1051. Militant atheists: too clever for their own good

Comment #30108 by Logicel on April 7, 2007 at 1:41 am

Veronique, I hope you have enjoyed a nice glass of wine by the time you read this.

The directions needed for doing boldface, underlining, italics, and blockquotes are given if you click on Comment Posting Guidelines at the top of your comment window.

You can also press these two keys on your keyboard simultaneously: Ctrl and u to see the HTML code being used to generate italics, boldface, etc. Select find in this page from your browser's edit menu to find the words which are boldfaced, etc, then copy and paste them into your window including the HTML code preceding and ending the words. Then replace the words with your own.

1052. U.N. Draft Cites Humans in Recent Climate Shifts

Comment #30021 by Logicel on April 6, 2007 at 8:31 am

philos wrote: "What sparked my comments was dismay and concern that this 'clear-thinking oasis' website is cloaked in liberally biased propaganda, as most Professors would see fit (see link below) and not neutral as it should be." (boldface is mine)
________

What an odd coupling: clear-thinking with neutrality? You need not to have an opinion based on evidence in order to be clear-thinking?

DAWKINS DOES NOT RUN THIS SITE. Sorry for the caps, but I am fed up with posters not comprehending this. I remember fondly Dawkins mentioning during some interview (think it was with the deceased Dickins) that this website is doing very well and is becoming a nice community, and he went go to say that he can say that, because he has NOTHING to do with the running of the site.

Dawkins does seem to be liberal based in his thinking which is what I have gleaned from his writings, but not rabidly so. He is more of a libertarian, in the sense that private matters are nobody's business except the people involved (particularly regarding sexual activity between consenting adults).

So philos, by boxing Dawkins as an liberal professor just because Dawkins is a professor, and then implying that Dawkins has some kind of liberal agenda for a website IN WHICH HE IS NOT INVOLVED IN, shows clearly that philos needs to learn how to be both clear thinking and opinionated at the same time.

And Briancoughlandworldcitizen, what happened, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed today? You are close to being gracious in this thread!!!(;-)))

1053. Dawkins vs Haggard: the Python Edition

Comment #30007 by Logicel on April 6, 2007 at 5:48 am

28. Comment #29991 by Vee eL on April 6, 2007 at 2:34 am
I liked the similarity between the two clips:
No information reached Haggerd/petshopman.

_______

great point

1054. The Selfish Green

Comment #30001 by Logicel on April 6, 2007 at 3:40 am

Yup, Veronique, I have been in France for ten years so far.

1055. The Selfish Green

Comment #30000 by Logicel on April 6, 2007 at 3:32 am

Hey Yorker, I don't know if you ever heard of Attenborough, but he is really an admirable chap, you ought to check him out! (;-)))

1056. The Selfish Green

Comment #29998 by Logicel on April 6, 2007 at 3:28 am

Veronique, thanks for your feedback on my odd dislike of the eminently likable Attenborough. Thanks to Yorker, I have now experienced the wished for epiphany. Onto working on my other existing faults.

The content of your comments and the style in which they are written actually reminds me a bit of Jane Goodall's ineffable essence.

1057. The Selfish Green

Comment #29993 by Logicel on April 6, 2007 at 3:06 am

Yorker, ok, you did it. I like Attenborough now. I learned how to drive a car with great reluctance finally at the age of 42---it was the only means of getting to my job as a director of a small-town local history museum. 15 years has lapsed since then, and so has my driver's license. It is a rare characteristic in the world that I live, so Attenborough reigns supreme in my book now, and I better not hear anymore dissin' about the guy!!!

BTW, I am a typical native New Yorker, soft on the inside, tough on the outside.

1058. The Selfish Green

Comment #29839 by Logicel on April 5, 2007 at 5:23 am

Yorker and celestial_T, My inability to appreciate Attenborough is testimony to my imperfection. I have tried, but so far I cannot warm up to the guy--he just turns me off. He has the same effect on my British husband. I will keep on trying to be receptive to him and his message, maybe someday I will see the light.

1059. Is God a Delusion?

Comment #29820 by Logicel on April 5, 2007 at 2:32 am

catchy_nick, Thanks for the link to your vid and for the important consequence of my identifying that there is a Pale Blue Dot challenge going full force on youtube. I love this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47EBLD-ISyc&mode=related&search=

1060. Religion useless to Dawkins

Comment #29677 by Logicel on April 4, 2007 at 3:08 am

cheshirecat wrote, "I think the review has a certain wry tone."
_________

Coming from a commenter whose posts are just a wee wry--some of your extremely dry ones have spontaneously combusted in front of me, poof, gone up in smoke--perhaps you are a projecting onto this author what comes as naturally to you as her dropping ipods into pools?

