1. The God Delusion's cameo in season premiere of 'Family Guy'

Comment #257416 by posiedon on September 30, 2008 at 11:56 am

Quine
You can watch the episode at

2. Discussion between Richard Dawkins and Clive James

Comment #248524 by posiedon on September 16, 2008 at 11:35 am

Off topic.
Our old friend the wee flea had a letter in the Independent today.

Whether creationism should be taught or even mentioned in school science lessons is one issue. But Archie Bland sets out a black and white division between evolutionists and creationists who believe in a 10,000-year-old Earth. He lumps proponents of intelligent design in with the young-Earth creationists. Anyone who has read any of the material will realise how false this analysis is.

The majority of creationists in Britain (that is, those who believe that God created) are either theistic evolutionists, or old-Earth creationists. Young-Earth creationism is a relatively new phenomenon, largely imported from the US. It suits both the atheist fundamentalists who want to hijack science as proof there is no God, and the religious fundamentalists, who want to hijack science to prove that there is a God, to make such a simplistic black and white division.

David A Robertson

Author, 'The Dawkins Letters', Dundee

3. Ancient trees recorded in mines

Comment #245174 by posiedon on September 10, 2008 at 11:06 am

chuckgoecke
Posiedon, If those branches were near the bottom of the section of peat, they might be about 10000 years old, dating back to when the glaciers melted away from Scotland. Eight feet of peat in 10000 yeas is probably a fairly average rate of accumulation.

4. Ancient trees recorded in mines

Comment #244827 by posiedon on September 9, 2008 at 1:54 pm

I took a walk up in the hills here in Shetland, around four years ago after prolonged torrential rain, and several landslides.
The burn/stream at the top of the hill had carved out an eight feet deep trench in the peat, near the bottom of this trench I found perfectly preserved branches of silver birch, preserved until touched, at which point they simply disintegrated.
I wonder how long it took for nature to form eight feet of peat above them, there are very few trees in Shetland today, and I think this has been the case for many hundreds of years.

5. What Binti Jua Knew

Comment #235756 by posiedon on August 23, 2008 at 1:51 pm

Cartomancer.
Is cruelty to animals a lucrative business in Spain?

6. On TV: The Genius of Charles Darwin: Presented by Richard Dawkins

Comment #224337 by posiedon on August 4, 2008 at 1:28 pm

I was disappointed that non of the students seemed to have a change of heart after the sequence on the beach.

7. Court Claim: Chimps Are People, Too

Comment #191041 by posiedon on June 10, 2008 at 6:34 am

Chimpanzees are more human than some of the homo sapiens I know.
Good luck to Mathew and Paula Stibbe.

8. Regime change in heaven

Comment #191037 by posiedon on June 10, 2008 at 6:29 am

He he, that's fairly cheered up a wet and windy Tuesday.
Thanks:-)

9. Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens

Comment #180233 by posiedon on May 14, 2008 at 12:18 pm

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said.

Oh dear, he sliped up in the first paragraph.
*Life developed* Thanks Rev :)

10. Protests no concern for outspoken atheist

Comment #156985 by posiedon on April 8, 2008 at 1:07 pm

I haven't read all 99 posts so if this video has already been posted I apologize.
http://www.library.uhi.ac.uk/dawkins/index.html

11. Upside-down church sculpture on hit list

Comment #155110 by posiedon on April 4, 2008 at 7:18 am

Don't they have gales there? If it was in a park in Shetland it would have been matchwood within weeks.
And yes, it is an eyesore.

12. A New Pope

Comment #140201 by posiedon on March 7, 2008 at 3:42 am

Good news â€" it's not a hack at all. Those clever Irish atheists merely beat the Irish Catholics to their domain name…so it should be up indefinitely.

13. Christopher Hitchens Debates Timothy Jackson

Comment #123156 by posiedon on February 6, 2008 at 2:17 pm

I saw one of my own dogs knocked down and killed by a car (bitch on heat in the neighborhood not my fault) (And not the one in my avatar) But I didn't find god! How sad is that?
Another excellent performance from Christopher, thank you.

14. Documents detail church coverup

Comment #121156 by posiedon on February 3, 2008 at 3:12 am

The archdiocese said this week that it faced a $3 million deficit in the current fiscal year and that further cases could push it toward bankruptcy.

