1. Poll: Should the motto 'In God We Trust' be removed from U.S. currency?

Comment #230157 by David J on August 14, 2008 at 11:28 am

All great comments. The 1950s thing was new to me. But it makes perfect sense given the "galvanization" of American "patriotism."

I say remove it just to fuck with the theist zealots.

And from now on, I'm writing "FSM" over "god" on all my bills.

2. Vicar supports Life of Brian ban

Comment #223021 by David J on August 1, 2008 at 9:20 am

Freedom of expression. What a moron.

3. Religions thrived to protect against disease

Comment #221814 by David J on July 30, 2008 at 7:00 am

Oh great, another correlation = causation argument.

I happen to think that religion is a disease, and that it thrives upon human minds just like a virus thrives among its hosts. So there!

4. Obama Should Re-Think His Faith-Based Agenda

Comment #220549 by David J on July 28, 2008 at 2:56 pm

I'm not sure which is worse: a state-endorsed redistribution of goods, or a church-based one... Pick your poison I guess.

5. Obama Should Re-Think His Faith-Based Agenda

Comment #220513 by David J on July 28, 2008 at 2:16 pm

The masses love lame analogies, and Obama as a politician has utilized them to his advantage.

I suspect in January, assuming he wins, a lot of this rhetoric he's been spewing to attract the swing voters will cease and he'll return to the liberal he once was.

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

6. Toward a Type 1 civilization

Comment #218635 by David J on July 25, 2008 at 2:54 pm

Ah, #1, the laissez-faire libertarian utopia. Where do I sign up?

7. Red hot enlightenment led me to believe in one fewer god

Comment #218609 by David J on July 25, 2008 at 2:44 pm

Gay meaning "happy," right? :)

8. Red hot enlightenment led me to believe in one fewer god

Comment #218559 by David J on July 25, 2008 at 2:17 pm

Oystein, yours is my favorite avatar. Awesome.

9. Red hot enlightenment led me to believe in one fewer god

Comment #218554 by David J on July 25, 2008 at 2:11 pm

Drescher is hot, airbrushed or not. I'd tap that shit!

Just so long as she doesn't talk in that voice of hers. Yikes.

10. Red hot enlightenment led me to believe in one fewer god

Comment #217718 by David J on July 24, 2008 at 2:55 pm

goobeast (#3): Christian rock is an abomination

It's not even good instrumentally, and that's saying something because it's the instrument that drives most of the appeal to rock music (with exceptions, of course). "God rocks" is the stupidest thing I've ever read. I also hear people say "You go, god!"

Christ on a bike - I can't stand new-age-y teenage godists.

11. How Anecdotal Evidence Can Undermine Scientific Results

Comment #217390 by David J on July 24, 2008 at 10:07 am

I'm not vaccinated and neither are my kids, and I'm healthy as a horse. Go figure.

That's because Jesus is my health insurance! LOLOL

12. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216892 by David J on July 23, 2008 at 3:52 pm

al-rawandi you're always busting me up, man. I do have a computer job! LOL

13. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216882 by David J on July 23, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Holy crap, I step away for two hours to finish a project and I come back to this! Am I the only one with a job around here? :)

14. Islam subway ads cause stir in New York

Comment #216520 by David J on July 23, 2008 at 9:06 am

Hey, I was in ministry before I became atheist (and have a MA from seminary), and posters don't do shit. They'll be lucky, LUCKY, if they convert 1 person as a direct result from these posters.

I say let them spend - no, waste - their money on useless propaganda that will bring them zero ROI. It only (financially) burdens them that much more.

Assholes.

15. Losing Sight of Progress

Comment #215607 by David J on July 22, 2008 at 7:30 am

King of NH (#6 above): where did you read all that on dogs? I'm intrigued.

16. Surgeon General Nominee Dismisses Homosexuality Paper

Comment #215243 by David J on July 21, 2008 at 2:28 pm

CocoCantare,

#1. Welcome. Feels great, doesn't it?

#2. The difference between you and the Good Doctor's change in view on homosexuality is that the Good Doctor is now in politics. All American politicians have a single purpose - appear to unite the two sides without ticking off those of the faithful base by swinging too far to the other side.

