451. Debate between Alister McGrath and Peter Atkins

Comment #27481 by MelM on March 24, 2007 at 9:42 pm

Making something from nothing--an open question it seems. Hmmmm. How can one make a car with no parts or a house with no building materials? Tough problems indeed; very tough!

452. The many forms of fundamentalism

Comment #27470 by MelM on March 24, 2007 at 6:53 pm

One way or the other, they're getting into the U.S. schools.

Caution: starts with loud music. National Council on Bible Curriculum.
http://www.bibleinschools.net/
Claims curriculum has been voted into 382 school districts in 37 states.

Then we have the book "The Bible and Its Influence" from Bible Literacy Project.
http://www.bibleliteracy.org/Site/index2.htm
Claim: "After first 18 months, The Bible and Its Influence, is used in 83 school districts in 30 states" Note that the Time Magazine article link is for April 2, 2007. (Yup, that's what the cover looks like.)

I wonder if there will be any "teach the controversy" or "critical thinking skills" content to this curriculum?

453. Atheist banned from committee on religious education

Comment #27448 by MelM on March 24, 2007 at 5:29 pm

Teach the controversy. Teach critical thinking skills.

454. Germany Cites Koran in Rejecting Divorce

Comment #27245 by MelM on March 23, 2007 at 4:13 pm

Comtemptible, irrational, religious superstitions should not be indulged and should not be woven into regulations and laws. The more superstition is indulged, the worse it will get. If some people feel hurt, it's their own fault and not ours. "Sensitivity" to the irrational is wrong, wrong, wrong.

455. Germany Cites Koran in Rejecting Divorce

Comment #27233 by MelM on March 23, 2007 at 3:50 pm

Hopefully, this outrage will put an end to the idea of two sets of laws.

"Reaction to the decision has been almost as sulfurous as it was to the cancellation of the opera."

456. Brain Injury Said to Affect Moral Choices

Comment #27020 by MelM on March 22, 2007 at 9:59 pm

I'm reminded of a show in the "Secrets of the Dead" series about a connection between some really crazy behavior of early "witches" and a disease in wheat. As I recall, there was even a case in France in the 1950s. I thought the scientists had a pretty good case. On the other hand, a "twinkie" defense for murder is probably stretching things a lot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie_defense

I remember some pills giving me unusual anger pangs; I got myself off them immediately--and didn't wait around to find out what would happen. Seeing what was happening but allowing the anger to grow would, I think, have made me guilty if something had happend. And, drinking too much (thus impairing the brain) doesn't get one out of a drunk driving charge--and shouldn't.

457. Brain Injury Said to Affect Moral Choices

Comment #27017 by MelM on March 22, 2007 at 9:29 pm

Save your brain - such damage could even turn you religious!

458. Saving believers: Former Christian finds calling to preach the good news of atheism

Comment #26996 by MelM on March 22, 2007 at 7:41 pm

Riley,thanks for your response.

Yes, a critical issue is the cognitive priority believers (and others) give to feelings above thought and respect for reality. My approach is to take such "feeling" statements and convert them into statements about real things, thus trying to give people the chance to see what being in focus is like.

I absolutely agree that something positive is necessary. That's why an answer to the ethics challenge is so important.

As to using God in my discussions, I don't think I'm capable of doing that; but, thanks for your example.

Part of my thinking is that a religious herd is a way of trying to escape the fear of using our own minds when faced with the fact that we are all fundamentally cognitively alone in the world. Belief in a revealed religion gives people the "benefit" of not having to think--it gives them "knowledge" that they feel themselves completely inadequate to discover; indeed, thinking becomes dangerous because it threatens salvation. If this is the foundation of religion, it should provide a base for designing attacks. Anyway, this is one approach I'm giving some thought to.

