1. Religious education as a part of literary culture

Comment #161760 by Godless on April 15, 2008 at 4:08 pm

I agree. I firmly believe being forced to study Shakespeare damaged my intellect. Poetry generally does that to me, but Shakespeare can play havoc with your ability to speak, write, and think logically and rationally. Perhaps it is the language of the time it was written, or perhaps it was the mythical, lyrical mind-set of the writer. Regardless, I heartily DO NOT recommend polluting your childs brain with Shakespearean incomprehension and convolutedness. Shakespear would have benefitted from understanding the concept of Occam's razor as per word usage and sentence/thought construction.

2. Religious education as a part of literary culture

Comment #160704 by Godless on April 14, 2008 at 9:56 am

Yet even so... even with an ideal education teaching an 'objective' view of religious facts and their influence on arts and literature.

Is there not a danger of 'delusionary seepage'?

Meaning that, too much focus on 'religious' facts, coupled with creative forms of 'thinking' as is often the case in the arts, without the appropriate amount of critical thought, could encourage, rather than dissuade, the faith-based susceptibility of our natures - or some peoples natures at any rate. At least many who would be curious to take the leap into conversion for the sake of understanding perhaps. Thinking in the arts is a different form of thinking than in the sciences after all. If it can accurately be described as thinking.

We are human. Some more susceptible to faith-headedness than others. Often human beings are not aware of the affect such concepts and ideas can have on us over time with great exposure. Most people tend to revel in the arts at the expense of other critical subjects. This hypothetical specialized curriculum may be more trouble, meaning faith inducing and inadvertantly supporting, than what its worth. Certainly a well rounded education with plenty of critical/skeptical bolstering is just as necessary, and I'm sure Richard would agree, assumed.

When was religious many a year ago, I derived much of my spiritual sustanance from arts and literature.

3. Loneliness Breeds Belief in Supernatural

Comment #116160 by Godless on January 25, 2008 at 4:35 pm

Seems like a pretty obvious connection. Read any religious, contemplative literature and the virtues of self-isolation are paramount. Especially Catholic monastic material such as by Thomas Merton and the like. Creating an invisible friend is easier when you're lonely. Being social in the material world is just a negative distraction from thoughtful prayer and your own personal relationship with the God within.

That's not to say that contemplation in isolation can't clear and sharpen the rational mind however. Sometimes isolation is necessary for ones mental/emotional health, but not to the point of extreme and detrimental loneliness leading to reaching out to delusions rather than real, and hopefully rational, well balanced, people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton

4. CBC News: Sunday - Richard Dawkins

Comment #100547 by Godless on December 18, 2007 at 9:32 pm

I didn't mind the 'interview' at all. It wasn't so much an interview as a quick and nasty debate.

It was quite clear the interviewer was trying to corner, or throw Prof. Dawkins off. It was deliberate and planned that way. Richard handled himself well against the onslaught.

Not all interviews or debates have to be balanced and polite affairs.

5. Groundbreaking Research Has Scientists Talking With Apes

Comment #46281 by Godless on May 30, 2007 at 6:44 pm

I'm thinking "Planet of the Apes" right now...

How prescient.

6. Richard Dawkins on Canada AM

Comment #38354 by Godless on May 7, 2007 at 9:25 pm

Bonzai, I guess you didn't see the debate over the 'Root of all Evil' doc on Avi Lewis's brief show a while back? Avi was terrible as host and Richard could hardly gwet a word in edgewise.

Tonight, George 'Strombo' managed to get quite a few questions in in his fast-talking style he is so annoying for, but I couldn't keep up with him. I'm surprised Richard could. It's a shame that these shows don't have Richard for a longer period of time to really delve into the issues.

I am glad however that the message is getting out there. Canada desperately needs it's religiously pluralistic ass wiped. Tolerance for all faiths and all customs and all traditions coupled with a disdain for secularism is this country's dirty little secret.

