51. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71527 by pewkatchoo on September 19, 2007 at 1:18 am

Bizarro Dickwit
And Leprachauns are non-contingent beings too! Nowhere is it mentioned the existence of lady leprachauns. Didn't you know that. You really need to read up on these things properly if you want to argue them. It is intellectually lazy to do otherwise.

52. Oxford's Christian colleges 'are not suitable for school-leavers'

Comment #71515 by pewkatchoo on September 19, 2007 at 12:51 am

Looks like I am first here.

This is very good news. If theology can be discredited, can the teaching of RI in normal schools be far behind. Maybe we see the beginning of the end of religious affairs being taught in British schools.

53. Catholic school board in Halton may ban HPV vaccination

Comment #71331 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 1:04 pm

Wankers!

54. Religious education

Comment #71296 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 10:05 am

Arcturus
Don't know the song, but it sounds like the Zapparoo!

55. Religious education

Comment #71287 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 9:33 am

epeeist
Facetious, moi? Shirley not!

Yorker
Yes I am Scottish (or Scarrish as an old NY girlfried used to say)! However, I live in Bucks and my lad goes to a private school there. Pisses me off that I pay so much cash to have him taught bollox. He actually got a B in his RI GCSE, even though he thinks it is all nonsense. His teacher was totally astonished, as was he!

56. The Bili Apes Are in Trouble!

Comment #71232 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 5:47 am

This is what we should be sending the UN armies in for! To protect other species from extinction. We will never run out of humans!

57. Religious education

Comment #71230 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 5:39 am

Shifty Frog
Welcome to RDnet. However, I am sorry to say that that whooosshhing noise you currently hear is the noise of the point flying right over your head.

I am well aware that Jonah was swallowed by the whale. That is my sarcastic way of pointing out that they are all just crazy stories.

58. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71187 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 2:15 am

Revcort
Do you actually believe all this sh1te! I feel very sorry for you indeed. You are beyond redemption.

59. Religious education

Comment #71186 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 2:07 am

Richard
I think of it as the sun shines out of your +rse! Works for me.

60. Religious education

Comment #71184 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 2:05 am

gcdavis
The way to answer such questions as 'Who was Noah?' the atheist way.

A. He was supposed to be some guy that was swallowed by a whale and survived... Bwahahahahhaaha!

61. Religious education

Comment #71180 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 2:02 am

Philip
This is not a matter of levity I am afraid. I have been very annoyed at some of the stuff that has been taught at my son's school in the guise of Religious Education. I object to it being taught at all, but some of the things I saw being expounded were pure ID nonsense. "Science will eventually prove the existance of god." was one of the more ridiculous proposals, thereby trying to ally science and religion. This is my own particular bete noire, and I am going to be campaigning ever stronger to get it removed from schools entirely. The sort of idiots that are teaching this nonsense in schools are the very worst of the rationally challenged.

62. The Nonbelievers

Comment #71166 by pewkatchoo on September 18, 2007 at 1:20 am

I am rather opposed to this sort of thing. Especially the idea of meeting in a church like building. I thought that the whole point of becoming an atheist was that you got an extra couple of hours in bed on a Sunday morning just before going to the pub.

63. A Table for One

Comment #70938 by pewkatchoo on September 17, 2007 at 9:40 am

Very amusing. But, perhaps it is just me, but I see him as being very clearly on the side of the faithheads. He may like to show-up the obvious ironies of the position of the church, but he still follows it.

64. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #70871 by pewkatchoo on September 17, 2007 at 5:43 am

Kimpatsu
That fleaism was by a guy called Ian Robinson. I wonder if he is any relation to our own dearly beloved wee flea David Robinson.

65. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #70869 by pewkatchoo on September 17, 2007 at 5:38 am

Steve99
Your pedantry can be very annoying sometimes. How about:

Wherever there is religion there is a tendency towards ignorance and strife.

66. The Dawkins debate

Comment #70584 by pewkatchoo on September 16, 2007 at 6:51 am

JennyM
Simply reading Noddy and Big Ears would improve the educational level of the vast majority of the posters here.

67. The Dawkins debate

Comment #70582 by pewkatchoo on September 16, 2007 at 6:50 am

My own entry, because I just had to.

I have read through a great many of the comments on this article. I am disappointed that so many people, who obviously consider themselves to be educated and intelligent, have such very poor arguments and very little understanding of the issues involved here. In fact, some of the comments are so mind-boggingly stupid as to defy belief (pun intended).

