51. What's the Point of the Archbishop of Canterbury?

Comment #138685 by Gymnopedie on March 4, 2008 at 5:28 pm

Hell, what's the point of religion? Eh, nevermind...

52. God, power and money

Comment #138224 by Gymnopedie on March 4, 2008 at 4:42 am

Paradigm,

You give the nutcase far too much credit! It really is far simpler, and I explain it in my post above you (Comment #15). When someone doesn't try to regain balance, they go down surprisingly easily.

53. Fleas on the Horizon: In Defense of God

Comment #138002 by Gymnopedie on March 3, 2008 at 6:14 pm

I think a huge part of the faith crowd simply sees faith as an integral part of a healthy life and see an attack on faith at best mean-spirited and at worst a dangerous subversion of society. The next wave of arguments should shift to the benefits of persisting in reality based thinking instead of delusion, regardless of the so-called benefits of faith.

54. Fleas on the Horizon: In Defense of God

Comment #137967 by Gymnopedie on March 3, 2008 at 4:56 pm

Uh oh, this new book takes on the dreaded New Atheists in a way not done before! Maybe by addressing the actual arguments, avoiding logical fallacies, and presenting good arguments and evidence?

... probably not.

55. God, power and money

Comment #137951 by Gymnopedie on March 3, 2008 at 4:29 pm

The whole falling over on stage at the touch of a preacher thing is quite interesting... When you are standing straight up with your legs together, a simple push to the chest or forehead will topple you unless you readjust your feet. If you readjust your feet on stage to stay up, the televangelist will simply tell you to stop fighting the power of Jesus. It is all one amazing show that so easily tricks the credulous. Every rational person should be armed with the knowledge of these stage tricks so they can display to a person how it actually happens. Now getting such a credulous person to actually change his or her mind is another issue...

56. Berlin gallery in Islam art row

Comment #137650 by Gymnopedie on March 3, 2008 at 9:45 am

I merely mentioned Hell because the Koran condemns pretty much everyone to Hell for some reason or another.

If they want order in a congregation, why don't they just all face the front of the Mosque? Seems to work for most Christians facing the front of the church. Now if only they could get the whole prayer part to work.

57. Berlin gallery in Islam art row

Comment #137573 by Gymnopedie on March 3, 2008 at 7:51 am

So if a Muslim prays in the wrong direction, do the prayers get missed by Allah as they are flung off into empty space? Then the person goes to hell I presume, as Islam is the most hell obsessed religion I have ever heard of.

58. US Treaty with Tripoli

Comment #135819 by Gymnopedie on February 29, 2008 at 9:30 am

So I sense a disagreement brewing here... One school of thought is that if everyone owns a gun or (more importantly) everything thinks everyone else owns a gun, there will be less crime. The other school of though is that if there are no guns, there will be far less crime.

Cartomancer,

You bring up a completely valid and interesting historical point, but I don't think that sort of thing crosses the mind of an average person when they purchase a gun. I think that attitude subtly colors the mind of Americans, but I think the difference in something like gun ownership and crime rates between countries are based on more than historical trends. What exactly this is, I'm not exactly sure.

59. US Treaty with Tripoli

Comment #135694 by Gymnopedie on February 29, 2008 at 8:03 am

Iam Bamlett,

I live in Detroit and own no guns!

Even with that being said, citizens should have the right to bear arms. The issue only gets complicated when people want to own automatic rifles, ballistic weapons, etc... and with how to do background checks.

CJ22,

The founding fathers established how America is to be run, I think that is quite important. The point is we use their writings as a political guide, not their lifestyles as a guide to live by. There are some parts of the Constitution that are absolutely unwavering, while others made need revision in the future.

60. US Treaty with Tripoli

Comment #135191 by Gymnopedie on February 28, 2008 at 5:10 pm

rivetheretic,

I always make sure I know who they consider the founders. The ridiculous cultists known as the Puritans are a bit different than the secular founding fathers. Or maybe not. Depends on your relationship with Jesus, apparently.

