1. 'My daughter deserved to die for falling in love'

Comment #178440 by Apathy personified on May 11, 2008 at 12:26 pm

I'm speechless. There are no words for this, there can be no analysis or comment, a father and sons beat their daughter/sister to death because she was seen practising her English with somebody who was distributing aid to the poor.

No punishment is too severe for this man.

2. Church of Scotland mediators to quell disputes

Comment #178327 by Apathy personified on May 11, 2008 at 8:27 am

Just for correctness, (i'm pedantic, i know)

The Philip Pullman series is called, 'His Dark Materials', which comes from a line in Paradise Lost by Milton.

3. Church of Scotland mediators to quell disputes

Comment #178265 by Apathy personified on May 11, 2008 at 3:58 am

Ha, haha, buwahahaha.

Parish Churches have always been a places of intense bitchiness and gross resistance to change, but the fact that they are getting upset because people are asking for evidence and justification to the ministers claims......

Church head office, 'Oh no, do you think they are on to us? Do they now know it's all a scam? What do we do?'

hahahaha

4. British Airways takes beef off the menu to avoid offending Hindus

Comment #178144 by Apathy personified on May 10, 2008 at 3:24 pm

redkris, i think you are probably right. There are far too many of those people in Britain, each and everyone deserves an almighty backhand to the face.

However, they may just be using Hindu's as the sacrifical cow in this case, as a smoke screen to cost cutting.

5. Richard Dawkins interviewed by John Humphrys on Cardinal Murphy O'Connor

Comment #177743 by Apathy personified on May 9, 2008 at 3:18 pm

fides_et_rat

What is your point? You seem to have lost track.
Nobody is disputing that religion isn't sometimes critised in the media, which it is, of course.
But those criticisms are never directed at a religious figure in an interview, they are never pinned down and asked to answer.

Your assertion that the Cardinal represents millions, probably true, but i bet the views of RD are far more popular.

As for the jibe about Dawkins disciples, that just shows your losing, and in fact loser, mentality.

6. Richard Dawkins interviewed by John Humphrys on Cardinal Murphy O'Connor

Comment #177704 by Apathy personified on May 9, 2008 at 2:14 pm

'And that's a beautiful left hook by Paula, which floors fides_et_ratio'

Fides_et_ratio, this is not an issue about excluding religion from the debate, the issue is to ACTUALLY have a debate, where every side presents their argument and backs it up with evidence.

7. Richard Dawkins interviewed by John Humphrys on Cardinal Murphy O'Connor

Comment #177638 by Apathy personified on May 9, 2008 at 11:57 am

Hey, i can only be honest, if Cardinal O'Conner would like me not to refer to him as twat or dickpole, he should leave the church, apologise for all he's said and done and get a real job.

8. Richard Dawkins interviewed by John Humphrys on Cardinal Murphy O'Connor

Comment #177623 by Apathy personified on May 9, 2008 at 11:32 am

Star Spangled Eagle,

Yes, yes we do love our tea. Also, does limey not refer to specifically English as opposed to British?

Mordacious1 is right, i'd prefer to be called a limey than a fucktard.

Back to the point at hand,
Catholic Cardinal = Complete twat who has a deluded view of the current World, of History and
can only be described as 'dickpole'

9. Faith in Britain today

Comment #177102 by Apathy personified on May 8, 2008 at 2:56 pm

Diancanu, a ban is too harsh.
You won't get away with it though, i hereby sentence you to read the cardinals speech again, actually that's a tough punishment.

10. Faith in Britain today

Comment #177047 by Apathy personified on May 8, 2008 at 1:51 pm

Richard, I think you are absolutely right, there is nothing in this lecture that hasn't been said before, obvious by the fact that the only people who have been alive for the last 500 years who he mentions are you, some British Rabbi, Ratzinger and John Paul II.
Almost as if his organisation lives in the past.....

I always think it's worth putting your viewpoint accross, especially after such a thinly vieled attempt to appear like the friendly neighbourhood church trying to love it's evil athiest opponents.

11. Faith in Britain today

Comment #177001 by Apathy personified on May 8, 2008 at 12:54 pm

As a favour, i'm translated the middle part of this lecture for everyone.

'Athiests, it's not you, it's us, please come home, we've been complacent, we know, but honestly, we can change, and this time we really mean it.'

Sounds like me trying to stop ex-girlfriends ending relationships, no it never works.

For those of you wondering, the lecture is the same BS, with the attempt at a cheap cologne to disguise the rank smell.

12. Anti-Evolution Film Misappropriates the Holocaust

Comment #176583 by Apathy personified on May 7, 2008 at 4:13 pm

Thanks Podaar.

13. Anti-Evolution Film Misappropriates the Holocaust

Comment #176575 by Apathy personified on May 7, 2008 at 3:59 pm

I've only just come to this thread, and i've only read this page, so what i'm about to say is entirely based on this page.