17. Jefferson Bible reveals Founding Father's view of God, faith

Comment #215097 by David J on July 21, 2008 at 9:33 am

I suspect that many of these afore-mentioned deists would, by today's standards, describe themselves atheists. Perhaps for political reasons or because they didn't even know atheism existed, they didn't use the term to describe themselves. But it seems to me, that a god that doesn't do miracles and "hides in transcendence" and doesn't meddle with the world once having created it is just an 18th century way of saying "this religion thing is horseshit."

If there is a god (I'm a 6.9er), I like the one that Jefferson cooked up - a god that's not into religion. Awesome.

18. Texas State Board of Education approves Bible course for high schools

Comment #215053 by David J on July 21, 2008 at 8:19 am

Hey, whatever gets the kids in Texas reading is a good thing, right? LOL

Actually, I'm perturbed by this. If they want to have this, they should make it a release-time elective, not a requirement, and NOT on school property.

And why isn't church on Sunday enough for these kids? At least they're going to get graded on it. Will they be offering techniques in glossolalia?

19. Let's Get Rid of Darwinism

Comment #212446 by David J on July 17, 2008 at 8:21 am

Christopher, I was actually also thinking that if there was a non-mystical non-miraculous historical Jesus, what would he think? I know my avatar is crass, and I don't give a damn about Christianity, but if there was a man Jesus, I'd like to think that he would be quite surprised and pissed off with what people have done for and with his name and cause. But then again, he might react much like you say Muhammed would have reacted...

20. Let's Get Rid of Darwinism

Comment #212431 by David J on July 17, 2008 at 8:00 am

Ian, I was going to go there, but didn't. Yeah, they would flip out for sure.

21. Let's Get Rid of Darwinism

Comment #212429 by David J on July 17, 2008 at 7:56 am

One could probably bring back any "great thinker" from the past, show him/her his/her current movement, or what his/her movement has become, and said "great thinker" would cringe at the sight, find it unrecognizable, or want to make some immediate changes.

The truly amazing fact is that SO MUCH of what Darwin proposed, or even hypothesized, is still making the rounds, so to speak.

22. The Return of Religion

Comment #211820 by David J on July 16, 2008 at 10:18 am

Modern people are drawn to religion by their consciousness of consciousness, by their awareness of a light shining in the centre of their being.

WTF? I think most people are drawn to it because religion captures them when they're children, then, while in these delicate years, scares the shit out of them for even thinking - let alone attempting - to leave it for something else, even telling them that they're happier and better off for living with it to the point of self-deception.

23. MnIndy interview: Unrepentant science-heathen PZ Myers still intends to prove 'this cracker is nothing'

Comment #211168 by David J on July 15, 2008 at 2:38 pm

Cartomancer - well said.

These people are just picking a fight for the fight's sake. I say choose your battles wisely. Fighting over a goddamn cracker isn't choosing wisely.

24. MnIndy interview: Unrepentant science-heathen PZ Myers still intends to prove 'this cracker is nothing'

Comment #211084 by David J on July 15, 2008 at 1:42 pm

You could have the wafer carbon-dated to see if it really became Jesus' body from 2000 years ago. Or you could have it tested for Jesus' DNA. This reminds me of the magical Masonic underpants worn by the Mormons. They say it protects them from harm, but some guy on Youtube got a pair and shot them full of holes with his pistol. I say submit the wafer to scientific examination.

25. MnIndy interview: Unrepentant science-heathen PZ Myers still intends to prove 'this cracker is nothing'

Comment #211074 by David J on July 15, 2008 at 1:36 pm

Cheesy Crispy Christ Crackers?
Rice Crispy Christies?
Christ-its?
Christs Ahoy?

26. Dalai Lama defends Islam as peaceful religion

Comment #210949 by David J on July 15, 2008 at 9:27 am

Prolonged dental surgery, yes, but waterboarding, apparently not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LPubUCJv58

27. Dalai Lama defends Islam as peaceful religion

Comment #210933 by David J on July 15, 2008 at 9:13 am

Fanusi, I think Hitchens' article is ca. 10 years old. That's enough time for somebody to (unctuously) change his/her opinion on absolutism.

28. Dalai Lama defends Islam as peaceful religion

Comment #210868 by David J on July 15, 2008 at 7:21 am

al-rawandi, thanks - now I have to clean up my monitor and keyboard from spitting up Diet Coke all over it.

