51. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #105926 by gcdavis on January 2, 2008 at 7:01 am

Truth is most of us don't change our mind very often about anything! Perhaps when the evidence is overwhelming we might, but mostly we humans stubbonly cling to existing notions. Of couse the more emotional or intelectual capital we have invested, the less likely we are to change our minds.

On those rare ocassions when I change my mind I feel quite liberated, for example I used to think that tea tasted better when the milk is poured first but now I think it tastes even better if the milk is poured last, of course the resulting brew must always be stirred in a clockwise direction, preferably whilst the stirrer is wearing a kilt, so no change there!

52. The Evangelical Rebellion

Comment #103318 by gcdavis on December 25, 2007 at 4:47 am

During the last 15 or so years I have observed the inexorable rise of Christian fascism and Islamic fundamentalism. Both feed off the fear that each provokes in the other. GW's slip of the tongue when he used the term crusade may turn out to be an accurate description after all. Even if Huckabee is not nominated his influence and that of his ilk, may grow stronger and the threat to the American constitution implied by his views further polarise US public opinion. What we are all longing for is a prominent US politician coming out as an atheist, this could begin the backlash although whoever is brave enough to make that move will be at the expense of his/her career.

53. Do the laws of God trump those of man?

Comment #99522 by gcdavis on December 17, 2007 at 1:19 am

Multiculturalism is a racism of the anti-racists: It chains people to their roots

Like ramses I think this quote stands out. I have taken a lot of stick here and at other forums for opposing the concept of multiculturalism as practised here in the UK. I have been misrepresented as a racist usually by lefties for having the temerity of saying that immigrants should be expected to "sign up" to the core values of the host nation even at the expense of their own cultural origins.

If you want to live in the UK your entry ticket should be to share our values and learn our language (quickly), your colour, class, skills are not the issue. At the heart of the problem is of course religion, a moslem immigrant from Pakistan is less likely to assimilate than a Sikh from India because of the greater subjugation that islam demands. Even Poles bring with them a much stronger, more active and devout version of catholicism than our local version.

As a secularist I am alarmed at the creeping expansion of religion into education and government. Although I see no prospect at all of the UK following America's path, we must fight to keep religious influence at bay and seek always to reign it back.

Multiculturalism's bed fellow is political correctness and timidity amongst politicians. I long for one of them to stand up and assert their Britishness, this should not be confused with nationalism or mistaken for xenophobia. And before someone says "what is Britishness" it suffices to say that it is a broad "church" and not a narrow monoculturalism, in common with most developed societies it allows for wide range of behaviour and practice, if your are a Brit and don't know what it is, then open your eyes and ears, it is all around you.

54. Voyager 2 probe reaches solar system boundary

Comment #98178 by gcdavis on December 13, 2007 at 7:58 am

Nice poems Alkal

55. Believe it or not

Comment #98017 by gcdavis on December 13, 2007 at 1:57 am

Realist has another advantage, it is easy to sloganize:
Get Real!
The Real Me!
The Real Deal!
I'm Real!

56. Believe it or not

Comment #97383 by gcdavis on December 12, 2007 at 2:04 am

The name is a problem, atheist has a negative connotation even amongst the "I don't want to think about it" religiously neutral (there are lots of these here in the UK). Brights is just dumb, too self-congratulatory and as the article says the rest are no better.

When a group is formed to oppose something, like Greenpeace it is usually self evident what it is for, that is not the case with atheism, we are against belief in god and religion but what are we for? Any marketing man will tell you that is not a viable way to advance a proposition any more than it is to sell a soap powder.

Human beings feel special; to tell them they are simply a clump of cells descended from bacteria does not flatter them. To tell them there life has no divine meaning or purpose depresses them. To tell them that when they, die thats it, alarms them!

So what is the positive message? I am afraid it is an intellectual one; personally I feel liberated without god, I feel empowered to construct the moral blueprint for my own life, and yes I feel superior when I ridicule superstition of any kind. I'm not sure how you package that for Middle America.

I guess we just keep slogging away, undermining the edifice of religion in the hope that one day it will crumble, and as for a name, like jroen I favour REALISTS.

