1. Oystein Elgaroy - the Christian defender who became an Atheist

Comment #195425 by Marie-Louise on June 18, 2008 at 7:49 am

LOKE! Oystein Elgaroy.

I was very happy when I read the article about you this morning. It made my day! Good that you have joined the Norwegian Humanist association. I am myself a member of the Swedish association since one year back, and it has been a very interesting year.

I want to say that I do not at all agree with Cartomancer. I think you look very nice and interesting. Anyhow, the most attractive part of a man in my opinion is his brain and you have certainly got that!

Marie-Louise

2. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science

Comment #125768 by Marie-Louise on February 12, 2008 at 2:36 am

TERATORNIS comment#125729

I think intelligence and musicality is inherited to a great part.

I see it in practice every day. Being a mother of two daughters,one biological and one adopted as a young child.

Our biol. daughter is just like her parents.Can´t sing a song, not a tone. Even if she was exposed to a lot of singing and playing instruments when she was in daycare as a child. But she is very successful in her accademic studies.And we never had to motivate her to study.

Our adopted daughter on the other hand started very early to sing songs she had listened to on the radio.And did it quite well. And she stood on her toes to reach the piano and took out small melodies. With success! But school has not been easy for her and she didn´t like to read or study even if we tried to motivate her.

3. The Group Delusion

Comment #111268 by Marie-Louise on January 14, 2008 at 7:40 am

comment # 110452 by kaisserkriss on jan 11 2008

" I think books aimed at 5-10 year old children would at this time be more important."

You are so right! I can still remember when I was a child and around 1950 in my library found a book about evolution. It was about the life of different animals and so exciting and at the same time explained the evolution. I think it was written by a professor of biology.

And since that day I have never had any doubt about evolution. And I also choosed to take a course in it at the univarsity.

4. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #100047 by Marie-Louise on December 18, 2007 at 6:14 am

CARTOMANCER,

You are quite right about smoking.It is very bad PR and it is intolerant to pollute the air we all have to breath.

If you like my daughter have asthma your life becomes very restricted because of other peoples smoking.For example it is impossible to go with your friends to a restaurant where smoking is allowed.

5. Is Infant Male Circumcision An Abuse Of The Rights Of The Child?

Comment #97982 by Marie-Louise on December 13, 2007 at 12:25 am

comment 106 by Coretemprising

Thank you so much for the very interesting sites!They really gave good and interesting information.

I would say, with so many diseases and troubles because of the foreskin (according to pyota), one would think the evolution would not have succeded in evolving it.

6. Is Infant Male Circumcision An Abuse Of The Rights Of The Child?

Comment #96224 by Marie-Louise on December 10, 2007 at 7:37 am

pyota,

I am just curious why medical authorities have different opinions in different countries.

What I meant with "here" is Scandinavia.I do not think it is done here in Scandinavia at all except for religious reasons. Are we so ill informed?

I am also curious about how keeping the foreskin can cause so many diseases.Do you know the theory behind?

7. Is Infant Male Circumcision An Abuse Of The Rights Of The Child?

Comment #96209 by Marie-Louise on December 10, 2007 at 6:57 am

pyota,

If it is as you say "the health benefits are well attested to by medical community" why is it not recommended in scandinavia by doctors?

I do not think it is done here at all except for religious reasons.

8. Is Infant Male Circumcision An Abuse Of The Rights Of The Child?

Comment #96082 by Marie-Louise on December 10, 2007 at 12:11 am

Diacanu,

I did not mean I was going to dump someone I was in love with because he was mutilated.

I just wanted to point to the drawbacks of male mutilation and by doing so contribute to this habit beeing abolished.

Sorry if you were hurt.

9. Is Infant Male Circumcision An Abuse Of The Rights Of The Child?

Comment #96067 by Marie-Louise on December 9, 2007 at 11:28 pm

Spinoza,what you consider an advantage could also be a drawback that a mutilated man "get there" too slowly. Aspecially when you are not a teenager any longer.

I much prefer having sex with a man who is not mutilated !

10. Banishing the Green-Eyed Monster

Comment #94741 by Marie-Louise on December 6, 2007 at 11:56 am

comment 439 by Louise

I reacted to you because you assumed that "Professor Dawkins' children had atheism thrust down their throat".

In his letter to his daughter you could see that he rather encourraged her to be rational,to use her brain and not believe anything just because she was told to do so.

And I think that is a huge difference from telling a child what to believe in.

M-L

11. Banishing the Green-Eyed Monster

Comment #94591 by Marie-Louise on December 6, 2007 at 3:02 am

Louise,

You say "I bet they have had atheism thrust down their throats since birth."

I think you should read Professor Dawkins' letter to his daughter called "Good and Bad reasons for Believing". You will find it in his book: a devil's chaplain, chapter 7 "A Prayer for My Daughter".

M-L

12. Rome playing politics

Comment #84883 by Marie-Louise on November 4, 2007 at 2:57 am

Answer to Veronique comment 84760

I wish I could say you were right,but unfortunately I see the opposite in the papers here in Sweden.

