1. Churchgoing on its knees as Christianity falls out of favour

Comment #177324 by Fouad Boussetta on May 8, 2008 at 11:15 pm

"So long as churchgoing is something that gets you laughed at, so long as there is a social stigma attached to being a churchgoing young person, it will be difficult to reverse the trend."
Yes, ridicule may be the best weapon to phase out religion, more so than education. When the religious feel embarrassed or ashamed of their beliefs or practices, they will keep quiet and stop interfering with the lives of everyone else.

2. My Response to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #177317 by Fouad Boussetta on May 8, 2008 at 11:00 pm

Twit.

3. Ayaan Hirsi Ali to get EU protection

Comment #136278 by Fouad Boussetta on February 29, 2008 at 4:39 pm

Good. Finally. I'll have a toast to her health.

4. Do the laws of God trump those of man?

Comment #99525 by Fouad Boussetta on December 17, 2007 at 1:44 am

gcdavis wrote about immigrants: "your entry ticket should be to share our values and learn our language (quickly)".

Exactly. That's really a minimum and not much to ask.

Can't do it? Stay in your country or immigate somewhere else.

5. Do the laws of God trump those of man?

Comment #99494 by Fouad Boussetta on December 16, 2007 at 7:56 pm

Robotaholic: what you just wrote is just HILARIOUS!

6. Do the laws of God trump those of man?

Comment #99468 by Fouad Boussetta on December 16, 2007 at 5:53 pm

Pascal Bruckner is a really smart French essayist and novelist.

His excellent paper is available online at:
http://www.signandsight.com/features/1146.html

7. Do the laws of God trump those of man?

Comment #99463 by Fouad Boussetta on December 16, 2007 at 5:48 pm

I'm a bit depressed.

Here in the Canadian province of Quebec, the Conseil du Statut de la Femme (a government council promoting women's equality rights in society) recommended amending the provincial Charter of Rights to make it written into law that women's equality rights trump religious freedom.

Well, it didn't work out!

It's crazy: basic human rights can't trump religious craziness now...

8. U.S. Congress Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

Comment #97965 by Fouad Boussetta on December 12, 2007 at 10:38 pm

Is this a joke? Or a dream? A really stupid dream?

9. Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty

Comment #97643 by Fouad Boussetta on December 12, 2007 at 1:18 pm

Congrats Sam! :) :) :)

P.S.: "Studies of olfaction have shown that the left frontal operculum is engaged when subjects are required to make active judgments about the unpleasantness of odors. Thus, regions that have been regularly implicated in the hedonic appraisal of stimuli, often negative, appeared in our study to respond preferentially when subjects rejected written statements as false." I know now why I'm allergic to the monotheistic religions. Their lies literally STINK!

10. Interview with Christopher Hitchens

Comment #93616 by Fouad Boussetta on December 3, 2007 at 6:27 pm

That was an excellent interview. Hitchens gets his points across really fast and really efficiently.

11. Dutch lawmaker planning film criticizing the Quran

Comment #91476 by Fouad Boussetta on November 28, 2007 at 12:15 pm

Good.
People do need to be educated a bit about what's in that "holy" book.

12. Islam and the modern world don't mix

Comment #91357 by Fouad Boussetta on November 28, 2007 at 6:14 am

Excellent title.
A short sentence that says it all. :)

13. Malaysia firm's 'Muslim car' plan

Comment #87610 by Fouad Boussetta on November 12, 2007 at 3:14 pm

I am becoming increasingly desperate at the stupidity of people.

14. Rome playing politics

Comment #84716 by Fouad Boussetta on November 3, 2007 at 10:02 am

I like Zapatero.

15. Atheistic Denomination Struggles To Fill Void Left by Founder's Death

Comment #79858 by Fouad Boussetta on October 18, 2007 at 6:40 pm

Sherwin Wine was really a great guy! Such wisdom...
I read an excellent self-help book by him called "Staying sane in a crazy world".
He's a hero, period.

At the following link, you can read "The Life of Courage", a very impressive speech he gave in 2003 at a Humanist event:

http://www.humanlight.org/nj2003_wine.html

16. God's honest truth?

Comment #79855 by Fouad Boussetta on October 18, 2007 at 6:23 pm

Excellent news. This makes my day. I'm happy.

17. The Squirrel Wars

Comment #77578 by Fouad Boussetta on October 9, 2007 at 6:28 pm

I agree with SilverTiger (8.) and Vendetta (20.). And I think that those who feel otherwise are monsters.