1061. The Most Hated Family in America

Comment #29669 by Logicel on April 4, 2007 at 2:09 am

Joe_OD wrote, "If Hitler really understood evolution then he would have realized that breeding a master race would take longer than his thousand year reich would take to play out. Hitler didn't understand evolution, he understood social Darwinism, a bastardization of the ideas put forth by Darwin, and pseudo-scientific Nazi eugenics."
___________

Hitler in reality was proposing inbreeding--blonde blue-eyed folks getting it on and begetting blonde blue-eyed babies. His master race would have been doomed to die out from inbreed infertility and disease.

1062. Creationism debate continues to evolve

Comment #29667 by Logicel on April 4, 2007 at 1:50 am

I agree with PaulJ.

And this excerpt from dirtpiggy's post is brilliant:

"Another thing I do not understand: Christians believe in the virgin birth, but they don't clamour that it should be taught in sex ed that the Holy Spirit might impregnate you. They believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and don't ask that schools teach the process of resurrection in Biology. They don't ask that it be taught that the earth is flat in geography. Why do they seem to be able to work around every fact that basically proves their religious doctrine to be false, except evolution?"

Unfortunately, evolution is somewhat difficult to understand, especially when you insist on eyewitness proof as being the only worthwhile evidence for evolution.

1063. Time in the Animal Mind

Comment #29666 by Logicel on April 4, 2007 at 1:36 am

Well written article and fascinating, clever experiments.

I agree with ferfuracious regarding episodic memory and memes--memes are imitated, and very few animals so far have shown the ability to imitate.

1064. The Selfish Green

Comment #29663 by Logicel on April 4, 2007 at 12:55 am

I enjoyed this program very much. Dimbleby was a good moderator with a firm, comprehensive, and energetic hand. Leakey is a crusty old codger, delightfully so--I can imagine C. Hitchens morphing into a version of Leakey as Hitchens ages. Dawkins was coolly elegant and passionately honest. Goodall is beyond serene. However, I still cannot appreciate Attenborough--his fabled communicative style smacks too much of the down-home preacher to appeal to me.

My own level of optimism/negatively is balanced: I know it can be possible to do what we need to do but that it will be very difficult to pull off.

I have just a few questions:

The Net, what is that?

And where is cold fusion when you need it?

1065. The Selfish Green

Comment #29659 by Logicel on April 3, 2007 at 11:37 pm

HumanGame, thanks for the info on technocracy. I am a supporter of promoting an economy of abundance.

1066. Richard Dawkins Explains 'The God Delusion'

Comment #29108 by Logicel on April 1, 2007 at 4:23 pm

Regarding my comment concerning America being polarized between the liberals and conservatives, I suppose the American coinage of Blue/Red states is a figment of my supposedly European blind imagination (though I am an American)?

Bremas, I am glad that you are getting something out of Helian's semi-hysteria, because I am not so far. However, my flagging Helian as a troll is up to the site management to decide. Unfortunately the troll flag window does not allow for the reason for the suggesting a poster be flagged as troll, hence my mentioning it in this thread.

Once a troll, they can still post, but in a separate thread. Before the troll flag button was featured, discussion on threads got clogged up by posters of Helian's ilk, though it is unusual that Helian is an atheist and is exhibiting such trollish behavior. But a troll is a troll is a troll (borrowing from Gertrude Stein).

EDIT: Bremas, FYI, I flagged Briancoughlandworldcitizen comment to you as offensive, and I like the guy's posts in general! I am a fiscal conservative, but a social liberal, btw. And I sincerely hope you do not get driven from this site.

1067. Richard Dawkins Explains 'The God Delusion'

Comment #29044 by Logicel on April 1, 2007 at 10:25 am

I have flagged Helian as a troll because he is writing emotionally laden and very long posts in which he is repeating the same point over and over again as if somehow if he/she does that we will agree with him/her. She/he is also a name caller and is clogging up the discussion. True, he provides fodder for replies, and his earlier posts were less trollish but he has now morphed into a full time troll in my understanding of the term.

1068. Mr. Deity

Comment #29039 by Logicel on April 1, 2007 at 9:38 am

I also adore that Mr. Deity calls out the name of Zeus when he makes love!!!

