tutor2u Religious Studies Blog

Archives

2012

April

  • Mississippi adopts anti abortion legislation
    Mississippi is the latest state to introduce new anti-abortion legislation. This could shut down its one remaining abortion clinic thus ending the possibility of abortion in that state. This action on the one hand “ensures the lives of the born and unborn are protected” (Governor Phil Bryant) yet on the
  • Abortion - Who decides?
    Recent press interest on abortion has ranged from doctors signing off abortions for women they have never met to whether ‘After Birth Abortion’ can be morally justified. BBC Moral Maze discusses abortion, considering the issue from all angles. Click here for BBC Moral Maze - The morality of abortion.
  • When is War Justified?
    What, if anything should Britain do about Libya? Or Syria? Although events have moved on in Libya much of the discussion is still relevant when it comes to considering what could make war just. Click here for the link to BBC Moral Maze

2011

October

  • The Absolutist
    The Absolutist, John Boyne (author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) Quite apart from the fact that it is BRILLIANT, it also ties in nicely with the AS syllabus.

September

  • Are we good or evil?
    Horizon asks the question ‘Are we born good or evil?’ BBC Horizon looks at genetics and brain function to establish if there is a ‘moral molecule’ inside of us. Click here for the link to BBC Horizon If we all have a general sense of morality, as the scientific research

January

  • Justice
    Michael Sandel has produced an excellent series on Justice. As well as being generally pretty interesting, it also contains some really useful descriptions of Virtue Ethics, Kantian Ethics and Utilitarianism.
  • Is religion bad for women?
    A conference in Newcastle this week has posed the question “Is religion responsible for keeping women in their place?”. Daphne Hampson, Professor of Divinity at the University of St Andrews argues that religion has proven to be hugely damaging to the equal rights of women. Last week Cheri Blair argued
  • Does Spider Man have Free -Will?
    Imagine that you are Spiderman and have just discovered that you have special powers. Do you have a moral obligation to use your new found powers to help other people? Is Spiderman a consequentialist? Does Spiderman really have to use his powers to do good? Why is he considered to
  • A2 Conscience Prezi
    These are useful summaries of all the key players in the A2 topic on Conscience. click here for no1 and click here for no 2
  • Teaching opportunities at Sha Tin College
    Interested in teaching in the Humanities Faculty at an excellent international school in Hong Kong?  We have a vacancy for a Teacher of Philosophy and Religious Studies (and possibly some History) from August 2011.  There is also a post of responsibility in the Faculty for a Coordinator of Theory of

2010

March

  • Jedi Knight intends to sue for religious discrimination
    A 31 year old Jedi has received an apology from the manager of his local Jobcentre after being asked to ‘dehood’ on a recent visit. However, Chris Jarvis does not believe this goes far enough and is now planning to sue for discrimination after feeling neither his religion nor beliefs
  • Can Science Answer Moral Questions?
    In his recent TED talk Sam Harris argues that science can and should be used to answer moral questions. He talks about the relationship between science and human values. Usually it is thought that science can help us understand what we value but never tells us what we ought to

2009

November

  • Love and Religion
    According to a recent survey having a rival in love is likely to make you feel more religious. According to Yexin Jessica Li, Arizona State University, the statistics seem to suggest that people vary in religiosity depending on the perceived mating market. Click here for the link to the article.
  • Muslim academics and students are turning against Darwin’s theory
    Nidhal Guessoum, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the American University of Sharjah, in the UAE, told a science conference on Saturday that in many places students and academics believed they had to make a ‘binary choice” between evolution and creationism. He went on to argue that teachers from high
  • The Oprah Religion
    Oprah Winfrey has announced her retirement from the tv chat show arena. Heralded as the mother of shows like Jerry Springer, Jeremy Kyle, Vanessa and even Richard and Judy, Oprah was a phenomenon that changed the world of tv ‘entertainment’. Sarah Churchill, in an interview with Steve Hewlett, discusses whether

October

  • Hip Hop Creation
    A hip hop musical introduction to creation and evolution- it describes the main events of the creation and then sets out the theory of evolution and the notion of the Big Bang. Well - at least it’s different! Click here for the link..

