101. Church row evolves over fossil boy

Comment #86543 by liberalartist on November 9, 2007 at 2:04 pm

"how stupid can you get?"

Amen! :)

Africa has many problems - civil wars, lack of water resources, and conservative christianity, just to name a few.

Why can't they just display a model of Turkana Boy? Then the real thing would be available to scientists and away from fanatics. Display him to future generations, which I hope will be more reasonable.

102. Fox News Discussion on 'The Golden Compass'

Comment #85687 by liberalartist on November 6, 2007 at 8:34 pm

Wow, thanks Fox news - I didn't realize that movie was anti-catholic. Can't wait to see it! I hope lots of other people feel the same way.

103. Response to Dinesh D'Souza op-ed

Comment #85649 by liberalartist on November 6, 2007 at 3:20 pm

"Finally, the association that he claims between Christianity and human rights is the epitome of absurdity"

How about Catholic obsession with birth control and condom use? Okay, their obsession with sex in general! Its very unhealthy and inhumane, especially when Catholic Bishops are telling people in Africa that you will get AIDS if you use a condom! Mother Teresa's concept of the greatest threat to world peace was abortion and birth control. Christianity is highly immoral.

I think this article was a great start, and I look forward to reading more. I'm also glad that Kelly pointed out the ridiculousness of Christians crying about 3 or 4 good books when they have hundreds on the shelf. I was in the library this weekend and browsed the religion sectio. Books on religion were several rows deep, but I saw none on atheism or skepticism. On a positive note - the God Delusion was checked out! :)

104. Jury Awards Father $11M in Funeral Case

Comment #84564 by liberalartist on November 2, 2007 at 1:26 pm

I am a staunch defender of free speech, even from morons - which are a-plenty in the US. But these people are harrassing others, it doesn't matter what they are saying. If their intention was to protest homosexuality then why aren't they protesting at gay bars or court houses? Because that is not their primary purpose. Instead they choose to harrass grieving people in a way that gets lots of attention and lots of people clicking on their webpages - even atheists are doig that.

My brother is going to Iraq in January and my heart really goes out to the people who have to endure this harrassment while burying the man or woman they love. To hurt people while they are grieving is inhumane. If I had to endure that I'm sure I would be arrested - for assault!

105. Help Counter the New Atheist Crusade to 'Evangelize' America!

Comment #79476 by liberalartist on October 17, 2007 at 11:33 am

You can't have christianity without capitalism in America. Everything has a price. I just love it when American christians cry about their liberty being taken away as if they were a minority group while at the same time they try to create consitutional amendments to ban marriage from an actual minority group. Poor little evanglical christians just have it so tough!

"...better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea" (Mark 9:42 NKJV)."

That sounds like a death threat to me, but since it comes from "jesus" they are no doubt safe from legal repercussions.

106. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #75108 by liberalartist on October 1, 2007 at 8:47 pm

It seems like there is a lot of discussion going on about a subject none of us has studied (no suprise!). I think the main issue with "Theology" is that it is not academic. One may be doing their dissertation thru a theology department that focuses mainly on anthropology or linguistics, but if its a "theology" department, than that dissertation starts from the point of belief. There is no objectivity when it comes to believing in God and being a theologian, it goes with the major. Whereas someone who is doing "Religious Studies" could be an atheist. I can only speak from an American point of view, but here you only find theology departments in private schools, like Catholic colleges. The theology courses offered at my college vary from a course on Judaism, to World Religions, to Human Sexuality & Marriage - all of these courses are taken from the Catholic-approved point of view. As I mentioned previously I took Religion courses at a public University, it was all very objective and academic.

I started to take a Comparative Religions course at the college I work at (Theology department), thinking since I liked "World Religions" as an undergrad, I would enjoy it again. But the class was full of "believers" and I felt like a fish out of water. There was this assumption that anything spiritual is good. I ran away from that class as fast as I could. That semester I took The Scientific Revolution and wrote a paper on the horrors of ID.

