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Comments by Sally Luxmoore


1. Bible Theme Park Faces Opposition in Tennessee

Comment #180965 by Sally Luxmoore on May 16, 2008 at 8:01 am

Why does this make me think of that brilliant movie, "Westworld"?
Imagine Jebus robots with red eyes hunting people down. . .

2. Malaysia woman scores rare legal win to quit Islam

Comment #180957 by Sally Luxmoore on May 16, 2008 at 7:51 am

Yes, it was on the BBC news website on 8 May.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7389874.stm

I just can't get over the fact that they have to go to court over such a thing.

3. The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, ed. Richard Dawkins

Comment #180946 by Sally Luxmoore on May 16, 2008 at 7:38 am

Since when was atheism a "tarnish" or a "debauchery"?

Bias?

I have this book on order from Amazon and am waiting impatiently for its arrival.

4. UC Berkeley is going to court over Evolution website

Comment #180939 by Sally Luxmoore on May 16, 2008 at 7:20 am

Of course there's a conflict!

Using their own doctrines. . .

If they say they accept evolution:
that means no garden of Eden and no Adam&Eve.
That means no expulsion from Eden and
that means no 'original sin'
-So why did Jebus die?

If they say they accept evolution:
When did god inject a 'soul' into humans?

These are unanswerable questions.

They cannot accept evolution and still keep their theology.

5. Group finds Starbucks logo too hot to handle

Comment #180936 by Sally Luxmoore on May 16, 2008 at 7:07 am

It's time the modesty brigade headed for the fishmongers.

We can't have people getting lustful over all those naked fishtails.

6. Group finds Starbucks logo too hot to handle

Comment #180933 by Sally Luxmoore on May 16, 2008 at 6:56 am

Re - launching a protest movement against the crucifix, this seems like a good moment to remind the world of the genius of Dave Allen.

See this clip for the effect on him of seeing a crucifix at age 4 -- and for his priceless take on religion in general!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxo81Ok9Urk

7. A natural selection

Comment #180025 by Sally Luxmoore on May 14, 2008 at 5:53 am

"Evolution can explain the how, but it cannot explain the why."

Andrew:

I agree.
To put it more succinctly: 'What why?'

8. Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens

Comment #179997 by Sally Luxmoore on May 14, 2008 at 4:31 am

the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents

And this is a god of 'forgiveness'??

9. Vatican: It's OK to believe in aliens

Comment #179989 by Sally Luxmoore on May 14, 2008 at 4:19 am

Everything has to be BELIEF, doesn't it?

Why can't they deal with talking about probabilities and numbers as any rational person thinking about this issue would do?

They just don't trust reason; after all, what would happen to their sacred tenets if they applied reason to them?

10. A natural selection

Comment #179979 by Sally Luxmoore on May 14, 2008 at 4:02 am

In my view, religion really is incompatible with an acceptance of the theory of evolution and therefore those 'middle of the road' Christians who say they accept it have not considered (or worse, are deliberately ignoring) the following two questions:

1. Please explain where the doctrine of 'original sin' came from in a world where evolution is an accepted fact (i.e. no expulsion from Eden).
If you can't explain this, then in what sense did Jesus die for you?

2. Please explain, since in your theology only humans have 'souls', at what point in the approximately 200,000 years of human evolution did 'god' inject that soul?

I keep asking Christians these questions. I would genuinely like to hear their response. However, no-one has ever answered me.

11. Judge orders La. school district to stop Bible giveaways

Comment #167649 by Sally Luxmoore on April 24, 2008 at 8:37 am

Shame. This was a missed opportunity.

It would have been the perfect time to sneak a sticker into each book:

"WARNING: This a work of fiction. Do NOT TAKE it literally.
CONTENT ADVISORY:
Contains verses descriptive or advocating suicide, incest, bestiality, sadomasochism, sexual activity in a violent context, murder, morbid violence, use of drugs or alcohol, homosexuality, voyeurism, revenge, undermining of authority figures, lawlessness and human rights violations and atrocities.
EXPOSURE WARNING: Exposure to contents for extended periods of time or during formative years in children may cause delusions, hallucinations, decrease cognitive and objective reasoning abilities, pathological disorders, hatred, bigotry, violence including but not limited to fanaticism, murder and genocide and in extreme cases,endanger your mental health and life".
See: http://www.dankimball.com/vintage_faith/2006/06/bible_warning_l.html

Ever since coming across this sticker, I have wanted to mass produce it and get sticking!

12. Religious education as a part of literary culture

Comment #160849 by Sally Luxmoore on April 14, 2008 at 1:25 pm

Well said, chaps.