7. Debate between Alister McGrath and Peter Atkins

Comment #27290 by Godless on March 23, 2007 at 6:41 pm

Couldn't understand a word of it. Audio is terrible.

8. Sextuplet parents take B.C. to court over baby seizures

Comment #20507 by Godless on February 3, 2007 at 2:04 pm

Oh, I love our Canadian Government. They'll all jump on the bandwagon to rescue and defend the rights of any minority cultural/religious tradition, behaviour, artifact, ritual, apparel, even discrimanatory practice toward gender, sexual orientation, etc, but when they see fit, they will just as quickly violate those rights, step right up and say, those particular beliefs just won't do.

If they were consistent, they would have allowed the parents their religious right to neglect their children. You can't have it both ways Harper! Either we believe in belief, or we have a separation of church and state. Non of this willy nilly pluralist cherry picking.

9. Root of All Evil? Discussion

Comment #20496 by Godless on February 3, 2007 at 8:43 am

An interesting side note:
The woman who accuses Richard of Scientism is one of our (Toronto's) municipal politicians.

This show was so poorly orchestrated, the host Avi Lewis was terrible, and it was clearly structured, not as a debate of the issues, but as an attack of Richard's film, 'The Root of All Evil'. Many in the audience were invited, yet as some here have pointed out, very few actual atheists or representatives of atheism attended. There was no excuse for this as Toronto has many secular organizations; members of which would have been chomping at the bit to get their 2 cents worth in there. Yet this tapeing was not advertized or announced in any way that I am aware of. Many audience members were taken in off the street aside from the handful of theists who were actually invited.

Also, Richard wasn't given a chance to get a word in edgewise. Which may have inadvertantly worked in his favour as the Theists did a good job of slitting their own throats throughout this gab-fest. This had the positive affect of making some Theist sympathizers change their mind about the film they had just watched through the course of the arguing.

All in all, this show was an embarrassment to the city of Toronto and should not be seen as an accurate sampling representative of what our broadcasters are capable of.

10. Creation vs. Darwin takes Muslim twist in Turkey

Comment #10100 by Godless on November 27, 2006 at 4:40 am

To paraphrase Ed 10082
Show mw 1 (one) proof about allah, just one prove. Sorry, but you couldn't. Then you have to accept evolution.

11. Canadian ID Scandal

Comment #9650 by Godless on November 25, 2006 at 11:52 am

Thank you for your points Gary. I'm in total agreement with your excellent article and posts here. There are too few people (especially within Canada) voicing these concerns, or even acknowledging them as serious or even valid concerns worth anyone's time. I particularily recognize this insidious relativistic post-modernist attitude which is predominent, not just in academic circles, but almost everywhere these days - and most importantly in our government.

12. Canadian ID Scandal

Comment #9361 by Godless on November 24, 2006 at 3:08 pm

Heatnzl,

ID is not a problem according to the scientific community.

However, granting religious rights over individual ones is a problem. All the HRSSC has to claim is that ID is an important part of a religious ideology and therefore is protected under the laws and the constitution of Canada. Period. Denying ID the right to be taught is equivalent to denying the right of separate schools to teach the gospel. It is intolerant and hateful of other's cultural differences and beliefs. It is also un-Canadian. This is a pluralist nation, not a secular one.

13. Canadian ID Scandal

Comment #9121 by Godless on November 23, 2006 at 5:38 pm

It really doesn't make any difference one way or the other whether ID is religiously based or not, at least according to the SSHRC - at least, it shouldn't. To deny ID would violate the charter of rights and freedoms and the constitution.

That's the REAL problem here.

14. Is Apple Computer Insulting Islam?

Comment #6549 by Godless on November 14, 2006 at 6:52 pm

That's so funny. Here in Toronto, Canada we have a very popular store which deals in travel equipment; backpacks, camping, etc and whatnot. It is called Mountain Equipment Coop. Its web address is, are you ready?

Mec.ca

Muuhuhuwhahahaha!