This Redesdale guy is the one who deserves to have his head smashed, preferably with a big rock, the Biblical way.

This article left me really sad.

18. CBC Atheism and Humanism Documentary

Comment #77091 by Fouad Boussetta on October 8, 2007 at 12:35 pm

*Pretty good documentary!

*Interestingly, Tom Harpur (the theologian) wrote "The Pagan Christ", in which he explains that there never was a historical Jesus. I think he's emotionally attached to his faith.

19. Searching for God in the Brain

Comment #77022 by Fouad Boussetta on October 8, 2007 at 7:52 am

PZ Myers posted a HILARIOUS review of Beauregard's book, "The Spiritual Brain", at:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/10/the_spiritual_brain.php

20. God Bless Me, It's a Best-Seller!

Comment #64157 by Fouad Boussetta on August 18, 2007 at 6:28 am

LB: what are you talking about?
I never used an avatar in my entire life: that's a picture of me in St-Martin!
Who's Eamonn Holmes?

21. God Bless Me, It's a Best-Seller!

Comment #64115 by Fouad Boussetta on August 17, 2007 at 7:22 pm

Hitchens is not just intelligent: he's hilarious, which makes him all the more effective.
I really love this guy.

22. The Bible's literary sins

Comment #63213 by Fouad Boussetta on August 13, 2007 at 2:15 pm

Very true.
I actually do not personally know a single christian who even claims to have read his Bible in its entirety.
No surprise, that book is boring to tears!

23. Hitler Was an Atheist Who Killed Millions in the Name of Atheism, Secularism?

Comment #56430 by Fouad Boussetta on July 15, 2007 at 5:56 pm

I subscribe to atheism.about.com, and get a newsletter twice a week (for free).
If you didn't subscribe yet, you should. It's excellent; this Austin Cline guy really does his job.

24. The Republican War on Science Rages On

Comment #55914 by Fouad Boussetta on July 12, 2007 at 8:38 pm

My pleasure, geckoman. :)

25. The Republican War on Science Rages On

Comment #55911 by Fouad Boussetta on July 12, 2007 at 8:22 pm

Objectively speaking, Bush is a fucking asshole.

26. Won't anyone stand up for God?

Comment #54489 by Fouad Boussetta on July 7, 2007 at 12:28 pm

"Strictly speaking science invites us to believe not in a God but in the gambler's goddess - Lady Luck."

Funny: my favorite divinity is indeed Fortuna, the roman goddess of Luck/Fate!

:)

27. Floods are judgment on society, say bishops

Comment #53506 by Fouad Boussetta on July 1, 2007 at 7:13 pm

It's really sad idiots like that still manage to get money to keep them going at it...

28. Lecture on Neo-Darwinism

Comment #52672 by Fouad Boussetta on June 27, 2007 at 5:25 pm

Me too.

29. The infinite wisdom of Richard Dawkins

Comment #51779 by Fouad Boussetta on June 24, 2007 at 10:43 pm

About Stephen Harper:

1-Yeah, I don't really have any complaints so far about him; he seems pretty good. If he continues like that, I'll vote for him next time.

2-I don't think he's religious; he just pretends, like many Democrats in the US. He claims Seinfeld is his favorite TV show; I think that means something.

30. Richard Dawkins: Atheist

Comment #50925 by Fouad Boussetta on June 20, 2007 at 1:15 pm

Excellent interview. I'm glad Dawkins gets all this exposure here in Canada. People here are not as religious as in the US, but nevertheless, I can't wait for the churches (and other religious facilities) to go bankrupt, especially since they're given a definitely undeserved fiscal free ride. I'm also very happy of the example Dawkins chooses to illustrate the very important point that "moderates" enable "fundamentalists": the Catholic Church sympathized with the fatwa-waving muslims looking to kill author Salman Rushdie.
Great job, Professor.

31. Richard Dawkins on his online alterego

Comment #50736 by Fouad Boussetta on June 19, 2007 at 6:27 pm

What a pleasant fellow!

32. Christopher Hitchens on The Hour

Comment #49394 by Fouad Boussetta on June 11, 2007 at 7:07 pm

*Not bad, but Christopher Hitchens looks like he's a bit stoned and he also sounds like he's feeling a bit hot (or is it just me?).
*I think he should always drink AFTER interviews, not before, as alcohol definitely affects his performance.
*Still, not bad; I'll drink to his health.

33. God is not responsible for war and suffering

Comment #48131 by Fouad Boussetta on June 6, 2007 at 5:58 pm

What an idiot.

