1. New British Petition: Stop the Nightmares

Comment #191582 by humanist on June 11, 2008 at 9:04 am

Doesn't that kind of ignore generations of folk tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Chicken Little, etc.; as well as a ton of popular media that have nothing to do with religion?

2. Blogger spreads the gospel of science

Comment #189301 by humanist on June 6, 2008 at 1:53 am

I love the 'PZ "Paul" Myers' thing, as if his real name is PZ, but his friends call him Paul.

I'd imagine Kent, Washington would be a much nicer place than Kent, England. I lived in the latter for 2 years. Since I left, my part of it (Erith) has had many stabbings, and been announced the 4th biggest burglary hotspot in Greater London. All this following a massive regeneration which saw the entire town centre being demolished and rebuilt.

I think the 'Garden of England' name probably applies only to the bits outside the M25!

3. Religion is 'the new social evil'

Comment #165284 by humanist on April 21, 2008 at 9:47 am

I submitted a response to this, which concentrated heavily on how I feel the world would be universally better without organised religion - assumed it'd be dismissed as a minority opinion. Didn't realise how deep the concern is among my fellow compatriates.

It's a good thing - I sense the UK as a whole teetering on the fence with regards to Faith schools / taxpayer funding - once that collapses, there won't be any more childhood indoctrination aside from that done by credulous parents, which in turn will lead to a more inquisitive populace, leading to a humanist utopia.

Right?

Right?

hello?

4. What I Think About Evolution

Comment #46678 by humanist on June 1, 2007 at 4:19 am

I'm not all that clued up on SI units, but doesn't 100 microevolutions = 1 macroevolution?

5. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32731 by humanist on April 18, 2007 at 5:58 am

I've just been pointed at this article from earlier this year about how religion trumps parents' own ethics..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/family/story/0,,2003807,00.html

6. Doctors Opposing Circumcision: An Appeal for Misha

Comment #32696 by humanist on April 18, 2007 at 3:37 am

Re: African study... I'd agree 'no' to routine circumcision - babies rarely have their penises exposed to the HIV virus, so while it may be advisable to offer circumcision to sexually active males, there's no reason to do it by default to babies.

I was thinking about this on the bus this morning, when I noticed a baby in a pushchair with pierced ears - about 6 months old. I find this disturbing on many levels, but as it's reversible, I guess it wouldn't engender the same strength of feeling from most people.

7. John Paul Sainthood Nun 'Gentle, Simple'

Comment #28530 by humanist on March 29, 2007 at 3:50 pm

so.. Praying to the pope (a false god - something to be killed for) has apparently cured one nun of one disease. Despite the hundreds of thousands of people that the pope killed with his condom ban in Africa, and indeed, around the world, he's still deserving of a sainthood?

By any logical moral compass, I'm a hundred thousand times the better man. I deserve a hundred thousand sainthoods or, I suppose, to be deified ten thousand times. So do you. Unless you're George Bush.

8. Dawkins says religion is 'like sucking a dummy'

Comment #28396 by humanist on March 29, 2007 at 4:25 am

I was at the debate - the 2 votes were taken in different manners. The first was taken by people with clipboards on the way in; so I guess a lot of people would have been missed. The second vote was made by placing a yes/no card (the entrance ticket was perforated into 2 sections) into a ballot box passed around the auditorium.

I suggested that it was unfair on the 'against' side of the debate, as when a box with a hole in it got passed to the believers, they'd unthinkingly put £5 in it....