1. VOICES OF SCIENCE: PZ Myers - Buy it now on DVD

Comment #217369 by Diocletian on July 24, 2008 at 9:33 am

This is an excellent group of discussions. Well done Richard, Josh and those who took part in these discussions. I hope there are more to come and look forward to viewing them.

2. Surgeon General Nominee Dismisses Homosexuality Paper

Comment #215536 by Diocletian on July 22, 2008 at 4:36 am

The 1991 paper authored by Holsinger is a bit bizarre. His argument is that because male-female parts are biologically compatible, there is something amiss with homosexual sex. There is a higher rate among male homosexuals than male heterosexuals of STDs - and he uses these data to attack the homosexual lifestyle. He neglects to mention the lower rate of STDs among female homosexuality, but why let facts stand in the way of religious dogma?

His arguments have been aptly refuted, and there is certainly plenty of data suggesting that it is lack of acceptance and support from family and friends that has the greatest negative impact on homosexuals than any other factor. Both physical and psychological health are negatively impacted when an individual attempts to suppress their sexual orientation. We no more choose our sexual orientation than we do our handedness.

To read the 1991 paper, go to:
http://americansfortruth.com/news/surgeon-general-nominee-dr-james-holsingers-1991-paper-pathophysiology-of-male-homosexuality.html

3. Richard Dawkins slaps creationists into the primordial soup

Comment #213700 by Diocletian on July 18, 2008 at 7:34 pm

This was such great fun to read and not a single line about him being shrill or strident or the other all too common comments about him. Well done Kate Muir.

4. Religious bigotry upheld in court

Comment #209406 by Diocletian on July 12, 2008 at 6:18 am

The ruling will certainly encourage Muslims to inject their own prejudices into British life. Then of course teachers of religious persuasion could refuse to teach proper science to their students, or perhaps pharmacists could refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control, the morning after pill, or medication for HIV and AIDS.

5. Conversation between Richard Dawkins and John Lennox

Comment #207436 by Diocletian on July 9, 2008 at 7:57 pm

I wish I had Professor Dawkins' patience to sit in wait, while slowly feeding Lennox more and more rope with which to hang himself. Gone is the complex theologian, away with the the intricacies of metaphors, and what we end up with is the bedrock of all religious belief - miracles and nonsense. Science plays no role in religion, and religion cannot brook science. The sneers and jeers Professor Dawkins has received regarding his supposedly naive views about religion, that religion is so much more sophisticated than he is willing to allow have been proven to be simply hogwash. There is really very little difference between the fundamentalist and the most schooled theologian in the High Church. All the ecclesiology and liturgy in Christian, Jewish, Islamic theology rely on the same magical qualities as do the Pentecostal snake handlers in Arkansas. The Catholic Church has revealed its true nature with the cracker incident - all the Centuries of the 'great' theologians breaks down when a wafer-thin cracker goes astray. Eventually they all reveal themselves, either though their insecurities about sexuality, women, or free-thought. Religion attempts to cloak itself in deep philosophical sophistry, but what it really comes down to is the deepest levels of willful stupidity.

6. Religion's role in the climate debate

Comment #205518 by Diocletian on July 7, 2008 at 12:04 pm

It makes a refreshing change that it is scientists who are coming under the cosh, since very often it is those same scientists â€" including the high priest of atheism, Richard Dawkins â€" who have led the ferocious assault on religion and its value to modern society.

I simply cannot figure out why the author of this article stuck in this bizarre paragraph. Were the editors asleep? The entire article is poorly written, but that paragraph seems to have been stuck in there from some unrelated article.

Religion teaches people that they are special because god loves them - it provides a false security about the world. Those who can believe in gods are capable of believing that the world's leading scientists are part of some mass conspiracy to propagate the myths of climate change and evolution. Religion teaches people to have faith in whatever they want to have faith in - is it any wonder that such faith can transfer to other aspects of their lives?

