Comments by Titus

1. BBC 'too scared to allow jokes about Islam'

Comment #155689 by Titus on April 5, 2008 at 8:52 am

Just thought this one up.

Have you heard the new record by Muslim duo Sunni and Shia?

'I'll get you babe'.

Comment #151594 by Titus on March 29, 2008 at 3:25 am

That's the second time in the last few days that PZed has had me in hysterics.
Keep it up PZed, you're a star.

Comment #151189 by Titus on March 28, 2008 at 8:50 am

Just listened to this and it was a pleasant reminder of seeing Marcus on tour last year.
He performed this routine as part of his stage show and, as I was sat on the front row wearing a scarlet A t-shirt and glasses, it was me that got 'healed'.
Had a long chat with him after the show, really sound bloke.

4. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150152 by Titus on March 26, 2008 at 1:50 pm

Happy Birthday Richard.
May you have many more.
Best wishes
Charles Rodgers

5. EXPELLED!

Comment #147677 by Titus on March 21, 2008 at 5:44 am

I laughed so much the back of my head is aching.
Can't wait to hear Richard's comments.

6. The coming religious peace

Comment #132096 by Titus on February 24, 2008 at 6:57 am

AfraidToDie
Education is the key, but it only opens the door to a more rational mindset. A few other things need to be in place, societally speaking, for a truly secular outlook to take hold.
Take a look at the post Gordon linked to, it makes perfect sense to me; in fact it's pretty much what I've been saying for years.
http://richarddawkins.net/article,956,Why-the-Gods-Are-Not-Winning,Edge-Gregory-Paul-amp-Phil-Zuckerman

7. The coming religious peace

Comment #132087 by Titus on February 24, 2008 at 6:11 am

Thanks for the link Gordon, excellent article and one I'd missed as posted before my introduction to this site.

8. The coming religious peace

Comment #132075 by Titus on February 24, 2008 at 5:10 am

Epeeist
You're right, of course the education provided has to be of the right type; which is why I linked it with economic development.
For a nation to be competitive in the global economy you need a scientifically and technologically literate population and by extension a logical/rational thinking one.
Teaching the koran in universities is not going to help you compete, nor is keeping half of your population ignorant because of their sex.

9. The Lava Lizard's Tale

Comment #132071 by Titus on February 24, 2008 at 4:59 am

That was fantastic Richard. Perhaps Josh could get you to do the same for Richard's future filmets.

How about having a go at a debate with Alister McGrath next? (Should be fairly straightforward - not too many notes required.)

True Paula, just a riff (repeated ad nauseam) over "I think what I would like to say at this point is..."

10. The coming religious peace

Comment #132052 by Titus on February 24, 2008 at 3:32 am

It's an interesting graph, but it'd be interesting to see a comparison of countries with similar wealth, yet varying religiosity, on such things as education levels, sex equality, delivery of universal healthcare, social security in general, high life expectancy, civil liberties and the rule of law, and doubtless other factors that we call speculate about.

I suspect that education is the key. Those countries with a higher GDP spend a great deal more on educating their young than those in the third world. Countries like India whose economic development is advancing apace seem to be experiencing a commensurate decline in religiosity. A well educated workforce is vital if countries are to compete in todays global marketplace; where scientific and technological literacy are of paramount significance.
A by product of increased educational awareness and economic wealth is increasing levels of secularism and a move away from the barbarism of fundamentalist religious dogma and superstition.

11. Fleabytes

Comment #130691 by Titus on February 21, 2008 at 6:59 am

I've been thinking for a while now that I really ought to read some of the flea books so that I'm aware of the 'arguments'. Of course I knew all along that they didn't have any, and that I'd merely be subjecting myself to a series of lies, obfuscation, double speak and ad hominems. Still, one likes to think that one is being fair. Your excellent review has saved me the bother (and the inevitable frustration), so in all humility I thank you for your efforts.

