1. Beware the Believers

Comment #151671 by dhudson0001 on March 29, 2008 at 7:12 am

So well produced...yes, a parody-but somehow out there in the middle, insulting humanity as a whole, as if the whole idea of taking sides was unneccesary to begin with. The more I think on what Harris says about branding, the more I have to concede the logic. Astonishingly smart production...

2. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150268 by dhudson0001 on March 26, 2008 at 4:20 pm

Happy Birthday Prof. Dawkins!!

3. Pakistan blocks YouTube over blasphemous video

Comment #133722 by dhudson0001 on February 26, 2008 at 3:45 pm

I have but 1 thing to draw...


*@(((:~{>>

4. Atheists An Increasingly Outspoken Minority

Comment #129412 by dhudson0001 on February 19, 2008 at 4:41 am

Reading this article, I kept waiting for the patronizing question-when it came, I cringed as usual, fully expecting it would not be answered. When it was answered in such a simple manner- "An atheist will just deal with it, try to find a logical and reasonable solution," I almost applauded.

Good Job by Mr Williams!

5. Machines 'to match man by 2029'

Comment #128712 by dhudson0001 on February 17, 2008 at 6:22 pm

I get a great amount of enjoyment out of all of the Kurzweil detractors on mind-x. (and now on RD apparently..) They seem so certain of the limits of technology. How is it so possible to know, and why be angry at those who have these novel ideas?

I can't help but be reminded of a rather
short-sighted journalist who I noticed was recently featured here on RD.net,(Gary Stix from SciAm) and his attempted caricature of the nascent field of nanotechnology, and it's founding father K.Eric Drexler back in the mid-late '90s.

I for one, would care less for a world where there was a shortage of new ideas.

6. Machines 'to match man by 2029'

Comment #128688 by dhudson0001 on February 17, 2008 at 3:53 pm

It has long been a concern of mine that the arrival of A.I. will be misconstrued by the church to be the ultimate sign that jesus has returned to usher in the rapture.

Think about it. If you are religious, you are going to have to have some reaction towards such an event.

If you accept that A.I. is a human-created intelligence, then you discount god. It may be that the only other position one could hold and still keep the faith would be to claim jesus has returned and let the fun begin.

I would add that since we may have no way of knowing the agenda of an autonomous artificial machine intelligence, nor presumably would we be able to gauge it's level of morality, sense of humor..etc..wouldn't it be possible for the A.I. to play along just for kicks...

Err..Gaffer, I hope your joking. Ray Kurzweil is an amazing intellectual.

7. Conservative Rabbis to Vote on Resolution Criticizing Pope's Revision of Prayer

Comment #124808 by dhudson0001 on February 10, 2008 at 10:03 am

in speaking of "good reasons" to believe in religion, i'm pretty sure PZ Myers was speaking broadly. This petty, comical charade of characters arguing about the meaning of certain words, whether they believe them or not, is STUPID.

8. A Letter From Hell

Comment #116128 by dhudson0001 on January 25, 2008 at 3:11 pm

I don't know about all of you who came back here laughing after watching that...Made me sad. I'm ashamed that we have the gall to be so proud of the human race. We started out misguided and we still can't seem to shrug it off. Thousands of years worth of progress...and this for show. Makes me angry that I was born in such a schizophrenic age..It's not fair. Better to have distanced myself from the supposed "enlightenment" by about 1000 yrs.

9. If You Open Your Mind Too Much Your Brain Will Fall Out

Comment #104566 by dhudson0001 on December 28, 2007 at 7:08 pm

I laughed when you said husband :)

10. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #98895 by dhudson0001 on December 14, 2007 at 9:00 pm

The entire 2 hrs was captivating..felt like I was right there with them. Wonderful-thanks!

11. Beyond Belief 07: Enlightenment 2.0

Comment #94084 by dhudson0001 on December 4, 2007 at 6:13 pm

robotaholic- sorry to break the news but it looks like Carolyn Porco had to cancel the engagement..check the speakers page (and the * by her name)

12. 'Teddy' teacher jailed in Sudan

Comment #91958 by dhudson0001 on November 29, 2007 at 4:03 pm

I can't stand the thought of it. I hope she gets a good tour and maybe a book deal out of this experience...at least she may be monetarily compensated for what these sick minds have done to her. HOW DARE THEY! I'm just pissed.

13. 'Muhammad' teddy teacher arrested

Comment #90945 by dhudson0001 on November 26, 2007 at 6:53 pm

Don't do it Limey, we would hate to lose ya :)

Seriously though, for me, its times like these that I get the same damn familiar feeling- invariably accompanied by a thought that i have to put effort into pushing away, because I really, DONT believe it, but I can't help but ponder the idea that this is so asinine that it can't be REAL.

I must say I'm growing weary of the effort it takes to force myself to believe that people actually think this way.

14. Lessons in hate found at leading mosques

Comment #83645 by dhudson0001 on October 30, 2007 at 7:14 pm

Christianity has been tamed by secularism, but not Islam. Falwell would a liberal next to mainstream Islamic clerics.

I'm in agreement. However, a tamed christian is still an enabler.

In any case, I was speaking not so much of the majority interpretation of the bible by the church and it's followers, than of the way any one individual might interpret the various passages of the "holy text".

As Harris says, "all we have are conversations", and in this light, the bible and the koran equally shout out in deviant unison. So again I ask, what really is the difference when we see a a row of bibles in Barnes & Nobles?

I think we simply must continue to ask ourselves and others over and over about a safe future.

Simply stated, we have a huge moral obligation to be responsible ancestors, so where can we have the most effect as individuals?

I think the answer is all around us.

Most of us here probably live entrenched in religious moderation- opportunities abound! The more pressure we put on those around us who are al a carte moderates, the faster we could see the law of exponentials take hold.

I hate to be the one to say it but we REALLY need exponential growth chart here people..how many of you are willing to bet that we have more than a few decades to set this right before it's too late?

Perhaps Dr. Dawkins knows a futurist or two who would like to take a shot at projecting at what rate we would need to grow as secularists in order to save humanity?

If your wondering or thinking I must be joking, I'm not!

15. Lessons in hate found at leading mosques

Comment #83621 by dhudson0001 on October 30, 2007 at 5:15 pm

Dont get me wrong, I agree that enough is enough, I just don't see how this differs so much from selling the bible at the local B&N store or church bookstore for that matter.
Remember Deuteronomy teaches us that we must stone to death anyone who "secretly entices you to worship another god".

So what really then is the major difference here?

(i would just add - it just helps drive home the point that religion is all fun and games until one actually takes it seriously)

16. If you don't accept the supernatural, you obviously think life is depressing, meaningless and cold

Comment #81387 by dhudson0001 on October 24, 2007 at 4:39 pm

To the contrary, I recall being 9 or 10 and desperately searching for someone my age who appreciated music in the way that I did. By that time, I had taught myself hundreds of songs on my fathers Fender Jazzmaster and was also well on my way to discarding religion. Need I say more?