101. Sean Hannity with Christopher Hitchens

Comment #54848 by Crazymalc on July 9, 2007 at 6:00 am

I too think Christopher Hitchens did quite well.

The "First Cause" argument seems to get more airtime than it deserves.

Thesit: Ha ha! But what came before energy? You can't answer. I say God came before.

Atheist: But, what came before God?

Theist: Ummm...

Both sides are asking: What came before X?

And the answer to both questions is that we just don't know. Theists can't answer what came before X (X being god) and Atheist can't answer what came before X (X being energy/matter).

It is what Richard Dawkins calles PAP (Permamnent Agnosticm in Principle) in TGD. We can't know. We'l never know. In TGD, Richard Dawkins uses the example of whether I see Red that the same way you see Red. We'll just never know.

102. Interview with Dan Dennett on Danish TV

Comment #54391 by Crazymalc on July 6, 2007 at 7:23 pm

Daniel Dennett is one of the treasures of the world.

It is interesting to compare Richard Dawkin's and Dan Dennett's point of view. Richard Dawkin's seems convinced that we'd be better off without it. Dennett is not so sure.

His "place of solace" is an interesting idea. If you have the misfortune of having no friends, no family and no social network to speak of then a church and its community can be a great source of comfort.

But, is it "right" to find solace in something that is false? If you apply a decrease-the-suffering idea (like Dawkin's argues in TGD on the issue of abortion),then that lonely person suffering has been decreased, albeit in a false way.

I'm sure someone will chime in with a "but religion is evil". But it is not all evil. Lonely person above being a good example.

And this is why I think Daniel Dennett is a treasure. We need to break the spell of religion and study it some more. See if we can find ways to get the good out of it and none of the bad. Let's fully understand it first and then see what can be done

103. Don't Mince Words: The London Car-Bomb Plot Was Designed to Kill Women

Comment #53808 by Crazymalc on July 3, 2007 at 10:00 am

Anyone know who the New Zealand diplomat was?

104. Intelligent Design and Creationism/Evolution Controversy

Comment #53503 by Crazymalc on July 1, 2007 at 7:01 pm

I like the way this lady speaks. Very clear. Very logical.

I liked the way she exposed the false dichotomy. Very clear and straight forward.

Much props

105. The Stupidity of Fox News is Truly Beyond Belief

Comment #52341 by Crazymalc on June 26, 2007 at 7:32 pm

Did the good father even read TGD? It doesn't seem so.

106. Row over religion's role in US jails

Comment #52087 by Crazymalc on June 26, 2007 at 5:59 am

logical said: "...but psychotherapy works only if the access is provided by a health system BEFORE the man or youth got used to violence."

You really think so? You seem to be implying that once a rapist, always a rapist.

And how would you do it BEFORE anyway? "All potential rapist, please stand up and come this way". Seems like a good idea, but impossible in practise.

One of the bravest man I ever met had a long history of violence. He had been in and out of jail many times for violent crimes (though never rape). He also use to work as a prostitute. He is covered in tats and you'd want to walk around him if you saw him on the street. The reason for all of this is some horrific abuse he suffered at the hands of his parents and others as a child. He faced up to his fears, his hurt and his past and now is gradualy moving towards a "normal life".

107. Germany imposes ban on Tom Cruise

Comment #52083 by Crazymalc on June 26, 2007 at 5:50 am

They have no banned it because of Tom Cruise's beliefs.

They have banned it because of the film's content.

108. Row over religion's role in US jails

Comment #52000 by Crazymalc on June 25, 2007 at 9:37 pm

Secular versions can and do work well.

Here's an interesting question. Would you prefer a deluded peaceful loving man, or a clear thinking recidivist?

109. Supreme Court nixes suit over faith-based plan

Comment #51980 by Crazymalc on June 25, 2007 at 7:20 pm

Seperation of church and state indeed

110. God Hates the World

Comment #51979 by Crazymalc on June 25, 2007 at 7:19 pm

Wow. This one stirred up the pot!

I think an argument against moderation is that it creates a environment for the fundamentalist. Moderation claims that to know God, you need to read your Bible and pray. Makes sense from within the Biblical framework.

The fundamentalist know their Bibles and pray much more than the average moderate. So, surely their close to God that the moderates. Right. Right?! An interesting thought for the moderates.

THESE guys however are not even biblical. The "You're already doomed" and "Not even God can save you" is so unbiblical. The story of Paul's conversion is proof (biblically speaking) that EVERYONE can be forgiven.

*sigh*

111. Evolution IS a Blind Watchmaker

Comment #51631 by Crazymalc on June 23, 2007 at 9:53 pm

I think Steve missed the point also. Clocks are not alive and do not mate. Therefore they can't evolve. There is no concept of the most fit surviving.

