1. The brain in love

Comment #215372 by clunkclickeverytrip on July 21, 2008 at 6:10 pm

Best song title ever:
"Love Comes in Spurts" - Richard Hell and the Voidoids.

2. Logical Proof of the Existence of a Divine Creator, Why Atheism is Not Logically Sound

Comment #190541 by clunkclickeverytrip on June 9, 2008 at 8:43 am

Rubbish of the first order.

3. Opponents of Evolution Adopting a New Strategy

Comment #188999 by clunkclickeverytrip on June 5, 2008 at 7:30 am

I'm sure the good Doc is an excellent dentist - it's a distraction to suggest otherwise. Societies worldwide are full of highly functioning people contributing in effective ways, but at the same time being delusional with respect to their belief in a supernatural creator.
This dichotomy is a result of religious indoctination in childhood. This is why the schools are the place where kids must find out the whole truth about how life on Earth came about - anything less and the imbalance between religious indoctrination by parents on one hand and "full disclosure" in the schools (up to and including the fact that there is no supernatural creator) on the other hand results in delusional adults - this is the current situation globally.

4. Ben Stein 1, Yoko Ono 0 in 'Expelled' copyright spat

Comment #188104 by clunkclickeverytrip on June 3, 2008 at 8:28 am

Judge Stein, Ben Stein - wait a minute.....?!

5. Pop Goes Christianity

Comment #181499 by clunkclickeverytrip on May 17, 2008 at 10:02 am

"evangelical college boys" (ecb)
As a chemist, I'd equate this to a short term intermediate state in the cycle:
-> delusional adults -> indoctrinated children -> ecb -> delusional adults -> etc.

6. God seekers go public

Comment #179432 by clunkclickeverytrip on May 13, 2008 at 8:40 am

The monotheist "God" is nothing more than a hypothesis, as is commonly understood by objective scientists. Four and a half billion years ago the earth formed, and four billion years ago bacteria formed to seed all subsequent life on earth. The "God Hypothesis" is not necessary to explain any of the evolutionary events over the last four billion years.

The ID people are taking the "God Hypothesis" and trying to find data to fit that hypothesis - scientifically speaking, it is a forgone conclusion that they will fail. Legitimate evolutionary biologists, paleontologists, archeologists, physicists and chemists have already shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the "God Hypothesis" is not valid or relevant to the truth of how life on Earth evolved.

But, legitimate science can easily be swept under the carpet in the next 100 years if religion wins out over reason. The number of people on Earth who understand the scientific explanation pales in comparison to the number who don't, or don't want to.

7. Sexpelled: No Intercourse Allowed

Comment #162878 by clunkclickeverytrip on April 17, 2008 at 4:01 pm

Very good - hats off to the parodista!

8. I always aim to misbehave

Comment #151804 by clunkclickeverytrip on March 29, 2008 at 12:44 pm

I assume PZ hasn't hurt his chances of an Oxford position with all that has transpired recently - a biologist is an obvious choice for continuing RD's good work.

9. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #149936 by clunkclickeverytrip on March 26, 2008 at 10:43 am

Happy birthday Richard.
Thank you for all your educational endeavours. The God Delusion is the most important text book of our time. 2000 years of monotheism on the evolutionary scale is a blink of an eye. I hope humanity will look back on this hopefully brief transitional period to enlightenment from dogma and recognize your contribution.
Certain people could kick start that recognition with the Nobel Peace Prize...

10. Discussion on PZ Myers being expelled from Expelled

Comment #148155 by clunkclickeverytrip on March 22, 2008 at 7:48 am

Thanks sent2null, for the link to Harvard's Myosin animation. I did my Ph.D. on non-muscle tropomyosin almost 20 years ago so was familiar with actin/myosin systems at the time. I'm no longer in research so haven't been following developments - it's great to see the increased understanding at the molecular level of the myosin families. Excellent educational tool from Harvard.

11. Sci-fi guru Clarke to have secular funeral

Comment #147045 by clunkclickeverytrip on March 19, 2008 at 5:47 pm

CNN thinks a secular funeral, per se, is worthy of mention in a headline - very strange. It's like announcing the Pope's funeral will be a Catholic funeral.
The Pope having a secular funeral would be newsworthy...

