1. In His Name We Pray, Ramen

Comment #151861 by Homo economicus on March 29, 2008 at 3:16 pm

Bought "The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster" at the MSP airport after the American Atheist Conference.

Funny as hell.

2. Happy Birthday, Richard Dawkins!

Comment #150400 by Homo economicus on March 26, 2008 at 8:42 pm

Happy birthday!

Good to meet up with you in Minneapolis.

John

3. The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing

Comment #145587 by Homo economicus on March 17, 2008 at 6:36 pm

Just got today - will be making the long trip with me to the American Atheist Conference.

4. Ayaan Hirsi Ali asks for protection

Comment #130328 by Homo economicus on February 20, 2008 at 10:38 am

112. Comment #129048 by Michael King on February 18, 2008 at 2:55 pm

"I have just sent the following message to all South East MEPs: ..."

Thanks glad to here people are. One of my MEPs has responded that they will sign the petition thanks to my e mail. Cannot assume that your MEP knows about the petition and your e mail may get much needed support.

While some people are trying to make a political point about the workings of the EU, I would simply point out that funding from the EU would be more secure. Holland sadly failed to live up to a promise to protect Ayaan.

While it would be great if a private fund based on voluntary donations would be sufficient to afford the security she needs, I doubt it would be self sustaining for any significant length of time.

Hopefully the honorary French citizenship will help on that score - but the EU needs to show it will protect the rights of citizens to speak freely without threat or hindrance. If all the things the EU could spend money on, that seems like money well spent.

John Sargeant

5. Ayaan Hirsi Ali asks for protection

Comment #128065 by Homo economicus on February 16, 2008 at 2:40 am

To contact your Member of European Parliament (MEP) follow this link:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/

choose language and at the top there should be a "Your MEPs" at the top which will let you find your representive.

6. Happy Birthday Josh Timonen!

Comment #119885 by Homo economicus on February 1, 2008 at 1:00 am

Hope you had a Happy Birthday.

Keep up the good work, we all appreciate it. See you soon.

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

Comment #113179 by Homo economicus on January 18, 2008 at 7:25 pm

#40

Hi Styrer,

You asked what I meant by: 'Secularism is about protecting personal freedom and individual liberty.'

The personal freedom to be what you want to be irrespective of peers, family, society. The liberty to live your life without confiding your cosmology to a state rule book or religious orthodoxy.

The freedom to be and the liberty to act - was essentially the two things I was stressing with regards to secularism.

By the way, related to this, would anyone care to do the blood challenge?

http://thebloodchallenge.wordpress.com/

8. George Scales, War Hero and Generous Friend of RDFRS

Comment #113178 by Homo economicus on January 18, 2008 at 7:14 pm

Thanks for your supporting RDFRS - it is good to have such patriots as yourself.

Get well soon to keep up the fight.

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

Comment #110092 by Homo economicus on January 10, 2008 at 1:26 pm

And yet another ex student of Jehovah's Witnesses. Thankfully learnt the history of the organisation before I was baptised at 14.

My deconversion story can be found in Converts' Corner #160

http://richarddawkins.net/convertsCorner,page4

10. My life under a fatwa

Comment #91181 by Homo economicus on November 27, 2007 at 1:29 pm

I hope that this account helps people understand why so many of us, like Hitchens remarked at AAI, would stand between her and an assassin's hand.

11. URGENT APPEAL: Please Help Protect Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #88847 by Homo economicus on November 19, 2007 at 4:20 am

The security costs would very soon make even a best selling author penniless in a short space of time.

We are free to make our points on this website relatively anonymously, without risk to our person.

At the AAI Conference the threats to her were very real. What she has to say needs to be heard.

If you say you value freedom of speech, the empowerment of women and fundamentalist Islam to be challenged now is a good opportunity to put your money where your mouth is.

12. The new wars of religion

Comment #85493 by Homo economicus on November 6, 2007 at 2:42 am

And the publication is against faith schools, but of course examines the problem that if the only other choice available is a poor secular school what real choice is there?

