1201. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #144815 by Goldy on March 16, 2008 at 7:49 pm

For crissake, man. Just fuckin' ask it!

I did, but it just looked blankly at me... ;-)

Goldy, it inhibits benzodiazepine hepatic metabolism too, as I'm sure you know. It would seem to involve the CYP2C19 enzyme.

Getting to know more and more :-) Pat of a lupus nephritis study - some people don't respond to cyclophosphamide treatment too well (could be due to their 2C19 activity) and omeprazole is sometimes given to patients as part of their treatment...as it inhibits cyclo, maybe that might be a finger pointing at an improvement to their treatment...
But RM is correct - red herring.
Free will, then. Now, if you have absolutely no preconceptions, are your actions a result of free will? Or do you need to have all the information in order to have the free will to decide what to do?

1202. The atheist delusion

Comment #144771 by Goldy on March 16, 2008 at 5:48 pm

....What kind of democracy? America isn't one. Britain isn't.

Isn't democracy sometimes like religion? In that one person's democracy is another person's tyranny?
As for Britain not being a democracy, if more people bothered to vote, maybe more changes would be seen....

1203. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #144767 by Goldy on March 16, 2008 at 5:44 pm

jac, my parents have been visiting and so I took a few days off :-) Now I have to try and catch up with work - need to get a paper written so I get more funding. Science, eh? Need to see how omeprazole inhibits cyclophosphamide metabolism. Interesting.... ;-)
Free will - I don't know. I have the freedom to do things I want - to a limit. I cannot imagine gods so am an athiest. I really don't understand how one has faith so I can't really comment on the effects of faith on free will. Obviously there is a fear of divine retribution for bad things (unless one uses the "God wants you to do it" card) which I think I can say is restrictive of free will. My lack of knowledge on the faith-based thinking is also a lack of free will - I can't worship as that option is not available to me.
Maybe it is a mistake in assigning properties to the concept of free will. Like religion, it is.... nebulous (?) and as much as someone wants to say it was their choice, there are factors in the history of that choice which restrict the whole freedom aspect of chosing.

1204. Fleabytes

Comment #142062 by Goldy on March 11, 2008 at 8:07 pm

Goldy, I remember the Taunton thread. No technique is going to work on all cases, especially his. However, you do not know what your efforts will cause to bubble up from his unconscious mind at a later time, or how much good you did for those unknowns who were lurking the thread.

Aye, that's true. I always forget about the "collateral damage" :-)

1205. Fleabytes

Comment #142061 by Goldy on March 11, 2008 at 8:05 pm

The way I see it, most people who have the information and still believe will do so for, I don't know, comfort? Or because it is their tradition/culture/etc when they are in a "foreign" land or...well, you get the picture.
In other places, it seems the religious are thus because they are told to be - look at changing religion in Malaysia or seeing how far you'd get with "unIslamic" views in Saudi Arabia.
Those that can find out the "truth" don't look because it isn't comfortable, those that want the "truth" aren't allowed to look.

1206. Fleabytes

Comment #142057 by Goldy on March 11, 2008 at 7:43 pm

Being a former believer myself I can tell you from personal experience that the 'evidence call' is sometimes the best thing to do

Lorien, true, but applicable in the western world? Well, western like the one I live in. Look at all the evidence given and the refutations by cretinists? That I can't understand, as, I think, many "moderate" religious people can't understand.
Fedler

I used to be one, but even I find the theistic beliefs incomprehensible now.

Maybe now they are incomprehensible, but you have a memory of what it was like. That's more than I'll ever have.
Quine - I think I tried that with Mark Taunton on the God of the Bible is Not a Delusion thread. Try it between a Christian and a Muslim. In this case, Mark, a Christadelphian, denied that Allah was God because Jesus was the son of/was God which Muslims deny (to them Jesus was just a prophet). Their denial meant their faith was not one of worshipping God but worshipping something else. Like me knowing evolution is right because, well, all the evidence I can show, he knew he was right because, well, all the evidence in the Bible showed. You should have seen his justification on discovering the site of old Tyre didn't somehow contradict God's word.
He was bombarded with evidence, yet it didn't in any way register. It was, really, a clash of heads...