Damn those marxist daffodils! :-)

12. The Search for Truth, God and Braver Scientists in 'Expelled'

Comment #128435 by Titus on February 17, 2008 at 2:21 am

Ok then, if no-one else is going to do it, it'll have to be me.

Ben Stein - fuckwit

That's better! :-)

13. A match made on RichardDawkins.net?

Comment #128428 by Titus on February 17, 2008 at 1:56 am

I have to confess to being a hopeless romantic, so this news has furnished me with a soppy grin.
My heartfelt congratulations to you both and my best wishes for your future together.

Chas x

14. Hitchens and Boteach Debate on God

Comment #127417 by Titus on February 15, 2008 at 8:53 am

I was going to be polite and say that Boteach was at best disingenuous or intellectually dishonest, but why mince words. He's demonstrably a bare faced liar, who will say anything that comes into his addled brain if he thinks that it will help his cause. Fuckwit!
I don't know how Christopher keeps his cool with people like Boteach, but I'm glad he does. Not only does it allow him to win the debate so comprehensibly, but it makes for great entertainment.

15. Scientists discover way to reverse loss of memory

Comment #118888 by Titus on January 31, 2008 at 5:57 am

Isn't science great!

16. Happy Birthday Josh Timonen!

Comment #118886 by Titus on January 31, 2008 at 5:46 am

Wishing you a fabulous birthday Josh, and a huge thankyou for the wonderful work you do on this site.
You're a star!

17. Violence fear over Islam film

Comment #113597 by Titus on January 20, 2008 at 6:39 am

'...but freedom of expression doesn't mean the right to offend,'

Of course it bloody well does!
What it doesn't mean is the right to incite violence; something muslim extremists are very fond of.
As Stephen Fry so eloquently put it, 'Anyone who says they're offended is just having a bit of a whine. Oh I'm offended...so fucking what!'

18. Survey finds most Americans believe Jesus born of virgin

Comment #102493 by Titus on December 23, 2007 at 2:36 am

Wikipedia
"Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction in which females produce eggs that develop without fertilization. Parthenogenesis is seen to occur naturally in aphids, daphnia, rotifers, and some other invertebrates, as well as in many plants. Komodo dragons and sharks have recently been added to the list of vertebrates—along with several genera of fish, amphibians, and reptiles—that exhibit differing forms of asexual reproduction, including true parthenogenesis."

Mary was a frog, all hail the saviour of frog kind.
Cue the frog chorus.

19. Do our leaders believe in God?

Comment #102233 by Titus on December 22, 2007 at 5:43 am

I for one wholeheartedly approve, although it's a shame he felt it necessary to release a statement later about his children being brought up as catholics.
Governmental decisions should be made with all the available evidence, not through personal revelation.

20. Do the laws of God trump those of man?

Comment #99551 by Titus on December 17, 2007 at 3:31 am

Peacebeuponme
"Though it looks for all the world as though you have approached your keyboard in much the same was as Jackson Pollack approaches a canvass..."

Class! :-)

21. Do the laws of God trump those of man?

Comment #99537 by Titus on December 17, 2007 at 2:40 am

I've just watched the video at the link posted by Haikuin and it moved me to tears. The sooner the virus of religion is removed from this planet the better.

"Multiculturalism is a racism of the anti-racists: It chains people to their roots."

Here, here. Time to develop a shared world culture with an appreciation of our global human history, not just the bit that happened to take place in the country of your birth, free from irrationality and hatred.

22. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #98977 by Titus on December 15, 2007 at 4:58 am

I'd just like to add my thanks to Josh too.
It's long been my fantasy to have these men around my dinner table to hear them engage in just such a conversation, so more of these please.
Can I suggest that Stephen Fry be invited to a future discussion. Although not known as an atheist polemicist, he is a towering intellect, hugely entertaining and as stridently anti bullshit as Hitch himself.
BTW, some have mentioned Hitchens' idea that he would not like religion to disappear as he finds the arguments intellectually stimulating. I have some sympathy with his point. There is surely nothing wrong with getting a buzz from the battle. Over the years I have been involved with several 'causes', one of them being a member of CND. Whilst believing wholeheartedly in the aims of the organisation it would be disingenuous not to admit that I got a huge buzz out of marching through the streets of central London encouraging thousands to chant 'Fat Freddies cat shits on the bomb'. The very solidarity that many find in religion can be, and often is, found in causes that unite free thinking individuals without the need for superstition or dogma. Enjoying the process is what keeps people engaged in it.

23. Banishing the Green-Eyed Monster

Comment #91882 by Titus on November 29, 2007 at 1:54 pm

Lana, I'm inclined to think you're disappointment is the result of your upbringing which is, inevitably, steeped in theocratic morality. Rationally, monogamous relationships can hardly be a natural state for the human species; for if they were Richard would not have needed to write the article. The need for both sexes to seek multiple partners is evidenced by the behaviour itself.
It is true that some find happiness in lifelong monogamous relationships, but they are overwhelmingly the exception.
I for one long for a world where people could be genuinely honest and open about their desires without the artificial, and usually hypocritical, guilt imposed by an artificial and patently unnatural morality.

24. Banishing the Green-Eyed Monster

Comment #91873 by Titus on November 29, 2007 at 1:36 pm

Like Arcturus I immediately thought of Heinlein when I read this piece. I'm sure that Heinlein's works had quite an influence on me as a teenager; for as an adult I find myself mystified by others' rapid and unreasonable desire to leap into the quagmire of jealousy.
Were you a fan Richard? I do hope so.

25. Dr Bari: Government stoking Muslim tension

Comment #87416 by Titus on November 12, 2007 at 4:04 am

Comment by IanG

We have to take him very seriously: he wields much more power and influence than you and I do

Sadly I agree, we must also take very seriously the apologists both in local and national government who are giving these people credence.
It is up to all of us to point out the extremist agenda; particularly when voiced by so called moderates and articulated in a way as to seem reasonable. There are those, I am sure, who would read that article from a xtian viewpoint and agree with much that he said. There lies the danger.
Sometimes you just want to have a rant though!

26. Dr Bari: Government stoking Muslim tension

Comment #87400 by Titus on November 12, 2007 at 3:20 am

Sir Salman Rushdie should never have been knighted, he says. "He caused a huge amount of distress and discordance with his book, it should have been pulped."

"The bookshops are independent businesses," he says. "We can't just go in and tell them what to sell … I will see what books they keep, if they have one book which looks like it is inciting hatred, do they have counter books on the same shelf?"

Flagrant bloody hypocrisy! And we're supposed to take this tit seriously?
If you don't like the way we live in this green and pleasant land (that provided you with your education and comfortable living standards)sod off back to Bangladesh and leave we poor apostates to what we do best - drinking and fornicating. :-)))

27. The Turning of an Atheist

Comment #84938 by Titus on November 4, 2007 at 9:52 am

The increasingly loathesome and underhand methods of the god squad should be exposed at every opportunity. They are tactics indicative of a last ditch, and desperate, defence of an impossible position.
Give these people enough rope and they will surely hang themselves.

28. AAI 07

Comment #83185 by Titus on October 29, 2007 at 8:01 am

It is not often that I feel compelled to respond to debates on this wonderful site; usually I find myself in agreement with most of the posts. However, Scooter I'm afraid you are living in a bubble. Have you read any European history?
The politics of self you so vehemently espouse have been tried before, and failed. Those at the top of the pile, once known as the aristocracy, had the same world view as you, and it well and truly bit them in the proverbial.
17th century England, 18th century France and 20th century Russia to name but three occasions when the disenfranchised in society seized control from the few. Two of those examples ultimately bore fruit in the form of mature democracies with welfare states that don't have to suffer the sickening 'god bless us' bullshit that your country churns out.
The good ol' US of A with it's fatuous message that ANYONE can get to the top of the pile has created a vast population of disenfranchised people for whom all the hard work in the world is not enough. For solace they turn to religion, but they won't forever. Be warned, unless you learn the lessons of the past you will face the best armed revolution in history.