1069. Mr. Deity

Comment #29038 by Logicel on April 1, 2007 at 9:35 am

JSteven, thanks for the link. Wow, Dalton, is a formormon (former mormon). He is funny and it would be wonderful if he could get funding to do longer versions. It is an amazing accomplishment that so many religious people enjoy his stuff.

My favorite bit is that homosexuality was a clerical error, because Mr. Deity thought he was being asked for a list of people that will do WELL, and it was mistaken for people who would go to HELL--sort of like the comparative clerical biblical translation error of Mary being a virgin instead of just a young girl.

1070. Richard Dawkins Explains 'The God Delusion'

Comment #29033 by Logicel on April 1, 2007 at 9:00 am

BTW, I am a passport-carrying American who lived in America for 39 years in various parts of the country before moving to Europe 18 years ago. Family members and friends still live there, and I am in contact with American colleagues all day in the line of my business.

Opinions are like arseholes, we all got one, and Helian, you are entitled to yours as I am to mine, and mine is that you are hypersensitive to criticism regarding America, that you have boxed Europeans in the same box you claim Europeans have done to Americans.

1071. In the Beginning

Comment #29026 by Logicel on April 1, 2007 at 8:35 am

Yorker, Ah, it seems like this particular audio was for us similar to the proverbial elephant being touched by blind people--we both might have gotten the wrong end of the stick. However, based on the part of the elephant I touched, I would say Scott did an excellent job. Of course the bar she had to pass was as low as her either not barfing or throwing Morris over the edge of the Grand Canyon so maybe I am not being demanding enough of her.

When Morris started to press her about his problems with the scientific explanation of the Grand Canyon, she very wisely cut it short by saying that the scientific knowledge concerning the formation of the Grand Canyon was validated by substantial evidence. Apparently Morris thinks that only eye witness testimony to the formation of the Grand Canyon is good enough.

BTW, Morris stated that his grandfather started some kind of creationist institute, so he comes from a line of wingnuts and has such familial, emotional, and probably financial investment in his stance, that the only response was what the able Scott, who is very experienced dealing with his kind, gave him.

1072. In the Beginning

Comment #28983 by Logicel on April 1, 2007 at 2:48 am

For some reason I did not hear Eugenie Scott conversing with Ham, but her conversation with Morris was painful to listen to. Here is a non-believer, passionately appreciative of science both as a body of developing knowledge and investigative method standing together in front of the majestic, natural reality of the Grand Canyon with a man completely infected with the religious bug.

This unlikely companion had previously stated that he cannot deviate from following the bible literally because if he did so it would show duplicity on the part of his God, and since God cannot be one who dupes then the bible has to be correct. The site of such natural grandeur then encourages him to wax his irrational, faith-based prose to such a sickening shine, that if I was in Scott's place I would have barfed--or maybe entertained the notion of nudging him closer to the edge--instead of politely but tensely terminating the conversation.

To criticize atheists who are on the combative front with these wingnuts on a daily basis just because they have not perfectly rebuted their nonsense is to say the least a bit dense. My big toe could not even fit into these atheists' shoes.

As for the practicality or benefit of a media coverage such as this, all I can say, what it accomplished for me is to shown how rational some are, and how irrational others are, some to the point of insanity. In other words, this coverage only widened the gap between the opposing sides for me and will not encourage me to hold back my ridicule for nonsense such as expressed by Morris. The palpable disappointment in both Morris and Scott's voices regarding how each can be inspired by the Grand Canyon in such an opposing manner was proof to me that the chasm which exists between the two sides is as real as the Grand Canyon.

1073. Richard Dawkins Explains 'The God Delusion'

Comment #28975 by Logicel on April 1, 2007 at 2:11 am

Clearly, America is polarized between the right and the left.

As for COMPLETELY losing one's admiration for someone (RD) who wrote one line of text in one book (TGD) with which you are dismayed, I got to wonder how comprehensive the original admiration for RD was. From what I have read and heard from Richard Dawkins is a consistently rational presentation of his viewpoints--they may be disagreed with certainly, but I regard Dawkin's stance not to be one of hate mongering.

As far as the possibility of a theocracy developing in America, apparently one does not have to be concerned about that possibility happening just because in the past it has not. I think it is because of Dawkins admiration and respect for America in general and his liking of Americans that has motivated him to be so outspoken in his concern for what is happening there.