34. Hitchens on Falwell, Part 2

Comment #43515 by Fouad Boussetta on May 21, 2007 at 9:48 pm

Sorry, I couldn't make out Hichens' last sentence.
What did he say?

35. Television evangelist Falwell dies at 73

Comment #41253 by Fouad Boussetta on May 15, 2007 at 5:24 pm

He's dead? Alleluia.
He was very influential - for the worst.

36. When Seeing Is Disbelieving

Comment #36599 by Fouad Boussetta on May 1, 2007 at 5:36 pm

This is very interesting and is dealt with in depth in "The Moral Animal", the excellent book by Robert Wright.

37. Interview with Christopher Hitchens

Comment #36361 by Fouad Boussetta on May 1, 2007 at 1:48 am

Ho ho ho. I like him. He's got GUTS.

38. Huge rally for Turkish secularism

Comment #35974 by Fouad Boussetta on April 29, 2007 at 4:21 pm

A democratic state is absolutely incompatible with political Islam the same way it is absolutely incompatible with National-Socialism.

Are we forgetting that Adolf Hitler got elected democratically?

It seems obvious to me that all parties with totalitarian, anti-democratic ideologies should be banned outright in all democratic states.

That's because should they access power, they will automatically seek to destroy the very democracy that allowed them to exist in the first place.

I am not only thinking about political parties whose program is based on religion, but also the parties of the extreme right and the extreme left.

39. Study: Religion is Good for Kids

Comment #34904 by Fouad Boussetta on April 25, 2007 at 2:23 pm

Whether the findings of the study are correct or not, the most important thing to consider is the net effect of religion on our lives.

Sure, religion has advantages and benefits (like community, consolation, etc...). Still, its disadvantadges and risks outnumber and outweigh those.

We're still better off without religion in any case.

40. Atheists split on how to not believe

Comment #33952 by Fouad Boussetta on April 22, 2007 at 8:31 pm

Chaplain Epstein is a cretin.
Dawkins and Harris just write exactly what they think, without bending over backwards, the same way their opponents have themselves been doing forever.
Are religious people shy about proselytizing?
Why should non-believers just shut up?
Why the double standard?

41. Iran Exonerates Six Who Killed in Islam's Name

Comment #33323 by Fouad Boussetta on April 19, 2007 at 9:33 pm

I feel sick.

42. Atheism isn't the final word

Comment #32312 by Fouad Boussetta on April 16, 2007 at 8:53 pm

What a disgusting pile of trash!

43. Answers To the Atheists

Comment #30245 by Fouad Boussetta on April 7, 2007 at 10:31 am

Why are Christians so sure there ever was a historical Jesus in the first place? The evidence strongly indicates a purely mythical figure... The usual reason again: they believe what they WANT to believe. Good luck if you want to see them change their minds.

44. U.N. Panel OKs Measure on Islam

Comment #28924 by Fouad Boussetta on March 31, 2007 at 3:51 pm

Disgusting.
I like the UN even less now.

45. Stephen Hawking Says Universe Created from Nothing

Comment #28169 by Fouad Boussetta on March 28, 2007 at 7:41 am

I agree with "Spinoza" (17.): I think that Hawking, no matter how prodigal, is wrong here.
Read "In defense of common sense" by science journalist John Horgan, at:

http://www.johnhorgan.org/work5.htm

46. Neil Peart cites The God Delusion in new album's liner notes

Comment #28052 by Fouad Boussetta on March 27, 2007 at 5:47 pm

This makes my day. I'm another big Rush fan.
Geddy Lee has a particular but so powerful voice,
Alex Lifeson is just incredible on his electric guitar, and Neil Peart composes amazing lyrics when he's not beating on his drums!
:)

47. Germany Cites Koran in Rejecting Divorce

Comment #27039 by Fouad Boussetta on March 23, 2007 at 2:11 am

Well, I hope this will at least cause some moslem
women to wake up to the stupidity of their religion.
How many of them really know what's inside the Koran?

48. Biology teacher fired for referring to Bible

Comment #26595 by Fouad Boussetta on March 20, 2007 at 4:50 pm

It's just disgusting to brainwash little kids like that!

49. Polish woman wins abortion case

Comment #26594 by Fouad Boussetta on March 20, 2007 at 4:47 pm

Besides being shocked by this story, I also find myself surprised and disappointed: I did not know Poland was such a backward country.

50. God's dupes

Comment #25922 by Fouad Boussetta on March 15, 2007 at 4:54 pm

Sam is a hero!