Politics / Science / Religion

Why People Believe and Why People Kill: Countering Dennett and Harris

Posted by on March 22, 2015 at 8:35 pm

A few weeks ago, I said I would be sharing a few more passages from Dr. David Bentley Hart’s book Atheist Delusions. In this citation from early in the book, Hart is in the midst of pointing out some of the bad arguments, poor understanding of both religion and history, and sanctimony in the anti-religious […]

Top 10: The Sequel

Posted by on December 28, 2014 at 9:00 pm

In October 19, 2014’s post celebrating this blog’s 5-year anniversary, I included links and introductory text to ten of my personal favorite posts. I got a little extra traffic to those posts (and maybe an extra subscriber or two), so I was happy. But, there were several other posts that I am especially pleased with, […]

Celebrating 5 Years of AVftR (plus a Top 10)!

Posted by on October 19, 2014 at 8:00 pm

This month marks the 5th anniversary of the maiden post for “A View from the Right”. I can hardly believe it has been that long! That first post was the beginning of a 9-part series called “What’s So Bad (or Great) about Obamacare?”, and it was my first attempt at writing anything of the sort. […]

On Botched Executions

Posted by on May 4, 2014 at 9:04 pm

One day in Oklahoma in 1999, Clayton Lockett and a couple friends decided to rob a house. Unfortunately for 19-year-old Stephanie Neiman, she and a friend came “home” to that house, interrupting the intruders. I don’t know what happened to her friend, but Stephanie was beaten and bound with duct tape. Lockett shot her twice […]

Quasi-Postmortem on Nye vs. Ham Debate

Posted by on February 6, 2014 at 12:51 am

The debate is over, and the contestants and their audience have all gone home. But, of course, the debate still rages on, especially on the “interwebs”. I have been reading various comments by people who watched it. There are the devoted naturalists/evolutionists who are sure that Bill Nye “won”, maybe even kicked butt. There are […]

Informal Logic 101: How to Think and Argue Better, Part 10

Posted by on January 19, 2014 at 8:40 pm

Part 10: Scarecrows, Decoys, and Invisible Elephants We get three lessons today, boys and girls, as we head into the home stretch for this series (sort of)! Straw Man Everyone has heard of this one. You don’t have to be involved in debates and discussions on controversial topics for long before someone accuses someone else […]

ACLU Targets “Creationist” Archery Program

Posted by on January 5, 2014 at 6:47 pm

Did you see this? Even if you read the same stuff I do, you may have missed it last month amongst all the holiday prep and the Obamacare/Healthcare.gov mess. It seems the anti-religionists at the ACLU have found another target for their “righteous” wrath: a church-run archery class. The controversy began when a reporter for […]

Informal Logic 101: How to Think and Argue Better, Part 9

Posted by on December 15, 2013 at 11:49 pm

Part 9: Apples, Oranges, and Character Assassination “When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.”  — Socrates Only two fallacies on the docket today, but they are biggies! Category mistake/error I’m sure you have heard the term, “It’s apples and oranges.” Maybe you have used it, yourself. When Person A says this […]

Informal Logic 101: How to Think and Argue Better, Part 8

Posted by on November 17, 2013 at 11:53 pm

Part 8: Validity and Clarity “Most of the arguments to which I am party fall somewhat short of being impressive, owing to the fact that neither I nor my opponent knows what we are talking about.”  — Robert Benchley, American columnist & actor Hey, folks! Ready for another lesson in logic? Of course, you are!! […]

Informal Logic 101: How to Think and Argue Better, Part 7

Posted by on October 20, 2013 at 11:23 pm

Part 7: Causes and Comparisons “Correlation does not equal causation.”  — many people, including me (‘cuz it makes me sound smart) We’re baaaaaaack, and we have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get started! Clear thinking & reasoning require at least a basic understanding of causal relationships. Unfortunately, it’s also easy to make […]