Comments by Roy_H

251. How Old is the Grand Canyon? Park Service Won't Say

Comment #15433 by Roy_H on December 31, 2006 at 9:24 am

Jeff,
OOPS I should have looked more carefully! Some of the site is quite funny actually. Still, if Liberty University have exhibits of '3000 year old dinosaur fossils...' That is every bit as hilarious!
Ole,
Apparently,Darwin's book broke Captain Fitzroy's heart! When The Origin of Species was published FitzRoy apparently felt betrayed, and guilty for his part in the theory's development. Unfortunately he was in Oxford on 30 June 1860 to present a paper on storms and attended the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at which Samuel Wilberforce attacked Darwin's theory. During the debate FitzRoy, seen as "a grey haired Roman nosed elderly gentleman", stood in the centre of the audience and "lifting an immense Bible first with both and afterwards with one hand over his head, solemnly implored the audience to believe God rather than man". As he admitted that The Origin of Species had given him "acutest pain", the crowd shouted him down.
FitzRoy retired in 1863, having been promoted by reason of seniority to vice-admiral. He suffered from depression and in 1865 died as a result of suicide, using a razor in a sad echo of his uncle's death. He is buried in the graveyard of All Saints' Church, Upper Norwood, south London.

252. How Old is the Grand Canyon? Park Service Won't Say

Comment #15423 by Roy_H on December 31, 2006 at 7:17 am

"Let's take a look at the evidence," said ECFR senior fellow Gregory Lunsden."In Matthew 15:14, Jesus says, 'And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.' He says nothing about some gravity making them fall—just that they will fall. Then, in Job 5:7, we read, 'But mankind is born to trouble, as surely as sparks fly upwards.' If gravity is pulling everything down, why do the sparks fly upwards with great surety? This clearly indicates that a conscious intelligence governs all falling."
Intelligent falling... let's clutch at another straw! Note the pseudoscientific equation behind the "scientist" complete with Michelangelo's god doing all the work. What next? thunder is caused by god farting?

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39511

253. How Old is the Grand Canyon? Park Service Won't Say

Comment #15403 by Roy_H on December 31, 2006 at 2:45 am

Everyone knows how The Grand Canyon Was Formed. A 'Televangelist' priest dropped a 10 cents piece down a gopher hole!

254. Response to Richard Dawkins' Criticisms in The God Delusion

Comment #15138 by Roy_H on December 29, 2006 at 4:55 am

Veronique, you are very welcome. The insane are taking over the asylum. Now look at this:-
http://baconeatingatheistjew.blogspot.com/2006/04/penn-and-teller-creationism.html
"Scary and sad. It is amazing how absolutely ignorant ID supporters are when it comes to science"

Penn and Teller on the teaching of I.D. ( Idiot's Drivel ) in schools in U.S.A.

255. What I found out about God

Comment #14647 by Roy_H on December 23, 2006 at 10:41 pm

"Terrible though it is to us, God grants the same freedom to cancer cells that he grants even to the most noble and virtuous of us."
That sounds all too typical.Most vicars seem to suffer from acute "foot in mouth disease " at funerals, thus managing to upset at least some, if not all of the congregation by their cock-ups. At my own father's funeral the vicar kept getting my mother's name totally wrong (in fact half way through the service I heckeled him about it!) Afterwards, a friend of mine told me that he had recently been to the funeral of a woman who was in only in her early 40's when she died. The vicar said in his eulogy how she "Would be sadly missed by both her children and grandchildren".In fact,she did not have any grandchildren at all. At a recent funeral I attended the vicar said "___'s Nephew would like to say a few word. The guy mounted the pulpit and said "Well thank you for the introduction, but I happen to be his Grandson!"

256. The Only One in Step

Comment #14522 by Roy_H on December 23, 2006 at 1:56 am

I am reminded of John Playfair's remarks when he and James Hall were taken to Siccar Point in Scotland by Scottish geologist James Hutton (1726-97) :-
'We felt ourselves necessarily carried back to the time when the schistus on which we stood was yet at the bottom of the sea, and when the sandstone before us was only beginning to be deposited in the shape of sand or mud,from the waters of a superincumbent ocean. An epocha still more remote presented itself, when even the most ancient of these rocks, instead of standing upright in vertical beds, lay in horizontal planes at the bottom of the sea, and was not yet disturbed by that immeasurable force which had burst asunder the solid pavement of the globe.... The mind seemed to grow giddy by looking so far into the abyss of time.' (Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. V, pt. III, 1805)
In other words, over two hundred years ago, the early geologists had a better understanding of the history of the Earth than these present day "Wingnuts" ( I love the word Richard! )This is of course, way before Rutherford's discovery of radioactive decay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Siccar_Point.jpg

257. The Only One in Step

Comment #14511 by Roy_H on December 22, 2006 at 10:35 pm

Plus of course, other "transitional fossils" i.e. Tiktaalik, which shows both fish and amphibian characteristics, or the many mammal like reptile specimens that have been found in Permian and Triassic strata.