12. Lords Approve Abolition Of Blasphemy

Comment #139763 by clunkclickeverytrip on March 6, 2008 at 1:20 pm

Altogether now:

BLASPHEMY IS A VICTIMLESS CRIME!

13. Crossing the Divide

Comment #139742 by clunkclickeverytrip on March 6, 2008 at 12:57 pm

"He has flirted with atheism but found it too depressing."
I'll cut the guy some slack since he was abused as a child. However, I agree with pulsar1z - there is nothing quite as liberating and uplifting as knowing the truth. The universe is gloriously devoid of a supernatural creator. What IS depressing is the cycle of ignorance perpertuated by religion:

-------->childhood indoctrination---

---------adult delusion <--------

(Sorry for the poor graphics - I intend to dress this up a bit for my avatar).

14. Richard Dawkins' US Tour begins this week

Comment #138275 by clunkclickeverytrip on March 4, 2008 at 6:04 am

I heard through the grapevine that the as-yet-unannounced "secret" gigs in Jerusalem and Mecca are also already sold out.

15. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #132858 by clunkclickeverytrip on February 25, 2008 at 10:03 am

Wooter is as daft as a brush. I loved the "In summary" bit at the end of post 29 - in parody of a learned paper.
When Wooter was selecting a religion, why did they choose Christianity over the other choices? Don't tell me it's the only religion they ever been involved in! Parental indoctrination I'll wager.
Away you go Wooter and try Islam for a change. Then Judeism, Hinduism, etc. Come back with a critical comparison for us - we'll still be here.

16. Cal scientist reflects on Darwin's genius

Comment #125952 by clunkclickeverytrip on February 12, 2008 at 10:14 am

If schools acknowledge Ramadan, Christmas, and other religious dates, they should also be made to recognize Darwin Day.
The delusional should not have more rights than the sane, especially when it comes to children's education.

17. Battle of the Chambersburg billboards

Comment #124890 by clunkclickeverytrip on February 10, 2008 at 11:51 am

One way to counter this is to find a billboard company willing to post scientific facts and let them speak for themselves. RDF should sponsor such posters. Here's my billboard:

_________________________________________________
SOME SCIENTIFIC FACTS

1. The Universe is 13.7 billion years old
2. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old
3. Bacteria were the first lifeform to evolve on Earth, 4 billion years ago
4. All life on Earth evolved from bacteria

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE - EDUCATE YOURSELF
________________________________________________


Let them challenge the content in court!

18. Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'

Comment #123565 by clunkclickeverytrip on February 7, 2008 at 10:59 am

The a.o.c. proposes the validation of a form of lawmaking that makes a mockery of democracy, rather than siding with reason.
When push comes to shove, the above merely confirms that Christianity has more in common with Islam than it does with a secular social structure. These religions need each others support more than they need democracy. Certainly democracy does not need Christianity or Islam.

19. Admitting that you have no religion is not politically correct

Comment #121966 by clunkclickeverytrip on February 4, 2008 at 12:28 pm

In a democracy, a religious adult should have the same rights as an atheist adult, not more rights.

20. Admitting that you have no religion is not politically correct

Comment #121952 by clunkclickeverytrip on February 4, 2008 at 12:00 pm

What self-serving dishonest tripe. They've got a Campus Crusade for Christ group; did they send them a rejection telling them that Wilfrid Laurier is a secular institution and therefore cannot be seen as endorsing a sectarian religious club? Is there a contract incoming students must sign that says they must all forfeit any independent thoughts that might be perceived as reflecting something other than the university's mission statement?

