1. God and Science Collide in Nation's Capital

Comment #181737 by colluvial on May 18, 2008 at 5:45 am

". . . philosopher Mary Midgley . . . states that science is just one worldview that has come to prevail."

2. Canadian fossil makes waves in Huckabee's presidential run

Comment #112082 by colluvial on January 16, 2008 at 9:33 am

"I have been wondering lately why man needs to be superior over other animals."

It makes the meatballs go down more easily if you can convince yourself it's not one of your cousins.

3. CNN Debate on Koran in Toilet

Comment #60317 by colluvial on August 1, 2007 at 3:00 pm

At what point will the inclusion of pork on a restaurant menu be considered a hate crime? If we all had to be on our guard against offending anyone's religious (non)sensibilities, we wouldn't have time for anything else.

4. Floods are judgment on society, say bishops

Comment #53619 by colluvial on July 2, 2007 at 9:29 am

This could be the start of a testable hypothesis:

Bad things happen to people with lifestyles that the Bishop of Carlisle doesn't like.

However, I guess even the Bishop realizes that the hypothesis has already been falsified (for example, when one of his churches is damaged by flood or lighting). So he's left clutching to an infantile god-fantasy where the big guy throws a tantrum when he gets pissed off and everyone, good and bad, gets whacked.

5. His word

Comment #51493 by colluvial on June 23, 2007 at 5:49 am

"so religion, or rather the need for it, must serve some basic "positive" survival-enhancing purpose"

I guess Baddiel is also not up to speed on the "selfishness" of genes and memes. He seems to think religion enhances human survival, when in reality all religion needs to do is spread through gullible human minds. Does he also think the malaria parasite has a "survival-enhancing purpose"?

6. Christopher Hitchens to God: Drop Dead

Comment #41905 by colluvial on May 17, 2007 at 9:35 am

"Religion offers community, a framework in which to celebrate lifecycle events and mourn loss of life, distinctive recipes, and a code of values for moral living, among many other positive things."

If all these positive aspects of religion have nothing to do with deities, then what function does the supernatural make-believe and the holier-than-thou divisiveness play?

7. How to defend your faith with an electric wheelchair

Comment #30530 by colluvial on April 8, 2007 at 12:24 pm

Just imagine the sniping (and eventual warfare) we'd see if the believers didn't have quasi-secular social norms to keep them apart!

8. How my eyes were opened to the barbarity of Islam

Comment #24744 by colluvial on March 8, 2007 at 9:37 am

Very enlightening. But we should recognize that there are many believers (Christian, Jew, Hindu, etc.) who aspire to turning their countries into oppressive theocracies as well.

9. The God Delusion

Comment #21825 by colluvial on February 11, 2007 at 6:50 am

As someone whose childhood religious indoctrination obviously failed, I admit that I find theists' defense of their religions to be strangely vacuous. Instead of appealing to observable facts about the universe, there is only constant reference to the official mythology and the supposed credentials of those who recite it. So when Orr refers to Dawkins' inability to resolve "subtle problems", all I see is someone that can't peak around the edges of his religious blinders long enough to notice there's a real world out there. First show me that supernatural beings exist, then we can talk about how many can dance on the head of a pin.