Skeptical Inquirer Electronic DIgest 6-4-99

SkeptInq@aol.com
Fri, 4 Jun 1999 09:25:31 EDT 

 Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest
 June 4, 1999


 In this week's SIDIGEST:
 --Skeptical Inquirer July/August 1999 Preview
 --International Superstition Bash Scheduled for August 13
 --Upcoming BBC/Discovery Specials to Feature CSICOP Fellow Joe Nickell


 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER JULY/AUGUST 1999 PREVIEW

 SCIENCE AND RELIGION: CONFLICT OR CONCILIATION?

 Featuring Stephen Jay Gould, Steve Allen, Martin Gardner, Richard Dawkins,
Stephen Pinker, Paul Kurtz, Ernst Mayr, Chet Raymo, and others

 The special expanded issue of the July/August Skeptical Inquirer, The
Magazine for Science and Reason presents ten invited original articles, three
book excerpts, two columns, and several miscellaneous short features on a
single broad topic: "Science and Religion: Conflict or Conciliation?"  It is
due on newsstands and to subscribers by June 28.

 As Kendrick Frazier writes in the editor's note, "The authors are
distinguished scientists, scholars, educators, and writers.  All speak from a
commitment to science and scientific skepticism, but they offer an
impressively wide spectrum of viewpoints.  There is no 'religion bashing'
here.  There is steadfast defense of science.  There are attempts to define
and observe clear-cut boundaries, and also pleas to observe each other's
domains with mutual respect.  We strived for thoughtful, informed, forthright
considerations of the issues that confront scientists, scholars, teachers,
skeptics, religious leaders, and the general public in dealing with often
troublesome issues along the borderlands of science and religion."

 SPECIAL ISSUE
 Science and Religion: Conflict or Conciliation?

 Introduction: Conflicting or Contradictory? Some Introductory Thoughts About
Boundaries
 Kendrick Frazier, Editor

 ARTICLES

 Celebrating Creation
 Chet Raymo, science writer
 Author of "True Believers: The Exhilarating Connection Between Science and
Religion"

 Should Skeptical Inquiry Be Applied to Religion?
 Paul Kurtz, CSICOP founding Chair
 Professor Emeritus, State University of New York at Buffalo

 The Science and Religion Movement: An Opportunity for Improved Public
Understanding of Science?
 Eugenie Scott, Executive Director, National Center for Science Education

 Science and the Versus of Religion
 Barry A. Palevitz, Professor of Botany, University of Georgia, Athens

 Science Versus Religion: Teach the Difference, Resolve the Conflict
 Zoran Pazemeta, Professor of the Physical Sciences, Eastern Connecticut
State Univ.

 Anthropic Design: Does the Cosmos Show Evidence of Purpose?
 Victor Stenger, Professor of Physics, University of Hawaii

 CSICOP, the Local Groups, and Scientific Skepticism
 Steven Novella and David Bloomberg

 Two Mind-Sets
 Steve Allen, Author/Entertainer

 God is Dead, After Weather and Sports
 Mike Reiss, Producer, The Simpsons

 READINGS IN SCIENCE AND RELIGION

 Whence Religious Belief?
 Steven Pinker

 Non-Overlapping Magisteria
 Stephen Jay Gould

 You Can't Have it Both Ways: Irreconcilable Differences?
 Richard Dawkins

 The Concerns of Science
 Ernst Mayr

 COLUMN
 Notes of a Fringe Watcher:
 The Religious Views of Stephen Jay Gould and Charles Darwin
 Martin Gardner

 INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTITION BASH SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 13th

 Come Friday the Thirteenth of August join other skeptics from across the
world in the CSICOP-sponsored International Superstition Bash.  You and
fellow area skeptics can laugh in the face of superstition by holding a
barbecue, smashing mirrors, walking under ladders, stepping on cracks,
spilling salt, and hanging with black cats all in a fun event that delivers
an important message.  Invite a magician to perform, bring the whole family,
enjoy the good weather, and get a little publicity in the media.

 A CSICOP-sponsored barbecue will be taking place at the Center for
Inquiry-International in Amherst, NY. An evernt will also be held at the
Center for Inquiry-West in Los Angeles.  Contact Matt Nisbet at 716-636-1425
X219 or at SINISBET@aol.com about ideas on how you can hold a superstition
bash in your area, take part in the fun, and be part of an internationally
coordinated media event.

 UPCOMING BBC/DISCOVERY SPECIALS TO FEATURE JOE NICKELL

 As part of an on-going series produced for both the BBC and Discovery
Channel, CSICOP Senior Research Fellow Joe Nickell traveled to New York City
and Washington DC the past two weeks to take part in separate episodes that
tackle aliens and the Stargate/government remote viewing project.  Look for
the documentaries to appear this fall/winter.

 Other major media productions coming this fall include a two-hour HBO
special on near-death experiences and the afterlife featuring CSICOP chair
Paul Kurtz.  The HBO special is produced by Linda Ellerbee's award-winning
Lucy Duck Productions.  SIDIGEST will announce the broadcast dates well in
advance.

 ____________________

 SI Electronic Digest is the biweekly e-mail news update of the Committee for
the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP.)

 Visit http://www.csicop.org/.
 Rated one of the Top Ten Science sites on the Web by HOMEPC magazine.

 The Digest is written and edited by Matthew Nisbet and Barry Karr. SI Digest
is distributed directly via e-mail to over 3000 readers worldwide, and is
sent from CSICOP headquarters at the Center for Inquiry-International,
Amherst NY, USA.

 To subscribe for free to the SI DIGEST, go to:
 http://www.csicop.org/list/

 PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO REPRINT OR REPOST ON THE WEB.
 WE ENCOURAGE TRANSLATION INTO OTHER LANGUAGES.

 PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS.
 Send comments, media inquiries and news to:
 SINISBET@aol.com (716-636-1425 x219)

 CSICOP publishes the bimonthly SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, The Magazine for Science
and Reason.  The May/June 1999 issue features two articles on Bigfoot, and a
special section on the urban legends of organ snatching and snuff films.

 To subscribe at the $17.95 introductory Internet price, go to:
 http://www.csicop.org/si/subscribe/


 --30--