51. Butterfly shows evolution at work

Comment #56087 by Big T on July 13, 2007 at 4:32 pm

Rather than see a species of butterfly become extinct, Allah hath decided to (miraculously) alter the genetic makeup of the species. Praise Allah!

52. Police plea on genital mutilation

Comment #55610 by Big T on July 11, 2007 at 5:01 pm

Genital mutilation of either sex is unfortunate. And judging from what I have read about female genital mutilation, it is sometimes carried to an extreme that makes it much more extensive and damaging than circumcision. There are doubtless religious and cultural reasons for it, but if the world were a rational place, it would be outlawed everywhere, and loathed by people of all political persuasions. I am glad the UK is trying to put a halt to it.

53. Tinkering with Humans

Comment #55022 by Big T on July 9, 2007 at 6:09 pm

I used to be creeped-out by the notion of parents choosing what attributes their children will have, and I still have some doubts about it. However, tinkering with the human genome to produce more people with an I.Q. like E.O. Wilson, and fewer people with an I.Q. like the late Jerry Falwell is probably the best hope for humanity we have. Anyway, it is inevitable.

54. At a Theater Near You ...

Comment #54006 by Big T on July 4, 2007 at 10:58 pm

9/11 and 7/7 were wake-up calls. The terrorists will not win. The most dedicated terrorists are probably dead or in hiding/on the run, etc. Gun control in Europe no doubt also helps greatly. In America, the land of my birth and where I'll always live, any idiot can get a firearm and ammunition. If you have to build a bomb from scratch, it's harder to kill people than if you can buy firearms and ammo easily. Anyway, despair is not called for. We in the (relatively) secular and civilized West are winning. And if the terrorists continue to make trouble, John Smeaton will "get about" them.

55. When is a bishop like a suicide bomber?

Comment #53816 by Big T on July 3, 2007 at 10:58 am

Geckoman, you are funny.

56. God Hates the World

Comment #51975 by Big T on June 25, 2007 at 6:49 pm

WeeFlea claims that the WBC and it's beliefs are not faith, not religion. I beg to differ. First of all, for much of the 2,000 or so years of Christianity, stuff like this has been mainstream. 'Witch burning', burning of heretics, the Inquisition, the 'Malleus Maleficarum ('Hammer of Witches'), the Crusades, etc., all testify that this is religion. In much of the world, it still is (remember the 17 year old Iraqi girl recently stoned to death by a mob for loving a boy of the 'wrong' faith? The Sunnis and Shiites drilling into each other's head with power tools even as I write? And now we hear that the fatwa against Salman Rushdie, which was supposedly rescinded, is considered by many Muslims to still be in effect. For that matter, is there really any guarantee that we in the 'enlightened' West are not capable, under the right circumstances, of going back to that way of thinking and behaving?

57. In the name of the Father

Comment #51648 by Big T on June 24, 2007 at 12:02 am

All organized religions cause harm. Humanity has never realized this, but we are on the verge of a breakthrough, I think (and hope). In the future, I hope, religion will still be around but will be much less influential than it is now. Let us all work for this end. Everyone free to believe whatever they choose, but no official state religions, no compulsion to pretend to worship anyone or anything. In ALL countries, all the time.

58. The Present Threat of the Religious Right to Our Modern Freedoms

Comment #51642 by Big T on June 23, 2007 at 11:32 pm

Born and raised in America. Perhaps I'm being unduly optimistic here, but I think the Zeitgeist in America is changing. I think the religious right will never succeed in tearing down the wall of separation between church and state in this country. I know we're not considered as secular a country as, say, Great Britain, but nevertheless, the monarch in that country is considered the 'Defender of the Faith' while in America, we have no official faith. And no monarch. Rest assured, if the Supreme Court tries to set up a theocracy in this country, I will be fighting them tooth and nail.

59. The courage of their convictions

Comment #51193 by Big T on June 21, 2007 at 10:46 pm

I wish them success and happiness. More power to them!

60. Richard Dawkins: Atheist

Comment #50970 by Big T on June 20, 2007 at 6:48 pm

Alas, Bush HAS vetoed a stem-cell research bill. Oh well, on the bright side, there are many brilliant scientists in other countries who will still be doing research in this vital area. And that mediocrity in the White House will be gone in one year and seven months (who's counting? I am!) 01/20/09 - The End of an Error!