Now, about that 'Secular Army' - how do we join it?
Is it like Dumbledore's Army? Do we meet in secret? Will we learn new spells? Where's the Room of Requirement?

13. British schools are falling for the pseudoscience of Brain Gym. Why fill kids' heads with nonsense?

Comment #160472 by Sally Luxmoore on April 14, 2008 at 6:17 am

I'm wrong!
comment no. 3 is MUCH funnier!

14. British schools are falling for the pseudoscience of Brain Gym. Why fill kids' heads with nonsense?

Comment #160469 by Sally Luxmoore on April 14, 2008 at 6:15 am

When I first read the title, I misread it as BRIAN GYM.
Having read the article, my first idea seems to make just as much sense as what's described here, and has the benefit of being funnier.

15. The Atheist Next Door

Comment #159407 by Sally Luxmoore on April 12, 2008 at 6:04 am

Religious people have such a hard time understanding some things. They are so stuck in their own weird mindset.

EG: 'Crisis of confidence':
- They just don't get it!

There is no crisis of confidence when you are NOT trying to believe the unbelievable.

so, for the rational it's, 'Crisis? What Crisis?'

16. Christian Founders 3D Adventure Computer Game

Comment #153566 by Sally Luxmoore on April 1, 2008 at 3:09 pm

Attention Matt Groening!

-Ned Flanders needs to get this one for Rod and Tod.-

17. Who wants to kill the elderly?

Comment #153294 by Sally Luxmoore on April 1, 2008 at 11:03 am

the "militantly atheist and secularist lobby"


How can I join this eminently sensible organisation? It's talked about so often that it must be real. I'd rather not wear a uniform, though - do you think it has a peaceful wing?
How could so many religious believers be wrong?

18. Supreme Court to consider Ten Commandments vs. 'Seven Aphorisms'

Comment #153287 by Sally Luxmoore on April 1, 2008 at 10:53 am

Time for the Pastafarians to start engraving their own monument.

Perhaps we should arrange for a similar stonework version of the atheist 10 commandments that Richard found on the internet and quoted in TGD.

The more, the merrier!

19. Faith healing church parents charged over toddler's death

Comment #153284 by Sally Luxmoore on April 1, 2008 at 10:49 am

There appears to be little danger that this particular brand of religious insanity will be spread via child indoctrination. It seems to be akin to the kind of virus that almost invariably kills its host - definitely frightening, but unlikely to be long-lived.

20. 'We Make Our Own Heaven'

Comment #151401 by Sally Luxmoore on March 28, 2008 at 4:09 pm

RSP.

I understand what you're saying, but personally I just never use the word spirit, partly because I don't like its religious connotations and partly because I am more of a materialist than that.

I feel all those same emotions, but I am happy to ascribe them to thought, emotion, or imagination. To me the word spirit implies something living almost independently outside or even beyond the body. That confuses the issue.

Essentially it's only a word. It's just one I wish atheists didn't use!

21. 'We Make Our Own Heaven'

Comment #151378 by Sally Luxmoore on March 28, 2008 at 3:24 pm

where can non-believers find a spiritual home?


Oh dear. They just don't get it, do they?

Spirit? No such thing. Therefore no such need.

This all reminds me of what Richard says when he talks of the impossibility (and undesirability?) of herding cats. Why should people get together to talk about what they DON'T believe? I don't want to spend my time talking about not believing in fairies, or not believing in tree spirits, or Thor, etc.

Just because people don't believe in something doesn't really mean they have anything much in common - apart of course from superior intelligence!

This seems a peculiarly 'religious' thing to say. These people can't escape from a completely church-centred lifestyle.
Some of us have just got better things to do with our lives - like spending hours on this site, for example!

22. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #150361 by Sally Luxmoore on March 26, 2008 at 7:08 pm

Sorry JAL, didn't quite get that. How about repeating it just one more time?
:)
Couldn't resist that, I'm afraid... We all know how frustrating it can be when you press the button just a bit too often!

23. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #150350 by Sally Luxmoore on March 26, 2008 at 6:50 pm

Richard, I have just followed a suggestion from your Happy Birthday thread (Happy Birthday by the way) and voted on the Movie Nation site.
You may be interested / gratified to know that so far the votes are as folllows:
A (sizzlin') 24%
B (cool) 1%
C(decent) 2%
D(DVD only) 5%
F (VILE!) 68%

Keep voting chaps!
As they say, 'vote early and vote often'.

http://movies.go.com/expelled-no-intelligence-allowed/d942707/documentary

24. Gay scientists isolate Christian gene

Comment #150172 by Sally Luxmoore on March 26, 2008 at 2:20 pm

Great.
Come on world - More like this!
Ridicule is the way to do it...

