1. PZ Myers Desecrates a Eucharist

Comment #219064 by acs on July 26, 2008 at 8:18 am

Comment #218971 by beanson on July 25, 2008 at 11:22 pm

Um- weird
didn't have the balls for the Koran I suppose

2. A Natural Selection

Comment #217961 by acs on July 24, 2008 at 7:49 pm

This doesn't cut ice with the ID crowd, unfortunately. Many of them accept that small evolutionary changes happen but somehow can't quite accept the idea of lots of these little changes adding up over time.

3. A Natural Selection

Comment #216896 by acs on July 23, 2008 at 4:00 pm

[quote]Comment #216858 by ivellios on July 23, 2008 at 2:59 pm

Alas, you are forgetting that the IDiots just say,
"Yes, but the lizard is still a lizard and a finch is a finch. You don't see the lizards turning into cows!" [/quote]

The response to that is quite simple, a lizard with some minor genetic variations (Warm bloodedness, fur, horns, eyes etc) is a cow. They are both eukaryotic, sexual, DNA replicators. There are no specific "Lizard cells" or "Cow cells" - the basic building blocks of life are the same. Just variations of the instructions for the arrangement of those building blocks.

PS - How on earth do I make quotes????

4. Church Cancels Teen Gun Giveaway

Comment #209944 by acs on July 13, 2008 at 3:24 pm

Who would Jesus blow away?

Isn't Jesus coming with a sword? I guess he didn't get the omniprescient memo re guns.

5. Sir John M. Templeton, Philanthropist, Dies at 95

Comment #206746 by acs on July 8, 2008 at 6:11 pm

His only redeeming feature seems to have been giving money to solzenitsyn who, despite having a deist approach, actually wronte some decent stuff about the negative effects of dogmatic belief structures in soviet era russia.

Still, the Templeton prize and foundation are evil organisations that spread more ignorance through the world by openly endorsing scientists that are prepared to argue against well established concepts like evolution.

6. Degrees of religion

Comment #205934 by acs on July 8, 2008 at 12:11 am

Cultural theists are ok - but easily converted to fundies when under pressure.

7. Evangelical Christians sign up to a 'Church within a Church'

Comment #203362 by acs on July 2, 2008 at 5:43 pm

Never mind Rowan Williamson, what does Rowan Atkinson have to say about this ?

It was my lovely parrot WHICH I got from my auntie.

8. Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy sitting in policeman's hat

Comment #203360 by acs on July 2, 2008 at 5:41 pm

When the muslim Mughal emperors invaded India they defaced all the beautiful artwork of Indian society because Allah does not allow representations of nature. The frescoes of Turkey were lost because muslims who were not sanctioned by the government, but acting independently, considered their vandalism to be justified for Allah and only 5 or 6 years ago we lost the truly beautiful statues of Buddha in Afghanistan to Islamic ignoramuses.

Why does islam hate beauty - the reason is simple, their faith strips them of any knowledge of beauty outside of the Koran.

I would not mind this - but the rest of us lose valuable treasures when they carry out Allah's work.

For this reason I want a campaign - the "Yes to puppies" campaign. With government funded public education, time and patience we can, hopefully, convert these ignorant vandals into fully functioning human beings ;).

9. Can't Darwin and God get along?

Comment #202696 by acs on July 1, 2008 at 8:14 pm

Ok, for pkruger.

If there is no original sin then jesus can not have saved us from our punishment for being in original sin......

Bugger it, Im not going to try and explain something that is plainly wrong in order to then destroy it. Thats silly.

Pkruger - forget I mentioned it, just go about your business.

10. Biologist Teaches the Nation's Judges About Genetics

Comment #202644 by acs on July 1, 2008 at 7:01 pm

Im a lawyer and note that I use a very similar method to scientists:-

1. A party makes a statement
2. I examine the evidence used to support the statement
3. If there is no evidence then I cannot rely on the statement
4. If there is evidence I can rely on the statement to the extent it is supported by the evidence

--> Someone makes a new statement, rinse and repeat until we resolve the legal issue.

Its just a different formulation of:

1. A scientist makes a hypothesis
2. The hypothesis is tested
3. If the hypothesis is not supported by the results we discard the hypothesis (though not the information about the hypothesis being not supported by the evidence.
4. If the hypothesis is supported then we can state there is support for the hypothesis.

11. Can't Darwin and God get along?

Comment #202640 by acs on July 1, 2008 at 6:51 pm

There is a very good reason why darwin and God (at least the christian one) cant get along:-

Christianity has fought, still fights, and will continue to fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus' earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the Son of God. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing.

