Here's an interesting piece from Cornelius Hunter's blog (PhD in biophysics and computational biology; read: he ain't no hack). This "junk DNA" is a favorite point of appeal to people who want to see alien fiddling with the human genome (like Zecharia Sitchin). It's...
science
Natural Wonders Mistaken for UFOs
This is a pretty sweet post from the Authentic UFO blog. I agree with the blogger that whoever put this together deserves kudos. Very nice presentation of cool natural wonders, some of which are confused for "paranormal" phenomena. I especially hope those who like to...
Turin Shroud Site from the BBC
There's a nice link within this article to a (sort of) interactive display of the shroud. Nicely done.
The Scoop on Junk DNA
No, it's not alien DNA. What a shocker. Ancient Astronaut fundamentalists love to tout "junk DNA" in humans like it's this impenetrable mystery because it's alien in origin. No, it's not. Read about the work being done in this regard here.
Atheism as UFO Religion, Part 2
I've found a second atheist's commentary on "belief" in UFOs. Atheist: The belief in God(s) is purely and simply based in faith, no matter what religion you come from. Faith is defined simply as belief in something without evidence or proof. MSH: This is actually an...
Atheism and Belief in Intelligent ET: Trusting in The Blessed Equation
Over the course of the last couple of days we've been treated once again to the parade of astronomers and astrobiologists pontificating on the likelihood that there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. In the wake of a couple of decades of failure on the...
Walton and Van Wolde: Hebrew Bara’ Does Not Mean “To Create”
John Hobbins has a helpful post offering links to the critiques of the thesis of Ellen Van Wolde that Hebrew bara' does not mean "create". John Walton's recent book The Lost World of Genesis 1, positively reviewed by me here and (soon) in print, has popularized this...
Eastern Orthodoxy and ET Life
I came across this interesting article: "An Eastern Orthodox Perspective on Microbial Life on Mars" (Theology and Science 6:4, 2008). I'm not Eastern Orthodox, but I think this paragraph in the article's conclusion is well written and well-reasoned: To be sure, there...
Biblical Anthropology and the Mind-Body Debate, Part 3
In the last post I introduced the basic positions on the mind-body debate. Here are three good articles on the issue that I'd also recommend reading: The Dialogue Between Neuroscience and Theology, by Dr. Alan J. Gijspers (physician) Scientific Perspectives on...
The Cosmology of Genesis 1 and the Old Testament’s Pre-Scientific Worldview
Naked Bible readers will remember I got into this issue several times during the discussion on inerrancy. It's current again for me for two reasons. One is N.T. Wright has chimed in on the subject in this video, which I offer for the curious (I'm not inclined to care...
PseudoScience and the Ohio Serpent Mound
An interesting discussion on this over at the "Hot Cup of Joe" blog, which focuses on archaeology and anthropology. Check it out for some holiday PaleoBabble!
Why There is a Publishing Process Known as “Peer Review”
For all the ancient astronaut "researchers" out there - a wonderful illustration of why peer-review of your material is important (otherwise known as the nuttiness filter). Publisher's note: Adding in a resource here. I was at this presentation at DEF CON 26 and was...
Intelligent Design Usurped by Alien Astronaut Theory?
As many of you will know, I think the intelligent design approach to origins has merit, since it attempts to bring to light the weaknesses of an undirected, random Darwinism. You may also know that I've been saying for years how easy it will be for those who promote...
Science and Religion
We often get into the science vs. religion issue when talking about extraterrestrials and religion. Check out this written and video interview with Alister McGrath, who described himself as (formerly) a "rottweiler sort of atheist." McGrath has PhDs in both the...
Alien Fetus in King Tut’s Tomb?
Well . . . half of that is right . . . the fetus part, anyway. The picture below is often offered as part of the "aliens visited ancient Egypt" paleobabblefest on the internet. The mummified corpse on the right is said to be alien ("just look at the head and eyes . ....