I have been buried in Plutarch, Jean Paul Sarte, feminist theory, and Corinthians all day today, which means I'm pretty much wiped out. I was planning on writing up some reflections on Google Buzz, but will wait until John offers the definitive word on it (short version: still not impressed).
That said, here are a few noteworthy articles and corresponding reactions.
Morality Research Sheds Light on the Origins of Religion
"There is no doubt that spiritual experiences and religion, which are ubiquitous across cultures and time and associated exclusively with humans, are ultimately based in the brain. However, there are many unanswered questions about how and why these behaviors originated and how they may have been shaped during evolution."
Are they required to make these sorts of hyperbolic, sweeping dismissals of non-physical causes in science news articles?
Alphonse: Untimely Rippd: This is a mildly disturbing, deeply pro-life graphic novel. And it's interesting. No, fascinating.
How to Fall from 35,000 Feet and Survive: "Statistically speaking, it’s best to be a flight crew member, a child, or traveling in a military aircraft. Over the past four decades, there have been at least a dozen commercial airline crashes with just one survivor. Of those documented, four of the survivors were crew, like the flight attendant Vulovic, and seven were passengers under the age of 18. That includes Mohammed el-Fateh Osman, a 2-year-old wreckage rider who lived through the crash of a Boeing jet in Sudan in 2003, and, more recently, 14-year-old Bahia Bakari, the sole survivor of last June’s Yemenia Airways plunge off the Comoros Islands."
Because, you know, you might need to know this stuff. You know.
An Interview with Matt LaBash: I am not going to say anything other than This. Must. Be. Read. LaBash is one of the most talented writers around, and though it's a bit crude in parts, it's amusing all the way down.
The Limits of Bioethics. I haven't read it yet, but plan to this weekend.
An Interview with...Me. Joe Gorra over at Biola got wind of what we're up to around here and decided to toss some questions at me to find out if I would flinch. I told him they were above my pay grade, but he insisted on answers....so I gave them to him. We cover lots of territory, so enjoy.
Matthew Lee Anderson
Matthew Lee Anderson is an Associate Professor of Ethics and Theology in Baylor University's Honors College. He has a D.Phil. in Christian Ethics from Oxford University, and is a Perpetual Member of Biola University's Torrey Honors College. In 2005, he founded Mere Orthodoxy.