7. Science is thrilling - except in our schools

Comment #203737 by Diocletian on July 3, 2008 at 1:11 pm

Children begin life as scientists - they experiment all the time (psychological experiments mostly). As Hari points out, schools manage to kill the natural love of science. I disagree, however, with Edouard Pernod's idea of starting out with Newtonian physics and making certain that kids know science is HARD. It is precisely this sort of attitude toward science education that will kill the love of science.

Science for a 6 year old is much different than science for a 16 year old. And while most adolescents have no intention of becoming scientists, they can still learn about science in a way that will help them through their lives. Imagine if more adults had had even the most basic understanding of the MMR vaccine scare - the newspapers could never have gotten off with pandering to their fears!

We need a society that is science literate, not necessarily more and more scientists. Yes, being a scientist is hard work, so it being a skilled carpenter, musician, or a great historian. Why pick on science as the 'really hard' discipline? Why segregate it from other areas of knowledge in terms of telling students it is hard work to succeed?

By all means, let's make science literacy interesting and for those students who want to go on to a career in science - they can go on a separate educational track. What has harmed us as a society is that only a fraction of the population is science literate, which is why the Discovery Institute et al get away with so much.

8. The $10,000-a-Month Psychic

Comment #200751 by Diocletian on June 28, 2008 at 7:43 am

I wish I had a list of all the corporations hiring psychics, so I could be certain to not include them in my portfolio. Geeze.

9. Common New Atheist Fallacies

Comment #200500 by Diocletian on June 27, 2008 at 6:25 pm

There is something rather amazing about someone speaking for so long and still not say anything.

10. Mormons urged to back ban on same-sex marriage

Comment #199211 by Diocletian on June 25, 2008 at 10:32 am

al-rawandi
I notice, no feminist has ever complained when the captain of a sinking ship yelled "Women and children first"....

You need to read a bit more history such as what happened when the Titanic sank. You should not just claim things as fact when you obviously haven't a clue. And when was the last time you were on a sinking ship?

11. Mormons urged to back ban on same-sex marriage

Comment #199092 by Diocletian on June 25, 2008 at 7:17 am

The Church's teaching and position on this moral issue are unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and the formation of families is central to the Creator's plan for His children. Children are entitled to be born within this bond of marriage.

What??? Children are entitled to be born within this bond of marriage.... what a bunch of pricks trying to bring back the term illegitimacy! The only ones who are illegitimate are the f*%^$ing Mormons and other religious wingnuts who force their archaic beliefs on others! Clearly another fine example of child abuse!!

12. We Urgently Need Your Help Now!!

Comment #195591 by Diocletian on June 18, 2008 at 3:00 pm

If the Governor does not veto the bill, then perhaps Keith Olbermann will name him the 'Worst Person", which would succeed in highlighting this great injustice.

13. We Urgently Need Your Help Now!!

Comment #195537 by Diocletian on June 18, 2008 at 12:28 pm

Apathy is always such a good response to government - it really hits them hard. Not to mention how encouraging it must be for those people actually trying to STOP the Discovery Institute from destroying education. But then, it is so much easier to criticise those people who are willing to work toward doing some good. If you don't want to help then don't, but at least have the decency not to discourage those people who are doing something positive.

14. We Urgently Need Your Help Now!!

Comment #195530 by Diocletian on June 18, 2008 at 12:12 pm

I can't think of any reason why those of us from outside the US cannot write the Governor as well. Letting the Governor know that Louisiana will become the source of jokes around the world might do some good. The whole world is watching and laughing.

15. Behe's Empty Box

Comment #193280 by Diocletian on June 15, 2008 at 7:09 am

Thanks Richard for reminding us about Catalano's website - and a huge thanks to Josh for creating the even more evolved RichardDawkins.net site!

16. Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind

Comment #191536 by Diocletian on June 11, 2008 at 6:37 am

kludge |klo�j| (also kluge) informal
noun
an ill-assorted collection of parts assembled to fulfill a particular purpose.
- Computing a machine, system, or program that has been badly put together.
verb [ trans. ]
use ill-assorted parts to make (something) : Hugh had to kludge something together.
ORIGIN 1960s (originally U.S.): invented word, perhaps symbolic.

The English language has the largest vocabulary, in part because we add new words and adopt words from other languages very rapidly. The roots of the American 'kluge' are not German.

The book by the way is very good and a fun read.

17. The 14-year-old Afghan suicide bomber

Comment #191003 by Diocletian on June 10, 2008 at 4:40 am

I wonder if the boy was aware of this case last year: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/07/d3d050ac-7a59-4d70-94f2-34edfcef9546.html
I do think the individual holds responsibility in these cases, they are surely aware they are commiting murder.

Whilst it is true the young man was well aware he would end the lives of others - the question is whether or not he had been manipulated to the point of not knowing it was wrong. Punishing a 14 year old for the crimes of his elders seems pointless. He is as much as a victim (especially given he was willing to die himself) as those he was sent to kill.

18. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #186642 by Diocletian on May 30, 2008 at 10:26 pm

The desire for men to marry a virgin comes down to simple evolutionary explanation. Just remember and 'is' does not an 'ought' make.

19. Louisiana's latest creationism bill moves to House floor

Comment #185718 by Diocletian on May 28, 2008 at 11:06 am

Border Collie wrote:

I'm surprised to learn that they have schools in Louisiana.

That just shows religion is not necessary for bigotry and prejudice.

20. Louisiana's latest creationism bill moves to House floor

Comment #185606 by Diocletian on May 28, 2008 at 7:15 am

How discouraging it must be for people like Eugenie Scott to read comments that we should just give up and move to Canada or that all Americans are simply stupid. I suppose that is so much easier than actually doing something to help the NCSE. Public education in the US is much better than most people credit. Unfortunately, the campaign to discredit public education (largely promoted by religious wingnuts) has worked so well that everyone buys into it.

It must be so discouraging to teachers and those people who do all they can to help educate children to hear such comments. Let's not help them - let's just criticize them and then go about our business.

21. That's it. Texas really is doomed.

Comment #185307 by Diocletian on May 27, 2008 at 11:54 am

From the Dallas Morning News article:

A day earlier, the board gave tentative approval to a version of the curriculum created largely by StandardsWork, a company hired to facilitate the revision process. The move angered teachers and more moderate board members who preferred a version crafted by a working group of teachers appointed by the board.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D90RHOOG0.html

This is not a trivial point, StandardWorks is a conservative organization devoted to creating education standards across the US. It was founded by Senator Lamar Alexander.

It would be really nice to know just how involved StandardWorks and McLeroy are with one another - and also how much Texas Tax money went to this organization to suddenly create this education standard.

22. Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss

Comment #184767 by Diocletian on May 26, 2008 at 6:15 am

These threads that are completely off topic are annoying. While not asking for people to be censored - there should be at least some form of protocol (since we cannot rely on people's good sense) to limit threads from going completely out of control. I do not know what the agenda is of some people, however taking this fascinating discussion between Richard and Lawrence and switching it to a holocaust denial thread is really destroying this website. To those of you moderating the threads... you might wish to consider that people are just going to stop posting or even visiting the site because of few people who apparent posed their perverted views on just about EVERY thread now. They completely derail the discussion. Unfortunately, many good people take the bait and further derail the topic at hand.

So perhaps we should start policing ourselves, and not let a few rotten apples spoil what is perhaps one of the best websites around. If someone tries to derail the topic into some idiotic rant - just ignore them. They are a bore - you would probably ignore them at a party - although, as might be happening here - leave altogether.

Use the troll button!