21. What should a scientist think about religion?

Comment #118212 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 30, 2008 at 1:33 pm

I am a scientifically-trained atheist. Objectively reviewing and understanding the scientific evidence should lead an unbiased person directly to an atheist conclusion.
I am willing to bet that almost all people in the science community who are monotheists, or polytheists for that matter, have childhood baggage preventing objective review of the relevant scientific data. Synthesizing an organic chemical in a lab can be done equally well by an atheist or theist - there is no specific religious angle. However, evolutionary biology or astronomy will be areas where religious scientists will have difficulty keeping their religious views independent from the data and this will undermine their objectivity with respect to certain data.
In addition, there is no place for "dogmatic atheism" in the 21st century - education can provide "scientific atheism" relatively easily.
In other words, "believing" there is no god is not much better than "believing" there is a god. "Understanding" there is no god is possible through science education.

22. Three Little Pigs 'too offensive'

Comment #115389 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 24, 2008 at 6:20 am

This is a case where RD's assertion that children are not muslim/christian/jewish, their parents are, should be invoked by the state to keep children from being pawns in the advancement of religious agendas.
The British Government (in this particular scenario) would have to take a quantum leap in philosophy and legislate to the effect that, in all walks of life, religious adults cannot enforce the agendas of their religions through their children. "Freedom of religion" has to exclude children. This would require a complete overhaul of the public school system for a start. (Faith schools of course don't quite fit with the above suggestion.)
Quantum leaps of this type are rare in Government - Creeping erosion on the otherhand is pervasive.

23. Gay Jesus play blasted by bishop

Comment #114063 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 21, 2008 at 9:55 am

I am bored with this type of theatrical effort. Christianity is the soft monotheist target so Jesus gets it again. The shock value is diminishing with every try. This isn't dangerous - what Wilders is supposedly planning in Holland is dangerous, literally.

24. Honour Killings

Comment #113714 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 20, 2008 at 11:37 am

Religious education - the ultimate oxymoron.

25. Violence fear over Islam film

Comment #113708 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 20, 2008 at 11:28 am

Wilders is a very brave person - I take my hat off to him.

26. Two Ex-Jehovah Witnesses to Tell Why They Became Atheists

Comment #109981 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 10, 2008 at 8:32 am

fireface - I am very sorry to hear about your predicament. Your financial dependence on your father certainly complicates your situation. I hope you find a way to reach a degree of financial independence that permits you the freedom to be able to be honest with your family about your real position on religion, for the sake of your own sanity and the future of your children. If that includes being shunned, then so be it. If your parents put their faith above love of their children then you have to put caring for youself and your family above your parents.
You will be able to find at least emotional support in local humanist or atheist organizations. There will always be RD.net for ongoing interaction with like-minded people.
Good luck.

27. US 'doomed' if creationist president elected: scientists

Comment #108591 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 7, 2008 at 9:57 am

"Holding deep religious beliefs is not incompatible with believing in evolution," Omenn said.

28. Six Reasons to be an Atheist

Comment #108375 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 6, 2008 at 3:20 pm

Paula, I wish I had a plan. Think globally, act locally was an environmental slogan that work in this context.
For me, it has to start in the schools with accurate and honest science education.
My timescale is definitely unatainable, sad to say. However, considering TGD was first published in 2006, the stimulation of activity among previously silent atheists has been excellent but there is a long (several generations at least) struggle to enlightenment for humanity as a whole.

29. Six Reasons to be an Atheist

Comment #108341 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 6, 2008 at 2:15 pm

Atheists - it's all very well having these great discussions with ADH, but methinks he's be given, or has volunarily taken on, the assignment of tying up the time of great atheist thinkers on this site.
Please everyone, don't waste so much time with ADH or any other Christian trolls. This "one-at-a-time approach" is spoiling my chances of seeing an atheist planet Earth in my lifetime, and this is very disappointing.

30. Can Atheists Be Parents?

Comment #107306 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 4, 2008 at 11:27 am

OK- it's from 1970. Did they eventually win the appeal?

31. Can Atheists Be Parents?

Comment #107302 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 4, 2008 at 11:25 am

Total lunacy - many of us are parents, and better parents in most cases than religious parents simply for not indoctrinating our children into religious behaviour.
The only conclusion is that the judge is god-infected and is highly delusional. I hope he's not a parent.

