I think we all know the answer to this question already, so I won't belabor the point, other then to refer you folks to this Cato report, which gives an excellent discussion about the risks of terrorism, and how they have been grossly inflated -- by politicians to garner our votes…
Just yesterday, I saw on the news that Bush has a new strategy for Iraq: he'll be giving a series of (ridiculous) speeches aimed at justifying his invasion of Iraq. He still believes his poll numbers are in the tank because Americans have a perception problem. That's perhaps why he…
Christians who declare their belief in Biblical creationism leave all sorts of unanswered questions in their wake. Here are a few.
Question 1: Why are there so many near-human animals?
Let’s say Darwinian evolution is “just a theory” and that one of the Bible’s two creation stories (yes, there are two in Genesis) correctly explains the origin of life on earth. Why, then, do apes and monkeys exist? Why did God create animals — especially chimps and bonobos — that are almost genetically identical to humans? If God created us in his image, wouldn’t it have made a lot more sense for no other animal on earth to be even remotely similar to us? Why would God create so many other primates — ANIMALS — that share over 95% of our DNA? Moreover, why would God give them social behaviors nearly the same as ours; language skills nearly the same as ours; emotions, the ability to use tools, even bipedalism, compassion and self-awareness all nearly the same as ours? Indeed, if we look at virtually any metric of mental ability, the average rhesus monkey behaves more human-like than did the brain damaged Terri Schiavo, whom President Bush and many Republican Members of Congress rushed to “save” because they believed she displayed human consciousness. Assuming that no species on our planet arose from evolution, but from instantaneous creation by God, why are there so many near-human animals? Why would God do this?
Erich and I have previously mentioned Christian selection bias -- the practice of crediting "God" with prayers that are "answered" while ignoring the many examples of prayers that are not (also known as confirmation bias) -- but today I saw, for the first time, an explicit call for this bias among Christians. …
We all know about war: male-dominated animal species -- from humans to bighorn sheep -- settle their disputes with combat. But bonobos -- a matriarchal primate species -- settle their disputes with sex. Of course, humans sometimes do this too -- it's called make-up sex -- but bonobos use it for…