If only they checked the validity of their arguments! Then they would add one more to the total of rational people.

61. US Treaty with Tripoli

Comment #135170 by Gymnopedie on February 28, 2008 at 4:08 pm

It scares me when a presidential candidate does not understand the founding of the country he or she is running for.

Pat Robertson and his crew spread some wicked poison a few years back spreading lies through the country that the Treaty of Tripoli is completely made up and spread a bunch of false quotes from the founding fathers (we've all probably encountered the one from Paine or Madison saying the country is founded on the Bible). Nearly every time I argue with a Christian who insists the nation was founded on the principles of Christianity, he or she always dredges up those old misquotes. It, yet again, scares me that all the preachers have to do is say something and countless others will assume it to be true. That shit spreads like a virus and is now part of the mainstream thought!

62. Taking evidence seriously

Comment #135112 by Gymnopedie on February 28, 2008 at 2:42 pm

Just to be clear, the mechanism by which penicillin works is extremely well understood now.

63. Taking evidence seriously

Comment #135053 by Gymnopedie on February 28, 2008 at 1:38 pm

Someone in the US (and eventually every nation) needs to get the ball rolling in getting stricter policy of practicing/selling medicine. Goofball products shouldn't be able to be sold and distributed making blatantly false or completely unproven claims. Why the hell is that so hard to do? And why do insurance agencies pay for pseudoscience in the forms of acupuncture, homeopathy, etc... From an economic stand point, I don't see how it is to their advantage. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about insurance policy can clear that up.

64. Dispatches: Holy Offensive

Comment #135035 by Gymnopedie on February 28, 2008 at 1:19 pm

People are upset about inter-racial relationships and homosexuality? Did we revert back to the tribes of the 8th century or something? How disgusting.

65. Are they running for President or Pastor-in-Chief?

Comment #134865 by Gymnopedie on February 28, 2008 at 9:18 am

If you are an American and actually care about the separation of State and Church and Religious freedom, then vote your secularism! Otherwise, you just let yourself be trampled by the system. If a candidate does not take a strong stance on the aforementioned issues, I don't vote for him or her. Simple as that.

66. A Pragmatist and a Lobbyist on Atheism

Comment #134775 by Gymnopedie on February 28, 2008 at 7:42 am

Uh oh, I've found someone who is musically literate!

67. A Pragmatist and a Lobbyist on Atheism

Comment #134423 by Gymnopedie on February 27, 2008 at 7:06 pm

Thanks Zeus I escaped the wrath of Richard Morgan's English 101 mini-classes!

68. A Pragmatist and a Lobbyist on Atheism

Comment #134390 by Gymnopedie on February 27, 2008 at 5:33 pm

So perhaps I should expect that sort of writing? I guess I should dig a hole to once again lower the bar for my expectations of journalism.

69. A Pragmatist and a Lobbyist on Atheism

Comment #134280 by Gymnopedie on February 27, 2008 at 2:26 pm

Something is a bit odd about the writing style here. Using phrases like "decided to be an atheist", commenting on her "unfeminist" behavior, saying "her standard spiel". Something about the language is subtly condescending and patronizing.

We need strong secular lobbyists, but it would be better to have a member of congress, a Supreme Court Judge, or a presidential candidate come out in ardent support for the separation of State and Church and be outright with the fact that freedom of religion ensures freedom from religion.

70. The Giant Tortoise's Tale

Comment #133773 by Gymnopedie on February 26, 2008 at 6:21 pm

Darn, someone beat me to the "Cosmos of the next gen" line. It was Cosmos that first got me interested in science and made me realize it wasn't just a bunch of boring books and uninteresting teachers.

71. The Encyclopedia of Life, No Bookshelf Required

Comment #133621 by Gymnopedie on February 26, 2008 at 12:46 pm

That would sure beat Wikipedia for all my biological inquiries!

