501. Fleabytes
Comment #130697 by Richard Morgan on February 21, 2008 at 7:06 am
David Robertson
If you would like me to reply to Paula...Any takers?
502. Fleabytes
Comment #130684 by Richard Morgan on February 21, 2008 at 6:41 am
PJG :
It isn't the non-belief that is increased, you are right in saying that you can't "REALLY-not-believe" but I think you can become more aware of the strength of your own disbelief.
"I didn't believe before but now I can better understand and justify my non-belief."Thank you both for these explanations (and the other posters who have responded to my query.)
If religion loses followers in a secular society it will be because a) it is no longer being actively forced on children by the State and b) because former believers will have lost their belief. Not through force, not through coercion, not through oppression, not through extermination (it's embarrassing to even have to refute such patent nonsense), but through debate and explanation.I wonder to what extent "former believers lose their beliefs"..."through debate and explanation". I will continue to investigate that one.
..given that his book is most likely to be read by Christians who don't want to read TGD for themselves but want to know how to argue against it,You see, to be quite honest (something I do at least once a week) I value Paula's article for precisely the same reasons.
503. Fleabytes
Comment #130625 by Richard Morgan on February 21, 2008 at 3:17 am
my atheism has strengthened considerably as a result.
504. Why do we believe in God? 2m study prays for answer
Comment #129763 by Richard Morgan on February 19, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Comment #129458 by Tyler Durden
Because our parents told us to. Can I have my money now?For this one-generation answer, you have just earned 5p. Where should I send it it?
505. Machines 'to match man by 2029'
Comment #129035 by Richard Morgan on February 18, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Machines to match man by 2029.
506. Bill Moyers Interviews Susan Jacoby
Comment #129033 by Richard Morgan on February 18, 2008 at 2:16 pm
And we've heard it over and over in the primaries from candidates who supported the war and changed their minds. "We were lied to," they said. If we'd known then what we know now we wouldn't have done it. And they say to the public, "You were lied to."
507. Machines 'to match man by 2029'
Comment #128802 by Richard Morgan on February 18, 2008 at 1:59 am
Humans and machines would eventually merge
508. A match made on RichardDawkins.net?
Comment #128698 by Richard Morgan on February 17, 2008 at 5:00 pm
To end on a lighter note, we hope that our fellows on this site may recognise others with whom a strong connection might be made; let them unite and join that special RDF club founded by Veronique and Yorker, who found each other here and discovered the persistence of love.
509. A match made on RichardDawkins.net?
Comment #128692 by Richard Morgan on February 17, 2008 at 4:36 pm
They had in short, fallen in love.
............(...(`.-``'´´-.´)...)..........
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510. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?
Comment #128572 by Richard Morgan on February 17, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Juxta Monkey :
Jesus, you should see me walking down the hallways! It is one humorous sight. ;)
511. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?
Comment #128558 by Richard Morgan on February 17, 2008 at 11:36 am
Juxta Monkey :
BTW, I think I nust be misunderstanding the last bit about "mother tongue". English is my only language =)
185. Comment #101502 by Richard Morgan on December 20, 2007 at 12:59 pm
If you don't belong to the enemy camp, don't wear their uniform and don't perpetuate their rituals. If you ignore this advice, don't expect to be taken seriously - however lovely, innocent (and naïve) you may be.
Comment #101512 by annabanana on December 20, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Richard Morgan,
Thanks for the assumption that I am naive. I will take that as a compliment as I am young still, and am enjoying being so.
171. Comment #128391 by annabanana on February 16, 2008 at 10:29 pmPerhaps you just need to be a little humble on this one, and try to understand what is coming from you that provokes others to call you "naive".
It is sometimes frustrating when I feel that I try to make well thought-out, rational arguments and someone just retorts with "you're just naive". It's also something I've been battling my whole life, not just on the site.
Comment #126756 by annabanana on February 14, 2008 at 6:54 amI'm still waiting...
this site has come to represent quite an important aspect of my life at the moment.
