1. Richard Dawkins on The Big Questions

Comment #156975 by bmkern on April 8, 2008 at 12:57 pm

I think my IQ may have gone down by watching that... what a miserable excuse for an informed discussion.

As a side note: so much for the British claim of superior reason in the public sector (vs. America)...

2. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #126959 by bmkern on February 14, 2008 at 2:56 pm

I think she makes some good points, when she talks about the impact of the arguments and the origins of fundamentalist theism. When she talks about the veracity of religion itself, well that's another story altogether.

I think it's very plausible that fundamentalism comes from populations which feel marginalized and powerless, as it's a shifting of their world perception that puts them in the top spot - morally superior, with the permission of God to strike out against those people they feel marginalized by.

With enough adversity people will adapt themselves to cope. Reinventing your reality around a made-up deity is a very powerful coping mechanism, and ironically makes Prof. Dawkins' term "Delusion" all the more justified.

3. Another Christian Science Fair embarrasses itself

Comment #44711 by bmkern on May 25, 2007 at 7:49 am

I formed salt crystals, therefor God. Seems like pretty airtight logic to me...

Seriously, how far would just teaching logic to children go towards abolishing religion? I'd like to think a long way.