258. The Only One in Step

Comment #14479 by Roy_H on December 22, 2006 at 3:52 pm

Well The second law of thermodynamics thing is way above my head I am afraid,but as for the Earth only being 6000 years old? what about COMMON SENSE. A tiny little example, the white cliffs of Dover. Please do not try and convince me that those tiny little coccoliths built the great thicknesses of chalk in a few thousand years! Even the Victorian field Geologists could not agree with Lord Kelvin that the earth was only about 20 million years old,let alone 6000 years because of the great thickness of the stratigraphic column.

259. Now we know how to make the IDists dance in their petticoats: blaspheme.

Comment #14202 by Roy_H on December 21, 2006 at 1:24 pm

Fancy a another good laugh?
http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1221

260. 7 monks injured in clash over monastery

Comment #14110 by Roy_H on December 21, 2006 at 6:53 am

"Not only are women banned from Mount Athos. So are female sheep presumably for fear they would offer too much temptation to frustrated monks"
Puts a whole new slant on the phrase "Lamb of God!"

261. CBC Segment on Evangelist Christians

Comment #14060 by Roy_H on December 21, 2006 at 2:44 am

I loved the way he said how the crucifixtion thing "Really got to him".... That was until his mobile phone rang. Maybe they could all do with a reality check!

262. CBC Segment on Evangelist Christians

Comment #14034 by Roy_H on December 20, 2006 at 10:51 pm

It made my flesh crawl,truly. To paraphrase the actor William Shatner, when approached by some "Trekkies" ( Devout Star Trek fans, that go to Star trek conventions, learn to speak Klingon etc) "You guys... get a life!"

263. Merry Mithras

Comment #13891 by Roy_H on December 20, 2006 at 1:39 am

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2006/islam-christianity-p1.php
Many a true word spoken in jest ( or is it ridicule? )

264. Talk in Class Turns to God, Setting Off Public Debate on Rights

Comment #13871 by Roy_H on December 19, 2006 at 10:25 pm

The Home of the Brave and the Land of the Free?
I went to a bog standard comprehensive school in England in the 1970's. If a teacher had been spouting such drivel to us back then,he would have been kicked out I am sure.

265. The Trouble with Atheism

Comment #13673 by Roy_H on December 19, 2006 at 4:26 am

Oh goody I can watch it on here. I was going to tape it last night but the hand of god interveined and I found I had taped "Coronation Street " by mistake. The ironic thing is, a lot of people think "Coronation Street" is real too!

266. Merry Mithras

Comment #13627 by Roy_H on December 18, 2006 at 10:56 pm

"Thank you Richard Dawkins for pointing that out" This guy says it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSmrLfz-rUo&mode=related&search=

A joke that was going around when I went to school ( This is going to date me!) An Anglican priest arrives at a school one morning, a few days before Christmas. He asks the headmaster "I do hope the children here are familiar with the true meaning of Christmas " "Of course they are!" replied the headmaster, "Go into any classroom, ask any of the pupils, they will be able to tell you, I am quite sure". So the priest goes into a class and asks "Who was born in a stable and had millions of followers?" So one lad puts his hand up and shouts "Please sir I know....it was Red Rum!"
(All the American visitors are now on google looking up 'Red Rum' )

267. Kim Hill interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #13473 by Roy_H on December 17, 2006 at 10:58 pm

Perfect, an 'intelligently designed' interview for a change.( Do forgive the pun! )
There is no chance maybe The Dawkins, Dennetts and Harris's of this world are going to change everybody's minds, but in the words of Mikhail Gorbachev "We have got to start somewhere"

268. Richard Dawkins on The Sunday Edition

Comment #13349 by Roy_H on December 17, 2006 at 7:09 am

I hope if Mr. Benn ever needs to go to hospital he does not reject ( medical) science as not been able to tell/show him anything!