Dawkins is not tarring all Americans with the same brush--he is outspokenly focusing on an element in America that have not only shown its focus on eroding the constitution and hindering science advancement, but is well funded and politically focused.

1074. A History of Violence

Comment #28970 by Logicel on April 1, 2007 at 1:06 am

Veronique, How disappointing that your brilliant response was lost! Please try to compose it again as I enjoy your posts.

I can use the back button to get to my post when that happens. I then copy the post, sign back on to this site, and paste the post. However, some posters have stated that they are unable to do this.

If you realize that your post is becoming an opus in front of your eyes, you can copy and paste it into a word processing program--I use Windows bloc notes--and then copy and paste it back to this site.

HTML text editors allow you to use HTML code for boldface, italics, underlining, block notes, etc. as this site allows you. You can press your keyboard buttons, control (ctrl) and u simultaneously to see any HTML code being used on this site (so you can choose find on this page, and then copy and paste it for use in your own post)

Here is a list of HTML text editors available for downloading:

http://www.google.com/search?q=html+text+editor&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=mozilla&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial

If you choose to download a HTML text editor, then you could type your text into it first, and then copy and paste the post to this site.

1075. Hell is real and eternal: Pope

Comment #28094 by Logicel on March 28, 2007 at 12:38 am

Thanks for the many posts picking apart the nonsense which the papacy represents.

Regarding the comments about undoing the damage caused by Catholicism, I have been recently honest with myself, and accept that my recovery from 18 years of an abusive catholic upbringing is still ongoing. Via discussion on this website and reading various books on the subject, I realize now, that I have an opportunity to shake off the last of the negativity that upbringing instilled in me regarding my humanity.

1076. Hell is real and eternal: Pope

Comment #28093 by Logicel on March 28, 2007 at 12:27 am

I hate, yes, hate the Vatican and the Pope since my earliest memories. The Vatican and the Pope represent all what is disgusting in humanity--the sham of malignant leadership and its sheep following. With its purple and red robes resplendent, gold tones all over the place, and a totally ridiculous dress-up army defending exactly what--a tiny stake of land and a deluded, dangerous leader?

Sheeple give this long line of revolting nuttiness its chance to keep on keeping on. END THE MADNESS. Let's embrace our humanity, and work within its limits to be the best we can.

1077. Peanut Butter, The Atheist's Nightmare!

Comment #27872 by Logicel on March 27, 2007 at 5:09 am

The guy with the peanut-sized brain, Missler, apparently after failing at business decided to become a minister--how practical, he can really rake in the dough easily that way.

His 'scientific experiment' to discredit evolution was TOTALLY boring, and I found myself nodding off despite the brevity of the vid. Perhaps religious people use religious preaching as soporifics?

1078. God and His Gays

Comment #27664 by Logicel on March 26, 2007 at 3:46 am

tomjlawson wrote, "I, personally, cannot stand to see someone eat a raw tomato,..."
_________

Try a little un-aversion therapy--line your bedroom walls with pictures of Jessica Alba munching a juicy, whole, raw tomato straight from her delectable hands. (:-)

1079. Happy 66th Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #27661 by Logicel on March 26, 2007 at 3:29 am

I am not big on birthdays--I hardly remember my own! Though it will be easier now, since mine is one day later than yours.

But I will make an exception for yours. A very sincere happiest of Happy Birthdays to you. Thank you, Richard Dawkins, for your generosity, hard work, and the ability to share and explain your exquisite grasp of science in a lucid, creative, and enjoyable manner. Like many others, I appreciate your brilliant books, your formidable debating, your enlightening lectures and interviews, and especially this wonderfully informative and friendly website which is a tremendous boon to the international atheistic community.

I look forward to seeing what else you will pull out of your creative hat. I also am looking forward to reading four of your books that my husband, who insists on remembering my birthday, bought me as birthday presents. (:-) Furthermore, it is heartwarming to witness all the positive outpouring of thanks and appreciation for you, and it makes all the more ridiculous the spurious claims that you encourage hatred and contempt.

1080. God and His Gays

Comment #27567 by Logicel on March 25, 2007 at 10:11 am

Yes, ColonelAbernathy, I am kidding, and just running with the brilliant mustard ball you threw. Unless of course I am lying, and I really do drink my mustard instead of eating it. (:-)

1081. God and His Gays

Comment #27557 by Logicel on March 25, 2007 at 9:18 am

ColAbernathy, your comment was funny and appreciated--I was just being silly back.

