1. Richard Dawkins discusses Einstein's new letters

Comment #180292 by Arcturus on May 14, 2008 at 1:56 pm

Einstein was not an Atheist, he was a Bright.

2. Police: Girl Dies After Parents Pray for Healing Instead of Seeking Medical Help

Comment #150296 by Arcturus on March 26, 2008 at 5:00 pm

"There is no abuse or signs of abuse that we can see."


This would have been funny if the girl didn't die.

3. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145201 by Arcturus on March 17, 2008 at 11:08 am

"exposing atheism more as a bundle of sentiments than a coherent doctrine" ???

Only Dinesh can pull off this kind of stupidity. First they argue that Atheism is a religion with its own doctrine. They write books to prove that atheism is not a coherent doctrine.

That's a total self-delusional waste of time. If he had listened to atheists from the beginning he would have found that atheism is not a doctrine.

4. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145180 by Arcturus on March 17, 2008 at 10:44 am

I would like to see Dinesh debunk George Carlin's social jokes.


There are 2 new clips on youtube. Just GREAT!


http://youtube.com/watch?v=HJr_ggTeq64
http://youtube.com/watch?v=31M7bXRwrjg

Enjoy!

5. New Atheists Are Not Great

Comment #145155 by Arcturus on March 17, 2008 at 10:17 am

Jebus F-ing Christ!

Look how's talking about love and caring for the poor and weak. The spokesman for the Bush administration. The guys how lied the whole world just to go on their Iraq adventure.

This guy just makes me puke!


I can understand Hedges, but Snow and Bush? What kind of Christians are they? How many killed Iraqis do they have on their conscience.

And Dinesh, well we know him ... he's a moron.

6. God, power and money

Comment #137717 by Arcturus on March 3, 2008 at 11:37 am

That's your survival of the fittest, the race to get on the stage with Benny.

It would be funny, but it's so sad to see all those sick people getting ripped off. If it wasn't for religion he would be jailed as a con man.

7. US Treaty with Tripoli

Comment #135173 by Arcturus on February 28, 2008 at 4:28 pm

"as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation"

This is not true anymore ... so they might say that while US was not founded on the Christian religion, it might become now a Christian nation. Look at what happened in Iran and their revolution.

8. Evidence can't shake your faith if your faith excludes it as evidence

Comment #132550 by Arcturus on February 25, 2008 at 1:16 am

Imagine a very advanced alien civilization comes to Earth. They can master teleportation and anti-gravity. They now appear in the room where Richard is giving a talk, and put up a show which breaks all the human known laws of nature. What should Richard make out of this?

Should he imediately attribute this to the supernatural? He would be so WRONG! Instead he could try and interpret the evidence through a naturalistic mindset. Eventually he would discover that the known laws of nature are not exact and that teleportation and anti-gravity are possible.

Pushing this further, you have Hume's position on miracles. There is no good evidence for the supernatural, mainly because we don't know where the natural ends.

So, the most reasonable position is not to use the supernatural as an explanation. "No explanation" is safer than the "supernatural explanation".

9. Study: Religion colors Americans' views of nanotechnology

Comment #128776 by Arcturus on February 17, 2008 at 11:19 pm

F*ck them!

There are stupid people everywhere, but stupid people in US are proud of it!

They don't want materials that do not occur in nature? I wonder why they use any plastic? Want about things with transistors in them? Surely they are made by the Devil! They should stay away ...

This is SO stupid!

10. US military accused of harboring fundamentalism

Comment #127418 by Arcturus on February 15, 2008 at 8:54 am

Nothing new, we've had Soldiers for Christ before.

It's ironic though, given that Christians are preaching to love our neighbors and not to kill, they should be the biggest pacifists. Their presence in the military is a proof that they are either preaching non-sense or they are hypocrites.

11. Council pays psychic for exorcism

Comment #126500 by Arcturus on February 13, 2008 at 11:22 am

Funny stuff.