25. Saudi Arabia Leader Calls for Interfaith Dialogue

Comment #150167 by Sally Luxmoore on March 26, 2008 at 2:10 pm

The nastiest bits of the Qur'an and Hadith are reserved for polytheists


So what makes the Christians feel so safe? How can they be so sure that the Muslims will understand their muddled vision of the 'Trinity'? Looks like polytheism to me, and you can probably add Mary and most saints to the list in the case of the Catholics...

26. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150141 by Sally Luxmoore on March 26, 2008 at 1:40 pm

A very happy birthday to you Richard.

Your contribution to the greater good has been greater than that of most other good people...

Of course, in the multiverse, you are not only 67, but also every other age that you have already been or still will be.
(See - I've learnt some science on this site! You learn something new here every day if you're not careful) xx

27. Sue Blackmore debates Alister McGrath

Comment #149117 by Sally Luxmoore on March 25, 2008 at 6:23 am

McGrath is the superior public speaker/preacher. Much more pleasant to listen to.


Aagh! I simply could not disagree more!
McGrath has a ghastly patronising and monotonous tone, with - worst of all - a 'dying fall' at the end of his sentences. He sounds like the worst kind of sanctimonious and soporific preacher. I have to fight against irritation at his tone and a tendency for my mind to wander when I am trying genuinely to give him a fair hearing.
His mannerisms remind me of the dreadfully boring sermons that I was forced to listen to at my C of E boarding school.
I also particularly hate the insincere 'thanks' he gives to his questioner or opponent at the beginning of almost every new subject.
He actually gives me the creeps. Shudder!

28. Oklahoma: One Step from Doom

Comment #141278 by Sally Luxmoore on March 10, 2008 at 8:25 am

I see Oklahoma isn't on RD's list. Maybe it should be.
Perhaps a comment on this insanity wouldn't go amiss in his talks. (When are we going to see one of them? Every time I log on I think there'll be one to watch.)

29. The Giant Tortoise's Tale

Comment #134006 by Sally Luxmoore on February 27, 2008 at 6:15 am

Really enjoyed this.

Sad, however, to be reminded of the unthinking cruelty of our ancestors - keeping those poor tortoises on their backs for weeks at a time. Horrible thought.

30. The Lava Lizard's Tale

Comment #130947 by Sally Luxmoore on February 21, 2008 at 2:30 pm

Really enjoyed this. Thanks.

It was nice to have a little extra bit of the Ancestor's Tale , as a kind of treat.

Loved the shorts too - quintessentially Englishman (or even Oxford Professor) in the tropics. :-)

31. Bart Ehrman, Questioning Religion on Why We Suffer

Comment #130941 by Sally Luxmoore on February 21, 2008 at 2:17 pm

I seem to be alone in finding this interesting, but also annoying.
Was the question of suffering really the ONLY issue that bothered him over so many years? How is it possible to be so well versed (pun intended) in the Bible and its human origins and yet have this issue alone as the one that finally tipped him over, no not quite over, just onto the fence.
This seems rather namby pamby to me.

32. Fleabytes

Comment #129834 by Sally Luxmoore on February 19, 2008 at 4:00 pm

I am very impressed at all the hard work and careful critical evaluation that has gone into these reviews. Well done Paula. Thank you.
I am forewarned, however - a Christian friend of mine has given me Alister McGrath's book (groan).
I shall certainly not treat it as bedtime reading! It will instead be treated to the 'annotation treatment', whereby I cope with erroneous, insulting or simply baffling arguments by scribbling my irritated response in the margins.

33. Atheists An Increasingly Outspoken Minority

Comment #129426 by Sally Luxmoore on February 19, 2008 at 5:56 am

Where do you place your hope in the time of a crisis of confidence?" Hanson said.


Doesn't seem to occur to him that there is NO crisis of confidence when there's no imaginary friend.

34. The argument from oranges

Comment #128263 by Sally Luxmoore on February 16, 2008 at 4:27 pm

'One should not mock the afflicted'.
This poor simple and confused old man should be taken by the hand and seated in a rocking chair and told that nobody is going to be arranging a family reunion between him and his fruit bowl any time in the near future.
In the mean time, we need to concentrate on educating his children and grandchildren, who are quite probably embarrassed by him.

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

Comment #128256 by Sally Luxmoore on February 16, 2008 at 4:08 pm

Well, if the film is anything like as boring as the clip shown in Roger Moore's review, no-one has anything to worry about.
I nearly fell asleep!

36. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #127907 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 5:33 pm

Tooltroll.