459. Saving believers: Former Christian finds calling to preach the good news of atheism

Comment #26836 by MelM on March 21, 2007 at 10:34 pm

"Saving" wingnuts? When someone completely rejects reason, he can't be reached. Believers erect mechanisms that lock them out of reality. Re this from AiG:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/canada/newsletters/0303lead.asp#f1

"Time and time again, we have insisted that it is essential to understand that all evidence is interpreted on the basis of 'pre-suppositions.' As Christians, we must recognize that all of our thinking—in every area—should be built upon the history revealed in God's Word. By doing this, you then have the correct 'big picture' way of understanding the universe so that the evidence of the present can be interpreted correctly.

Sadly, many Christians often succumb to the non-Christian's challenge to provide evidence for the existence of God, creation and the Christian faith, etc., without using the Bible. When you agree to these terms of the debate, however, then you are answering a person 'according to [i.e. within the terms of] his folly.'

In other words, the Christian has accepted the non-Christian's presuppositions (that thinking is not to be built on the Bible), and thus, by default, he has only the non-Christian's way of thinking to interpret the evidence. Such a person cannot 'win' the argument because he has no true foundation (God's Word) on which to correctly (and differently) interpret the evidence. The Christian might try to use a different interpretation of the evidence (consistent with a Biblical foundation), but without acknowledging the foundation, the argument will likely fail."

460. Biology teacher fired for referring to Bible

Comment #26834 by MelM on March 21, 2007 at 10:08 pm

The "critical thinking" and "teach the controversy" gambits are, like ID itself, just "Trojan Horses" as in the title of the Barbara Forrest/Paul Gross book.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0195319737/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-7079336-6081544#reader-link

And, I love this short little vidio by Forrest!
http://www.evolutionvscreationism.info/Evolution%20vs.%20Creationism/9..html

Overall, I think the Sisters local paper, "Nugget", has the best article although the Oregonian and AP articles have additional info.
http://www.nuggetnews.com/main.asp?TypeID=1&ArticleID=12833&SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&Page=1

461. Biology teacher fired for referring to Bible

Comment #26808 by MelM on March 21, 2007 at 7:17 pm

The Nugget article has about 20 comments now. I found one by Ginger Smith to be very good and posted about it at Panda's Thumb.
http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2007/03/oregon_teacher.html#comment-166292

Also note the new Creation Museum
http://www.answersingenesis.org/museum/
and
http://www.answersingenesis.org/museum/overview.asp

"Throughout this family-friendly experience, guests will learn how to answer the attacks on the Bible's authority in geology, biology, anthropology, cosmology, etc., and they will discover how science actually confirms biblical history."

462. Biology teacher fired for referring to Bible

Comment #26620 by MelM on March 20, 2007 at 5:43 pm

Thanks Ben; nice article.

From the Nugget:

"I'm here to tell you that I am absolutely outraged to the deepest level of my bones that this curriculum, that this study session, was allowed to be presented to our families and our children without anybody looking over anybody's shoulder, and I would like to know how this occurred and why it occurred and what remedies the board has," said parent Dan Harrison.

According to Rahm the material was "conspicuously intelligent design type information or teaching. Actually if you took the material and Googled the crucial passages it takes you to a creationist Web site called Answers in Genesis, www.answersingenesis.org, that is run by Ken Ham. ... One of the lines in his (Ham's) mission statement for the Web site is any statement which contradicts the Bible is inherently false," Rahm said.

463. Yanoconodon, a transitional fossil

Comment #26501 by MelM on March 19, 2007 at 10:08 pm

Religion has made it almost impossible to even think about ethics. If one drops "obedience to God" as the base of ethics, then an entirely different approach is needed. Since there is no supernatural realm, the source and base of any form of knowledge--including prescriptive--must be "reality." Feelings won't work in medicine and they don't work in life. Start by asking "If I landed on a deserted island (like Tom Hanks in the movie), what would be required to live and escape? What goal, values, and virtues would be required?" I'll just say that "reason" had better be on your list. If knowledge, food, medical advances and computers etc are values, then the primary action (reason) that brought them into existence is a virtue. Faith is irrational; that's why it's a vice. The base of ethics is that human life has identity. Nough said.