57. Laugh at Sudan

Comment #96830 by gcdavis on December 11, 2007 at 1:48 am

Pat's witty and withering comments on religious extemism are priceless. I know that these are perfectly crafted monologues but I would love to see Pat in open debate, my guess is that he could crucify (oops!) any religious apologist that he encountered.

58. Colouring book warns kids of pedophile priests

Comment #94915 by gcdavis on December 7, 2007 at 1:58 am

BEWARE THE HAND OF GOD!

...inside your pants!

59. Mitt Romney's Faith In America address (as prepared for delivery)

Comment #94911 by gcdavis on December 7, 2007 at 1:52 am

Confusing the Tigris and Euphrates for the Mississippi and Missouri is an easy mistake to make; after all they are all rivers.

From: No Man Knows My History: the life of Joseph Smith, by Fawn Brodie
"Shortly after his arrival Joseph rowed up the Grand River to Lyman Wight's ferry to explore land on the north bank in Daviess County [Missouri]. On a high bluff overlooking the river someone in the party discovered the ruins of what seemed to be an altar and excitedly led the prophet to it. After examining it Joseph stood silent, his eyes sweeping over the prairie that rolled away beneath him....The glory of the scene made Joseph heady as with new wine. 'This is the valley of God in which Adam blessed his children,' he said, 'and upon this very altar Adam himself offered up sacrifices to Jehovah....we will lay out a city which shall be called Adam-ondi-Ahman. Here Adam, the Ancient of Days, shall come to visit his people....'

Mormon: moron, more like!

60. Chimps beat humans in memory test

Comment #93712 by gcdavis on December 4, 2007 at 1:33 am

Spoking as a chumpinzee miself I kant sea whot all the fus is aboyt, we hive alwaze bean god at numburs, not so goud at wordzs thow!

61. In the name of God: the Saudi rape victim's tale

Comment #91686 by gcdavis on November 29, 2007 at 1:33 am

My sentiments too toaldingham

There are two E-Petitions that we all should sign:
http://search.petitions.pm.gov.uk/kbroker/number10/petitions/search.lsim?ha=1157&sc=number10&qt=saudi+rape

UK citizens only I'm afraid

62. Onward Christian teachers?

Comment #87739 by gcdavis on November 13, 2007 at 2:18 am

fides_et_ratio
A disappointing article that makes a mockery of what little evidence it presents, and consequently only succeeds in showing the author's bias in carefully avoiding any earnest search for the truth.

Your moniker says it all Faith and Reason, try as you will they will never be reconciled. There is only one way to search for the truth and that is by assembling evidence, when you invoke faith you are lost to reason.

63. A third of adults believe God watches over them

Comment #87733 by gcdavis on November 13, 2007 at 1:56 am

May I suggest that these may have been some of the prayers offered.

"Oh god I feel like shit why did I drink so much last night!.

"God help that little git when I get my hands on him"!

"Oh god would I like to get in her knickers"

"Oh god I think I slept with my girlfiends sister last night"

"God helps those who help themselves but god help those that I catch helping themselves"!

64. A third of adults believe God watches over them

Comment #87732 by gcdavis on November 13, 2007 at 1:49 am

This "poll" flies in the face of every independent survey carried out in the UK in recent years

The reseachers (Taylor Nelson Sofres) seem to be bona fide, we will never know what Tearfund did with the data.

Data processing
After coding and editing the data, weighting was applied to correct for any minor imbalances in the achieved sample profile. The weighting matrix incorporated sex, age, social grade and region. Cross tabulations were produced for each questions against key demographic variables. These data remain confidential to
Tearfund.

Source:
http://www.tearfund.org/webdocs/Website/News/Prayer%20in%20the%20UK%20RESEARCH%20METHODS.pdf

Call me a heartless cynic but praying didn't do the McCann's much good.

65. Dr Bari: Government stoking Muslim tension

Comment #87468 by gcdavis on November 12, 2007 at 7:46 am

I lifted this from the MCB website

Rejecting Terror
Monday 02 July 2007

Muslims everywhere consider all acts of terrorism that aims to murder and maim innocent human beings utterly reprehensible and abhorrent. There is no theological basis whatsoever for such acts in our faith. The very meaning of the word 'Islam' is peace. It rejects terror and promotes peace and harmony.

