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wrote a new post, Poll Names Dawkins’ “The Selfish Gene” as the Most Influential Science Book of All Time July 21, 2017 @ 8:00 am
A new public poll conducted by The Royal Society reflects the influence famed evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins has had on our modern zeitgeist. Asked to choose the most influential science book […]
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wrote a new post, 2016 Deadliest Yet for Environmental Defenders July 13, 2017 @ 1:28 pm
According to a new ‘Defenders of The Earth’ report released by Global Witness, 2016 was the deadliest year yet for environmental activists. The report found that an average of almost 4 activists were killed per […]
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wrote a new post, Singer Kesha Declares Her God is Nature July 12, 2017 @ 12:25 am
American singer and songwriter Kesha (Kesha Rose Sebert) is releasing her first single in almost four years, “Prayer,” a spiritual themed song she says is about, “learning to let go and realize that the universe […]
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wrote a new post, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple Reopens June 30, 2017 @ 7:10 pm
The Unitarian Universalist Church Congregation of Oak Park, Illinois has announced that after two years of renovations, it is re-opening Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Unity Temple. Some consider the building to be […]
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wrote a new post, Did Nat Geo’s Albert Einstein Biopic Series ‘Genius’ Falsely Suggest Einstein Was a Traditional Theist? June 15, 2017 @ 1:11 am
National Geographic’s biopic series “Genius” about the life of Albert Einstein is receiving positive feedback, according to user reviews from the movie database, IMDB. However, the latest episode, the eighth in a […]
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Reginald replied
PS Here is what I think a particularly good Wikipedia article on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_and_philosophical_views_of_Albert_Einstein
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Reginald replied
I have to thank you for this quote. It is the best evidence of Einstein’s belief in God I’ve yet come across. I too saw “Genius” recently and was muttering out loud if there was any documentation of Einstein actually saying that only God could have created the universe. I’m not that surprised that there probably is not. But, people not familiar with theology often confuse not believing in a “personal God” with personally not believing in one. Einstein’s quote is a wonderful example of someone quite emphatically believing in God’s existence, but just not in the popular conception of such a belief.
Not accepting the idea of “a personal God” simply means that Einstein did not believe in a man with a long, gray beard in the clouds, busily doling out rewards and punishments for everyone on earth. And Einstein probably also meant that he didn’t believe that Jesus, Buddha or Rama were fully Divine. But his second sentence quickly puts to rest any debate on whether Einstein personally believed in God. “His God” was smart enough to create principles which perform those tasks in a much more reasonable (and efficient?) fashion, as any God that does not play dice with the universe would. In theological terms, this is often referred to as the difference between a God with form, and a God without form. Einstein is stating rather unequivocally that he (personally) believes in the latter. But that God is no less the Primal Cause; omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient, than the God with form, i.e. a personal God. And Einstein’s universe which is ruled by those “immutable laws”, which reward good punish evil, seem to be identical with the Law of Karma, with which Einstein was reportedly very familiar.
So, it would seem that professor Einstein was simply more Hindu than Christian, Jewish or Buddhist (seeing as Buddhists don’t accept the traditional idea of God at all) in his cosmology.
So, thanks once again.
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Reginald replied
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wrote a new post, The Mysterious “Cold Spot” in Space: Void, or Multiverse Collision Point? May 25, 2017 @ 1:18 pm
Since 1964, scientists have been using microwave receivers to measure the radio hiss known formally as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The CMB is believed to be a remnant of the Big Bang. Measuring the […]
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wrote a new post, New Graphic Novel Details the Dawn of Modern Western Philosophy May 12, 2017 @ 12:35 pm
A new graphic novel, “Heretics!: The Wondrous (and Dangerous) Beginnings of Modern Philosophy,” by philosophy professor Steven Nadler and his graphic artist son, Ben Nadler, tells of the fight for science dur […]
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Perry Rod replied
Very cool !