464. Yanoconodon, a transitional fossil

Comment #26233 by MelM on March 17, 2007 at 11:01 pm

Re: #26196 by MelM and #26228 by pugowner

I'm not aware of what the APA has done with regard to gays. A statement along the lines of that in the press release concerning evolution would, of course, be absurd.

I got myself busy and sent an e-mail to APA. I was very polite and didn't accuse them of sucking-up to the barking mad faith heads. Nor did I suggest that religion should be classed as a mental disorder--although I was sure tempted. I didn't rant; I stuck to my argument and thanked them for their efforts. I thought the resolution itself was quite strong and gave no ground to the wingnuts; it was the press release that was quite disappointing.

I've seen the "bad science but maybe good theology" crap before and I think it's one of the worst ways of "supporting" evolution. I hope the resolution statement will endure and that the press release will be ignored.

I had thought it would take quite awhile to write the e-mail, but once I got started, it went rather quickly; I guess I already pretty much knew what I wanted to say.

465. Kissing Hank's Ass

Comment #26200 by MelM on March 17, 2007 at 4:15 pm

Door To Door Atheists Bother Mormons video.
http://my.break.com/media/view.aspx?ContentID=185806

466. Yanoconodon, a transitional fossil

Comment #26196 by MelM on March 17, 2007 at 4:02 pm

From yesterday's e-mail update from NCSE (National Center for Science Education):

APA [American Psychological Association] opposes teaching "intelligent design" as science
http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2007/US/368_apa_opposes_teaching_intellig_3_14_2007.asp

This reafirms a 1982 resolution.
The NCSE article contains links to both the press release and the actual statement (both are very short).
Note that the statement is quite strong but that the press release contains this little gem:

Q: What about the teaching of intelligent design as religious theory?

A: APA is very mindful that religion and science are two very different pursuits. We fully support any individual's religious choices and beliefs.

The APA resolution speaks to the absence of scientific methods or evidence to support the teaching of intelligent design as science. It is not meant to question the legitimacy of intelligent design as a religious philosophy.

467. Kissing Hank's Ass

Comment #26178 by MelM on March 17, 2007 at 1:46 pm

Reminds me that all the insane stories in all the holy books and tales were just invented; people sat around and made-them-all-up.


BTW, I'm glad to see that the Three Little Pigs have been properly reinstated in the UK. Appeasing a contemptible irrational superstition from a toxic ideology is not the way to save the world.

468. Stephen interviews Ayaan Hirsi Ali author of Infidel

Comment #26104 by MelM on March 17, 2007 at 12:03 am

"Infidel" is 5 weeks on the NYT best seller list and is at #5. Good deal I say! Her intellectual journey out of Islam and out of religion is quite inspiring. A great read!

469. Free Speech

Comment #26102 by MelM on March 16, 2007 at 11:13 pm

A much needed speech.
A very serious matter! I hope he gives this speech all over the place because I think our committment to freedom of speech is wavering.

People can see hate speech anywhere.
I will just add that it only takes a few sentences of logical fallicies to turn something said into "hate speech". Remember the spin Bush was using against those who said that the goal of freedom/democracy in the Middle East was absurd? He called this view "racist." What if he'd been able to order the Attorney General to start investigations of "hate speech?" And, I wonder what harm he did with this rediculous accusation? After all, he effectively told the Arabs that there were lots of people in the U.S. who were anti-Arab racists, a claim I think is quite false. (Spin doctors never seem to learn that the nonsense that's so convenient one day can come around and bite them on the ass the next day or next month or next year.)

I hate any "hate speech" law!
I want no law against hate speech enacted in the U.S. We're very fortunate in this regard and I want to keep it that way. Nor do I want legislatures in the business of legislating historical facts; how absurd. The people's job is to write history; the f'ing government's job is to protect our right to do that. Defy those who advocate the use of guns (the police power of the state) to restrict what you say. They want to rule you; tell 'em to go f'-off

470. God's dupes

Comment #25983 by MelM on March 15, 2007 at 11:32 pm

Weird.
I'm hearing something about "Three Little Pigs" being changed to "Three Little Puppies" in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire??? Self-dhimmitude?

