1. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #117517 by Rodney on January 29, 2008 at 2:50 am

I would like him to give some examples of Dawkins and Harris's errors. I will give this a read, critical examination of ones own beliefs can do no harm

2. Did mozzies, not a meteor, do for the dinosaurs?

Comment #112441 by Rodney on January 17, 2008 at 5:48 am

Every right thinking Daily Mail reader knows that uncontrolled immigration and asylum seekers caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

3. Two Ex-Jehovah Witnesses to Tell Why They Became Atheists

Comment #110024 by Rodney on January 10, 2008 at 10:14 am

seems there are quite a few people on here who have experience, of one sort or another, with the Watchtower Society.

fireface,

I sympathise with your situation and I think its terrible than such a decision has been imposed on you.

I dont think its right that other posters write what you 'should' do but I hope you one day find a way of reconciling these differences.

4. Two Ex-Jehovah Witnesses to Tell Why They Became Atheists

Comment #110023 by Rodney on January 10, 2008 at 10:11 am

'Life; How did it get here' is a terrible book.

I gave my dad (JW) some books on evolution in the hope that having read them he would discover for himself how disingenuous the Watchtower literature really was. I thought that if he realised the Watchtower had mislead him on this particular issue he would question their authority in other areas.

Unfortunately, I think the organisation has eroded his critical thinking skills.

5. Two Ex-Jehovah Witnesses to Tell Why They Became Atheists

Comment #109942 by Rodney on January 10, 2008 at 5:54 am

@ k1mgy

In my experience, having come from a Jehovahs Witness family myself, many of the young people are quite easily pursuaded and quite a large number of them reject the religion.

The Watchtower society combats this with the emotional blackmail of disfellowshipping apostates. This means your own family and freinds will no longer 'associate' with you.

As is often the case, it is the converted who are the most dedicated and immune to critical reasoning.

The unfortunate young people brought up in the religion are pretty pissed off with WTS doctrine already.

6. Girl, 16, dies after hijab dispute with father

Comment #97389 by Rodney on December 12, 2007 at 2:22 am

Andysin,

I just looked at the link, I cant believe how you were chucked out so quickly by the moderator.

This kind of special treatment reserved for religion annoys me. Just because it is a religion it is apparantly inherently morally good. What happened to free speach? What site was this any way?

This poster was almost funny, I think the irony escaped him.

"Islam is a religion that embraces women's equality, fosters peace, and has at the core a belief in democratic institutions".

I guess one could interperate Islam in this way, but it would entail a bit creative and selective reasoning. The problem is, even if this is what Islam explicitly states (it does not), this is not what we see when we look around the world where it is put into practice.

The more Islamic the state, the more oppressive and anti-democratic it becomes.

My sympathy goes out to the friends of this girl and any of the family who are human enough to care.

7. Boy dies of leukemia after refusing treatment for religious reasons

Comment #92276 by Rodney on November 30, 2007 at 7:38 am

I would say he was of sound mind, he came to a decision based on the information presented to him. If you believed in a paradise afterlife, then sacrificing this life for the next is rational. In a way, he acted quite nobley.

The information was wrong, his belief was wrong and his decision was wrong. That is where the tragedy lies. But this does not give us the right to force treatment upon him against his will.

Personal liberty is a humanist value is it not?

You cant have different rights for Atheists just because you happen to think they are right.

I am an ahtiest and I think this boys death was a needless waste. I hate the watchtower society for the lies they peddle. I am just thinking as a libertarian.

8. Boy dies of leukemia after refusing treatment for religious reasons

Comment #92256 by Rodney on November 30, 2007 at 6:34 am

The real tragedy here is that this boy was lied to by the Watchtower Society. An organisation which demands unquestioning obedience of its members. I should imagaine the threat of social ostracisation (disfellowship) would be compelling to a boy who had a troubled childhood such as this boy.

I disagree with some of the above posters. We can not say the fact that he chose not to have a transfusion means he was not of sound mind to make the decision. This would effectively take away a persons right to chose medial treatment and to chose to die. You cant support a person right to chose to die only if you agree with their reasons, this is the kind of hyocrosy atheist should be against.

We might not have agreed with his deicision and his decision but we could not deny him the right to make this decision.

The real hypocracy of the situation is the fact that religion would deny people the right to end their life for humanist reasons rather than religious.