The website of John C. Snider
[Originally posted on April 2, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Yes, I blew $20 at the Creation Museum, brainchild of Answers in Genesis front-man Ken Ham. It’s located in northern Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio. On the drive up along I-75 I didn’t see any billboards advertising it, but there was one of those brown …
[Originally posted on March 19, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Walter Isaacson’s celebrated biography Einstein: His Life and Universe proves one thing: while Albert Einstein was not the greatest scientist who ever lived, he’s one of the greatest thinkers who ever lived. He wasn’t a scientist in the sense we might think, overseeing experiments and poring meticulously over data; rather, Einstein was a …
[Originally posted on March 10, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] If there’s one point author Melody Moezzi drives home in her new book War on Error: Real Stories of American Muslims, it’s that American Muslims have their work cut out for them these days. They are, to coin a phrase, caught between two worlds. The English name “Melody” …
A thoughtful documentary explores the rift between mainstream Christianity and Mormonism [Originally posted on March 2, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Article VI of the Constitution states, in part, “…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” It is generally agreed that this means no …
Bishop John Shelby Spong’s controversial demolition and (hopeful) rehabilitation of Jesus of Nazareth. [Originally posted February 10, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Jesus was born in a perfectly natural way in Nazareth. His mother was not the icon of virgin purity. His earthly father, Joseph, was a literary creation. His family thought he [Jesus] was out of his …
In this book from 2003, philosopher Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell) tries to reconcile free will and Darwinian theory. [Originally posted October 2004 at SciFiDimensions.com; re-posted on February 3, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Does free will exist? It’s a thorny issue that philosophers have tangled with for millennia. And despite the occasional claim of victory, the …
A review of Peter Nichols’ biography of Robert Fitzroy, captain of the H.M.S. Beagle [Originally posted in February 2004 at SciFiDimensions.com; re-posted on February 2, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Every schoolchild and amateur scientist knows (or should) that Charles Darwin began developing his ideas about evolution and the origin of species while on a round-the-world voyage aboard …
[Originally posted January 23, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Concluding my interview with singer/songwriter Susan Werner, whose latest album The Gospel Truth is an unusual collection of songs that combine “the music of faith and the lyrics of doubt.” In Part One (The Genesis of The Gospel Truth) she discusses what motivated her to launch this project. In Part Two …
[Originally posted January 22, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Continuing my interview with singer/songwriter Susan Werner, whose latest album The Gospel Truth is an unusual collection of songs that combine “the music of faith and the lyrics of doubt.” In this second installment, she talks about the response of fans to this (as far as we can tell) unique artistic …
[Originally posted January 21, 2008 at AmericanFreethought.com.] Singer/songwriter Susan Werner has been on the music scene for over fifteen years. She has toured nearly constantly and released seven successful albums (including I Can’t Be New, her delightful homage to Tin Pan Alley), and despite consistent critical acclaim and positive audience response, she flies just under the …