As always The Economist really is the newspaper to read.

13. Mother dies after refusing blood

Comment #85219 by Homo economicus on November 5, 2007 at 10:04 am

Acts 15:28, 29

Deuteronomy 12:23

Leviticus 17:11

I have written about this and started a pledge about giving blood in protest at JW dogma. Thankfully most people believe the above scriptures are dietary in nature.

For those interested in the pledge please feel free to follow the link and read my blogs on what it was like for me as a child in the organisation.

http://www.richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17354

14. AAI 07

Comment #84109 by Homo economicus on November 1, 2007 at 7:18 am

I asked the first question to Matt - just to echo comments here he was a great guy to hook up with.

I think you get the concerns from my question. I think there may be something in trying to re-brand the image of atheists (esp. in the USA) but I kind of agree with Sam Harris that it gets in the way of important social issues when we link the two. It's baggage that we do not need to win the argument.

15. AAI 2007 Photos

Comment #76165 by Homo economicus on October 5, 2007 at 12:26 am

Photos on myspace as above and in forum the key ones:

http://www.richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=435153#p435153

Scooter:
No I was the first one to ask Mat Chapman a question, though I did have lunch with Eddie. Otherwise only caught main speeches.

16. AAI 2007 Photos

Comment #76018 by Homo economicus on October 4, 2007 at 11:17 am

It was really good up there on the stall, and the speeches and hanging out with the speakers.

Bloody marvellous as we say in the UK ;)

Big hi to all the friends we made out there, and thanks to those that joined us in the "A" T shirts, walking from Jefferson Memorial to White House to raise awareness and denounce the holy spirit; posing with a banana that Dawkins signed.

Uploading to http://myspace.com/homo_economicus and will link to my thread on the forum (yes there is a forum on here http://www.richarddawkins/forum drop by if you only look in at the main front site) with my photos - which will probably take my connection a few hours but it is going to happen!

17. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75808 by Homo economicus on October 3, 2007 at 5:41 pm

Someone mentioned about giving Sam a hug. I did manage to shake his hand and thank him for his talk, telling him that took guts.

The majority of the talk was heard in silence, though the chalk line reference was met with much needed laughter.

My take is that he has a point that we over use it in political discourse, and that we can make our case without relying on it all the time. Yet it is still a useful shorthand with each other.

My blog on his talk and the use of atheism in politics:

http://homoeconomicusnet.wordpress.com/2007/10/03/sam-harris-do-not-cast-the-first-stone/

18. Sam Harris Strikes Back

Comment #48840 by Homo economicus on June 9, 2007 at 7:06 am

I have a lot of time for Sam Harris.

Hope he visits UK soon.

19. Christopher Hitchens at Politics and Prose

Comment #46279 by Homo economicus on May 30, 2007 at 6:37 pm

IS it just me, or am I the only one glad to be in the comfort of my own home listening to Hitchens and not standing next to the people who were asking him questions?

Damn it though I would like to have a Jack Daniels with him.

20. It came like yesterday

Comment #45366 by Homo economicus on May 27, 2007 at 12:01 pm

Mind you irony if war has helped us to develop the weapons to save us from a comet casuing extinction.

Now if we can just come up with something to survive the sun imploding ....

21. Jerry Falwell's Hit Parade

Comment #42165 by Homo economicus on May 17, 2007 at 6:31 pm

Perhaps a silent majority can agree that this man did much to antagonise both Christians and Atheists has passed away. With his death he has done more for tolerance than he ever did in his life. A man of hate and vile notion has died and his neurons fire on no more.

That is his legacy and his only eternal shame.

22. Defenders of Marriage

Comment #40029 by Homo economicus on May 12, 2007 at 6:26 pm

Roy Zimmerman is definetly for gay marriage.

Listen again that will be clear to you I hope.

23. Abstain With Me

Comment #39831 by Homo economicus on May 12, 2007 at 4:19 am

I guess I know he has an album now ;)

24. Ted Haggard Is Completely Heterosexual

Comment #39828 by Homo economicus on May 12, 2007 at 4:13 am

I enjoy this guy immensely.

