ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 37

Pair of studies confirm there is water on the moon

By Ben Guarino and Joel Achenbach There is water on the moon’s surface, and ice may be widespread in its many shadows, according to a pair of studies published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy. The research confirms long-standing theories about the existence of lunar water that could someday enable astronauts to live there for extended …

GOP House Candidate Was a Sexual Predator in College, Say Christian Classmates

By Hemant Mehta One of the U.S. House seats Republicans hope to keep on their side of the fence next week is the one representing North Carolina’s 11th District. There’s reason to believe 25-year-old Madison Cawthorn (below) — a MAGA cultist in every sense of that word — will retain support from the red-leaning district, but it’s not …

Mask exemptions based on religious beliefs granted in Williamson Co. schools

By Levi Ismail Parents in Williamson County are applying for mask exemptions based on religion and school officials from both districts say little stands in their way. Franklin Special School District is hardly the only district where these rules apply. They just happen to be one of the few willing to be transparent about what …

Ministries Claim New State Laws Violate Their Religious Freedoms

By Patrick Szabo On Sept. 28, the Alexandria-based Calvary Road Baptist Church, the Staunton-based Community Fellowship Church, the Charlottesville-based Community Christian Academy and the Lansdowne-based Care Net pregnancy center filed a lawsuit against Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, Senior Assistant Attorney General Thomas Payne and the State Corporation Commission in Loudoun County Circuit Court alleging …

NASA’s first attempt to sample an asteroid in space made a mess. It’s the best mess ever, scientists say.

By Tariq Malik A NASA spacecraft has really made a mess of things on the asteroid Bennu, and scientists are thrilled. The spacecraft, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe, briefly touched down on Bennu Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 21) in the space agency’s first-ever attempt to collect samples of an asteroid. It will take time to confirm if OSIRIS-REx did, in fact, collect pieces …

Coronavirus outbreak strikes L.A. megachurch that defied public health orders

By Jaclyn Cosgrove An evangelical megachurch in Los Angeles that has defied L.A. County public health orders and held indoor worship services for the last several weeks has been struck with an outbreak of the coronavirus, public health officials confirmed Thursday. Grace Community Church in Sun Valley has seen three confirmed cases, according to the …

How Amy Coney Barrett could change the Supreme Court’s balance on religious liberty

By Jack Jenkins Since the moment Judge Amy Coney Barrett was announced as President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, debate has swirled around how Barrett’s Catholic faith might affect how she would rule on various issues — especially abortion. But some scholars and …

How The Christian Post Sold Its Soul For Trump

By Napp Nazworth I was politics editor of The Christian Post from 2011 to 2019. I watched it go from anti-Trump to reluctant-Trump to pro-Trump. When leadership made it clear the site would pledge its allegiance to Trump, I faced a tough choice: Should I stay or should I go? This is the story of CP’s gradual descent …

Turbulent environment set the stage for leaps in human evolution and technology 320,000 years ago

By Richard Potts People thrive all across the globe, at every temperature, altitude and landscape. How did human beings become so successful at adapting to whatever environment we wind up in? Human origins researchers like me are interested in how this quintessential human trait, adaptability, evolved. At a site in Kenya, my colleagues and I have been working …

How Should an Atheist Think About Death?

By George Yancy In five previous interviews in this series we’ve explored the Buddhist, Jain, Taoist, Jewish and Christian views on death and the afterlife. But what about those without any religious faith or belief in God? Why not, some readers have asked, interview an atheist? So we did. Today’s conversation is with Todd May, the author …