Comments by Dr Benway

Comment #101125 by Dr Benway on December 20, 2007 at 12:08 am

If I were younger, Diacanu, I would say you have it goin' on.

I mean, got it goin' on.

Comment #100917 by Dr Benway on December 19, 2007 at 3:32 pm

I can't comprehend how an atheist would be committed to bringing up his children as Catholics. Can anyone explain this logic?

One word: pussy.

"Bringing the kids up Catholic" means baptism, first communion, confirmation, and an hour of CCD per week during the academic year. Oh and going to church on Sundays at least monthly-ish. It's not really a mind control thing. Or it wasn't in my case.

803. Interview with Richard Dawkins: On Christmas

Comment #100901 by Dr Benway on December 19, 2007 at 2:55 pm

Most here would agree that Frosty the Snowman isn't a problem (eh?). I concede that I'd decline to sing carols if some listeners might imagine I were trying to sell Christianity.

But where is the line in the murky middle for most here?

Handel's Messiah isn't a problem for me, provided it's well performed. Is it over the line for others?

I dislike "Faith of our Fathers" lyrically and musically and would not sing it.

Same with tripe like "I believe in Santa Claus," which isn't particularly religious.

All those old carols that basically say, "Look a baby! Everbody sing!" don't bother me. The story of a homeless mother and father overjoyed by their newborn in spite of tough times can be touching.

804. Clegg 'does not believe in God'

Comment #100823 by Dr Benway on December 19, 2007 at 11:57 am

In later comments to the BBC News website, Mr Clegg added: "I have enormous respect for people who have religious faith, I'm married to a Catholic and am committed to bringing my children up as Catholics.

The word "committed" is an overstatement and a mistake. The time is ripe for politicians to move a notch beyond the tedious bad faith everyone has come to expect. The days of massaging dissonance with eloquence are behind us. Kids today don't have time to write using entire words and sentences. They text, "R U 4 real?"

Mr. Clegg, you are young. Lose the blah blah blah and people will respond.

Rather than feigning respect for beliefs you don't hold, say something like: "I'm not a believer, but my wife is Catholic and our kids are being raised as Catholics. Not everyone can live with compromises like this, but many can. We make it work by agreeing to disagree in some areas and focusing on the many wonderful things we have in common."

When forced to support a policy you don't like, say as much. Say, "I'm voting for X against my conscience because my party needs so-and-so's support on Y, and they won't give it without our support for X."

805. Jesus ad angers church groups

Comment #100806 by Dr Benway on December 19, 2007 at 11:10 am

The christians have learned from muslims the advantage of taking religious offence.

Nothing shows off the hidden poison better than fatwa envy. How might we encourage these moments of "offence"?

806. Interview with Richard Dawkins: On Christmas

Comment #100761 by Dr Benway on December 19, 2007 at 9:38 am

It is innocent fun to sing "SKY DICTATOR rest you merry, gentlemen."

Meaning is a function not only of the words, but the context and the various personal and historical associations to those words that happen to reside in peoples' heads. The very act of speaking or declining to speak can itself convey meaning.

Often we can't say what we mean. At best we might express one partial truth slightly less inadequate than another.

Caroling might:
- remind the powers that freedom of conscience trumps mob rule, or the dissidents that they'll get theirs
- reassure your daughter that you'll always love her, or will never accept her
- show your ex you've changed, or stayed the same
- put the olive branch on the table, or off the table
- convey a sense that time passes too quickly, or that some things are timeless
- indicate a careless disregard for self-consistency, or the wisdom of "pick your battles"
- reveal your craven demand for the spotlight, or your capacity to share in the experiences of others.

Communication is tricky. Rules of thumb like, "don't lie" can be helpful. But so long as time is precious and we evolve, the rules will fail us more often than we might like.

807. Jesus ad angers church groups

Comment #100581 by Dr Benway on December 19, 2007 at 12:07 am

Menacing only if purring troubles you.

