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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

By Ido Sokolovsky (Original article in Hebrew here) Basically, there are two types of religious people in our world. There are those who draw the line between their world of values and the real world, still there are those who don’t. In Israel, the most prominent representative of the first kind was the late Prof. […]

The scientific method has developed significantly during the recent centuries, along with the dramatic development of science and technology, which derived from putting that method to the test. None of our ancient “sages” ever came close to the tip of the current scientific knowledge iceberg, starting from the structure of the universe and its laws, […]

I’m not many things. I’m not an artist. All my attempts to draw or sculpture something – were at best amusing in the eyes of knowledgeable persons. I’m not good at cooking – it is not recommended to rely on my culinary creations for a family dinner. I’m also not a great expert in ancient […]

On the alleged symmetry between religion and atheism One of the arguments raised in countless discussions with various believers, deals with the alleged symmetry between religious faith and “atheism”. The religious believer may claim that atheists vigorously defend their viewpoints, just like religious believers. Furthermore, he or she may give many examples in which the […]

A hypothetical situation: I am going downstairs to throw away the garbage. The alarm siren is heard again. A Hamas rocket hits the apartment upstairs. I am saved – I wasn’t in the apartment. Now, should I thank God? (Alternatively, should I thank my good luck?) Here are two different reasons for why not: Firstly, […]