The words in the Qur'an are clear:

If anyone kills a human being, unless it be (in punishment) for murder, or of spreading corruption in the land, it should be looked upon as though he had slain all mankind, and if anyone saves a life it should be regarded as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.(5:32) ."

Sounds well meaning until you notice the phrase "spreading corruption", I bet that includes anything you want it to mean!

66. Dr Bari: Government stoking Muslim tension

Comment #87454 by gcdavis on November 12, 2007 at 7:10 am

It is amazing how these people can reconcile this...

Sir Salman Rushdie should never have been knighted, he says. "He caused a huge amount of distress and discordance with his book, it should have been pulped."

with this....

"The bookshops are independent businesses," he says. "We can't just go in and tell them what to sell … I will see what books they keep, if they have one book which looks like it is inciting hatred, do they have counter books on the same shelf?"

67. Bill Moyers interviews Jonathan Miller

Comment #87375 by gcdavis on November 12, 2007 at 2:04 am

Miller is a truly Renaissance man and who many of us Brits regard as a national treasure. He is extremely funny as well as being an acclaimed director of film, opera and TV (he did a brilliant TV adaptation of Alice in Wonderland). His book The Body in Question has been reprinted is a fascinating description of how the body works written for a popular audience so even I was able to understand it.

68. The new wars of religion

Comment #84721 by gcdavis on November 3, 2007 at 10:33 am

As Ivan the not so bad pointed out this is just the first of a series of fascinating articles, all are worth reading and there is a useful Sources page at the end. I have quoted from two of them

MENTION a "megachurch" and most people think of a gleaming building in the American suburbs. In fact, many of the biggest churches are outside the United States. In Guatemala, Pentecostals have built what may be the largest building in Central America: Mega Frater (Big Brother) packs a 12,000-seater church, a vast baptism pool and a heliport. One church in Lagos can supposedly bring 2m people out onto the streets. But five of the world's ten biggest megachurches are in just one country: South Korea.

I don't know if the churches in South Korea are on the political right as is the case in the USA, if so their relations with North Korea may become even more turbulent.

Islam is a religion without much hierarchy: most mosques claim to be following the teachings of one preacher or another, but their real authority comes from the Koran. This helps new imams to set up shop and allows them to do pretty much what they like.

This explains how easy it is for extremist imams to get a foothold, as there is no religious oversight.

69. What's Good About Religion?

Comment #83136 by gcdavis on October 29, 2007 at 3:47 am

Pat Condell is a national treasure. He deserves a spot on TV (or Radio 4), maybe The Daily Show could offer him one. For those who haven't watched it the Daily Show is broadcast in the UK at 8.30 weekdays on More4

70. Brief Regarding the California Same-Sex Marriage Case

Comment #82286 by gcdavis on October 26, 2007 at 1:59 am

If you have problems displaying this PDF (I did) it may be because the file name has spaces, if you use "Save Target As" (right mouse click the link on a PC) you should be able to save it to your desktop and then read it.

Quote from page 6 of the document
James Madison, the author of the initial draft of the Establishment Clause, had, along with Thomas Jefferson, his closest ally in separating government and religion, always demonstrated a commitment to a government that was totally neutral in matters of religion, and not just a government that could favor religion, generally, over nonbelief. Four years before initially introducing the concept of the Establishment Clause intoCongress, Madison opposed a general assessment in Virginia, that would have used taxpayer money for the benefit of all clergy.

It is interesting (for a Brit) to see a clause written into the US constitution in 1789 being used in evidence for a current dispute. I wish we in the UK had something more concrete to cite in similar disputes. Ok I know many will say what good has it done to stem the rise in religious influence in the US and its body politic, well in the longer term it may be the persistence of people like Tabash who will be able to use it to re-establish the separation of church and state that the original drafters intended back in the 18C.

71. Make Richard Dawkins a Knight

Comment #80485 by gcdavis on October 22, 2007 at 12:59 am

Theocrapcy Yes Brits only I'm afraid

Not much likelyhood, you need half a million sigs before the PR dept at no 10 sit up and take notice

72. Atheistic Denomination Struggles To Fill Void Left by Founder's Death

Comment #79920 by gcdavis on October 19, 2007 at 3:48 am

This highlights a problem that we atheists have in attempting to wean people off religion. For many, even more important than their faith in god, is the fact that their religion provides them with a cultural identity and a set of shared values. This is obviously particularly evident in immigrant communities. I have friends who are second/third generation Polish immigrants and their church is meeting place where they recharge their cultural batteries. Despite their catholic faith Poles in the UK have been very successful in being assimilated into the host community.