G. Richard Bozarth, 'The Meaning of Evolution', American Atheist, p. 30. 20 September 1979. (/hattip Sydney Anglican Heretics)

See, if Adam and Eve came down from the trees and evolved the sense of good and evil, rather than sin by taking the apple from the tree then Christ died in vain. Hence, christianity is destroyed.

CASE - www.casehq.blogspot.com

12. Creationist critics get their comeuppance

Comment #202121 by acs on June 30, 2008 at 11:26 pm

Yeah, its a new species but - since we have never actually documented mutation - the taxonomy may be difficult. We usually start with two genetically different species and give them different names, what happens when you KNOW one is the child of the other?

13. Aliens need Christ's redemption, too

Comment #201387 by acs on June 29, 2008 at 3:59 pm

I wonder if they have crucifixtion on gnugnu - or whatever planets out there support intelligent life. The passion may be a little hard to communicate of they don't.

14. Stop distorting young minds!

Comment #200059 by acs on June 26, 2008 at 6:03 pm

Ironically in Australia, the population do act strongly to prevent certain anoustic schools - the muslim ones.

15. Creationist critics get their comeuppance

Comment #200027 by acs on June 26, 2008 at 4:35 pm

"41. Comment #199944 by mordacious1 on June 26, 2008 at 2:20 pm

esmith

Quit insulting Neanderthals that way, I hear they're decent people."

That funny, I find the French to be rather rude.

16. God hates Mars

Comment #199534 by acs on June 25, 2008 at 11:15 pm

"Comment #199422 by 8teist on June 25, 2008 at 6:30 pm

snickers are to mars...as scientology is to atheism"

What, the same but with more nuts?

17. God hates Mars

Comment #199392 by acs on June 25, 2008 at 5:02 pm

An creationist shitting on science and then asking for all of its wonders - never.

Thats the problem with faith: as soon as you are convinced that God exists there is no need to search the universe.

I regularily debate with a chapter of local baptists. I asked the preacher (a kid of about 20), if there is a God then how did he make the universe. He turned to me with a quizical look and asked why it was necessary to know that - "Does it really matter?". Well, I guess it doesnt if you believe.

18. Band T-shirt draws charge

Comment #199389 by acs on June 25, 2008 at 4:57 pm

Dispiracist

I am also a Queensland resident (Brisbane) and you and I know that is bullshit. The law in Queensland does not allow using one provision of the Summary Offences Act to justify removal of a person because they are concerned about drug distribution. Under the Police Powers and Responsibility Act a police officer could just search the person on suspicion of being a drug distributor.

This is another example of the dire straits that Australia has found itself in. We have a class of police, politicians and preachers that are vehemently trying to enforce a theistic outlook on our country in defference to section 116 of the Constitution that provides Australia is to be a secular country.

www.casehq.blogspot.com

19. Galaxy map hints at fractal universe

Comment #199378 by acs on June 25, 2008 at 3:59 pm

"Comment #199268 by ungrim on June 25, 2008 at 12:08 pm

First post...

"800,000 galaxies and 100,000 quasars, bright objects powered by violent supermassive black holes"

I find no way to imagine of, or think in, that kind of scale. Will we ever explore and truly see what is?.. "

Try looking up at nighttime, thats what it looks like.

20. Science is not philosophy

Comment #198928 by acs on June 24, 2008 at 7:05 pm

Philosophy (at least natural philosophy) is the method of bringing information from outside of human knowledge into our heads. Science is a strict discipline of bringing observations into human knowledge. Ergo - Science is a restricted form of philosophy.

Nonetheless, science is not religion.

Theology is a not natural philosophy. Rather, theology (including intelligent design) comes from the meta-physics branch of philosophy, WHICH DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY OBSERVATIONS OUTSIDE OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE IN ORDER TO WORK.

I think thats why I object to religion.

21. Where do US lawmakers stand on science?

Comment #198916 by acs on June 24, 2008 at 6:06 pm

I think from the qualitative evidence alone, my observation of Engineers having theistic proclivities has been destroyed.

Well, thats the way we learn.

22. World Youth Day condom protest against Pope

Comment #198912 by acs on June 24, 2008 at 5:47 pm

Clearly most of the posters arent from Australia.

The NSW police force (and NSW labor government for that matter) has a strong catholic tradition. When the paper says 'but she feared the NSW Government "wants to be heavy-handed with protesters"' She's not kidding round.

Strangely enough, Bishop Fisher (ex-lawyer turned catholic priest) tried to make a public statement that we should tolerate World Youth Day on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website. It received more responses than any post in history, most of them negative.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2273687.htm#comments

After all they are spending 150 million of my tax dollars to fund the damn thing.