269. Preaching to the converted

Comment #13304 by Roy_H on December 16, 2006 at 10:29 pm

" 'I hadn't thought of it before,' he says, 'but probably." I think that really says it all, had we been born then, that would have been the 'logical' explaination. Like often say to my friends, the birth of atheism began when people began to wonder what would happen if you put 2 or more optical lenses in front of each other, i.e. with the invention of the microscope and the telescope. We could see both the very large and the very small. We had opened up our horizons.The bubonic plague was not caused by 'God's will', but by a nasty little bug.

270. Response to Richard Dawkins' Criticisms in The God Delusion

Comment #13269 by Roy_H on December 16, 2006 at 2:10 pm

Did any of my fellow Brits watch the TV programme today with Tony Robinson on More 4 "The Domesday Code?" It is really frightening how The U.S.A. takes the book of revelation as fact.It was terrifying.

271. Christmas Present to Defenders of Darwinism

Comment #13267 by Roy_H on December 16, 2006 at 2:03 pm

How childish can you get? "I am drowning, I am clutching at straws, I will resort to the politics of the playground ner ner ner!"
Still...he could indeed have shot himself in the foot.

272. Intelligent design: The God Lab

Comment #13195 by Roy_H on December 16, 2006 at 5:03 am

39. Comment #13176 by Anmibe , I did see one loony Creationist website that stated that it is easy to explain how all the animals got on to the ark....You see Noah took only BABY animals!...so that's alright then! You despair at their mentality sometimes.

273. Intelligent Design packets

Comment #13186 by Roy_H on December 16, 2006 at 4:41 am

I would love to see a discussion between Buggs Bunny or whatever his name is and our very own R.D.

274. Intelligent design: The God Lab

Comment #13089 by Roy_H on December 15, 2006 at 10:37 am

Which countries of the world accept evolution as fact? This Chart is very interesting. U.S.A. of course, is almost at the bottom, next to Turkey.
The top of the heap appears to be Iceland!
http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=060810_evo_rank_02.jpg&cap=A+chart+showing+public+acceptance+of+evolution+in+34+countries.+The+United+States+ranked+near+the+bottom%2C+beat+only+by+Turkey.+Credit%3A+Science

275. Atheists' bleak alternative

Comment #12850 by Roy_H on December 14, 2006 at 4:01 am

An extreme case I know,but has anyone else here seen the film "The Magdelene sisters" ? I watched it the other week on Channel 4. It is based on a true story. Horrifying

http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=105645

276. Science Weekly for December 11: Creationism special

Comment #12840 by Roy_H on December 14, 2006 at 2:07 am

Yes, it is so obvious that I.D. is the same old lame wolf of Creationism, but wrapped up in sheep's clothing. As each new discovery is made ( e.g. Tiktaalik ) The Creationists seem to find yet another straw to clutch at.

277. Simon Mayo interviews Keith Ward about his book 'Is Religion Dangerous?'

Comment #12799 by Roy_H on December 13, 2006 at 11:43 pm

I have just read this.To quote Richard in the 'Root of All Evil" programmes "It is derisive and it is dangerous"

DALLAS (Reuters) - A Christian video game has become the latest battleground in America's "culture" wars, with its maker claiming it promotes prayer while critics charge it carries a message of violent religious intolerance.
"Left Behind: Eternal Forces," is a teen-rated PC strategy game based on the wildly popular "Left Behind" Christian book series created by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.
The game is set in New York City after millions of Christians have been transported to heaven.
Players are charged with recruiting, and converting, an army that will engage in physical and spiritual warfare with the antichrist and his evil followers.
An advocacy group "Campaign to Defend the Constitution" -- which monitors right-wing religious activities -- says the game is violently pro-Christian and has petitioned retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news) to pull it from its shelves.
The critics describe it as "a violent video game in which born-again Christians aim to convert or kill those who don't adhere to their extreme ideology."

278. Vicars in a Twist

Comment #12668 by Roy_H on December 13, 2006 at 6:59 am

I used the love the name of the "Vicar" that used to write piece in 'Private Eye' occasionally. The Rev. J.C. Flannel.
http://objectiveministries.org/kidz/ "kids page" this creases me up,a lovely parody on those lukewarm evangelical sites.

