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 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 […]

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, […]

Maybe it’s good. Maybe it’s actually good that many religious preachers nowadays tend to spread extremely-stupid contents… In the land of milk and honey, even the state itself tends to do so, courtesy of the Ministry of Education. So how can it be good? Let’s see: In ancient times, when someone with authority said God […]

Israelis were shocked to hear that the new candidate for the “IDF Rabbi” position referred to homosexuals as “perverts”, but they were soon calmed by the explanation that this was only an academic biblical discussion. What’s this nonsense – ‘only an academic discussion’ – or in its Jewish flavor – ‘only a halachic commentary’? As […]

I owe the credit for this article to a friend whose name escapes me at the moment. “Fuck all various claims,” well, these were not exactly his words but that was the spirit of things, “It’s not any proof that convinces many people to believe in god and religion – it’s this issue of ‘soul’ […]

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 […]

The name ‘Red herring’ has become associated with the logical fallacy of introducing irrelevant material to the issue being discussed, so that everyone’s attention is diverted away from the points made, towards a different conclusion (see here). For a long time I’ve been suspecting that preachers use this tactic on purpose, in order to try […]

The common myna is a songbird, quite widespread in Israel. It can easily be identified by two distinct characteristics: The yellow spots around the eyes – standing out against its dark color, and a remarkable collection of sounds. In fact the myna is known to mimic sounds of animals and even people. Another less prominent […]