15. Dinesh D'Souza: Winner of the 2007 Bad Faith Award

Comment #112416 by posiedon on January 17, 2008 at 3:59 am

There's a good article in today's Independant re Scientology and Tom Cruise.

Millions of people around the world, it is said, have this week watched a nine-minute video of the Hollywood actor Tom Cruise enthusing wildly about his faith in Scientology. Cruise and his co-believers keep lobbying internet bosses to remove it, but as fast as it goes down it is gleefully uploaded by one user after another.

16. Huckabee Wants A 'Faith-based' Constitution

Comment #112118 by posiedon on January 16, 2008 at 11:03 am

There was a 5 minute video on the Guardian website today.

The Guardian's Gary Younge is in the most Republican county in South Carolina looking at the role of religion in the election. He finds out devout Christians have already decided who they're going to vote for

Here's the link to the video.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/video/2008/jan/14/pickens.religion

17. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #111609 by posiedon on January 15, 2008 at 6:31 am

Mr Scales, you are an inspiration to us all, wishing you a full and speedy recovery from the top of the UK.
Alan, Shetland.

18. New attempt to end blasphemy law

Comment #110879 by posiedon on January 13, 2008 at 6:19 am

Doesn't the blasphemy law go against the European bill of human rights? And as such MUST go.
Also as has been said on these boards before, "blasphemy is a victimless crime"

Off topic, an interesting article here by the "wee flea"
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland?articleid=3667427#2368648
[Wee Free maverick wants to ditch 'doom and gloom' image]

19. Did mozzies, not a meteor, do for the dinosaurs?

Comment #108677 by posiedon on January 7, 2008 at 12:11 pm

It amazes me that anyone on this forum would read the Daily Mail, much less take it seriously enough to post a link.
Whatever next? Articles from the Sun?

20. US 'doomed' if creationist president elected: scientists

Comment #108665 by posiedon on January 7, 2008 at 12:00 pm

Annabanana.
I've already said this, but I'll say it again. If one of the a-holes gets elected, I'm moving to Europe.

21. 2 fleas for the Christmas week

Comment #103171 by posiedon on December 24, 2007 at 11:43 am

Paula Kirby.
I'd like an "Atheist" pullover too. Or sweatshirt. Just not a t-shirt. Do you have any idea how often it's warm enough to wear a short-sleeved t-shirt in the north of Scotland?!?!

Ra-men to that!

22. Most ancient case of tuberculosis found in 500,000-year-old human; points to modern health issues

Comment #95763 by posiedon on December 9, 2007 at 6:53 am

Luis_Cayetano
Does it seem too much to hope that the interludes of reason will rid them of their iron age mentality?

23. Most ancient case of tuberculosis found in 500,000-year-old human; points to modern health issues

Comment #95462 by posiedon on December 8, 2007 at 11:57 am

It doesn't look good for the Muslims in their head to toe Jedi dress, maybe nature will rid us of them and their iron age mentality.

24. Keith Olbermann talks about the Romney 'Religion' Speech

Comment #95458 by posiedon on December 8, 2007 at 11:49 am

Not only do I feel sorry for you guys (and of course gals) on the other side of the Atlantic, I worry for the whole of humanity, that you have assholes like this running to be president of the most powerful nation on earth.
It really does beggar belief.
The "religion of secularism" WTF!

25. Mitt the Mormon

Comment #91337 by posiedon on November 28, 2007 at 4:46 am

jeroen
There's a nice picture here.
http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_garments.html

26. Prejudicial concerns

Comment #80906 by posiedon on October 23, 2007 at 12:36 pm

I posted this comment to the article at the Guardian website.

I wonder if Andrew McClintock would feel he
couldn't sit on a case if it involved, a farmer growing two different crops in the same field, any member of the public who chose to wear clothes made of mixed fibres, or any member of the public up on a blasphemy charge (a victimless crime).
It irritates me that the "religious" can ignore most of the nonsense written in the buy-bull, but not for some strange reason when it comes to sexuality, they cling on to this homophobic religious bullshit like a drowning man would cling to a piece of driftwood. I wonder why that is?

