501. Huckabee: Guns, God and rock'n'roll

Comment #106995 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 8:16 pm

If there's only two choices, sure, I agree with you. But we were talking more than two choices.

502. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #106989 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 7:46 pm

Sent2null -- BLASPHEMY! What an outrageous thing to say! Good beer is like manna fro... oops...nevermind.

503. Huckabee: Guns, God and rock'n'roll

Comment #106979 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 7:27 pm

Who? Shall I repeat ...should we just (for all practical purposes)let the Religious right elect the President unopposed?

504. Huckabee: Guns, God and rock'n'roll

Comment #106972 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 7:15 pm

Rtambree & Scooter: Many American atheists probably would like to vote for the atheist candidate. But since there isn't one should we just stay home and let the religious right pick the next President with no opposition? A believer can still respect the Constitutional separation of church and state (doesn't mean they all will). There are also other issues beyond theism to consider.

505. Changing my Mind

Comment #106950 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 6:23 pm

Not exactly a fair trade -- but I suppose with the paperback out it might at least be an affordable one.

506. Huckabee: Guns, God and rock'n'roll

Comment #106941 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 5:55 pm

Iowa Caucus 15% reporting: Huckleberry 36%, The Angel Moroni Guy 23%, Law & Order guy 14%.

507. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #106930 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 5:44 pm

lindajean -- Perhaps Hitchens just needs to think that there cannot possibly be anything even as close to God as the supernatural or the transcendent or he would have to give theists partial credit for being right. He might be unwilling to do this because of his disrespect for their intelligence or dislike of their methods. Or it is entirely possible and far more likely that I am just projecting my own biases on to Hitch.

508. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #106908 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 4:56 pm

Oh alright Anna have it your way. It is after all a matter of taste. At least you aren't extolling the virtues of Miller Chill.

509. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #106894 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 4:40 pm

Mother nature may not be our friend. But a beer in need is a friend indeed! My favorite without a close second is:

SMUTTYNOSE IPA

GOLD MEDAL WINNER - Best American Beer 2004 Great British Beer Festival

Forget all those chocolaty stouts & porters give me hops and lots of 'em.

510. Changing my Mind

Comment #106730 by Radesq on January 3, 2008 at 10:50 am

Richard Morgan @ 84

Am I understanding you correctly to mean one must be sitting down to be hoist be one's own petard then?

511. The Pagan Christ

Comment #106412 by Radesq on January 2, 2008 at 9:19 pm

TonyA - Only because you kind of mention it and you seem like you might have the answer. If new cells are continuously made replacing ones that die -- how come we get old and worn out eventually?

[edit]
So, I went and looked it up after I realized that it probably wouldn't be a question anybody could answer briefly. Very interesting stuff... this link was helpful to me http://haldane.biol.ucl.ac.uk/social.html

512. The OUT Campaign has its own Flea!

Comment #106408 by Radesq on January 2, 2008 at 9:08 pm

What a sinister comment Teapot.

513. Moderates Storm The Religious Battlefield

Comment #106393 by Radesq on January 2, 2008 at 7:44 pm

Who are you going to sell the most magazines to -- Atheists, Fundies or Moderates? Try a little honesty in your journalism; change the name of the rag to Newsweak.

514. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #106362 by Radesq on January 2, 2008 at 6:15 pm

dlitt -- Is comparing WWE tournaments to church really fair? I think the majority of WWE fans realize it is fake.

515. The OUT Campaign has its own Flea!

Comment #106346 by Radesq on January 2, 2008 at 5:30 pm

I was excited when I saw Christian OUT pop up in the discussion thread. I thought someone had come up with a new cleaning product. Then I became concerned that maybe atheists were going to try performing exorcisms. The sort of thing it turned out to be hadn't occurred to me.
However, getting Christians to reach out and support fellow Christians will probably do more mischief to their cause than good -- as they all start to compare notes and realize that the other doesn't really get it like I do.

516. Changing my Mind

Comment #106310 by Radesq on January 2, 2008 at 4:22 pm

Paula: I have asked my wife (who is usually home when the evangelizing types come around) to keep all the literature in a little desk we have by the front door. Next time the JW's come by I'm going to ask them if they have heard about the Book of Mormon and give them the pamphlet the last folks left.

517. Changing my Mind

Comment #106183 by Radesq on January 2, 2008 at 1:05 pm

BlaiddDrwg wrote:

I've been called an example of a good christian man many times because I'm polite and helpful, then the same people instantly look at me like I eat babies after I tell them that I'm an atheist.

518. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #106116 by Radesq on January 2, 2008 at 11:32 am

I took a well deserved time out, but some observations on the way this thread has progressed:
Janus at 48

Yes, technology is dangerous and humanity might not be "wise" enough to handle what will be invented in the next few decades. Any idiot knows that much, or thinks he does

That immortality is possible is a certainty…Do you think immortality won't sell once it's made available to the public? …Short of an apocalypse, if it can happen, it will happen.

519. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #105780 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 8:08 pm

Diacanu: What you've just said gives me an idea!

Seacrest out!

520. Mother Nature is Not Our Friend

Comment #105768 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 7:38 pm

Many people think this project is fraught with risk. But is it riskier than doing nothing?

521. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #105740 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 5:58 pm

WGR - Thanks for telling a bit of your story. Always interesting to hear how someone puts away these childish things. Sorry, I know that's probably condescending -- it's a flaw I'll work on it.

522. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #105738 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 5:42 pm

AJ your terms need definition. What does it mean to flip flop -- to change one's mind based on new information does not necessarily mean one has abandoned their principles in fact the opposite may be true. If you are condemning people who change their views (seeming to run against their advertised principles) strictly for political gain without proper justification (whatever that may be). I suspect you will find much agreement in the abstract. Where you and I and a wide variety of others will disagree is on when a change is the former and when it is the latter. That is often more a matter of opinion.

Sorry for shortening your title to AJ but I keep writing John instead of Jon out of habit and only notice it later.

523. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #105728 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 5:03 pm

AJ -- I agree there are many justifications for invading Iraq, the legitimacy of them is up for debate. But as to the reasons given to the American public and for that matter anyone else who would listen -- see my post above. I didn't believe the Bush administration before the war and didn't support it. I have changed my mind about what I think the US should do in the aftermath of the invasion more than once. I don't think many politicians covered themselves in glory with their handling of the support for/opposition to the war issue and I don't pretend to know all that they based their decisions on.

524. Debate between Michael Shermer and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #105719 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 4:33 pm

Doh! Now URin4it walk.

525. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #105718 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 4:28 pm

AtheistJohn I wholeheartedly disagree. Not changing your mind when the facts no longer support your original decision is just bullheadedness (on general principle). Now you can say I stand by my decision that I made at the time based on what I knew then -- if I knew then what I know now I would have done it differently. If your little brother came to you and said Billy just beat me up for no reason and you go punch Billy in the face, only to find out it was Billy Miller who beat up your brother and not Billy Smith who you retaliated against -- wouldn't you change your opinion on whether it was wise to take that action against Billy Smith? (disregarding the fact that retribution might not have been called for at all)? Am I misunderstanding you?

526. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #105713 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 4:02 pm

AtheistJohn: As in most things political there is a proper time to stand on principle and a proper time to compromise -- I suppose voters will tell you how well you're doing at striking the balance. On Iraq it is perfectly rational to change your view on the correctness of the Iraq war if your underlying premise for war has been proved false. Let's say you believed Iraq an imminent threat to US national security because of WMD and links between Saddam Hussein and Al Queda. If those reasons evaporate you should change your mind about the wisdom of the war (or change your reasons for war in which case they really become justifications).

527. What have you changed your mind about? Why?

Comment #105679 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 2:08 pm

I second Dr. Steve on that WGR. I am a newbie here also but I did not come from a religious background I have always been a heathen. I would like to know what made you change your mind. I don't yet possess the skills or the patience that some here have shown in dealing with what sometimes seems like an impenetrable forcefield of faith.

528. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #105670 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 1:47 pm

I don't know engineering evilgenius but TonyA sure sounds like he does. What I don't get is that you seem to think a vastly convoluted conspiracy worthy of at least 25 hours of Jack Bauer's time is more believable than what readily appeared to happen.

Appearances aren't everything, but there was an investigation and a report as well. Isn't it exceedingly more likely that your sources are just wrong? To paraphrase Coach Bill Bellichik of the NE Patriots "It is what it is."

529. A War On Science

Comment #105589 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 5:54 am

Summer Seale at 39

In the particular post about the Dover case. I warned against Creationists attempting to gain political power -- not Conservatives. Although I am a Liberal I understand Conservatives and Creationists are not the same and that Conservatives are not all fools. I would submit that my belief is however that in the USA Religious Conservatism has just about sucked all the oxygen out of that branch of political thought leaving the more Libertarian or fiscal Conservatives without much say in matters of importance to Republican politics. That is what I allude to further down in the posts and where I get more partisan/ideological about who is at war with science. I think Conservatism has to be wrested from Religious zealots in the US if it is to have any legitimate say in political matters. You are free to disagree of course.

530. A War On Science

Comment #105549 by Radesq on January 1, 2008 at 12:09 am

Happy New Year to you as well. The ivy league are a group of colleges & universities here in the USA that are held to be prestigious -- Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. So named because of their ivy covered buildings.

531. Could there be a Darwinian Account of Human Creativity?

Comment #105543 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 11:31 pm

Congratulations wooter! Your cobbling together of largely irrelevant, likely out of proper context, and probably of dubious origin quotations has completely undermined 150 years of study on evolution. I think we can all agree you've debunked that and we can all move on.

Congratulations are also in order because you have won the first perfect rating for the new year 2008. The bat boy gives you five out of a possible five bats! (otherwise known as a "batshit crazy" rating!) Keep up the good work!