73. Anthropologist finds cultural emphasis on group over individual might hinder democracy

Comment #79045 by gcdavis on October 16, 2007 at 1:22 am

Good point nakedcelt, is Tonga different to the other islands? Having said that one point in the article is well made, is it likely that democracy will take root in the Middle East where the prevailing culture is very different from Europe and the West?. Democracy evolved in Europe and spread to those countries that received immigrants from Europe and has become an integral part of our legal and political system. Has our cultural tradition always been one that emphasizes the individual, probably not? More likely it is chicken and egg situation, as democracy became established we became more aware of our individual rights and demanded ever more from our democratic/political institutions. They in turn have responded in order to keep themselves in power.

In the UK this process has been well documented, the demise of deference during the sixties and seventies, the "cult" of the individual that was given impetus during the Thatcher years and coincided with the "rolling back of the state" that gave individuals greater control (and responsibility) for pensions, health care, education etc.

We are now part of the "Me" generation, where rights are demanded but responsibilities often overlooked. Go back a thousand years and I'll bet our society was not that different to Tonga, apart from the climate of course.

74. We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Brothers

Comment #77883 by gcdavis on October 11, 2007 at 2:25 am

The Milgram obedience experiment was show on BBC TV in the sixties, I saw it then and it is the most powerful documentary that I have ever seen, it deservers another showing. The original footage is available if your are prepared to pay $350.00!
http://soar.ois.psu.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/SOAR.woa/wo/8.0.9.3.1.12.0.23.1

75. The New Atheism: An Interview with Mitchell Cohen

Comment #77881 by gcdavis on October 11, 2007 at 2:01 am

A rather rambling article, questions too short, answers too long; one part caught my eye though...

Question: Isn't the pro-Darwin propaganda of the New Atheists really a step back? Doesn't it lose sight of the fact that a critique of the idea of the survival of the fittest is also a critique of a brutal society?

Two points here, first you need to know how something works before you can deal with it, nature is red in touch and claw, natural selection is not "fair". Unbridled capitalism is the political system that is the natural consequence of evolutionary principles and that aint "fair" either!

Second, the fact that we even understand the concept of "fair" means human beings are capable of ameliorating the brutality inherent in our evolution. We have tried to develop social and political systems that on the one hand recognise that competition is necessary for society to progress and that means winners and losers whilst on the other hand supporting those people, who for whatever reasons are at the bottom of the pile. Society will only stop being brutal if we come to terms with our evolutionary inheritance.

76. We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Brothers

Comment #77678 by gcdavis on October 10, 2007 at 6:11 am

Motivation of the suicide terrorist

I guess we all wonder what is going on inside the head of a suicide bomber. The Andy Thomson's lecture along with a Channel 4 documentary earlier this week have both shed some light on it.

In Thomson's lecture he refers to the attempted bombing at Glasgow airport, when his car, filled with explosives, failed to detonate the driver (a doctor) doused himself with petrol and set himself alight. 30 days later he died, his body suffered horrendous burns with exception of his genitals which he had protected with dampened material. This was apparently not an isolated incident as the remains of other suicide bombers have revealed.

In the TV documentary two 17 year old failed suicide bombers in Afghanistan were questioned about their motivation, the promise of virgins in paradise played a significant part. They were impressionable lads, rather than committed terrorists, they were naive enough to believe that god would detonate their bomb belts, the reality was of course that their bombs would be remotely detonated by their "minder" standing a safe distance away.

Add to this the extreme attitude towards adultery prevalent in Islam, with stoning and other "honour" killings plus the complete covering of the female form in traditional islamic dress and a picture begins to emerge.

You don't need to be a Freudian to conclude that the mindset of the islamic male is strongly characterised by sexual inadequacy and repression along with an idealised and unobtainable vision of women. The suicide bombings in the UK throw this into sharper focus; the perpetrators were nearly all UK born Asians living in a culture of permissiveness. They were no doubt tempted by the sex that surrounded them and several were known to have used pornography; yet their statements were laced with phrases like "death to the sluts".