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

Comment #132772 by Gymnopedie on February 25, 2008 at 7:43 am

I wonder what precise aspect of being a Catholic priest drives them to rape children. I mean, shit, talk about cognitive dissonance. Or maybe they think Jesus would approve, who knows.

Oh wait, mortals are prone to evil and sin, that's it. Silly me.

73. Ayaan Hirsi Ali asks for protection

Comment #131015 by Gymnopedie on February 21, 2008 at 5:28 pm

Our definitions definitely differ then. The "neo" prefix as I'm familiar with it means they are the "new wave" of conservatives, not "new to conservatism". Bush and Cheney represent a vast divergence from traditional small government, pro-Constitution conservatism. Traditional conservatism doesn't advocate teaching religion in science classes, blah blah blah you know the drill.

Do you point out the fact they are Jewish just as a matter of fact or what? The question mark over my head won't go away.

74. Don't blame Islam for terrorism, expert says

Comment #131012 by Gymnopedie on February 21, 2008 at 5:21 pm

Oops, I meant Canada is our #1 source of oil imports, not that they provide most of our oil.

But anyway, if this oil for war logic prevails, shouldn't we be attacking Canada for oil? I just can't swallow that giant conspiracy theory.

75. Don't blame Islam for terrorism, expert says

Comment #130971 by Gymnopedie on February 21, 2008 at 3:40 pm

We get most of our oil from Canada, anyway.

al-rawandi,
The only problem that comes into play is when Islamist/Jihadist supremacism is dismissed because of all the faults of US foreign policy. Responding to Islamic terrorism with "well look at what shit the US has done" is simply a logical fallacy and a world view which only masks violence. (I don't think you've espoused this position, but I think it is relevant nonetheless.)

76. Ayaan Hirsi Ali asks for protection

Comment #130907 by Gymnopedie on February 21, 2008 at 1:30 pm

Bush and Cheney are the token neo-cons, which makes me wonder where in the world you got your definition from. From all the contact and lectures from "lefty" professors I've had, I can't say I've ever run into that definition. Does anyone else really use the word neo-con to signify a Jewish liberal turned conservative?

77. Don't blame Islam for terrorism, expert says

Comment #130901 by Gymnopedie on February 21, 2008 at 1:22 pm

al-rawandi,
The US no doubt has had its share of foreign policy blunders, but I don't exactly see where the connection is between that and Islamic terrorism. The terrorists/Jihadists use Islam to justify their actions against a great diversity of people, not US foreign policy. And non-Muslim nations we have terrible foreign policy with did not blow up the twin towers. The dots just don't seem to connect.

78. Don't blame Islam for terrorism, expert says

Comment #130889 by Gymnopedie on February 21, 2008 at 12:52 pm

al-rawandi,

could you be a bit more specific? I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "economic violence" and using "military force for economic ends". Which unpliable democracies are you referring to? The US support for nations is practically arbitrary at this point. Ex) Throw money at Israel then show support for Palestine with financial aid. The US loves cognitive dissonance.

79. Don't blame Islam for terrorism, expert says

Comment #130881 by Gymnopedie on February 21, 2008 at 12:28 pm

Blaming America only goes so far. The violence is disproportionately Islamic (or so the perpetrators claim) and is not just directed at the west, as I think many of us were quite sickened with the serial bombings of Buddhist statues a few months ago, not to mention the status of Dhimmi which was around long before America was ever founded. If the violence was directed only towards the West, then there would be something to this argument.

80. Ayaan Hirsi Ali asks for protection

Comment #130839 by Gymnopedie on February 21, 2008 at 11:34 am

For oil and energy independence shouldn't be looking at long term energy sources such as wind and solar power? They are not feasible at the moment only because they are so underdeveloped and underresearched.

