1. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150226 by EnlightenedBlasphemy on March 26, 2008 at 3:33 pm

Happy Birthday Richard, may your next lap of the sun bring you even more success in your endeavors than the last one.

2. Austin Dacey - The Secular Conscience

Comment #149566 by EnlightenedBlasphemy on March 25, 2008 at 11:56 pm

I think Dacey's points are well made, and I particularly agree with him that many (if not most) liberals are too full of a form of guilt that makes them believe that they (the liberals or the left whatever you wish to call it) could be wrong so when push comes to shove we end up in the muck.

I agree that we need to stand up and be willing to put our reasons for our concepts of moral rectitude on the table, and state openly that those whom we disagree with are wrong and state our reasons for believing this. We should also continue to be open to letting our opponents give their own reasons.

Personally in such a discussion if my opponent pulled out a holy book, I would have a hard time not simply laughing at them. But thats just me, and I am far from perfect.

3. Religion 'linked to happy life'

Comment #146045 by EnlightenedBlasphemy on March 18, 2008 at 2:09 pm

I will put forward an idea for why religious people cope better.

Prayer, yeah i said it! Prayer for many christians who get the happy-coping goodness, involves getting into position to pray and then performing a sort of meditation. They often hold to the idea that before you pester god with requests, you should thank him for the good stuff you already have. so first they track through a decent list of things that they are happy about, or that make them feel good. Then they move on to ponder the things that are making them unhappy, and then they think about what to do about these unhappy things.
They then thank god a little more for the good stuff (he's quick to anger if you don't grovel correctly)then sign off of the god channel with the /amen command. then they stand up, and after having spent a bit praying/meditating they go have some juice.

I could be wrong on this, but having spent a lot of time (most of my life to date) among christians I've heard a lot of prayers, and said my fair share too. Any ex christians want to back me up on this...or shoot me down entirely. Im open to either.

I suggest an experiment.

1) Sit down, on something comfy, or kneel. (not in supplication but because its a good way to keep your back straight and its good for posture)

2) Think about all the stuff that you are happy about, this may take some doing but it can be done

3) ponder the stuff thats making you unhappy, why its making you unhappy, and what you might do about it. (simply not letting it bug you is a good start for most stuff)

4) touch back on the good stuff again, make sure you hit any really interesting bits again

5) Juice! (this bit is important, even better is eating a piece of fruit)

Give that a shot and see if maybe atheists can cope just as well, I think we can.

Anything a religious person can do (that's worth doing) we can do better!

and if you try this, you will at least end up with slightly better posture and perhaps a bit more fruit in your diet

4. First 'Rule' Of Evolution Suggests That Life Is Destined To Become More Complex

Comment #146034 by EnlightenedBlasphemy on March 18, 2008 at 1:52 pm

Dammit Chuck, If i hadn't been spell checking my post i could have beaten you to the punch on the ID whackjobs

5. First 'Rule' Of Evolution Suggests That Life Is Destined To Become More Complex

Comment #146030 by EnlightenedBlasphemy on March 18, 2008 at 1:49 pm

This is truly amazing and fascinating, I give it 5 minutes more before the Intelligent design people claim it as their own.

"you see you see!" they clap their hands and jump up and down excitedly. "this is God at work! See how it all gets more complex all the time. It's obvious that jesus died for our sins..."

Meanwhile at the other corner of the big playground we inhabit, the young earth creationists are kicking sand despondently and pretending they didn't hear a word of it.

*my apologies if i have broken some forum taboo by mentioning religion under a purely scientific article.

6. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #146014 by EnlightenedBlasphemy on March 18, 2008 at 1:34 pm

Has anyone else noticed how this new age-y, comfort and consolment, god of love and hope, shit has almost nothing to do with the bible.

these people say that if we reject the sky fairies
we cannot console one another in a time of grief....well we don't lie to ourselves, or each other. We face the harsh aspects of reality with our eyes open, and it makes us strong. Not for us to pull the blankets over our heads and hope that daddy will chase away the monsters under our beds.

We understand that when we grieve, we bewail our own loss, the empty space in our lives that this loved ones absence will leave.

I have utterly lost patience with people who say that religion is good because it is consoling or comforting. It is their own admission that they are lying to themselves and walk through each day pretending that everything will be ok.

It wont all be ok.

But we who do not believe in the supernatural can accept this. we can understand that our species is flawed and imperfect. from this understanding we can grow. we realize that we must care for each other and this tiny speck of dust we live on.

And once we have opened our eyes to the problems in our world, we then have our work ahead of us.
and our children likely have an even bigger one.
If we could but put out the fire, our children could rebuild.

(pause) (deep breath)

aaahhhhh, theres that sense of self righteous superiority i once felt when i was a christian,
It really feels good to fly off on a rant.

I think i will go mow the lawn now.

7. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #145928 by EnlightenedBlasphemy on March 18, 2008 at 10:10 am

I loved it when he said "sam harris says all religions are the same" ummm....thats one of his main arguments, that he mentions in every speech or debate he gives, that religions are not the same, just equally irrational. And an Anecdote about a plane ride with a grad student who worked for "one of those authors" (don't want to get sued for slander by naming an author, but this little tale will evidently meet the standards of proof for a jesus freak) who had some embarrassment about not having read the mountains of homogeneous drivel that christians put out each year. I can say drivel, because i have in fact read a few of them. They were what got me on the road to atheism (that and the wretched "alpha course" from the church of england. seriously though, it seems like any preacher with a functioning spell checker and a free afternoon or two to put his pulpit rambling into type can get a book deal.

The sad thing is, that a christian will generally believe anything their pastor tells them, on any subject. Anything that contradicts their pastor, or christianity generally must be the work of the devil. and bullheaded ignorance is seen as righteous

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

Comment #140691 by EnlightenedBlasphemy on March 8, 2008 at 11:03 am

I think before we accuse him of misogyny or sexisim or whatever, we have to look at the fact that he can offer up his piano his leg and his wife because there is absolutely no chance his bet will be called. Hes going All In for atheism.