1. Church is paying a high price for its celibacy rule

Comment #132823 by mikeshin on February 25, 2008 at 8:40 am

We have grammar and spelling police here, where are the math police....

"the number of priests will halve from 4,752 to 1,500"

4.752/2 = 2376 perhaps it is meant to read 2,500

BTW here in Western NY the Catholic diocese is closing a bunch of churches in the city...Yeah! too bad about the new MEGA churches being built in the suburbs though...Two steps forward, one back

2. Math Religion Trouble

Comment #117029 by mikeshin on January 28, 2008 at 5:53 am

1/243 = 0.004115226337448559...

therefore god exists

3. Moderates Storm The Religious Battlefield

Comment #106541 by mikeshin on January 3, 2008 at 5:44 am

Maybe the debate over what to call ourselves is over, we are Wackos...

Of course I can't be certain.

4. Bad Faith Awards: Vote for the winner now

Comment #94639 by mikeshin on December 6, 2007 at 6:11 am

I Don't understand why Professor Dawkins is on here. Am I missing the joke?

This New Humanist poll shows that the majority of readers feel that Dawkins and Hitchens are good for 'the cause'.

http://blog.newhumanist.org.uk/2007/10/our-survey-says.html

5. Mitt the Mormon

Comment #91349 by mikeshin on November 28, 2007 at 5:38 am

Indidel Guy has a great podcast in which he interviews a former Mormon. Gives a good picture of why we do not want them in government anywhere, ever.

http://infidelguy.libsyn.com/

6. American kids, dumber than dirt: Warning: The next generation might just be the biggest pile of idiots in U.S. history

Comment #81760 by mikeshin on October 25, 2007 at 6:22 am

Overall an alarmist article but many good points. Especially about mandatory testing. "....of the 182 school days in a year, there are 110 when such testing is going on somewhere at Oakland High"

The system is flawed (at least in public school) in the US. My son has to endure constant 'training' to take tests. It is not really education anymore it is a system where the schools are forced to make as many kids as possible pass standardized tests. My son is exceptionally bright and has to endure continuous exercises in math that are beneath his abilities simply because a statewide math assessment is coming up and the majority of the class is having difficulty. When it is time for a reading assessment, math will be largely ignored and they will endure reading exercises, all to make the school look good. 'No child left behind' is going to ruin this country....

7. Charles Brooker's screen burn

Comment #63104 by mikeshin on August 13, 2007 at 5:55 am

I love this line:

"If you've ever described yourself as "quite spiritual", do civilisation a favour and punch yourself in the throat until you're incapable of speaking aloud ever again."

8. The New Atheists

Comment #49713 by mikeshin on June 13, 2007 at 5:46 am

Excellent article but I am getting a little frustrated when I keep seeing lines such as this one: "Living without God means turning toward something." No, it doesn't. Perhaps for someone who has been religious for a long time there may be a period of grieving or separation anxiety where they may turn to 'something' but some of us have never had a god.

I have never had a 'god' in my life and yet I have no hole or void to fill and I have not had to 'turn' to anything. I just live my life, pretty successfully too!

9. What I Think About Evolution

Comment #46719 by mikeshin on June 1, 2007 at 9:04 am

In a couple forum threads here, the subject of 'Is it really that bad in the US?' comes up frequently.

See, it is!!! This very ignorant man is a senator running for President.

10. Supporters of abortion have no future in Church, Pope tells faithful

Comment #39216 by mikeshin on May 10, 2007 at 7:25 am

Great comments Bayle!

11. Massive explosion is brightest-ever supernova

Comment #38747 by mikeshin on May 9, 2007 at 5:22 am

"The resulting stellar light show, which began late in 2006, lasted 70 days."

Isn't it more appropriate to say it began 'about' 240 million years and 70 days ago, since that is when it actually happened. We are just now catching the show.

12. Mozart doesn't make you clever

Comment #32451 by mikeshin on April 17, 2007 at 5:30 am

I remember in the 90's after that first study came out, there was a trend here where pregnant women were putting their walkman headphones on their bellies and playing classical music for their unborn babies to help give them a brain boost. Very funny!