471. What We Need More Of Is Science

Comment #25976 by MelM on March 15, 2007 at 10:45 pm

From #25774 by Philip1978:

"...so that men are without excuse"

----

"...there will be no claiming of ignorance before God"

472. God's dupes

Comment #25927 by MelM on March 15, 2007 at 5:20 pm

In a discussion about whether or not "moderates" would save us from the Christian Reconstructionists, a commenter had this to say:
http://www.dianahsieh.com/cgi-bin/blog/view.pl?entry=116914134789655909#12
Essentially the answer is: NO.

A similiar note from Ayaan Hirsi Ali:
The same principle is at work in Ayaan Hirsi Ali's answer to a question in an interview (I don't remember where). She said that the radical Islamists always win; they come with their holy books and use them to beat the moderates.

Moderates are helpless:
As I see it, the moderates who don't like what the radicals are advocating can't argue from views inside the ideology and therefore end up pretty much silent. Also, the radicals can always make the case that to be a good "whatever" one must follow the ideology (this, of course, is quite correct).

Jihad recruiting on the Web:
The Pentagon is following the Islamists on the Web and ("be a proper Muslim") is a big recruiting gambit. (Recently on (U.S.) 60 Minutes)
http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/47/jihad_online
This is a very interesting and important segment about jihad on the Internet. It's in several pieces and the "proper Muslim" section is near the end. I think it'll be well worth your time to check it out.

473. A 'Sad First' in the History of the Congress

Comment #25737 by MelM on March 14, 2007 at 11:26 pm

...but they want to establish a right for liberals to bash Christians and berate God around the clock.

...or it could be the spark which marks an important day. That would be the day that religious Americans stood-up to the liberal bullies who are so determined to use the power of government to silence prayer and every other religious expression of free speech.

"This is a fight which is destined to be fought in America and we think it should begin today."

474. An apology to Peter Kay

Comment #25197 by MelM on March 10, 2007 at 7:48 pm

"Faith-head" is ok.
I'm fine with "faith-head." I think mindlessly sucking up dogma, thus betraying one's very nature as a "rational animal", is indeed a moral issue. Faith is a vice.

Some can be educated, but most not.
As for educating faith-heads, I don't think most can be educated. "Irrational" really does have a meaning; it has referents.. I would hope to open the eyes of those who are young or who are "not very religious" (like a lot of Americans).

The near term is very dangerous.
In the near term, it's vital to stall the progress of the Dominionists in the U.S. It's important to get people to understand what the fanatics are up to and to make it an issue in elections. For example, I'd like the MSM to take a good look at this "end of days" freak by the name of John C. Hagee. He's very very dangerous and I'd sure like to ask some big shot politicals why they have anything to do with him. If the general public knew about this, I think we'd have a major scandal on our hands and people would be frightened.

Avoiding an immediate disaster?
I still believe that mainstream America has no real grasp of what the wingnuts really want and would reject them if it were known. If this isn't true, we're really screwed and much sooner than some think.

A short Barbara Forrest video says it better.
http://www.evolutionvscreationism.info/Evolution%20vs.%20Creationism/9..html

475. You can't trust science!

Comment #24855 by MelM on March 8, 2007 at 10:12 pm

From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flat_Earth_Society


The cutting edge of our new direction in science:
http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/

From the FAQ:

Q: "Why do the all the world Governments say the Earth is round?"

A: It's a conspiracy

Q: "What about NASA? Don't they have photos to prove that the Earth is round?"

A: NASA is part of the conspiracy too. The photos are faked.

Q: "Why has no-one taken a photo of the Earth that proves it is flat?"

A: The government prevents people from getting close enough to the Ice Wall to take a picture.

Q: "How did NASA create these images with the computer technology available at the time?"