Also, Check out www.worldtruthday.org - as you will see, organisers are trying to raise donations to hire lions to take care of the christian crowd. Estimated that we will need 50,000 lions to finish the job.

23. Where do US lawmakers stand on science?

Comment #197835 by acs on June 22, 2008 at 6:17 pm

*Scientists and Engineers for America*

Its good to see two diametrically opposed groups working together for once.

Its funny, round my way the split is almost always:-

Engineer: Theists
Scientist: Atheist.

Go figure.

24. On this Day: Galileo Sentenced for Believing Sun Is Center of Universe

Comment #197834 by acs on June 22, 2008 at 6:15 pm

TeraBrat: "Do you ever wonder where we could be scientifically if Christianity never existed?"

About 1400 years ahead of where we are now?

Anyway, hypotheticals like that are kinda pointless unless you believe in that quantum probability "Avivia" *guess* stuff.

PS: Don_Quix - can you change your picture, that is really starting to disturb me ;).

25. Is the Universe Actually Made of Math?

Comment #195628 by acs on June 18, 2008 at 4:11 pm

That made real sense to me. Kalam's argument from first cause is the most powerful in the Theists armoury, it requires us to examine how everything came to be. On that note, although we can explain everything from the Big Bang [or convergence of dimensions for you M Theory fans] it gives us little grasp of how those original singularities/elements came to be. This is perhaps a limitation of the human brain in relaiton to reaching backwards through time. Nonetheless, the mathematical model of the universe does answer this quandry, it allows us to recognise that the universe exists because it can. No other reasons required.

26. Behe's Empty Box

Comment #194543 by acs on June 16, 2008 at 11:34 pm

37. Comment #193465 by Layla Nasreddin on June 15, 2008 at 4:30 pm

CreationWiki is back up. If I didn't know better, I'd swear the whole thing was a massive joke, but of course it isn't. Which just proves the point that, really, you can never stop defending against this kind of misbegotten tripe, no matter how self-evidently ridiculous and unbelievable it seems to you, personally.

I found this great quote on CreationWiki today from http://atheistwarroom.blogspot.com/

Tony asks him how Adam and Eve could have lived in the Garden of Eden with a carnivorous tyrannosaurus, and instead of explaining that tyrannosaurs would have been vegetarians back then, instead gives him a book and leaves.

What big teeth you have Mr Tyrannosaur?

All the better to eat grass with.

27. Vatican bans Dan Brown film Angels & Demons from Rome churches

Comment #194383 by acs on June 16, 2008 at 5:07 pm

But the catholics are so good at fiction.

Anyway, I thought that Dan Brown's works were the only publicity this dying religion has had for the last 10 years.

28. Behe's Empty Box

Comment #193527 by acs on June 15, 2008 at 7:24 pm

Behe's expose on the recent Lenski experiment is excellent. Behe considers the experiment in light of his book, The edge of evolution.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A3DGRQ0IO7KYQ2/ref=cm_blog_blog

Here is a short quote:-

One of the major points of the book was that if only one mutation is needed to confer some ability, then Darwinian evolution has little problem finding it. But if more than one is needed, the probability of getting all the right ones grows exponentially worse. 'If two mutations have to occur before there is a net beneficial effect' if an intermediate state is harmful, or less fit than the starting state 'then there is already a big evolutionary problem.' (4) And what if more than two are needed? The task quickly gets out of reach of random mutation.

I havent seen a more silly argument from "personal incredulity" than this. What he is effectively saying is that, even though we can see this mutation, we can't build a scientific theory on it because it is not neat and simple. IDiot.

He really has mastered the argument from Personal Incredulity, otherwise known as the argument from Ignorance.

29. George W Bush meets Pope amid claims he might convert to Catholicism

Comment #193523 by acs on June 15, 2008 at 7:14 pm

How is this a suprise, the biggest con artists in history go after the biggest sucker.

Obama in 08 ;)

30. Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

Comment #192273 by acs on June 12, 2008 at 4:11 pm

It would be nice if this was true - I doubt it though.

I think the more likely mechanism at play is an individuals yearning to question. While intelligence may have some impact on the individuals approach to ontology, I have met very many intelligent people that do not have the drive to question what is happening around them.

I would say the link between religiosity and intelligence is indirect for this reason.

Furthermore, I do believe that (a decent) education does instill a greater prospect of becoming a "seeker of the truth". Thus, education may also be linked in this way.

31. Analysis of SB 733: 'LA Science Education Act'

Comment #191777 by acs on June 11, 2008 at 5:11 pm

The entropy argument alleged by Bobby Jindal and referred to by 82abhilash in comment 4. above is complete bullshit.