532. A War On Science

Comment #105540 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 11:05 pm

Two reasons I think. First our respect for the right to free speech and free religion has created a lot of space for religion to go where it will unchallenged here (it wouldn't be politically correct to call people on their religious nonsense). Second the attack on science is part of a wider "culture war" being fomented by self-identifying Conservatives. It is as much anti-intellectual as anti-secular; this is evidenced by the oft used pejorative "east coast ivy league liberal elite".

533. A War On Science

Comment #105529 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 9:56 pm

Eventhorizon -- that was not the impression I got from watching the root of all evil again today. Although perhaps lesser in scale -- England is apparently not immune from fundamentalism Christian, Muslim, Jewish or otherwise.

534. Happy Newton Day!

Comment #105527 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 9:50 pm

BJohn: I think your statement would ring more true with the following edit

Why believe in Jesus? Why believe the Apostles? Why believe the Church who claims to have preserved the apostolic teaching?

535. Debate between Michael Shermer and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #105513 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 7:35 pm

Urin4it @ 325

"Illuvatar made the Ainur of his thought; and they made a great Music before him. In this Music the World was begun; for Illuvatar made visible the song of the Ainur, and they beheld it as a light in the darkness." Silmarillion, Valaquenta (a far superior mythology in my view).

536. Debate between Michael Shermer and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #105502 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 6:42 pm

Someone like Urin4it almost seems fake. As if just throwing out the usual chestnuts to see if anybody can find a new way to crack them. Fun to watch though.

537. Debate between Michael Shermer and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #105492 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 6:13 pm

So you have come here as a missionary then rather than out of curiosity?

538. Debate between Michael Shermer and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #105481 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 5:48 pm

Urin4it previously

boy, I've been following the debate between all you ignorant athiests and dsouzaphile. you guys are really searching far up your rear ends to denounce God

539. Debate between Michael Shermer and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #105471 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 5:29 pm

Urin4it Please continue...can I lend you my shovel?

540. Debate between Michael Shermer and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #105467 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 5:23 pm

I feel that your scientific knowledge has clouded your faith in God

541. Debate between Michael Shermer and Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #105461 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 5:10 pm

urin4it: You've been at this long enough to know exactly what people would write in response. You could write the response yourself - yet you persist in advocating superstitious belief. The question is why? What is it you can't bear to part with? I suspect until you decide for yourself that rationality has more to offer you than fantasy there will be no convincing you.

542. Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Comment #105434 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 2:38 pm

I don't think there's anything to it WGR. Just start talking in gibberish. Perhaps they practice alone in front of the mirror -- but Sascha Baron Cohen was able to do it easily enough in the movie Borat.

543. A War On Science

Comment #105432 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 2:35 pm

Proper science only prevailed in this case because there was a sensible judge in place to rule on the case. That is less the case today than it was just a few years ago. Creationists have stated publicly that they will attempt to reinsert themselves into the public education system by running for school board and city council positions and work their way up. Some state judge somewhere in the USA will rule for ID at some point -- unless people who oppose Creationists do so at the ballot box.

544. Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Comment #105328 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 9:15 am

Well -- if you get the chance to see "Jesus Camp" -- RD's oft criticized comparison of indoctrination to child abuse will be starkly apparent. The crying, the speaking in tongues, the Christian warrior mentality -- praying to be cleansed of sin (at 7 years old? How much sin might you have to repent at 7?)

Stunningly obstinate ignorance; and more pernicious , the purposeful propagation of same.

545. Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Comment #105317 by Radesq on December 31, 2007 at 8:44 am

I watched "Jesus Camp" the documentary film on A&E television last night. My estimation of the probability of belief being a net plus is pretty low at this time.

546. Could there be a Darwinian Account of Human Creativity?

Comment #105081 by Radesq on December 30, 2007 at 2:14 pm

Billy -- the more I think about this the less I think I understand it. Now one doesn't have any freewill or creativity about who one's parents are or what their genetic makeup is...that much I understand.

Now is DD positing that our creative thought process is determined by nature/evolution? OK our brains are made of natural stuff. Is he saying we can't have a truly creative thought (something I'm often accused of)because our minds are simply standing on the shoulders of every evolutionary process that led us to this state of being? Or is he saying something else?

547. Monkey, Business

Comment #105066 by Radesq on December 30, 2007 at 1:45 pm

Is economic Darwinism akin to social Darwinism? The article highlights what seem like some useful observations - but I think the conclusions that it seems to be drawing about the utility of unfettered capitalism are just plain wrong.

548. Happy Newton Day!

Comment #105064 by Radesq on December 30, 2007 at 1:35 pm

Ouch! I see that puss has not been declawed. OK then no more prick jokes.

549. It is possible to be moral without God

Comment #105057 by Radesq on December 30, 2007 at 1:22 pm

Dr Benway: Maybe you should say "enhanced interrogation techniques".

550. It is possible to be moral without God

Comment #105047 by Radesq on December 30, 2007 at 12:51 pm

Yes I too wish he would go petal that stuff elsewhere.