61. Protesting the Creation Museum

Comment #50071 by Big T on June 14, 2007 at 9:01 pm

Oooops, I spelled Apatosaurus 'Apatorsaurus. An extra 'R'. That's what I get for posting after a couple of drinks.

62. Protesting the Creation Museum

Comment #50070 by Big T on June 14, 2007 at 8:58 pm

Fools, the lot of ye! Everyone knows that all dinosaurs were vegetarian, T-Rex included. When my great-great-great-great-great-great etc. for 290 more generations grandfather used to ride his Tyrannosaurus Rex to the grocery store to get some Apatorsaurus ribs for a barbecue, he had a hard time controlling his 20 ft. tall, 45 foot long, 18 ton beast of burden, even with a saddle on it's back and a bridle on it's face. And it ate up all the plants in the neighborhood! After all, it had teeth 6 inches long that were serrated like steak knives. Of course it ate only vegetables! What else would it eat?

63. Vatican cardinal calls on Catholics to stop funding Amnesty

Comment #50067 by Big T on June 14, 2007 at 8:39 pm

I was raised a Catholic. I have given up hope the church will ever even change it's crazy policy on birth control, never mind abortion. Or celibacy for priests, an optional policy that results in pedophile priests and hideous scandals. The Catholic church is simply immune to reason, enlightenment, science and change.

64. Christopher Hitchens on The Hour

Comment #49438 by Big T on June 12, 2007 at 1:14 am

How come everybody always thinks Hitchens is drunk when he does an interview? He seemed sober enough to me. Besides which, when President Lincoln was informed that Ulysses S. Grant drank a bit, he supposedly said: "Find out what kind he drinks, and I'll order a barrel for all my other generals." Having watched Hitchens on Falwell, parts one and two, and at Politics and Prose, and on this interview, all I can say is, buy all atheist authors a barrel of whatever he drinks!

65. Sen. Clinton: Faith got me through marital strife

Comment #48042 by Big T on June 6, 2007 at 11:27 am

They have to say that stuff to get elected. Probably all 3 are lying, at least to some extent, about their real beliefs. If we get either a black or female president, that will be enough of a miracle to make me believe in God. An (avowed) atheist president I may not live long enough to see.

66. 6 Billion Bits of Data About Me, Me, Me!

Comment #47732 by Big T on June 5, 2007 at 11:23 am

I'm not real knowledgeable about science, and I haven't read the book, but I believe E.O. Wilson in his book 'Consilience' wrote that Homo sapiens is about to decommission the force (natural selection) that shaped the species. To some extent, of course, we have already done that. The late science fiction writer Robert Heinlein once had a character of his say "The real cure for hemophiliacs is to let them bleed to death before they breed more hemophiliacs." That, of course, if not done. Anyway, like it or not, our species has already begun to decommission natural selection and, unless we blow ourselves up in the near future, will continue to do so. For a positive take on what the future (including genetic engineering) might hold, there is a fascinating website called "The Hedonistic Imperative" that is worth checking out. Be warned, though, it is not a site for unintelligent or uneducated people. The author is brilliant and it takes work to understand what he's saying.

67. Man to die over insult

Comment #47050 by Big T on June 2, 2007 at 11:46 pm

Ridiculous. Outrageous. Let us resolve to fight to keep intact the separation of chuch and state in the Western world.

68. What I Think About Evolution

Comment #46562 by Big T on May 31, 2007 at 4:39 pm

Besides "Begging the Question" I believe that logical fallacy is also called "Assuming the Answer". As in, you assume God exists before you begin to examine the evidence. One of the tools in Carl Sagan's "Baloney Detection Kit" in my favorite among his books, "The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark".

69. I Believe In Evolution, Except For The Whole Triassic Period

Comment #46318 by Big T on May 30, 2007 at 10:55 pm

There is no evolution. Dinosaurs never existed. There was no Triassic period, no Jurassic period, no Cretaceous period. Nothing exists except various forms of beer. Beer is the underlying substance which, in it's various "accidental forms" makes up the entire universe. But whatever the "accidental forms" look, feel, taste or smell like, they all have the "substantial form" of beer. The universe is a combination of essence and existence. Yes, it exists, and it is, in it's essence, it's "substantial form", nothing but beer.

70. Adult breast-feeding sucks, authorities say

Comment #45248 by Big T on May 27, 2007 at 1:14 am

I will have to see if this can be adopted in America. I could ask my female manager if I could suck her breasts. And my assistant manager. And just think, if Hillary Clinton gets elected president. "Madame President, I'm new in the West Wing. This is my first day on the job. Please remove your blouse and your brassiere so I can suck your breasts. You know, of course, that Bill has no right to object." Who says Islam is a backward religion?