So some twists need to be put in.

Here "Fitness" is replaced by "Accuracy to tell time".

Nice work.

Loved the humping clocks

112. Bill O'Reilly and Kirk Cameron on Atheism

Comment #51180 by Crazymalc on June 21, 2007 at 9:17 pm

Sad. Sad. Sad. And very arrogant.

Crocoduck? I think Richard Dawkins made an argument about this in TGD. Let's assume that there is not crocoduck in the fossil record. "Aha!", says the creationist. "There is a gap. Evolution is wrong. Let's worship the gap."

And then, low and behold a crocoduck fossil is discovered.

"Aha!", says the creationist. "There is now two gaps!. Where is the croco-crocoduck and the duck-crocoduck? My argument has gotten even better. We now have two gaps to worship."

This of course leads to the absurd position of needing every intermediate fossil. Which is just never going to be possible. We are in fact lucky just to have the fossils we do.

113. Quackbuster causes too much flak for university

Comment #50063 by Crazymalc on June 14, 2007 at 7:42 pm

Down with truth!

114. Vatican cardinal calls on Catholics to stop funding Amnesty

Comment #50061 by Crazymalc on June 14, 2007 at 7:42 pm

Sad. Sad. Sad.

Let's increase the suffering of the world.

Bastards

115. Baptists Warned About Islam, Atheism

Comment #49704 by Crazymalc on June 13, 2007 at 3:42 am

Ick of the east said:

I wonder how evil Islam really is, when it allows you to breastfeed off of chicks in the office?



Refering to woman as "chicks" does not help either

116. Baptists Warned About Islam, Atheism

Comment #49673 by Crazymalc on June 12, 2007 at 9:24 pm

Perhaps you should read the post again.

I said clasifing people as "evil" is wrong and misses the point.

I made no claim what so ever about a system of beliefs.

117. The Great Mutator

Comment #49672 by Crazymalc on June 12, 2007 at 9:07 pm

"breathtaking inanity"

I love that phrase

118. Bengali Translation of The First Chapter of The God Delusion

Comment #49668 by Crazymalc on June 12, 2007 at 8:51 pm

I wonder how many times atheist texts have been translated into another language compares to how many times the Bible has been translated.

A one sided contest methinks

119. A Compass That Can Clash With Modern Life

Comment #49667 by Crazymalc on June 12, 2007 at 8:50 pm

"A second issue is the basis for interpretation."

No shit sherlock.

*shakes head in disbelief at the breastfeeding thing*

120. Baptists Warned About Islam, Atheism

Comment #49666 by Crazymalc on June 12, 2007 at 8:47 pm

Words like "Evil" when applied people, or groups of people, annoy me know end.

How stoopid and dividing are phrases like "Axis of Evil" and "Islam is a vicious, evil"?

Dumb. Dumb Dumb.

People do evil things no doubt, but that does not make them evil. Those idiots who flew the planes into the towers thought they were doing a "good thing". Striking a blow against "evil" America.

To blandly classify them as "evil people" misses the point of why they did it in the first place.

"They did it because the were evil" is a lazy statement

121. The Benny Hinn Report

Comment #49423 by Crazymalc on June 11, 2007 at 11:20 pm

I too am from Auckland, and once I embraced Atheism, I started to look for events like this. Just something for me to be bitter and cynical at.

Alas, I am now in Korea so I missed out on my chance

122. Tome truths

Comment #49422 by Crazymalc on June 11, 2007 at 11:12 pm

I can't see the cardboard figures collapsing in the near future.

Not when Michael Behe keeps on publishing his half-truth (at best books).

http://richarddawkins.net/article,1259,Evolution-God-as-Genetic-Engineer,Sean-B-Carroll-Science-Magazine

This gives the nervous something to cling onto.

123. Evolution: God as Genetic Engineer

Comment #49217 by Crazymalc on June 11, 2007 at 3:43 am

I don't know how to classify Behe. Is he merely stoopid? Or malicious?

124. Manliness is next to godliness

Comment #49213 by Crazymalc on June 11, 2007 at 3:39 am

This reminds me of my born again days and the Man Camps we went on. Lots of what it means to be a True Christian. Swearing was not encouraged.

Though me and a few guys decided to streak through the town we were in for the camp! Good times. Good times/

125. Another Christian Science Fair embarrasses itself

Comment #45018 by Crazymalc on May 25, 2007 at 7:41 pm

*sigh*
My nephews and neice are being raised like Mr. Benson.

Breaks my heart

126. E.O. Wilson and Daniel Dennett

Comment #45005 by Crazymalc on May 25, 2007 at 7:02 pm

This is probably going to sound odd in a RichardDawkins forum, but:

Richard Dawkins: Good
Daniel Dennet: Better

His book "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" is mind numbingly good