23. Richard Dawkins on The Big Questions

Comment #184766 by Diocletian on May 26, 2008 at 6:13 am

These threads that are completely off topic are annoying. While not asking for people to be censored - there should be at least some form of protocol (since we cannot rely on people's good sense) to limit threads from going completely out of control. I do not know what the agenda is of some people, however taking an interesting interview and switching it to a holocaust denial thread is really destroying this website. To those of you moderating the threads... you might wish to consider that people are just going to stop posting or even visiting the site because of few people who apparent posed their perverted views on just about EVERY thread now. They completely derail the discussion. Unfortunately, many good people take the bait and further derail the topic at hand.

So perhaps we should start policing ourselves, and not let a few rotten apples spoil what is perhaps one of the best websites around. If someone tries to derail the topic into some idiotic rant - just ignore them. They are a bore - you would probably ignore them at a party - although, as might be happening here - leave altogether.

If you find someone trying to take over a thread on an unrelated (and very offensive) topic - use the Troll and Offensive feed back buttons!

24. Shaw TV Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #184765 by Diocletian on May 26, 2008 at 6:08 am

These threads that are completely off topic are annoying. While not asking for people to be censored - there should be at least some form of protocol (since we cannot rely on people's good sense) to limit threads from going completely out of control. I do not know what the agenda is of some people, however taking a this interview and switching it to a holocaust denial thread is really destroying this website. To those of you moderating the threads... you might wish to consider that people are just going to stop posting or even visiting the site because of few people who apparent posed their perverted views on just about EVERY thread now. They completely derail the discussion. Unfortunately, many good people take the bait and further derail the topic at hand.

So perhaps we should start policing ourselves, and not let a few rotten apples spoil what is perhaps one of the best websites around. If someone tries to derail the topic into some idiotic rant - just ignore them. They are a bore - you would probably ignore them at a party - although, as might be happening here - leave altogether.

Perhaps using the Troll button is not a bad idea!

25. What is science for?

Comment #184761 by Diocletian on May 26, 2008 at 6:03 am

These threads that are completely off topic are annoying. While not asking for people to be censored - there should be at least some form of protocol (since we cannot rely on people's good sense) to limit threads from going completely out of control. I do not know what the agenda is of some people, however taking a topic like 'What is Science For?" and switching it to a holocaust denial thread is really destroying this website. To those of you moderating the threads... you might wish to consider that people are just going to stop posting or even visiting the site because of few people who apparent posed their perverted views on just about EVERY thread now. They completely derail the discussion. Unfortunately, many good people take the bait and further derail the topic at hand.

So perhaps we should start policing ourselves, and not let a few rotten apples spoil what is perhaps one of the best websites around. If someone tries to derail the topic into some idiotic rant - just ignore them. They are a bore - you would probably ignore them at a party - although, as might be happening here - leave altogether.

26. Lab agrees to test Shroud of Turin for new theory

Comment #183433 by Diocletian on May 22, 2008 at 5:40 am

To RobDinsmore

Your comment about Professors vs Lecturers was incredibly bigoted, rude and naive. Judge a person on the merit of his or her work, not on the title given by a university. Obtaining tenure have become more of a political and economic issue than merit. Whether or not Dr. Jackson is a good scientist should be based on his work, and it is incredibly unfair to paint all scientists who are not officially 'professors' as being inferior to those who have been tenured.

27. Pelosi, Reid shunning Ten Commandments?

Comment #181274 by Diocletian on May 16, 2008 at 8:27 pm

Why can't they just celebrate a Ten Commandments weekend and let everyone else be? It's not illegal to make up holidays is it? If people enjoy the meme it will propagate.

To do that successfully they would need beer. That's how St Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo made it on the calendar without an official endorsement from the government. After all, doesn't reading the 10 commandments sort of make you want to go out and get drunk?

