1. Gamma-Ray Wipe-Out

Comment #47210 by Don'tForgetToBreathe on June 3, 2007 at 1:39 pm

Okay, I'm a total geek so I have to say it...

Gaarrr!!!!! Hulk...sterile!? WTF!?

In all seriousness though, that's pretty neat. In a purely "wow the universe can really screw us over and there'd be jack we could do about it" kind of way.

2. Evolution Sunday

Comment #21897 by Don'tForgetToBreathe on February 11, 2007 at 2:07 pm

Pfft, whatever. If Christians want to preach evolution in church, more power to them. Whining about them not totally relinquishing the traditions, communities, and beliefs they've held for their entire lives simply because atheism is more logical is just silly, not to mention (to an audience so adoring of logic) entirely illogical.

Talk sense into people by talking sensibly to people - not hitting them upside the head with condescending insults. Neil Degrasse Tyson is amazing at this - I can't count on both hands how many Christian friends of mine have had their eyes opened by his amazing lectures.

I get a lot of grief from atheist friends of mine for going to churches (admittedly progressive ones) in an attempt to be the voice of reason. What those oftentimes exhausing experiences have taught me is that articles like the one above are *exactly* the reason why so many people just don't like atheists. It's not our lack in belief, it's our lack of honest courtesy and tolerance for even the most harmless traditions of believers. Encourage all steps forward, no matter how small.

3. Some stars and planets in scale

Comment #18561 by Don'tForgetToBreathe on January 21, 2007 at 5:31 pm

To quote my fictional hero, Peter Griffin..."Freakin' sweet."

4. Zeus devotees worship in Athens

Comment #18560 by Don'tForgetToBreathe on January 21, 2007 at 5:28 pm

I spelled deities wrong. This is sad though - far more benign than Judeo-Christian/Islamic belief - but still...why can't these people just replace religion with sports or something?

5. Zeus devotees worship in Athens

Comment #18559 by Don'tForgetToBreathe on January 21, 2007 at 5:25 pm

Olympian dieties, eh? Pish-posh, everyone knows none compare in strength to the almighty Cthulu!

Damn hippies.

6. BeliefWatch: Ivy League

Comment #17977 by Don'tForgetToBreathe on January 17, 2007 at 8:05 pm

I'm curious what the class was actually going to teach. From the brief quote included in this article it sounds as if it was nothing more than a religion-as-a-social-science class, in which case I don't see what the problem would be - just because it's irrelevant to science does not mean it's irrelevant to negotiating one's way through life.

But if that many people were opposed to it, I'm led to think it was presuming to teach more than just the sociological aspects of religion and the author of the article was just trying to make it seem as though the scientists took things out of hand. Interesting situation I'd like to find out more about.

7. You come up here and say that, Dawkins!

Comment #17289 by Don'tForgetToBreathe on January 12, 2007 at 5:45 pm

Are those glasses as well? Freakin' hilarious!

8. Consciousness Without Faith

Comment #16620 by Don'tForgetToBreathe on January 7, 2007 at 4:24 pm

I like this essay quite a bit. On the issue of words like spirituality and mysticism, I have mixed feelings. To begin with, when people say they're spiritual but not religious, it just annoys me - no real rational reason behind it - more so in the way an annoying fad can get under my skin. So that's a personal quibble that's easily ignored. I don't think dropping the words altogether would serve much of a point though.

What Harris (I think) and people like myself want to do is have an open and honest inquiry into those experiences without the experiences being attached to a religious dogma or superstitous belief. However, to disregard those words (and make up new ones I assume?) seems to be giving too much to the religiously inclined. Why is it they can have a spiritual experience and I cannot? The word still maintains the gravity regardless of if atheists are using it or not.

For me as an atheist to say that I do not have mystical experiences can be misleading and (given their knack for twisting words) further prove to theists and believers in the supernatural that removing spirituality and mysticism from one's experiential vocabulary also removes the depth and profundity that accompany such experiences.

If our goal (I know mine is) is to open eyes and minds - certain things must stay simply so that they can be used as an easier way to bridge the gap between supernaturalists and naturalists. I'm not saying we should compromise the integrity of investigation into the truth - but to grind the world down into a purely scientific and practical vocabulary seems a bit much and surely won't encourage the religiously inclined to shake the bonds of religious belief in favor of reality. I hope I said what I was trying to say well enough and I'd like to hear what other people think.