Comments by salon_1928

Comment #261709 by salon_1928 on October 7, 2008 at 8:49 am

squinky said:

I thought the Gospel according to Judas was an asskicker too.

You have to be careful with the apocryphal texts. Most modern day scholars and textual critics don't put a lot of stock in them in terms of them being accurate historical documents. Also, using one piece of fantasy as a means to prove/disprove another piece of fantasy gets you nowhere.

2. The rival to the Bible

Comment #261704 by salon_1928 on October 7, 2008 at 8:41 am

I'm looking forward to seeing this important document. As was indicated earlier, it is the oldest complete new testament and includes Hermas & Barnabas which were later deemed heretical and discarded from the canon.

Stu

3. It's no wonder evangelical atheists need to shout so loud

Comment #240323 by salon_1928 on August 31, 2008 at 10:56 am

I'm a bit stupefied. My moderately edited letter to the editor made it into the Sunday Calgary Herald. Better yet, an important piece they retained was a slightly expanded reading list with authors such as Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Victor Stenger being mentioned (in addition to Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens who were mentioned in the original article).

Stu

4. MythBuster Adam Savage: 3 Ways to Fix U.S. Science Education

Comment #239840 by salon_1928 on August 30, 2008 at 12:20 pm

most of the crucifixions took place on a 'T' shaped device, not a 't' cross looking one.

According to a witness friend of mine, it was an 'I' shaped device. i.e. a stake. Those witnesses, always wanting to be different...

Anyway, I love Mythbusters. I always crack up when I see the clip of Adam saying: I reject your reality and substitute my own

Stu

5. It's no wonder evangelical atheists need to shout so loud

Comment #238252 by salon_1928 on August 27, 2008 at 8:53 pm

Moniz wrote:

It was in the Calgary Herald NOT the SUN.

I totally missed that �" I just assumed that something so obviously inflammatory came from the Calgary Sun.

Stu

6. It's no wonder evangelical atheists need to shout so loud

Comment #238172 by salon_1928 on August 27, 2008 at 5:17 pm

I scoured the August 27th copy of the Calgary Sun looking for this article several times but couldn't find it. Either the date is wrong or it was never actually published in hardcopy. I'm guessing the latter �" possibly bumped to make room for "Dear Abby" or "Today's Horoscope."

I find this people like this infinitely frustrating �" why do they continuously insist on making us do all the work for them. It's like they've never picked up a book in their life. And he has a PHD? Embarrassing �" he should give it back (or it should be taken back).

Lastly, I've read remarks by a couple of people puzzling over the "yelling" comments. I can only speculate, that in this instance, Barry Cooper has confused "yelling" with "publishing."

Cheers and peace everyone �" and to set the record straight �" non-belief is alive and well in Calgary.

7. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150355 by salon_1928 on March 26, 2008 at 6:57 pm

Happy Birthday Professor Dawkins!

8. Bart Ehrman, Questioning Religion on Why We Suffer

Comment #129978 by salon_1928 on February 19, 2008 at 8:46 pm

I've read three a Bart's books: The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, Lost Christianities and Misquoting Jesus. All three are excellent in their analysis of the new testament (and old testament to some degree) as an ancient document. The first in particular is superb. It's long (compared to many of Bart's other books) but it's thorough, and after reading it, you can pretty much declare yourself more knowledgeable about the new testament than the majority of faith-heads.

I'm actually a bit bummed by the fact that Bart has publicly declared his loss of faith. I had always assumed that he had but didn't know for sure. Maybe he has spoken about it before but I was never aware of it. I think the unfortunate implications are that his readership will be even more firmly rooted in the non-believer's camp.

On that note, a sort of funny anecdote �" I once tried to get an evangelical friend of mine to read Bart's The New Testament. No way he said - at least not before he cleared it with his pastor (or whatever). I told him it was scholarly book and not meant to convert people one way or another and would most likely give him a deeper understanding of the very book that he was devoting a significant part of his life to. He absolutely wouldn't budge - and this was his reasoning - Satan is apparently active in the world and out to tempt him. He now relies on his pastor to make decisions for him as to what is appropriate to read, watch, listen to, etc. That's why I call religion a "surgical-less lobotomy."

Buy and read Bart's new book!

Peace and Cheers!

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

Comment #112306 by salon_1928 on January 16, 2008 at 7:54 pm

George,

Thank you for standing up when your Country and its Allies called. I wish you a speedy recovery.

Sincerely,
Stuart in Canada