Comments by irate_atheist

1951. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122944 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 9:34 am

525. Comment #122939 by hes2@usa -

And this part of the conversation thread has been intelligently designed by . . .

...not you.

1952. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122936 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 9:31 am

487. Comment #122885 by steveroot -

Include me there. BTW, Irate, you are showing admirable restraint here. I would have expected:
"Fucktard, anyone?"
Steve

Well, I'm not one to point out the obvious to those that can make their own informed decisions. Besides which, being a generous kind of guy, I thought I'd leave an opportunity for someone else.

1953. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122926 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 9:24 am

509. Comment #122921 by hes2@usa -

Ok, ok, so I am what you would call a Fundamental, Bible-believing, Christian

Oh, well, fuck your luck then.

1954. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122895 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 9:02 am

Has anyone got a Hitchens Enema Kit(TM) handy?

1955. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122886 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 8:56 am

484. Comment #122882 by wednesdayguevara -

How do you stand it? How are you not punching walls and bashing your heads bloody against your keyboards?

I am. My posting to show the lies told by him vis a vis Einstein was for the benefit of those who are literate and can read. Certainly not for the benefit of this particular half-wit.

1956. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122865 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 8:30 am

462. Comment #122852 by hes2@usa -

Anthony Flew: There were two factors in particular that were decisive. One was my growing empathy with the insight of Einstein and other noted scientists that there had to be an Intelligence behind the integrated complexity of the physical Universe.

When this is compared with the words of the man himself, we can clearly see that Flew is either a liar or he is being misquoted. After all - Flew still has to explain the existence of God, which he singularly fails to do. It is the 'ultimate cop-out'.

If you prefer the lies or misrepresentation of a deluded individual to the insight of one of the greatest minds in science, well, that's your problem.

By the way some, of us here find the idea that you have a 'PhD in Biblical Studies' risible. I happen to be one of them.

1957. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #122856 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 8:21 am

1790. Comment #122842 by Epinephrine -

My point was that 'respect of beliefs' is pretty much a one-way street from the perspective of many religiites. Thy would rather profess respect for a completely conflicting set of beliefs eg. Christianity/Islam, than none at all.

1958. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122851 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 8:14 am

453. Comment #122841 by hes2@usa -

There were two factors in particular that were decisive [in changing my mind]. One was my growing empathy with the insight of Einstein and other noted scientists that there had to be an Intelligence behind the integrated complexity of the physical Universe. The second was my own insight that the integrated complexity of life itself

“It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.” -Albert Einstein, in a letter March 24, 1954; from Albert Einstein the Human Side, Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman, eds., Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1981, p. 43.

“As the first way out there was religion, which is implanted into every child by way of the traditional education-machine. Thus I came " though the child of entirely irreligious (Jewish) parents "; to a deep religiousness, which, however, reached an abrupt end at the age of twelve. Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the conviction that much in the stories of the Bible could not be true. The consequence was a positively fanatic orgy of freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression. Mistrust of every kind of authority grew out of this experience, a skeptical attitude toward the convictions that were alive in any specific social environment-an attitude that has never again left me, even though, later on, it has been tempered by a better insight into the causal connections. It is quite clear to me that the religious paradise of youth, which was thus lost, was a first attempt to free myself from the chains of the ‘merely personal,’ from an existence dominated by wishes, hopes, and primitive feelings. Out yonder there was this huge world, which exists independently of us human beings and which stands before us like a great, eternal riddle, at least partially accessible to our inspection and thinking. The contemplation of this world beckoned as a liberation, and I soon noticed that many a man whom I had learned to esteem and to admire had found inner freedom and security in its pursuit. The mental grasp of this extra-personal world within the frame of our capabilities presented itself to my mind, half consciously, half unconsciously, as a supreme goal. Similarly motivated men of the present and of the past, as well as the insights they had achieved, were the friends who could not be lost. The road to this paradise was not as comfortable and alluring as the road to the religious paradise; but it has shown itself reliable, and I have never regretted having chosen it.” - Albert Einstein, Autobiographical Notes, Chicago, Illinois: Open Court Publishing Company, 1979, pp 3-5.

“The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems even naïve.” - Albert Einstein in a letter to Beatrice Frohlich, December 17, 1952; Einstein Archive 59-797; from Alice Calaprice, ed., The Expanded Quotable Einstein, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000, p. 217.

“Why do you write to me ‘God should punish the English’? I have no close connection to either one or the other. I see only with deep regret that God punishes so many of His children for their numerous stupidities, for which only He Himself can be held responsible; in my opinion, only His nonexistence could excuse Him.” - Albert Einstein, letter to Edgar Meyer, a Swiss colleague, January 2, 1915; from Alice Calaprice, ed., The Expanded Quotable Einstein, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000, p. 201.

