By Paul Heffron Andrew L. Seidel, The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American (Sterling, 2019). When the U.S. Constitution was presented to the states, some clergy and theologians complained bitterly because there was no Christian foundation in the document, no mention of God or the Bible. Instead it began with âWe the people,â allowed …
By Nathan Curland
I came upon A Troublesome Inheritance after having read The Bell Curve by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray (which I picked up because I wondered what the fuss over their book was all about). I was interested to see if anyone had done any follow up. You see, The Bell Curve was written in the early 1990s based on a couple of large data sets that were available at the time, wherein the authors studied the relationship between intelligence (as defined by IQ) and American class structure. They concluded that IQ (just as other characteristics) is to a significant extent (more than 50 percent) handed down from one generation to the next via genes, and this largely affects an individualâs place in U.S. society.Â
By Mary McLeod
“Two Popes,” presented on Netflix, explores the relationship between Pope Benedict and his eventual successor, Pope Francis, after the death of John Paul II. You donât have to love the Catholic Church, or be a believer, to appreciate this film. I found it engaging and heartfelt, with sometimes funny, often passionate, and ultimately human dialogue.
By Nathan Curland
I was introduced to the book Thinking, Fast and Slow by Lee Wetzel at a Critical Thinking Club Meeting a few months ago. Lee is a financial consultant and cited the insights in this marvelous book to describe why investors can make decisions that appear to an outside observer to be irrational, thus contradicting the prevailing economic theories that the stock market is composed of rational actors. This intrigued me, so I went to the Hennepin County Library system to order a copy, which I received in about three months.
By Paul Heffron
A new book by Christopher Grasso, Skepticism and American Faith: From the Revolution to the Civil War (Oxford University Press, 2018), presents a new take on early U.S. history, which might lead to a revision in the historiography of that era. The conventional view of this history is that the Revolution, and the founding of the United States through the Constitution, were influenced by Enlightenment thought, but that the secularism and rationalism of the founders faded in the Early Republic and were succeeded by what Grasso calls an âEvangelical Tsunami.âÂ
By Mary McLeod
There arenât many TV series that feature an atheist as protagonist. But Netflix recently offered âAfter Life,â created by and starring British comedian Ricky Gervais. HofMN member Mary McLeod offers this review: The series centers on Tony, a misanthrope of massive proportions, who talks about suicide constantly, and calls his curmudgeonly hate a superpower. He claims there is no advantage to being nice, or caring, or having integrity, because the world will just defeat you in ways you canât imagine. In other words, his wife, whom he loved beyond words, has died.
By Nathan Curland
âContemporary atheism is a flight from a godless world.â âThe progress of humanity has replaced belief in divine providence.â âThe idea that the human species realizes common goals throughout history is a secular avatar of a religious idea of redemption.â These provocative statements open John Grayâs newest book, Seven Types of Atheism. The title of his tome is a nod to literary critic and poet William Empson, whose Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930), he says, âshowed how language can be open-ended without being misleading.â
By Michael Anderson
I have always been fascinated by the American presidency. In college and adulthood I began to read about all the presidents and their leadership styles. One of my favorite historian/authors is Doris Kearns Goodwin.This review is about her latest book, Leadership in Turbulent Times, which focuses on four of my favorite presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Lyndon Baines Johnson.
By Nathan Curland
In his latest book, Michael Shermer — publisher of Skeptic magazine, author, and Scientific American columnist — offers a comprehensive review of what science can (or cannot) say about the afterlife, immortality, and the past and present searches for possible future utopias.
By Michael Anderson
I’ve been a fan of Steven Pinker since 1994 when I came across his book The Language Instinct. I have read everything he’s written since then, with my favorite being The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. His newest book is Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress â and as usual he blows me away with his intellect, wit, and distinctive writing style.
I was first introduced to Erik Vance when he was interviewed about his book by Steve Mirsky on a “Science Talk” podcast on Scientific American Online in November. That interview motivated me to borrow a volume from the library. It is quite a find.
Homo sapiens have, in the last few millennia, filled every corner of the planet andâin less than 100 yearsâhave for all practical purposes conquered plague, famine, and war. How did this happen?
What sets Homo sapiens apart from other species? What is the mind? Or consciousness? Do we have free will or are we just algorithms?
Few would call Jodi Picoult a literary author, that is a Nobel- or Pulitzer-quality writer. She does not experiment with the art form, but primarily writes straightforward novels about social issues many are still puzzling over or up in arms about, long after publication.
By Paul Heffron
The author has impressive academic and professional credentials and does an excellent job of presenting humanism for kids ages 10 and up.
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