On angels, apes and Terry Pratchett

I’m what you might call a lapsed Terry Pratchett fan. For most of my adolescence, his work was a huge influence on me. But, as was typical of my late-teenage self, I walked away when he hit his most prolific period out of indignation about “cashing in” or some such self-righteous bullshit (I like to… Continue reading On angels, apes and Terry Pratchett

Giles Fraser, intolerance and double standards

I wrote this in the hope that the Guardian might be interested in publishing it in their “response” column in the paper – they weren’t. Waste not want not… Reading Giles Fraser harrumphing about Ariane Sherine and the British Humanist Association’s latest campaign (“Choosing for oneself”, 2 December 2009), it occurred to me that the… Continue reading Giles Fraser, intolerance and double standards

Thought for the day: does Giles Fraser have a point?

The Vicar of Putney writes: The problem is that atheism is defined by what it’s against, that it is not theism. And to introduce such a sense of “againstness” would fundamentally alter TftD’s character. Some years ago, Richard Dawkins was offered a slot to experiment with a secular TftD. He told us religious explanations were… Continue reading Thought for the day: does Giles Fraser have a point?