1. Research Volunteers Needed

Comment #175237 by monkey74 on May 5, 2008 at 1:26 am

I just finished all four surveys. It would be great to know a little bit more detail concerning results and how they will be used. Also, a reference to a post date that will show the outcome and/or further steps in research. The test is simple and all should participate in it. I'll try to get some friends (all christian) to try to contribute.

2. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150499 by monkey74 on March 27, 2008 at 2:49 am

A very Happy Birthday Richard! I'm sure we all agree here that you deserve a gigantic group hug from all the members who admire you. We thank you for making us much more receptive to inquiry and knowledge and for the tremendous courage that you have.

3. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #148846 by monkey74 on March 24, 2008 at 3:34 am

To Comment #148837 by bibanu

I guess you didn't read the complete article. To quote Richard Dawkins,

"natural selection is a good object lesson in how NOT to organize a society. As I have often said before, as a scientist I am a passionate Darwinian. But as a citizen and a human being, I want to construct a society which is about as un-Darwinian as we can make it"

4. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #148841 by monkey74 on March 24, 2008 at 3:20 am

RD and PZ, a pair to be reckoned with. It's funny how the religious always claim to be persecuted when they clearly outnumber the non-believers. They know that science is the place where they'll meet up with the strongest opposition to their big claims and all the related BS. That's why they resort to very low tactics. If the ID people call on our sense of fairness and the right to have free speech, let us propose to them that we'll grant it if they give equal time to all the information that discredits their claims and shows the fallacies in their holy books.

5. The Lava Lizard's Tale

Comment #131064 by monkey74 on February 21, 2008 at 9:17 pm

Wonderful video. Thank you RD, this was inspiring as always.

6. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #116654 by monkey74 on January 27, 2008 at 12:58 am

This interview illustrates the main reason why I admire Richard Dawkins so much. Besides him being amazingly brilliant and well spoken, he is the one who stands against the tide as a representative of a multitude who have the same outlook on life. There is just an immense amount of misinformation and unjustified prejudice against us. Although we deal with this once in a while, Richard is a focal point and has to take the abuse and deal with the common repetitive theistic arguments constantly. I wish that the theists would ask him honest questions and not just try to shoot him down with insults and loud affirmations. I hope that his patience and passion never cease, and that he always remembers that there is a great number of people that valiantly stand beside him (and Harris, Hitchens, Dennet, etc.) pushing forward towards positive change in the name of reason.

7. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111518 by monkey74 on January 14, 2008 at 10:30 pm

Please accept this honest note of thanks for being an admirable and kind person. Surgery is not an easy thing, but keep the constant courage that you have shown in life and enter this procedure and recovery surrounded by your loved ones and accompanied by the thoughts of us who wish you the best of health and happiness. Get well soon.

8. Archbishop of Canterbury Praises Richard Dawkins

Comment #104588 by monkey74 on December 29, 2007 at 12:54 am

I actually like the article and am glad that Mr. Dawkins was portrayed in a positive way. We atheists simply must see that this is an article written by a religious person. Just as RG saw Richard through his religious eyes as being -in touch with the "amazement and awe" of God's creation, we athesits/humanists see a religious person we admire as being a "good person" and not as a "good christian."

Although the article is full of religious notes, I'm glad that it is not used to bash at atheists. What I see in this article is something I've very seriously thought of before: That although we have a completely different world view, we share more common ground than we think. Atheist and theists want to have a better life and future. We all worry about crime, hunger, disease, and many other serious problems. The division has been that atheists feel that we as humans are responsible for our societies, but most religious persons wait for help or a change from god, blame problems on the devil, or see disasters as punishment. I am glad that are persons like the Archbishop of Canterbury who share our view of setting positive action in motion.

9. Interview with Christopher Hitchens

Comment #93699 by monkey74 on December 4, 2007 at 12:05 am

To ADH:
I take your point well. I enjoy talking to theists on matters of world issues and religion and believe that examining why we think the way we do is very important. We have to truly question ourselves and answer honestly. This either reinforces or weakens your point. You have to understand that although most religious people are almost completely ignorant when it comes to the serious points of atheism and what atheism really is. Most atheist were once theistic and know much about christianity or other religions. I as well as others have read the bible and done observations on it. It is after we observe both sides of the god issue that many arrive at atheism. But most religious people have a completely unrealistic and bigoted view of atheism. We atheists are hated in all religions; we are common bad guy in all of them. We are constantly reminded of burning in hell, told many hurtful things, and have verse after bible verse thrown at us and that truly becomes very tiresome. That's why many lash out and sometimes respond angrily. I think that we all have to be as honest as possible and also be respectful. If a theist posts a difficult question that could be difficult to answer, I don't push it away. I engage that question and do research on it and the subject that it relates to such as biology, psychology, history, etc. and then try to answer it. You'll find that most of us here are open to honest questions as long as it is done in a constructive manner.

10. What's the evolutionary advantage of offering your place to an old woman on a bus?

Comment #93387 by monkey74 on December 3, 2007 at 3:27 am

Here's my shot at this question. To me the evolutionary advantage of kindness would maybe be the deep feeling of wellness that one experiences and the consequent health benefit of joy and relaxation. This is in contrast to someone who is highly stressed and anxious with an elevated blood pressure, impaired immune system, and who may be generally disliked. Darwinian benefits from this I think are: a relaxed and enduring stable state of health, and also the contribution to the making of a better social environment for you and your family.