These seem to be the things that, from their postings, they know very little about: Science (of all kinds), History (Hitler was not an atheist and Stalin was just a madman, get over it.), Rationality (some of your arguments are just so daft and illogical that it is frightening), Theology (have any of you people actually read the bible? I have, as has Richard Dawkins.), Richard Dawkins (very few of his critics have actually read his books), Philosophy, English Grammar and Spelling. So, that does not leave very much for all the so-called educated believers here to claim to be educated about. You don't even know your own bible!

68. A Response to Jonathan Haidt

Comment #70113 by pewkatchoo on September 14, 2007 at 5:41 am

Diamelos
I speak only for myself here, lest you think I use the group WE, but I cannot think that we have a common sense of truth or what truth means. I have read enough of your posts to come to the conclusion that your assumption of truth and what it means is in direct contradiction to my own.

The rest of your argument is simply comparing apples and pears. Hitchens or Mackie, Martin or Dawkins, it matter not a jot. No more than it matters whether or not you approve of their approach. Moaning about whether or not other writers or books are any good is pretty funny when you compare it with the most turgid piece of nonsense ever published and which you view as the most important book in the world.

69. Scientists' Good News: Earth May Survive Sun's Demise in 5 Billion Years

Comment #69957 by pewkatchoo on September 13, 2007 at 10:27 am

Wow, that's great news. I was really worried about this. Now I can sleep easy at night again.

70. The Fleas Are Multiplying!

Comment #69919 by pewkatchoo on September 13, 2007 at 7:19 am

Philip
Thanks for your kind words. I don't see anyone here as being a fundamentalist, I just don't know what that means in the context of atheism. I reckon my views have been changed quite considerably by the likes of Dawkins, Harris, Myers et al. Not to mention some of the excellent guys on here, including yourself. As atheists don't have any written crede or ideology or dogma, I don't understand what it is that we are supposed to be fundamental about. I suppose my dislike of idiots such as wee flea could be described as a fundamental position! What do you think?

The irony here is that really the only fundamentalists on this website are people such as the wee flea, who has never changed or even modified his views in any shape or form since he signed up here.

I was accused of being rude to somebody. Well, sorry but if you come on this site just for the purpose of slaggin off it's host then be prepared for some reverse mud-slinging. As Penn said, and I paraphrase, there is no divine right not to be offended. I can and do take criticism, and if I am out of order I will apologise. But I reserve the ultimate right to be the one to determine if I am out of order. Otherwise complain to the moderator and let him handle it.

71. RELIGULOUS: A Conversation with Bill Maher and Larry Charles

Comment #69884 by pewkatchoo on September 13, 2007 at 4:39 am

Theocrapcy: from wikipedia:
"He has expressed disdain for many of the liberal positions regarding hate crime, sexual harassment, etc. as being "things that make women nod."

Maher publicly supports PETA, an animal rights organization, and has expressed his distaste for the pharmaceutical and health care industries in general, on the grounds that they make their money out of curing people who are made sick by consuming unhealthy food that society urges upon the public. He has expressed skepticism that vaccines are responsible for helping to eliminate many diseases."

Sounds like a tw@t to me!

72. A Response to Jonathan Haidt

Comment #69882 by pewkatchoo on September 13, 2007 at 4:33 am

I have to agree that, while this article is good, Myers really does hit the nail whack-bang on the noggin.

He shows just how absurd are Haidts' conclusions about new atheism while in no way detracting from the value of his contribution to social psychology. Harris may be more quotable, but Myers does not beat about the bush and is therefore more satisfying from an atheist's viewpoint.

73. A Response to Jonathan Haidt

Comment #69862 by pewkatchoo on September 13, 2007 at 2:59 am

Fides_et_irratio

Not that your assumptions about why religious people might give are correct, but I wonder if the receiver in need cares about the motives of the giver. I think at that stage they probably don't.

74. A Response to Jonathan Haidt

Comment #69828 by pewkatchoo on September 13, 2007 at 12:35 am

The point is that religion remains the only mode of discourse that encourages grown men and women to pretend to know things they manifestly do not (and cannot) know. If ever there were an attitude at odds with science, this is it.

