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Under the direction of Dr. Michael Shermer, the Skeptic Society engages in
scientific investigation and journalistic research to investigate
claims made by scientists, historians, and controversial figures on a
wide range of subjects. The Society also engages in discussions with
leading experts in our areas of exploration. It is our hope that our
efforts go a long way in promoting critical thinking and lifelong
inquisitiveness in all individuals.
Since 1992, the Skeptics Society has published Skeptic, a quarterly journal that examines a wide variety of social, scientific, and pseudoscientific controversies. Sent out each week to over 19,000 readers, our newsletter eSkeptic provides reviews, essays, and opinion editorials on a current happenings in science and culture." Skeptic Magazine is a worthy representative of a skeptical posture and a champion of science as the superior avenue of knowledge. The writing is first rate, and the subject matter broad and fascinating. Unfortunately but understandably, most articles and resources are available only to subscribers.
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The Harvard Ichthus is a journal of Christian thought. It exists for the purpose of fostering deep Christian thought among the members of the Harvard community, taking seriously the motto of Harvard University: “Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae,” in English “Truth for Christ and the Church.” In an age of skepticism, many come to the College with misconceptions about Christianity and whether a vigorous intellectual life is compatible with a Christian one. The Harvard Ichthus seeks to engage, critique, and ultimately defy these falsehoods about Christian faith. We will do so in a thoughtful, generous, and professional manner that bears witness to a God who desires-commands!-each of us to love Him with all our mind. ~ The About Page
Nancy R. Pearcey (Crossway Books: Jun 29, 2004), 512 pages.
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As a religiously adrift young adult in the 1960s, Pearcey found her way to the Swiss retreat, and the intellectually rigorous faith, of the Calvinist maverick Francis Schaeffer. This book continues the Schaeffer-inspired project that Pearcey and Chuck Colson began in How Now Shall We Live? — awakening evangelical Christians to the need for a Christian "worldview," which Pearcey defines as "a biblically informed perspective on all reality." Pearcey gives credibly argued perspectives on everything from Rousseau's rebellion against the Enlightenment, to the roots of feminism, to the spiritual poverty of celebrity-driven Christianity. She also provides a layperson's guide to the history of America's anti-intellectual strain of evangelicalism. ~ Publishers Weekly
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First Things is published by The Institute on Religion and Public Life, an interreligious, nonpartisan research and education institute whose purpose is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society. As far as I can tell, all of their print articles are available in full online. And, these articles are almost always of high quality. If you're curious about how religious people actually think about the appropriate place of religion in a multicultural society under a secular state, you can do no better than to begin your reading here.
Philip Broadhead and Damien Keown, eds. (I.B. Tauris: Feb 6, 2007), 240 pages.
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It is often alleged that religion is a major cause of war and dissent. History is littered with the wreckage of religious conflict, from the crusades onwards, and it is frequently maintained that it is religion which is the tinderbox that ignites so many regional disputes - from Bosnia's ethnic cleansing to the ongoing conflict in Iraq. If religion is on trial, the evidence against it so often seems damning. But is the picture really as grim as has been painted? Very little is heard in defence of religion and few attempts have been made to put the other side of the case. The essays in this volume are among the first systematically to explore the role of religion as a force for peace, both historically and in the contemporary world. They focus on the efforts that have been made by individuals, communities and religious groups to secure conflict-resolution and replace hostility with tolerance and mutual respect. Specific topics explored include: nationalism and religious conflict; revolution and religious wars; the impact of secularisation; ethnicity and religion; conflict over holy places; and making and keeping the peace. ~ Product Description
Wassily Kandinsky (MFA Publications: July 1, 2006), 192 pages.
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Wassily Kandinsky was one of the most influential painters of the twentieth century, and this text, in which he laid out the tenets of painting as he saw them and made the case for nonobjective artistic forms, is universally recognized as an essential document of Modernist art theory. A brilliant philosophical treatise and an emphatic avant-garde tract, it provides the theoretical underpinnings for Kandinsky's own work and that of his associates in the Blaue Reiter movement. While Michael Sadlerís masterful translation has been available and authoritative since its original publication in 1914, what hasnít been published until now is the significant correspondence between the translator and the artist, who followed the progress of his bookís transformation closely, and who offered numerous insights into and explanations of its meanings. These letters, from the archives of Tate Britain, have here been appended to Kandinskyís text to provide the first comprehensively annotated edition of this seminal work. This volume, which supersedes any previous edition, includes the letters, Kandinskyís prefaces and prose poems relating to the period in which the book was written and Sadlerís selected writings on art. It is more than an expanded edition--it is a major event, the first full account of a remarkable literary collaboration.
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Credo:
"Christians do not hold the truth, we are held by it." About Tom: "My graduate degree is in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Science and philosophy are things I do in my free time. Does that
hinder my credibility here? I hope not. I do my homework, and I stick
to things I understand, or if I have questions you’ll know about it in
what I write... I/O Psych is among the most quantitative (i.e. mathematical) of all the
social sciences. The “hard” scientists sometimes say that none of the
social sciences are really science, but this comes as close as you’re
going to get. It has the advantage as well of trying to account for
personality, which enters into a lot of my thinking about evidences for
God, the ultimate personality. But the main question I invite you to
ask is, “Does what I say make sense?” And if it doesn’t, by all means
leave a comment and let me know!"
"The Project of Natural Theology" in The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (Blackwell: 2009), p. 12.
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In contemporary particle physics, objects without mass are posited with primitive charges or spins, which are presumed to be the basic foundations for explaining more complex events. Positing a basic power, terrestrial or divine, is not, ipso facto, explanatorily empty. ... In the sciences, we may well claim that with respect to any explanation, further questions can be asked of it, but this is not the same thing as claiming that science does not or cannot posit basic powers and accounts that are not themselves explained by further powers or scientific accounts. If the sciences can allow that subatomic particles have basic powers, it is hard to see how we can rule out that intentional agents have basic powers.