Even funnier, I just came across this video. I laughed for minutes, it is mind boggling.

Jesus has come back! In Miami!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Sn4nppx1cuE

It is funny but in the same time sad for all those people.



ps: sorry if people saw this before.

12. BREAK THE SCIENCE BARRIER - Available Now on DVD

Comment #125435 by Arcturus on February 11, 2008 at 11:06 am

Amazing program, very inspiring!

Thank you for putting this up!

13. 'Irrational Atheist' trounces God-deniers

Comment #118171 by Arcturus on January 30, 2008 at 12:46 pm

I don't have confidence in the reasoning skills of someone who thinks that the theory of evolution is wrong.

14. The real danger in Darwin is not evolution, but racism

Comment #115146 by Arcturus on January 23, 2008 at 4:58 pm

Well, the Catholic Church drew from the Bible and burned and destroyed so many lives through the Inquisition. Why the hell do we still have Catholics around reading from the Bible, surely this book is very dangerous !!!

Weren't those people sacred and of infinite worth???

15. Death Sentence for Afghan Student

Comment #115136 by Arcturus on January 23, 2008 at 4:27 pm

They seem to be living in the past, half a millennia in the past. We've had our share of death sentences for blasphemy. The mighty Roman Catholic Church and it's Inquisition were thorough.

Come on Muslim people, learn something from humanity's past.

16. Three Little Pigs 'too offensive'

Comment #115021 by Arcturus on January 23, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Holy Cow! I mean Pig.

This is the most stupid thing I've heard in a long time.

It's not like they are forcing bacon down the throats of muslims. It's a freaking story, I don't see how one can be offended by a story about animals. What about the wolf in the Three Little Pigs story, isn't anybody offended? They ate the wolf, I'm offended!

Political correctness has become a plague ...

17. Violence fear over Islam film

Comment #113706 by Arcturus on January 20, 2008 at 11:26 am

The Grand Mufti of Syria says: 'this will simply mean he is inciting wars and bloodshed ... It is the responsibility of the Dutch people to stop him.'

I find this ironic. He's a big hypocrite. If what he says is true, then it is the responsibility of Muslims to stop Bin Laden and his suicidal pals. He cannot require the Dutch people to silence this guy, and in the same time tolerate suicidal terrorist elements in Islam.

How is it going to be mr Hassoun?

18. Huckabee Wants A 'Faith-based' Constitution

Comment #112056 by Arcturus on January 16, 2008 at 8:57 am

A recent alternet article deals with this. Very good read.

What Religion's Blind Stranglehold on America Is Doing to Our Democracy

http://www.alternet.org/story/73764/

19. Huckabee Wants A 'Faith-based' Constitution

Comment #112050 by Arcturus on January 16, 2008 at 8:55 am

What an idiot ...

We shouldn't have contemporary made-up view, but rather borrow a made-up view from the Iron Age.

20. Blind Faiths

Comment #108690 by Arcturus on January 7, 2008 at 12:27 pm

What a mess ...

There are always easy solutions, but they are never the best.

21. Man and God

Comment #103366 by Arcturus on December 25, 2007 at 9:50 am

"Faith admits to both doubt and unknowingness."

Ok, but are you willing to act on your doubt? Faith's doubt is a fake one. People doubt, they get scared of the unknown and of the chaos, and then rush back under the wing of God.

I hear many saying that doubt has straightened their faith. But I think that's because they are scared.

Instead what they should do, is embrace the unknown. I prefer to live with the unknown rather than with an illusion of the known.

22. The Pagan Christ

Comment #102119 by Arcturus on December 21, 2007 at 3:40 pm

It doesn't really matter if someone named Jesus roamed the Earth 2 millenia ago. It is more important to debunk the myths surrounding him. And this seems to be easier to do.