And as a side note, Bush has an MBA, which may speak to the quality of that as an academic subject!

107. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #74960 by liberalartist on October 1, 2007 at 8:11 am

I work at a Jesuit college and theology is a requirement. I am grateful that I attended public schools myself because the religion courses I took were academic in nature and I learned what religion is and I learned about world religions. I loved the courses and my professor. I couldn't tell what religion she was, which I thought made her a good teacher. It was also my first step toward realizing religion is all hogwash. Ironically its been working at a Catholic college the last few years that has firmly put me in the "A" column. Students who come here don't get anything academic when it comes to religion; only what the Catholic Church wants them to believe. There is nothing "academic" about that.

108. Radical Christians in Iraq

Comment #73024 by liberalartist on September 23, 2007 at 9:20 pm

This is a story I would never see on CNN, I guess because it hits the truth. The Iraq war was about two things 1. Oil and 2. Religion. Bush attempted to control the oil for his corporate friends and attempted to convert the center of the middle east to Christianity for his "soul". He failed miserably of course and the people of Iraq are the sufferers. But missionaries aren't only from America. I believe it was South Korean missionaries who were recently held hostage by islamic radicals in Iraq. Perhaps they were converted during the Korean War...Oh, where shall America strike next?

109. Yes, it's a Hobbit. The debate that has divided science is solved at last (sort of)

Comment #72599 by liberalartist on September 21, 2007 at 8:33 pm

The great thing about it is that it is a mystery. To me it is an exciting discovery that should lead to more research and inspire people to study anthroplogy. Of course the religious nutters take all the fun out of things like this.

110. Row Brews Over DUP Call for Schools to Teach Creationism

Comment #72597 by liberalartist on September 21, 2007 at 8:19 pm

The irony in denying evolution is that most people don't realize they are dependent on that knowledge daily for the medicines that have been developed, vaccines, cures, etc. They want to wrap themselves up in ignorance like a security blanket. The modern world struggles forward but religious people are trying to pull us all back.

111. God Talk on 'The View'

Comment #71879 by liberalartist on September 19, 2007 at 8:29 pm

I thought a couple of them (Whoopie being one) thought the bible thumper was a loony, but one can't exactly say on national television that believing what the bible says is dumb. They would end up on FOX being accused of evil-doing. That's America for you.

I have to admit I wasn't suprised at the conversation, I've only seen bits of this show a couple times and always found it retarted. Why don't they have intelligent shows for women?? What am I saying?! It's television! A medium full of idiots.

Personally I think she came across as rather stupid for her beliefs, which to me is acually a good thing, as her ignorance may inspire others to realize how harmful religion is to one's intellect.

112. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #67975 by liberalartist on September 5, 2007 at 1:27 pm

A million years from now a pale blue dot will be spinning along in the vacuum of space, having finally healed from the human virus that infested it, destroying all life (except the cockroaches of course!). And Voyager floats on, the last vestige of our existence, when suddenly it gets sucked into the gravitational field of a star. C'est la vie !

113. There is no God and Dawkins is his Prophet

Comment #66804 by liberalartist on August 31, 2007 at 1:48 pm

I work at a Jesuit college (lots of SJ's around here!) and we require all students to take logic- not that it seems to be of much use since they are also required to take theology. People believe what they want to believe and make up the reasons as they go along. For catholics, the magic word is "mystery". If you can't prove it, then its all a part of the "mystery of god". Forget logic! I am always amazed by intelligent, educated people who stubbornly believe in the make-believe.

114. A Matter of Faith

Comment #65443 by liberalartist on August 24, 2007 at 7:39 am

As an American I must say, some of you have been meeting the wrong people! The other night on the news they were asking people to comment on a candidate and I swear they went to a wal-mart parking lot for the interviews...ugh! There are a few intelligent people in America - even if we are hard to find!