That's Leo, an 11 year-old neutered male kindly allowing two kittens to suckle his entirely unimpressive teets - i.e., a saint if ever there was.

And, sadly, dying of chronic renal failure of uncertain cause, per the vet's report today. Three nights at the animal hospital. He's not a happy kitty. No, not at all.

Sniff.

808. Jesus ad angers church groups

Comment #100578 by Dr Benway on December 18, 2007 at 11:52 pm

"The gifts that the wise men were giving were appropriate for a king, so the notion that Jesus would reject them is absurd," Dr Davies said.

Not a literal, earthly, political king. Symbolic king.

In contrast, the admonition to give your extra coat to the needy is the literal bit you're supposed to take seriously. Oh, and the part about not building up treasure on earth.

Just FYI: a luxury item like a telly that shows you upsetting ads counts as an extra coat.

809. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!

Comment #99930 by Dr Benway on December 17, 2007 at 10:16 pm

Scanned the comments; couldn't read them all.

I enjoyed the conversation more than many of the debates.

Here's a challenge for future events like this: After a period of free chat, casually award each participant a period of time to focus the discussion. Those not in focus ought to make the focus look good. Help tease out the interesting ideas. Clarify a point that might confuse a newbie. Throw a softball over the plate for an easy home run. Then shift the focus.

Save pointed argument for the period after everyone has had a moment in the sun.

810. God rest you merry atheist

Comment #99926 by Dr Benway on December 17, 2007 at 9:49 pm

I rather like Handel's Messiah, especially the bit that goes, "And He shall purify the sons of Levi that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." The words do nothing for me but the cascading voices are wonderful.

The Messiah provokes in me a feeling that life is perfect and complete. However it only works for me once a year at the most.

Believers and non-believers sing carols for the same feel-good go-with-the-flow reasons. This is trivially easy to demonstrate. Ask the average bloke who "the sons of Levi" are.

811. Happy Newton Day!

Comment #99918 by Dr Benway on December 17, 2007 at 8:58 pm

After all, someone had to be there to light the fuse on the big-bang, right? :-)

Not so much, no. Quantum fluctuations suffice as I understand. steve99 will set me straight if I've said this badly.

I wish more atheists saw that to believe "not God" takes faith just as to believe "in God."

Yahweh? Jehovah of the Witnesses? Adam of the Mormons? Jesus of the Christians? Allah of the Muslims? There's quite a selection of gods to choose from. Which requires the most faith and which the least?

You can't prove physics.

"Provability" doesn't determine whether an hypothesis is scientific or not. "Falsifiability" is what's required. "F=ma" is indeed falsifiable.

Here's one for your team: "No god(s) exist."

Now you must describe some state of affairs that necessarily follows if and only if the above statement is false. Then describe the steps any person might take to observe this counterfactual evidence. If the steps are reasonable and not too costly, I will take them and will report back with my findings.

Until that moment, I remain skeptical regarding your claim to know the mind of God.

812. God rest you merry atheist

Comment #99915 by Dr Benway on December 17, 2007 at 8:33 pm

I also would rather not confuse my children by having mangers and christian symbols all over the place and then trying to explain to them that its traditional cultural context.

Remember that the Christians stole midwinter's celebration from many other tribes. Holly, mistletoe, yule log - all pre-Christian.

"Santa" with his jolly red suit and sleigh of eight flying reindeer was an invention of the Coke-Cola Bottling Co. If you don't like it, select another story for the kids.

The Norse spoke of Beiwe, the sun-goddess of fertility and sanity who travels through the sky in a structure made of reindeer bones with her daughter, Beiwe-Neia, to herald back the greenery on which the reindeer feed. On the winter solstice, her worshipers cover their doorposts with butter so Beiwe can eat it and begin her journey once again.

If you find the image of a woman licking butter off doorposts around town unsettling, invent your own tale. Make a manger with a baby Jesus and a chimney for Santa. Lamby, Jesus' favorite pet, nuzzles Jesus' cheek gently. Jesus can't sleep because he's expecting Santa to bring him a shiny new bike! Jesus was kind enough to leave a butter cookie for Santa on a box with a note saying, "Thanks in advance for your help."