A: Since NASA did not send rockets into space, they instead spent the money on developing advanced computers and imaging software instead

476. Happy 50th Birthday to PZ Myers!

Comment #24850 by MelM on March 8, 2007 at 9:40 pm

Happy Birthday PZ! If we escape a new Dark Age, you'll be one of the reasons. Maybe you'll get a statue or something in a few hundred years. Or, perhaps your face on a coin. Ok?

477. U.S. Mint goof creates 'Godless dollars'

Comment #24847 by MelM on March 8, 2007 at 9:09 pm

Surely, it was God's Will!

I wonder if it's sin for a theist to buy one of these coins? I hope so!

478. She's No Fundamentalist: What people get wrong about Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Comment #24813 by MelM on March 8, 2007 at 5:49 pm

I read one article about Ayaan Hirsi Ali that included attacks by CAIR; it even gave these attacks the last line of the article. The author didn't even form an opinion of his own. Needless to say, I was livid.

There are lots of reviews going on and, it seems, considerable debate. She has another defender against Burama and Ash; his name is Pascal Bruckner. Anyway, there's plenty to chew on right now at her web site.
http://ayaanhirsiali.web-log.nl/ayaanhirsiali/english/index.html

479. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24632 by MelM on March 7, 2007 at 6:11 pm

Looks like conservapedia went down about 10min ago. At least for a little while, it won't be wrecking a country.

480. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24629 by MelM on March 7, 2007 at 5:31 pm

Barking mad! Breathtaking!

World History Lecture One:
http://www.conservapedia.com/World_History_Lecture_One
Instructor, Andy Schlafly
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070304-conservapedia-hopes-to-fix-wikipedias-liberal-bias.html

Some things I sure didn't know:

When did mankind first begin? There is no reliable evidence of man existing before 3500 B.C.
--

We can also extrapolate backwards from modern populations to estimate that only about 300 million people existed in the world at the time of Christ, and extrapolating backwards further yields only one family in the year 3300 B.C.
--

History books speculate at length about "prehistory", which predates writing. But there is no reliable evidence to support this speculation, and not worth spending time on. There is no reason to think that man existed for thousands of years without ever expressing himself in written form
--

So where did civilization begin? In a region known as Mesopotamia, which is Greek for "land between the rivers."
--

Genesis 2:8-17 (NAS) describes the beginning in Mesopotamia as follows: "The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
--

Using the ages mentioned in the Bible and counting backwards, biblical scholars have dated this as about 6000 years ago, or about 4000 B.C.

481. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24624 by MelM on March 7, 2007 at 4:39 pm

Thanks #24608 by BaronOchs.

Clicking "home" on the Dawkins article links to the site: "No Answers in Genesis!" which I'd not seen before. Looks interesting.
http://home.austarnet.com.au/stear/default.htm

482. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24623 by MelM on March 7, 2007 at 4:24 pm

Yet more good news:

"Coins circulating without 'In God We Trust'
U.S. Mint admits to the goof with the new George Washington dollar"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17501178/

483. Conservapedia v Wikipedia

Comment #24621 by MelM on March 7, 2007 at 4:20 pm

Some good news anyway.

From Americans United for Separation of Church and State:
Way To Go, Idaho!: Science Teachers Say No To 'Intelligent Design'
http://blog.au.org/2007/03/05/way-to-go-idaho-science-teachers-say-no-to-intelligent-design/

In the Americans United… story, there's a link to the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) policy statement.
http://www.nsta.org/positionstatement&psid=10
This statement is well worth a read; it's consise, strong, and covers a lot of ground.

Two excerpts:

NSTA also recognizes that evolution has not been emphasized in science curricula in a manner commensurate to its importance because of official policies, intimidation of science teachers, the general public's misunderstanding of evolutionary theory, and a century of controversy. In addition, teachers are being pressured to introduce creationism, "creation science," and other nonscientific views, which are intended to weaken or eliminate the teaching of evolution.
——–

In addition, Benchmarks for Science Literacy from AAAS's Project 2061, as well as other national calls for science reform, all name evolution as a unifying concept because of its importance across the disciplines of science. Scientific disciplines with a historical component, such as astronomy, geology, biology, and anthropology, cannot be taught with integrity if evolution is not emphasized.