I'll simply say...me too...I shall send you a pm later. :)
512. Ben Stein Wins Intelligent Design Money
Comment #128028 by Richard Morgan on February 15, 2008 at 10:07 pm
dkv
There is a possibility that all the religion bashers will get roasted in hell like insects...they will might get subjected to inhumane torture by the devil who will throw their half conscious body in boiling oil.I showed this to a very young nephew. He asked me which video game was being described and was a Gameboy version available.
513. Ben Stein Wins Intelligent Design Money
Comment #128019 by Richard Morgan on February 15, 2008 at 9:48 pm
82abhilash :
Americans are more smarter than the mainstream media gives them credit for.
514. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?
Comment #128000 by Richard Morgan on February 15, 2008 at 9:15 pm
JuxtaMonkey - you're going to have to be understanding with tooltroll - it's not always easy being green AND ugly.
You don't need to apologise to anybody about your English or your grammar. I wish I could express myself as well as you do in a language which is not my mother tongue.
Without being able to find the exact wikipedia reference, I can assure y'all that serious and thorough studies have shown that there are dumb people in every country on the earth. The bell curve is a constant.
Before criticising Americans (as if there were such a thing as "an" Amercian!) remember you're on a site dedicated to reason
515. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?
Comment #127996 by Richard Morgan on February 15, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Why does it worry me that for so many questions great and small, I get hyper-linked to wikipedia?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemony
Is it only because you guys think that I don't know how to use Google and Wikipedia? Or is this the "only way of knowing" for you?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desposyni
D'oh....
516. Ben Stein Wins Intelligent Design Money
Comment #127990 by Richard Morgan on February 15, 2008 at 8:43 pm
"Sexual desire, perhaps (only "perhaps", mind you) mixed with immorality, gave us rape and sexual abuse of children."
I'm beginning to think that Stein's reasoning is flawed...
517. Ben Stein Wins Intelligent Design Money
Comment #127972 by Richard Morgan on February 15, 2008 at 8:18 pm
dlitt :
the majority of Americans are going to flock to the theatre in search of something (mistakenly perceived as intellectual)I find this notion surprising but, in some ways encouraging, since I've just finished reading the thread "Dum and Dumber : Are Americans hostile to knowledge."
518. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting
Comment #127964 by Richard Morgan on February 15, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Teratornis :
Temporary alliances have proved useful throughout history.OK, I think I'm beginning to understand how you reason. But in spite of that I can easily imagine that you're a very nice person and you help old ladies to cross the road, and young ones to stay on the same side as you.
If we adopt the confused-narrator model of self, then hypocrisy begins to make some sense.
Speaking of fetishes, it would be easy to develop one for our own brainy, fun, flirty, and apparently hot annabanana.
Not that I could necessarily get it straight with book length.
519. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting
Comment #127087 by Richard Morgan on February 15, 2008 at 12:12 am
Teratornis
The self-conscious religious person certainly is not convinced that having a religion is as unambiguously good as having a billion dollars.I sense that you have made a rather unfortunate comparison here, where both propositions are somewhat questionable.
520. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting
Comment #127021 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Cartomancer : before you go any further (with your highly interesting exposition) I think the time has come for you to define your use of the words "appropriate" and "level". I suspect that when you do so, many of us will find that we are on common ground.
521. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting
Comment #127018 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;Doesn't exactly have the same ring about it in 2008 as it did in 1798...
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:--
We murder to dissect.
Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.
522. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting
Comment #126936 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Richard admits that he is "not trying to be a good politician".
What do you guys think about that?
Does it matter?
Do "we" need good politicians?
If so, are there any volunteers here?
(Diancanu and I would most certainly not be in the running!!!!)
523. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist
Comment #126934 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I agree with you, Steve Z. Sometimes we need to vote with our feet. Sometimes we must walk away from certain "debates".
524. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting
Comment #126929 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I am willing to believe that Madeline Bunting is a well-educated, cultivated, intelligent person. This means, then, that in the absence of any verifiable evidence (during this debate), I am a Buntingist.
Like many of you, I positively cringed with embarrassment for her when she came out with things like "there is some truth here which is not about "evidence", not about "fact" ".
One last thing, at last we can be clear about what Richard is referring to when he uses the expression "child abuse" : it is both the labelling of children as Christian or Hindu AND teaching them about hell fire.
EDIT : Richard admits that he is "not trying to be a good politician". What do you guys think about that?
Does it matter?
Do "we" need good politicians?
If so, are there any volunteers here?
(Diancanu and I would most certainly not be in the running!!!!)
525. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist
Comment #126914 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Epinephrine : thank you for this linguistic clarification. As I have mentioned before, I fear I am losing my grip on the English language.
I'm afraid that I also tend to have an allergic reaction to the word "should".
People shouldn't be committing crimes (or misbehaving) because of the implications of what consequences their actions will have on other people, and because of our evolved sense of empathy we should innately not want to cause others harm.annabanana - With my highlighting, is this a correct reading of what you were saying?
526. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist
Comment #126838 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 10:29 am
annabanana :
we should innately not want to cause others harm.Are we opening the "nature versus nurture" debate here?
527. A Tyrannical Romance
Comment #126754 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 6:43 am
annabanana
Richard, many times you make me laugh, and then other times I'm just frightened.All the girls end up saying that to me sooner or later...
528. Why Darwin matters
Comment #126751 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 6:27 am
Catsyk :
People like Rowan Williams are essentially good and highly intelligent, but why do they persist in such nonsense?
529. A Tyrannical Romance
Comment #126748 by Richard Morgan on February 14, 2008 at 6:17 am
LorienRyan:
Richard, You really do have a one tracked mind, my friend.
530. A Tyrannical Romance
Comment #126645 by Richard Morgan on February 13, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Geoff - if you knew what the slang meaning of "queue" was in French...!!!
531. Murder plot against Danish cartoonist
Comment #126644 by Richard Morgan on February 13, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Murder plot against Danish cartoonist
Mint tea and marmalade.
532. A Tyrannical Romance
Comment #126640 by Richard Morgan on February 13, 2008 at 5:24 pm
For the first time, I enjoyed the Notes more than the article!!!
For the penis of crocodiles see the extended version
For the distribution of the penis in birds,... and for the measurements of various ducks
533. Conservative Rabbis to Vote on Resolution Criticizing Pope's Revision of Prayer
Comment #125763 by Richard Morgan on February 12, 2008 at 1:56 am
oriole :
So by all means, Richard Morgan, go on describing people as stupid when you think the adjective fits, but then don't start wailing and rending your garment when they do the same.
534. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science
Comment #125387 by Richard Morgan on February 11, 2008 at 9:56 am
I'd much rather be "Richard" to you lot.
535. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science
Comment #125211 by Richard Morgan on February 11, 2008 at 4:23 am
Good suggestion but Baroness Greenfield already holds a chair at Oxford.
536. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science
Comment #125204 by Richard Morgan on February 11, 2008 at 4:12 am
Here are instructions for being a pigeon:
1. Walk around aimlessly for a while, pecking at cigarette butts and other inappropriate items.
2. Take fright at someone walking along the platform and fly off to a girder.
3. Have a shit.
4. Repeat.
-- (Notes from a Small Island,Bill Bryson 1995)
537. Why Darwin matters
Comment #125109 by Richard Morgan on February 11, 2008 at 1:37 am
Steve Zara, you tease!!!!
I'm going to answer for Wooter:
Muffled voice comes from behind the toilet door: "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do own a satellite navigation system. So what?"
Now, Steve, will you end the suspense, please?