As for Sweeney, I used to love the Pat skit on SNL. Never bothered with the movie. I have been interested in seeing her monologue but wasn't impressed with the clips I saw here, maybe other parts are better. I can relate to her though, about her mom. Mine is very similar, catholic to the core and lives in denial that her daughter is really an atheist (I'm just confused). And her comment about learning in 2nd grade that god is not provable is a very typical catholic response. My mom would say the same thing. Faith is supposed to be about believing in God despite no proof. She also thinks reincarnation is a neat idea and went on birth control after her second child in two years. Most American catholics pick and choose their flavor of religion.

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

Comment #65212 by liberalartist on August 23, 2007 at 7:43 am

I am really enjoying what everyone wrote and wishing I had thought of it! Here is what I said:

You write these questions as if all humans have some level of "faith". You are wrong. I was taught as a child that faith is believing in something when there is no proof and somehow that was supposed to be a good thing. Eventually I outgrew a belief in Santa Clause. I am happy to say I have now outgrown the belief in God and all other supernatural entities.

Religion is being questioned today because so many people are embracing rational thought. Religious dogma, based on the belief system of ancient, primitive people, has no place in a modern society. Secularism is our future, religion is our past.

116. God Bless Me, It's a Best-Seller!

Comment #64695 by liberalartist on August 21, 2007 at 11:16 am

I am from the deep American South and am glad to hear Hitchens has found atheists among us. Sometimes I do feel like I am the only one, but then once in a while I have a conversation in which I become suspect that the other person just may not believe in God so much.

Generally speaking, I think a lot of Americans are sick of the Christian conservatives trying to tell us all how to live and I also think these books by Hitchens, Dawkins and others have inspired many to speak out. They have inspired me.

CNN is supposed to have a special this week on religion. I don't know much about it but am curious so I may tune in. I don't usually tune in to CNN (certifiably not news). Its a three- night special.

117. Islamic creationist group launches glitzy, global blitz

Comment #61213 by liberalartist on August 4, 2007 at 7:41 am

Americans are taught very little science in schools. Evolution is an avoided topic in many classrooms. I work with a lot of students who want to go into science in college but they are extremely underprepared and can't pass the basic courses. Some of them eventually figure out they were robbed of a good education the previous 12 years.

Sometimes I feel like the world is drifting into a new dark age where intellect and reason are banished for religious mania. The medical, humanistic, and political progress we have made as human beings is in jeopardy.

118. Sadly, an Honest Creationist

Comment #54306 by liberalartist on July 6, 2007 at 10:32 am

I'm not a scientist but I have never had difficulty understanding the general concept of evolution and I have recently had the opportunity to gain an even better understanding of it thru a variety of books. Science is fun!

I just don't understand people who have an education and yet still believe in the Bible. How can people put so much faith and belief in a book written by primitive nomads who had less knowledge about the world than today's average 7 year old? It really is pathetic that a man who is vastly more educated than I am in the sciences, clings so desperately to an ancient belief system. Religion really is brainwashing.

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

Comment #53815 by liberalartist on July 3, 2007 at 10:49 am

I really appreciate Hitchen's candor, something so hard to find these days. Religious apologists and political correctness have provided space for extremism to flourish. How can the western world have two standards for its citizens? Half exist in a free, fairly secular world, the other half live in a theocracy. Its time to demand that all people who want to live in the western world updhold those morals and standards. And I am tired of being made to feel that I am prejudice for saying that. There is nothing immoral about demanding freedom and equality for all people. Culture be damned!

120. I believe that there is no God.

Comment #52860 by liberalartist on June 28, 2007 at 9:11 am

"...it's everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I'm raising now is enough that I don't need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day."

I really like this part. Being as atheist is not negative nor hopeless. Its actually quite liberating.

I believe there is no god. Just a I believe the earth revolves around the sun. Like Richard Dawkins says in his book, if new evidence is found then I am free to change my position because my belief is not "faith". It is based on an understaning of the natural world and my place in it. And that understanding is always subject to knowledge and new information.