Logicel is right, actively learning to play music and practicing absolutely will stimulate brain activity more than passive listening. I am sure that the future studies will determine that while it may not increase IQ which is probably genetic, it is likely to make one more capable of using their brain effectively.

Yorker, Beethoven is awesome, his piano sonatas got me through college and keep me sane.

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

Comment #28414 by mikeshin on March 29, 2007 at 5:35 am

Even if there is a 'religious gene' and it is in all of us, god is still imaginary. Of course I am sure I don't have this particular genetic defect.

14. Snake Oil and Holy Water

Comment #28131 by mikeshin on March 28, 2007 at 5:36 am

Dawkins wrote: "Ah," he smiled, "now we move beyond the realm of science. This is where I have to hand you over to our good friend, the chaplain." But why the chaplain? Why not the gardener or the chef?

I love those last two questions, perfect, right on the money!

15. UK Christians 'suffer for faith'

Comment #26447 by mikeshin on March 19, 2007 at 11:15 am

Check out www.jesusandmo.net

16. When the ain'ts go marching in

Comment #25449 by mikeshin on March 13, 2007 at 7:11 am

One way to help support CFI is to subscribe to their magazines. Free Inquiry and Skeptical Inquirer. If you subscribe to both bi-monthly publications you get one per month. I wish it was more frequent, they are excellent.

Prof. Dawkins is a frequent contributor to Free Inquiry.

17. Do stop behaving as if you are God, Professor Dawkins

Comment #21045 by mikeshin on February 7, 2007 at 11:57 am

Someone in the forums here convinced me that I should read Dawkins' God, by McGrath. After reading that article I am not so sure I should bother. The book is still waiting in my shopping cart at Amazon.com. Would anyone recommend that I give it a try? I like to read dissenting opinions but like most people have a limited budget!

18. Believing In Things Unseen Is Not Delusion

Comment #21039 by mikeshin on February 7, 2007 at 11:14 am

To steal a term from Big Heathen Mike, what an 'asshat'. He starts off telling us he's not deluded then successfully demonstrates that he most certainly is and apparently damn proud of it!

Also, if he has doubt, then he is admitting to a lack of proof. There simply would be no need to discuss the issue if there were any proof. It would be taken for granted by all living things that there is a god or gods or goddesses or whatever. It would be obvious to all and most of all it would be a consistent truth instead of any one of up 2,500 possible varieties of belief . Of course the real ploy here is to get sympathetic readers on his side since anyone with a brain, no matter how faithful they claim to be, will have some doubt. He is giving the doubters (most people) a line to hook on and then he leads them his way by saying it is ok to have doubt, just keep on having your Faith. To the faithful, doubt is ok, just don't let it get out of hand. I agree, doubt IS good. It is a vital seed that if properly nurtured could grow into a full blown cure of the mind virus.

I like how he weaves together his love of history and the bible. thereby attributing the bible with an air that it is good and accurate history. That's just plain funny!

Finally, the arrogance that shines through whenever a believer opens their mouth on the subject of belief and god is astounding and this writer has a preponderance of it. We atheists are always called arrogant, told that we think we have 'all the answers' yet I have not ever met one who claimed to have all the answers, most of us try to fall silent on any subject about which we have little or no knowledge. We prefer instead to educate ourselves by listening to others, reading, going to school and above all else questioning everything.

19. If they preach the cause of the poor, they're my people

Comment #16002 by mikeshin on January 4, 2007 at 6:10 am

He wrote: "More likely, it is the overly rationalist view of some on the left that fuels their distaste for anything vaguely spiritual"

Can a person be overly rational? How is that possible? Rational thought is the best way to the truth. We skeptics are constantly checking ourselves to be sure we are acting and thinking in a rational manner hoping to find truth. I do not see how it is possible to go over board on reason and rationality.

Most people are obviously not rational enough!