813. God rest you merry atheist

Comment #99889 by Dr Benway on December 17, 2007 at 6:37 pm

I see you're not dead yet, matie!

814. God rest you merry atheist

Comment #99886 by Dr Benway on December 17, 2007 at 6:31 pm

Does the man who says that religious education is tantamount to "child abuse" feel wholly comfortable crooning Away in a Manger?

My brother used to sing, "Mark the hairlipped angel sings 'Gwory to da newworn king!'" My very young sister used to sing, for reasons unfathomable, "Good King Whatsis lost his spoon, playing on the lawn."

Ah, good times.

815. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?

Comment #98531 by Dr Benway on December 13, 2007 at 8:47 pm

Special pleading makes the baby Jesus cry.

Things that would help the Christian case:
- Roman records corroborating big census under Cesaer that actually lines up with time of Jesus' birth
- Records of Herod that fit with the gospel
- Roman or jewish records to corroborate important events of Jesus' life
- other writers without a vested interest in the particular cult of Jesus commenting on this amazing fellow from Palestine, acts of the apostles, etc.

Basically, any friggin' evidence of these alleged events recorded by the usual recorders of the period.

816. The Pagan Christ

Comment #98150 by Dr Benway on December 13, 2007 at 6:31 am

I'll have to admit that the idea of having to show that God is right has never crossed my mind.

If an angel appeared before you stating that God wanted you to cut off your right hand with a knife in your kitchen, might you question that?

God never shows up in court to give testimony in person. What we have are a collection of self-appointed spokespersons on His behalf. They contradict each other. How do we sort out the right ones from the wrong ones?

817. Controversial Anti-Muslim Dutch Film Adds to Already Simmering Tensions

Comment #98145 by Dr Benway on December 13, 2007 at 6:20 am

The "Islam is..." debates are so frustrating and predictable.

1. Someone like Fanusi will argue that the Koran and Hadith say X.
2. Another will say, "Yes, but many Muslims don't interpret X that way."
3. The word "interpret" may mean, "they don't behave consistently with" or "they offer an explanation that removes the apparent, problematic literal meaning."
4. The explanations may appeal to the historical context in which the verses were written or other verses that subordinate the problematic teaching to a higher, more pro-social principle.
5. Rarely, the explanation may actually be a partial rejection of the Koran as a divine revelation uncontaminated with flawed, human opinion.

I wish more were clear about "interpret" right up front. To those who use the argument that many Muslims don't behave according to some problematic teaching, I would say they're point doesn't help. We are, after all, discussing the teaching.

I like to hear theological arguments in defense of moderate positions. But to date I've been unimpressed. They look rather "cake and eat it too."

I feel that the last solution, #5, is likely the way forward.

What annoys me is the general failure of most "Islam is..." debates to illuminate whether "moderate Islam" is some form of #4 or #5 above.

818. Richard Dawkins on 'Have Your Say'

Comment #98126 by Dr Benway on December 13, 2007 at 5:55 am

They have a saying here in Finland "Makuasioista ei voi kiistellä" which translates to: "Matters of taste cannot be debated".

The American idiom is, "There's no accounting for taste."

819. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #98110 by Dr Benway on December 13, 2007 at 4:49 am

Sorry Stephen, I didn't read back far enough in the discussion and misunderstood the context - deleted my post as quickly as I could, but you were too quick for me!

820. Ayaan Hirsi Ali versus Timothy Garton Ash

Comment #98089 by Dr Benway on December 13, 2007 at 4:08 am

I hope TGA wasn't just agreeing because he could hear Barry White singing sweet music in his ears.

Before girl power, there is no Barry White. There are only the wounded and the dying. To paraphrase Timothy Garton Ash's opening, "Seeing that I'm a dead man, might as well fall upon my sword right now."