I'm really amused by the Christian response to the Horus similarity. They say that they aren't EXACTLY the same, so the comparison is wrong. It seems to me more that Christianity has plagiarized the Horus myth and not taken it entirely.

The interesting question is not whether they are exactly the same, but why they are so similar.

23. The Pagan Christ

Comment #102032 by Arcturus on December 21, 2007 at 12:42 pm

Joyful season, isn't it?

I'm starting to like Anglican priests. Rational thinking can get you far. If all religious people were like Harpur, I might like them.

24. Three wise men just legend: archbishop

Comment #101781 by Arcturus on December 21, 2007 at 1:13 am

This legend meme about the birth of Jesus evolved over almost 2000 years, and was really doing well. But now it faces extinction, because it wasn't really based on facts. In the last 200 years or so the rational environment is quite nocive for such memes.

25. 2007, a bad year for God squadders

Comment #101748 by Arcturus on December 20, 2007 at 9:35 pm

Hey? Didn't you hear the good news?

The Christmas story is just a myth :)

26. For the Love of Christ

Comment #101746 by Arcturus on December 20, 2007 at 9:29 pm

Schizoid? mentally deranged?

edit: Definitely not an epicurean.

27. Three wise men just legend: archbishop

Comment #101744 by Arcturus on December 20, 2007 at 9:21 pm

We've gotta run with this.

Even the leader of the world's Anglicans is saying that:
-the Christmas story of the three wise men as nothing but a legend
-not all followers must believe in the virgin birth of Jesus
-the son of God was likely not born in December at all

This sounds great!

28. Borders Tags Atheist Book with 'O Come All Ye Faithless' Cards

Comment #100589 by Arcturus on December 19, 2007 at 12:33 am

MuNky82, yes, I guess the historical thing offends me the most. I'm Romanian, and between '44 and '89 we had communist regimes pounding us. Being communist they were mostly atheists and also did many awful things.

So it offends me when people say:
communism=atheism
communism=bad

therefore

atheism=bad

I also hate the bolsheviks and communists, they really messed up the 20th century.

So nowadays, religion is strong in my country and they really despise atheists. I'm lucky though ... I now live in Canada :)

29. Borders Tags Atheist Book with 'O Come All Ye Faithless' Cards

Comment #100583 by Arcturus on December 19, 2007 at 12:09 am

Talking about feeling offended.

What would constitute a nasty insult against us the godless?

I cannot think of anything that would offend me to the core. Anybody?

30. Borders Tags Atheist Book with 'O Come All Ye Faithless' Cards

Comment #100569 by Arcturus on December 18, 2007 at 11:23 pm

Now ... as many mentioned here, why did the Christians steal the celebration of the birth of our benefactor Sol Invictus?

It is offending to suggest that Jesus was born on the same day (which he wasn't and it makes it more offending).


Can a Christian explain this?

31. This Week's Flea

Comment #100323 by Arcturus on December 18, 2007 at 1:49 pm

When even from the first line he is creating a straw man:
"The only thing new in the so-called new atheism is the sense that we should not tolerate faith"
one wonders where the rest of the interview will take us.

The new thing is to get rid of religion's unfair status of being shielded from criticism.

"Nietzsche, as well as Sartre and Camus, all expressed it quite correctly. The implications should be nihilism."
So he thinks that this is the "correct" way an atheist should think. He makes me laugh.

edit: Even if he is pro-evolution, I find this guy obnoxious.

32. CBC News: Sunday - Richard Dawkins

Comment #100190 by Arcturus on December 18, 2007 at 11:21 am

Rtambree, you're right :)

I guess mis-firing is the corect term then ...

33. CBC News: Sunday - Richard Dawkins

Comment #100186 by Arcturus on December 18, 2007 at 11:14 am

What about pre-adaptation?

Couldn't altruism towards strangers be seen as a pre-adaptation?

34. This Is Not a Test

Comment #99816 by Arcturus on December 17, 2007 at 3:45 pm

When will a secular humanist, openly agnostic or atheist ever try to run for office? What happened to educated people running for office. What about scientists?

