There is no Lee Strobel
February 17, 2010 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, people, religion, social and literary criticism
Or rather, I am very skeptical that there is anyone who fits the images that Lee Strobel and people like him have created for themselves. Let me explain.
Vic Reppert is fond of suggesting that while Christians may have emotional motivations for their beliefs, atheists do to. Repperts comments sometimes border on suggesting it’s dishonest to [...]
Awful Guardian piece on the climate non-scandal
February 3, 2010 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under climate change, dating, science
Via The Volokh Conspiracy, the Guardian has a new piece which appears to show that, finally, journalists have discovered something scandalous in the hacked climate research e-mails. Except that once again, if you look closely, the situation hasn’t changed from what I described in December. A scientist was accused of fraud, but there’s no evidence [...]
Continue Reading »Masturbation isn’t bad for you, kids
January 25, 2010 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under religion, social and literary criticism
From The New Yorker (HT: Andrew Sullivan):
Too often, though, evangelical literature directed at teen-agers forbids all forms of sexual behavior, even masturbation. “Every Young Woman’s Battle,” for example, tells teen-agers that “the momentary relief” of “self-gratification” can lead to “shame, low self-esteem, and fear of what others might think or that something is wrong with [...]
Quote of the Time Being
January 24, 2010 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under quote of the time being, social and literary criticism
Thus, poly people do not compete for status and sexual attention via dick size or bust size, but rather through a process I call the Social-Awareness Olympics. Pity the fool who owns a pair of Nikes, makes a less-than-laudatory remark about labor unions, or admits disliking tofu.
-Mistress Matisse
Robin Hanson and Christian Lander would like that [...]
Why I’m glad I read Robin Hanson
December 30, 2009 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under social and literary criticism
After months of reading Robin Hanson, status-based and trying-to-appear-a-certain-way-based explanations of human behavior come naturally to me, so much so that I’m often surprised when people hesitate at all to embrace them. In a post criticizing the TSA’s response to the recent failed terror attack, Ed Brayton said “If you’re really cynical, you could make [...]
Continue Reading »