Should Christians bank with Barclays? A provocative question, perhaps, and not one that I will be able to answer definitively. But I think it is a question that rarely even gets asked. For m...
A prayer to the Markets Photo by Andrew Magill A moment's thought may have led you to think that speaking of the markets doing this or that is just shorthand for speaking of...
Has the USA improved since 9/11? I don't know what to make of the USA. On the one hand, it is in many ways the most Christian nation on the planet. But on the other hand, I'm coming to ...
Eat lots of meat or feed starving people? As part of a very gradual process of repentance, I've decided to cut down on how much meat I eat. The Guardian had an article a few days ago asking Is ...
Why would a Christian join the Green Party? Yesterday I joined the Green Party. I said a bit about my journey from political indifference to to political ... difference (?). Today I want to say a ...
I’ve joined the Green Party Apparently, "In 2005, only 1.3% of the [UK] electorate [44 million] was a member of one of the main political parties", with a few tens of thousands in...
Massive arms fair - subsidised by your taxes! Video from Britain! Stop arming the world! Among the hard facts: In 2010, the UK sold tear gas, crowd control armament and sniper rifles to Libya ...
“Does York Need a Mega Mosque?” So began a bizarre and anonymous sheet of paper that came through the door yesterday. Bizarre, because no one is asking that question. (And a building ...
What is consumerism? Thinking aloud, I wonder if we could characterise consumerism as being a view of the world in which the sensory aspect is the only aspect that matters. ...
A rant about riots At times like this it is difficult to resist the temptation to make unsubstantiated generalisations and rant uncontrollably about what you think is wron...
What are universities for? I've had this lecture opened in my browser for months, and have just got round to listening to it. Here's a sentence to whet your appetite: And yet, if ...
Why vote yes to AV? Just a reminder that, for me at least, May is the month for saying "Yes!" And here is why I would recommend a "Yes!" vote in the alternative vote (AV) ...
No more tactical voting under AV Since last week's voting flowchart I've been pondering whether tactical voting is sensible under AV. I don't think it is. Under FPTP, tactical voting is...
How complicated is the Alternative Vote? I've been slightly bemused by claims that the Alternative Vote (AV) is more complicated than the voting system we currently endure in the UK, First Past...
The life you can save I wouldn't say I'm the biggest Peter Singer fan in the world, but this is pretty powerful (hat tip: Make Wealth History).
Kepler on the value of blue-skies research Is scientific research worth doing only if it serves an obviously "useful" purpose? Kepler thought not: For has not the all-merciful Creator ... given e...
You might be my sixth cousin I'm a bit behind on my Guardian Science Weekly Podcasts, but I learned this evening that you might well be my sixth cousin (according to Steve Jones). Y...
Una extravagant wedding This has to be one of the most extraordinary things I've ever seen or heard - and we're doing part of it in the wonderful Brighton Early Music Festival ...
Is there no alternative? For a long time I've been aware of the Jubilee Centre in Cambridge, but only recently have I started to delve more deeply into their resources. Tonight'...
AV again: support or preference? As I mentioned a few days ago, I'm strongly in favour of electoral reform, and given the choice between the Alternative Vote (AV) and First-Past-The-Pos...
Does the AV guarantee majority support? The "Alternative Vote" is clearly a huge improvement on the "First Past The Post" system currently used to elect MPs in the UK, mainly (in my opinion) b...
Save the crêperie! The best café at Sussex University is facing closure. Do sign up to show your support. However, I was intrigued by this comment: In a letter to Michael ...
Happy first birthday, Herschel and Planck! It's one year ago today that Herschel and Planck were propelled up into space to survey the Universe—the "cool" Universe, to be more specific—on behalf ...
Defending first-past-the-post? Just read Is this the time for electoral reform? on Times Online, in which Ken Ritchie, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, says "Yes", and...
On The Christian Institute’s Election Briefing How should Christians vote in the General Election? That's not an easy question to answer. Politics is messy, government is messy, politicians and polit...
On the shoulders of (medieval) giants What did the Middle Ages ever do for us—for science in particular? Not a lot, I hear you say? The Greeks laid the foundations, and then, after the fall ...
Red, green or blue? Right, I'm going to do something very countercultural, so hold tight. No, don't worry, I'm not going to leave Facebook or switch my mobile phone off. M...
Alice in Wonderland (2010) Right, Mr Burton, I'd like a new film please. How about "Alice in Wonderland"? That will draw the crowds in by the title alone. What, you can make it 3D...