32. Changing my Mind

Comment #106732 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 3, 2008 at 11:07 am

al-rawandi, I think you meant to direct your comment to me, not PJG.
While you mention the bible, is the same true for the other monotheist texts re. contradictions?
Anyway, I will not be spending my time reading the bible, the koran, or the tanakh or talmud. There are plenty of atheists who have knowledge of those books to use their words against the believers where possible. I hope they are successful is sowing the seeds of doubt with respect to all monotheist religions, not just Christianity.
I maintain that finding contradictions in ancient texts is not as educationally productitve as imparting the facts about evolutionary biology, physics and chemistry that necessarily lead to an atheist conclusion. Science is the closest thing we have to "the truth" about humanity's place in the universe.
In addition, the scientific facts are independent of the religion of your adversary in any debate.

33. Changing my Mind

Comment #106620 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 3, 2008 at 7:52 am

Mind you, you do need to know the Bible better than they do - not difficult, they are amazingly selective in their quotes/understanding. It also helps to have a bit of knowledge on the history of the Bible - Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman is really good. The last time the JWs came to my door, the novice took a note of the book and said she would read it - I doubt she will, but having come to the door denying there were any inconsistencies or errors in the Bible, it is a start.

34. Changing my Mind

Comment #106361 by clunkclickeverytrip on January 2, 2008 at 6:12 pm

God does not exist as a separate entity - We are God in every infinite facet of our existence, good and bad.

35. Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Comment #105352 by clunkclickeverytrip on December 31, 2007 at 10:16 am

"Religion: Because 21st century challenges need Iron Age solutions" - Paula Kirby
This is my preferred version because dripping sarcasm is the best way to twist the knife.

By the way, I watched "Jesus Camp" and could only think "this is extreme child abuse" throughout - it was disgusting. At one point, the preacher effectively stated that since Islam was preparing their children for holy war from an early age she was doing the same for Christianity. Talk about two wrongs not making a right!

36. Archbishop of Canterbury Praises Richard Dawkins

Comment #104336 by clunkclickeverytrip on December 28, 2007 at 10:43 am

"The Archbishop also singled out for praise the atheist Richard Dawkins, the Oxford professor recently outed as a carol singer, whom he described as being in touch with the "amazement and awe" of God's creation."

I think RD's position is being misrepresented to the tune of, say, 180 degrees. RD is in touch with the amazement and awe of the power of evolution on the geological timescale, not of "God's creation".
Name dropping of a prominent atheist may have some self-serving purpose to the Archbishop, but he'd be better off simply saying to his flock: "You know what, Richard Dawkins is right. There's is no God. I resign, and I've spent the church's money on evolutionary biology text books that have been mailed to each member of this church. I've also sent letters to the leaders of the world's other religions recommending they follow my lead." That would be the only time I could see a reason for him to invoke RD.

37. New journal to target education in evolution

Comment #103872 by clunkclickeverytrip on December 27, 2007 at 6:56 am

Great Doonesbury comic strip.
Back to the original topic, I am very pleased to see the creation of this journal. Educators need all the help they can get to provide the fundamental building blocks to children for understanding of science, and particularly evolutionary biology, in a coherent way from the earliest possible age.
Hopefully some scientific heavyweights will lend their support to ensure this journal succeeds.

38. Man and God

Comment #103339 by clunkclickeverytrip on December 25, 2007 at 8:10 am

It's time for humanity to be more honest with itself. We are not made or monitored by a supernatural being.
This is a simple truth that should be taught to all children in all schools, and eventually in all homes, throughout the world. They can handle the truth.

39. For the Love of Christ

Comment #101896 by clunkclickeverytrip on December 21, 2007 at 5:31 am

Why would a debate with a "failing high-schooler" serve any purpose? RD and Hitch would be wasting their precious time. But if he's getting through to the young, perhaps he's showing us the new way to get the young to listen to evolutionary biology talks.
"Alright - down on the ground and crawl like a slug. I said GET DOWN! Because you and slugs have alot of DNA in common." etc, etc.