Last week my daily local paper Göteborgs Posten had two big articles about atheism. And whome do you think were asked to write and introduce atheism to the readers? The first one a theolog and the other a catholic journalist who has earlier written very negatively about atheism.These articles were so full of aggressiv hatred,scornfulnes and intentionally misunderstandings that they made me feel sick.

And this happen 50 years after the work and writings of Ingemar Hedenius (The Swedish equivalent to Richard Dawkins)! It really makes me tired and disappointed.

V. I think you are doing a great job. Please continue writing.

M-L

PS. I like your cat. Now I will go out in the garden and pat on our cat.That will make me feel a little better.

13. Does fundamentalist religion cause the rejection of evolution? or is it the other way around?

Comment #80500 by Marie-Louise on October 22, 2007 at 2:10 am

comment 80232 by Bonzai

Thank you so much for the funny story about your father at the zoo!I laughed so loudly that my husband came to see why. Then we were both laughing the whole day.

14. God's honest truth?

Comment #80117 by Marie-Louise on October 20, 2007 at 4:34 am

VERONIQUE, good morning!

JemiM wrote about the Plymouth Breathrens in Sweden. They keep their children very isolated, and are not even allowed to sit down and eat together with other children and grown ups who are not of the same faith. So they will never get in contact with any other thoughts or beliefs. The Swedish Humanist organisation has offered to come to the school and give a speech, but the school turned it down.

I have heard headmasters from religious schools beeing interviewed on television.As long as they knew the camera was on, they all promised they followed the Swedish law, but when they thougth the camera and the mic were off, and when they thought they were talking to parents who were interested in putting a child in their school, they talked quite differently. They even admitted the children were beaten. Which in Sweden of course is against the law.

That is why I agree with Nyamko Sabuni, the minister of integration, that religious schools should be banned. All children in Sweden ought to go to ordinary state schools, as to meet children of different faiths. This is the best way for integration I think. Of course sunday schools should be allowed.

In Sweden we have come a rather a long way on secularisation, for which I think we have to thank Ingemar Hedenius, former professor of philosophy in Upsala. Already in the 50th he wrote books in which he critisised religion and debated (almost like RD), most notably with professors of theology and bishops. I believe it is much because of his writing, the church was later seperated from the state, and it was then allowed to leave church, as many people now has taken the opportunity to do.

Cheers M-L

15. God's honest truth?

Comment #79926 by Marie-Louise on October 19, 2007 at 5:05 am

Sadly enough genital mutilation of male infants is not forbidden in Sweden. Parents can take their young boys to the hospitals and ask for the incision and the doctors cannot refuse.

I think this is so wrong from 2 reasons.

1: It is a physical and psychical abuse.

2: Doctors precious time should not be occupied hurting young boys, but to cure people.It is really ashame! And what about the doctors oath?

Besides,can anyone explain to me why genital mutilation of male infants is done by none religious people? I have heard something about hygienic reason. What does that mean?

VERONIQUE Nice to hear from you!I try to come back later.This is a hard work for me,not so used with the language and the computor.Have to go out for a walk in the lovely automne and rest my head.
Cheers M-L

16. God's honest truth?

Comment #79912 by Marie-Louise on October 19, 2007 at 2:53 am

Proud and happy to be Swedish today.
Thank you Jan Björklund!

17. Richard Dawkins receives the Deschner Prize

Comment #78790 by Marie-Louise on October 14, 2007 at 11:57 pm

Congratulations Professor Dawkins!

I have just got your book TGD in Swedish.I am happy that it was translated so people here in Sweden have possibility to read it.

When will we have a translation of Unweaving The Rainbow? I am looking forward to that!
M-L

18. In honour of Dan Dennett

Comment #78479 by Marie-Louise on October 13, 2007 at 6:18 am

This morning when I opened my newspaper Göteborgs-Posten(in my home town Gothenburg, Sweden). I found a chronicle written by someone who is a priest and a professor of Latin. At the end there was a question. He wondered to whome an atheist turned with his gratitude.

I was very happy that I could write to the newspaper, and tell them about how deeply grateful professor Dennet was to all the medical experts who had saved his life, to all the people working in the hospital taking care of him, to all natural and tecnical scientists for there discoveries and inventions, and so on.

So there is really no problem for an atheist to know whome to thank.

cheers
M-L

19. There is no God and Dawkins is his Prophet

Comment #69400 by Marie-Louise on September 11, 2007 at 5:59 am

Hi !
I have been following this site for some time and enjoyed it very much. I am so happy I found it. Thank you everyone who is writing here.

In Sweden it is not difficult or dangerous to be an outspoken atheist. You may even be a politician and an atheist. But the majority of people still belong to a church but every day people leave church.

This is very good,but what is really frightning is that many instead turn to new age, believing in horoscope and tarot card and so on. Even otherwise intelligent people.
And in Norway princess Martha-Louise just started a school to teach how to get in contact with angels!

About this article in SvD by Ulf Jonsson : I think SvD ought to be ashamed to let someone so unobjectiv and biased to make the review