Category Archives: Religion

Pelham’s Law of Cognitive Error

Posted on October 14, 2012 by jackpelham

Pelham’s Law of Cognitive Error:  “I am most likely wrong about many things.” Cognitive science has solidly identified certain traits of human behavior by which people operate habitually at a sub-optimal level.  We make frequent cognitive errors, some of which … Continue reading →

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How Can You Tell When God Says “No”?

Posted on September 9, 2012 by jackpelham

You pray for a million bucks and two seconds later the doorbell rings.  You answer the door to find an angel with a big sack of money–$1Million, to be exact.  You consider this a “yes”—an “answered prayer”. You pray for … Continue reading →

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Commentary: The Coup De Grace by Ambrose Bierce

Posted on September 5, 2012 by jackpelham

This post is in response to a question sent in by a reader earlier today: I’m currently taking a Biomedical Ethics course at the college. Your writings cover a wide range of topics and interests so I thought you would … Continue reading →

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Bill Nye the Science Guy Waxes Unscientific on the Theories of Evolution and Creation

Posted on September 2, 2012 by jackpelham

NOTE: The author of this article believes not only that irrational creationists and irrational evolutionists alike are in the wrong, but that there are practically as many of one as there are of the other.  The goal of this criticism … Continue reading →

Posted in Fallacy, Logic, Religion, Science, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Thought Experiment: What Determines the Facts of the Christian Religion?

Posted on August 24, 2012 by jackpelham

Interestingly, there is no passage in the Bible where one can find a deliberately-written definition of the Christian religion.  Neither are there clear definitions of the terms “Christian” or “Christianity”.   No doubt, this can lead to some “fuzzy math” for … Continue reading →

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A Walk in the Cemetery

Posted on August 22, 2012 by jackpelham

One of the late Stephen Covey’s famous “7 Habits of Highly Successful People” was “Start with the end in mind.”  He suggested that one should consider what he would like to have said about him at his funeral, and then … Continue reading →

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Dysrationalia: God defending modern day Israel

Posted on August 22, 2012 by jackpelham

The following conversation (Facebook, on or about 21 August 2012)  shows an amazing display of irrational belief from the original poster.  Note the many attempts to elicit evidence from the OP, as well as the attempts to get him to acknowledge … Continue reading →

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I was with you right up until…

Posted on August 15, 2012 by jackpelham

As I regularly discuss controversial topics with people, I’m often left to interpret the silence with which some people respond to certain logical challenges.  (I call this “crickets”, as in hearing nothing but the crickets chirping.)  Anyway, being always the … Continue reading →

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Understanding What Does Not Constitute Logical Proof

Posted on August 12, 2012 by jackpelham

Let me say at the start that this is not an article on the nuts and bolts of logic.  No, this is an article about irrational human behavior that I have witnessed with such frequency and over such a long … Continue reading →

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The Dishonesty of Drive-By Assertions

Posted on July 30, 2012 by jackpelham

What’s a “drive-by assertion”?  It’s my name for an assertion that one makes and thereafter dodges rational debate on the matter. Here are a few varied scenarios that I believe to be typical of what’s going on in our cavalier … Continue reading →

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