279. Ken Miller on Intelligent Design

Comment #12613 by Roy_H on December 12, 2006 at 10:42 pm

Brilliant!I loved every minute of it. It just shows that the wolf of Creationism is trying to hide behind the sheep that is Intelligent Design. I found myself giving him rounds of private applause as I sat in front of the computer, as he told of the "Mammal like reptiles and reptile like mammals", the evolution of the whale, where the "missing" 2 chromosomes went etc.

280. Richard Dawkins on The Late Late Show with Pat Kenny

Comment #12195 by Roy_H on December 11, 2006 at 7:39 am

"And now to win tonoights terty tousand euros prize,all yers has to do is answer de followin' question. Was Baloo de bear created by
a) God
b) Walt Disney
or
c) Did he evolve from an extinct group of mammalian carnivores known as the Miacids?"

281. The Atheist Delusion: a pisspoor presentation

Comment #12081 by Roy_H on December 10, 2006 at 8:57 am

"Read your Bible man, it's all in there". If you read all the bible word for word, it would put you off Christianity for life! I honestly did not think much about it until I looked in the God is Imaginary and Skeptics Bible Website (and of course read Richard's book). However I have been an atheist since age 11. I think my parents buying me a book about pre-historic animals put paid to that!

http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/
http://www.godisimaginary.com/

282. The Atheist Delusion: a pisspoor presentation

Comment #12026 by Roy_H on December 9, 2006 at 11:38 am

Deuteronomy :-
21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: (21:18-21)
If you have a "stubborn and rebellious son," then you and the other men in your neighborhood "shall stone him with stones that he die."

21:19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
21:20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
21:21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Well I suppose it would have a bit more effect than an ASBO!

283. The Atheist Delusion: a pisspoor presentation

Comment #12005 by Roy_H on December 9, 2006 at 7:14 am

http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/
An excellent site if you want to see how absurd the Bible, Koran, and The Book of Mormon really are

284. The Atheist Delusion: a pisspoor presentation

Comment #11988 by Roy_H on December 9, 2006 at 2:49 am

Looking at the comments on "Youtube" I think this little video will convert as many people as Messrs. Dawkins, Denning and Harris!

285. The Atheist Delusion: a pisspoor presentation

Comment #11979 by Roy_H on December 8, 2006 at 11:14 pm

Brilliant, this is very similar.

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2006/bill-hicks-p1.php

"How do I know Jesus was white?I'll tell yer how I know he was white cos I seen a picture of him in the bible, and yer know what, the camera don't lie!" ( From the sitcom 'Curry and chips ' by Johnny Speight, starring Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes )

286. Dawkins Delusion (3rd article, Same Stupid Title)

Comment #11934 by Roy_H on December 8, 2006 at 9:01 am

Ralph ( pronounced Rayf) Vaughan- Williams, apart from writing symphonies etc, also wrote church music and even edited the English Hymnal , he too was an atheist. He once said: "Why shouldn't an atheist write a good mass? "

287. God's Inbox

Comment #11878 by Roy_H on December 8, 2006 at 2:01 am

Does the devil use Firefox?

288. When Atheists Have Their Say (5 Letters)

Comment #11831 by Roy_H on December 7, 2006 at 1:46 pm

God, A Poem

A nasty surprise in a sandwich,
A drawing-pin caught in your sock,
The limpest of shakes from a hand which
You'd thought would be firm as a rock,

A serious mistake in a nightie,
A grave disappointment all round
Is all that you'll get from th'Almighty,
Is all that you'll get underground.

Oh he said: 'If you lay off the crumpet
I'll see you alright in the end.
Just hang on until the last trumpet.
Have faith in me, chum-I'm your friend.'

But if you remind him, he'll tell you:
'I'm sorry, I must have been pissed-
Though your name rings a sort of a bell. You
Should have guessed that I do not exist.

'I didn't exist at Creation,
I didn't exist at the Flood,
And I won't be around for Salvation
To sort out the sheep from the cud-

'Or whatever the phrase is. The fact is
In soteriological terms
I'm a crude existential malpractice
And you are a diet of worms.

'You're a nasty surprise in a sandwich.
You're a drawing-pin caught in my sock.
You're the limpest of shakes from a hand which
I'd have thought would be firm as a rock,

'You're a serious mistake in a nightie,
You're a grave disappointment all round-
That's all you are, ' says th'Almighty,
'And that's all that you'll be underground.'

1983

James Fenton