Newton, Watt, and Lamaitre meet a fly in a bar . . .

One of the fun (but time-spendy) activities I participate in, as academic director of a small international department in China, is to write stories for my students, using vocabulary from articles or books they are reading.  That's the origin of this little story (thus some of the particular vocabulary it uses), but I think you might find it amusing.  It also has something to say about hubris, reminding me of Pascal's words on the greatness and fragility of man. 


"Several great scientists and inventors were sitting by a fireside in a bar, drinking from a kettle of tea, and quarreling over whose discoveries were the greatest.

"'I discovered gravity,' said Isaac Newton.  'Everything on Earth and in Heaven depends on gravity.  Gravity keeps planets circling the sun.  Gravity makes clocks and other pendulums move.  When you lay the foundations of a cathedral, you have to think of me, or it will all fall over."

"James Watt replied, 'Not bad!  But I discovered a power that can overcome gravity!  Locomotives run on the power of steam that is created when you boil water.  Steam thus allows engines to take people across deserts and continents, and up mountains against the pull of gravity.'

"'And where did the materials for steam engines, along with cathedrals, come from?'  Asked Father George Lamaitre.  'Chandeliers, the lid of this tea kettle, the bones of whales, the bark of trees, the iron and nickel at the core of the Earth - all of it came from the Big Bang, which I discovered.  And probably gravity, too, and the hydrogen that turned into water and makes steam.'

"Just then a fly landed on James Watt's tea cup.  He swatted the fly, spilling tea on Newton.  Newton stood up and showed Watt.  The table fell over with a crash.

"'And what about me?' Asked the fly.  'While these mighty men lecture on physics and argue who has the most influence, who thinks of us insects?  We start wars with a buzz.  We kill millions by spreading disease, keeping humans out of whole areas of the Earth.  After all, we are the mightest of them all.'" 

I'll come to your freethinker meeting and PROVE the Resurrection for $145!

A scholar named Richard Miller wrote a book earlier this year proposing a supposedly "new" theory on how that delusion about Jesus rising from the dead arose.  It involves our friend Romulus, legendary founder of Rome.  The book costs $145. 

Here's an interesting and well-written review from Amazon, by one Simon Albright, which predicts that the book will excite frenzied and worried opposition from the ranks of Christians.  Then following that, my somewhat shorter response. 

Sam Harris Saves the Atheist World from Sin.

What do you do if you hate theism and want to blame it for most of the world's ills?  But unfortuantely, people who share your own view of God just got done murdering a hundred million innocent people, enslaving a couple billion, and destroying the priceless cultural heritage of China (just for starters)?  You might try Tweeting as Sam Harris just did:

Arrogant Ehrman, Error-Plagued Ehrman

If skeptical Jesus studies is a Good Cop, Bad Cop routine, then someone like Richard Carrier may appear in the role of Bad Cop, while Bart Ehrman is cast as his opposite number.  Personally, I think Marcus Borg or John Crossan played the part more convincingly.  But one can't deny that Erhman often comes across as soft-spoken and reasonable, or that he has piled up a mount of original books in Jesus scholarship, that have made him something of a star in this field. 

Or, perhaps, puffed up like a balloon.  A balloon that has been huffed and puffed beyond its tensile capacity, and is ready to burst. 

Did Jesus Really Liberate Chinese women? Response to Patrick and Loren.

Two frequent visitors, Patrick and Loren, expressed questions and doubts yesterday about my on-going series claiming that Jesus and the movement he inspired have liberated "billions" of women around the world.  I appreciate the challenges, which will allow us to look more closely at a few interesting details.  So here's my response.  


I. Patrick: "What do you mean by 'liberation'?  I didn't see any definition listed so it is difficult to tell what is or isn't a good example of women being liberated outside of the examples you presented.  When you discuss a woman who is liberated what would her status be in that society with family and the society around her once she is liberated?"

Timely Slogans for Every Candidate

(Note: lower-tier candidates, please call direct for volume discounts)


Hillary Clinton:

"Because Charm, Truthfullness, Kindness, and Concrete Positive Achievements aren't Everything."

"Make me President, and I promise I'll obey the Law."

"You can Never have enough Spare Body Parts!"

"Frankenstein was the Real Feminist: Stop the War on Women!"

"Yeah, right.  So you tell me what were you doing on the night of September 11, 2012!"

"Yes I am human!  See!  This is a smile!"


Donald Trump: 

"The Brokest Country Ever, a Real Estate Heir who went Bankrupt Three Times: What Could Go Wrong?"

"Elect a President who will be as rude to America's enemies, as he is to Female Reporters and Ex-Wives."

"Isn't it time EVERYONE hate America?"

"Because America needs more Vulgarity!"

"Facts?  Yeah, well you're ugly!"

"Don't Vote for those Inauthentic Phonys!  Elect the Real Deal!"


Berry Sanders: 

"Because Taxes are Still way too Low!"



"Why Shouldn't We Follow Europe Down the Drain?"