71. The Art of Handling Thetans

Comment #45227 by Big T on May 27, 2007 at 12:14 am

No offense meant to anyone, but, really, why would anyone waste any more than 2 minutes of your life being recruited by Scientology? Just tell them "no thanks" as politely as possible, then walk away. That's what I did.
I have now been informed that the number of the Beast is not 666 but 616. Now, "Richard" has 7 letters. "Dawkins" has 7 letters. That's 2 names, 14 letters. 2 times 14 = 28. ".net" has 4 characters (including the dot). 4 characters plus 7 letters = 11, so 'ichard'plus 'net'= 11 and 'dawkins' plus '.net' = 11. 2 ways to get 11, and 2 times 11 = 22. 22 times 28= 616. AAARRRGGGHHH! We are all doomed to spend eternity in hell! HHHGGGRRRAAA! But wait! Now they say the number of the Beast might be 626! hmm, let me think about this. Thi is getting complicated.

72. Angry atheists are hot authors

Comment #44469 by Big T on May 24, 2007 at 10:07 pm

The name 'Richard' has 7 letters in it. The name 'Dawkins' has 7 letters in it. And, '.net', counting the dot, has 4 characters in it. 7 + 7 + 4 = 18. 6 + 6 + 6 = 18. Therefore, 'richarddawkins.net' = 666. Can't any of you fools see it? We are all doomed. AAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! We'll all burn in hell forever! AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!

73. Christopher Hitchens to God: Drop Dead

Comment #42824 by Big T on May 19, 2007 at 10:58 pm

Yorker: Umm, don't know quite how to tell you this, but they don't manage
'metzitzah b'peh' without cutting. From what I've read on the Internet, they do the cutting, (without benefit of anesthesia, mind you) THEN the rabbi sucks off the foreskin. So even if you convert to Judaism and have the world's cutest female rabbi perform the act, you still are absolutely guaranteed not to enjoy it.

74. Pedal power takes Islamic shape in Iran

Comment #42210 by Big T on May 17, 2007 at 11:16 pm

In the first place, those brazen hussies should not be allowed outside the home unless accompanied by a male relative. In the second place, only a burqa is sufficient covering. In the third place, Luthien is a woman, and women should not be allowed to post their thoughts on this or any other website. If women were not allowed to learn to read and write, they would remain barefoot and pregnant, as Allah intended. Allahu akbar! Death to infidels!

75. French Muslim women opt for hymen surgical cons

Comment #39791 by Big T on May 12, 2007 at 12:08 am

Comment #39769 by Veronique: So men are (with very few exceptions) not worth the effort, because we can't perform up to your standards. Thanks for the affirmation. You are so sweet.

76. The kiss that brought immorality debate to a head

Comment #37833 by Big T on May 6, 2007 at 12:12 am

Let's face it. Sam Harris told the truth when he said that we (meaning, I suppose, the secular West) are at war with Islam. I was accused of bigotry on this website for saying that if Muslims in England (where I don't live) don't want to let their daughters go to school with their faces unveiled, they should move to another country. Perhaps that was out of line on my part, but countries in the modern world are simply not going to be able to coexist with this kind of medieval madness. If that means I'm a bigot, so be it.

77. God Exists. A Formula Proves it.

Comment #37832 by Big T on May 5, 2007 at 11:56 pm

KCTV5, my favorite local station in my hometown. Where they have that gorgeous weather forecaster, Katie Horner (married, but not, alas, to me). Who cares if God exists, as long as Katie Horner does!

78. Republican candidates range from ignorant to dishonest

Comment #37390 by Big T on May 4, 2007 at 11:17 am

To all American voters, don't vote for fundamentalists!

79. Your favorite book in the last 25 years?

Comment #37243 by Big T on May 3, 2007 at 8:42 pm

The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark by Carl Sagan

80. Convention ends with Satan and immigrants

Comment #36261 by Big T on April 30, 2007 at 5:03 pm

scottishgeologist: I know not if you are aware of it, but the Landover Baptist website, as funny as it is, is an offshoot of what, for my money, is the funniest website ever. That being, of course, the website of "America's Best Christian", Mrs. Betty Bowers. If you haven't checked out that website, you should. So should everbody who visits this website. More than once, I've laughed until I cried. It is priceless!