I'm not upset 'bout the bleep. Getting a fatwa on your ass is like getting AIDS. Just a matter of time.

821. Ayaan Hirsi Ali versus Timothy Garton Ash

Comment #97959 by Dr Benway on December 12, 2007 at 10:01 pm

Hehehe. Ayan got the dude to say something fatwa worthy.

She has girl power.

I think, if she wanted, she could have got him to take the gang out for drinks on his own tab.

"Tim darling I hate to trouble you, but could you do me a huge favor and run to the corner store and get me a box of tampons?"

822. Voyager 2 probe reaches solar system boundary

Comment #97954 by Dr Benway on December 12, 2007 at 9:52 pm

But scientists missed observing the crucial moment because the sensitive radio dishes on Earth needed to hear the spacecraft's transmissions did not happen to be listening at the time.

Oops.

scientist1: Didn't you call the guy about the thing?
scientist2: No I thought you were going to do that.

Hey, how come an electronic gadget made in 1977 is still going without any maintenance and in an extremely harsh enviroment, yet the 8 month old hard drive in my laptop has bad sectors, and cell phones only last about a year or so?

823. Why Science Will Triumph Only When Theory Becomes Law

Comment #97937 by Dr Benway on December 12, 2007 at 9:19 pm

Rabies is never pretty.

824. U.S. Congress Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

Comment #97933 by Dr Benway on December 12, 2007 at 9:02 pm

Headline: POWERFUL MAJORITY DECLARES "WE'RE AWESOME!"

825. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #97861 by Dr Benway on December 12, 2007 at 6:16 pm

I'm ordinarily a sympathetic person. Yet I've done terrible things to small children. I've directed adults to hold down the limbs of terrified, screaming boys and girls in order that I might press a large needle into their spines. And I've done these things without a pang of guilt. My conviction that the procedure was necessary effectively blunted my instictive inhibition against harming a child.

Good people will override their normal inhibitions against harming others in service to higher objectives.

This has nothing to do with religion per se. What matters is this: is it reasonable to feel certain of the higher goal? The greater the injury, the greater the need to weigh the evidence properly. And by "weigh the evidence" I don't mean "personal revelation" or "read it in a book." That's crap.

826. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #97464 by Dr Benway on December 12, 2007 at 6:22 am

...surely we can have the best of both

Indeed we can, with Bathwater No Mo!©

Bathwater No Mo! separates the proverbial baby from the dirty water. Look, here we have an atheist mass murderer. But after a quick and easy application of Bathwater No Mo!, there's no more mass murderer! Truly amazing.

Free shipping for all orders this holiday season.

827. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #97461 by Dr Benway on December 12, 2007 at 6:08 am

LOL. Plus we need men. I think we could get by without religion, however

828. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?

Comment #97330 by Dr Benway on December 11, 2007 at 10:24 pm

Shrommer: What is your rational basis for thinking that people should act "humanely"?

Cuz if they don't, my mates will kick their asses.

829. Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty

Comment #97326 by Dr Benway on December 11, 2007 at 10:13 pm

BAEOZ: What does the <3 thingy stand for?
Don_Quix: It's an emoticon for "heart" or "love".

I thought it was a sideways boner.

Seemed a little curious that robotaholic would "love seeing Carl Sagan" that much. But hey, Sagan does have a nice tan in that pic.

830. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. were atheists, and they were terrible! Answer that!

Comment #97321 by Dr Benway on December 11, 2007 at 9:59 pm

notsobad: Shouldn't it say "lack of belief in god/s, period"?

This may take some thought...

I'm not enjoying the parentheses at the moment --i.e., "God(s)." Too math-ish. Should not the definitive work on atheism be as simple to grasp as possible?

Alternates:
1. "I don't believe in God." Leaves a nice after-echo in the mind's ear.
2. "There is no God." Delivered like an answer one has been waiting to hear.

Yo Prometheus Books, you want some of this action?

831. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. were atheists, and they were terrible! Answer that!

