101. Math Religion Trouble

Comment #116800 by Nails on January 27, 2008 at 1:17 pm

Witness, for example, such transcendent numbers as phi (not to be confused with pi), often called the Divine Proportion or the Golden Ratio. At 1.618, it describes the spirals of seashells, pine cones and symmetries found throughout nature.

Pardon my ignorance, but I thought it was e .....
Nice article though.
I'll add the book to my ever growing list of 'to buy'.

102. Loneliness Breeds Belief in Supernatural

Comment #116156 by Nails on January 25, 2008 at 4:30 pm

Makes sense to me.

103. Launch of 'Atheists in Foxholes' Book Anthology

Comment #116140 by Nails on January 25, 2008 at 3:39 pm

Had my country had the same name, the same flag and the same population, but not a democratic constitution, I wouldn't have joined, even if 100 big-titted blonde chicks had offered me sexual favors for doing so.

Fuck me I would!!! Never given that option, unfortunately.

I swore an oath of allegiance to my regiment, queen and country.
I was immensley proud and would do it again.
It's not so much nationistic pride (but I must confess to being proud of being British - maybe I spent too much time with my grandparents as a youngster) as wanting to make a difference.
I saw it as an opportunity to defend my family as well as my way of life, but it never turned out that way.

Still, helluva lot of fun shooting, sleeping rough, runnning myself to death and shouting at people all the time.

Or was that when I got back home.......

104. Death Sentence for Afghan Student

Comment #115162 by Nails on January 23, 2008 at 5:23 pm

The student, Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh, 23, who also works on a local newspaper, was charged with directly insulting Muhammad by calling the prophet "a killer and adulterer," the judge, Shamsurahman Muhmand, said in a telephone interview.

Does he not get second prize for being factually correct?
Maybe he would have faired better if he added fraud & paedophile.

105. Honour Killings

Comment #113663 by Nails on January 20, 2008 at 10:09 am

Wow........

Wait a second.

British education makes people stupid?

Simple solution then. if muslim schools make better muslim children, then move to a muslim country - problem solved.
Why should my taxes be used to pay for ANY faith schools, let alone one which has only been introduced by migrants in the last couple of generations?

Forced marriage, honour killing and genital mutilation are NOT rare practices among migrant communities - they are all to common.
Even if they are rare, there is no place for them in a civilsed society which is based upon freedom of choice.

Articles like this make my blood boil.

106. Six Reasons to be an Atheist

Comment #110544 by Nails on January 11, 2008 at 1:10 pm

ADH
I know people are keeping you busy, but please please will you answer my question from earlier. I've copied it below to save you time! And it should be quick to answer if it's what it appears to be from your various posts, namely 'the Bible'.

Question:
You are suggesting that it would be really nice if there were a moral code or the like which is entirely apart from any human being's particular views and which can therefore be appealed to in order to arbitrate between what each human does, provide instructions as to what should and should not be done etc. The paradigm is probably the Ten Commandments, given by god and available for all (Hebrew reading?) people to consult.

The 10 commandments do bear a striking resemblance to the egyptian tradition of declarations spoken at funerals, commonly known as "the book of the dead". here, a list of declarations were read out, each in the name of a particular god, such as "i have not lied". The notable absentees are worshipping false gods, which obviously is not going to appear in a polytheistic society.
I dont think there was a requirement for a sabath day, but I might be wrong (not an egyptologist, sorry).
This tradition pre-dates the moses era by at least a thousand years.

107. Why (Almost All) Cosmologists are Atheists

Comment #110502 by Nails on January 11, 2008 at 11:47 am

Nice article.
Makes a lot of sense after you have talked to a young-earth creationist who really believes that the stars were put there by god for our viewing pleasure. Obviously, such an attitude smacks of a severe lack of any scientific knowledge, and is the breeding ground for fundamentalists.
I hope one day that more young people will leave our schools with a greater understanding of science, and will be better armed to reject this religious nonsense.

108. Hook, line and rapture

Comment #109648 by Nails on January 9, 2008 at 11:55 am

Awesome.
The best yet, surely.
I finished with tears in my eyes.
4:10

I would also like to preach this message high and lo, throughout the land, to everyone who wants to hear it (and to everyone who doesn't). And I would like to continue preaching it at them over and over again whether they like it or not.
I'd like to raise large amounts of revenue on the back of this activity on which I would like to pay no tax.
I'd like to see my views forced into the educational curriculum, disproportionately represented in the law of the land, and displayed prominently outside every courthouse, if that's not too much trouble.

Love it.