29. Dalai Lama defends Islam as peaceful religion

Comment #210861 by David J on July 15, 2008 at 6:56 am

I hope the Dalai Lama reincarnates as a Muslim. Fucker.

30. The Politics of God

Comment #210395 by David J on July 14, 2008 at 12:59 pm

So we're in the middle ages? Again?

31. Ants, terrorism, and the awesome power of memes

Comment #210321 by David J on July 14, 2008 at 8:56 am

Gynwer (#37), I have often felt the same thing when viewing talks at TED.com. It seems that yes, you can get your interest perked with some kernels here and there, but to get a full meal, one must buy the book, so to speak. Regardless, I like TED for at lest giving us the tidbits that it gives us, like the one posted here. At least it leaves me thinking on the way home.

Clearmind, I have to know - what is your native language? I can't quite pinpoint it, but I do notice your use (or lack thereof) of prepositions is off (quite common when crossing a linguistic barrier of any kind), but your verb conjugations and fragmented sentences I can't decode as Romantic, Semitic, East Asian, or any other. I'm not flaming you, I'm just interested (as a linguist).

32. Ants, terrorism, and the awesome power of memes

Comment #210285 by David J on July 14, 2008 at 8:00 am

Second you are killing me softly when you talk about coherence and intelligibility imagining you leaning to SOOOOO complicated evolution tree as an evolin

LOL! Oh, the irony!!! LOLOLOL

33. Ants, terrorism, and the awesome power of memes

Comment #210274 by David J on July 14, 2008 at 7:43 am

TED is a great website. I've seen Dan's work there before.

Clearmind, nice Engrish.

34. An Irishman's Diary

Comment #209043 by David J on July 11, 2008 at 2:25 pm

hopeful, why should language change be moderated? If the change facilitates the needs of its users to their advantage, why impede it? Moreover, how would you propose such moderation? I'm curious is all.

35. An Irishman's Diary

Comment #209011 by David J on July 11, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Roger (#7), indeed, the Judeo-Christian theists believe that the languages of the earth were confounded as a curse because the people of Babel (no pun intended) were trying to build a ziggurat that would "reach to heaven." I suspect since the Christianized notion of "heaven" was not such clear-cut concept to the original author of Genesis as most believers would like to think, that most theists get the passage wrong, and that the Hebrew word employed in the verse for "heaven" probably just means "sky" and not the ultimate hyper-cosmic abode of god(s).

Regardless, the vindictive, jealous, bully-of-a-god Yahweh rears his ugly head once again when the people do what they want but instead of randomly killing them with his super powers, he gives them all different languages, stands back, folds his arms, laughs, and says "Deal with that, puny underlings!"

36. Thousands Flock to Revival in Search of Miracles

Comment #208723 by David J on July 11, 2008 at 7:19 am

Can I get a "placebo" anyone???

37. Bisexual Species: Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom

Comment #208720 by David J on July 11, 2008 at 7:17 am

Animals don't do sexual identity. They just do sex.

Looks like many of us could learn a lot from the animal kingdom. Great article.

38. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #205538 by David J on July 7, 2008 at 12:34 pm

I'm sure when he wrote the book, his knowledge of biology (taxonomy, too) was simply "long, skinny, and lives in water - EEL!" Oh well.

Did he have any complex examples, perhaps from the upper mammal classifications?

39. The Boundaries of Belief

Comment #205480 by David J on July 7, 2008 at 10:51 am

Hey, I bet some of that are from religious people looking to bolster their own figures. They want to say that they're believing atheists in order to cause all kinds of rucous on websites like this one. But whatever - at least we're having fun with it!

Also, some of this might be from people who just want to run some poor vote tabulator up the wall. I did this on the 2000 census in the US. I told Big Brother that racially I am Iranian Eskimo Pictish just to drive some bureaucrat crazy (I'm actually white).

Who knows. Interesting results though.

40. Who Was More Important: Lincoln or Darwin?

Comment #203641 by David J on July 3, 2008 at 9:38 am

Maybe we should submit this debate to whowouldkickass.com?

Lincoln was a bastard. Read Tom DiLorenzo's book "The Real Lincoln" if you want the inside scoop.