40. Believe it or not

Comment #98263 by clunkclickeverytrip on December 13, 2007 at 11:45 am

Padster1976 - well done for trying to raise an atheist perspective with your 4-year old nephew. Children are very vunerable.
God and Santa are both imaginary, and we all know how easy it is to convince children to "believe".
It's much harder to teach them to "know" - that requires actual teaching and learning, not deception.
Regarding what you actually said to your nephew, to say Jesus didn't exist and God doesn't exist are very different statements. I'd focus on the scientific evidence for the absence of god - it's cleaner than getting into religious figures such as Jesus.
Just for starters, a supernatural being (god) that can interact with humanity (7 billion), as well as manage the rest of the universe, is permanently in violation of the laws of physics. It's simply impossible, not to mention silly (God Delusion says it all). Not to mention the clear evolutionary biology story in the "good book" (our genome). That we evolved from bacteria over the last 4 billion years is a scientific fact. Summing that up for a 4-year old is tricky under the best of circumstances. To do it against their parents wishes is even trickier.
Good luck.

41. Believe it or not

Comment #97607 by clunkclickeverytrip on December 12, 2007 at 12:21 pm

I suggest the new name "Dabs" - I put forward this proposal in an earlier posting:

Firstly, in parody of The Flat Earth Society we should be The Flat Fish Society, with the ugly, assymetric mug of a Flounder or Plaice, or preferably Dab, as our mascot, representing evolution at work.
Following on from that, we should call ourselves "Dabs" instead of "Brights", a Dab being an evolved, assymetric-faced flat fish, and also slang for being adept or good at something.
And if that isn't enough, check out this internet definition of dab that actually invokes Dawkins, although not in a way one would expect:
http://www.fromoldbooks.org/Grose-VulgarTongue/d/dab.html
It states:
"An adept; a dab at any feat or exercise. Dab, quoth Dawkins, when he hit his wife on the a-se with a pound of butter."
It was meant to be....
In addition, here's a link explaining the phrase "dab hand":
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dab1.htm
In this definition, "dab" is stated from a 1698-99 definition as ""an exquisite expert" in some form of roguery".

Stand up America's dabs, and be counted.
Who is going to be the first dab to be President?

42. Poll finds more Americans believe in devil than Darwin

Comment #92360 by clunkclickeverytrip on November 30, 2007 at 10:45 am

P.S. please give my previous message a high ranking if you think we should be called Dabs.
Top 20, here we come...

43. Poll finds more Americans believe in devil than Darwin

Comment #92355 by clunkclickeverytrip on November 30, 2007 at 10:41 am

Others have already beaten me to it, but I want to say it again.
Evolution is not to be believed - it is to be understood.
At this juncture I'd like to propose a change in the marketing of atheists as "Brights" which is an idea that is still floating around.
Firstly, in parody of The Flat Earth Society we should be The Flat Fish Society, with the ugly, assymetric mug of a Flounder or Plaice or Dab as our mascot, representing evolution at work.
Following on from that, we should call ourselves "Dabs" instead of "Brights", a Dab being an evolved, assymetric-faced flat fish, and also slang for being adept or good at something.
And if that isn't enough, check out this internet definition of dab that actually invokes Dawkins, although not in a way one would expect:
http://www.fromoldbooks.org/Grose-VulgarTongue/d/dab.html
It states: "An adept; a dab at any feat or exercise. Dab, quoth Dawkins, when he hit his wife on the a-se with a pound of butter." It was meant to be....
In addition, here's a link explaining the phrase "dab hand":
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dab1.htm
In this definition, "dab" is stated from a 1698-99 definition as ""an exquisite expert" in some form of roguery" - I like it!
I apologize for the partial hijack of this thread - now back to normal programming.

44. Turkey probes atheist's 'God' book

Comment #91533 by clunkclickeverytrip on November 28, 2007 at 2:02 pm

One sad fact in the article is that only 6,000 copies of TGD have been sold in Turkey (Pop. 63 million) - after someone going to all that trouble to translate it for them and all.

