SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2009

REGULARS 5 Editorial Creation 6 Parish news 8 Yours sceptically Readers’

letters 49 Chris Maslanka’s Quiz 50 Endgame Laurie Taylor

feels a chilli in the air FEATURES 12 Bless this tiger Paul Sims

learns that birdsong evolved as a way to praise the Creator, and other fun faith-facts, at Britain’s biblical zoo 16 Sex, flies and videotape

The bizarre story of creationist cult leader Adnan Oktar. Exclusive report by Halil Arda 22 Kissing cousins

Darwin’s own family inspired his research into incest, reports Adam Kuper 26 Keeping it holy Take

Sundays back from the church, urges Sally Feldman 30 The art of uncertainty

Danny Postel and Roger Scruton debate faith, doubt and education 32 Life laid waste Jonathan

Rée on the legacy of disillusuioned humanist Leszek Kolakowski 35 Terrible beauty Roger

Davidson revels in the blood and guts of religious art 38 Thinking animal

What does the theory of evolution mean for philosophy? Simon Blackburn thinks it over 41 Think again

Postmodernism was merely fashionable nonsense? Not so fast, says Nina Power

[22]

Is it wrong to marry your cousin?

[35] The gory art of religion

COLUMNS 7 Diary Maureen Younger is

unimpressed by the return of the rape joke 11 Opinion Newton Emerson

reveals the real story behind Ireland’s new blasphemy law BOOK REVIEWS 44 Owen Hatherley sings the

praises of Ernst Bloch, the prophet of serious atheism 46 Simon Singh on a rational

response to climate change 47 Philip Womack on the terse

sophistication of novelist MJ Hyland 48 Brenda Maddox visits the

grubby side of Georgian London with Dan Cruickshank 48 Bill Thompson enjoys a sci-fi

writer growing up

[16]

The messiah of Muslim creationism

[38]

Darwin, philosophers and other animals

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2009 New Humanist 3