109. Happy Newton Day!

Comment #98992 by Nails on December 15, 2007 at 5:45 am

It meant that Christmas, which was the main thing each boy had been looking forward to since his birthday, was really coming - and what bad luck on poor Jesus, having his birthday on Christmas Day.

Ho ho ho. Love it.

For better or worse, ours is historically a Christian culture, and children who grow up ignorant of biblical literature are diminished, unable to take literary allusions, actually impoverished. I am no lover of Christianity, and I loathe the annual orgy of waste and reckless reciprocal spending, but I must say I'd rather wish you "Happy Christmas" than "Happy Holiday Season".

Absolutely.
All you politically correct idiots can shove it up your arse.
Christmas it is for me and my family, and the only vaguely religious symbol is a fairy (an angel really, but you get the picture) atop the tree - and only because my youngest made it at nursery school.
And as for me professor, I actually enjoy the monumental waste and self-indulgance!!
Thank god it's only once a year though.....

110. The God Delusion in Turkey

Comment #95308 by Nails on December 8, 2007 at 1:08 am

Nice article, but I notice his praise for the book is limited, very limited. His main talking point is the expression of free speach.

Invite RD to Turkuy?
If I were invited to Turkey to discuss my religious vaues (or lack of them) I would have to decline and I hope RD does the same. Whilst the few Turkish people I do know who live in the UK are generally decent people, I fear the ability of Islamic extremists (or is that moderates?) to rabble rouse and prepare for violence is all too real.

111. Holy Nonsense

Comment #95228 by Nails on December 7, 2007 at 4:03 pm

His stupid unease on this point is shown by his demagogic attack on the straw man "religion of secularism," when, actually, his main and most cynical critic is a moon-faced true believer and anti-Darwin pulpit-puncher from Arkansas who doesn't seem to know the difference between being born again and born yesterday.

The ability to mock a president, a candidate and an argument in one sentance - this guy is a legend.
I am looking forward to Portable Atheist in my stocking this year....

** hint hint mum, wife, anyone ***

112. Colouring book warns kids of pedophile priests

Comment #94933 by Nails on December 7, 2007 at 2:49 am

According to the group "Bishop Accountability," some 3000 priests out of the 42,000 across the country have since been denounced, some of whom have been investigated and convicted.

That's just over 7%.
That is a monsterous percentage.
Surely they must look really hard into why preists are so much more likely to abuse children than the anywhere else in the population. There has to be a reason - is it the celibate lifestyle or are paedophiles more likely to seek out such work?
The cause of this needs to be addressed, not just educating the potential victims.

113. Boy dies of leukemia after refusing treatment for religious reasons

Comment #92183 by Nails on November 30, 2007 at 2:50 am

The issue of consent is fraught with difficulty.
If a child is old enough and mature enough to want surgery

My son signed his own consent forms for surgery earlier this year, aged 13. He understood the risks (although not completely - a 13 year old has a very limited concept of death) and ultimately it was his choice. If we had chosen for him, it would have been done five years ago.
But we waited until he wanted it as this op was not life-saving, but has improved his quality.
Although not cosmetic, it removes the last signs of the disabilty he was born with. He is now effectively 'cured'.

Luckily, we have no such qualms about him receiving blood or modern treatments, otherwise he would almost certainly have died as a baby.

I have to be honest and say that if my religion put my childs life at risk, i would have turned my back on religion first. Life is just too precious.

114. URGENT APPEAL: Please Help Protect Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #91034 by Nails on November 27, 2007 at 3:17 am

In support of Ms Ali, I will buy her book 'Infidel' and i will buy the alliance DVD that will contribute to her fund.
I wasn't going to buy them, but I feel like I am making a small effort.
I would also endorse secular_atheists proposal to lobby governments to foot the bill here.

115. Sunday School for Atheists

Comment #90651 by Nails on November 26, 2007 at 3:13 am

I have often wondered about this; especially recent;y as my little one is at nursery (and the only ones around here are run by church groups....)
A big sign on the wall declares the "JESUS IS THE KING OF TRUTH" - a terrible irony, but I never worried about my other two going there and I will allow here to indulge in her childhood.
But she will learn about jesus in the same way she learns about santa and the tooth fairy - until she's old enough to know better.....

116. Tropical fish can live for months out of water

Comment #88262 by Nails on November 15, 2007 at 4:13 pm

Outstanding.

I can't wait to read the published article; hopefully it will shed more light on the biochemistry involved.
I wonder if they are remnants of the first 'land-fish' or have independantly acquired this amazing attribute.

Now I don't know how to feel when I feel like a fish out of water....