Any hack scientist knows that in order to examine entropy you have to determine your "macro-state" or the entire system which is being considered. In this case, the planet earth as a macro state may become less complex and chaotic with the formation of life, but we can accept that.

The macro state of the earth - plus the sun - however is becoming more chaotic. The sun loses billions of tonnes of fuel which comes down to earth and enters the system here. That process makes the energy and mass in the sun become spread out over a larger area (ie entropically normal pattern).

I would ask Mr Jindal whether he can show that the mass entropy of the sun's loss of fuel to the earth is outweighed by the relatively small amount of life on earth.

Futhermore, does Mr Jindal propose any forms of life on earth that are not the result of the energy added to the planet earth by the sun?

(I note there is some sea life that subsists on volcanic vents, but that is the same principle only applied to internal geological heat).

Clearly, life on earth does obey the laws of thermodynamics if you look at the 'total system', rather than cherry pick little bits of it.

32. Bacteria make major evolutionary shift in the lab

Comment #191357 by acs on June 10, 2008 at 4:48 pm

I regularly debate with a group of baptists on a saturday night. Its fun, its public and the audience usually gets some understanding of how religion corrupts.

I presented the Lenski findings to the theists last Saturday (I had previously sent to article to their leader). They really didnt like it and for the first time they yelled, screamed and lost all civility. They had lost one of the tennets of their faith.

It was the best night of "fundie bashing" I have had in a long time.

33. Logical Proof of the Existence of a Divine Creator, Why Atheism is Not Logically Sound

Comment #190911 by acs on June 9, 2008 at 9:50 pm

Comment #190901 by MaxD on June 9, 2008 at 8:58 pm


This seems like a simplistic critique and misses a huge point. The faith minded don't think they are proceeding by faith alone, or even primarily depending on such a concept.


Ok. I state and hold that 'faith is belief without evidence' and you, MaxD, have the utter fucking gall to say, frowningly, that my definition is 'a simplistic critique and missed a huge point'.

The HUGE point I miss is: faithheads mean something different; by faith, they mean they are FUCKING EVIDENCE DRIVEN.

Fuck off, Max. Not a fucking chance.

I could not give a flying FUCK what the 'faith minded' - to whom you grant an extraordinary level of understanding and sympathy in their linguistic plight - think they are doing. OF COURSE they are proceeding by faith alone, and I am tiring of your consistent and despicable apology for them, while you deride MY thoughts here.

MaxD, you've really fucking made a mess on this one.

So what is YOUR definition of 'faith', if you haven't obliterated it entirely?

Styrer


Perhaps MaxD thinks that having faith in evidence and then using that "faith evidence" as the basis of your beliefs is a viable option?

Personally, that kind of thinking is undisciplined and open to wild flights of fancy. Isnt there a parable about building a house on sand?

34. Logical Proof of the Existence of a Divine Creator, Why Atheism is Not Logically Sound

Comment #190837 by acs on June 9, 2008 at 5:18 pm

More compelling is the Bible's clear attestation to the second law of thermodynamics (which was originally the first principle of this field, formulated by Sadi Carnot in 1824). This is that physicality becomes increasingly random and broken apart. Psalm 102 speaks of the heavens and the earth perishing and clearly implies a gradual decay, telling us this law well before it was discovered.

Can someone please explain the role of gravity and black holes to this man?

In any event, isnt the position of going from omnipotent creator entity (probably complex) to a singularity (not complex) to an expanding universe (probably complex) actually breaking the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Can't you just cut off step 1?

35. A moral test for true believers, Rudd style

Comment #189221 by acs on June 5, 2008 at 8:54 pm

I dont know, $165m on WYD from the public purse seems a bit excessive.

So those who think the religious in Aus. and U.S. are the same have either been gone too long, never been or think Steve Irwin was the president.

Lol - we all know our president was assassinated last year by a lone sting ray, or was he???

EDIT: I apologise if that is in bad taste.

36. A New Step In Evolution

Comment #189219 by acs on June 5, 2008 at 8:49 pm

As noted above - I am but a humble lawyer. We really dont have any skill or knowledge about science ;).

37. A moral test for true believers, Rudd style

Comment #189195 by acs on June 5, 2008 at 6:54 pm

It has always struck me as particularly illustrative of this that an atheist cannot, on the basis of his or her "non-belief in god or gods" refuse to swear on a bible to tell the truth in a court of law. As far as the judicial process is concerned, atheism does not even occupy a point on the moral map.

You can now affirm - (non-religious oath).

EDIT - Damn, secondsoprano beat me to it.

