13 March 2023
Due to a special request by chair Craig, I have delayed part 2 of my article on Geoff Botkin to write about a member of the Duggar family. I previously referenced the Duggar family in my article about Bill Gothard and the Institute in Basic Life Principles. They are an ultra-conservative, super-sized Christian family with 19 children that were z-grade reality television celebrities. But nowadays? They are best known for the notoriety of their eldest son, Josh Duggar.
19 December 2022
Until relatively recently Christian protestants had no problems with abortion. The only reference to it in the Christian Bible indicates that an abortion should be attempted if a woman becomes pregnant as a result of adultery (Numbers 5:27) There isn't much wriggle-room in this verse, so latterly fundagelical Christians would rather pretend it doesn't exist, because a bunch of money-grubbing racists decided abortion made an excellent stalking horse.
11 July 2022
As one of the oldest treatises on medical ethics, The Hippocratic Oath is understood to be a reflection of the beliefs and practices of the ancient Greek physicians for whom it was intended. The attention that the Oath has gained over the centuries has allowed it to assume a sort of authority in today's ethical debates and amongst modern doctors. However, the contradictions that arise between the oath and the remainder of the corpus show that the oath brings into question the appropriateness of that authority; its principles are presented as being based on ancient societal norms rather than fringe beliefs. It may be that the oath was as inapplicable and irrelevant to the lives of the ancient Greeks as it is today but you wouldn't know it from social media outrage.
6 September 2021
Texas has recently introduced a draconian new abortion law, one that feels not only perverse (in that it allows for civil lawsuits where anyone can sue those who are involved in providing abortion services), but also seems to be yet another attempt to test the Supreme Court's willingness to overturn Roe v Wade (the landmark Supreme Court decision on abortion that has allowed for legal abortions in the US for many years). And, so far, it seems that the Supreme Court, with its conservative majority, is willing to court this kind of testing of the waters.
1 November 2019
As one of the tweeters for NZ Skeptics, I've helped accumulate a diverse collection of followers, who inspire and educate me. However, lately, people with very different, and, frankly, misogynistic viewpoints have jumped into my bubble. This has also been an interesting and educating experience, because there is nothing like having your ideas challenged to get you to examine them critically. I've also impressed myself at my ability to live by the mantra “don't feed the trolls”.
1 August 2009
In an occasional feature we look back at issues from the early days of NZ Skeptic.
1 February 1990
I wonder if scepticism toward pseudoscience has any contribution to make to the abortion debate?