Cosmic Log : Religion

Darwin's brightest hour

Alan Boyle — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:25:00 GMT

Chris Reardon / NGT

Henry Ian Cusick portrays Charles Darwin in "Darwin's Darkest Hour."

This year serves as a double anniversary for Charles Darwin: It's been 200 years since the birth of the naturalist, as was noted widely back in February.

Now there's a second wave of books and broadcasts that serve to mark the 150th anniversary of Darwin's masterwork, "On the Origin of Species."

The tangled genesis of that work is the focus of "Darwin's Darkest Hour," a two-hour docudrama premiering tonight on PBS.

The show features a little more star power and a little less laboratory time than you usually see in a science documentary on public TV, and that's because the "Nova" / National Geographic production team went with a scripted approach that's reminiscent of a Jane Austen adaptation.

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Choose your afterlife

Alan Boyle — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:20:00 GMT

Gustave Dore via Art Passions

In this illustration for Dante's "Paradiso," the poet beholds heaven's highest realm.

What if God is a microbe, and we're just the hosts for the creatures made in Its image? A neuroscientist and self-described "possibilian" offers 40 thought-provoking possibilities for the afterlife in a slim book called "Sum."

The questions that David Eagleman deals with at his day job at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston are already pretty far-out: How do our brains construct reality? Why does our perception of time's flow change? Why do some people "see" music or associate numbers with colors?

But even at work, some of Eagleman's ideas are so far-out they have to be put aside ... until he goes home and writes about them.

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Readings in evolution

Alan Boyle — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:19:00 GMT

Nicolle Rager Fuller / NSF

Scientific and religious leaders are sharing their thoughts on the influence of
Charles Darwin's ideas, 150 years after the publication of "The Origin of Species."

Charles Darwin's 200th birthday may now be history, but the story behind the origins of species continues to be told. In fact, you might be hearing more about "The Origin of Species" at church this weekend, right after the scriptural readings: More than 1,000 religious congregations around the world have signed up to give sermons on the theme of reeligion and science as part of the fourth annual Evolution Weekend.

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Hope on a pale blue dot

Alan Boyle — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:32:00 GMT

NASA

Are you celebrating Christmas? Observing Hanukkah? Marking Sunday's winter solstice? Commemorating Carl Sagan's legacy?

Across the spiritual spectrum, this is the season of hope on our pale blue dot - even if you don't believe in God (or gods).

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Bible gets a reality check

Alan Boyle — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:44:00 GMT

Providence Pictures

Biblical archaeologist Ron Tappy examines the Tel Zayit abecedary, a 2,900-
year-old alphabet stone that suggests King Solomon was a real historical figure.
Tappy's findings figure in "The Bible's Buried Secrets," a PBS documentary.

"The Bible's Buried Secrets," premiering tonight on PBS, presents archaeological findings that will annoy believers as well as skeptics - which suggests the TV documentary just might be on the right track.

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Messianic message stirs debate

Alan Boyle — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:50:00 GMT

AFP - Getty Images

A foot-wide stone tablet is said to bear Jewish
messianic messages from the first century B.C.

Scriptural scholars are abuzz over a stone tablet that is said to bear previously unknown prophecies about a Jewish messiah who would rise from the dead in three days. But there are far more questions than answers about the tablet, which some have suggested could represent "a new Dead Sea Scroll in stone."

Do the tablet and the inked text really date back to the first century B.C., as claimed? Where did the artifact come from? Can the gaps in the text be filled in to make sense? Is the seeming reference to a coming resurrection correct, and to whom does that passage refer? Finally, what impact would a pre-Christian reference to suffering, death and resurrection have on Christian scholarship?

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The expelled evolutionist

Alan Boyle — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:01:00 GMT

Courtesy P.Z. Myers

P.Z. Myers is the evolutionist creationists love to hate: They hate him so much that he was expelled from an advance screening of "Expelled," even though the anti-evolution movie includes an interview with him.

During a visit to Seattle, the biology professor, blogger and "godless liberal" recounted the tale with relish - and then predicted that old-time creationism will be making a comeback.

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How science gets swiftboated

Alan Boyle — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:50:00 GMT

Premise Media Corp.

Actor Ben Stein, right, sits with a student outside a principal's office in a
trailer publicizing the documentary "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed."

Ben Stein has done good things and funny things during his more than three decades as an actor, economist and writer (going back to his days as a Nixon speechwriter). His latest work, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," is not that good and not that funny. There's something creepy about the documentary, which blends a no-holds-barred assault on evolutionary theory with what sounds like a high-minded cry for academic freedom. It's a 90-minute campaign ad, aimed at swiftboating science.

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The reviews are in on 'Expelled'

Alan Boyle — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:01:00 GMT

The film "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" gives the impression that "Big Science" is suppressing "smart new ideas" in America's classrooms - that is, ideas claiming that features of the natural world are so complex they had to be the work of an intelligent designer. The movie also reportedly follows up on efforts to blame evolutionary theory for much of what has ailed the world since Darwin, including Hitler and the Holocaust. I haven't seen "Expelled" yet, so it's hard for...(read more)

Religion vs. science vs. politics

Alan Boyle — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:25:00 GMT

In recent years, the holiday season has sparked plenty of reflection on the interplay between religion and science. We’re also heading into the prime political season, with science-related issues ranging from climate change to stem cell research. So you’d think scientific discourse would play a role on both those fronts this season. That’s not the case this year – and some of the people who think deep thoughts about science and society are wondering why not.

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