1. Questions Delay Creationist Master's Degrees

Comment #112677 by Cycik on January 17, 2008 at 6:48 pm

In terms of degrees, I was talking with Pastor Deacon Fred of the Landover Baptist church http://landoverbaptist.org/ some years ago at the Atheist Alliance question. He had been going to school at Liberty University and was thrown out some time shortly before graduation. He was worried in that he had about 3 years of creation science. "How am I going to get that to transfer to a real school?" Well, he did get an English degree and got all of the creation science to transfer as American Mythology.

2. Richard Dawkins on The Late Edition with Marcus Brigstocke

Comment #110646 by Cycik on January 11, 2008 at 7:14 pm

I met Richard Dawkins at the Atheist Alliance Convention in 2003. A bunch from the convention went on the Titanic dinner cruise around Tampa Bay (There is stuff you just can't make up.) In any event he was dancing with Margaret Downey on the top deck of the ship and is quite a good dancer.

I was waiting for him to get up and start dancing with Marcus at the end of the show. Now that would have been hysterical. I wonder if he would have done it if it weren't for the cold.

3. Submission, 'Part 1'

Comment #105329 by Cycik on December 31, 2007 at 9:24 am

Many times I am not sure how seriously on-line petitions are taken. I just looked at the petition. I thought this signer was particularly amusing:

Dec 31, 2007, Teddy Bear , Sudan
My owner named me Muhammad and she got in trouble for it. A lot of people in my area wanted her dead. Please remove the pictures or else the Islamofascist will kill these people.

I think someone on this site may have found a picture for a new avatar.

4. Sherri Shepherd needs to go away now

Comment #94731 by Cycik on December 6, 2007 at 11:07 am

To flobear:

"Who knows, maybe one day you'll find an idiot and exploit him/her as well."

But some of us never considered a career in the clergy.

5. Fallen Pastor Seeks Aid to Pursue Studies

Comment #65991 by Cycik on August 27, 2007 at 6:08 pm

USA_Limey I would agree probably being the better man for RD not to indulge in schadenfreude over this. But I was so hoping when the scandal went down I was doing constant Google searches on RD and TH just to see if any cool comments surfaced. Alas they did not. So kudos for Richard in taking the high ground, even at the expense of my fun.

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

Comment #63556 by Cycik on August 14, 2007 at 7:36 pm

Spellboots: Here is a funnier version.

http://omgwtf.superlime.com/pong.swf

Bottom line for all these types on philosophies is does it really matter. You still need to live your life as you see fit to work with the world and go with the sense is that is seems real.

Sort of the same logic the religious have with the "What if you are wrong?" argument. This higher order of universe is far more interesting than the bronze age superstition we have been given as the default option.

The only odd part is the universe does seem too seamless for this to be a simulation.

Wait... I just had an idea on how you can prove it is a simu

....connection terminated [No Carrier]

7. Curriculum for Baptist School

Comment #62766 by Cycik on August 11, 2007 at 9:56 am

Thanks to steveroot and the cheerleader guideline page he linked, I at least have one more thing to add to the list of offenses people should be damed to hell for. These are:

1.Drinking decaf espresso
2.Driving too slow in the left lane. (I guess that would be the right for the UK) Oddly enough some of the same people at #1
3.From this school, web designers who like to direct link to PDFs without warning.

Also this site reminds you about the validity of Poe's Law: "Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is impossible to create a parody of Fundamentalism that SOMEONE won't mistake for the real thing."

There are some unstable people out there.

8. New age therapies cause 'retreat from reason'

Comment #62661 by Cycik on August 10, 2007 at 4:48 pm

Since we have delved into Astrology. I though I would mention Phil Plait's website. He has added a very good debunking of Astrology at: http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/astrology.html

I also have my favorite answer for people who ask me what my sign is: "Well if you are going by Ptolomy's original zodiac then I would be a Libra, however if you account for the precession of the equinoxes I am a Virgo. Of course if you are accounting for the precession of the equinoxes you must realize that Astrology is complete B.S. and you don't need to worry about my sign."

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

Comment #61755 by Cycik on August 6, 2007 at 6:46 pm

This is similar to what I posted on the other thread regarding this article. What we are for is critical thinking, so be that religion or questionable medicine or psychic energy it still all involve the same faculties. Perhaps even harder for some of the woo woo beliefs in that some can put on a veneer of scientific respectability than many religions.

To me is also a sort of back door into the mind. You might easily dismiss some codswallop new age belief. (I suspect Northern Bright has been hang around James Randi's website to use that language.} It is harder to do for religion. I have seen many Christian 'skeptics' they will be rational about everything but their own beliefs. But at some point having reasoned out other irrational beliefs. You have built up the mental muscles to go against religion.

This is not dilution. This is divide and conquer.

10. New age therapies cause 'retreat from reason'

Comment #61560 by Cycik on August 5, 2007 at 6:29 pm

I think this is a perfectly consistent way to go. I actually came to Atheism because of people like Michael Shermer and James Randi. It is a progression first your start questioning woo woo beliefs such as crystal healing, homeopathy, and quantum healing bullshit. Eventually you build up what Carl Sagan termed the baloney detection kit, and having cut your teeth on less entrenched beliefs you move on with the same critical thinking skills to religion and realize it has all the same problems as the other baloney you have been looking at.

11. Religion beat became a test of faith

Comment #58155 by Cycik on July 23, 2007 at 6:04 pm

Unfortunately the feed back section limits comments to 300 characters. I did however add this comment:

"I tried for a long time to hold on to some spiritual ideal, and rationalize it as best I could. Finally I rationalized the even if god was a delusion there were benefits to believing My beliefs for even this are gone. They perished in the dust of the twin towers on 9/11."

No space to add that it was Richard Dawkins' article in the Guardian "It's time to stand up." Is finally what convinced me.

12. Television evangelist Falwell dies at 73

Comment #42177 by Cycik on May 17, 2007 at 7:55 pm

Why do I just have this urge to return to the city of my birth, Lynchburg Virginia. And head over to Thomas Road Baptist Church 1 Mountain View Rd. on May 22nd with comfy chairs and some popcorn. Westboro Baptist vs. Thomas Road Baptist. Let's get ready to rumble. Sorry, but I don't have cable. So I just have to find the entertainment where I can.

13. Statement of Concern about Impact of AIG's Creation 'Museum'

Comment #40976 by Cycik on May 15, 2007 at 9:19 am

I guess I have make my first post to this site in that I am probably only 2 hours away from this "museum." I might want to visit but that would entail giving money to these folks. It being not far from Cincinnati Ohio just gives truth to the statement: How does Cincinnati and yogurt differ? Yogurt has an active culture.