1. New Rules: A Religious Test

Comment #72639 by RobertlewisIR on September 22, 2007 at 4:02 am

I found myself applauding many times, even with no one around to hear me.

2. God Talk on 'The View'

Comment #71525 by RobertlewisIR on September 19, 2007 at 1:17 am

There's a very good reason why I don't watch that show. At least Whoopi managed to talk a little bit of sense, though, even if it was almost lost among all the flat earth bickering.

3. Send In the Clergy!

Comment #67200 by RobertlewisIR on September 2, 2007 at 4:15 pm

Well, now I'm depressed all over again. My two greatest fears: excess government and excess religion.

4. Artificial Life Likely in 3 to 10 Years

Comment #64429 by RobertlewisIR on August 20, 2007 at 3:55 am

It's certainly very interesting, and I'm excited to see what happens with it.

I've been looking at some of the reactions from non-scientific groups, and I think it's very interesting indeed. I haven't been following the creationists enough to see what they have to say about it, but a lot of people tend to view it negatively. I've had to point out repeatedly that creating simple life in a lab isn't really the same thing as Dr. Frankenstein's experiments.

5. Interview with Richard Dawkins about 'The Enemies of Reason'

Comment #63027 by RobertlewisIR on August 13, 2007 at 12:32 am

Not a bad interview. But in answer to the Uri Geller question: he's tampered with the spoons in advance. That's how he does it.

Wish I could see the program when it airs. Guess I'll just have to wait for a DVD.

6. God Hates the World

Comment #61159 by RobertlewisIR on August 4, 2007 at 1:24 am

Seeing that child singing that vile song is probably the single most disturbing thing I've seen in months. And I've seen some REALLY disturbing things. I read and write horror--you know I've seen some disturbing things.

But these lunatics warping their children's minds like that makes angry and depressed beyond my ability to express in words.

7. Republican candidates range from ignorant to dishonest, part 2

Comment #51218 by RobertlewisIR on June 22, 2007 at 1:44 am

Of the major party candidates, Ron Paul's my first choice. Kucinich (not sure if I spelled that right, and I'm too tired to look it up) would be second. I don't think I would vote for any other major party candidate (if one of them isn't on the ballot). But I'm a card carrying Libertarian, so what do you expect?

The rest of these guys just scare the living Zeus right out of me.

8. Bill O'Reilly and Kirk Cameron on Atheism

Comment #51215 by RobertlewisIR on June 22, 2007 at 1:29 am

This silly little man actually thinks he won that debate? His only argument, was, to put it simply: "I don't know everything [anything?], therefore there is a god."

To play by their rules, though: I don't understand precisely what causes cancer, therefore, god is a genocidal madman and humanity should devote all of our collective energy to overthrow him, even against all odds.

9. James Randi on Larry King Live

Comment #35904 by RobertlewisIR on April 29, 2007 at 8:47 am

Randi's great, isn't he? It's just too bad Larry King gave the con artists too much time to talk, instead. But if you want to see someone lay out Rosemary's game, bit by bit, Penn & Teller got a former "psychic" to sit in on one of her readings and debunk it for their Showtime show.

10. Panel discussion on atheism where no atheists are included

Comment #35896 by RobertlewisIR on April 29, 2007 at 8:20 am

Oy! Christian nation this, Christian nation that. Will these people never stop using that "argument?" Even when I still had some degree of faith in Christianity, several years ago, I knew enough about history to understand that no, this is not a Christian nation. This is a nation with a Christian majority, but the two are not the same thing. The Founding Fathers were very careful not to create a nation based on any religion.

Out of curiosity, I did a very unscientific study. I got a group of Christians and a group of atheists, and asked each group ten questions about our Constitution and its Bill of Rights. Ironically, the Christians (who claim this is a Christian nation) answered an average of two out of ten correctly while the atheists answered an average of five out of ten correctly. Could it be because freedom doesn't mesh with the Christian dogma?

11. Hey Mom, I'm an Atheist

Comment #35861 by RobertlewisIR on April 29, 2007 at 5:20 am

I wish I could say I was surprised...but I'm going to have to settle for "deeply disturbed," or possibly "shaken." Enough of my family is religious (including a lot of Catholics), I'm used to that sort of stuff.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I expected. I guess I thought it might be a humorous video. Then she opened her mouth.

Interesting that the father kept his mouth shut the whole time. And a very interesting commentary on religion that "Christmas presents" was her best (indeed, only) argument--especially interesting because much of our annual Christmas celebrations comes from old pagan traditions.

12. The Video: Bill O'Reilly Interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #35859 by RobertlewisIR on April 29, 2007 at 5:02 am

It occurs to me that, though it matters little to a scientific discussion, our American Founding Fathers were not all Christians. Some of them were, yes, but certainly not all. In the interest of debunking the claim that "we're a Christian nation," I present these quotes...

Benjamin Franlin: "I was scarce fifteen, when, ... some books against Deism fell into my hands; ... It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist."

Indeed, Franklin was a Deist, not a Christian.

Thomas Jefferson: "I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one-half the world fools and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth."

Yes, it's true. The author of what I believe to be the most beautiful document ever written by human hand, the Declaration of Independence, was written not by a Christian, but by a man who may have been an atheist and may have been a deist (history is less than clear on that matter, but we can be certain Jefferson was not a Christian).

(Yep, I'm a history lover.)