You'll just have to mix with your own kind. Some people do still believe in little green men, after all.
As for me, it's 1.30 am here in Engerland, so I'm orf to bed. If I get green on the sheets I'm sending the laundry bill to you.

37. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #127893 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 5:22 pm

Re: Mutagen .

In biology, a mutagen (Latin, literally origin of change) is a physical or chemical agent that changes the genetic information (usually DNA) of an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations cause cancer, mutagens are typically also carcinogens. Not all mutations are caused by mutagens: So-called "spontaneous mutations" occur due to errors in DNA replication, repair and recombination of DNA sequences.

Well. You learn something every day if you're not careful.
I'll be keeping well clear of you in future, Tooltroll.

38. Smaller Version of the Solar System Is Discovered

Comment #127877 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 5:09 pm

Steve.

Sounds like the set-up envisaged in Carl Sagan's "Contact".

I now have the Casey Jones themetune on my brain!

39. Ben Stein Wins Intelligent Design Money

Comment #127869 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 5:04 pm

This is seriously depressing. Let's hope it never gets made.

40. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #127862 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 5:00 pm

What does mutagenic mean?

41. Smaller Version of the Solar System Is Discovered

Comment #127858 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 4:53 pm

The main problems include steering and how to turn the thing off.


The mind boggles. ( I love having my mind boggled ! Thanks.)

42. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #127853 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 4:50 pm

Tooltroll & Righton -

My punctuation on a blog has nothing to do with my inteligence


This is a comment board, not a blog.


Yes - and it wouldn't hurt to remember whose comment board it is. You don't hear Richard Dawkins speaking ungrammatically and I would stake money on his having little need of a spellchecker or a grammar check. It is not a waste of time to pay attention to those things if you want to be taken seriously.
So I suppose that means I'm leaning towards Tooltroll. Hope that green doesn't rub off.

43. Smaller Version of the Solar System Is Discovered

Comment #127846 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 4:39 pm

Quick, God -- send a Jesus there.

44. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #127842 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 4:36 pm

109. Comment #127831 by tooltroll on February 15, 2008 at 4:28 pm


And there was me thinking you were related to Fungus the Bogeyman.

You do seem to be imbued with pessimism. Remember it's not all that long ago in nearly all countries that there was no universal education. There will always be some people who show little benefit, but there is a definite improvement in the greater good.

Cheer up! I'll ask the FSM to lean down a noodly appendage in your direction.

45. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #127819 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 4:19 pm

So -Tooltroll -

I suppose we can take it, then, that your green-ness is not envy ?

Which, in your view is the best system?

46. Map reveals extent of human damage to oceans

Comment #127750 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 3:01 pm

-- Population control-- ?

Someone should have a word with the Vatican.

47. Map reveals extent of human damage to oceans

Comment #127477 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 10:35 am

It would be easier to see what the situation is in the oceans if these people had defined their terms properly. It doesn't sound very scientific, even to a lay-person like me.
I'm not sure what this means.
We all know about oils slicks, pollution from ballast tanks, plastic bottles floating even to remote regions, run off from polluted land, etc but I don't really feel any the wiser from having read this 'report'.

48. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #127466 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 10:21 am

Al - Rawandi

That made me laugh out loud.

I did a PGCE (teacher training) some years ago and my then tutor said that his aim was to put The Sun newspaper out of business. This is a paper that requires a reading age of 9 and (I think I'm right in saying this) it out sells all the 'intelligent' newspapers put together, by far.

There's no danger of it losing its readership in the near future.

Who was it who said you can never lose money by underestimating the intelligence of the British population?

49. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #127454 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 10:01 am

Before I say this, I freely acknowledge that we have plenty of ignorant people here in England.

BUT - When I went to America for the first time, in 1977, I was asked:
-whether people in England spoke English
-whereabouts in France England was
and - whether we had cars in England.

Being gobsmacked and also reluctant to be rude to people who were being very friendly to me, I failed to make the witty replies that perhaps I should have done.

50. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #127231 by Sally Luxmoore on February 15, 2008 at 4:32 am

gcdavis:

I think I heard RD agree that there is more than one kind of truth and to acknowledge emotional truth. What on earth is emotional truth


Maybe it should be as simple as believing that we should be truthful about our emotions, to ourselves as well as to others - not 'living a lie', for example.
However, I suspect she meant a more woolly version - that feeling that something must be out there, therefore it is and therefore it must be respected - which is another thing entirely.
This was the problem with Ms B's debating style. If she had allowed Richard time to define his terms, it would have been clearer to her that her 'truth' was not at all the objective truth that he meant.

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