MaxD, but we then have to feed the hamsters which would consume gasoline! A lose-lose situation.

al-rawandi, I'm curious as to who you call a "neo-con". The term is a useless CNN/Fox News style poke in the side because it can refer to anyone from Bush to Pat Robertson to Hitchens to AHA to Bolton. I'm not aware that any of them identify as Jewish, except Hitchens, but that is quite a recent development.

81. Ayaan Hirsi Ali asks for protection

Comment #130476 by Gymnopedie on February 20, 2008 at 4:25 pm

Neo-con...? You've got to be shitting me. Anytime I hear that word I skip to the next post.

82. Cutting Edge: Baby Bible Bashers

Comment #130438 by Gymnopedie on February 20, 2008 at 2:12 pm

Quite a few people keep harping on about this being child abuse, which it obviously is, but I'm quite sure that 99.9% of the so-called moderates will simply dismiss it as a radical minority (which is, once again, quite obviously true). I think the point about religious upbringing being child abuse is often missed because it isn't shit like this - it is far more subtle. Subverting a child's critical thinking faculties, making faith into a virtue, teaching blind obedience to authority, wasting children's time on anti-intellectual pursuits (I remember memorizing prayers for hours and hours as a young kid!), causing anxiety about sin, feeling ashamed of sexual thoughts (especial if a child is gay), etc...

Showing this as an example of child abuse is sort of silly. It doesn't illustrate the widespread nature and true harm of religious child abuse, but a narrow and rather bizarre fraction of a fraction.

83. Fleabytes

Comment #129798 by Gymnopedie on February 19, 2008 at 3:26 pm

So now we should consider Paula Kirby a martyr. She has destroyed so much of her life and brain matter wading through such sludge, and for REASON! Bravo!

84. Cutting Edge: Baby Bible Bashers

Comment #129527 by Gymnopedie on February 19, 2008 at 9:03 am

Mental Slavery.

This video is just to show you non-physical (and some physical) means of child abuse in a few extreme cases.

The first kid needs to preach to the second kid about the evils of money.

85. Archbishop's 8 March centennial message: Let Sharia Law govern women's lives, Amen!

Comment #128713 by Gymnopedie on February 17, 2008 at 6:23 pm

What a great article!

Have I been living under a rock or something...? How have I not read more of this author's material before?

86. Ben Stein Wins Intelligent Design Money

Comment #127911 by Gymnopedie on February 15, 2008 at 5:47 pm

Awww... Poor little Ben Stein taking on big bad science. I feel sooo sooo soowwy for him.

87. Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'

Comment #126923 by Gymnopedie on February 14, 2008 at 1:54 pm

al-rawandi,
Mentioning beheadings reminds me of an American veteran who visited Saudi Arabia before and at the port they were cutting off the hands of convicted thieves. What a great welcome for the troops!

88. Bill Maher on Larry King Live

Comment #125622 by Gymnopedie on February 11, 2008 at 5:52 pm

We have a freedom to control what we put into our bodies to a certain extent. When it starts to harm other people, that is where personal freedom ends. One example mentioned above is vaccination. Another good example is public smoking. I certainly have the right to not have to inhale another person's toxins, even though they have the right to consume it. This issue isn't quite cut and dry like Freedom of Speech is.

I wonder what exactly Maher advocates in place of science based medicine... homeopothy? Ionized magnets? Shamans? Prayer? Whoops, probably not the last one.

I think this entire conversation here brings up an important point: being anti-religion doesn't at all mean you are an advocate of science or reason. So many people I talk to interchange the words atheist and rationalist as if they mean the same thing.

89. Bill Maher on Larry King Live

Comment #125584 by Gymnopedie on February 11, 2008 at 4:27 pm

Maher also brings up an interesting point about the chlorination of our water supplies. I am unfamiliar with the subject, but I am curious as to how poisonous it is to our bodies and how effective the small doses are at killing bacteria and viruses in the water supply. I think reverse osmosis would be a much healthier alternative to dumping chemicals into the water supply, although far more expensive. Likewise, I am curious as to whether the fluorination of the water supply actually lowered the rates of tooth decay or it was the widespread oral hygiene movement that emerged at about the same.