121. Rival to evolution may enter schools

Comment #52854 by liberalartist on June 28, 2007 at 8:39 am

I thought this problem only existed in my country. Beware Scotland, or your schools will be as dumbed-down as America's! There are many reasons our k-12 education ranks so low and religion is one of them.

122. Supreme Court nixes suit over faith-based plan

Comment #51943 by liberalartist on June 25, 2007 at 3:37 pm

America is on a downward spiral into theocracy. We lost democracy some time ago.

Schuermannator I have to say I think this "civil war" is going on now, its just not like the last one. And although I am not a scientist I fight on that side. But we are vastly outnumbered.

Just a couple weeks ago I was listening to NPR report about how each democratic candidate was talking about his/her faith. Once upon a time there was an America, founded by reasonable men who created a religious-independent country that was upheld through the 1960's when Kennedy had to assure voters that he, not the catholic church, would run the country. Now our presidents have prayer breakfasts, faith based initiatives, religious leaders at beck and call. And now we have a catholic-dominated supreme court that IS basing its decisions on religion!

I shake my head in disgust!

123. Executive Actions to Promote Religion Ruled Beyond Court Scrutiny

Comment #51938 by liberalartist on June 25, 2007 at 3:16 pm

I keep thinking things will get better when Bush is gone...but these stupid supremes will be on the court for many years to come and we are stuck with their catholic motivated decisions. First Bush shreds our constitution and then the Supreme court backs him up. I am going to write my congressman now and demand that my money not go to this crap...wait, I live in Alabama so that would be an utter waste of my time!

124. Rushdie knighted in honours list

Comment #50481 by liberalartist on June 18, 2007 at 11:44 am

Lets hope the western world stands up against this type of ignorance and fanatical protest instead of what they did when a bunch of harmless cartoons were printed. I get angry when people start apologizing for offending someone's religion! Offend away!

Muslims are living in a modern world with a midieval religion. Either the world will return to the middle ages or muslims need to adjust to the modern world. We can't have modernity, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, human progress, etc. while being inprisoned by a this or any other religion. We need more Salman Rushdies in the world.

125. Protesting the Creation Museum

Comment #48301 by liberalartist on June 7, 2007 at 11:08 am

Unfortately I think this museum will be packed all summer with fundamentalist and also other christians that think because its "religious oriented" it must be a good thing. I work at a college and I work daily with students who want to be doctors or engineers and can't pass the first chemistry or biology course. America is already shamefully ignorant about science and math. This is the trend that has been happening for the past decade and its only getting worse. No wonder our government is desperately trying to pass an immigration bill that will attract high-skilled immigrants! We will soon have none of our own!

126. A Look at Regent University

Comment #47401 by liberalartist on June 4, 2007 at 11:50 am

Hello from Mobile, Alabama (I am probably the only atheist here!)This is my first posting and I just want to make a few comments about this documentary. The Christian fundamentalist movement in America has reached unprecedented levels because they were able to get one of their own elected president who has packed the courts and the government with like-minded individuals. They have almost completely taken over the Republican Party. I used to consider myself independent but I can't support a party that has become so extreme. I've almost become a straight-ticket Democrat (what other choice is there?!). It is a tragedy to see current Republican candidates making fools of themselves trying to win over the Republican base, which most candidates don't agree with. Moderate-minded people in that party need to get out and start a new one! Perhaps the last election was a sign that Americans are tired of the Republican Party talking only about Christian issues, but I think in reality it was mainly a vote against the war. So the next election will be crucial in figuring out if Bush is just an unpleasant anomaly or a path toward the end of American democracy. Unfortunately in the US only the extremists of any issue are heard anymore and they hold way too much power over the rest of us. But it is hard to fight because too many people are apologists and accuse me of liberal ranting against religion when I try to sound a warning.