Hitchens is right, but this will go both ways. Religious people will not elect godless people because of their religion and vice-versa.

35. Creation college seeks state's OK to train teachers

Comment #99089 by Arcturus on December 15, 2007 at 1:31 pm

PZ Myers has the only sensible response for these people:"they are demented fuckwits".

Didn't some courts already settle the issue of the teaching of creationism in public schools? There's nothing stoping them to train those teachers, but they will certainly not find a job. Unless some private fuckwit pays for this dementia to go on.


This is so frustrating ... I just cannot understand how they can persist in this delusion. They are an insult to the human race and its whole history.

How stupid would it be to have a "research" center for each creation myth that has been invented throught history? I'm waiting for the Aztec Creation Science Center ...

36. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #98941 by Arcturus on December 15, 2007 at 12:33 am

Thank you!

A nice Christmas gift! :)

37. Jumbo shrimp, creationist astronomy

Comment #98788 by Arcturus on December 14, 2007 at 10:25 am

Holy Cow! When will they stop ????

We don't know exactly how the solar system was formed THEREFORE it was created. How stupid can they get??

Plus, I assume that God touches now and then every proto-stellar cloud and -poof- comes a solar system. He must be REALLY busy this fellow.

Evolution works in mysterious ways ... it has created these lunatics, what a bummer.


ps: as a devout Linux user Qt is a bit of a hassle for me. I can handle it though.

38. Here's an improvement on democracy

Comment #98250 by Arcturus on December 13, 2007 at 11:12 am

I don't know ... would we "spread" secularism by force? I don't think so, we have so many bad examples of brutal dictators. Do we want to support them only because they are secular? I think it will be worse in the long run, not to mention the countless people killed in the meantime.

Maybe it's good not to meddle, and lead by example.

But by now, we are in deep s**t, so it's a hard dillema about what to do with the Middle East.

39. Believe it or not

Comment #97791 by Arcturus on December 12, 2007 at 4:27 pm

crazy4blues, but they are. Most of them are voting against the republicans. Just check the survey, most of the godless are independent and liberals, only 17% in 2001 see themselves as republicans. I'm sure the percent is now smaller after everything that has happened since 2001.

The sad part is that almost all of the presidential candidates are religious.

40. Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty

Comment #97753 by Arcturus on December 12, 2007 at 3:30 pm

So, it seems like you proved that it's always beneficial to question first, it will fire up a larger portion of your brain and get more feedback.

My new motto will be:
"Question and be enriched"

:)

On the other hand the fmri will be the new lie detector. You cannot hide from it.

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

Comment #97610 by Arcturus on December 12, 2007 at 12:26 pm

Talking about religion and killing ...

I'm sure you've heard about the killings at the church in Colorado.

You have to see the forum posts of the killer:

http://allspinzone.com/wp/2007/12/11/matthew-murray-nghtmrchld26in-his-own-words/

It's really scary how his family's religion pushed him to the extreme. This isn't justifying his murder but I cannot imagine living in such conditions.

42. Believe it or not

Comment #97568 by Arcturus on December 12, 2007 at 11:18 am

Pretty interesting
http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf

30m is a HUGE number. For how long are they going to ignore the Godless people?

edit: things are going well for us in Canada too:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/can_rel0.htm

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

Comment #97555 by Arcturus on December 12, 2007 at 10:40 am

Why aren't muslims outraged at this guy? He's named after the prophet after all, isn't he? It seems like prophet named teddy bears do behave nicer that prophet named men.

And to think this happened in Canada ... I'm curious how this story will turn out.

44. The empty myths peddled by evangelists of unbelief

Comment #97062 by Arcturus on December 11, 2007 at 10:56 am

He should watch the talks from "Beyond Belief 2", they talk a lot about these issues.