27. The God of the Bible is No Delusion!

Comment #77754 by posiedon on October 10, 2007 at 11:54 am

Mark Taunton
according to Mark, 15:25 Jesus was crucified at 3pm on Friday, according to Matthew, 28 he was already risen by dawn on Sunday. That's one and a half days and two nights.
So tell us....... what kind of mental gymnastics do you use to square this "prophecy"?

.Matthew 12:40
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth

28. Norway flourishes as secular nation

Comment #76578 by posiedon on October 6, 2007 at 11:00 am

scotishgeologist,

Aberdeen must be one of the most secular, least religious cities in the UK.

29. Teacher: I was fired, said Bible isn't literal

Comment #73567 by posiedon on September 25, 2007 at 9:58 am

Major Bloodnok

Well, I don't know about the others, but I'd love to see some answers to the questions raised in that letter. Do you fancy giving it a go?

30. New Rules: A Religious Test

Comment #72699 by posiedon on September 22, 2007 at 10:49 am

When I fill in a form that says "religion" with a blank box beside it, I write in the box "No thanks".

31. Review of Darwin's Angel: An Angelic Response to the God Delusion

Comment #67010 by posiedon on September 1, 2007 at 10:25 am

This woman is supposed to be a professional writer? After reading this, right at the start of the article, (my bold)

The seraph begins by politely nailing Dawkins's first sleight of hand which, as loads of people have now pointed out, dishonestly bundles all religious belief and practice into one crude bag that supposedly equals fanaticism.

32. Democratic Candidates on a Personal God

Comment #64427 by posiedon on August 20, 2007 at 3:45 am

Ridelo, It's maybe no bad thing that you can't play the video.
Watching it is enough to make you weep.

33. India's Internal Partition

Comment #63652 by posiedon on August 15, 2007 at 8:13 am

Despite their shared culture, cuisine and love for the game of cricket,

34. Atheist 'Metaphysics' and Religious Equivocation

Comment #62052 by posiedon on August 8, 2007 at 3:10 am

BAEOZ. It reminds me of the discussion I had with WeeFlea last week. The lying flea claimed knowledge of things he couldn't possibly know.

35. Red Mosque Fueled Islamic Fire in Young Women

Comment #58556 by posiedon on July 25, 2007 at 7:23 am

Sounds like a good religion to me Quetzalcoatl, sign me up.
Do I need to dress a certain way? How many times a day must I pay homage?

36. Richard Dawkins on Hardtalk

Comment #58341 by posiedon on July 24, 2007 at 2:35 pm

Sorry deviljelly, I couldn't watch your link, buffering every 5 or 6 seconds.

37. God '08: Whose, and How Much, Will Voters Accept?

Comment #58101 by posiedon on July 23, 2007 at 1:23 pm

The vast majority of Americans at this point, said Mr. Green, care less about sectarian affiliation, at least among members of faiths that are now perceived to be part of the American mainstream — Protestants, Catholics and most recently Jews — and more generally about whether the candidate believes in God and how that lends itself to a moral framework.

38. His word: Attacking religion can seem like breaking a butterfly on a wheel

Comment #51575 by posiedon on June 23, 2007 at 12:40 pm

Just when you're enjoying yourself, up pops wee free, wee flea, David bloody Robertson.
He has more nuisance value than a Scottish midge.
Here's a little ditty for you pastor, I'm sure you'll know the tune.

And here's to you, David Robertson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, David Robertson
Heaven holds a place for those who pay
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files
We'd like to help you learn to help yourself
Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the threads until you feel at home

And here's to you, David Robertson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, David Robertson
Heaven holds a place for those who pay
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Hide your buy-bull in a place place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes
It's a little secret, just the Robertsons affair
Most of all, you've got to hide it from the kids

Coo, coo, ca-choo, David Robertson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, David Robertson
Heaven holds a place for those who pay
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidate's debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose

Where have you gone, David Robertson?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
What's that you say? David Robertson
jeebus christ has left and gone away
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

39. Why the Gods Are Not Winning

Comment #50171 by posiedon on June 15, 2007 at 12:55 pm

Just when you're enjoying yourself, up pops wee free, wee flea, David bloody Robertson.
He has more nuisance value than a Scottish midge.
Here's a little ditty for you pastor, I'm sure you'll know the tune.