1207. Fleabytes

Comment #142042 by Goldy on March 11, 2008 at 6:44 pm

A discussion on God's existence is destined to go nowhere but round many roundabouts, and result in heads crashing repeatedly against walls.

I find that repetitions of "Show us the evidence!" rather tiresome, given that NOBODY is expecting any convincing evidence. Not from DR or from any other theist.
I find that in view of that, constantly demanding evidence seems rather childish and, well, undignified

I have been told that the first step in any form of meaningful debate (as opposed to insult trading) is a form of reconciliation.
I agree with you, Richard and fides, these arguments on the nature of gods and the demands for deific evidence are going to just result in head clashing.
Athiests have to try and come to an argument that doesn't involve asking for evidence as such - the nature of gods in the minds of believers doesn't call for evidence. Indeed, in some cases the very lack of evidence is proof of gods. But by the same token, the theists have to try and understand the minds of those they wish to argue with, especially if they like to come here (I believe, fides, you've been posting here about as long, if not longer, as I have :-)).
I shall try, I promise, to think of how to put my arguments across in a way I believe theists will understand. Trust me, it will not be easy as I have never believed in gods. I really don't know how a true believer thinks, though it has not been through lack of asking. If others can help me when I become too rationally focused, too empirical and evidencial, tell me please.

1208. Seven new deadly sins: are you guilty?

Comment #142037 by Goldy on March 11, 2008 at 5:16 pm

I also think men should have the ability to deactivate their sperm, extra-corporeally

I believe that's possible already. A product called a condom, I believe...

1209. Fleabytes

Comment #142033 by Goldy on March 11, 2008 at 4:24 pm

Bugger me, Mark, who is also known as fides :-) I, for once, really agree with you!
Good point about the heavy drinking/alcoholism. I wrote as a heavy drinker. I don't think I am an alcoholic. It was just the question as to what to do with my time to avoid alcohol resonated with me - to me, beer, gin and wine (in that order) is something I use to fill time, to occupy my hands and because there is that "taste" in my mouth - I hope it is just a psycological addiction.
But yes - if it is alsoholism, as opposed to heavy drinking, there is much more that needs fixing rather than just putting the bottle down and controlling the urges...

1210. Fleabytes

Comment #142023 by Goldy on March 11, 2008 at 3:44 pm

Serious question - what do you guys do with your spare time- how do you not get beers or booze?- what else do you do? - and is that an addiction in itself?

I did running and cycling for a spell. And cooking. I used to drink very heavily - like you, I just need something to occupy me. I'm a lot better now, but then, I am married and I have a child. There's swings to go to and slides (there's a play park close to the house). I also have my garden (I think it's an age thing - no way would I have considered gardening when younger!) where I try and get as much fruit trees, errr, fruiting. OK, some of the fruit end up as an alcoholic beverage, but the fun is in the brewing and I can never make that much, so I tend to sip rather than gulp. I have cars and bikes in the garage that need working on - I bought an old Alfa Romeo I want to restore.
I still like beer - it's just for late evening while watching TV. One bottle every night - some of it with the meal (750ml Steinlager :-)) and the rest watching TV when I've done all the other stuff.
It is so very hard - I can't stop, I know, but I can control it - as long as I put my mind to it.

1211. Fleabytes

Comment #142004 by Goldy on March 11, 2008 at 2:55 pm

Whilst there are many in AA who don't believe in God, there are many more who have found freedom from alcoholism as a result of developing a relationship with their Higher Power in prayer.

Should've added that the wisdom of many people of faith is another factor in helping to persuade me of the truth of God's existence.