"Twenty Trillion in Debt?  Let's try throwing money at the problem!"

"We Need Our Grandkids' Money More Than They Will!" 

"Obama was a reactionary!"

"Where has Socialism ever not worked?"


Joe Biden:



"Because you know I'll get a paycheck from you, anyway."

"Stand up, America, and take a bow!  Don't be shy!  What are you doing in that Wheelchair after Eight Years of Obama-Biden, anyway?"

"My Party Went to Philadelphia and all they got was this Lousy Political Hack!" 

"Because we ran out of Democrats!"


Ben Carson: 

"Why Don't We Elect Some Nice Guy at Random and See What Happens!"



Jeb Bush:

"No, Seriously, This Really is 2016!"


Carly Fiorina:

"Come on, Guys.  You KNOW you've always wanted a Strong Woman to Boss You Around."

"So NOW why would anyone vote for Hillary?"


Lindsay Graham:

"My good friend John McCain came in second, didn't he?  That's not bad, in such a Big Country!"


Bobby Jindal:

"Let's Count Votes from ALL the World's Democracies, This Time!"


Marco Rubio:

"Don't Blame Me Just Because I'm a Freshman Senator, Too!" 

"Hey, it worked for the Democrats!" 

"You know you want Florida!"


John Kasich:

"You WANT my State!  You NEED my State!" 


Chris Christie:

"Not Nearly as Rude as Donald, Plus I Ran a State!"



"Obama Ate Broccali!  Time for a Change!"


Scott Walker:

"Doh!"

"Jesus is the Answer" -- even on the SAT.

You may remember the old slogan, "Jesus is the answer."  Maybe it comes from a song by Larry Norman.  The usual response was, "to what question?"  But perhaps that misses the point.  Maybe one thing that makes Jesus uniquely the answer, is the plurality of questions to which his life, teachings and works provide the best answer.  

I was thinking about this the other day when I was teaching my students how to take the written part of the SAT test.  I ask them to develop a number of stories, especially true stories and histories, that they can draw on to support their answers to the SAT prompt.   Normally, I good SAT essay is 400 words or more, providing a clear intro, two or so supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion, in 25 minutes -- pretty hard for Chinese young people to write, so they need help in preparation.  So I told them I'd limit myself to just two or three supporting examples -- "Jesus, contemporary Chinese or American society" -- and try to write full essays in half the time.   And they could choose the question for me to answer at the last moment.  

Sowing Obama, reaping Trump?

The astute historian Victor Davis Hanson has just explained the abject failure of Barack Obama's foreign policy, AND the bizarre popularity of Daddy-made billionaire "As President, I'll be a total, unpredictable, intellectually-incoherent jerk, playboy and clown like I have been for years and I won't ever apologize for it or for calling classy female reporters who ask me hard questions (boo hoo) 'bimbo'" Donald Trump.

Read it and understand human nature.  Then, for God's sake (and the world's), pull yourself together, America, and pick a decent president, this time. 

How Jesus Passes the Outsider Test: Chapter Two

Note: This is the chapter in which I make the argument that skeptics have so far mainly reacted against, mainly by misrepresenting it.  Of course that does not make it the most important argument in the book -- it isn't, I save the best for last.  But I still think it works, taken on its own terms, and not misrepresented. -- DM

Chapter Two: “Go Into All the World”

How Jesus Passes the Outsider Test: Chapter One

Chapter One: “The Outsider Test for Faith”

The Outsider Test, as we have seen, has become a popular, widely-employed argument against Christianity.  But John Loftus attempts in particular detail to develop this argument, and his name is most closely associated with it.  Let us therefore begin by critiquing his version of the OTF. 

How Jesus Passes the Outsider Test: The Inside Story (Intro)

My latest book, How Jesus Passes the Outsider Test: The Inside Story, may be the best I've written yet.  It has been compared by thoughtful reviewers to "Mere Christianity" and "Orthodoxy," which as a life-long fan of C. S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton, is praise I treasure highly.  I believe the book has the potential to change how people look at the world, so that they recognize God's fingerprints upon history.  I don't believe you'll look at the story of the human, or the great spectrum of civilizations, the same, after you've read The Inside Story.

So far, most readers seem to have agreed.  All reviews by scholars have been extremely enthusiastic.  For instance, Dr. Ivan Satyavrata, an accomplished Indian theologian who has researched the relation between Christianity and Indian thought, wrote:

"When I was up in Canada"

OK, you Larry Norman fans, here's one for you.

"The rock that doesn't roll" -- Vancouver Island

"In another land" -- Cariboo Mountains, central British Columbia.

"When you are lonely, you're the only one to blame"

"Why should the devil have all the good music?"   

"The sun began to rain" -- John and not-his-bike at an overlook in Jasper.

"Well, I went into the forest and I cut down all the trees . . . " A lake in Jasper. 

"Lead me on, lead me on, lead me on, Lead me on where you're going. You know my body's tired by my heart's inspired My hunger's growing."