http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/ en tutor2u.net Copyright 2012 2012-04-18T12:35:57+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/mississippi-adopts-anti-abortion-legislation http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/mississippi-adopts-anti-abortion-legislation#When:12:35:57Z 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 other it appears to go directly against a womans basic right to an abortion as enshrined in the Roe vs Wade ruling of 1973. Click here for the link to the article in the LA Times RS Blog, AS Ethics, Revision Notes, Religious Ethics, 2012-04-18T12:35:57+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/abortion-who-decides http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/abortion-who-decides#When:18:22:28Z 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. RS Blog, AS Ethics, 2012-04-17T18:22:28+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-killing-of-osama-bin-laden http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-killing-of-osama-bin-laden#When:18:20:29Z Should we worry about the niceties of the judicial system when it comes to terrorism? Click here for the link RS Blog, AS Ethics, 2012-04-17T18:20:29+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/is-religion-bad-for-women http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/is-religion-bad-for-women#When:20:56:00Z 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 that over the years modern religion has fallen foul of fallible, masculine interpretation of key texts. However, Hampson argues that it is not simple a question of reinterpreting masculine versions of faith, but religion itself that is the problem. A transcendent, male divinity and a gendered hierarchy reflect all that is wrong with the patriarchal ideologies presented by the Abrahamic faiths. In her view religion has been central to modern day culture and has legitimized patriarchy. RS Blog, 2011-01-08T20:56:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/modern-take-on-the-nativity http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/modern-take-on-the-nativity#When:16:55:00Z Who says that the Nativity Story is dated? click hereor the digital version of the nativity RS Blog, 2011-01-06T16:55:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/can-science-answer-moral-questions http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/can-science-answer-moral-questions#When:20:14:00Z 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 value in the first place. It is often said that science deals with facts and facts and values seem to belong to different spheres. Sam Harris argues this is untrue. He believes that values are a certain kind of fact. If questions affect human wellbeing then they do have answers whether or not we can find them, by admitting there are right and wrong answers that affect how humans florish will change the way we talk about morality. Click here for the link Have a look at the discussion underneath the TED talk as well. RS Blog, A2 Ethics, AS Ethics, 2010-03-26T20:14:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/love-and-religion http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/love-and-religion#When:10:42:00Z 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. RS Blog, 2009-11-30T10:42:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-oprah-religion http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-oprah-religion#When:10:17:01Z 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 for some people the Oprah show took the place of religion. Sarah points out that there were elements of confession, worship (albeit of celebrities), morality, and ‘working through’ all contained within her show. Is this what accounted for her cultish following? click here for the link to the Radio 4 interview - The Media Show RS Blog, 2009-11-26T10:17:01+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/hip-hop-creation http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/hip-hop-creation#When:21:52:00Z 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.. RS Blog, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-10-07T21:52:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/darwins-influence-on-literature http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/darwins-influence-on-literature#When:22:11:00Z 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 it due to an emotional barrier? Click here for the link RS Blog, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-09-30T22:11:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/darwin-vs-dawkins-is-a-phenomenon-of-our-times http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/darwin-vs-dawkins-is-a-phenomenon-of-our-times#When:21:40:00Z 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 eats through our belief and faith, but Darwin didn’t see it like that”. RS Blog, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-09-20T21:40:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/happy-campers http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/happy-campers#When:20:15:00Z 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”. RS Blog, 2009-06-29T20:15:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/plato-cave-revision-as http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/plato-cave-revision-as#When:18:58:00Z 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. RS Blog, A2 Philosophy of Religion, 2009-05-15T18:58:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/3-links-for-revision-on-religious-language http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/3-links-for-revision-on-religious-language#When:18:49:00Z 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 links so that you can focus upon certain areas.   RS Blog, A2 Philosophy of Religion, 2009-05-15T18:49:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/origins-of-the-universe-revision http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/origins-of-the-universe-revision#When:22:40:00Z check this website out for a brief overview and loads of links click here for the link RS Blog, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-05-12T22:40:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-problem-of-evil-revision http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-problem-of-evil-revision#When:22:38:00Z Check out this web site for useful links and synopsis of the topic. click here for the link RS Blog, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-05-12T22:38:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-evolution-of-god http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-evolution-of-god#When:22:11:00Z 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 the human understanding of truth, that the evolving doctrines and practice of our faith might merely indicate humankind’s slow understanding of the real nature of the divine. RS Blog, 2009-05-12T22:11:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/who-thinks-religion-is-important http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/who-thinks-religion-is-important#When:18:34:00Z 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 the link to the complete list of statistics from the recent Gallup poll. RS Blog, 2009-05-07T18:34:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/can-god-make-you-rich-and-happy http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/can-god-make-you-rich-and-happy#When:18:43:00Z 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. RS Blog, 2009-05-04T18:43:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/god-is-back http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/god-is-back#When:18:49:01Z 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 Mills argued that “in due course the sacred realm shall disappear altogether, except possibly, in the private realm”. So why is religion making a come back? Did it ever really go away? RS Blog, 2009-05-03T18:49:01+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-problem-of-suffering http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/the-problem-of-suffering#When:19:25:00Z 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 problem of suffering with the experience of Christ on the cross. RS Blog, A2 Ethics, A2 Philosophy of Religion, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-04-10T19:25:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/more-on-darwin http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/more-on-darwin#When:22:05:00Z This is an interesting look at some of the experiments Darwin created when investigating his theory of evolution. click here for the iplayer link RS Blog, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-03-06T22:05:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/darwin-and-religion1 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/darwin-and-religion1#When:21:59:00Z 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 RS Blog, A2 Ethics, A2 Philosophy of Religion, AS Ethics, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-03-06T21:59:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/russells-celestial-teapot http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/russells-celestial-teapot#When:19:05:01Z 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 Pink Unicorn in The God Delusion (2006). For an interesting discussion of the flaws in Russells Celestial Teapot argument click here.   RS Blog, A2 Philosophy of Religion, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-02-24T19:05:01+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/darwin-and-religion http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/darwin-and-religion#When:22:12:00Z This BBC Thought for the Day is a useful introduction to the issues. Rev David Wilkinson 12th Feb Click here for the link RS Blog, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-02-19T22:12:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/do-you-know-your-biblical-references http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/do-you-know-your-biblical-references#When:21:01:00Z 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   RS Blog, A2 Ethics, A2 Philosophy of Religion, AS Ethics, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-02-18T21:01:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/moral-monkeys-and-kant http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/moral-monkeys-and-kant#When:19:56:00Z 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 unique. Does this have implications for the Moral Argument as a proof for the existence of God? RS Blog, AS Ethics, AS Philosophy of Religion, IB TOK, Emotion, 2009-02-18T19:56:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/philosophers-football-match http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/philosophers-football-match#When:20:22:01Z 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! RS Blog, A2 Ethics, A2 Philosophy of Religion, AS Ethics, AS Philosophy of Religion, IB TOK, Revision Notes, Philosophy of Religion, 2009-02-17T20:22:01+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/more-for-the-science-and-religion-debate http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/more-for-the-science-and-religion-debate#When:18:32:00Z The Richard Dawkins Debate - article from the Times Monday 16th Feb click here for the link Loads of links to watch/read/listen to.   RS Blog, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-02-16T18:32:00+00:00 http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/how-people-view-the-theory-of-evolution http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/religious-studies/comments/how-people-view-the-theory-of-evolution#When:19:32:00Z An article from The Economist containing some interesting facts and figures. Click here for the link RS Blog, AS Philosophy of Religion, 2009-02-13T19:32:00+00:00