11. Daniel Dennett Debates Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #93383 by monkey74 on December 3, 2007 at 2:37 am

I just finished watching the debate and D'Souza was completely unbearable. He is just too loud and is so annoying when he mocks and imitates the voices of Mr. Dennet and the people posing questions. To persons who are driven by raw theatrical emotion, D'Souza won the debate. But to people who actually listen to what's being said, it is evident that Dennet spoke with integrity and clearly ruled the entire event.

12. Man-sized sea scorpion claw found

Comment #90201 by monkey74 on November 23, 2007 at 12:50 pm

I also thought of the same question that mr-zero posted above and hope someone can clarify for those of us who are wondering.

I would like to know how the overall proportion of a creature is figured out when just one part of its anatomy is discovered and there is no additional physical imprint of the animal. Just as there could be a large scorpion with a small claw, there could be a smaller scorpion with a proportionately larger claw. My guess is that some animals are probably easier to measure than others depending on its structure and regularity of that feature, and that comparative anatomical analysis is done on some organism that is similar and found in a more intact state. Please inform us on how this is accomplished or provide direction on where to learn this. Thanks.

13. 'Growing Up in the Universe' now available free online

Comment #87977 by monkey74 on November 14, 2007 at 12:43 am

I thank RDF and Mr Dawkins himself for posting the videos. I hope the technical problems will be fixed soon. I'm sure that many will truly enjoy these videos and hopefully share them with their friends and family. I will make a donation soon and would recommend everyone who downloads the video to try their best to make a continuing donation to the foundation.

14. You can't be moral without God!

Comment #81686 by monkey74 on October 25, 2007 at 3:24 am

I do not need to be scared of the angry daddy in the sky to be a good person. Very good and very harmful things are done by both theists and atheist. The difference is that while the theist will try to blame the devil or other nonsense for their actions, the atheist will face the facts. Also when a person of faith does good it may be because they are good or maybe just to earn sky-points. When an atheist performs a good deed, you can be sure that there are no supernatural reasons behind it. As for me, I try to be the best person I can be, be helpful towards others, and live with honesty. You basically do what want but then are faced with being responsible for your actions. I can be moral without the official endorsement of a god.

15. Science can answer how questions but only religion can answer why questions

Comment #81680 by monkey74 on October 25, 2007 at 3:06 am

After science begins to reveal the how answers, we as human beings have to answer the why questions on our own. The conclusion that we arrive at will be the best choice we can propose at that given time. Just as a child learns as it grows, we work by trial and error. Knowledge and wisdom reshape and improve themselves. Humanity has to accept responsibility for the social state of the world and learn that we cannot take life for granted. I can only hope that we will grow out of the immature adolescent stage we are in now.

16. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75526 by monkey74 on October 2, 2007 at 11:57 pm

I'm 100% for advocating reason and intellectual honesty. In my opinion, it is the best way for every one to get equal rights and treatment. The term atheism arises only because of the need of such a description. Religion still has a very strong hold on the world. To me, atheism and its movement is necessary in order to make a very pronounced mark on the timeline at this moment. It is a common term that tells the non-believer that it is ok not to believe and that one is not alone.

When I became completely free of all superstition on my own some years ago, I felt a real sense of relief and enjoyed a really different world view. I never announced my point of view because I felt it wasn't necessary. But then I after some time, I became tired of the constant bombardment of nonsense pushed at me and found no people who even remotely shared my view. I started doing research into the subject of non-faith and came across names like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Jonathan Miller, and other great people. It seemed that the same conclusions that I had made were also shared by many others.

There is still a vast amount of religiosity being pushed in our face and the only thing to do is push back. It is present in our public offices, in movies, in daily comments, and even asked in all sorts of work, hospital, scholarship applications, and just about anywhere else. The religion question in applications bothers me just as much as the race/ethnicity question. These differences and focus points that form excuses for discrimination should not have a place in our society anymore. One can only hope that the religion and race issue will soon disappear. But yet, they still are present.

The thing that I absolutely dislike of this whole movement is the way that atheism is being broadcast by many in the form of a religion and being used as a way to make money out of it. It is starting to gain the unwanted qualities of organized religion. If we are to become united, let it be for the fight for reason and hope to be able contribute towards the future of humanity as a whole.

I really think that the word atheist is not ready to go away yet. The word atheist is a heavy one and we are the one common 'bad guy' of all religions. We just have to take the demonization of it away and show it for what it really is. We are here and have the right to have a voice. Hopefully the need for such a word will soon fade away.

17. Christopher Hitchens and Bill Donohue on Mother Teresa

Comment #66899 by monkey74 on September 1, 2007 at 12:47 am

CH attacks MT and now defends her??? I didn't like this debate because it was pointless. It seems to form inconsistencies in Hitchens standing and arguments. To call her an atheist to me is nonsense. Perhaps she was agnostic? Who cares??? Let the church add her to their list of fantasy, other-worldly figures.

18. CNN Request for 'I-Reports' on religion

Comment #65574 by monkey74 on August 24, 2007 at 11:20 pm

The following is my posted comment on CNN.

I honestly think that religion causes separation instead of union. These superstitions and wishful empty dreams have no place in life. We are at an age where humanity needs to mature. We need to look forward in our lives, face reality, and take responsibility for our own actions. Faith brings us none of this. We all need to look at our families, communities, society, and the world. Together we will find a way to overcome problems if we speak honestly and listen to reason not superstition. I have no belief in any gods, devils, or spirits. Those things un-natural don't influence my decisions. I just know that I care about humanity, our future and place in the universe, and wish all an attainable happiness. Thanks.