Odd that they only find their god in an AA meeting, mind. Would have thought a bit of genuflection and some mumbled words might have helped without recourse to going to a gathering of people chaired by councillours. Maybe it's like those miracle cures, cures by prayers, as it were, which completely ignore the doctors, nurses and drugs.
As for how you are persuaded in your god - what about the idiots and "false prophets" of faith? You listen to the smart ones and think "Yep - must be a God". Yet I'll bet you completely dismiss, say, the Westboro Baptists as crackpot. How do you differentiate?

1212. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #141597 by Goldy on March 10, 2008 at 8:12 pm

But to say that random mutations (mistakes) can account for the order that we find in organisms today is just as much a leap of faith as anything else

Why? I don't understand, we can actually see this happening. What, are we to take the massive leap and believe that a designer (hereafter called God - all other gods are false) made everything as we see them now? I'm confused...

How do you feel about the fact that someone like Hitler (who killed himself before justice could be served) or Stalin will end up in the same place as you and I (i.e., nothingness)? How do you come to terms with the fact that there is no ultimate justice? I am very curious about this.

Guess probably the same way you feel about religious speculators destroying American civilisations.
What the fuck are we meant to feel? Sadness? Shame? Pride? Joy? What? How do you feel about it? Hitler fulfilled Martin Luther's dream of Jewish extermination. Popes liked him! Catholics flocked to him! Stalin had the same effect on the religious in Russia. This is such a non-argument it hurts. What the devil is your point?

1213. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #141596 by Goldy on March 10, 2008 at 8:06 pm

But it seems to me that the tendency found in so many religious people today - i.e., a blind following of their leaders, is quite present among atheists, and quite evident in the discussions here

Just as you like to follow a god you cannot see or hear or feel, you like to come up with arguments only you can see makes sense. Blind following of leaders, here? Care to show me? Indeed, go through a few more threads to see what a flock of cats we athiests are.
Typical religious person, see only what you want to see and ignore the reality.

1214. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #141553 by Goldy on March 10, 2008 at 3:44 pm

jac - aaah, I gets you now!

My point was that if religion is all an unproven fantasy then so, I believe, is free will, and as such assuming we have free will (if we have "freedoms" in a democracy in general) then it has certain ramifications with regard to attempting to spread atheism.

Not 100% convinced that if religion is proven to be a fallacy then free will is also not there. I can, however, munching on a piece of Turkish bread with speck from the German butcher, almost see your point - if there are no gods, then we don't have the choice of worshipping or not (am I right) as we only have a choice of not worshipping. The loss of options narrows our free will to one option, as it were?
I'll admit it has been over a year since I read TGD and at teh time I was on holiday with my parents and one year old daughter....I may have skim read some of it ;-)
Not that we have to worry unduly - this is pretty much a choir of angels on a pin argument :-) People always will believe, even when shown that they believe in nothing. Look at the horoscopes in the papers and how many people read them. Most really don't believe in them...but at the back of their minds, there's always a feeling... After all, if you read a good horoscope, don't you admit to a wee feeling of happiness.
That's why I think there is still a free will option. Even if gods are totally unproven, we can still take the option of belief. They may not exist but if the feeling is strong enough within, they are "there". If only there was a way of pointing out that gods are on a par with horoscopes, maybe some of the problems might be solved :-) It would also mean all the actions one performs is due to the individual, not due to some concept of following a deity who demands that these actions are performed. There is no god to judge you, only the society in which you are in (which, I guess, then acts as another limit to your free will - but then, you never expected total free will, did you?).

