Comments by SonOfPearl

Comment #110721 by SonOfPearl on January 12, 2008 at 7:01 am

I impatiently await Bill Gates' beatification.

Comment #102250 by SonOfPearl on December 22, 2007 at 7:36 am

Nonsense from start to finish from the Archbishop of Wales. Speaking as a Welsh person myself it's particularly depressing. He simply trots out the same hackneyed rubbish about 'militant atheism', 'Winterval' and 'virulent attacks' on faith. Yawn.

3. Atheism's Wrong Turn

Comment #93214 by SonOfPearl on December 2, 2007 at 12:40 pm

...today's atheists feel perfectly justified in dispensing with such moral luxuries as tolerance and civility.

Tolerance and civility are usually features of rational thinkers and often absent from religious believers BECAUSE of the appalling things their religion pushes them to do.

Religion has NEVER had tolerance or civility...the 'new atheists' are a fine contrast to that.

4. Getting Overheated

Comment #89377 by SonOfPearl on November 20, 2007 at 1:33 pm

Stephen Fry's blog can be found at:

http://stephenfry.com/blog/

Wonderfully witty and erudite!

5. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #83848 by SonOfPearl on October 31, 2007 at 1:09 pm

I don't comment much on articles here, but this one deserves a comment simply to say that it is outstanding!

6. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. were atheists, and they were terrible! Answer that!

Comment #82647 by SonOfPearl on October 27, 2007 at 4:34 am

Many answers here are excellent, but the sort of person that poses this question will not be impressed by them. I think a much simpler approach and language may be more effective:

So what? Whether or not they are atheists is beside the point. They were dictators who did a lot of very cruel things. A lot of cruel things have been done - and still are done - in the name of Christianity, Islam etc.

There are also lots of good and kind people who believe in a Deity, and good and kind people who don't.

Having religious faith or not says nothing about how 'good' or 'bad' you are.

7. Floods are judgment on society, say bishops

Comment #53728 by SonOfPearl on July 3, 2007 at 12:21 am

The saddest thing about the Bishop's views are that he (presumably) seriously believes them. They are so self-evidently nonsense ("God" punishing random people for the sins of others) that no rational person could hold them.

Which brings us back to "The God Delusion". Those caught in this delusion seem rational and capable of logical thought in most areas of their life, but are utterly deluded when it comes to belief in a "God".

The next time someone suggests that atheists should try to find common ground with 'moderate' religion, just remind them of this bishop's opinions.

8. Richard Dawkins and Alister McGrath

Comment #46494 by SonOfPearl on May 31, 2007 at 1:12 pm

I think this discussion captures nicely the reason why the title 'The God Delusion' is so apt.

McGrath is clearly an articulate and polite man who is capable of debating points with RD, but when he cannot find a way of answering a question he simply falls into a loop and starts repeating himself instead of openly facing the possibility that his belief in a god is mistaken. He is literally deluding himself. He cannot face the prospect that he is wrong and there is no god.

The question is whether he is aware of this self-delusion or has suppressed it so deeply that he is blissfully unaware. Religious belief is a powerful delusion indeed.

9. Is Christianity Good for the World?

Comment #39575 by SonOfPearl on May 11, 2007 at 7:28 am

Like many posters here I am an atheist and read this post hoping to hear some decent arguments from an articulate believer.

I cannot believe the response from Mr. Wilson. If these are seriously the best arguments that are forthcoming for religious belief it is truly amazing that anyone would be so imbecilic as to believe them.

I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson, but although I sincerely try to take your position and opinions seriously, your arguments are nonsense and have been answered many times before.

My morals come from my own sense of right and wrong - I do not need an imagined creator watching over me to make me behave morally under threat of damnation.

I choose to lead a good, moral life because I believe that is the way I will have a happy life.

WHY CAN'T YOU GET THAT???!!!

10. The Most Hated Family in America

Comment #29602 by SonOfPearl on April 3, 2007 at 2:37 pm

It's hard to imagine what better example you could have for religion screwing up people's minds, and for showing that indoctrinating children with religion is child abuse.

I watched the show as well and it was truly frightening how completely lacking in any compassion these people were.

11. A hundred residents of a Russian village have refused to switch to new passports because they believe the documents' bar codes contain satanic symbols

Comment #27526 by SonOfPearl on March 25, 2007 at 7:10 am

With stories like this, and many others reported on this site - how will we ever tell when a story is an April Fool tale other than the date it is published? Very sad indeed.

12. Why there are almost no genuine atheists

Comment #24567 by SonOfPearl on March 7, 2007 at 10:07 am

This article barely deserves a response, as it simply doesn't make any sense as many others have pointed out. How many times do we have to say it? - Atheism does not equal immorality!!!

13. Atheists Take On Religion

Comment #24219 by SonOfPearl on March 5, 2007 at 10:54 am

Quite remarkable and disturbing how the studio anchor managed to make the word 'atheist' sound like a filthy word. I can easily understand why not many American would want to label themselves as an atheist if this is typical of how the US media portrays them.

And as others have already said, the leading questions were priceless...

I've never seen (or heard) Sam Harris before and thought he came across very well in the few brief seconds he was allowed.

14. Was there ever dog that praised his fleas?

Comment #24040 by SonOfPearl on March 4, 2007 at 12:16 pm

Three books in response really does show how much impact The God Delusion has had. Good to know!

15. The return of God?

Comment #23851 by SonOfPearl on March 3, 2007 at 7:46 am

"Without God there can be no set of moral values".

This sort of comment just makes my blood boil. I can accept that some people delude themselves (or are deluded by others) that the world was created by a god, but to say that anyone who doesn't share this misguided belief is immoral (or at least amoral) is simply not the case.

Morals are not the preserve of religions or indeed the religious believers who follow them. I'd rather follow my own moral compass by using my intelligence and reason than have a set of morality handed down to me from a religion - especially one that contains such palpable nonsense and immorality as the Bible.