September

  • Darwin’s Influence on Literature
    The Newsnight panel discuss Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’. This contains an interesting debate between Rev Richard Coles, Margaret Atwood, Ruth Padel and Richard Dawkins about why people still resist the theory of evolution. Is it human behavior, is it the threat to religious authority or scriptural authority, is
  • Philosophers Football Match
    If you haven’t come across this before it’s a pretty funny introduction to the major philosophers of our time. click here for the link to the Monty Python Sketch
  • Darwin vs Dawkins is a phenomenon of our times
    Darwin shook the status quo but never went as far as publicly denying God. According to James Secord, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, “It is easy to make Darwin out to be like Richard Dawkins, and to see Darwin as an acid that
  • Darwin- Creation
    Just incase you hadn’t noticed Creation opens next Friday. Its billed as being about the man Darwin, his life and his legacy. It’s got to be worth a look! click here for a review
  • Teaching the Rwandan genocide
    The charity Survivors Fund (SURF) is undertaking a preliminary survey amongst UK teachers to develop a greater understanding of if and how the Rwandan genocide is taught in schools. Your input into this research will be greatly appreciated, if you can spare the time to answer the following brief ten

June

  • Happy Campers?
    The Times reports that Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, is helping to launch the first atheist summer camps. They will rival the summer holiday schemes usually run by church groups, scouts or guides. “Budding atheists will be given lessons to arm themselves in the ways of rational scepticism”.

May

  • What would Jesus Buy?
    Reverend Billy Talen, a preacher from America, is launching his UK tour “The Shopocalypse” with his gospel choir called the Church of Life After Shopping.
  • Plato Cave Revision AS
    Candidates should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of what might be represented in the Analogy of the Cave by the following: 1) the prisoners, the shadows, the cave itself, the outside world, the sun, the journey out of the cave and the return to the prisoners.
  • 3 Links for Revision on Religious Language
    Religious Language click here for a useful ink outlining the major issues and problems arising within this topic. click here for a briefer discussion of the issue. Very accessible. Mentions the key players in the debate. click here for a far deeper discussion of the issues. Has useful chapters with
  • Angels and Demons
    The theme of the film is the conflict between religion and science. It has met with mixed reviews. Whilst it is not as sacrilegious as The Da Vinci Code, there is still plenty to offend ones religious sensibilities. However, interestingly the Vatican describes the film as ‘harmless’. click here to
  • The Evolution of God
    Robert Wright’s book The Evolution of God is out next month in America. It is a non believers exploration of how religious doctrine and practice have changed and evolved through human history. The book expounds the view that our evolving view of God can be understood as the evolution of
  • Who thinks religion is important?
    Asians and Africans see religion as most important in their daily lives. Europeans are less of the belief that faith matters. 99% of people in Bangladesh agree that religion is part of their daily lives, whilst only 29% of those in Britain are of the same view. click here for
  • Can God make you rich and happy?
    According to a recent article in the Times there are economic benefits to being a Christian. There arppears to be a link between religiosity and upward economic mobility in the United States. Jonathan Gruber, a secular economist from MIT has argued that church going produces a boost in income.
  • God is Back
    Weber and Durkheim predicted the secularization of the world. Freud saw religion as neurosis. Neitzche stated confidently that “God is dead”. In fact, ever since Darwin, educated western though has considered religion to be a dying phenomena - ” the refuge of the ignorant, the superstitious”. In 1959 C. Wright

April

  • What do you get if you divide science by God?
    A prize winning quantum physicist says a spiritual reality is veiled from us and science offers a glimpse behind that curtain. The bizarre nature of quantum physics has attracted some speculation that that it is compatible with a ‘spiritual view of things’.
  • The Problem of Suffering
    Dr Alan Billings comments on the sheer precariousness of human life. He argues that to put your trust in God is to abandon all hope that life will go well simply because you are a person of faith. Drawing upon the experiences of those in Italy Dr Billings links the

