1. Conversation between Richard Dawkins and John Lennox

Comment #206245 by mad_monk on July 8, 2008 at 7:36 am

Prof. Dawkins should apply his "no debate with creationists" rule to John Lennox. Some of his bizarre claims are on a par with young-earthers. What happened to the moderator in this discussion? He allowed it to turn into a platform for a sermon by Lennox.

2. Richard Dawkins Interview on TVOntario

Comment #181017 by mad_monk on May 16, 2008 at 9:48 am

Seen this before (on this site I believe). Interviewer is irritating and his questions pretty childish. He seems to have made the calculation that his core audience is made up of slightly dim religious types. He tries to placate them by treating RD as a kind of odd-ball English eccentric. Best bit was RD saying to him "Now come on; be serious" during a profound dissection of fairyology.

3. Ask The God Delusion author Richard Dawkins

Comment #94242 by mad_monk on December 5, 2007 at 4:33 am

For once, I'm in luck. Living in Malta I get access to BBC World via my cable tv provider. I am a regular BBC World viewer. Most of their programmes are good, although some are pretty drab (e.g. asia business debates). Have Your Say is a decent concept but the live phone-in questions are often difficult to follow due to the "rich and varied" accents of people from around the world via poor quality mobile phone connections. The questions themselves are often pretty banal also. Richard is likely to face questions of the calibre of "Why is there something rather than nothing? Gotcha!". I'll leave a question and my phone number at the Have Your Say web-site and see if they call me back.

4. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75619 by mad_monk on October 3, 2007 at 6:33 am

You can't but admire Sam Harris for his clear thinking and superb ability to communicate subtle ideas. Unlike some others on this thread, I have no problem with his highlighting the possibilities of introspection and meditation. I would say it's perfectly fair for him to point out the problem of atheists dismissing these types of experiences out of hand. For those without the time (or patience) to conduct their own experiment, they might examine the related effects on the mind of certain chemical substances. I'd like to think that Carl Sagan would agree with me on that. Regarding dropping the term "atheist", I like the argument Sam has presented, but I suspect, in practice, it might have the effect of breaking-up what is already a pretty loosely bound collection of individuals and organisations. Herding cats, as Richard might say, is hard enough as it is.

5. The Mix Tape of the Gods

Comment #67919 by mad_monk on September 5, 2007 at 7:05 am

Carl Sagan - what an amazing guy. An atheist for all ages. Reading about him always prompts me to replay Pale Blue Dot. Never tire of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

6. The Out Campaign: Interview with Josh Timonen

Comment #63973 by mad_monk on August 17, 2007 at 5:31 am

Josh,

Just want to add my name to the list of grateful site visitors. Well done and best wishes.

Mad Monk from Malta

7. Amnesty to defy Catholic church over rape victims' abortion rights

Comment #63087 by mad_monk on August 13, 2007 at 4:48 am

Well done AI. Abortion is a hot topic here in Malta, where termination is illegal in ALL circumstances (including rape, incest, severe disability and even ectopic pregnancy). The morning-after pill is banned under this legislation. As if our draconian laws weren't enough, (they are, in fact, the most extreme anti-abortion laws in the world), there are now moves to entrench these laws into the Constitution of Malta (where they can never be changed). The organisation behind this campaign, "Gift of Life", are an extreme right-wing Catholic movement. They have the support of senior politicians who feel they have to appear to be holier than the Pope in order to be elected. I wish Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens would come over here and give a few speeches to put these ideological loonies in their place. It's like living in a satellite of the Vatican.

8. Red Mosque Fueled Islamic Fire in Young Women

Comment #58264 by mad_monk on July 24, 2007 at 7:21 am

Philip1978: Thanks for the comment. There is a wider issue connected with this story; a coordinated international effort to promote a more balanced curriculum in Islamic countries is under-mined by our own failures in this field. I refer particularly to Faith Schools, supported by the UK government. Until we accept the damage we are doing to our own children through indoctrination, we are not in a position to lecture Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc. on their education policy. Prof. Dawkins' charge of "child abuse" relating to this issue is an often mis-understood, but perfectly fair criticism in my view. For those who have not already done so, please consider signing the petition:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/faithschools/

9. Red Mosque Fueled Islamic Fire in Young Women

Comment #58248 by mad_monk on July 24, 2007 at 6:17 am

Another depressing story about religious brain-washing destroying the lives of young people. How tragic to live in such pitiful ignorance of reality. What is most revealing for me is that the younger generation in Pakistan (and elsewhere) appear to be forming a more extreme religious world-view than their parents. Although we should be careful about drawing conclusions from the story of one individual, the future does appear bleak. Does anyone know what a typical Madrasa curriculum might include? Is it just studying the Koran and associated texts from dawn to dusk?

10. Baby's 'miracle' recovery in British hospital to give Malta its first saint

Comment #44705 by mad_monk on May 25, 2007 at 7:40 am

Kaiserkriss: Nice to hear from someone with a Malta connection. I'll of course accept your comments about St Aloysius' science teaching. However, I feel I might point out that St Aloysius' is a pretty exclusive college, having produced, amongst others, the current and former President of Malta, and current Minister of Justice. Sadly, this college is not representative of the average locally. Even with its relatively high standard of education, a former pupil of St Aloysius', the current Minister of Justice, is the driving force behind the religiously-motivated anti-abortion campaign. As regards science teaching generally, standards are poor, and science jobs few and far between. This is perpetuating the problem of superstitious beliefs influencing policy-making (where the church's views, rather than rational thinking, takes precedent).

11. Baby's 'miracle' recovery in British hospital to give Malta its first saint

Comment #44618 by mad_monk on May 25, 2007 at 5:41 am

I am Maltese; so I feel it is time to add my first ever comment at this site...

The only positive aspect of this canonization, in my view, is that half the country is flying off to Vatican City to be part of this "amazing" event. The government even has the gall to subsidise the flights to Rome (out of my taxes!).

Having said this, I look forward to spending a few days in my own country in the absence of the hoards of religious bigots that populate the place. Roman Catholicism has a stranglehold on Malta. This relatively harmless sideshow in Rome is a symptom of a more disturbing reality. The most recent manifestation of this reality has been a massive anti-abortion campaign which aims to put our draconian anti-abortion laws into the constitution (so they can never be changed). Abortion is illegal in all circumstances in Malta, including when a woman's life is in danger. This is unique in Europe and virtually the entire world (Chile and El Salvador are almost, but not quite, as bad). There are moves to "regulate" IVF (which results in excess zygote destruction). Stem Cell Research is a non-starter. Our European MPs voted against EU agencies distributing the morning-after pill to women in areas of conflict. Needless to say, the morning-after pill is illegal in Malta, even in the case of the rape of a minor. The head of our Bio-ethics Committee quotes the teachings of the church when presenting his arguments on the subject.

We are a superstitious race by nature. We are also poorly educated in the sciences. A perfect combination of factors in the church's view!