75. The Fleas Are Multiplying!

Comment #69688 by pewkatchoo on September 12, 2007 at 7:59 am

Oh the wee flea is such a sneaky one:

So that means that RD is not fit to comment on geology, cosmology, theology, history, politics, philosophy. That kind of wipes out TGD! And you do not regard McGarth's PhD in biology from Oxford as being relevant?!

76. Review of Richard Dawkins' new book 'The Fascism Delusion'

Comment #69669 by pewkatchoo on September 12, 2007 at 5:42 am

Dr Benway
What unadulterated nonsense. Everyone knows that it was an eel that the old man had on the end of his nose. This was confirmed by the late great Lewis Carroll.

This talk of rainbow trouts is heresy, pure heresy.

77. The Atheists Interviews

Comment #69668 by pewkatchoo on September 12, 2007 at 5:30 am

I had a discussion recently with a faith head. I cannot remember the whole of the discussion, but at one point he said to me 'So you think you know things better than the bible?'. I replied that I blooming hope so, in that I have more than 2 centuries of accumulated knowledge to back me up. He just didn't get it that the bible could not be an authority on anything in the modern world given that it was written by a bunch of ignorant desert nomads and their proxies.

78. The Atheists Interviews

Comment #69650 by pewkatchoo on September 12, 2007 at 3:16 am

Excellent idea. Although I have only been a declared atheist for a few months, I suppose I have always been one in my heart.

79. Griffin's 'offensive' Emmy speech to be censored

Comment #69635 by pewkatchoo on September 12, 2007 at 2:04 am

CelestialTeapot
Believe it or not, make that three people in agreement with you. The emmies suck, as do the oscars and all these other ridiculous self-congratulatory awards. As if these people are not already well-rewarded for their efforts, they have to get official backslaps too.

80. The Fleas Are Multiplying!

Comment #69453 by pewkatchoo on September 11, 2007 at 9:54 am

Irate_Atheist
I don't even bother with the wee flea any more. Life is just too interesting to waste time debating with total fools.

81. Young Muslims begin dangerous fight for the right to abandon faith

Comment #69419 by pewkatchoo on September 11, 2007 at 7:47 am

More Dutch religious nuttiness. This guy built a replica of Noah's Ark (he thinks).

http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/nieuws/buitenland/448222

The Netherlands also has the highest proportion of muslims of any country in Europe.

82. Young Muslims begin dangerous fight for the right to abandon faith

Comment #69416 by pewkatchoo on September 11, 2007 at 7:16 am

USA_Limey
The problem here in the UK is the loony left. They have pretty much formed an unholy alliance with the muslim minority to help them gain what they want. The Labour Government even tried to introduce laws to cover incitement to religious hatred, which happily were turfed out by the Lords. This was clearly aimed at suppressing criticism of Islam. The ridiculous part of all this is that many muslims simply don't want this special treatment.

The battle against Islamic nonsense is an uphill struggle, but it could be so much easier if the government was a bit more sensible. They don't see any problems until they are too late.

I have already posted a link to a BBC article that shows the Governmental position on Faith Schools, particularly muslim schools. This is the sort of thing that really scares me more than anything else. I know that I will be getting out of the UK as soon as humanly possible, but it is still my country and I am very sad for it.

Beeb link again:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6986398.stm

We need to campaign strongly against this sort of thing.

83. A Virus Among Honeybees

Comment #69397 by pewkatchoo on September 11, 2007 at 5:41 am

I certainly hope they can fix this. But note that science is yet again the only way to find solutions to real important problems. Even if it is found that science was responsible for the problem in the first place it is still viable.

I was watching the BBC program last week about the possibility of giant meteors hitting the Earth and it appears that scientists have already got possible solutions in place. No god intervention required (or indeed wanted).

84. Young Muslims begin dangerous fight for the right to abandon faith

Comment #69386 by pewkatchoo on September 11, 2007 at 4:10 am

One small step forward in the Netherlands, ONE HUGE step backwards into the darkness in the UK.

Just what do the NuLab sh1theads think they are doing, see link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6986398.stm

85. The Rise of Atheist America

Comment #69378 by pewkatchoo on September 11, 2007 at 3:12 am

mintcheerios
Check out Russel's Law.

86. Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder

Comment #69375 by pewkatchoo on September 11, 2007 at 3:06 am

The reason there is so little comment is that most will have read (most of) this before.

Still worth reading all the way through again.

