A Tippling Philosopher

editor's pick

'Beheaded babies': Horrific atrocity or propaganda?

In the public discourse over the Hamas-Israel conflict, one claim has suddenly taken center stage: that babies not only died in the violence, but that some were beheaded by Hamas. The difference is everything. The former might be a tragic by-product of the indiscriminate violence of war. The latter

Blasphemy

When a human individual is worshipped, criticism is blasphemy

In the process of turning a person into an unassailable god, we gradually open ourselves and others to overwhelming danger.

Aristotle

Theological arguments about...wet dreams

Natural law proponents use Aristotle and Aquinas to argue against ideas concerning sexual acts. Here, author Gunther Laird takes aim at their defenses.

Disinformation

How Russia is waging war...on me

As the war in Ukraine rages on, Russia's war efforts are not restricted to battlefields of Bakhmut. Instead, they stretch across the internet. And through my support of the truth in the Ukraine war, I have managed to find myself in their sights.

crime

The blind defenses of Russell Brand

Comedian, actor, raconteur, and of-late YouTuber Russell Brand has recently been accused of a number of sexual offenses. This has set social and mainstream media alight with opinions ranging from "I told you so" to "say it ain't so" to "stand with Brand.

Aristotle

Grappling with theistic arguments about gay marriage

My first book, The Unnecessary Science, has previously been reviewed and discussed here at OnlySky. It gives a philosophical and critical look at the thinking of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and then modern religious thinkers like Ed Feser who build on those foundations to make moral proclamations in line with their

crime

We are becoming more moral, not less. So why all the moaning to the contrary?

There is no doubt that society is becoming less religious. Statistics from the US, the UK, and many other developed nations show that religiosity is in decline. As a result of this demographic shift, there are those in society (particularly among the religious) who claim that, as a result, we

astronomy

Webb telescope finds possible signs of life on another planet

We might just have observed the first decent signs of life on another planet. We have NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to thank for the new evidence, gathering data from 120 light years away, outside of the Milky Way in the constellation Leo. The excitement stems from the

truth

Ramaswamy getting hit with the truth

It has so often been the case that politicians— especially fringe politicians— have sorely needed to be hit around the head by some serious truth. Too long have we allowed disinformation and conspiracy theories to permeate the information space and corrupt our political discourse. So it came with great joy

classical theism

The Problem of Divine Hiddenness

Divine hiddenness is a problem that has for some years in modern theology interested those of a skeptical preference. As ever, definitions are required: What is meant by “Divine Hiddenness”? For this, it would first be useful to do a brief dive into Christian theology. Within the typical Christian worldview,

Conservatives

Carlson, Heritage, Russia: Follow the money

Tucker Carlson has spent many an episode of his shows shouting about the importance of freedom of speech and decrying the left for cancel culture—yet he is happy to fawn over an autocrat who has shut down free press and free speech in a one-man cancel campaign. It is a hypocrisy best explained by gr

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Marjorie and me, a discussion, and a shower

It has been said, and wisely, that 97% of the activity in the shower involves winning fake arguments with absent antagonists. It was only the other day that I was arguing with Marjorie Taylor Greene in the shower about religion and politics and the Ukraine War.

conservatism

Christians: Jesus is too woke

I recently described why I think "woke" has become a vacuous word that means little more than "libtard" in modern parlance. It seems apropos, then, that Christianity Today also recently released a piece that saw the editor-in-chief claim (in a previous NPR interview) that evangelical Christianity

conservatism

What is 'woke'? It’s my trigger word

There is real confusion about what this now-common word actually means. Conservative author Bethany Mandel recently had a car crash of an interview where she froze, completely unable to define what “woke” means. This is somewhat surprising given that she is an author of a book in which she attacks “

transhumanism

Welcome to the Transhumanist Party

'Republicans and Democrats don't meet the minimum requirements for what's coming,' says Transhumanist Party presidential candidate Tom Ross. 'We have the singularity on its way faster than we were expecting. We need a whole executive branch focused on this.'

News Brief

Landmark High Court win for UK humanism

A recent High Court judgment recently found in favor of a humanist, and Kent County Council will not appeal the decision. This has been seen as a landmark ruling. The event might ignite discussions of whether or not humanism should be designated a religion. When looking at the definition for

climate change

Climate change solutions: It's a voting thing, and that's a worry

In a summer of broken records, it is hard not to sound like a broken record, but... Last month was the hottest June ever recorded on this planet. That really is worth emphasizing, since we have had a number of record-breaking years and months over the last 20 years. To

News Brief

Was it right for the US to give Ukraine cluster bombs?

Munitions of every kind have horrific outcomes. The hope in Ukraine is bringing this war to the best conclusion in the quickest timeframe.

secularism

Will bishops lose the automatic right to sit in the House of Lords?

There are only two nations on Earth where members of a religion are automatically given a seat in the state legislature: Iran, and the United Kingdom. All of the UK's 'Lords Spiritual' are Anglican bishops, despite 53% of Britons identifying as nonreligious and only 12% as Anglican. Now a cross-part

faith schools

UK's state-run CofE schools plan to 'double number of children who are Christian disciples'

The UK education system is not secular, and the Church of England is looking to schools as a recruitment pool for new believers.

Greece

The rise of the religious far right...in Greece

We can be forgiven for looking at elections at times and blaming the politicians for not being to our tastes. They are after all a reflection of the electorate to some degree. The first known democracy in the world was in Athens, Greece. In the modern nation of Greece, a

Russian invasion of Ukraine

The Kakhovka dam: How we know the Russians were to blame

The destruction of the hydroelectric power plant and dam on the Dnipro River in Ukraine on 6th June will probably have been devastating news to readers at the time but something that many will have forgotten about as we become over-satiated by our fill of daily news. But that catastrophe

miracles

Should we expect miracles in modern times?

I recently watched a Youtube video by Brian Dalton (aka "Mr. Deity") entitled “No Evidence,” and it got me thinking. His basic argument was that, in both the Old and New Testament, God was not shy in showing that he existed and demonstrating his enormous power. He did

inequality

The millionaires who want to tax the rich

The nonprofit group Patriotic Millionaires has lobbied Congress and engaged in public education to raise the minimum wage and to raise taxes on the rich—on themselves.

cognitive dissonance

Trump and his cult of cognitive dissonance

Trump is in legal hot water. But what will be more interesting for observers is not his reaction but that of his fervent followers.