Archive
Science and Non-Science: Relief from Belief (Vaccinations 12/06/12)
Here is the sixteenth show of Science and Non-Science: Relief from Belief in which I talk about the vaccinations. I discuss how they work and why they are important. I also discuss the rise of the anti-vaccination movement and the dangers it poses.
The song at the start of the show is Ode to the Brain! by Symphony of Science.
Click on the player below to listen.
Science and Non-Science: Relief from Belief (Secularism 5/06/12)
Here is the fifteenth show of Science and Non-Science: Relief from Belief in which I talk about secularism. I go into detail about the various theories of secularisation which are popular in the social sciences, in particular sociology, and discuss their flaws along with talking about what the truth of the matter actually is.
The song at the start of the show is The Quantum World by Symphony of Science.
Click on the player below to listen.
Science and Non-Science: Relief from Belief (The Bible 29/05/12)
Here is the fourteenth show of Science and Non-Science: Relief from Belief in which I talk about the Bible. More precisely, I talk about its contents, creation, and whether or not it is a good source of history and morality.
The song at the start of the show is The Greatest Show on Earth by Symphony of Science.
Click on the player below to listen.
Palestine, Palestinians, and Israel
Definitions of citizenship and what it means to be a citizen of a particular nation has been used to justify discrimination against various groups of people for centuries. These people are generally in the minority in a particular region and are seen as an underclass, and/or something to be dealt with in whatever manner those in the majority deem appropriate. History is full of examples where this thinking has led to egregious levels of discrimination and violence aimed at the minority or undesirables; from the Catholics in Northern Ireland to the Tutsi in Rwanda, where in both cases discrimination and ostracisation eventually led to full-blown violence. This is also the case when it comes to the Palestinians in what was historic Palestine and is now, for the most part, considered the modern state of Israel.
Secularisation and Modernity
Modernity has seen both the rise of secularisation and also the rise of multiple forms of religion; of multiple forms of believing. These two issues have been seen as the norm in Europe, in the case of the former, and as the norm in the United States in the case of the latter. The likes of Peter Berger and Grace Davie have expanded upon this issue in great detail, arguing that what has happened in Europe over the previous century, and is continuing to happen today, i.e., secularisation, is not the norm when it comes to the world in general. Instead, they, and those with similar views, argue that Europe is the exception when it comes to the issue of secularisation and that the rest of the world, in particular the United States, is the norm when it comes to both religious belief and practice.
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