484. Why there are almost no genuine atheists

Comment #24488 by MelM on March 6, 2007 at 9:53 pm

Re: #24468 by davyB

I did what he suggested. It was easy to add a comment and I didn't have to provide an e-mail address. I also voted NO and the vote is now 7-0 against. (felt GOOOOD!)

I'm glad davyB brought up the subject. I've been thinking that I ought to use the comment sharing facility under the input box. If one has a to-the-point well done comment, it makes sense to send it to the source. Has anyone used the comment sharing facility? Does it work?

Go forth and fight the devine drivel!!

485. Senator calls for answer on creation of universe

Comment #24461 by MelM on March 6, 2007 at 7:00 pm

Lana Seivers can show the senators this position statement from NSTA (National Science Teachers Association). It's quite remarkable.
http://www.nsta.org/positionstatement&psid=10

486. Why there are almost no genuine atheists

Comment #24452 by MelM on March 6, 2007 at 6:04 pm

The theists have had many centuries to invent their drivel; now, they're throwing it all at us. Without articles like this though, I wouldn't have believed the incredible amount of nonsense they've accumulated. On top of everything else, they expect to be taken seriously and to be respected. Sometimes, I go a little nuts when someone earnestly tells me that 2+2=5 and doesn't even begin to comprehend that I'll never believe it. But, ominously, I don't see pro-atheist articles.

487. Why there are almost no genuine atheists

Comment #24448 by MelM on March 6, 2007 at 5:44 pm

When one defines morality in terms of obedience to the commandments of a god, then, of course, there is no morality without the god. But, this approach to morality is internal to religion. Rejecting the god implicitly rejects this entire approach to ethics--an approach that's completely divorced from any concept of ethics as a practical science for living on earth--thus the world's misery! A practical ethics would transform human life.

488. Long live satire

Comment #24436 by MelM on March 6, 2007 at 4:55 pm

If I don't have the freedom to commit blasphemy, I don't have freedom of speech. Every news outlet should publish the cartoons in the spirt of "I am Spartacus". We needed mass defiance rather than pathetic submission; but, not one major political or cultural leader (to my knowledge) in the U.S. counseled defiance!

I don't know of an Islamic counterpart to "The Brick Testament." Too bad!
http://www.thebricktestament.com/

489. Atheist Apostle

Comment #24434 by MelM on March 6, 2007 at 4:24 pm

After Voltaire predicted that Christianity would be extinct within 100 years of his death, his estate became a Bible Society headquarters

490. Atheist Apostle

Comment #24431 by MelM on March 6, 2007 at 4:17 pm

The totalitarian regimes of the last century and of this were due to collectivism--the total subordination of the individual to the state, altruism gone wild--and not to atheism. Theocracy is another form of tyranny and one that I want to avoid just as I don't want to live under Kim Jong-il. I'll take "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" any day.

491. Atheists Take On Religion

Comment #24308 by MelM on March 5, 2007 at 8:59 pm

Tom Paine:
The christian system of religion is an outrage on common sense. Why is man afraid to think?

492. Religion and Politics

Comment #24289 by MelM on March 5, 2007 at 5:17 pm

I don't want any president that will suck up to the Dominionists and appoint judges who believe that "rights come from God." The judges are the guards along the wall between religion and the state--if they're fundies, we're screwed. It's important to remember that one doesn't have to be a barking mad wingnut to play politics; beware. And, we need someone who will reverse the Federal stem cell research ban and the "faith based initiative" which were both done with the "executive order" by Bush all by his pathetic self. Like last election, I may end up voting 100% Democrat just to deprive the Republican religious cult any way of getting more power.

493. Ayaan Hirsi Ali Feature

Comment #24275 by MelM on March 5, 2007 at 4:07 pm

The book "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali is at #7 on the NYT best seller list and it's been on the list for 3 weeks.

Her journey from Islam to atheism is a wonderful theme running through a book which is readable by people who will never read Dawkins.

