1. Send The God Delusion to your MP

Comment #28163 by TigerDunc on March 28, 2007 at 7:21 am

Hey we made it! Great work everyone, we are now ready to go.

A couple of thoughts. I would imagine that packages going into the House of Commons are heavily vetted and screened, so keep it simple - book and letter and nothing that will set of metal detectors or make the dogs bark.

Is there any chance of getting any press/media coverage for this? The more people that hear the message, the more effective the message will be

And Richard - donating the profits from the additional sales is a good idea and will protect you from accusations of profiteering. (Just don't give it to the church)

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

Comment #28152 by TigerDunc on March 28, 2007 at 6:44 am

Could it also be that many Canadians are in the US disguised as Americans, as is the case with many actors.

Indeed, if we want to get into Star Trek, I'd like to say that William Shatner was the best captain (and he's Canadian).

As for Rush - Hemispheres and A Farewell to Kings are my favourites. They are so good that they almost make up for Bryan Adams and that bloody Robin Hood song in the Canadian music debit/credit ledger.

3. Are You Right Eyed Or Left Eyed?

Comment #28143 by TigerDunc on March 28, 2007 at 6:16 am

Dexterity, be it optical, manual or pedal, can be measured on an X/Y axis, with the horizontal measuring left - ambidextrous - right and the vertical measuuring preponderance to one or the other hands (Sorry, if I could draw this, it would be so much easier).

Essentially, what is discovered is that very few people are either completely left handed or completely right handed (or eyed or footed or whatever). Even fewer are truly ambidextrous. Most of us are a mish mash of one or the other. I write with my left hand, couldn't write with my right if my life depended on it, but I can shoot with both hands, play racket sports with both hand, although I favour my right hand. The list goes on.

Try this - Clasp your hands and cross your thumbs on top. Which one is on top? Swop them over so that your other thumb is on top. Weird isn't it? Cross you arms - right over left or left over right? Do it the other way round. Same again, it just doesn't feel right. Now cross your legs at the ankles.......I could go on, but you get the point.

Our body is just not symetrical. Our faces are certainly not. Portraits made of two halves of the same face look very odd. Try it on Photoshop and you'll see.

4. Does God answer prayer? ASU research says 'yes'

Comment #26054 by TigerDunc on March 16, 2007 at 10:04 am

Didn't I read somewhere that prayer actually has a negative effect on people who are ill? If they find out that people are praying for them they get stressed because this reinforces the seriousness of their illness and this makes them iller.

It may well have been in one of RDs books in fact.

5. My critics are wrong to call me dogmatic

Comment #22365 by TigerDunc on February 15, 2007 at 5:55 am

stpetes - Interesting that you provided a link through to the Free Church (An oxymoron if ever there was one).

You're not David Robertson in disguise are you?

Severus - Excellent post. You are right, there is a methodology, a plan if you like, that we are missing. Rational argument doesn't work against religious belief. A combination of vested commercial and political interest and blind faith makes sure of that.

How do you win a battle when the main thrust of the argument is a lack of belief in anything. Any ideas?

PS - stpete "Was there ever a dog that praised his fleas"

It's called a metaphor. Go look it up.

6. Does Richard Dawkins exist?

Comment #21413 by TigerDunc on February 9, 2007 at 5:22 am

Terry Tommyrot, it's a bit like this. We're not laughing WITH you. We're laughing AT you.

7. The faithful have departed

Comment #20035 by TigerDunc on January 31, 2007 at 6:00 am

I agree with Ruth. A lot of people will tick the CoE box when asked because that is the default position for most white, English speaking, English born people in the UK, even those of know religious leaning or practice at all. It has little or nothing to do with the number of people who actively practice this branch of Chrsitianity or even believe in God.

A default to Christianity is assumed by others of different religions in the same way. A (Muslim) cabbie assumed one night that his fare (Me) was Christian. When I tried to explain that I am an atheist, he had a great deal of trouble in grasping this. He could understand that I wasn't a Christian, but he could not understand the apparent vacuum left by this. If we really want to establish a presence as a "demographic", then we need to make sure that official forms include the option "Atheist" as well. I hate being pigeon holed like this, as do most of you I would suspect, I'm merely someone who doesn't believe in god. I also happen to know a thing or two about marketing and market segmentation, and if we want a voice, we have to be put in a box that says "atheist". That way, people will start to tick that box instead of defaulting to CoE and well meaning, intelligent cab drivers of other religions will understand the concept of atheism.

Incidentally, and as a bit of an aside, what do you call someone who doesn't believe in atheists?

8. Blasphemy Challenge on FOX

Comment #19653 by TigerDunc on January 29, 2007 at 5:37 am

Actually this is just another day at Fox. Anyone who thinks that this is particularly outrageous or unbalanced should get hold of a copy of "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's war on journalism".

www.outfoxed.org

Wait until you see what happens when one of the "journalists" really disagrees with one of their guests. This was nothing.

9. Atheist Outreach: Group Coaxes Unbelievers Into the Open

Comment #18245 by TigerDunc on January 19, 2007 at 5:44 am

Satanburiedfossils - That's not humour, that's valid comment.

As for aethists beleiving that they are god, does that mean that I don't beleive in myself? What sort of an identity crisis could that trigger? I could keep a shrink in Mercedes and yachts and luxury cruises for a long time with issues like that.

10. Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory

Comment #18232 by TigerDunc on January 19, 2007 at 4:43 am

I used to love reading the Onion, but after several years of the Neocons, George Bush and their fundamentalist cronies pushing everyone into a new dark age, somehow The Onion and its satire just doesn't work anymore. The piece above is a great example of that. A few years ago, no one would have even begun to think that it could be serious, but the fact that some of us had to think twice when reading is not necessarily indicative of our dim wittedness (I include myself in this). It is a sign that in this day and age, it is possible that people may come up with this idea.

I think it was Tom Lehrer that said "Satire died when they awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Henry Kissinger".

I know how he feels.

11. Send a Message to God: He has gone too far this time

Comment #17613 by TigerDunc on January 15, 2007 at 5:43 am

Condorfree - Sorry to disappoint you, but God spoke to me and said that he actually doesn't love you at all. He loves everyone else though, especially those who, in his eternal wisdom, he has allowed to suffer, to die horribly or live on in great pain and agony.

12. Dawkins Delusion (3rd article, Same Stupid Title)

Comment #12478 by TigerDunc on December 12, 2006 at 5:47 am

David - You make your point with dignity and in a civil manner, and I apologise that some of my fellow atheists seem to feel the need to resort to abuse. I also wish that you did have the resource and means with which to make a television program which would respond to Richard Dawkin's "The root of all evil". I do not for one moment think that you could come close to doing so and others have made the point already on this thread as to the pointlessness of rational debate versus blind faith. Go and make your program, if you can prove to me, or prove to any of the rest of us that your god exists, then so be it.