First, what the hell is wrong with you _riverun_ and al?
The title of this thread is 'Anti-Evolution Film MIsappropriates the Holocaust', it should not be used as a forum for you two to decide you don't like each other and make personal attacks, it's un necessary and very childish. _riverrun_, you seem to have a superior tone, that, from the content of these posts is not justified.
Al, just leave it, if he's accused you of something you feel you haven't done, shit happens. If you two want to argue it out, do it someplace else, richarddawkins.net is supposed to be about the free exchange of rational ideas, not juvenille taunting.
Also, who's Chomsky?

14. The detail in the Devil

Comment #175887 by Apathy personified on May 6, 2008 at 7:50 am

Interesting, so nobody should go to jail or face any punishment because the devil did it. What a responsible religion would have us live in.
He mentions that the gifted and vunerable tend to be the ones who are 'selected' for possession, he fails to mention that the people who report demonic possessions are generally quite insane, and not in the good way.

15. Dumb and Dumber: A discussion between Ben Stein and Glenn Beck

Comment #175478 by Apathy personified on May 5, 2008 at 1:41 pm

Is this worth my time, or will such a large concentration of stupidity and lies cause my head implode violently?

16. A New Jack Chick Tract: Moving On Up!

Comment #174980 by Apathy personified on May 4, 2008 at 3:10 am

Are religious people getting stupider, or louder?

17. Orangutan attempts to hunt fish with spear

Comment #171086 by Apathy personified on April 28, 2008 at 9:57 am

As this was the Daily Mail, no doubt the headline was, 'Ape with Spear, fear it, fear it, fear it.'

18. Student's 'Be Happy, Not Gay' t-shirt ok

Comment #168441 by Apathy personified on April 25, 2008 at 6:39 am

epeeist, you've made my day with that, thanks. In answer to your question, legally, yes you can, but you may get a)lynched b) have an exorcism performed on you if you wore it in the wrong place. Although, if you were at an event to encourage safe sex........

19. Evolution: 24 myths and misconceptions

Comment #163224 by Apathy personified on April 18, 2008 at 4:36 am

First, well done to new scientist, so many 'rebuttals' (i use this word in the loosest possible term) to evolution stem from a lack of understanding of it, though there will always be a core of people who refuse to accept the facts.
Second, i think MG has a very good point is all that he said, but could it be that there is no 'gay gene' so to speak, but it is certain combinations of genes that may give preference one way or the other?

20. German Church admits aiding Nazis

Comment #157905 by Apathy personified on April 9, 2008 at 5:50 pm

In the wording above, am I blind, or was the word, 'Sorry' actually missing? technically that's not an apology, just a statement of what they did.
It would appear Elton John is right, sorry seems to be the hardest word. (I deserve to die for that one, 'sorry')

21. In His Name We Pray, Ramen

Comment #151820 by Apathy personified on March 29, 2008 at 1:36 pm

Vadjong, i can see the schism has already started, 'brutally cut it all up', I tenderly slice in into smaller pieces so when I eat it, my clothes don't suffer the consequences.
Ha, yes, now it's a real religion!!

22. In His Name We Pray, Ramen

Comment #151768 by Apathy personified on March 29, 2008 at 10:54 am

Worship of the FSM can not be counted as a religion, because they haven't had a schism yet, as all the good religions do.

23. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #149863 by Apathy personified on March 26, 2008 at 9:58 am

Happy Birthday Richard,
I hope you can give us at least another 67 years.

24. It looks like Man crucified

Comment #148443 by Apathy personified on March 23, 2008 at 5:09 am

Right.......
Good work, who ever wrote this, you haven't TOTALLY MISSED THE POINT, what so ever.
Also, a Marxist telling people they have given up on humanity and are like religious zealots, need i say more...

25. God's cure for gays lost in sin

Comment #146951 by Apathy personified on March 19, 2008 at 3:19 pm

The 'Church of Scientology' (haha, yeah right) runs very similar programs to this, take vunerable people, then throw a youe world view down their throats, without properly dealing with the problem. To be fair, as MM is a charity, i'm gonna guess it doesn't take all their worldly possessions (or anything, maybe) as scientology does.

True, self-harmers not self-harming, etc, is definately a better position for them to be in, but surely a problems arise if their whole mental support structure comes from a belief in God, what if they lose a beleif in God, would they then have the strength not to go back to the position they were in?

I think we disagree most on the last point the most though,
1. He's not always loving, some new testament passages have Jesus being a real c**t
2. I question your statement that belief in what is effectively a bronze age myths as being liberating.
We may have to agree to disagree on this last part

26. God's cure for gays lost in sin

Comment #146935 by Apathy personified on March 19, 2008 at 3:04 pm

I can't be bothered to argue with funkbeatt tonight, i'm just gonna talk about pink shirts, nipples and lesbian porn anime with everyone else.