45. Rock of Ages, Ages of Rock

Comment #90725 by clunkclickeverytrip on November 26, 2007 at 8:03 am

These people have Ph.Ds alright - Profoundly Harmful Delusions.
Ian

46. Those fanatical atheists

Comment #89364 by clunkclickeverytrip on November 20, 2007 at 12:10 pm

In the spirit of tag team wrestling, here goes....

The scientific process is relentless and unforgiving. Peer review is scathing in its objectivity. If a peer-reviewed paper in a reputable physics journal showed that a Universal Observer existed, I would have thought that it might get picked up by the popular media, and particularly the religious who have been in constant search for any scientific support for their beliefs, and that I would have heard of this "proof" by now. This hasn't happened. QED.
As a chemist, rusty on what little quantum mechanics (QM) I ever did learn, it appears to me that there is a big leap of faith from a Universal Observer (passive entity) to "a reasonable interpretation of the evidence to the existence of a Universal Observer who is all knowing and all powerful (observers all quantum events and therefore affects all quantum events)". Effectively, the leap is from a "deist" to a "monotheist" belief system. This is non-trivial. To passively observe is one thing. To be all knowing and all powerful is another.
mjr1007, have you provided the definitive proof for an all knowing and all powerful entity controlling the Universe? If so, I hope you like Stockholm - there's a Nobel prize waiting for you.
In reality, an entity that is immune from the laws of physics can hardly be defined by them. If monotheists were to be taken seriously, this entity routinely breaks the laws of physics, chemistry and biology at least a billion times a day before breakfast, curing cancers, fixing job interviews, listening to and assessing every prayer on its merits, but surprisingly still apparently having trouble with those praying amputees, despite that entity's omnipotence. And that's just on this planet...
So mjr1007, if you really respect the laws of physics, why do you delude yourself that such an entity exists? I expect it's because you were indoctrinated into a religion as a child and have difficulty seeing the world objectively as an adult. It'll take more than spouting QM buzz words to get taken seriously as a scientist.

47. For the glory of God

Comment #88678 by clunkclickeverytrip on November 18, 2007 at 1:32 pm

I'm also an Ottawa dweller and a fan of Gardner's efforts in the Citizen. I'd like to propose an Ottawa Chapter of RD.net members - OK, never mind a Chapter, how about a beer? I'd like to contemplate the phrase "think globally, act locally" with some like-minded people.

48. What the New Atheists Don't See

Comment #84498 by clunkclickeverytrip on November 2, 2007 at 7:23 am

It is a distraction to ask how did "Western Civilization" get where it is. It's here and it's evolving. Yes, evolution is everywhere. Reason should take over from faith in that evolutionary process, now that life has been explained (there's no meaning of life - sorry).
However, let's also not be distracted by the term "Western Civilization" - there's an implied attack on "Eastern Civilization", and on island Earth we're all in it together.
Where Global Civilization is going is not predetermined but it has to be more "truthful" with itself, and reason and understanding of science are the way to that truth.
First, humanity must shake off the religion virus, which is surprisingly resilient. We do have a cure - innoculate the children of the world with daily doses of reason, and if possible quarantine them from the virus.

49. The truth in religion

Comment #84265 by clunkclickeverytrip on November 1, 2007 at 3:18 pm

My take on why the eternal "reason vs. faith" debate feels to we atheists like we are banging our heads agaist a brick wall is that we simply are not on an even playing field.
The "faith-full" have, almost exclusively, had there minds irretrievably altered during childhood indoctrination such that they can't see "reason", in the literal sense, that we "people of reason" (i.e. atheists) can.
Thankfully, many people that have been put through childhood indoctrination have the emotional fortitude to see off that unfortunate period of their lives and eventually find "reason" as adults.
The remaining "faith-full" clearly have had a part of their brain irreversibly altered and are beyond "reason". You simply can't reason with them. They are "unreasonable". It's really annoying.
This has to be addressed in childhood education (well done again Sweden). Young minds untainted by religion are required for "reason" to prevail.

50. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #83939 by clunkclickeverytrip on October 31, 2007 at 5:56 pm

In further thinking about this, the only thing that would have made this article even better would have been an explicit inclusion of Islam and Judaism (they are, of course, implicitly included).
But that's just nit-picking...