117. Leslie Orgel, 80; chemist was father of the RNA world theory of the origin of life

Comment #83919 by Nails on October 31, 2007 at 4:25 pm

Orgel was a genius who will be sadly missed.
I only hope we can produce many more fine chemists to replace him.
His part in the RNA world theory is almost a defining moment in biochemistry; a challange to the widely-help opinions and theories of the day.
Can't say I agree with his passion for panspermia though.....

118. Italy's Padre Pio 'faked his stigmata with acid'

Comment #81197 by Nails on October 24, 2007 at 11:46 am

The Catholic Anti-Defamation League?

Papal infallibility?

And people really beleive in this nonsence?

You only have to read Christopher Hitchen's account of his testimony as 'devil's advocate' in the mother teressa affair to realise that they only believe what they want to beleive.

Deluded indeed.

119. Be Good Now, Or Else

Comment #76835 by Nails on October 7, 2007 at 12:28 pm

Very interesting.
Certainly strenthens the view that we don't get our morals from god.
Certainly we don't get our morals from the bible.

120. A Nation of Christians Is Not a Christian Nation

Comment #76776 by Nails on October 7, 2007 at 8:13 am

Very interesting.

If only other democracies in the world were this pro-active in their constitution...

121. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75570 by Nails on October 3, 2007 at 3:12 am

The more Sam Harris I read or listen to, the more I am impressed by his ability to construct a fluent and common-sense argument.
However, I am comfortable with the tag 'atheist' - as far as tags go, but I agree on the need to find comon ground with our 'enemies'.
When I have finished God is not great (which could be a while at this rate!!) I am going to buy one of sam's books.
Anyone suggest a good one? (not that I think he has written a bad one.....)

122. Religious education

Comment #71399 by Nails on September 18, 2007 at 5:18 pm

My eldest two attend a local 'science college' and i was horrified to find out they still pray in morning assembly.
Turns out the label is just a way of syphoning extra funding out of the education authority, another local school is a 'sports college'.
My son hates RE, it bores him to tears.
So glad he watched 'Growing Up In The Universe' first!!
Seriously though, I'm considering standing for election to the schools board of governers to have this religious pretence removed - if it really is a science college, it should not make any attempt to glorify religion in any way whatsoever - least of all by morning prayer.

123. Argentine Church Faces 'Dirty War' Past

Comment #71038 by Nails on September 17, 2007 at 3:47 pm

Fight the good fight eh?

Anyhow, I recently saw this video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5216975979627863972&q=zeitgeist&total=1171&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=2

And i wanted to share it with you.
Critical analysis please, i can not find very much wrong with it. I find the astrological significance astounding.....

124. We need a more intelligent religion debate

Comment #68559 by Nails on September 7, 2007 at 3:28 pm

But this is to make an assumption about the relationship between rationality and moral progress that does not stand up

such as?
It is too easy to generalise and not give evidence or citaition!!
Is this an act of intellectual cowardice?
Every single one of us one here knows how the bible has influenced morals, but is not the cause of them - and its morals are 3,000 years out of date.

Please come up with something a little better next time.

125. The new preface to The God Delusion paperback and Q&A

Comment #65821 by Nails on August 27, 2007 at 12:34 am

I saw TGD paperback for £4 in Asda a couple of days ago.
£4!!!!
Might buy one just to read the new preface....

126. Scientists should unite against threat from religion

Comment #65025 by Nails on August 22, 2007 at 4:54 pm

Here here Sam.
Religious blindness has no place in science or science journals - only a blind man sees the work of a god in nature's beauty.

31. Comment #65002 by Teapot_Believer on August 22, 2007 at 3:27 pm

However, Mr. Dawkins is not a bully and I will tell you why. In his documentary "The Root of All Evil", he refers to an anecdote which took place in his undergraduate period (I think). An American professor came to England to deliver a lecture on a specific subject (I don't remember what it was). The point is that his lecture proved the ideas of one of Dawkins' teachers wrong. When the American professor finished his lecture, Dawkins' professor approach him and shook his hand saying: "I've been wrong all these years". I am completely sure that if Evolution was ever proved wrong, Dawkins would do the same thing.

Also mentioned in one of his books, but I cannot remember which.
Golgi apperatus I think, maybe endoplasmic reticulum?

8. Comment #64939 by Bizarro Dawkins on August 22, 2007 at 12:51 pm

Thankfully, humans are not animals. We can choose to repress our instincts. I'm still a virgin. Sure, it hasn't been easy, but I've chosen to wait until I am married. And trust me, if a 20 year old male can do it, anyone can do it ;-).