45. The empty myths peddled by evangelists of unbelief

Comment #97048 by Arcturus on December 11, 2007 at 10:42 am

"The chief difference is in the quality of the myths. Though they are not true or false in the way scientific theories are true or false, myths can be more or less truthful in reflecting the human situation. In this sense the Genesis story is a truthful myth. It tells us that knowledge need not give humanity life or freedom; it may only bring slavery and death. There is no prospect of a return to innocence - once the apple has been eaten from the tree of knowledge there is no going back. Modern secular thought contains nothing as profound as this ancient biblical story."

HAHAHAHA REALLY FUNNY!

Just read "His Dark Materials", the story is much better than the Bible :))

46. A Call For a Presidential Debate on Science and Technology

Comment #97038 by Arcturus on December 11, 2007 at 10:17 am

Well, fellow Americans, keep on the same bushy path and China will soon be leading the scientific community.

Good luck!

47. 'Boycott Worked': Compass Flops - Opening Weekend $26 Million; Narnia $63 Million

Comment #97036 by Arcturus on December 11, 2007 at 10:13 am

To be honest, I don't really care about the money that New Line makes with this movie. I'm grateful to Philip Pullman for writing his masterpiece "His Dark Materials". I enjoyed it VERY much, and loved the message that it sends.

That's what I think matters most, for the ideas and books to be out there, and not for movie companies to make money. And the Catholic League CANNOT boycott free speech, so f them.

48. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #97033 by Arcturus on December 11, 2007 at 10:05 am

"Even more surprising than your refusal to see the fallacy of your logic in relationship to the actions of religious extremists is the fact that you don't make similar deductions when it comes to the materialistic philosophy of atheism — in which Marx, Stalin, and Hitler believed, when here it actually makes sense. They weren't merely indifferent to religion. They, like you, wanted to stamp it out. For most of us, including many atheists, it takes little effort to recognize how their belief that man can be reduced to his material properties (that he has no spiritual soul and therefore no sacred dignity), makes killing the innocent for political or selfish reasons a whole lot easier."


Now this is VERY wrong.

When will they stop using the "materialism" thingy? It's really outdated ....

I would say it's exactly the opposite, if you know that there is an AFTERLIFE, it will make killing a lot easier. If the afterlife is the real thing and this is life is just a transition, shouldn't the people killed be grateful for sending them faster to God?

Now, if you think that this life is ALL that we have, then LIFE is more sacred than any thing else. Will the Jesus-heads ever understand this?

49. The art of the soluble

Comment #96298 by Arcturus on December 10, 2007 at 10:16 am

What a load of ...

Religion and the rule of parsimony?? What a joke! This is your God of the gaps, when you don't know, throw in the simplest explanation "God did it". Where does Lennox start using this explanation? Does he have a clear line beyond which "God"(whatever that might be?) is the simplest explanation? Does he know everything about this universe?

There so much more in the universe that "goes beyond what meets the eye". There is so much we don't know and don't understand. WHY then do we need to go beyond it? Let us first better understand THIS universe, then we'll see about the "beyond".

I feel that this piece shows the insecurity of religious people. They cannot conceive living in an universe where they don't understand everything. I am perfectly reconciled with the idea that there's so little we know, but in the same time I don't want to be deluded into believing fairy tales.

On the other hand, even scientific theories are wrong or inexact sometimes (well ... most of the time), but we don't cling desperately to one theory, we want to be open minded and discard wrong ones. Can the religious people do that?


There is nothing wrong in saying "WE DON'T KNOW".

50. Papal encyclical attacks atheism, lauds hope

Comment #92417 by Arcturus on November 30, 2007 at 1:04 pm

What's wrong with the word "ideology"? let's see the dictionary:

1. an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation [syn: political orientation]
2. imaginary or visionary theorization

or

1 : a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture
2 : a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture

So, by these definitions, atheism is an ideology. Each religion is an ideology. That does not mean that atheism is a religion.