In common with other cultures and faiths islam also has a repressed attitude toward menstruation, a woman must not touch the koran during her period and must bathe thoroughly after it.

Whether uneducated peasants or well educated doctors this inability to relate to women's sexuality and its replacement with a fantasised view of women that elevates purity and virginity above all other qualities is a volatile cocktail even without religion. But when you add to it the certainty of faith the mixture is (forgive the pun) literally explosive.

77. A New Debate

Comment #75625 by gcdavis on October 3, 2007 at 6:41 am

As there is absolutely no chance of this event taking place may I suggest some alternative shows that may suit the presidential candidates better.

Desperate Candidates
The power outage is also eventful for Hilary and Barack. It traps them in an elevator and she decides to "seize the moment" and talks him into some steamy elevator sex. He's worried they'll be caught, but they're able to dress barely when the elevator starts moving again. They don't realize they were caught on the building's security camera.

Lost (Cause)
A man awakes in a jungle. He is bruised and bloody, and doesn't know where he is. He forces himself up and winces in pain, leaning against a tree. After the initial shock of the crash has settled a little, Dennis Kucinich digs through the scattered luggage and finds a sewing kit.

Super Nanny
With four kids under four, this Superdad needs Supernanny. While he's a funny character for outsiders to laugh at, three-year-old son Mit's antics aren't humorous for his dad, Rudy.

Ugly John (McCain)
John's life is in chaos after a series of very unfortunate events in Arizona, but despite all that's happened, he's still in denial about one thing how much George's departure has affected him. Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee turns to junk food and to Fred Thompson in dealing with the revelation that Tom Tancredo was his real mother.

Candidates Wife Swap
For the Biden family from Delaware, life revolves around the household's canine "royalty." Spending over $100,000 a year on her 100 pups, dog breeder Jill dedicates almost all of her time to her dogs, while treating husband, Joe, and son, Robert, like second class citizens.

78. A New Debate

Comment #75624 by gcdavis on October 3, 2007 at 6:41 am

79. Root and Branch

Comment #73452 by gcdavis on September 25, 2007 at 2:37 am

A fascinating and measured article, especially the history of evangelical christianity in the States. However I sometimes feel that "the debate" can get too complicated, it is not between Darwin and religion or even science and religion, it is between common sense and religion. I came to the conclusion that there was no god before I knew anything of science and I still know precious little. It just didn't stack up when I began to think about it.

That religion has been given (or accrued to itself) so much respect has been one of Dawkins constant themes. Its longevity, its association with the milestones of life like marriage and death has given it a veneer of seriousness, but really its just a load of bollocks and maybe in time more and more people will realise it.

80. Is 'Do Unto Others' Written Into Our Genes?

Comment #72392 by gcdavis on September 21, 2007 at 12:56 am

This is a subject that I have raised several times in the forum, apologies for repeating this post if you have seen it before.

You don't need god to be good

Most believers are born into their religion and rarely challenge its validity or inconsistencies. They consider it to be a force for good and see life without it as rudderless and meaningless. One way we can confront this belief is by demonstrating that our personal morality and ethical standards are as serious an issue for us as it is for them. Far from being rudderless our moral compass is the best SatNav around.

There is a common misconception amongst the religious that we atheists do not live in accordance with any moral or ethical code. Some genuinely believe that they might "run amok" without the restraining influence of the ten commandments (and that we probably already have!). Although this maybe a ridiculous notion to us atheists the origins of our values are something that we don't discuss much, either on this forum or elsewhere. I think that we should.

My contention is that we inherit our value system from our parents (or not in a dysfunctional family). We learn it like language more by example than direct teaching. And as RD asserts in the Selfish Gene, there is a biological explanation for altruistic behaviour and any species whose offspring take so long to develop, like ours, would not survive without altruistic parents.

So maybe the default position is that we are a least in part hard-wired to be "good" with a strong element of cultural reinforcement provided by the family.
The reasons why some of us are not "good" are many and varied and perhaps the subject of another thread.

Without the "book of rules" what is the mechanism that keeps us atheists on the straight and narrow? What would stop us from pocketing the $50 bill that we saw someone drop in the street? Are atheists more or less likely to reflect on our personal moral values and that of the society that we live in, than those who are religious?