87. Young Muslims begin dangerous fight for the right to abandon faith

Comment #69331 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 11:29 pm

If they are in Dutch, please feel free to send them to me Richard. I will do my best to translate them and get them back to you as soon as possible. I trust they are not too long though (^8. I am in Holland now, so if I have any difficulties myself I can always ask someone else for confirmation.

I guess that you have my email address.

88. The Emptiness of Theology

Comment #69282 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 9:49 am

Absolutely spot on A1 fucking brilliant!

A very good friend of mine's stepson is considering studying Theology at university in Germany. I think that I will send her this!

89. Interview with Francis Collins

Comment #69278 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 9:39 am

Yorker
650nm is red surely! Green is more around 550-560nm! I think!

90. Review of Richard Dawkins' new book 'The Fascism Delusion'

Comment #69261 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 8:07 am

JJ Ramsey
Given that there are now neo-nazi groups being reported in Israel, your argument is looking a touch flimsier. I see your point, but it really does not matter in the grand scheme of things. It is enough that humour can still be demonstrated.

91. The God of the Bible is No Delusion!

Comment #69259 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 7:56 am

Fair enuff Philip, I bow to your superior knowledge on Zues. Now, how is Mr Quetz on dealing with iron chariots? I guess the feathers could gum up the works!

92. The God of the Bible is No Delusion!

Comment #69248 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 6:57 am

So, rather than being omnipotent, god is actually impotent against chariots of iron. Nice one god, you can cause floods and all sorts but you can't spike the odd chariot. Sorry but I am not impressed! Next please. Ah, Mr Zues isn't it! So what is your speciality?

93. The Flea Circus moves to your iPod!

Comment #69227 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 4:32 am

Well done Beachbum! You are a better man than me to tackle this. But you have fully justified my position and my summation of the author. He is talking out of his posterior.

94. Review of Richard Dawkins' new book 'The Fascism Delusion'

Comment #69226 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 4:23 am

Atticus
Perhaps, but it is not a question of fairness, it is a question of funny.

95. We need a more intelligent religion debate

Comment #69217 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 3:16 am

Irate_Atheist
Amazing! How do you do that? Er....oh yes, its Hobson.

96. Richard Dawkins and Alister McGrath

Comment #69204 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 2:13 am

How do you guys do it? This thread has been going on for over 2200 individual posts now and it has still not reached any usable conclusions. It is a bit like Coronation Street or Eastenders. You can miss a year or two and start watching it and not have the feeling of actually having missed anything.

I drop in from time to time, but I have to say that this website's hopeless navigation makes it a painful process. Can we have 200 posts per page please to speed up the process?

97. Review of Richard Dawkins' new book 'The Fascism Delusion'

Comment #69199 by pewkatchoo on September 10, 2007 at 1:43 am

I still interpret this as satire or parody and not irony, but agree that it is a bit off-topic interesting though Robotaholic's dissertation is as I was not aware of the Greek connection. Why I like this site I learn something new every day.

I think the alusion to fascism works better than would communism. There is a visceral dislike of fascism whereas communism is still seen as a valid intellectual exercise by many and does not get quite the same reaction.

98. The Fleas Are Multiplying!

Comment #69190 by pewkatchoo on September 9, 2007 at 11:51 pm

flying goose, I am not out to win converts. Your arrogance in assuming that I am is astonishing. And I think you will find that many people agree with my approach. I am not randomly rude. It is very carefully targetted.

Russell Blackford is totally correct, there is no plagiarising involved here. Plagiarising is where you pass off someone elses work as your own. These people are very clearly not doing that. However, I would submit that Mr Cornwell's effort does stray into the region of libel! He has clearly misrepresented Prof Dawkins texts and in some cases he has deliberately misquoted them to try and give an impression that is not there. These are not just strawmen, they are plainly deliberate lies designed to tarnish Dawkins reputation. It could be time to fire a shot across their bows by bringing a libel case against one of them. The danger is that you might lose, so a lot of careful study would first be necessary. But it certainly would not be a bad idea to consider. Pour encourage les autres.

99. Review of Richard Dawkins' new book 'The Fascism Delusion'

Comment #69057 by pewkatchoo on September 9, 2007 at 3:57 pm

JJ Ramsey
Just leave your brain at the door. Oh you did!

100. Review of Richard Dawkins' new book 'The Fascism Delusion'

Comment #69032 by pewkatchoo on September 9, 2007 at 2:44 pm

jaytee and ksssdude
I guess you must be American. This is not irony, it is satire. You really need to look up irony.