Brighton going Green? I'm quite excited about this General Election thing. For one thing, struggling to overcome my very British apathy and cynicism, I'm beginning to find po...
Haiti in The Onion The Onion - "America's Finest [satirical] News Source" - light-hearted, harmless, chuckle chuckle, how amusing, better get back to work now. Not this pi...
Free speech As a Bible-believing Christian, I am deeply committed to freedom of expression and to tolerance (for example, of those with whom I deeply disagree). I'...
Stand up for research The UK government appears to be under the impression that it should preferentially fund scientific research that has direct economic value. This, of cou...
Freecycle Brighton recycled? I've been using Freecycle Brighton for a few years now. Since I blogged about it in 2006, I've successfully used it to get rid of an upright piano, a ta...
How to vote ethically I know nothing about politics. Okay, I know what I think about a few controversial moral issues, but the rest - the other 99% or so - is a complete myst...
Simon Singh sued Chiropractic is all about manipulating the spine to cure various ailments. It's all over the news at the moment because of something Simon Singh wrote i...
David Robertson on secular belief and society David Robertson, author of The Dawkins Letters, is due to visit Brighton in June/July. Yesterday he was on Premier Christian Radio's Unbelievable? progr...
Film discussion: Iron Man (2008) Just back from a film discussion at my church, at which we watched Iron Man (2008) and then used the following questions to delve under the surface of t...
Peter Hitchens on equality and diversity Commenting on the scandal of nurse Caroline Petrie offering to pray for a patient, Peter Hichens made this observation: After an earlier incident she wa...
The government shall be upon his shoulders NT Wright, speaking on Christmas Eve: ‘Unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders.’ [Isaiah 9] Unl...
All religious beliefs are equal … ... but some beliefs are more equal than others. At least it seems that way when "equality" legislation is applied to justify the withdrawal of funding ...
Dawkins on rape Presenter of Premier Radio's Unbelievable? programme "Justin Brierley spoke to prominent atheist Richard Dawkins after his debate with Professor John Le...
Confirmation bias Professor Aardvark has a theory. His theory predicts X. So he does some experiments and presents a tentative scientific result, suggesting that X might ...
Religious exclusivity and world peace What is the main barrier to peace in the world?</p> asks Tim Keller in the first of a series of talks related to his new book, The Reason for God....
Opto ergo sum (4) free to choose To be free to choose is to be free from commitment ... because to be committed means you've chosen already. To be free to choose is to be free from bel...
Opto ergo sum (3) you are what you listen to You're at a party. Talking to someone new. It's someone of the opposite sex. Thought goes through your mind (again): maybe this could be the one? Who k...
Tolerance, equality and diversity Tolerance, equality and diversity: three words that reflect the core values of our culture. But what do they mean? Listen carefully, because these wor...
Recitals in May I'll be trying my hand at singing a couple of solo recitals this month, with James Lloyd Thomas accompanying me on the piano, and with a guest appearanc...
Good Friday Bach What better way to spend Good Friday evening than at a live performance of possibly the most profound piece of music ever composed? I'm referring, of co...
A cappella Bach This Saturday (17 March) I'll be singing (as an extra) with the Brighton Consort for Bach and the German Tradition, featuring two of Bach's glorious mot...
Does Richard Dawkins exist? For a novel take on this perplexing question, read this, or listen to this:
Freecycle Got something you don't want any more, but it would be a shame to throw it away? Or is there something you want that someone else might be trying to get...
HIV statistics Earlier this week I sang in a choir for a Christmas concert to raise money for treatment of HIV patients. I thought I'd do some research. It is often tr...
Opto ergo sum (2) I choose therefore I am I've been thinking lately about what it is that makes us tick. There has been plenty of discussion in the media about what makes a person British - in t...
Opto ergo sum (1) six choices before breakfast We're surrounded by choices. Here are six I was compelled to make before breakfast. Should I get up? I'm not a slave or a child. No one will force me t...
Sorry, Zidane? Zidane is reported to "apologise" for his "inexcusable" headbutt in Sunday's World Cup final. But he added, "I can't regret it". Huh?
Structured Procrastination Found the key to organizing my life: Structured Procrastrination. Now, what was I trying to avoid doing...
Ceci what? For those of you still in the dark, René Magritte, a Beligan surrealist artist, painted La trahison des images (The Treachery Of Images) in the 1920s. ...