Comment #97246 by Dr Benway on December 11, 2007 at 7:59 pm

Maybe I can scrape up the cash for a vanity publication, The Big Book of Atheism. Entire contents below:

Dedication: To All Free Thinkers

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: No God(s) Exist
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1
No god(s) exist.

Chapter 2
(about 50 blank pages)

Chapter 3
(about 50 blank pages)

On the dust jacket: clever quips from famous atheists.

A published explanation of atheism with its own Library of Congress number could serve as a useful prop. Imagine: each time we're challenged with "Atheism leads to X" or "Atheists are nihilists," or "Hitler-Stalin-Mao," we can whip out the book, ruffle through the pages, and say, "Nope. I'm not finding what you're saying here."

Hehehe.

We could leave the book in hotel rooms.

832. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96976 by Dr Benway on December 11, 2007 at 7:31 am

"ELDERS" smacks of authoritarianism.

833. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96971 by Dr Benway on December 11, 2007 at 7:25 am

Here's my proposal, Richard. Now that you rightly have earned yourself the title of leader of the neo-atheist, secular activists, I think you would do a great service to humanity to reject, as John Paul II did for Christians, the evil actions of a tiny percentage of atheists who have, in your opinion, acted in a way that poorly represents your belief system, in particular your common denial of the existence of God.

Father Jon, your proposal is offensive. I don't need Richard Dawkins to do my thinking for me.

Your credulous worship of authority is exactly the weakness of our species that keeps us vulnerable to mass cruelties.

834. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96968 by Dr Benway on December 11, 2007 at 7:20 am

According to Pope Benedict, it is knowledge of God (hope) as a just and merciful Father of us all. That's an act of faith, of course — and not something I expect you to accept just yet — but I think you and I can surely agree it's not the kind of religious belief that will lead to the fanaticism we both detest.

All cons know this: get the marks to accept a few benign statements without evidence, and they'll soon accept something harmful without evidence.

Power hungry leaders plus groups of credulous followers create the circumstances necessary for mass cruelties. To prevent Hitler-Stalin-Mao --not to mention the Inquisition, Jim Jones, David Koresh, 9/11, and the Taliban-- we must be vigilant against our own gullibility.

835. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96774 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 10:16 pm

You don't even have to buy it. It's available for FREE at http://www.nospank.net/fyog.htm

Ooo. Spanking! That ought to pique Father Jon's interest.

The BDSM community can't hold a candle to the man-boy S&M love association known as The Church.

"On our knees..."
"Father says..."
"Father says..."
"Father says..."

836. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96745 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 9:50 pm

More sign ideas:

REJOICE! HELL IS JUST PRETEND!

837. Why Science Will Triumph Only When Theory Becomes Law

Comment #96728 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 9:26 pm

Guess honesty's not your strong suit, Ruht.

838. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96720 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 9:18 pm

And only quite recently last century, many Athiests where involved in various regimes of Stalin, Mao and Hitler.

Somehow I doubt that the average bloke in the armies or police forces of the USSR, China, and Gemany were reading Thomas Paine or Bertrand Russell.

How many people did Stalin murder with his own hands? How many were murdered by credulous, poorly educated, vulnerable, frightened serfs?

839. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96710 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 9:06 pm

You fail to point out, however, that the actions of these radicals are routinely condemned by their religious leaders as contrary to the ideas of their faith.

If the leaders put their condemnation in writing, and this condemnation isn't contradicted by holy writ, the religion is off the hook.

Sadly, I haven't seen a lot of Christians condemning instructions in the Bible that lead to harm. Examples: "suffer not a witch to live" and the verses against homosexuals.

If Ratzinger steps up to the plate on those two items, I'll cheer him. His argument has to be blunt and clear and future Catholic Bibles must footnote the bad verses with something like, "this bit's not holy; it's just literature and you can ignore it."

840. Why Science Will Triumph Only When Theory Becomes Law

Comment #96703 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 8:59 pm

The Bible seems wrong to you because you are not born of God. You therefore cannot understand it properly nor interpret it properly.