March

  • Faith and the Credit Crunch
    Can religion really comment on economics? Does Christianity have anything relevant to say about the credit crunch?
  • Creationism to be taught in Science lessons in UK
    OCR is bringing in a study of Creationism into the GCSE biology from September. The spokeswoman for OCR said “candidates need to understand the social and historical context to scientific ideas both pre and post Darwin. Candidates are asked to discuss why the opponents of Darwinism thought the way they
  • More on Darwin
    This is an interesting look at some of the experiments Darwin created when investigating his theory of evolution. click here for the iplayer link
  • Darwin and Religion
    Darwins Dangerous Ideas. Thurs 9pm. BBC2 Andrew Marr I can’t recommend watching this enough. This is an excellent account of the origins of the science vs religion debate. Click here for the iplayer link

February

  • Russells Celestial Teapot
    Russells Celestial teapot analogy was designed to refute the argument that the burden of proof lies with the non-believer to disprove the claims of religions. It has been used more recently by Richard Dawkins in his book “A Devils Chaplain”. Dawkins has also reformulated the argument to be an Invisible
  • Darwin and Religion
    This BBC Thought for the Day is a useful introduction to the issues. Rev David Wilkinson 12th Feb Click here for the link
  • Do you know your Biblical references?
    Poet Laureate Andrew Motion has raised concerns that many students are coming unstuck because they do not understand their bible references. Test your knowledge with this quiz from the Bible Society. Click here  
  • Moral Monkeys and Kant
    In todays ‘Thought for the Day” Akhandadhi Das spoke about research presented last week to show that Monkeys express empathy and offer help when a fellow animal is in trouble. These findings seem to suggest that animals have a moral sense, thus calling into question the idea that humans are
  • Philosophers Football Match
    Strange but true - A board game simulating a football match between French and German Philosophers. If you fancy a go then click here for the link. It contains all of the rules and everything you’ll need to play!
  • ToK Deductive Logic
    The Headless Professor explains Deductive Logic using Venn diagrams really clearly. Click here for the link Headless Professor ‘Logic Stacks’ is also another very clear presentation of the way in which Deductive Logic works. Click here for the link. This is a good kinesthetic activity if you want to have
  • TOK Logic
    An excellent overview of the areas of Logic for the ToK course. This contains links and definitions. A great resource for students and teachers. Click here  
  • Evolution
    Here are three very different takes on evolution and the science/ religion debate.
  • Questions on the Truman Show
    Question Sheet Relevant to both the TOK course and the RE AS The film focusses upon issues of perception and reality, Plato’s Cave,  knowledge and truth.
  • Four Philosophical Questions
    Four Philosophical questions to make your brain hurt An interesting introduction to some of the issues that are relevant to the Theory of Knowledge IB Course.    
  • My Year of Living Biblically
    A.J. Jacobs My Year of Living Biblically He follows ALL of the laws in the Bible for a year. Its pretty interesting seeing the reactions he provokes in others. He has a humorous way of making a serious point about following things literally without asking why?.  
  • Genesis 1 -3 A Psychological Interpretation
    It is possible that the Bible writers are trying to explain something more fundamental to humanity itself rather than just be recounting historical/ scientific detail about the events. Is it important whether the creation took place exactly as it says in the bible or ought we be looking for other
  • 67% Chance God Exists
    Recent bus adverts from the humanist society have been telling people to stop worrying and enjoy life because there probably isn’t a god anyway. Dr Stephen Unwin would beg to differ. He has worked out the mathematical probability that God exists is exactly 67%.  

January

  • Abortion and Ethical Theory
    Abortion is the premature termination of a foetus from the womb, legal up to 24 weeks with the agreement of two doctors
  • The Problem of Evil
    John Hick defined evil as “physical pain, mental suffering and moral wickedness” For Hick, the consequence of evil is suffering
  • Teleological Argument
    The word ‘Telos’ is Greek for purpose. The Teleological argument thus argues that the universe is being directed towards a telos, an end purpose, and the a posteriori evidence of an apparent intelligent design in the world implies the existence of an intelligent designer, God.
  • Ontological Argument
    The word ‘ontos’ means ‘being.’ The Ontological argument thus attempts to prove the existence of God a priori by focusing on the nature of his existence or being. St. Anslem (1033-1109) was the Archbishop of Canterbury. His argument was first presented in the form of a prayer in his book,
  • Cosmological Argument
    The word ‘cosmos’ refers to the universe as an ordered, harmonious and holistic entity. The Cosmological argument therefore argues for the existence of God a posteriori based on the apparent order in the universe.

Page 1 of 2 pages  1 2 >