538. Conservative Rabbis to Vote on Resolution Criticizing Pope's Revision of Prayer
Comment #125004 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Martin S :
Calling people stupid for calling people stupid doesn't quite sound sound - if you know what I mean.I fully agree with you.
539. Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'
Comment #125001 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Hey, you guys think you have problems with the Arch Bish?
Look at what's happening in my beloved France.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/sarkozy_and_god
I am weeping into my Armagnac as I type this...
Fortunately, Sarkozy's popularity is diminishing rapidly.
I think the secular state is safe in France.
But I'm looking at property in New Zealand just in case...
540. Sharia fiasco
Comment #124999 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Hey - you guys think you've got problems with the Arch-Bish?
Look at what's happening in my beloved France.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/sarkozy_and_god
I am weeping into my Armagnac as I type this...
541. Sharia fiasco
Comment #124897 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 11:58 am
Paine :
post-colonial guilt does not mean compromising on right and wrong.Ah, if only things were as simple as that...
542. Sharia fiasco
Comment #124881 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 11:43 am
Paula!
You're back!
Hallelujah!
And just when I was getting used to the idea that resurrection is a myth!!!
Back to the drawing board.
(Very, very happy to see you again, incidentally.)
(Well, very happy, at least.)
543. Sharia fiasco
Comment #124873 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 11:37 am
Diacanu
That's what it is, empire guilt?Not guilt, my fine transatlantic friend, (though I must admit it might look like that!) but just a way of pointing out to simplistic posters that certain problems could be more complex than they appear. Often the solutions are not as simple as some might think them to be.
544. Sharia fiasco
Comment #124861 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 11:26 am
Negasta :
Why can't the British (and the European people in general) just tell the Muslims to piss off and go back to Arabia if they want Sharia?!
545. Conservative Rabbis to Vote on Resolution Criticizing Pope's Revision of Prayer
Comment #124848 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 11:11 am
terradea :
There may be good reasons people believe in religion (e.g., because they do not possess the ability to engage in critical thinking), but there is no good reason for religion belief.
in speaking of "good reasons" to believe in religion, I'm pretty sure PZ Myers was speaking broadly.
546. Conservative Rabbis to Vote on Resolution Criticizing Pope's Revision of Prayer
Comment #124806 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 9:58 am
ronfac :
So much time, effort and emotion concerning who says what, and how they say it, to an imaginary sky fairy. Is there no limit to the stupidity of these people?This kind of comment is typical of the kind of stupidity and childishness we could well do without on this site.
547. The challenge of finding peace in Lourdes
Comment #124799 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 9:43 am
scottishgeologist :
the "amputee argument" AFAIAC, this is the "killer" argument against faith healing. At a stroke, if this were to happen and to be independently verified, and REPEATED, it would kill atheism stone dead.I fail to see the connection between the inexplicable appearance of an amputated limb and the existence of a God or gods.
Wonder if anyone has ever had a miracle cure for impotence.... :-))))))Change partners! ;-)
548. The challenge of finding peace in Lourdes
Comment #124650 by Richard Morgan on February 10, 2008 at 12:12 am
"I need to get better. I need the miracle."I live in the South of France not too far from Lourdes.
"I need to get better. I need the miracle."This cri du coeur is what Lourdes is all about, isn't it? Isn't this what religion is all about?
"I need to get better. I need the miracle."Don't we all?
549. Richard Dawkins talks about The God Delusion
Comment #124322 by Richard Morgan on February 9, 2008 at 5:10 am
Steve Zara :
God isn't impossible. Just very, very, very, very, very, very unlikely.I've always been a little unhappy about this kind of affirmation. Mostly because what is referred to as "God" is not clear.
550. Are Darwin's Theories Fact or Faith Issues?
Comment #123909 by Richard Morgan on February 8, 2008 at 1:30 am
Steve Zara : I was was very touched to learn that your avatar is, in fact, a photo of your husband.
I have just mentioned this to my wife. Alas, she doesn't want to have her face associated with my opinions.
I guess I've gotta accept and respect that.