28. Indian village proud after double 'honor killing'

Comment #181264 by Diocletian on May 16, 2008 at 7:49 pm

It is not just that the religious leaders do not condemn the caste system and its outcomes - the caste system is part of the Hindu religion. To say it is cultural is of course true, just as it would be true to say that the long-time ban on birth control in Ireland was 'cultural'. Of course, the culture was/is the Catholic Church. The culture in India is very much dictated by Hinduism.

According to Hinduism, the poor deserve to be poor and the wealthy deserve to be wealthy. How's that for culture?

And, where did Hinduism get the caste system from? Buddhism.

29. Indian village proud after double 'honor killing'

Comment #181262 by Diocletian on May 16, 2008 at 7:39 pm

To zosky

I hate to rain on your parade of male chauvunism, but women buy into this too. The last thing we need is to start dividing religion along lines of sex and start blaming one sex being more responsible than another. Who in 'heaven's name' do you think raises these boys who become men who kill for family honour. And please don't think that the women don't want these killings to occur - after all, they have other daughters to marry off and how can they marry if shame has come to their family? It is all wrapped up in promoting our own genes. Does that justify such murders? Absolutely not - but please - let's not make this a sexist issue - let's keep the blame where it should be - RELIGION.

30. Indian village proud after double 'honor killing'

Comment #181261 by Diocletian on May 16, 2008 at 7:33 pm

So glad British Airways is banning beef on their flights in order to respect those of the Hindu faith. Perhaps we all ought to send this article to them and ask them why we should pay them respect?

31. Pelosi, Reid shunning Ten Commandments?

Comment #181236 by Diocletian on May 16, 2008 at 5:32 pm

A word to Senator Pelosi:
"You go girl!"

Thank goodness there are some in government who remember the principles upon which the US was based.

32. The Stupidity of Dignity

Comment #178962 by Diocletian on May 12, 2008 at 10:11 am

The next time Professor Dawkins is told that most religious people don't take the Bible literally... or that he does not understand the nuances of religion... he should just hand his critics the Dignity report. Where are the religious moderates protesting such idiocy? Possibly too busy writing new flea books?

33. A Conversation with Expelled's Associate Producer Mark Mathis

Comment #164974 by Diocletian on April 20, 2008 at 10:43 pm

I wonder how much longer Mathis will continue spreading his lies about Judge Jones now that the people at Scientific American have publicly clarified and corrected his claims. If he follows the tendencies of the people who contribute to ID, then there is little doubt he shall continue his lies.

Bravo to John Rennie, Steve Mirsky, Phil Yam, Dan Schlenoff, and Aaron Fagan. And Mathis showed his true colours yet again.

34. For sale: 13-year-old virgin

Comment #161556 by Diocletian on April 15, 2008 at 12:05 pm

bidding war is being held for the right to be the first to sleep with her

What the article should have stated instead is '...the right to be the first to rape her'.


Mr. Bergson is once again showing his ignorance. Morality is not a delusion because humans have the capacity to develop moral codes of conduct. What the basis of those moral codes should be based on is our acquired knowledge. For example, the biological and psychological evidence suggests that forcing any child, woman or man to have sex is harmful. This is not a cultural issue, because a wealthy family who would sell their daughter to a prostitution ring would face scorn and shame. However, even if it WERE a purely cultural issue it does not in any way negate the harm inflicted upon the individual. This is the basis on which intelligent, reasonable people judge moral conduct.

Dear dear Henri, this is why the world condemned the Nazis for what they did to Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and political dissidents. Even though culturally these groups had been hated for centuries - thus was part of the European culture... it was still immoral to slaughter millions of people.

Thank goodness that there are fewer and fewer people the likes of Mr. Bergson and more people who feel that humans have an obligation toward other human and non-humams precisely because there is not a god to oversee our behaviours and reward or punish us.

