1. Stop revisionist Christian nation House Resolution 888

Comment #114293 by ddovala on January 21, 2008 at 7:57 pm

Letter sent.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

2. Hey Mom, I'm an Atheist

Comment #30932 by ddovala on April 10, 2007 at 11:21 am

Poor kid.

I'd send him a Christmas present if I knew his address!

I'd also like to know where in the bible it says that Jesus was born on Dec. 25, and that putting up douglas fir trees and decorating them with ornaments was part of his b-day party?

3. Then Call it God

Comment #30782 by ddovala on April 9, 2007 at 7:37 pm

That would make a good bookmark

4. 'Everyone Is Afraid to Criticize Islam': Interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #20843 by ddovala on February 6, 2007 at 6:41 pm

Someone ought to give this woman a medal -- she's incredible!

5. No exemption from gay rights law

Comment #19838 by ddovala on January 30, 2007 at 7:39 am

How exactly do they close an adoption agency? Kick all the kids back out onto the streets or something?

6. News Quiz on bigotry

Comment #17752 by ddovala on January 15, 2007 at 11:10 pm

Haha, this is pretty funny. I wish I could hear the rest (if there is more)

7. Richard Dawkins' Report Card

Comment #17041 by ddovala on January 10, 2007 at 10:51 am

Looks like they missed a few of his books on that heading...

An inky little boy... hillarious :-)

8. God-less

Comment #16498 by ddovala on January 7, 2007 at 12:41 am

If you want to learn about the origins of altruism and "morality" -- I suggest you read "The Selfish Gene"

Anything a human population considers especially "amoral" has very probable evolutionary origins.

For instance -- murder.

Individuals who contain genes that would lead them to murder other individuals of their species are at a disadvantage. If that individual tried to murder somebody, that other individual would most likely fight back (at some point the murder would meet an invidual who would fight back). Now, fighting usually leads to severe injury, even to the victor. Now, is the advantage of winning (say, a bit of food the other guy was going to eat) worth the potential risk of dying or becoming severely injured and unable to survive much longer? Most likely not. Therefore, individuals who had genes that led them to kill others would be selected against via natural selection.

You could frame a similar argument for why "rape is bad" is something we believe. Rapists most likely would not follow the standard courtship rituals that lead to copulation. They would just want to "go at it". The females, at large, would refuse to mate with these individuals. Sure, maybe one male could force his way in (so to speak) but he would be vastly outnumbered by males that did it with consent. Especially if the female fights back -- then you add the risk of injury. It becomes clear that a society of rapists is not an ESS.

Anyways -- The Selfish Gene has entire chapters devoted to these kinds of questions. If any theist actually wants to learn about the other side's reasoning and arguments (instead of setting up straw men which they usually prefer to do, being unable to craft real arguments) -- I suggest reading it.

9. The Komodo Dragon's Tale

Comment #14555 by ddovala on December 23, 2006 at 7:30 am

Thank you, Professor Dawkins, for writing such an elegant tale. The fact that you would publish it here, instead of hiding it away for another addition of your book (even if you include it in later additions) shows that your first priority is the spread of sound scientific knowledge. I appreciate this very much!