The complex life of Giordano Bruno

GiordanoBrunoStatueCampoDeFiori-225x300Giordano Bruno was a 16th century philosopher, theologian, and monk who was an early supporter of Copernicus’s heliocentric model of the universe. He was also burned at the stake by the Catholic church in 1600 at the age of 42 after being found guilty of heresy by the Roman Inquisition. That combination of circumstances has sometimes led to him being portrayed as the first martyr for modern science at the hands of religion. The somewhat ominous-looking image of the bronze statue of the brooding Bruno that is sited at the location of his execution in Campo de’ Fiori in Rome has become iconic.

The opening episode of Cosmos hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson (that I did not see) apparently had an extended tribute to Bruno. Corey S. Powell summarizes what Tyson supposedly said about him.
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What’s happening with the Westboro Baptist Church?

News reports have emerged that Fred Phelps, the founder and patriarch of the virulently anti-gay church based in Topeka, Kansas that his large extended family dominates, is near death and in a hospice facility. This is not a surprise since he is 84 years old and videos from a few years ago already showed him somewhat feeble, as if he were in poor health.
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Enticing men back into church

It is pretty well established that women are more likely to be regular churchgoers than men. The current discrepancy, while noticeable, is not yet huge but it has to be disturbing to the church hierarchy because in America, as soon as something is seen as essentially a feminine activity, a lot of men will drop off simply for fear of appearing to be wusses. And if one parent regularly skips church, children’s church going habits are likely to be affected as well.
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How to not let demons possess you

I have been worried recently about televangelist Pat Robertson. He has been saying some sensible things about how Christians should give up on things that flatly contradict science, like a 6,000 year old Earth. It seemed like he was not his usual nutty self and I was wondering whether he was suffering from some form of illness that actually increased his rationality.
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Great moments in (lack of) self-awareness

African countries like Uganda and Nigeria that recently passed appalling laws that subject gays in those countries to harsh penalties have been deservedly criticized. Some Christian leaders in those countries who supported the governments’ moves have hit back at their critics, saying that this whole idea of equal rights for gays is a western colonial import that is being foisted on the local population.
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Can the Noah story be made even worse?

When I wrote about the major Hollywood film Noah starring Russell Crowe as the arkmeister that is being released next month, I suggested that the filmmakers would have a tough time making Yahweh acceptable to the many religious people whom they need to buy tickets because there is no question that the story reveals him to be a monster. I said that I would be curious to see to what extent the filmmaker would go to sanitize Yahweh.
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Evangelicals try to escape responsibility for Uganda

The Ugandan president recently signed into law a bill passed by parliament that criminalizes homosexuality and imposes harsh penalties on homosexuals. This action was strongly urged by some American evangelicals who have taken their anti-gay hate message global, looking for countries that might be open to their message given that the people back home are increasingly rejecting it.
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