Atheists are not a homogeneous group and our views can be very diverse, as witnessed by the long running abortion thread. In fact is there any reason why we should agree on anything except that god is a myth?

It would be great to hear from fellow atheists your thoughts on the subject.

81. Taking exception to Jake

Comment #71953 by gcdavis on September 20, 2007 at 1:39 am

Science=method. Atheism=conclusion. They're different. We also argue that a godless nature is a conclusion more compatible with scientific thinking than that ancient superstitions were accurate in the absence of evidence, but don't let that confuse you.

That sums it up for me.

Also lets not forget that the majority of atheists (including this one) are not scientists. Even a poll taken in the RDF forum (a likely venue for scientists) showed 44% of us were "lay" persons

http://richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24321

82. Against the grain: There are questions that science cannot answer

Comment #71947 by gcdavis on September 20, 2007 at 1:23 am

We raise all sorts of questions beyond the material world.

If there are questions that need answering beyond the material world lets ask them and if no answer can be found lets be honest and say we don't know. To say that beliefs that were conceived in the iron age can offer a satisfactory explanation is absurd.

And as for the Thatcher comparison that too is ridiculous, what Dawkins says is that if the source of your religion is the bible then it is dishonest to pick and choose which bits you believe in. The earth is a few thousand years old and was created by a supernatural being in 6 days, end of story.

83. Religious education

Comment #71545 by gcdavis on September 19, 2007 at 2:31 am

Hey guys that Ark was really some boat

http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/sizeark.html

84. Religious education

Comment #71193 by gcdavis on September 18, 2007 at 2:36 am

pewkatcho

Your comment about Noah reminds me of the lyrics of one my favourite songs, It ain't necessarily so.
It could become the atheists anthem





It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
The things that you're liable
To read in the Bible
It ain't necessarily so

David was small but oh my
David was small but oh my
He shot Goliath
Who lay down and dieth
Little David was small but oh my

Jonah he lived in a whale
Jonah he lived in a whale
He made his home in that fishes abdomen
Jonah he lived in a whale

Moses was found on a stream
Moses was found on a stream
Floated on water old Pharaoh's daughter
Fished him she says from that stream

It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
They tell all your children
The Devil he's a villain
It ain't necessarily so

85. Religious education

Comment #71167 by gcdavis on September 18, 2007 at 1:25 am

For students up to 11 years
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/religion/

For 11-14 years
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/secondary_RE/

General
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/secondary_RE/rel7a/?view=get


These links provide some of the source material that the author is talking about.
There are very occasional references to a world without god but at no point is the student allowed to examine the atheist perspective in depth.

Questions like "Who was Noah" presume that such a bloke existed! How can you deal with this sort of nonsense?

86. The smallest signs of retreat

Comment #68521 by gcdavis on September 7, 2007 at 11:54 am

Comment 68519
This is just the sort of disgusting suggestion that we have come to expect from you atheist rabble. The holy.... explicity states that eating your children is forbidden. If you are hungry you should eat someone else's!

87. The smallest signs of retreat

Comment #68519 by gcdavis on September 7, 2007 at 11:45 am

Hey guys I'm new to this forum. Is it ok for atheists to eat their children, I'm getting mighty hungry!

88. Court bans Christian cross on private land in public park

Comment #68359 by gcdavis on September 7, 2007 at 2:08 am

Happy Hominid

We don't get countdown, thanks for the link, its powerfull stuff!

89. Interview with BHA President Polly Toynbee

Comment #67971 by gcdavis on September 5, 2007 at 12:45 pm

Polly has been a trenchant voice in British journalism for a long time. She comes from a tradition of social justice and liberal values and is a long time member of the National Secular Society and this is where her real strength lies, in challenging the privileges and special pleading that religion has enjoyed within the British political system. British humanism is a bit sandals and beards and I do not think that it is offers a platform worthy of her talents, of course I hope that I am wrong.

90. The New Atheists

Comment #67659 by gcdavis on September 4, 2007 at 7:59 am

As others have said, a thoughtful article. I think we should distinguish between atheism and secularism. Although I describe myself as the former I consider the latter to be more important. The advocacy of secularism is sensible in any society even for the religious and some of them actually acknowledge this. Secularism and all that stems from it underpins freedom, democracy and justice. A secular society that bases its decision making processes on rational argument is less likely to fall pray to extremist politics.