Wonder if he has an album of his stuff; even better a song book!

25. Republican candidates range from ignorant to dishonest

Comment #37497 by Homo economicus on May 4, 2007 at 4:29 pm

Reminds me of that bit in Spartacus when the Senate leader speaks about making a public offering to the gods and Caesar says:

But you do not believe in the gods?

Privately I do not believe in them; neither do you. Publicly I believe in them all.

26. The God disunion: there is a place for faith in science, insists Winston

Comment #35523 by Homo economicus on April 27, 2007 at 1:14 pm

Best to at least listen to his lecture then critcise him.

His argument is that natural selection made it possible for spirtuality to be passed on at the genetic level as it benefited us. Dawkins argues that it is a by product of something else that was benefical to our survival.

At least listen to the source then pass judgment. One writer in the article above passed judgment without hearing the lecture so do not fall into the same trap.

Audio link here:

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/events/lectures.html

27. The Video: Bill O'Reilly Interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #34298 by Homo economicus on April 23, 2007 at 6:38 pm

Clearly the interviewer has not read the book.

Must remember RD's comment on Moustaches.

28. In the beginning

Comment #33920 by Homo economicus on April 22, 2007 at 5:16 pm

I found the article a bit strange for not mentioning Dawkins.

29. Hey Mom, I'm an Atheist

Comment #32075 by Homo economicus on April 15, 2007 at 1:11 pm

I concur that this is staged, though the Dad seems very realistic in his non action.

30. Coming out as atheist: Noel Gallagher & Gabriel Byrne

Comment #31856 by Homo economicus on April 14, 2007 at 4:46 pm

32. Comment #31841 by cheshirecat on April 14, 2007 at 3:11 pm

"Blair is one of the cleverest politicians around. If you think he is feeble minded I can only assume your judgement is clouded by hatred of him.

He gets criticised a lot but then if you could pick any other countries head of state which would it be. France and Italy are run by criminals. The president of Germany is a christian democrat (I doubt you'd aprove) and she supported the invasion of Iraq. George bush - the less said the better. John Howard - anti immigration stance popular. Who? "

TB is not the head of state. Which means thankfully he can be got rid of at polling day. I hope May 3 is used to give him one last "bloody nose" to use John Major's term for describing local election results.

And when talking about other PMs, surely it would be more useful talking about Bristish politicans then other powers? Unless you are thinking of them taking over here?

Methinks we need to be told.

As to the article, I really do not care. What matters is the argument not the people that will jump on the bandwagon.

31. The God Delusion is one of the Ten Best Audiobooks

Comment #31510 by Homo economicus on April 13, 2007 at 3:41 am

Josh tells me Dawkins will be narrating Origin of Species soon on CD.

That I would pay to listen to.

32. Atheists for Jesus

Comment #30523 by Homo economicus on April 8, 2007 at 10:48 am

At the Leicester Secular Society (oldest in the UK) one of the busts on the wall is Jesus. A humanist interpretation of his life is possible. Meaning from his life does not need miracles; it does need a good heart and a willingness to die for those you consider sinners.

Not a heart full of hatred wanting non believers going to a burning hell. Shame on those that do not aspire to the love of Jesus and call themselves Christians!

33. Prophets of the new atheism

Comment #30424 by Homo economicus on April 8, 2007 at 3:12 am

Hmmm, well just goes to show how faith actually creates a blind spot to criticisms.

Still the more drivel they write like this the stronger the case for free thinking.

With regards Christopher Hitchens' book Waterstones tell me it is not out in the UK till June. Ah well.

God Is Not Great: The Case Against Religion

Hardcover: 230 pages
Publisher: Atlantic Books (10 Jun 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1843545861
ISBN-13: 978-1843545866

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/1843545861/sr=1-1/qid=1176026896/ref=dp_image_0/026-1805243-4306811?ie=UTF8&n=266239&s=books&qid=1176026896&sr=1-1

34. How to defend your faith with an electric wheelchair

Comment #30417 by Homo economicus on April 8, 2007 at 2:59 am

That is the chair for me if ever I need one.