90. Bill Maher on Larry King Live

Comment #125523 by Gymnopedie on February 11, 2008 at 2:18 pm

There is a grain of rationality to his criticism of prescription drugs, but he totally jumps off the deep end. Sure, people take way too many drugs and lack basic health education... but the drugs companies don't get together to scam every average Joe out of his pay check and poison his body.

On religion, though, he is pretty rational, although on the same show he went batshit on evidence based medicine he praised that complete and utter fucking nut case who practiced transcendental meditation to the Beetles and tricked people into a dangerous diet of water, berries, and nuts (or whatever the hell it was).

A very hit and miss guy, I think. His show is interesting every once in a while.

91. What he wishes on us is an abomination

Comment #125393 by Gymnopedie on February 11, 2008 at 10:04 am

Great article and extremely important rebuttal to hear.

I'm very curious as to how the moderates can read the Koran and Hadith and not see how misogynist and disgusting a text it is. I think these moderates are of a deist mindset but perhaps still want some sort of religious identity and sense of community. That's just my speculation.

92. The Passion of 'Anonymous'

Comment #124543 by Gymnopedie on February 9, 2008 at 7:02 pm

How is Scientology any more absurd than Hinduism, Mormonism, Catholocism, and Islam? The main drive behind this campaign seems to be that Scienology is an easy target.

93. A Mutant Obsession

Comment #123162 by Gymnopedie on February 6, 2008 at 2:22 pm

Ultraviolet G, I strongly agree with your first statement, although I think some confrontation with the faithheads is both necessary and positive. I would much rather here him lecture about evolutionary biology than about Aquinas's 5 ways.

94. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #123158 by Gymnopedie on February 6, 2008 at 2:18 pm

Since just about everything in the video is a blathering lie, why should we believe their statistic that 75% of college students are atheists? Besides from being a fluff statistic with no provided citation, what do they think an atheist is? I have a sneaking suspicion it is any non-religious person, anyone not Christian enough for their tastes, and atheists. This is pure speculation, of course, but I doubt that statistic is true.

95. The New Atheist Movement

Comment #123024 by Gymnopedie on February 6, 2008 at 11:22 am

I love how the guy at the beginning makes atheists seem like well educated scholars and grad students. Good job!

I'd guess that Sam Harris also doesn't think radical Islam and Western Christianity are the same thing. Maybe he should try reading Harris's books. What a straw man...

Geisler's book title is spelled wrong! Probably just a typo on the screen, but still, classic.

96. Ad 'likely to offend gay people'

Comment #123013 by Gymnopedie on February 6, 2008 at 11:11 am

Um... isn't it the straight couples who are destroying the "traditional" family by getting divorced at a 143% rate, if I remember correctly.

97. Apologetic billboard replaces atheistic sign

Comment #123011 by Gymnopedie on February 6, 2008 at 11:07 am

Uh oh, I'm offended by their new sign! Time for the Satanists to take a turn.

98. Richard Dawkins talks about The God Delusion

Comment #122812 by Gymnopedie on February 6, 2008 at 6:08 am

The God Delusion? Never heard of it.

99. Christopher Hitchens Debates Timothy Jackson

Comment #122561 by Gymnopedie on February 5, 2008 at 1:06 pm

al-rawandi, studying religion and studying theology are not the same thing. Religion is a real historical and cultural subject, theology is the study of a non-existant being. One is a subject, the other is a non-subject. Confusing the two is quite dangerous.

100. Admitting that you have no religion is not politically correct

Comment #122099 by Gymnopedie on February 4, 2008 at 5:35 pm

Student Administrators? I suppose they are just going to go to real administrators and get the organization started up.

Now, if the school administrators block it, then we have a real problem. Perhaps I'm interpreting the whole situation wrongly.