Tragically the body politic of the USA has been corrupted and subverted by the religious right to the extent that politicians are required to compete with each other to demonstrate their faith in a spiritual virility test. This demeans them and insults the electorate.

Although finding common ground is necessary in resolving any dispute, I think the ante has to be maintained for some considerable time before conciliation is appropriate.

91. What do these atheists understand of religion?

Comment #67287 by gcdavis on September 3, 2007 at 2:48 am

What do these atheists understand of religion?

Nothing and Everything!

Nothing: because faith in the supernatural is infantile and does not warrant further examination

Everything: for the same reason as Nothing.

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

Comment #67007 by gcdavis on September 1, 2007 at 10:08 am

Socrates was deemed the wisest of men because he "knew that he didn't know".

I thought that was Donald Rumsfeld!

93. Polling Data on Science and Religion

Comment #66991 by gcdavis on September 1, 2007 at 8:36 am

NJS
The article refers to the paradox of people approving of the benefits of science whist still retaining religious beliefs. The risk is in polarising the debate and forcing people to choose. However when push comes to shove, for instance if schools try to give equal status to Creationism and Evolution, I would agree we do have to stand up and fight for science.

94. Polling Data on Science and Religion

Comment #66931 by gcdavis on September 1, 2007 at 3:15 am

It is a dangerous idea to pit science against religion. You don't necessarily need science at all to come to the conclusion that religion and belief in god are irrational.
You just need an enquiring mind and a healthy dose of scepticism.

A few years after realising that my christmas presents didn't come from a red suited man in the sky, I turned my attention to the white bearded one, god, and decided there wasn't one. Aged about 11 or 12 I knew little of science and didn't have parents or adults around me promoting either cause. I wasn't clever or precocious, and I have achieved little in the way of qualifications but I did (and do) prefer to think for myself and challenge received wisdom. That was the only tool that I needed. I was lucky that I lived in the UK, I realise my transition would have not been as easy if I had lived in a strongly religious society that many experience.

Of course science has provided an explanation for virtually all the questions that religion once sought to answer, however when you force people to choose between them there can be only one winner and it isn't science! Surely we should undermine religion by attacking its privileges and the spurious structures that support them. We should explain the dangers of fundamentalist belief, religious or otherwise. We should demonstrate that atheists are moral, ethical people and we don't need science to do that.

95. Orthodox Call on Sinners To Give Chickens a Fairer Shake

Comment #66726 by gcdavis on August 31, 2007 at 6:45 am

They waste breath arguing over the "rights" of a chicken whilst continuing to mutilate the genitalia of millions of boys!

There is a comment facility at the Jewish Daily Forward website (url given in article)

96. Fallen Pastor Seeks Aid to Pursue Studies

Comment #66040 by gcdavis on August 28, 2007 at 2:48 am

There was a devout Pastor called Ted
Who occasionally like to give head
When caught he denied
And simply replied
That his "cup" runneth over instead

97. Fallen Pastor Seeks Aid to Pursue Studies

Comment #66038 by gcdavis on August 28, 2007 at 2:25 am

A more local account of the story is here
http://www.coloradoconfidential.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2630

98. Scientists should unite against threat from religion

Comment #65272 by gcdavis on August 23, 2007 at 12:30 pm

Science and religion are mutually exclusive for one simple but fundamental reason. You can't reason someone out of a position that they did not reason themselves into in the first place

99. CNN Request for 'I-Reports' on religion

Comment #65130 by gcdavis on August 23, 2007 at 1:46 am

I have submitted mine to CNN International, but I cant find the relevant I-Report pages on Faith, anyone have a link?

100. PZ Myers sued for a negative review in a blog post

Comment #64607 by gcdavis on August 21, 2007 at 2:03 am

Even in the litigious US this seems bizarre. The indictment: Injury - Assault, Libel, and Slander. Is Pivar just a conceited nutcase?

He seems to have the dosh to fund it himself?
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/08/pseudoscience-n.html

Are there any lawyers out there, does an action like this have any chance of success?

http://www.selforganization.com/

he is in "good" company under the delusional tag at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/rss/tag/delusional/new