1082. If only gay sex caused global warming

Comment #27556 by Logicel on March 25, 2007 at 9:14 am

Veronique wrote:

"DavidJMH

Strange post - I presume you are referring to the end of the Roman civilisation."

________

Oh, thanks for clearing that up, I thought he was implying that having lots of babies is a responsible activity.

1083. God and His Gays

Comment #27550 by Logicel on March 25, 2007 at 8:52 am

ColAbernathy, You need to try my recipe for my special Dijon mustard--a vat of fine white wine with a few mustard seeds, preferably of the organic persuasion, floating on top to give it some attitude.

1084. Artificial Intelligence, With Help From the Humans

Comment #27546 by Logicel on March 25, 2007 at 8:42 am

clear and easy-to-understand explanation, denoir, thanks.

If you are aware of The Secret, I would appreciate if you would give your opinion concerning the 'science' of the law of attraction supposedly underpinning that approach.

http://www.thesecret.tv/

1085. God and His Gays

Comment #27541 by Logicel on March 25, 2007 at 8:21 am

freestateofmind wrote: "I think that most straight people don't realize they are using faulty logic and what I call "personal preference projection."
______

Stupidly, therapy has been until recently focused on 'helping' gays to get over their 'problem.' Therapy, instead should be used to help people who are disturbed by gay sex to get over their problem.

In the late sixties, on a student union march/meeting at Wash DC, while we were all sleeping together on some school gym's wooden floor, I had my first glimpse of 2 men cuddling and kissing each other. I was 18 at the time, and it made me feel uncomfortable. That was the beginning of my own personalized, inner therapy. Intellectually and rationally I could see that there was nothing morally wrong with how these two young men were acting, and that I was the one with the problem. Now, decades later, I enjoy seeing any affection/love displayed between consenting adults as it is a positive, uplifting experience. I treated myself, and the cure was a success!

1086. The many forms of fundamentalism

Comment #27540 by Logicel on March 25, 2007 at 8:08 am

Corylus, nice synopsis of postmodernism--I especially enjoyed the conclusion.

1087. Gimme That Old Time Religion (Bashing)

Comment #27348 by Logicel on March 24, 2007 at 7:27 am

"My point here is not to carry a brief for liberal Christianity or any other religion, moderate or immoderate. Nor do I want to step into the age-old argument between atheism and theism. My interest is different and goes to the point of this group blog: If we are interested in getting ourselves better together to contend with the theocratic elements of our time, I submit that Harris offers a false and counterproductive path."
__________

Clarkson's writing style is at least straightforward and modern--you have a chance of understanding his points quite quickly unlike the written mush of Plantinga and D. Robertson. However, under the broad sweeping of his white-washing brush, there is no content, just a bunch of mealy-mouthed mewling: We must forget the truth so we can battle our joint enemy, the theocrats. As long as Clarkson does not openly confront the danger that all faith-based beliefs present, he is kidding himself because, in reality, he is his own enemy but he does not know that he is, and instead on working on that aspect, he is focusing on the enemy outside and not within.

Clarkson, like all his fellow religious moderates, do not like and resist completely the raising of their consciousness that as long as they continue to regard believing based on faith without a shred of provable evidence as a virtue, they are allowing and encouraging the rabid, extreme expression of what that means, even if they, themselves do not fly planes into buildings.

1088. The Fourth Flea!

Comment #27173 by Logicel on March 23, 2007 at 10:52 am

Riley wrote, "Christians, for example, claim that the words they write down in books are not their own words, but are in fact God's word. They claim that the will to codefy their morality into law is not their own will, but is God's will. So who is it again, that is replacing God with humanity? Clearly, in effect at least, it's you David."
____________

Very good point as atheists do not believe in God, therefore how can they replace nothing which is God, with something, i.e., humanity? As you have pointed out, DR is doing exactly what he claims his opponents are doing. He is often very confused and muddled.

1089. Debate between Alister McGrath and Peter Atkins

Comment #27154 by Logicel on March 23, 2007 at 9:52 am

I, also, gave up listening because of the muffled sound.

Janey, great comment!

1090. If only gay sex caused global warming

Comment #27047 by Logicel on March 23, 2007 at 3:17 am

Using the phrase, "being worked-up" is telling. It certainly does sound stressful and repellently unattractive. How about replacing those words, with "being passionately interested?"