38. A New Step In Evolution

Comment #189178 by acs on June 5, 2008 at 4:28 pm

OK - guys, I am just a lawyer, not a biologist - I was just reading the post properly.

Re the plasmids though, I note wikipedia gives a good note on plasmids at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmid

Also, I think you may be getting confused a little, the plasmid is like a bit of genetic material that floats around, doing its thing. Kind of like a viroid or prion.

If it does go into a bacteria it can insert itself into the bacteria's genome.

Accordingly, I dont think bacteria "spontaneously" makes a plasmids. It picks one up, like a cough.

39. The Great Evangelical Decline

Comment #189177 by acs on June 5, 2008 at 4:19 pm

Re Adamhaar

Yeah - I might have been grasping a little for a good example. It was a time of social upheaval and lots did change in the 70's. Perhaps the best example was the 'no fault divroce' under the Family Law Act 1975?

Also, I too am waiting to see whether Woomera is actually taken down.

Nonetheless I stand by my initial assertion. Perhaps a better example would be the generations between the reigns of Henry VIII --> Mary --> Elizabeth I. Catholic, Protestant, Catholic, Protestant (Remember to burn whatever came before)!!.

40. The Expelled Evolutionist

Comment #189175 by acs on June 5, 2008 at 4:12 pm

What's the betting on Steve Zara and Robotowhatisname being lapsed Christians? I can smell it from here! Careful, guys/gals: Old Nich has your names on a ledger!

Pathfinder, that kind of statement is offensive and is a direct threat against the person of another. Once you reach a certain stage of consciousness, we understand that making such statements is in fact your personal judgement against another person. Please refrain from doing same in the future.

I despise the ID movement,being, in my view, both mendacious and ill-informed. Whilst I might respect someone like Francis Collins for equivocating on the matter of probability and fine-tuning, I cannot but despise the Behes of this world!

Generally, Pathfinder, hate is bad. It is deleterious to the person and can become dangerously overpowering. Please dont feel the need to use that emotion on our behalf. I dont hate Behe et al. They can say whatever they want, they are wrong and they are intentionally manipulating creationism to have a scientific face, but I dont hate them.

At the end of the day we, like all people just want to have the truth heard. Our truth is that the Universe is a logically consistent and explainable phenomenon and that Theism is not logically consistent. I dont want theists to disappear, they are my brothers and sisters. Rather, I want to persuade them that what they tell their children, and themselves, is not true. Hopefully, they will gain from it, not us.

41. A moral test for true believers, Rudd style

Comment #189171 by acs on June 5, 2008 at 3:56 pm

Australia, my home country, is one of the youngest countries on the planet. It only formed from the "colonies" in 1901. Our "founding fathers" (Griffith, Deakin, Barton) took principles from both the USA and Great Britain when they were writing the constitution.

Furthermore, our country experiences one of the highest leves of living standard and education around the world.

Nonetheless, our Prime Minister is a "self confessed God Botherer". This is a little disconcerting as he is the left wing candidate. He won great support from the churches during the Kevin07 campaign on this basis.

Now he is in control of the purse strings, he wants to do the right thing and give aid to abortion facilities in under developed countries (remember Australia is the major power in the South Pacific, so all those little island states like Fiji, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Samoa, Papua New Guinea - come under our care). That is sensible given the problems that expanding populations can have on small underdeveloped nations.

Again, we are seeing theists exercise a disproportionate amount of power in politics. It is not Rudd's fault, it is my fellow country men who let the theists get away with this.

42. A New Step In Evolution

Comment #188894 by acs on June 4, 2008 at 11:58 pm

Righton

We can actually check for contamination by checking the genome of the E.Coli. Any plasmid contamination or viroid contamination would show a distinct gene splice in the code. We would be able to see that pretty clearly. Rather it would appear that the new 'genetic material' is throughout the E.Coli's genome, although, I note this is the next step for the study.

It also appears the mutation has been documented on several independent occasions, although I would prefer if the article had said this explicitly:-

To gauge the flukiness of the citrate-eaters, Blount and Lenski replayed evolution. They grew new populations from 12 time points in the 33,000-generations of pre-citrate-eating bacteria. They let the bacteria evolve for thousands of generations, monitoring them for any signs of citrate-eating. They then transferred the bacteria to Petri dishes with nothing but citrate to eat. All told, they tested 40 trillion cells. Here's a movie of what that looks like...

Out of that staggering hoard of bacteria, only a handful of citrate-eating mutants arose. None of the original ancestors or early predecessors gave rise to citrate-eaters; only later stages in the line could--mostly from 27,000 generations or beyond. Still, even among these later E. coli, the odds of evolving into a citrate-eater was staggeringly low, on the order of one-in-a-trillion.