writer, who has previously gone after both the Religious Right in American Fascists and the New Atheists in I Don’t Believe in Atheists. My immediate interest in the book was due to a … Transcendent values for radicals

There’s an interesting new(ish) academic web site called “Investigating Atheism.” It collects some useful social science and historical information, and other stuff. The material has something of a theologically liberal spin on it, though the site disingenuously claims neutrality: The Investigating Atheism project is designed to stimulate interest, thought and debate on this important topic … “Investigating Atheism” web site

I’ve recently read a number of nonbelievers commenting on the appointment of Francis Collins to head the NIH. These include an editorial by Sam Harris, which expresses concern. Russell Blackford pragmatically accepts Collins’s appointment as not that bad. From my point of view, there is nothing wrong with NIH being headed by an outspoken evangelical … Collins heading NIH