27. God's cure for gays lost in sin

Comment #146922 by Apathy personified on March 19, 2008 at 2:53 pm

funkybeatt, see 'They prayed to cast Satan from my body' on the features list of this website, it was posted 17th Mar 2008.

You didn't answer my question,

Do you believe the scientology 'help' programs are only of benefit to the vunerable people who enrol in them?

If you feel strongly enough about an issue, maybe it does diminish anything else they do, that'd be a personal choice though.

If you know people who have benefitted from MM, and are the stronger for it, fair enough, very good work them. But by benefit, do you mean that they are now mental slaves to christianity, and their whole well being is entwined with a religious belief, as that is exetremely unhealthy, especially long term.

28. God's cure for gays lost in sin

Comment #146893 by Apathy personified on March 19, 2008 at 2:23 pm

funkybeatt,
Maybe, just maybe, we don't think that this mental torture is doing people any good, and that the help they give is very conditional.
Do you believe the scientology 'help' programs are only of benefit to the vunerable people who enrol in them?

29. The Secular Conscience

Comment #146890 by Apathy personified on March 19, 2008 at 2:18 pm

Good, take some shelf space from the religious, 'Athiests are evil' books that seem to be reproducing like bacteria.
Fully agree with the whole idea.

30. They prayed to cast Satan from my body

Comment #145322 by Apathy personified on March 17, 2008 at 1:31 pm

stephenray,
Clearly we are using a different definition of evil, than your religious one. No, it's not 'Evil on the one side, grace on the other', that's a very retardedly simplistic argument to make.
I define this as evil because the people running this, who should know better as they claim to be advocates of forgiveness love an all the rest, are deliberately torturing these vunerable young women for their own ends.
Also, claiming christianity is compassionate and that these people are only ignorant, i hope you are better than that, don't you dare even think about defending their actions, especially on religious grounds.

31. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145133 by Apathy personified on March 17, 2008 at 9:47 am

Sigh, i did read it, what a waste of time.

I agree with Steve and Double Bass atheist, that is probably the worst and maybe, the only really offensive thing he states.

32. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145120 by Apathy personified on March 17, 2008 at 9:18 am

This is article is long, is it worth me reading or shall I assume it's full of the generic lies and bullshit?

33. They prayed to cast Satan from my body

Comment #145115 by Apathy personified on March 17, 2008 at 9:16 am

Pure evil.
I'm normally of the opinion that morality can be quite relative and you have to judge each case individually. However, this one, is just pure inhumanity, such disgusting treatment of other people.

What's their angle, is somebody making money out of this, or is it just sadism to the worst limit?

Any Australians, please boycott that coffee place until it stops helping this organisation.

34. In Britain, creationist theory is evolving

Comment #144542 by Apathy personified on March 16, 2008 at 10:15 am

Ha, sorry i've just noticed the photo, a bearded old man, maleavalently grinning over a map of Britain, like some sort of bond villian

35. In Britain, creationist theory is evolving

Comment #144539 by Apathy personified on March 16, 2008 at 10:10 am

Well, it would appear that we have an escalating fight on our hands.
Personally, I have no problem with children being taught creatonism, IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION classes, if you wanna teach something in a science lesson, it has to be science otherwise it becomes a pretty pathetic charade.
What really annoys me is that this is clearly a well financed and planned scheme, that is deliberately trying to undercut scientific thought and indoctrinate children, for some very dubious reasons.

36. Selling science to the masses

Comment #144250 by Apathy personified on March 15, 2008 at 1:14 pm

Good points emmet.

Though unfortunately Horizon and Panorama are declining as well, and badly. A few months ago there was a Horizon documentary on the LHC, i think the Higgs particle was mentioned only once in the 40-45 minute show, most of it was taken up with what Prof. Frank Close (at Oxford) calls 'Factoids', i.e. sciency as opposed to science. The factiods in this particular case were that th LHC will create black holes or worm holes that WILL destroy humanity.

37. Selling science to the masses

Comment #144203 by Apathy personified on March 15, 2008 at 10:20 am

I tihnk it was Einstein who said, 'Simplify science, but don't make it simple'

As a lot of science is government funded, through research councils, etc, so scientists do have to be able to explain their research to the people who pay, tax-payers, and sometimes taking the time to reformulate something in simpler terms may help your own understanding.
However, this gross trivializing of science can't be the best way to do that, science is NOT a product to be sold, as that's then not many steps away from science being abused, we all know what that can do....