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Perry Rod replied
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wrote a new post, Synthetic Photosynthesis Produces Energy while Cleaning the Air May 3, 2017 @ 12:50 pm
In a recent article published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Urbino described how the use of a synthetic material, called a Metal-Organic Framework (MOF), is able to break down carbon dioxide into […]
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wrote a new post, Earth-Sized Virtual Telescope Gives First Look at a Black Hole April 17, 2017 @ 10:29 am
To date, we have never actually seen a black hole – but this may soon change. On April 10, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) successfully completed its ten-day-long observation period, gathering data on the p […]
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wrote a new post, Will Deism and Pantheism Make a Comeback in United States Presidential Politics? April 16, 2017 @ 6:22 pm
The vast majority of historical United States Presidents have been “God fearing” theists. But it didn’t necessarily start out that way.
In the late 18th Century the United States founding fathers sought to e […]
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wrote a new post, Do Pantheists Have Souls? April 9, 2017 @ 8:49 am
I have always admired C.S. Lewis with the respect due to a loyal opponent. He certainly wasn’t a mystic Christian, but he was no mindless fundamentalist. Although an apologist for a state religion I cannot c […]
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Researchers at the University of Manchester in the U.K. have discovered a promising new way to desalinate ocean water using graphene. The study, lead by Rahul Nair of the National Graphene Institute, involves […]
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wrote a new post, Study Finds Nature is an Under-Recognized Healer March 21, 2017 @ 5:20 pm
A new report from the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) titled “Nature for Health and Equity,” cites Nature as an under-recognized healer that offers multiple health benefits, ranging from all […]
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wrote a new post, White House Budget slashes Climate Research at NASA March 16, 2017 @ 5:29 pm
President Trump’s proposed budget, released today, represents a potential setback for NASA, and for climate research in general. The White House’s initial proposal would cut at least $102 million from NASA’s earth […]
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“Welcome to the group, Ethan Picon,” said Will Toase of the Universal Pantheist Society’s Facebook group in June 2015. It was one of many pantheism related communities Picon joined in 2015. Still in his teens […]
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wrote a new post, Pantheism, Part 2 February 26, 2017 @ 10:24 am
A follow up I wrote to “Pantheism, a collection of quotes”
I shared part 1 widely and quickly realized that what I had meant as a simple introduction to the philosophy seemed to create at least as many […]
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wrote a new post, Pantheism, a collection of quotes February 26, 2017 @ 10:11 am
I wrote this a year ago as a sort of introduction to Pantheism for a group I belong to, of mostly non-pans.
I am a PAN-THEIST, from the Greek roots πᾶν (pan), meaning “all, of everything” and θεός (theos) […]
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Mike Dobler replied
I missed this.
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Mike Dobler replied
never heard of pantheism until early today. Not because i’m dumb..just never liked religion. But this how I think about religion. So I thought I would express my view.
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Mike Dobler replied
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posted an update February 22, 2017 @ 6:00 pm
Right on, Giordano! Today’s NASA announcement that 7 Earth-sized planets are in orbit around TRAPPIST-1 is yet another confirmation of what Giordano Bruno believed, and died for: that ours is one of infinite Suns, many with planets that might support life. Coming just 5 days after we marked the anniversary of his heretic-death-by-fire, we should…[Read more]
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wrote a new post, NASA Reveals 7 Earth-sized Exoplanets around TRAPPIST-1 February 22, 2017 @ 12:22 pm
NASA announced today the discovery of seven Earth-sized exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) revolving around the sun TRAPPIST-1. This represents the largest finding of planets orbiting a distant sun to […]
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Jon Hoskins replied
This is of particular interest to me. Cool, red dwarfs, especially relatively near by, are extremely good candidates for SETI searches. Mostly ignored due to a gap in observational technology, only rectified relatively recently, this type of star system is poised to become real headline makers in the years to come.
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Jon Hoskins replied
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wrote a new post, Faith and Fear February 21, 2017 @ 6:35 am
“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” —Thomas Aquinas
“Faith means not wanting to know what is true.” —Friedrich Nie […]
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Jon Hoskins replied
Well said. The footnote in particular, caused a resonance within me. I’m glad you included it.
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Jon Hoskins replied
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