I have been passionately interested in our environment since the late sixties, and the passion is still there. Never owned a car, have done recycling all those decades, read as much as I can find on the subject, and am now absolutely chuffed by having access to the Net for my continuing research.

I don't take my life for granted, and I don't take the environment to which my life is intimately connected for granted either.

1091. The Salem Hypothesis

Comment #27045 by Logicel on March 23, 2007 at 3:03 am

MartinSGill, thanks for that concise summary of how science and technology can and need to be welded together.

Anecdotally, one of the most vocal atheists I have ever known--my own sister--was a Civil Engineer.

As for the comment by Fonex,

"I utterly HATE these scum (ignorant engineers -- not ALL engineers, obviously); they are arrogant, narrow-minded, stupid, and completely useless, both in the academic and social context."

Fonex specified ignorant engineers. It would be helpful if Fonex elaborated and defined who/what is meant by ignorant engineers.

1092. Religion

Comment #27040 by Logicel on March 23, 2007 at 2:21 am

Carlin, native son of the NYC neighborhood, Morningside Heights, is a comic of such professional potency, effortlessly delivering lines perfectly via content, inflection and timing, that Joe Pesci can only be considered a lesser God to Carlin's supreme and dazzling divinity.

1093. 'God Is Not a Moderate'

Comment #26706 by Logicel on March 21, 2007 at 8:11 am

Fonex, thanks for that belly laugh!

1094. 'God Is Not a Moderate'

Comment #26697 by Logicel on March 21, 2007 at 7:45 am

Harris wrote, "You have invested a lot of time, energy, and emotion in being a Catholic. But given the benefits you say you get from your faith, this seems less like an investment and more like a withdrawal of funds." (bolding is mine)
________

Brilliant turn of phrase! Keep on withdrawing those funds, Sullivan, and you may find yourself bankrupct before your death rolls around. And what would save you then?

1095. Polish woman wins abortion case

Comment #26657 by Logicel on March 21, 2007 at 2:10 am

Cloud (your command of english is excellent), Jonathan Dore and Beth, thanks for your posts!

1096. Biology teacher fired for referring to Bible

Comment #26653 by Logicel on March 21, 2007 at 1:49 am

Religion has not be able to maintain its stranglehold on humanity without not being extremely clever. Christians will use anything available to further their agenda, often incorporating elements from the other side(s), stealing them and then dressing them up with Christian cloaks of dense stupidity.

1097. The Blasphemy Challenge

Comment #26651 by Logicel on March 21, 2007 at 1:33 am

Jaquito, I briefly browsed that site and can see that though its approach is less rabid and therefore more congenial to modern youth, none of their reasons given for belief in God and in a Christian one with emphasis on Jesus can withstand the opponents view. Their reasons are just rehashing of all the very weak arguments relating to the existence of God, and which have been soundly refuted by atheists.

The very first essay says right at front, that if you do not even believe in the possibility of God, then you will not listen to their 'good' arguments. However, atheists are willing to accept such a possibility as long as there is evidential proof for the existence, but no atheist is willing to accept God on faith alone.

1098. 'God Is Not a Moderate'

Comment #26469 by Logicel on March 19, 2007 at 1:51 pm

tinisoli, great post at superciliosus. However, I cannot comment because when I try, I get a page of code instead.

Your points on language are so spot on.

1099. Lonely Atheists of the Global Village

Comment #26465 by Logicel on March 19, 2007 at 1:20 pm

severalspeciesof wrote, "...and I just don't get the feeling that Dennett wants to rid the world of religion so much as to understand it better and use what works and jettison that which doesn't."
_________

That is what I get also from the rather limited readings of Dennett's that I have done. He focuses on maintaining the benign aspects of religions. Harris also speaks fairly highly of what he considers as benign religions like Jainism and Buddhism. Trouble is that there are a very small number of benign religions and also a very limited number of benign aspects contained within the malignant big three.

1100. Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It?

Comment #26452 by Logicel on March 19, 2007 at 12:07 pm

denoir, thanks for your response.

I remember reading a sci fi short story in Analog years back about how a similar preference towards having male offspring, but in India, backfired as you could well imagine. Indian females became so rare, that they had become very powerful and incredibly valuable--not something about which the males were very happy!

As you so aptly said, this a very complicated issue, and I agree with your extremely important point as to the appalling inadequacy of a 2,000 year-old supposed 'morality' being used for our guide! This pathetic bunch of religious superstitions should not even be on any table for discussion concerning complicated situations involving genetic intervention.