I remember the Mormons and Born Again Christians fighting for my soul as a Jehovah's Witness (irony as soul = body for a JW). Even as a child they would suddenly talk to me about faith.

My favourite one was a born again faith head describing the trinity to me with an analogy to the sun, light and heat.

To be honest I get more peace now as an atheist. Except for when my mother (practising religion of hers world wide membership: one) phones and suddenly out of the blue attacks my lack of faith.

35. Did John Paul II perform a miracle? Am I Mother Teresa?

Comment #30408 by Homo economicus on April 8, 2007 at 2:43 am

I was once sitting across the aisle from Matthew Paris on a train. Just before I got off I told him I admired his work.

Articles like the above make me glad I did.

36. Postmodernism Disrobed

Comment #29053 by Homo economicus on April 1, 2007 at 12:03 pm

I remember reading this in the The Devil's Chaplin. One would hope that editors would not be captured by hearing the right words but know if it was the right argument or not.

We, the general reader, may not be advanced in these fields, but clarity in scholarship goes along way. Telling the difference between assertion and evidence for a position; and contemplation about it.

37. Dawkins says religion is 'like sucking a dummy'

Comment #28379 by Homo economicus on March 29, 2007 at 3:00 am

True, the comfort blanket of faith is a dulling of the senses to human life. We have to face up to what needs doing now, not keep our eyes on a prize that no body has any real proof will be.

38. Richard Dawkins: Author of the Year!

Comment #28364 by Homo economicus on March 29, 2007 at 1:17 am

Congratulations RD.

39. Atheist banned from committee on religious education

Comment #27455 by Homo economicus on March 24, 2007 at 5:52 pm

There is talk of Dawkins being used in civic studies in the UK and the ID science debate.

40. Mormons miffed over coffee-swilling angel image

Comment #27453 by Homo economicus on March 24, 2007 at 5:45 pm

Coffee, the reason I get out of bed. Esp. with the clocks going forward and me being on an early this Sunday (groan).

41. The Moral Necessity of Atheism

Comment #27451 by Homo economicus on March 24, 2007 at 5:38 pm

Looking forward to his new book out in June.

Why should evolved monkeys think we have the answer to life, the universe or everything? Or even that we have a right to the answer.

Lets find out what we can and be wary of those mammels he mentions.

42. God's dupes

Comment #26253 by Homo economicus on March 18, 2007 at 4:06 am

I think, from reading The End Of Faith, that Harris is talking about spirituality:

'that there is a form of well-being that supersedes all others, indeed, that transcends the vagaries of experience itself.'

He talks about the embarrssing definitions, and mentions that he means it in a restricted sense:

'our discussion will focus on a specific insight that seems to have a special relevance to our pursuit of happiness.'

(Ch.7 Experiments in Conciousness)

43. Was there ever dog that praised his fleas?

Comment #26118 by Homo economicus on March 17, 2007 at 4:04 am

'And finally Homo –

There is no God unless we can give meaning to him? What if he gives meaning to himself? How do you know what meaning is without words? Can you explain anything without words? Do you have any meaning without words? Please tell me who you are without words? Weird – and this is meant to be atheist logic?!

Can I tell you who God is? Yes but would you be listening. When you are ready I will be more than happy to do so.'

My point is religious language is meaningless because it is not verifiable. Words give meaning because we understand what the experience is of the words in the social world we live in. Linguistic communication is a part of being human.

I do not deny the existence of God. I cannot. Anymore than you can verify the exitence of God.

Yet I am waiting for you to tell me how you can, about a God beyond our conventional reality, or emprical evidence.

Go for it. I am not trying to argue with you. I am trying to have an exchange of ideas. You can convince me possibly. That we can know a supernatural god. Tell me how.