81. Against All Gods, by A C Grayling

Comment #36165 by Big T on April 30, 2007 at 11:19 am

My recommendation would be for The Demon-Haunted World. Sagan's gentle but repeated question "How good is the evidence?" and his skillful debunking of pseudoscience, religious visions of the Virgin Mary, etc. can be very persuasive without necessarily offending a religious person so much he or she refuses to read the book.

82. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?

Comment #33302 by Big T on April 19, 2007 at 8:10 pm

When D'Souza wrote that the lifestyles of Americans invited the 9/11 attacks, a writer for Esquire magazine was so outraged, he challenged D'Souza to a fistfight in the pages of the magazine. Dinesh D'Souza is nuttier than Ann Coulter, and not worth taking seriously.

83. The Empty Wager

Comment #32955 by Big T on April 18, 2007 at 8:14 pm

Sam Harris is right on target again. Both he and Dawkins have cleverly pointed out that Pascal's Wager is not an intelligent reason to believe in (or fake belief in) God. I don't believe Pascal meant for the wager to be taken seriously, but some people less intelligent than Pascal (or Harris or Dawkins, for that matter) can't seem to see this, and some of them seem to think it is a good reason to believe in God. What nonsense.

84. Christians at Bible publishers have their throats cut

Comment #32909 by Big T on April 18, 2007 at 4:50 pm

"Man is the only animal who has the true religion - several of them. He is the only animal who loves his neighbor as himself, and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight." Mark Twain - "The Lowest Animal". Mr. Clemens wrote that oh, about 100 years ago. How quickly religious people learn!

85. Sam's Flea!

Comment #32901 by Big T on April 18, 2007 at 4:28 pm

Smith: regarding your question about Sam Harris and Andrew Sullivan. AFter Sam's last message on 3/21/07, Andrew, as far as I know, never replied. Probably tired of losing the debate.

86. The Most Hated Family in America

Comment #29650 by Big T on April 3, 2007 at 7:48 pm

Bremas, your incredulity speaks well of you. Unfortunately, these people are very real. Incidentally, Dawkins talks about them on pages 290-291 of "The God Delusion". One of the features of Phelps' website is the "automated tally of the number of days a particular, named, deceased homosexual has been burning in hell."

87. Christian Socialists head for more radical Labour territory

Comment #29438 by Big T on April 3, 2007 at 12:02 am

Dear NMcC and epeeist: Sorry to break it to both of you, but most of us are interested in reading arguments about atheism, not arguments about Marxism. "Under Communism, both religion and pseudoscience were systematically suppressed--except for the superstition of the state ideological religion. It was advertised as scientific, but fell as far short of this ideal as the most unselfcritical mystery cult." (The late great Carl Sagan in "The Demon-Haunted World - Science As A Candle In The Dark." The 2 great fallacies of the 19th century are Freudian psychology (Oedipus complex? BULLSHIT!) and Marxism. Sorry to break the news to you, but Marx had his head so far up his ass you couldn't drag it out with a tractor. Have a nice day, both of you.

88. Hell is real and eternal: Pope

Comment #28320 by Big T on March 28, 2007 at 6:10 pm

Mark Twain's Letters From The Earth is a good source for ideas on the insanity of hell. After spending a lot of time commenting on the brutalities of Yahweh in the Old Testament, Twain wrote that it was as Jesus Christ that God created hell, and that therefore He was a "thousand billion times crueler and more atrocious" as Jesus than he ever was in in the very worst of the old days. Yahweh's punishment stopped at the grave.

89. Britain Proposes Allowing Schools to Forbid Full-Face Muslim Veils

Comment #26819 by Big T on March 21, 2007 at 8:34 pm

Dear jonecc: "Bigoted", am I? The only reason you are not living under Sharia law RIGHT NOW is because Britain's Muslims do not (yet) have the power to impose it. So the students can wear name tags on their clothing and hide their face? And I suppose these name tags cannot be stolen, duplicated, falsified? France will be a majority Muslim country in 10 years or so, and, as soon as it is, they will vote for Sharia law, Muslim legislators, etc. England will follow not so long after. Also, please see atheist_peace's entry below yours.

90. Britain Proposes Allowing Schools to Forbid Full-Face Muslim Veils

Comment #26786 by Big T on March 21, 2007 at 4:31 pm

Tell the Muslims their children cannot come to school wearing a veil. If they don't like it, let them emigrate to Saudi Arabia or Aghanistan.