The return of bizarro!!!
Bravo!!
Brought any overdue answers with you?
Thought not.

i won't attack you for your views on sexuality and sex, they are your own private business.
I lost my virginity at 15, it was great.
Still is. Can't get enough, me.

Anyway, Why are you defending the Koran?
Will you not live for ever in paradise if you attack it?
Or maybe you just fancy a dig at someone who is very unlikely to answer you....
Or even care what you think.

Cut to the chase, if abstinence was really that easy, we'd probably have become extinct many many (10,000+) years ago, as would many other species. Think of the panda.....

127. Ancient Protein Tells a Story of Changing Functions

Comment #64754 by Nails on August 21, 2007 at 4:30 pm

Fantastic bit of research, I can't get enough of this.
tieInterceptor, cracking little story, specially the anecdote. I havn't come across that particular piece of research but I will look out for it.
RickM - i don't think it can be stated enough.
Too many people have no idea for some strange reason.....

128. Sikh girl will convert for a place at Catholic school

Comment #64558 by Nails on August 20, 2007 at 5:20 pm

If I was in their shoes, I would do exactly the same. A child's education, health and happiness are the most important things and as a parent you should do everything your power to safefuard these - anything else realy would basically be child abuse.
Yes, children will adapt and make new friends, but why should they?
This is a damning conclusion to the faith school circus and only further evidence that they should be scrapped. if everyone changed their religion to suit then why bother having one in the first place?
The sooner we get atheist schools the better, wonder how many would drop their religion to get their kids in.

129. Charles Brooker's screen burn

Comment #64557 by Nails on August 20, 2007 at 5:11 pm

Comment #63945 by Veronique on August 16, 2007 at 11:53 pm

To answer your questions, the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital is a traditional homeopathic hospital.
Great Ormond Street 'rents' 40% of the building, as they paid for half of the cost the RLHH was able to claim taxpayers cash for the rest.
Apparantly, GOSH considers the arrangement purely a business one and in no way an endorsement; GOSH doesn't do homeopathy - they purely need the space while they continue a 15-year rebuilding program.
RLHH is staffed by qualified doctors who have specialised in homeopathy as well as qualified homeopaths with no medical training.
The refit costs have also paid for treatment rooms that include gyms and play areas.
Bottom line though is that if GOSH didn't need the room and have money to pay for their leased half, the NHS wouldn't have paid for this.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not an advocate of alternative treatments.
I first read up on this last year, my son is a patient at GOSH and has received wonderful treatment there - then we got the appointment letter for an outpatients clinic at the RLHH and I was a little worried.

The wierd part is that if the RLHH was a theatre or other old building, it would have got public funding anyway.
Just not from money that could have been spent on health care.
This is big news at the moment here as our local hosptal is threatened with closure, meaning we will not have a proper hospital within 50 miles.
That really is scary.

130. Charles Brooker's screen burn

Comment #63893 by Nails on August 16, 2007 at 2:49 pm

65. Comment #63271 by Veronique on August 13, 2007 at 6:52 pm:

To answer your question, I am annoyed because there has been a little bit of mis-reporting here I think. True, £10m of UK taxpayers money has been spent on refubishing the RLHH, the other £10m came from Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital own chaity. The two are neighbouring hospitals and GOSH 'rents' space in the hospital for its conventianal clinics. Without this extra funding, the RLHH would never have recieved the money for a refit which has benefited both hospitals.
Now with regards to homeopathy in general, I am not an advocate but I have an open mind and so I have looked into it. The 'molecular memory claim' is obviously ludicrous, but there is a real and measurable effect to the treatment and it appears to exceed the expectations of the placebo effect (of which a recent study claimed is negligable in properly controlled trials - I will try and find a link).
RLHH is reporting a 70% improvement rate (not cure, but releif from major symptoms) which is pretty impressive by anyones standards. How the trials were controlled however I have not been able to find out, there is no suggestion as to whether these were compared in a blind/double blind fashion or whether convential treatments or even minor lifestyle modifications were carried out along side, so there are still answers to be found.
Bottom line however, this is a medical practice performed by qualified doctors, not con men selling herbs on a market stall.
Yes I realise that this is no guarantee of effectiveness etc. but I don't think it is in the same league as spiritualists etc.
As I find more evidence I will try and keep you updated, as i hope you ill update me as well if you find anything else.
That is, if you are interested.