15. Teach sex and evolution or close, Quebec evangelical schools told

Comment #5745 by Godless on November 10, 2006 at 7:22 pm

Skeptic Jim wrote:
"I don't think godless is right at all. You can keep the culture and remove the religion. You can still have national identity and maintain the customs of your peers without the need to believe in some sort of supernatural deity. The Atheist Jews do it and so can everyone else."

Well, Jim, I wasn't saying you couldn't, not in my post at any rate. But many deeply spirtual/religious people would disagree with you vehemently - at least those who took their religion seriously by living their lives by their beliefs and actual scripture. Religion and Culture are inextricably bound for most cultures throughout the world. In fact they are considered synonymous conceptions, one impossible without the other. This bodes well with the theistic assumption/belief that spirituality must extend, not just from the private individual life; family, social circle, worklife, etc, but to community, and politics. If God is anything to any culture, HE is a Nationalistic and Cultural God, a Universal all encompassing God... or HE is nothing at all.

To separate church and state is to water down the meaning and power of the religious community and deprive them of what they desire most - one nation under God as authority, indivisable - religion must, I repeat must, demand a theocratic form of government, nothing less. If you do not strive for that ideal, then you are not a true believing Christian, Muslim, etc, who takes his beliefs seriously. Why should politics be divorced from religious ideals? That goes against everything that a faithful believer stands for.

Now if you are a moderate, well then, you can have a little sin with your Santa, a little fun with your prayers, a little monetary indulgence, a little divorce, a little extra-curiccular sex, a little materialistic possessiveness, and still go to church on sunday, or once a year at Xmas, while you twiddle your thumbs, daydreaming, and hoping the football game hasn't ended by the time the sermon is over.

I'll let you in on a secret. Really religious people? They hate, and I mean hate, moderates. Santa is NOT the reason for the season. God expects pure devotion and pure efforts/works in his name, nothing less. That means his expectations extend to education and government and anything else that's for the publics own good.

16. Teach sex and evolution or close, Quebec evangelical schools told

Comment #5742 by Godless on November 10, 2006 at 6:51 pm

I like this link:

http://www.philosophy.ubc.ca/faculty/russellp/Journals/The%20supremacy%20of%20God.pdf

(make sure you have adobe acrobat)

Thank you for that elegantly written post Canadian Rower. I am of course, completely in agreement with you. You articulated the problem better than I. Question: are you familiar with any reference material, any books, links, etc, that might explore more in depth this problem Canada has gotten herself into? I'm particularily interested in our ' canadian take/understanding' on secularist ideals and principles, and how we deal with religiosity in general from a legal and governmental standpoint - our understanding of a separation of church and state and what that means to the public and the country as a whole, compared with what we actually have in reality, etc, as compared with other countries like the US, Norway, etc. There is surprisingly little on the subject, from a Canadian perspective, on the internet and what little there is is mired in obfuscation and practically indigestable legaleeze.

17. Teach sex and evolution or close, Quebec evangelical schools told

Comment #5536 by Godless on November 9, 2006 at 9:11 pm

Canatheist,

I hear you man. Me three. In fact in my case I and a few of my friends were so incensed that we rebelled against participating in the LP and were sent to the principle's office where we received a lecture and a slap on the wrist. Then we were told if we didn't participate we were to stand in the hall untill it was over. So we did. That lasted a few days, then someones parents must have called to complain, so we were then able to sit quietly in class while all the other students formally prayed. Teacher ( devout christian) was pissed he didn't get his way, which was to force us to participate.

Skeptisch,

Why do you say Calgary is in a league all by itself? I've always thought of Calgary as Canada's Texas and Bible belt zone, if that's what you meant?
I mention those cities because they are the wealthiest ones, the most cosmopolitan - where Richard's message might have more of a chance to make some rather major ripples in the airwaves.

Deepak Chopra is a moron. A rich moron, but a moron nonetheless. Ofcourse Mr Chopra would be on CBC. He and others like him would probably love to live here, given all the spiritualist claptrap in this country.

