1. Computer game's high score could earn the Nobel Prize in medicine

Comment #178532 by Caldur on May 11, 2008 at 2:48 pm

Ugh, no Linux? I wanted to give this a go.

2. The History Channel might do something right

Comment #176055 by Caldur on May 6, 2008 at 1:01 pm

This is me excited!

I'm a bit confused, though. Is this a 13 part series of 2 hour episodes? If there's really 26 hours (minus commercials), that would be absolutely amazing.

3. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #173376 by Caldur on April 30, 2008 at 5:23 pm

Creationists love to claim that scientists aren't qualified to answer the God problem, but how are creationists able to either? You're saying that:

1. You are able to answer the question of whether or not there is a God, and that answer is a yes.

2. Scientists are not able to answer the question of whether or not there is a God.

Pick one. Either scientists are also able to answer the question, or neither are you.

4. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #172222 by Caldur on April 29, 2008 at 11:03 am

bandb: In theory, yes, I agree with you. In practice, I think what you're saying just does not apply. Why shouldn't evolutionists be adamant about it at least to an extent? Or let me rephrase that, why shouldn't scientists be adamant about things that have overwhelming evidence? I don't *ever* see people lecturing scientists about their stance on gravity, or really anything else. Why don't you say the same thing about *any* other scientific theory? Evolution is just about the only one that gets this kind of unwarranted criticism.

"Scientists who believe in gravity are no different than people of faith. Their perseverance in believing in gravity and refusal to hear obvious challenges is religious."

How come we never hear anything like this? While I agree, obvious challenges should be heard. But then again, what are these obvious challenges? I bet you could go to an evolutionary biologist and have a peaceful discussion with him about these "obvious challenges" no problem.

The thing is, if evolutionists aren't unrelenting, then the religious are going to hijack the science, and I do believe this. I think this is easy to imagine. If scientists weren't firm about evolution, you would see creationists everywhere going, "look at all these scientists! They're not even sure that evolution is real! Therefore, God exists and created the world."

I think there is a difference in being unrelenting towards these people and listening to *serious* concerns from people seeking the truth. I have no reason to believe that this isn't how scientists currently behave.

5. Student's 'Be Happy, Not Gay' t-shirt ok

Comment #170037 by Caldur on April 27, 2008 at 9:47 am

Stories like this just make my heart sink. I'm not sure what else to say about them. If Jesus knew that his followers would be preaching so much hate, he would turn over in his grave.

6. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #166070 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 5:44 pm

"Sanity is not statistical." -Winston from George Orwell's 1984

In case it wasn't already painfully obvious, saying that something is true because people have believed it for centuries is ridiculous. How long did every human being believe that the earth was flat? I suppose we should go back to thinking that it is, after all, that was the general consensus for almost all of recorded history!

7. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #166032 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 5:14 pm

I love how he uses scripture as proof that his god created the universe. How utterly scientific!

Except that the bible has numerous contradictions, both internal contradictions and historical contradictions. The bible is wrong about so many other things, why would it be correct about the origins of the universe?

8. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #166020 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 5:04 pm

And I quote!

"Everything that begins to exist must have a cause."

Oh? What about your God, then? What cause was there to begin him? Oh, let me guess! He just always "was," hmm? Okay, if that helps you sleep at night.

9. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #165999 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 4:47 pm

I'm drawing a blank as to what could be more ironic than a Christian implying that atheists don't use their brains, but Christians do. I don't think I can think of anything. Also note how Remnant never actually responds to anyone, but instead just trolls around randomly throwing out an absurd claim here and there with no evidence that thought was put into any statements. Good job at representing your religion and making you all look like fools and idiots.

10. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #165969 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 4:22 pm

"I said that an unbeliever cannot properly interpret Scripture without guidance from the Holy Spirit."

I was a Christian for my entire life until this past year. I can say, with all confidence, that this statement is a complete cop-out by any believer. It doesn't make any sense, and besides a believer's ability to rationalize immoral scripture, he is no better off in understanding it.

I wonder, Remnant, were you ever an adult when you weren't a Christian, or were you brought up to believe? If you were brought up to believe Christianity, how can you even make this claim? You only know one side of the story!

Well, I've been on both sides of the fence, I can say that you are wrong.

11. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165900 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 2:39 pm

I'm in an open computer lab and I narrowly escaped laughing extremely loud at that comment.

You come to an atheistic and Darwinian website and complain that you're not being defended by other believers? What kind of nonsense is this?! Go to a Christian website and do the same, what do you think the results would be? This is elementary.

The fact is, over 75% of Americans (is this where you live?) consider themselves Christians. It doesn't matter if you have a minor disagreement with some of their beliefs. Over 200 million of you still believe that there is a God in our country alone. This is not the road less traveled by, by any stretch of the imagination, and you are being extremely intellectually dishonest by trying to portray it as such.

12. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165890 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 2:17 pm

You actually think that the scientific method is leading people to God? This is not only laughable, but an obvious case of denial.

As science and technology are moving along, atheism is climbing and climbing. In fact, to my knowledge, no religion is gaining in numbers besides Islam, which is only because of its birth rate. Atheism, however, is growing. Why? Science and reason, probably.

You very well could see an atheist revolution in the coming years. To say that science is having the opposite effect is just absurd.

13. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165875 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 1:51 pm

Indeed, this site has been sloooow today. Probably Expelled traffic.

chewmanfoo, since when is religion the less traveled by route? It isn't, as you should be aware, since all cultures everywhere have had religion, and non-believers are definitely in the minority.

Second, you never answered my question (or rather challenge) on the previous page. How do you know that becoming a non-believer would not "make all the difference"? All you're doing is assuming that what you have now must be better than what you don't know.

I chose to take religion's path my entire life. When I finally took "the path less traveled by," I was amazed at the results.

The fact that you admit that you're just deluding yourself for supposed satisfaction is a weak argument for religion.

14. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165858 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 1:22 pm

Just because you WANT to think that she is pretty because she was created that way and you WANT to feel divine authority to love someone is not in the slightest a good reason to actually believe that this is so.

I would absolutely love to see my wife and family and children after I die. That would be fantastic. But just because I want for this to happen, does that mean I should believe that that is how it will be? I hope not.

Of course scientific discovery often times relies on creativity, this is simple to see. But how is "creativity" a belief in a divine creator? I think that it is obvious that believing that everything we see today is a result of God's magical powers is far less creative than Darwin's proposed theory. I don't see how you can equate creativity to believing in God.

15. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165806 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 11:47 am

chewmanfoo, all I can say to that is, have you ever tried? When I was a Christian, I thought I needed it to be happy. I thought that if I wasn't a believer that I would have this huge void that nothing else would be able to fill.

Fast-forward to now, and I'm happier than I ever was as a Christian and I have no regrets. Religion, in my opinion, gives the very false sense of a need for that religion, when in reality, I don't think that it is generally needed.

All I'm saying is, try it before you knock it. I challenge you to live as an atheist for a week and see how you feel about the question you posed. I took this challenge, and by the end of the week, there was no way I was going back to the way things were.

A person doesn't need religion to love or feel loved. Even if these feelings are only chemical balances shifting inside our carbon shells, they are still feelings.

16. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165785 by Caldur on April 22, 2008 at 10:20 am

Dawkin's concise and powerful wit never ceases to amaze me. I wish I could get a personal letter from him, although admittedly, not under similar circumstances as this one!