131. Interview with Richard Dawkins

Comment #63889 by Nails on August 16, 2007 at 2:38 pm

Sorry to break this to you guys, but this seems to be a habit with these theist types. I don't know if it is purely a neural thing, but in general their brains really cannot accept any logical arguments and they just run away.
I've even tried debating on a christian forum, and the same happens (unil a mod comes along and accuses you of hijacking a thread just as you're about to whoop ass).
Sometimes they return, but never with the answers.
Never with evidence, because their idea of evidence is a book of stories.
I belive that Jason was real, as were his argonauts but i don't worship his 'teachings' or pretend that if I sail well and don't get lost we'll spend eternity having a nice picnic together.
And that's the bottom line, we cannot understand them and they cannot understand us. It really is that simple.
And as for reincarnation D2, that's just obscene.
Don't you know that only the son of god (who is actually god, and so talks to himself and has names for his different personalities) can be reincarnated - otherwise there's no point in worshipping him!!!
He suddely becoes mr. average!!!
Karma, now I have no problem with that one, I love coconut in my curries.
Yum yum.
So next time you come to debate D2, bring some real weapons - evidence.
And your use of a great mans name is, well, quite frankly blasphemous and offensive.

132. The new preface to The God Delusion paperback and Q&A

Comment #63473 by Nails on August 14, 2007 at 12:53 pm

137. Comment #62672 by Yaweh on August 10, 2007 at 7:43 pm

I must confess I know little of Islam, and what little I do know appears to be in keeping with old testicle.

but if you guys really are god's people, why did he wait so long to tell you?
why didn't he tell anyone else?
And why do you have to blow up people who don't believe? (sorry, this is meant very much tongue-in-cheek. I know that very few muslims would do such a thing).

133. Our Lives, Controlled From Some Guy's Couch

Comment #63454 by Nails on August 14, 2007 at 12:10 pm

In fact, if you accept a pretty reasonable assumption of Dr. Bostrom's, it is almost a mathematical certainty that we are living in someone else's computer simulation.

"My gut feeling, and it's nothing more than that," he says, "is that there's a 20 percent chance we're living in a computer simulation."

Have I misread something or is this guy in need of an enema?

134. The new preface to The God Delusion paperback and Q&A

Comment #62916 by Nails on August 12, 2007 at 10:01 am

LeeC, i sent you a pm. look forward to joining you!!

135. The new preface to The God Delusion paperback and Q&A

Comment #62813 by Nails on August 11, 2007 at 4:05 pm

Ash, sorry but this is a long one - too much time on my hands it would appear.

There is a lot of unwarrented agression around on this site.

I totally agree, although I must hold my hand up as being part of that.
Quite a contrast to a christian forum, don't ya think?
I logged onto one a week or so ago and got 'blessed' to death before I had a chance to post!!
Most of them bend over backwards not to offend you as well, sometimes saying 'sorry' before they finish!!

Hitler:

And, for the benefit of the Catholic Hitler experts; I suppose when he spent a fortune in time, resources and top men on digging into pagan myths, in an attempt to prove them true (so as to establish a lineage, religion & ancient arian history) for propaganda purposes, he was a practicing catholic at the same time?

Atheist? Pagan? make your mind up. He was interested in the power of the occult, daft enough to believe in god, hate jews and daft enough to believe in witchcraft. He also spent a lot of time, money and resources having his top scientists build rockets but I doubt he had any intention of embracing science, becoming an atheist and landing on the moon.

Final word (from me I hope, but I'm sure you will respond) on religious wars, I have never claimed that the battles were made in god's name, merely that they were fought by people on grounds of faith - ie N. Ireland, catholic vs proddy, Bosnia, christian vs muslim etc.
Never forget Iran's un-armed suicide squads of the Iran-Iraq war, willing to be martyred by other muslims for the defence of their country.
As Iraq was then funded by America, Iran fought back by sending men in their hundreds to storm bunkers. The only weapons were those they could find on the battlefields. I appreciate that you can argue that this is just brain washing or nationaism, its just more severe when done in gods name because then death becomes a blessing. Think of someone who dies a hero, saving a life. Compare to someone who is martyred, usually to 'defend their faith' (for nothing). How many heroes have their own public holidays? Enough said.
You could argue that once the seperation into two groups has been made, it is of no consequence what the groups are. Rangers and celtic spring to mind - for those not versed in Scottish Football (soccer, perhaps?) they are two Glaswegian teams who are supported by predominantly catholic or proddies.
The violence that ensued was sometimes awful (between supporters mainly), indeed rangers first catholic player was brought to the club in the 1989, such was the feeling surrounding it. It was so bad that even draymen (Those wonderful men who fill our pubs with beer) had to wear white overalls as green or blue were taken as colours of allegiance to one team and could sometimes result in violence.....
anecdotal evidence: a former player's autobiography, serialised in the Scottish paper The Daily Record:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15926094&method=full&siteid=66633&headline=graeme-souness-prayed-i-would-be-the-first-catholic-to-join--rangers-name_page.html

Shocking really.

