1. AAI 07 DVDs by RDFRS are Now Available!

Comment #89525 by saganist on November 21, 2007 at 2:14 am

"Are these statement really opposites? Is it not possible to reason... 'I do not believe in God...if I kill all my enemies, I can remain in power'"

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make Krisking - That even atheists are capable of doing terrible things? (which is certainly true, we are still animals by definition.) I guess I need you to clarify your point.

If I can quote from Sam Harris:

"Nobody wants to believe things on bad evidence. The desire to know what is actually going on in world is very difficult to argue with. In so far as we represent that desire, we become difficult to argue with."

2. Judgement Day: Intelligent Design on Trial

Comment #89226 by saganist on November 20, 2007 at 3:32 am

I was able to catch this as well. I can't believe this kind of debate is still going on... At least in this case, reason came out victorious.

I'm reminded of my favorite quote from Clarence Darrow's character in the 1960s version of "Inherit the Wind":

"Can't you understand? That if you take a law like evolution and you make it a crime to teach it in the public schools, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools? And tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it. And soon you may ban books and newspapers. And then you may turn Catholic against Protestant, and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the mind of man. If you can do one, you can do the other. Because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding. And soon, your Honor, with banners flying and with drums beating we'll be marching backward, BACKWARD, through the glorious ages of that sixteenth century when bigots burned the man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind!"

3. For the glory of God

Comment #89223 by saganist on November 20, 2007 at 3:27 am

"religion has been accustomed to getting a free ride and therefore even moderate criticism sounds strident if it's criticism of religion."

Exactly.

I love Dawkins. :)

4. AAI 07 DVDs by RDFRS are Now Available!

Comment #89222 by saganist on November 20, 2007 at 3:16 am

I wish I could have been there! I hope Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, Hitchens, Ali, and Chapman will return next year for AAI 08, because I plan on attending!

I shutter to think of our fate, if these wonderful men and women are unable to rid us of this disease that has plagued our world for far too long... it is the ultimate anachronism.

Perhaps thousands, millions or billions of years after we are gone, an archeological alien civilization will arrive on Earth and study our history; uncovering our tombs, technology and religious literature, immortalizing us as the laughing stock of the universe; the idiots of Earth who squandered their potential to grow as a civilization, and listen for other messages in the sky via radio telescope instead of relying on "prophets;" the daft species who could have furthered explored their true origins in the cosmos, but who instead opted for a fairytale they could never outgrow.

What will it take for people to realize the undeniably harmful effects of religion, demanding that we live perpetually in the dark ages, with reason in exile, drowning us in the blood of religions' innumerable enemies? All three monotheist religions which have stolen from the other, respectively, contain barbaric demands of bloodshed in the name of the lord, whether he be Yahweh, God, or Allah. That some of the more civilized followers of these religions opt to disregard their deity's heinous, murderous instructions is insubordinate according to those same people. These "holy" texts are presented as the word of God. Every scrap of them. If one finds any part of their sacred texts to be horrifying and/or nonsensical then one should discard the book in its entirety. To pick and chose messages from one's god is to disobey one's god and would result in damnation. This leaves the individual with two options: The person can either believe in and follow the sadistic messages as they appear, living perpetually in the dark ages, or one can live a life of reason and come to understand the true nature of the world, and the universe. To me, this doesn't seem like a difficult choice to make, but for some reason too many lack the reason to draw these conclusions on their own. There is an enormous pink elephant trumpeting across the world, and not enough people are willing talk about it. It should come as no surprise, then, if our fate ultimately lies beneath its monstrous, reckless feet.

For all those involved in the consciousness raising efforts - vive la revolution de raison!

With love and admiration,

Audrey