BTW A huge thanks to Josh et al for giving us access to these wonderful lectures.

29. Fallen Pastor Seeks Aid to Pursue Studies

Comment #66039 by Titus on August 28, 2007 at 2:38 am

Sorry, can't resist joining in with one my old choir master told me some 30 years ago.

There was a young man from Belfast
Whose balls were made of brass.
In stormy weather
They clanged together
And sparks flew out of his arse.

30. Brainwashed children plead to die as martyrs in Red Mosque siege

Comment #54648 by Titus on July 8, 2007 at 11:01 am

"– many of them girls whose families had sent them to the mosque to receive a strict Islamic education –"
As you sow, so shall you reap.
Perhaps this sorry episode will strengthen moderate opinion in Pakistan; though somehow I doubt it will. It seems far more likely that there will be increased polorisation leading to civil war.
I despair when I see man's inhumanity to man, and all in the name of god.

Apologies for the cliches.

31. Evangelicals See Dilemmas in G.O.P. Field

Comment #54638 by Titus on July 8, 2007 at 9:56 am

I'm glad I don't live in the US. Theocracy, it seems, is only a ballot away.
Heinlein wrote about an american theocracy in 'If this goes on' back in the forties: perhaps the scientologists pick the wrong SF author as their prophet. :-p

32. 'Purity' ring case in High Court

Comment #51302 by Titus on June 22, 2007 at 8:45 am

This story has been running on BBC radio 5 all day. There was a debate on the rights and wrongs of the issue which I called in to. The point I made was, that I'm sick of schools being used by the religious right as a battle ground for their antiquated beliefs, for which they have no evidence. I think we should, like the French, ban religious symbology from schools altogether.
If people must persist in their unreason, they should damn well keep it in their own home.
By the way, I have two daughters, and my responsibility is to make sure they are well educated and able to think for themselves. It is not my place to dictate when or where they lose their virginity: that is a matter for them as responsible human(ist) beings.

33. The Future Forum Presents: Christopher Hitchens and Marvin Olasky

Comment #50005 by Titus on June 14, 2007 at 2:07 pm

I can sympathise with your anger JesusH, I too have felt angry when talking to died in the wool faith heads. Reasoned discourse is not something that they are prepared to engage in and consequently the blood pressure tends to rise. Best bet is to move on to someone who has a few more brain cells and a little less faith. Some arguments you just aren't going to win.

34. The Future Forum Presents: Christopher Hitchens and Marvin Olasky

Comment #49913 by Titus on June 14, 2007 at 4:33 am

On the contrary, I'm inclined to agree with CH that religion does poison everything. There is no doubt that those who are religiously motivated can do 'good things', but it's the religious motivation that taints their actions. To paraphrase RD, to do something good only because you fear the consequences of not doing it, is a pretty shabby kind of morality.
Olasky was quick to point out in defence of religion all the cases he could muster of members of the christian church doing good works, but at what price to the beneficiaries of those charitable actions?
I would be prepared to bet a substantial sum that every one of those people is evangelising to those they are purporting to help.

35. The Future Forum Presents: Christopher Hitchens and Marvin Olasky

Comment #49908 by Titus on June 14, 2007 at 4:10 am

Another excellent and highly articulate performance from Christopher Hitchens. This site has become, over the last few weeks, a place I visit every day.
This is the first time I've ever joined a forum of any kind and I look forward to future discussions with you guys and girls, whose comments I have come to enjoy hugely. It's gratifying to find a space where rationality and intellect are prized above dogma and blind faith.