Uh... that's one hypothesis. Honesty requires you to consider alternative hypotheses.

841. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96692 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 8:43 pm

As human beings, we should ask the question what will cure us of such human weakness. According to Pope Benedict...

I'll tell you exactly how not to cure the credulous worship of authority: by quoting the Pope. Kinda opposite, that.

THINK FOR YOURSELF!

842. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96686 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 8:32 pm

Wot. "Father" is just my way of being polite to the little cunt.

843. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96683 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 8:27 pm

Father Jon: As history shows, however, an atheistic philosophy about man serves as a great silencer of the conscience when sick human beings reject the demands of human reason and go on to trample on human rights.

And by "atheistic philosophy" you must mean "credulous worship of authority." Couldn't agree more.

BTW, why do you blather on about what Ratzinger thinks? Can't you think for yourself?

844. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96572 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 6:07 pm

Father Jon,

As an atheist, baby-eater, and mass murderer, I typically don't worry about giving offense. Today is no exception.

Just between you, me, and the lamp post, is not "the closet" soo passe? C'mon, how can you deny that crazy mad free spirit that's so obviously inside you?

845. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96555 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 5:49 pm

Except that as an atheist, I do not have ANY holy days (which is what 'holiday' is short for)

A jolly good argument from etymology. Yet it won't stand against the argument from paid leave, or even the argument from time-and-a-half.

846. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96549 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 5:41 pm

Let the games.... begin!

*must eat dinner, brb, lol

Meanwhile, someone please write the "Hitler-Stalin-Mao Happy Holiday Cheer Song."

847. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96539 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 5:31 pm

I'm curious to know how many are upset by the sign verses those upset by the upset.

What if no one in the Sudan were really offended by the kids naming the teddy Mohammad? What if folks mistakenly guessed that everyone else was offended, and, fearing to invite offense, played along?

This group intention stuff is a tough nut.

Add to the FSM poster above a teddy with "MOHAMMAD WUVS U!"

848. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96527 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 5:14 pm

My idea for a civic holiday display:

Poster of a smiling Flying Spaghetti Monster in a Santa hat holding presents, champagne, and a pair of glasses.

Above him in large letters: "YO HO HO!"

Below him: "EGGNOG IS BEST WITHOUT THE BS!"

No rights reserved - feel free to steal!

849. The Pagan Christ

Comment #96516 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 4:50 pm

albondigas: Certainly if you remove the supernatural from the picture...

Oh you must remove it.

Every play poker? Good hands are rare. As kids we would allow wild cards. Jokers might be wild. One-eyed Jacks might be wild. With such fudge factors the game would include more interesting hands more often, and we liked that.

But imagine if all the cards were wild. Would not the game itself become impossible?

When "the supernatural" is allowed on the table, any claim about reality becomes possible. Without constraints against magic and fantasy, reason is helpless to stop the madness of the monkey-mind and its self-serving dreams and superstitions.

Humans must continue their rational journey forward out of the darkness, even though the "good hands" seem far too rare this way.

OT: It's been years since I've tasted a proper albondigas soup. Sad!

850. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96495 by Dr Benway on December 10, 2007 at 4:12 pm

Why I think the upsetting sign works:

As herd animals, we instinctively respect what we feel most people think. Most people think most people equate religion with goodness. A simple, stark reminder that some people are harmed by religion helps to break the "everybody knows" spell.

But I think the display would be more convincing if the challenge were associated with a bit of reassurance. After all, we are the bearers of good news! It's possible to have beautiful lights and smells, feasts with traditional foods and drinks, cheerful music, reminders of our more cherished values --and of course, presents-- without the bullshit. Woohoo! Woohoo!

So go ye happy heathens unto thy brethren and share these glad tidings! Give thanks to thy fellows for bringing the Irish Creame, the fruitcake, and the silly hats, while slagging off the superstitious nonsense that only serves to confuse and divide us from each other.