Oh, and the bible is littered with references to war and violence in gods name (Numbers 31):

3 So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the LORD's vengeance on them.

For those who don't know the ending, they killed every man in the city and took the women and animals as spoils of war. Then moses said (in anger):

15 "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them. 16 "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

Vengeance indeed.

And "science tells us . . ." is not an argument

Then I shall support it with fact, as you will not take my word for it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

You should really watch the video of it, it is truly shocking. A real eye-opener.
Here's a link to the audio, which is bad enough.

http://learningat.ke7.org.uk/socialsciences/Psychology/PsyRes13/Milgram.htm

As the experiment conclusively shows, humans will administer all kinds of pain to another human when given the order by an authority figure, often shifting the blame and weakly justifying the horror they have caused. I will leave it up to you as to whether we can extrapolate this to the authority of god.

Have a good holiday and I will look forward to your reply.

136. Charles Brooker's screen burn

Comment #62795 by Nails on August 11, 2007 at 1:01 pm

NHS recently spent £10m refurbishing the London Homeopathic Hospital. The equivalent of 500 nurses' wages, blown on a handful of magic beans. That was your tax money. It was meant for saving lives.

I'm sick of hearing this. It is incorrect, someone has not checked his facts and it is starting to piss me off.

So I'm going to do something about it...

*watch this space*

137. Science and the Islamic World

Comment #62793 by Nails on August 11, 2007 at 12:56 pm

18. Comment #62769 by the great teapot on August 11, 2007 at 10:06 am

I'm really sorry but that link is a great big fiddle.
The actual calculation is 11% out, as indicated in the calculation.
To correct this they take the earth-moon system out of the sun's gravity, which is obviously not going to happen, even with Allah's help.
So they fiddled it. End of.
nice try though.....

138. The new preface to The God Delusion paperback and Q&A

Comment #62402 by Nails on August 9, 2007 at 3:41 pm

Yes LeeC, evidence.
We require evidence.
Simple really.
Like evidence of the star of bethlehem.
Funny how the chinese, who 2000 years ago were recording everything that moved in the heavens, failed to spot this mighty cellestial arrow pointing towards bethlehem..
could it be that this story was added later in order to fulfil a prophesy that was in danger of being unfulfilled?
You must admit that, as biblical stories were written so long after the event, possibly being handed down by word of mouth a few times (or few hundred) that some things have been exagerted a little?
And how come a god who can write in the complex language of DNA needs humans to write it down for him?
Why not write it himself and hand it over. Simple that way, no debate.
Or even just ask noah et al to write it down there and then.
To put this into context, look at the divisions in the muslims between sunni and shia.
A lot of their bloody argument is based on who and when the book was written by, as their prophet apparantly didn't think it important at the time.

139. Curriculum for Baptist School

Comment #62386 by Nails on August 9, 2007 at 2:23 pm

This should be illegal.
do you guys not have a trades description act that you can prosecute these nutters under?
Calling itself a school when it's just a jumped up church with more than one book (but not many more, obviously)

Cartomancer - cracking bit of postulating there.

140. The new preface to The God Delusion paperback and Q&A

Comment #62195 by Nails on August 8, 2007 at 5:28 pm

90. Comment #62036 by Ash Roskell on August 8, 2007 at 1:44 am

Hello Nails, Your comments regarding the Kamikazee pilots seemed to answer itself. Brainwashing, not religion or faith. Just a bit of a con which turned otherwise normal human beings into suicide divebombers.

Unfortunately not, Ash. The Japanese effectively worshipped their emperor as a deity, so we are on a similar line here.
Kamikazee was not there ultimate objective however, I have it on good authority that may were instructed to carry out their bombing missions on US ships and return - the crash attacks were initially saved for these who were damaged and unlikely to return. As the tactic became so effective, the rules changed slightly as we all know. Another take on this is one small group who were sent to America in submarine-type vessels, with the intention of blowing themselves up. One poor guy 'malfunctioned' and his device failed to explode. He returned home and was shunned by friends and family for his dishonour....
But the suicide bombing argument is valid. Science tells us that people will follow instructions, up to a point, however nasty the outcome by people in authority. The higher the authority, the greater the risk of nasty and/or violent instructions being carried out. Although this hasn't yet been scientifically demonstrated at the 'god' level, I think you know where its going....