44. Was there ever dog that praised his fleas?

Comment #25684 by Homo economicus on March 14, 2007 at 5:38 pm

Wee flea

'Homo –

"It is a statement that there is no meaning to the term God" –

It is a statement but a false one. There is plenty meaning to the term God. But you do not want to recognize that so you become like the child covering their eyes with their hands saying 'it doesn't exist, I don't understand it, therefore it doesn't exist'. Not much of an intellectual argument but a good psychological self defence which justifies your non thought. As for the Sea of Faith? Drivel.'

Unlike theology of course.

No meaning except what humans give to it. Care to tell us your meaning of God? As to non thought, ignosticism is not a traditional thought of the non-theists.

I did not say that such a being does not exist. I did not say such a being does exist. Only that it is pointless debating it, because how do you know that there is or is not and what characteristics this God has or does not have?

Can you tell me conclusively who God is, what God is, where God is? Such a being not only exists but we can have a meaningful discussion about such a being because we know? That is the problem.

45. Was there ever dog that praised his fleas?

Comment #25452 by Homo economicus on March 13, 2007 at 7:24 am

It is a statement that there is no meaning to the term God. It is meaningless like meeting a man on the stairs that was not there. You can talk about God all you want, but that does not lead to any meaningful discussion because the concept is meaningless.

God as a human concept we can discuss, but when you go beyond it as a real being with another dimensional reality it becomes useless to discuss the concept further, because what on earth are you talking about? It becomes a making it up as we go along as there is nothing objective to tie it down. It becomes meaningless speculation that cannot be proved one way or another.

The phrase I use is from Wittgenstein. When talking about God you go into the realms of mysticism. It then is a matter of speculative, personal interpretation. Your own personal God, that may be real to you but not to anyone else.

Out of curiosity, what do you think of Sea of faith?

46. Mrs Darwin's diaries go online

Comment #25448 by Homo economicus on March 13, 2007 at 7:08 am

http://darwin-online.org.uk/

Link to the diaries and project.

47. Blame Abraham

Comment #25110 by Homo economicus on March 10, 2007 at 6:39 am

Very witty observation. Like the family dynamics in the back of a car part!

48. Was there ever dog that praised his fleas?

Comment #25102 by Homo economicus on March 10, 2007 at 5:45 am

Well my own position is that to talk about God is a meaningless conversation. Our language is based on experience. Yet when we talk about a being beyond space and time, we are talking about something we cannot comprehend. Whether God exists or not there is no discernable way to work out, no test that proves one way or the other.

What we cannot talk about we should not speak about. So the whole he exists does not exist debate seems a waste of time. I cannot understand what you mean by God as it is a meaningless concept, like the sound of one hand clapping or meeting a man who was not there.

That is not to deny that there is an emotional, and for some an attraction to the concept of God. I think Bertrand Russell covered these things well in his lecture "Why I am Not a Christian" (Google that title and it is the first one). That of course does not make it true, nor does it justify these beliefs making an in road into the public sphere or how science education is taught.

Science does not have anything to say about the morality of humankind. Any attempts to work out from nature how man should think about moral issues are patently absurd. Social Darwinism, eugenics is to be confined to the waste bin of political thought.

Something like the Brussels Declaration sums it all up for me. By all means have your faith. But it deserves no special privilege in politics, and no group shall impose its religious views on another group.

49. An apology to Peter Kay

Comment #25094 by Homo economicus on March 10, 2007 at 5:00 am

Journalists should report the news, not try to create it.

Richard Dawkins is behaving impeccably.

50. Response to Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris

Comment #24993 by Homo economicus on March 9, 2007 at 3:36 pm

Yet religion is an ideology as a human concept. It divides humanity rather than bringing us together as one.

Call human's demons? You mean like epileptics, and the mentally ill were? Many expressions use animals as a metaphor. If I said you are eating like a demon, rather than a pig, it has no meaning which is that your table manners are not following etiquette.

We have failed our religions? No, we have outgrown them as atheists; we need more than a meaningless concept to answer questions about the natural world and philosophy. This part of human discourse we have moved on from in the enlightenment era.

Man I am so hungry I could eat a demon!