NYT book review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/books/14grim.html?ex=1173243600&en=8a134a7e7a91226d&ei=5070

Ayaan Hirsi Ali web site:
http://ayaanhirsiali.web-log.nl/ayaanhirsiali/

494. Senator calls for answer on creation of universe

Comment #23962 by MelM on March 3, 2007 at 7:00 pm

Things are heating up today.

"The limits of tolerance" Blog post by Mike Dunsford in support of PZ Myers
http://scienceblogs.com/authority/2007/03/the_limits_of_tolerance.php

Dunsford:
Support for PZ's "screw the polite words and careful rhetoric" policy does display a type of intolerance toward the strategies and tactics used by the ID movement. That is a bad thing if and only if those strategies and tactics are something that people should tolerate. Anyone who thinks that we should tolerate the strategies employed by the anti-evolutionists should think about what they are asking of us.

PZ Myers:
All across the country, we have these lunatics trying to stuff pseudoscientific religious garbage into our schools and museums and zoos.

This is insane.

Please don't try to tell me that you object to the tone of our complaints. Our only problem is that we aren't martial enough, or vigorous enough, or loud enough, or angry enough. The only appropriate responses should involve some form of righteous fury, much butt-kicking, and the public firing and humiliation of some teachers, many schoolboard members, and vast numbers of sleazy far-right politicians.

PZ Myers:
I say, screw the polite words and careful rhetoric. It's time for scientists to break out the steel-toed boots and brass knuckles, and get out there and hammer on the lunatics and idiots. If you don't care enough for the truth to fight for it, then get out of the way.

495. Dawkins v. Collins Debate

Comment #23440 by MelM on February 28, 2007 at 4:48 pm

escape-proof mental trap

In Paul's apologetics, he cleverly anticipated and headed off any objections or reservations that waverers might have; and once netted, sought to keep them that way. Paul's arguments have been the staple of proselytizers for two millennia now. Although the illogic of these arguments is apparent to the rational, they become more and more effective and compelling, the deeper one succumbs to the Christian line. In combination they make Christianity into a virtually escape-proof mental trap.

496. Dawkins v. Collins Debate

Comment #23438 by MelM on February 28, 2007 at 4:27 pm

Improbable constants?

Although Dawkins seems to present the two best currently available alternatives to Collins' God hypothesis to explain the life-enabling values of the physical constants of our universe, he and Collins both seem to accept without any skepticism the proposition that our universe is improbable.

497. Pope speaks out against 'designer babies'

Comment #23183 by MelM on February 26, 2007 at 4:20 pm

Religion has a long list of pro-misery views which they call "ethical." That's why "Culture of Misery" or "Culture of Death" is the appropriate designation rather than "Culture of Life". "Turn the other cheek" and "love your enemy" are actually in the same "Culture of Misery."

498. Pope speaks out against 'designer babies'

Comment #23157 by MelM on February 26, 2007 at 2:44 pm

In a speech to the Pontifical Academy for Life, a Church body of experts, the Pope also attacked artificial insemination and the widespread use of medical tests that can detect diseases and inherited disorders in embryos.

499. Atheists come in last

Comment #22857 by MelM on February 23, 2007 at 4:02 pm

The Dark Bible:
http://www.nobeliefs.com/DarkBible/darkbible8.htm

500. Atheists come in last

Comment #22851 by MelM on February 23, 2007 at 3:38 pm

I would not have expected the percentage to be as high as 45% for atheists. Interesting!

Ask about "end of days"
Besides the usual religious concerns, I think a question that needs to be asked by reporters and commentators is about a candidates "end of days" or eschatological beliefs. As Harris points out, this could be a disaster for defence but it should also be clear that a foreign policy designed around "end of days" could also be especially disasterous. If someone refuses to answer citing "freedom to exercise religion" (a gimmick popular with religionists lately), this should not be allowed.
I don't remember hearing about Bush's eschatology; maybe no one asked. Ouch!

Eschatology:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschatology

Faith is a vice!