“It is quite possible that we can do greater things than Jesus, for what is written in the Bible about him is poetically embellished.” - Albert Einstein; quoted in W. I. Hermanns, "A Talk with Einstein," October 1943, Einstein Archive 55-285; from Alice Calaprice, ed., The Expanded Quotable Einstein, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000, p. 215.

“I received your letter of June 10th. I have never talked to a Jesuit priest in my life and I am astonished by the audacity to tell such lies about me. From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist. Your counter-arguments seem to me very correct and could hardly be better formulated. It is always misleading to use anthropomorphical concepts in dealing with things outside the human sphere�quot;childish analogies. We have to admire in humility the beautiful harmony of the structure of this world as far�quot;as we can grasp it. And that is all.” - Albert Einstein, to Guy H. Raner Jr., July 2, 1945, responding to a rumor that a Jesuit priest had caused Einstein to convert from atheism; from Michael R. Gilmore, "Einstein's God: Just What Did Einstein Believe About God?," Skeptic, 1997, 5(2):62.

Would you care to reconsider your position?

1959. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #122840 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 7:54 am

1785. Comment #122832 by Epinephrine -

But if they came to your wedding and you specified 'no religious symbols' on the invitation, I somehow doubt they would respect your wishes and beliefs...

1960. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #122815 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 6:30 am

1778. Comment #122760 by Richard Morgan -

May I offer up, not my thoughts, but someone else's (one we are familiar with, but should remind ourselves of from time to time):

Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opiate of the people

You illustrate a case in point.

1961. Science Debate 2008

Comment #122804 by irate_atheist on February 6, 2008 at 5:43 am

5. Comment #122616 by Double Bass Atheist -

Anybody care to add a few more???

Q. Are you, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?

1962. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122414 by irate_atheist on February 5, 2008 at 8:42 am

378. Comment #122411 by Peacebeuponme -

Oh, maybe the trillions and trillions of years God existed before He spoke us into existence.
Why do you think that?

Aren't you stretching the definition of the verb, 'to think', a bit far?

1963. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122410 by irate_atheist on February 5, 2008 at 8:38 am

372. Comment #122404 by hes2@usa -

I know - it's a kind of 'hangman' with acronyms.

I'll start by suggesting the Press Complaints Commission.

Am I close?

1964. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #122406 by irate_atheist on February 5, 2008 at 8:34 am

363. Comment #122392 by hes2@usa -

Breathtaking inanity.

1965. God the psycho

Comment #122295 by irate_atheist on February 5, 2008 at 6:36 am

65. Comment #122292 by annabanana -

And irate_atheists posts always correspond wonderfully with his avatar...

I'd never really considered that my posts corresponded with reality, let alone a fictional construct of myself. I actually look like my avatar. Except for the fact that I'm not a priest and in no way resemble Ardal O'Hanlon.

1966. God the psycho

Comment #121866 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 9:19 am

31. Comment #121862 by Phoenix42 -

What did Peter Tatchell think of Ian McKellen's approach?

Well, I'm guessing he turned him down.

*coat ->

1967. God the psycho

Comment #121864 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 9:15 am

29. Comment #121856 by Incredulous -

Theists can be like horny young men caught masturbating; they hate to admit the pointlessness of their solitary activities

Don't knock masturbation - it's sex with someone I love.- Woody Allen

1968. There Are No Ghosts in Your Brain

Comment #121858 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 9:08 am

76. Comment #121743 by LorienRyan -

I think keeping atheism free of baggage cannot be separated from those who espouse atheism, once one is known as an atheist one's rationality is immediately called into question, as we have seen so many times on this site, by theist/trolls. Yep, it's going to be a battle.

Fuck 'em. Bring it on, I say. After all, if they think Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot were atheist role models, shouldn't they be a bit more wary of us?

1969. Atheists to celebrate at Darwin Day in Coconut Creek

Comment #121850 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 8:47 am

3. Comment #121789 by jakelovatto -

I saw that particular documentary. It should have been title 'The Problem With Rod Liddle'. A pathetic collection of wilfully ignorant tripe.

1970. My critics are wrong to call me dogmatic

Comment #121848 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 8:40 am

52. Comment #121801 by Artful_Dodger -

Pathetic as an analogy I presume?

Not really:

1) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scottish-Fairy-Belief-Fifteenth-Nineteenth/dp/1862321906

2) http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Fairies.htm

3) http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/f/fairies.html

4) http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/photos/cottingley.html

Fairies are the perfect analogy. What is pathetic is believing in the absurd despite all contrary evidence.