35. Richard Dawkins' secular army must be stopped. God is behind some of our greatest art

Comment #160528 by Diocletian on April 14, 2008 at 7:24 am

Revering others who inspire us is a very human thing to do. It is true that some people go overboard, and even true that some people enjoy the adulation. But it is far from worship in a religious sense. Admiration for someone is healthy, as long as it remains within reason. We use expressions such as 'People were falling at his feet' to give some sense to how much we admire someone. I would be willing to bet that no one on the set actually bowed down in front of Dawkins... but for Ravenhill to attempt to equate it with the sort of worship that Jesus receives on a regular basis is a bit of a stretch.

To answer people about admiration, simply state that we look toward others to emulate and it is a natural human phenomenon to admire someone. When we are small, we admire our first grade teacher, as we grow into adulthood our level of admiration changes. How much better is it to admire another person - one we can admit has flaws, has worked hard, has even perhaps overcome difficulties - than to admire an imaginary friend who not only expects admiration, but will condemn someone to an eternity of suffering if it is not properly given!

There is no reason to defend people who admire Dawkins, or anyone else for that matter. We each admire a number of people - and we strive also to be admired to a degree. That is why humans have emotions such as shame. There is a lot more that could be said on this topic from an evolutionary perspective - but I'll leave it here.

36. Richard Dawkins' secular army must be stopped. God is behind some of our greatest art

Comment #160502 by Diocletian on April 14, 2008 at 6:58 am

What a round about way of arguing that all the horrors that religion has brought about has been worth it because we can go to a museum and see great works of art. Of course, what Raverhill fails to mention is that the 'great art' depicted in the church was a great marketing ploy - used to convince poor, dirty, hard working peasants that some day after all that has been denied them, they will receive the glories and treasures of Heaven. Never mind either that most of the art lined palaces and only recently in its history has art been accessible to the 'common people'. We have religion to thank for sustaining the status quo... keeping the poor in the dirt while elevating nonces in purple and gold robes.

The hostility toward the monies spent by the Church on art was witnessed by the French Revolution. While people died of starvation, the Church was busily spending money on building new churches and paying artists to portray the glory of god.

Of course art is an important part of human expression, but to defend religion because it was the organisation that had the sort of money to sponsor art is simply stupid.

37. Rep. Davis: The Worst Person in the World

Comment #157260 by Diocletian on April 8, 2008 at 7:27 pm

This made my whole Day! Thank you Oberman!!!

38. Get out of here, atheists!

Comment #156554 by Diocletian on April 7, 2008 at 8:58 pm

Joshua! Brilliant letter, lets hope more and more people will write to Ms. Davis, the DNP, and others as well.

39. Get out of here, atheists!

Comment #156543 by Diocletian on April 7, 2008 at 7:34 pm

We should be careful never to brush an entire group of people with the taint of one foolish, ignorant person. What we need to remember is that we HOLD the power to stop such ignorant fools from remaining in government - but ONLY if we take action. Politicians will start thinking twice about insulting 14% of the population after we inundate Representative Davis and the DNP with our protests.

40. Get out of here, atheists!

Comment #156522 by Diocletian on April 7, 2008 at 6:20 pm

Per Richard Dawkins' suggestion, those of you who would like to express your displeasure to the National Democratic Party - here is the web address:

http://www.democrats.org/contact.htmlt

Let's start demanding that bigotry can NEVER be tolerated.

41. Get out of here, atheists!

Comment #156403 by Diocletian on April 7, 2008 at 1:13 pm

It is a great shame that Representative Davis is ignorant of the Harlem Renaissance and people such as Nelle Larsen, Langston Hughes, and Richard Wright. She is obviously unaware of the many atheists who stood alongside Martin Luther King as he fought for equality for ALL peoples. Due to her ignorance and bigotry she has brought shame upon herself, her position, her constituents, and her State.

Let's not allow this to go unnoticed. Complaining among ourselves does nothing - write to Representative Davis (PZ has provided the link). She does not accept email, so you will need to send a letter or postcard - but please demand a public apology! The best way to fight this sort of bigotry is to make people ashamed of holding such prejudices.