Dawkins was on a show called 'The Big Picture' with Avi Lewis. Richard attended via satellite. This discussion ofcourse centred around 'The Root of all Evil', and Prof. Dawkins was hardly able to get a word in edgewise, but even so, Richard was accused of 'scientism' by one of our politicians sitting in the audience. And of course most of the more vocal of the audience were of some religious persuasion, so they totally dissed Richard as being intolerant, and atheistically religious himself. As if science and rational thought were equal, on par, with religion and spirituality. There was little time for Prof. Dawkins to speak anyhow and the so-called debate, devolved into a ridiculous gabfest.

If there were a way of getting permission to place a link to the show on this website, I would tell Josh about it, but I don't know if such a thing would be possible. Here's a link to the webpage about the show.

http://www.cbc.ca/bigpicture/evil.html

18. Teach sex and evolution or close, Quebec evangelical schools told

Comment #5524 by Godless on November 9, 2006 at 8:31 pm

Janus wrote:
"Now I wonder, was it entirely Dawkins' choice?"

Funny that. I asked myself the same question.

19. Teach sex and evolution or close, Quebec evangelical schools told

Comment #5507 by Godless on November 9, 2006 at 7:46 pm

This is a bigger problem in Canada than many people realize or care about, even many Canadians.
Quebec is actually more secular than the rest of Canada, though you wouldn't know it.

I personally wish Professor Dawkins would have made a stop in a major city, other than Montreal, such as Toronto, Calgary, or Vancouver, as I suspect he would quickly realize that he and his 'scientistic', inflammatory, secular, and therefore atheist views, would not be welcomed by many. You see, in Canada multi-culturalism is everything - it is our religion, of sorts. And while I can appreciate multi-culturalism as a virtue in and of itself, atheism, unfortuneately, becomes an especially untenable 'anti-cultural' and intolerant world view in a country where religious rights and therefore, cultural rights, are more important than individual human rights.

It's not that our politicians are particularily religious, because I don't believe many of them really are. But our government thrives on and implements a form of 'relativism' trying to please everyone, regardless of their differences. Its not a melting pot here, but the rules are crafted and custom-made for everyone of differing faith and culture. Religious freedom means cultural freedom up here. Religious tolerance means that you better respect believers and church, synagogue, and mosque goers because if you don't you are a bigot and anti-Canadian.

Very few recognize this pernicious, insideous side of Canadian relativist placation of Theistic interests. I think its because we want to retain our reputation as super-tolerant, not-like-the-US, respectful of everyone, altruists.

However, the emperor of the north wears no clothes.

Richard, we need you more than you know up here in Canada. Regardless of what your book sales on Amazon.ca might indicate. A critical, uncompromising, rational voice is just what these multi-cultural, live and let live, extremely moderate, equivocators need up here.

20. Dawkins v God - stop the fight

Comment #4052 by Godless on November 2, 2006 at 7:05 am

Was this article a first draft? Stream of conciousness? Tell him to rewrite and clarify his points then maybe I will take him seriously. I'm tired of reading obscure tosh such as this. Where are editors when you need them?

21. Nearly half of Americans uncertain God exists: poll

Comment #3965 by Godless on November 1, 2006 at 7:20 pm

2,010??! I'll say it again...

2,010??!!! and this is supposed to be an accurate sampling representative of... of what? A very small town? Ahh, statistics. Don't you just love 'em?

22. Battle of the New Atheism

Comment #2804 by Godless on October 23, 2006 at 4:33 pm

Well... that was long winded. And what did we learn today from this meandering wishy-washy diatribe? Don't write an article under the false presumption that atheism is a form of religion or faith, then end your article trying to resist the very thing you have invented in your own brain. I guess it didn't occur to this knuckle head that one cannot be moderately indoctrinated, or moderately delusional, yet sorta rational...

If you can't make distinctions between rational thought and nonsense, and you suspect that rational, critical thinking is too rigidly dogmatic, then having faith and empathy for ones fellow man isn't going to matter one iota.

Bad writer. Very confused. Deserves a good spanking.