1971. Letters: Theology has no place in a university

Comment #121779 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 6:28 am

207. Comment #116546 by hes2@usa -

...when we both meet the God of the sky...

Er...precisely which god? Thor, Baal, Jehovah, Ra, Quetzlcoatl, Loki, Krishna, Allah or Saturn, to name but a few. You'd better have picked the right one - get it wrong and he'll be mightily pissed off with you.

1972. There Are No Ghosts in Your Brain

Comment #121740 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 4:03 am

64. Comment #121720 by LorienRyan -

Atheism is reasonable people...

I'm not reasonable.

1973. Are Darwin's Theories Fact or Faith Issues?

Comment #121713 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 2:59 am

132. Comment #120801 by Diacanu -

If God's design was so intelligent, why do dicks supposedly need to be circumcised?

And more to the point, Prof. McGrath?

1974. Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules'

Comment #121707 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 2:40 am

Documents from Birmingham University reveal that some students would prefer to quit the course rather than expose their arms...

Please quit. Seriously, just quit.

1975. Pope says some science shatters human dignity

Comment #121698 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 2:15 am

Pope Benedict - the ultimate justification for birth control. Retrospective, if necessary.

1976. Pope says some science shatters human dignity

Comment #121696 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 2:10 am

Institutionalised cruelty is one thing, but the twisted brain-wrong of a one-off man-mental is quite another.

1977. Documents detail church coverup

Comment #121691 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 2:06 am

Well! Who'd have thought it?[/sarcasm]

1978. God the psycho

Comment #121689 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 2:04 am

Buy the man a beer!

1979. Female Muslim medics 'disobey hygiene rules'

Comment #121687 by irate_atheist on February 4, 2008 at 2:02 am

Dr Majid Katme, the association spokesman...

...should be struck off by the GMC. Period.

1980. A Letter From Hell

Comment #120030 by irate_atheist on February 1, 2008 at 7:03 am

553. Comment #118004 by epeeist -

I am the only one who can cope with our Rayburn cooker

I take my hat off to you sir! Top quality cakes and bread baked in a Rayburn. You must be a culinary maestro. A distant set of relations have one but they have only be able to use it for heating the house and warming food - reliable temperature control being somewhat too tricky for them. Are you solid or oil fueled? (If you say 'gas, actually', can I call you a crafty little beggar?)

1981. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #119977 by irate_atheist on February 1, 2008 at 4:14 am

1201. Comment #119902 by Quetzalcoatl -

...Vox Day has issued a challenge to us!

Hmm. I wonder why they don't post any of my reviews? Don't they like the term 'fucktard'?

1982. Richard Dawkins on The Big Debate

Comment #119068 by irate_atheist on January 31, 2008 at 9:47 am

92. Comment #118912 by GodMyArse -

I hate this modern media obsession with 'our' views, even on some news programs like BBC Breakfast. Pointless and mis-informed.

Parodied so well by Chris Morris on The Day Today in his 'speak your brains' segment.

1983. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #119060 by irate_atheist on January 31, 2008 at 9:42 am

719. Comment #118989 by Kardashovel -

The notion of a 'Holy Spirit' is ridiculous in, and of, itself. What is it made of? How does it work? Strangely enough, they don't seem to find any 'Holy Spirit' at CERN or other such establishments when investigating fundamental particles. I wonder why.

Hence, I reject totally the notion of a 'Holy Spirit'. Hmm...

"but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come." Jesus, Matthew 12:32

So, I guess the combination of the above shows my contempt for the ignorant, irrational, superstitious nonsense that is (all) religion.

To which I would simply add:

"The mildest criticism of religion is also the most radical and the most devastating one. Religion is man-made. Even the men who made it cannot agree on what their prophets or redeemers or gurus actually said or did. Still less can they hope to tell us the "meaning" of later discoveries and developments which were, when they began, either obstructed by their religions or denounced by them. And yet�the believers still claim to know! Not just to know, but to know everything. Not just to know that god exists, and that he created and supervised the whole enterprise, but also to know what "he" demands of us�from our diet to our observances to our sexual morality. In other words, in a vast and complicated discussion where we know more and more about less and less, yet can still hope for some enlightenment as we proceed, one faction�itself composed of mutually warring factions�has the sheer arrogance to tell us that we already have all the essential information we need. Such stupidity, combined with such pride, should be enough on its own to exclude "belief" from the debate. The person who is certain, and who claims divine warrant for his certainty, belongs now to the infancy of our species. It may be a long farewell, but it has begun and, like all farewells, should not be protracted." - Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great.

Says it all, really. And far politer than I would put it myself.