This Hitler / Catholic thing. You really should let it go. He did not require catholisism from the men who faught under him, or those who committed war crimes in his regime. There were none believers, people who believed in the spurious myths they tried to dig up from the past (including Hitler by the way - not so devout a catholic after all) people who thought of themselves as Christian; they even had muslims in the SS (bet you didn't know that? ;) ) So, baring in mind that nobody cried, "for the Pope!" when running into battle or carried a Papal banner

I'm sorry, I thought you brought it up:

40. Comment #57886 by Ash Roskell on July 22, 2007 at 1:05 am

But if you want to read some bad horror stories about atheistic ragimes, try Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Poll Pot and many more in all good stockists near you now.

Oh yes, that's right - you did.
But did Allied troops fight under a banner of god? no, so they must have been atheist as well. Does that mean that the crusade was the ONLY religious war ever, or will you try and wriggle out of that one as well?
You are right, i didn't know that Hitler had muslims in the SS, but given the rapid depletion of his forces I would imagine he contemplating enlisting Jews at one point..... (bad joke, sorry)

put all of these faiths and none faiths together and what have you got? A-THEISM. Q.E.D.

?????
Faith + non-faith = atheism?
I'm sure you didn't mean that. That would make the inquisistion an atheist movement if one person had an inkling of doubt about his faith while he tortured some poor person for making up an opinion of their own...

141. Eight-million-year-old bug is alive and growing

Comment #62189 by Nails on August 8, 2007 at 4:24 pm

Hmmm, bit of a let doen really. Seems that the permian bacteria may not be from that period at all:

http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/18/6/1143

142. Eight-million-year-old bug is alive and growing

Comment #62185 by Nails on August 8, 2007 at 4:20 pm

23. Comment #62136 by bamboospitfire on August 8, 2007 at 9:52 am

"Whereas the young ice contained a variety of microorganisms, the researchers found only one type of bacterium in the 8-million-year-old sample. It also grew in the laboratory but much more slowly, doubling only every 70 days."

Despite my basic understanding of biology and genetics, this is the best bit, for me. Since we're looking at bacteria, I suppose one would expect to see less variety in the older ice. One would also expect the younger bacteria multiply more quickly since, everything else being equal, 7.9 million years of evolution will inevitably select for genes the organisms of which can replicate faster than others.

I wouldn't have thought that 8 million years would have made that much difference to the basic function of a bacterium, compared to 3.5 billion years previous.
Maybe enough to establish closer links to a particular species/phylum/order etc.
Without further research, I would imagine that the slow reproductive rates are in itself an evolutionary response to the lack of nutrients and colder conditions - chemical reactions are temperature-dependant after all.
I would love to know more about the Bacillus permians though, may have to google it and see what I can find....

143. Arrogance, dogma and why science - not faith - is the new enemy of reason

Comment #61984 by Nails on August 7, 2007 at 6:08 pm

Shit, I really wish I had read this earlier.
Never mind, I have commented on the rag's website (not that it will be featured) and emailed the editor (not that he will ever read it).

Dear Sir,

Melanie Phillips has made a few basic errors in her recent article (Arrogance, dogma and why science - not faith - is the new enemy of reason, 5th August 2007) which I feel I must correct.

Firstly, there is mounting scientific evidence that evolution began before the first life-forms as replicating molecules became more efficient, and this certainly does not break any rules. But it does account for one major step on the road to life-forms such as those we see around us today.

Secondly, natural selection is not random. I will leave it to you as to whether you wish to find out why, if you do not already know.

Futhermore, the origins of life could not have been spontaneous or miraculous, it would most probably have been gradual and over many hundreds of thousands of years.

Which logically leads to the dissembling of another of Melanie's arguments, that DNA evidence most certainly has thrown doubt into the theory that life emerged spontaneously in a random universe - this theory is commonly known as 'creationism'.

Intelligent Design is a theory which is propagated by one distinguished scientist, Michael Behe. So distinguished that his own university has issued a disclaimer against his theory. This theory has not only been rubbished by his peers, it was effectively dismantled in the courts of Dover not so long ago, despite his personal testimony.

I do hope that any future articles you publish may take note of scientific evidence and not heresay and scaremongering.

Yours truly,

Made me feel better though.

