This question has bothered me for a long time. It still does. I watch TV and see some local religious preacher talks about, say, evolution. He (it’s almost always a “he”) enthusiastically explains how humans differ from all animals and not associated with them. Some other time he explains about the “history” of the great […]

There is a big difference between how we perceive the world with our brain and how it really is. Furthermore, this difference is growing bigger as we discover more and more stuff about the world, especially about the behavior of very large things (as in astronomy) and very small things (as in quantum mechanics). The […]

The following partially-translated article appeared in one of Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious newspapers, “Yated Ne’eman” (name roughly translated into “Faithful Tent-Peg”) on May 2000. It was written by Rabbi Chaim Shaul Karelitz, one of the most prominent leaders of the Jewish ultra-Orthodoxy at the time, and largely reflected the Jewish ultra-Orthodox attitude towards the state […]

Israel won the 2018 Eurovision song contest. Great! This means that next year (2019) – the contest is due to take place in the Holy Land. It’s a big opportunity for income and public relations. For many it’s also a good opportunity to strengthen the status of Jerusalem, or at least its sectors that are […]

Religious people try to convince you that there must be a “god”. One of their major arguments has to do with the direction the world has been going to: “Imagine there is no god, no one to direct things. How come the universe has managed to form such complex structures, given the absence of something […]

The Israeli ‘Games of Chef’ TV series has a history of picking “interesting” candidates for the competition. The last program (May 22, 2018) presented, among others, two men: Tamir, a person who recently became ultra-Orthodox, and, Leizer, who has left the “Haredi” (ultra-Orthodox) world and became secular. The two were preparing their dishes at the […]

How do you know when modern law is influenced by old archaic religious rules? At least one of the criteria is when it becomes too “recursive” – when it starts heavily dealing with itself. Laws about the law. Ancient legislators were well-aware of the fact that things may change in the future. Anxious to preserve […]

Many of Israel’s officials have condemned Poland’s recent legislation and announcements about denying Poland’s part in the Holocaust, and rightfully so. It’s bad to twist history to suit one’s agenda. It’s even worse when performed by official representatives of a big country. Not only have they condemned the actions, but they have also mentioned the […]

Many of us are familiar with the “Brain in a jar” (also known as “Brain in a vat”) thought experiment. It talks about a hypothetical mad scientist who removes a person’s brain from the body, suspends it in a jar full of life-sustaining liquid, and connects its neurons to a computer which provides electrical impulses […]

Many of my arguments with others about “God” (or gods in general) stumble sooner or later upon the issue of an “incomprehensible entity”. This phase of the argument may have several flavors. Sometimes, the mythological god is described as an entity we cannot see and feel. Other times it is portrayed as something that is […]