451. The God Delusion

Comment #21722 by Robert Maynard on February 10, 2007 at 7:23 pm

"Does anyone know what he's talking about here?"

I think Orr's referring to the way some people have found the Ultimate 747 argument unsatisfying, partly because it presupposes a naturalistic explanation for a god.
The analogy involves a creation event, with a prescribed improbability, which can be lazily dodged by saying that god is not a natural entity, and not the result of a creation event. Invoking the supernatural and infinite nature of a god is not really an "answer" to the analogy, but it does demonstrate that the analogy is on a completely different wavelength to most theological notions.

Other than that, I think Orr did a respectable job justifying his review to a titan like Dennett.

452. The questions science cannot answer

Comment #21547 by Robert Maynard on February 9, 2007 at 10:54 pm

I was under the impression Dawkins had covered his objections to scientists (let alone scientists writing twenty years ago) saying limp-wristed things like the quoted Medawar passages, as the whole non-overlapping-magisteria thing.
Neither Medawar or McGrath have specified why science can't answer these questions, or - to be more precise - why theologians like himself might be uniquely qualified to do so, in a way that precludes any thinker of sufficient faculty from participating in the discussion.

I suspect McGrath just has a chip on his shoulder, because a fellow Oxford professor is insinuating in a best-selling book that he and other theologians have literally wasted their professional lives studying a discipline which amounts to little more than semantic acrobatics and dubious pontificating.

453. Does Richard Dawkins exist?

Comment #21537 by Robert Maynard on February 9, 2007 at 10:00 pm

I guess Tommyrot has seen more YouTube videos of God presenting lectures to large audiences than I have.. or giving interviews to television programs. It would probably explain why comparing the existence of a corporeal human being to an incorporeal infinite force is a valid analogue.

Then there's all those signed copies of the Bible in circulation.

"Here's lookin' at you, My son,
Keep it real,
Jesus"

454. Sam Harris talks about 'The End of Faith'

Comment #21006 by Robert Maynard on February 7, 2007 at 8:57 am

An excellent orator. I get the feeling this generation will see a slew of articulate atheist champions rise to the fore. Would it be stretching a loose connection too far, to describe Harris as the Malcolm X of atheism? :P