144. Does the Bible have a place in public schools?

Comment #61746 by Nails on August 6, 2007 at 5:25 pm

Yes, without a shadow of doubt. Learning about the bible is to learn a large and rich part of our history, its strengths and weaknesses should be discussed in schools.
But caution must be employed to ensure that children are not indoctonated and are free to question the texts and to examine their origins.
In a perfect world there would be nothing wrong with comparing different bibles to see how interpretaitions differ across faiths, but it really does need stunningly good teachers to pull this off.
Unfortunately, I fear that the pitfalls outway the potential benefits to such a scheme.
But personnaly I found that studying the bible only strenghtened my atheism - but that is possibly because I chose to study and was not force-fed the popular congregation soundbites.

145. The Gullible Age: Review of 'The Enemies of Reason'

Comment #61744 by Nails on August 6, 2007 at 4:54 pm

86. Comment #61710 by Steven Mading on August 6, 2007 at 1:11 pm
An interesting point, but I personally believe that more stringent controls would have been an even more important factor in the results.
Trials can be conducted where subjects are not told what they are taking (sedative, anti-depressant etc) to eliminate any preconceptions.
Note the key point - placebos can be 100% ineffective in certain circumstances.

146. Imagine No Religion

Comment #61740 by Nails on August 6, 2007 at 4:05 pm

2. Comment #34800 by coolwainy on April 25, 2007 at 9:26 am Shouldn't you change your log in to "loony"? Instead of picking holes in your post, I would merely invite you to read TGD (if you already have, then read it properly this time) and watch your words disappear down the u-tube, where they belong.

147. The new preface to The God Delusion paperback and Q&A

Comment #61557 by Nails on August 5, 2007 at 6:01 pm

think Nails you are creating a god with your method, not falsifying one.

But as there is no evidence, the whole premise is false therfore it is falsified (or is that a quantum leap in logic)
Anyhow, I'll keep checking to see if Ash returns, though I doubt it.
Must be feeling lonely.
They do run away easily, don't they?
Maybe it is time we fought them in their own backyard, so to speak....

148. Islamic creationist group launches glitzy, global blitz

Comment #61551 by Nails on August 5, 2007 at 5:44 pm

"Hitler, Mao, and Lenin were Darwinists. At the root of wild capitalism is also Darwinism. I think if we no longer believe in Darwinism, people will no longer be conditioned to believe in those things,"

But it will not be enough to prove it isn't the truth....
A quarter of the UK follows their horoscopes, it doesn't make them true either.
wild capitalism = Darwinism - I would love to see some evidence for this.
But this guy doesn't do evidence, obviously.
Sad, sad state of affairs.

149. Public Debate on Complexity and Evolution

Comment #61547 by Nails on August 5, 2007 at 5:28 pm

7. Comment #61182 by gcdavis on August 4, 2007 at 3:49 am

On a rather more specific point, the last question wasn't answered completely. Take the evolution of a wing, presumably it doesn't offer an evolutionary advantage until it becomes a functioning wing, so what is it the "drives" the intermediate stages, having a couple of "stubs" might even be a disadvantage?

Imagine a dinosaur, a raptor. You can run fast, use your arms and have soft downy feathers for display/warmth (the actual reason does not matter). If you grow a small skin flap behind your arms, it may well help you to steer better at high speed - a deffinate advantage. Every increase in its size (up to a point, obviously) will increase stability.
If the feathers become less downy and more streamlined, they will still retain the original function (warmth, display, whatever) but will become more aerodynamic.
Over the generations, these small changes can accumulate and have a massive effect, as I will leave to your imagination.
Sorry if I have plagerised someone, I just remember reading this example somewhere.

37. Comment #61323 by phasmagigas on August 4, 2007 at 4:11 pm

the discussion of the underweight mothers resulting in underweight grandchildern was interesting.

I havn't watched it, but my undersdtanding of this can be explained by methylation. Basically, a methyl group is 'added' (sorry, can't think of a better word right now) t the DNA sequence which basically results in the gene not being transcribed as a consequence of environmental factors.
Should this effect be system wide, (ie whole body) then gamette - forming cells will also be effected, and the gene is passed on to the next generation in an inactive state. Exactly how it can be reactivated I do not know, but evidently it can and the 3rd generation can be more like the 1st.
note - it is a long time since I studied so I may be off the mark, please be kind if you critique !!!

150. A Designer Universe?

Comment #61501 by Nails on August 5, 2007 at 11:27 am

If I was to design a universe, I would probaly try everything I could to make the galaxies closer together. Sure it is nice to see the faint stars on a clear night, but is that all they are for?
Sure, god made the lot just for us and no-one else, so he must have known that one day we would want to explore space. Yet he made it virtually impossible for us to travel to other star systems.
What a bastard.