1984. Atheism and Violence

Comment #118887 by irate_atheist on January 31, 2008 at 5:55 am

104. Comment #118207 by Deepthought -

For the benfit of Deepthought or any one else unsure of the 'No true Scotsman' fallacy.

See: http://atheism.about.com/od/logicalfallacies/a/notruescotsman.htm

Or: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

Although, naturally, I don't think either of these is the correct definition.

1985. Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights

Comment #118871 by irate_atheist on January 31, 2008 at 5:23 am

19. Comment #118838 by A --

Without opposing or endorsing any views here, I will merely add:

"Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." - Denis Diderot

1986. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #118868 by irate_atheist on January 31, 2008 at 5:19 am

668. Comment #118865 by Tyler Durden -

For your information, this is an argumentum ad fuckwitterum

1987. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #118864 by irate_atheist on January 31, 2008 at 5:12 am

660. Comment #118750 by Kardashovel -

Very hand-waiving, I know. It's speculation. But it dispatches the question of how God was created (counter-first-cause argument). He created Himself.

Yes, quite, and with an in-depth knowledge of fundamental particle physics. All the while he was telling his followers that the world was flat and that the sun orbited the earth. What a genius.

1988. Atheism and Violence

Comment #118068 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 9:37 am

89. Comment #118066 by al-rawandi -

Ha ha!

1989. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #118062 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 9:30 am

189. Comment #118060 by al-rawandi -

Well, with no gods to suck up to, I have to make my own purpose in life...

1990. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #118058 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 9:26 am

185. Comment #118047 by al-rawandi -

Missing option:

I know he exists! (To be said in a high pitched, nasal, whiny tone)

1991. Atheism and Violence

Comment #118056 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 9:24 am

...thwack!

1992. Atheism and Violence

Comment #118055 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 9:23 am

Pummel pummel pummel....

1993. Atheism and Violence

Comment #118053 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 9:22 am

78. Comment #118048 by Peacebeuponme -

Maybe we could put up a link to the wikipedia page...

If they can't even be bothered to read their own ~~cult~~ holy books end to end, I doubt it would do them much good. It's more fun to point out their fallacies in public.

1994. Atheism and Violence

Comment #118037 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 9:08 am

72. Comment #118036 by Peacebeuponme -

Is this the right point in the thread to bring up the 'no true Scotsman' fallacy'?

1995. Atheism and Violence

Comment #118033 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 9:03 am

66. Comment #118026 by Artful_Dodger -

Assertion:

He commanded his followers to put away their swords. When they don't they are disobeying him, even if they say they are fighting in his name.

Rebuttals:

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39 NASB)

"49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. (Luke 12:49-53)

"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26)

And don't try the 'out of context' or 'sword as a metaphor' ploy. It. Doesn't. Work.

1996. Atheism and Violence

Comment #118027 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 8:55 am

65. Comment #118020 by Artful_Dodger -

our beliefs about right and wrong, justice and injustice, have a supernatural origin - they are the result of human beings having been created in the image of the transcndent and also personal freely-choosing Source of justice and morality

And with one stroke, anthropology, behavioural science and evolution are summarily dismissed. Well done, collect your Nobel Prize, you so obviously deserve it.

1997. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #118019 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 8:33 am

172. Comment #118014 by nordicthunder -

so anna bananna, judging the book cover is indicative of its content in your mind ? once again, very open minded. But you look like a smart girl

Two sentences, one glaring internal consistency already. Keep going, you might make the record books.

1998. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #118016 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 8:31 am

169. Comment #118007 by nordicthunder -

funny thing, most of the "open minded" here are simply refusing to even read TIA before passing judgement.

There's a difference between being 'open minded' and letting your brain fall out.

When someone writes, "Day: He only finds Darwin useful insofar as his theory of evolution by natural selection can be used to eliminate the basis for a belief in a Creator God." it's reasonable to assume anything else he says is equally deluded, ignorant, mendacious or malicious.

In the words of U.S. District Judge John E. Jones, ruling on the Dover I.D case - 'Breathtaking inanity'.

1999. Atheism and Violence

Comment #118000 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 7:40 am

54. Comment #117996 by Elles -

Even more to the point, Adolf Hitler was a self-confessed vegetarian:

http://www.geocities.com/hitlerwasavegetarian/

Surely this means that all veggies are mass-murdering swine. Doesn't it?

2000. Atheism and Violence

Comment #117976 by irate_atheist on January 30, 2008 at 5:38 am

45. Comment #117974 by phasmagigas -

Well, other well known atheists such as George W. Bush and Tony Blair have been going around starting the occasional war. Oh, hang on, what's that you say? They're believers? But, but, but...does not compute. Oakes - you're not even a halfwit.