38. The atheist delusion

Comment #144116 by Apathy personified on March 15, 2008 at 6:02 am

Well, he loses the debate via Godwin's Law

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwins_law

It's a typical tactic, forgetting that in no way were Nazi Germany or Communist Russia and China anything to do with secularism, the fact is that the dominant political party controlled every aspect of peoples lives, that's religious tyranny, not secularism.
It also seems to have become a common tactic to say all athiests are far left wacko's (communists), do we have to start worrying about a McCarthy witch hunt again?
ANd finally, WHY DO THESE CRACKPOTS DELIBERATELY MISINTERPRET EVERY ARGUMENT WE HAVE THEN TELL US WE ARE WRONG BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY TO LISTEN TO WHAT WE SAY

39. I don't believe in atheists

Comment #143800 by Apathy personified on March 14, 2008 at 12:33 pm

I think we need to split the Hedge thing into parts, what he says, how he says it and what he means

On the surface he is appearing to say that fundamentalism is bad, quite true him, somebody give him a scooby snack for that.

What he is really doing is a thinly veiled attack on people who disagree with him politically and religiously. The fact is, he is a theist, and even the most humble of atheist is of the opinion that religious belief is incorrect, so he has a disagreement with them. Now look at his political statements to see how he deals with people who disagree with him, namely labelling them a fascist. Also, wasn't Chris Hitchens a foreign correspondant, so he has in fact been to a lot of the places Hedges has been, but never mind, that's only a fact.

The way he says it, in the most smug, self-fulfilled way possible.
Now for my opinion, what a dickpole, i've never read the NY times, but if he's on staff i'm staying well clear.

40. I don't believe in atheists

Comment #143741 by Apathy personified on March 14, 2008 at 10:45 am

What a dickpole!!
Really, 'I've been to Iraq you know, that makes everyone who disagrees with my plastic PC liberal viewpoints a Nazi fundamentalist.'

Complete and utter bollocks.

41. Ban anti-Catholic books in schools, says bishop

Comment #143220 by Apathy personified on March 13, 2008 at 5:03 pm

Mitchell Gilks, I concur, fucktard of the year for this twat, although he has tough competition from the burke on todays other catholic bishop thread.
It's been said before, but it needs repeating,
1. Why do scaly old men virgins try and give sex advice?
2. Getting rid of books from schools that don't follow his exact ideals (from the catholic god a.k.a. sky paedophile)? What a useless old fascist, bet he was a Nazi collaborator in WW2.

42. Bishop accuses gays of 'conspiracy' against the Catholic Church

Comment #143065 by Apathy personified on March 13, 2008 at 12:03 pm

Am I the only one who hopes this is true? Sir Ian Mckellan leading a gay conspiracy against the catholic church, how fantastic is that.

43. Two More Fleas

Comment #142911 by Apathy personified on March 13, 2008 at 7:32 am

Would you kindly fuck off 'clearmind'?

How do you know what athiests do when they are defeated? It hasn't ever happened.

1. Point is retarded, I believe the universe is infinite becuase all the evidence points that way, nothing to do with seeing

2. Who's talking with out thinking, dickpole?

3. Perhaps, but can religion 'read the book of the universe'? No

4. Evolution is explained by logic, also is this the same logic you slag off earlier? You can't set up a lose lose situation then celebrate 'winning'

5. No, stupidity makes people angry, specifically your particularbrand of stupidity

6. Poetic, but complete crap, I guess the two sides of the religious coin are the arse and the mouth?

Is your continual appearance here a form of masochism?

44. Two More Fleas

Comment #142811 by Apathy personified on March 13, 2008 at 5:49 am

These two (dickheads) calling themsleves 'clearmind' or 'clear thinker', are they trying to be ironic? Following bronze age myths because mummy and daddy made you go to a magic building every sunday doesn't make you openminded, it makes you a fool of the highest calibre.

Maybe this 'New Athiest' wave of publishing was catalysed by TGD, but the athiest books bring new ideas to the table, they don't just hammer home the same message of 'God exists, because someone told me him/she/it said so'

45. The ethics of mixing science and religion

Comment #142533 by Apathy personified on March 12, 2008 at 4:05 pm

We come to the real truth of humanity, everyone will compromise their morals for a certain price, the shock is how low that certain price is.
If there are no strings attached (like actively promote religion forever, etc) then i'd have taken $500,000.

46. Two More Fleas

Comment #142523 by Apathy personified on March 12, 2008 at 3:55 pm

Ha
'The Diacanu Delusion'
Well, that's the title of the first flea.

My favourite defense of religion is when someone I know told me I was an athiest because i hadn't seen enough of the world, so i've never had the opportunity to be moved by the works of god/allah/zeus/yahweh.
Have fun with that one, I did.

47. Two More Fleas

Comment #142443 by Apathy personified on March 12, 2008 at 1:48 pm

Will this book be worth the loss of the trees that were used to make the paper to print it on?

Not even Close

When will somebody stand up and say, 'Of course Science doesn't have all the answers now, THAT'S WHY THEY DO RESEARCH, however, it doesn't mean that science won't or can't provide answers in the future'