Tag Archives: God

Simple Logic for Religion and Politics

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Rayan Zehn

Syllogisms are not what many people think they are, and the American political landscape is a testament to this fact. Too often I hear people construct logical arguments with sound sounding propositions but, taken together, are deeply flawed. Take this … Continue reading →

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A New Religion That’ll Bring You to Your Knees: My Father’s God Has Orange Hair

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

Being a political scientist is not what many think. We are not politicians drafting legislation. We are not activists trying to make the world a better place, according to our own preferences. And we certainly aren’t trying to get people … Continue reading →

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Security and Religiosity: The Jacksonian Values that Wed American Society to Faith

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

There is a set of academic literature that suggests there is a negative relationship between existential security and religiosity. As security increases, we become less religious as a society. This is demonstrated across societies. More secure societies in Europe are distinctly less religious … Continue reading →

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St. Peter and St. Petersburg Paradox: Faith as a Gamble

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

This post uses the general idea of the St. Petersburg Paradox to explain faith. The paradox can be summed up like this: How much should a person be willing to wager in a lottery with a potential payout of infinity … Continue reading →

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The Rise of Secularism and the Fall of Christianity: Google Books N-Gram Analysis

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

Google Books’ Ngram allows users to search for the frequency of terms appearing in books in Google’s database of printed material. The results show how often those terms have appeared in print over the years. Today I was messing around … Continue reading →

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Official Non-Secular Songs in the Military

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

As a veteran of the US Navy, I’ve always respected the secular nature of the branches of the American armed forces. Maintaining a secular position about religious matters is not only compelled by law, it’s also necessary for logistics purposes. … Continue reading →

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Boulding’s “Skeleton of Science”: And What Complexity and God Mean to Knowledge

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

This post is a quick introduction to a field in engineering management and modeling and simulation called systemic science. The author of this field, a Quaker, captures beautifully how god plays into the way we think about complex problems. In … Continue reading →

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The Question of Atheist Charity: Less Diffusion of Responsibility?

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

Checking out the Friendly Atheist’s blog, I’ve come across an absolutely fascinating story. To summarize, an atheist organization wanted to give a charitable donation of $100 to a non-profit with religious ties that helps children. The non-profit refused the money … Continue reading →

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God’s Music (Part 2)

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

A while ago I posted about my favorite music ever written in praise of (mostly the) Christian god. Consider this part two. Blind Willie Johnson (1897 – 1945), an almost preacher who picked up a cigar box guitar as a … Continue reading →

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Bible Contradictions #56: Magic?

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

I remember as a young teenager watching the Disney adaptation of Moses’ story, titled The Prince of Egypt. In the film storytellers and animators inject a lot of comedy slapstick into the story where god commands Moses to out-magic the Pharaoh’s … Continue reading →

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