1. The Giant Tortoise's Tale

Comment #133726 by z8000783 on February 26, 2008 at 3:49 pm

The Ancestors Tale is simply crying out to be the next major 13 part series for BBC2.

Someone here need to do something to move this forward.

2. Add another flea to the list...

Comment #132901 by z8000783 on February 25, 2008 at 11:44 am

So yet another book that will tell us that -
- Dawkins is shrill
- Dennett is high brow
- Harris is simplistic
- Hitchens is bombastic
- Belief is good for you and
- Not a single line taking on the challenge that the God of their beliefs is actually real

After McGrath's load of shit I am not wasting my dosh on these anymore but I would be interested to know how far off the truth I might be.

John

3. DLD08 - Life: a gene-centric view

Comment #130340 by z8000783 on February 20, 2008 at 11:08 am

Is there a problem with the feed or is it me?

John

4. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #127467 by z8000783 on February 15, 2008 at 10:23 am

Richard gets better and better.

This was pathetic.

John

5. The New Atheists on Organized Freethought

Comment #82023 by z8000783 on October 25, 2007 at 2:47 pm

No, you're spot on, Amanda Marie.

6. AAI Convention webcam

Comment #73963 by z8000783 on September 26, 2007 at 11:55 pm

However the term [Jihad] carries so much baggage with it I'm not sure that it's something anyone would want to be associated with now even if the objective was a rational one.

Look at the trouble Bush stepped into when he used the word crusade which in fact described his objective at the time very well I thought.

John

7. I'm gonna be a MOVIE STAR

Comment #65423 by z8000783 on August 24, 2007 at 6:12 am

LOL

A Freudian slip is when you say one thing and mean your mother.

John

8. I'm gonna be a MOVIE STAR

Comment #65372 by z8000783 on August 24, 2007 at 12:13 am

I had a great deal of respect for PZ Myers before I saw this.

It completely baffles me how an atheist can have any sort of desire for green M&Ms let alone a bowel full.

He will need to do a fair bit of work to build trust with me again but buying, eating and liking Peanut M&Ms would be a start.

John

9. Christopher Hitchens and Al Sharpton

Comment #53356 by z8000783 on July 1, 2007 at 1:36 am

Oh dear... where are Sam and Richard when you need them.

They would have made mincemeat of the Rev.

John

10. Dawkins at the Hay Festival

Comment #45976 by z8000783 on May 29, 2007 at 11:34 pm

Interesting, that's not how I heard it.

To me he was making space between the 'dictionary' definition of believing something which is wrong and the more colloquial use of deluded as insane.

I know Wikipedia should be taken as definitive but it gets it about right I think

"A delusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. In psychiatry, the definition is necessarily more precise and implies that the belief is pathological (the result of an illness or illness process)."

John

11. Dogma

Comment #40536 by z8000783 on May 14, 2007 at 12:33 pm

Stop being so pompous.

These videos are straightforward, well made and clarify what could be a complex or contentious issues with humour that can be understood by anyone. They are in very good company on this site and may hold their heads proudly. Well done Brian for an excellent pieces of work.

This is important stuff not turgid philosophy for ancient institutions.

It is vital that we not only understand the arguments but we must marshal them in a coherent way that people will be convinced by if we are to make progress with reason and critical thinking. After all the other side has very much more support and vast sums of money that we will have no match for.

John

12. Does God Exist? The Nightline Face-Off

Comment #39799 by z8000783 on May 12, 2007 at 12:52 am

Does anyone have a link to the unedited video?

Thanks

John

13. 4 Sermon for Matins: 'Dawkins and The God Delusion'

Comment #37945 by z8000783 on May 6, 2007 at 11:23 am

I must say there is a bit of me that admires the points previous posters have managed to pull out and discuss from this insipid load of bollocks and yes I did read it all.

Having said that here's my bit. Shakespeare is the very LAST source I would go to if I wanted to learn about the human condition. He was a playwright. I love the theatre but I do not go there to acquire factual information. He was not an historian. Shakespeare lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First who's grandfather, Henry Tudor took the English crown from Richard Plantagenet. So of course you are going to get an objective summary of what went on during the wars of the Roses from him. Yea right.

You may as well take you understanding of the human condition from the Godfather, parts I, II and III. It might be more relevant.

It seems to me now reading these type of so called head to head's is that the only argument put forward is either philosophical or epistemological, no one wants to deal with the issues RD raises face on. Dawkins doesn't deal with this, Dawkins is too hard on that, Dawkins doesn't understand so and so. Whenever I hear the comment "He doesn't understand…" it usually means they understand only to well.

There was a lovely moment when Christopher Hitchens challenged his fellow panellist who had the audacity to put something called a "Mild belief" forward. He rounded on them wonderfully and said the God made the earth in seven days or he didn't, evolution is the explanation for life or it isn't. You can't have half a belief. Great stuff. Pin these tossers to the wall and then bang in few more nails, metaphorically of course.

John

14. The God disunion: there is a place for faith in science, insists Winston

Comment #34704 by z8000783 on April 25, 2007 at 1:01 am

Yet another flea jumps onto the dog.

Hey ho

John

15. Pope says science too narrow to explain creation

Comment #31306 by z8000783 on April 12, 2007 at 1:35 am

It seems to me that the church has spent it's whole history on the back foot and has no intention of moving away from that position.

Good news for us. All we need to do is keep bowling googlies.

John

16. Then Call it God

Comment #30811 by z8000783 on April 10, 2007 at 12:58 am

"Ladies and Gentlemen,
Don't encourage Richard; he may start to believe many of you posters sycophantic adulations of him and declare himself the diety you all want him to be."

Now, now, just because you need your deity doesn't mean we all do.

Nice review by the way.

John

17. Fossils: The Devil's Handiwork

Comment #22241 by z8000783 on February 13, 2007 at 4:48 pm

Great stuff

Another genius -

http://www.werewolves.org/~two/Rants/2rant-Intelligent_Design.mp3