And here's to you, David Robertson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, David Robertson
Heaven holds a place for those who pay
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files
We'd like to help you learn to help yourself
Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the threads until you feel at home

And here's to you, David Robertson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, David Robertson
Heaven holds a place for those who pay
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Hide your buy-bull in a place place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes
It's a little secret, just the Robertsons affair
Most of all, you've got to hide it from the kids

Coo, coo, ca-choo, David Robertson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, David Robertson
Heaven holds a place for those who pay
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidate's debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose

Where have you gone, David Robertson?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
What's that you say? David Robertson
jeebus christ has left and gone away
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

40. How dare you call me a fundamentalist

Comment #49734 by posiedon on June 13, 2007 at 7:20 am

Ode to a simpleton

And here's to you, David Robertson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, David Robertson
Heaven holds a place for those who pay
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files
We'd like to help you learn to help yourself
Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the threads until you feel at home

And here's to you, David Robertson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, David Robertson
Heaven holds a place for those who pay
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Hide your buy-bull in a place place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes
It's a little secret, just the Robertsons affair
Most of all, you've got to hide it from the kids

Coo, coo, ca-choo, David Robertson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, David Robertson
Heaven holds a place for those who pay
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidate's debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose

Where have you gone, David Robertson?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
What's that you say? David Robertson
jeebus christ has left and gone away
(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

41. Man to die over insult

Comment #47176 by posiedon on June 3, 2007 at 10:30 am

Blasphemy is a victim-less crime.

42. Tales of Hay-on-Wye

Comment #45809 by posiedon on May 29, 2007 at 10:34 am

"wherever our notions of morality come from, it's not the Bible, or we'd still be stoning people for picking up sticks on the Sabbath?"

43. Christian sports workers degree ridiculed

Comment #44809 by posiedon on May 25, 2007 at 10:27 am

epeeist.
I wonder what Jonathon Edwards would think about it?

44. Lightning damages Jesus statue

Comment #44493 by posiedon on May 25, 2007 at 1:53 am

Comment #44408 by Roy_H on May 24, 2007 at 2:44 pm
I heard a strange story ( I am told it is true but to me it sounds straight out of "Father Ted" actually)
A vicarage got stuck by lightening but the insurance company would not pay up because they said "It was an act of God"

45. Lightning damages Jesus statue

Comment #44491 by posiedon on May 25, 2007 at 1:36 am

Comment #44408 by Roy_H on May 24, 2007 at 2:44 pm
I heard a strange story ( I am told it is true but to me it sounds straight out of "Father Ted" actually)
A vicarage got stuck by lightening but the insurance company would not pay up because they said "It was an act of God"

46. Lightning damages Jesus statue

Comment #44399 by posiedon on May 24, 2007 at 1:56 pm

Don't look for any religious symbolism here - it was only a freak act of Mother Nature, says Sister Ilaria.

The nuns at Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden were thanking God on Sunday that no one was hurt when a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky and struck their 33-foot statue of Jesus.

47. Dental healer finds share of faithful believers

Comment #43932 by posiedon on May 23, 2007 at 4:20 am

"I have seen some things that would make science realize that there is a creator," Jones told the crowd, his half-tenor, half-baritone voice now so loud that the speakers distort it. "Especially when you watch teeth move in slow motion and straighten; especially when you see God create things that wasn't."

48. Shark virgin birth mystery is solved

Comment #43915 by posiedon on May 23, 2007 at 3:59 am

Fancy having to go through the pain and trauma of childbirth, without enjoying the sex first!!

49. Despite what the scholars say, God isn't dead yet

Comment #43907 by posiedon on May 23, 2007 at 3:51 am

If Germany in 1933 had been invaded by people in prayer singing "Praise Jesus" instead of Nazis in jackboots it would not have presided over the worst mass killing in history.

50. Mysteries to Behold in the Dark Down Deep: Seadevils and Species Unknown

Comment #43747 by posiedon on May 22, 2007 at 12:17 pm

Craig M. Young of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology writes in the book that the diversity of life in the abyss "may exceed that of the Amazon Rain Forest and the Great Barrier Reef combined."