1215. Are the 'New Atheists' avoiding the 'real arguments'?

Comment #141520 by Goldy on March 10, 2008 at 2:49 pm

jac12358 - free will and faith. Hmmm, toughie. By the definition of God (I am assuming you mean this god, not something more exotic) that I have been taught, he already knows everything that will be and every thought in our heads (he's eternal, you see) and as he can be an interventionist (he sent Jesus to us, among other things and he can answer prayers) then there is no free will as such. He knows who the ones who will not believe or who will be evil are since, well, ever and he does nothing. He knows when and what they'll do and this is part of his plan (as I have been told). In a way, I can see why this could be construed as free will, but it could be said to be fated - he knows since eternity what we will be like and there is no intervention to prevent us being like that. He must, I can only assume, plan us that way.
I read in Genesis, before he made Adam and Eve, he made men and women. I am assuming he used the same methods - maybe these were a trial run, I don't know. However, if he was using the same methods he employed after day 7 for making Adam and, a few days afterwards, Eve, I must assume they were also made in his image, yadda, yadda. OK, so men and women are in God's image - we are, in effect, little godlets. We are told the Fall is due to Adam and Eve eating of the fruit, etc... (why this should affect ALL creation is something that I can never understand - bastardy petulance, I presume. Mind you, for a god that forgets rain, what does one expect), a fruit not all the other men and women previously created had access to, then I guess pretty much only Adam and Eve's descendants are, what's the term, affected. We know they were pissed off as Cain requested protection from them (and as he was, at the time, supposedly only the third person in the world, according to what I was taught, who else had he to fear?)
The Flood, you say! That wiped out all others. Nay, say other theologians not of the Christian variety (but still following God) - this was a widespread but localised event. I can give you the reference - it's from an Islamic scholar.
But Islam is wrong - well, if it is wrong, that pretty much nixes your free will then. How can it be wrong? It derives from faith in God. It has views that are not exactly Christian doctrine which suggests another interpretation - which I would assume could be called free will.
Or it's ALL a load of bollocks and all due to translation and men's mistakes.
How'd I do? Got a bit of a head cold and going over data at the mo, so not really the sharpest stick in the woods right now :-)

1216. Seven new deadly sins: are you guilty?

Comment #141482 by Goldy on March 10, 2008 at 1:43 pm

Level 8. Damn, and I thought I was being quite nice and pure! Hmmm... :-)

1217. Lords Approve Abolition Of Blasphemy

Comment #140145 by Goldy on March 7, 2008 at 2:22 am

Hear hear! I have been getting sick and tired of the claims of Christian fundamentalism taking over America on this website for some time.

As I said in my comment right under the one this pertains to, we in the UK don't elect our nutters. They got to their position by birth or their ardent (?) belief. The ones in the US got there by votes.
MPhil, you live in Bayern adn don't drink beer? How odd! ;-) I like Austria (mother's heimat) and like the religiosity as a curiosity :-) Guess as I have never had to live there, it was always easy for me. My father (the athiest Englishman) complains like hell sometimes, especially about the siren at 12 o'clock on Saturday (or is it Sunday) that signals all work has to stop - including small stuff like mowing the lawns and hammering outside.
Also love te latent paganism still there - wonder if they still come around and ring bells around Easter time (give or take) to scare away bad spirits? Apparently the almabtreib isn't the same since they sanitised it - by the time the drovers got to my mother's house in the old days they were tied to the cows as they were too drunk to walk from all the schnapps they were given. Cows knew where they were going...

1218. Lords Approve Abolition Of Blasphemy

Comment #139826 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 2:30 pm

Indeed, Arabic is a lovely language. I learned a bit in Nazareth in Israel, where I worked in the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society Hospital for a while. I went out a Christian, and came back an atheist :-)

My Arabic is pretty crap though, but Allahu mish akbar.

I spent 4 childhood years in Abu Dhabi and worked 8 months in Syria (Deir Ezzor). So far all I can say is wahed birra, shukran. Mind you, did learn to treat arak with respect and never to touch Al Sharq beer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_beer) - might be half the price of Heineken brought over from Turkey, but christ you feel like death the next day!

1219. Fleabytes

Comment #139817 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 2:23 pm

I meant of interest here, on this thread.

It's about a flea and you said you were inspired by Paula, so... sorry, what was your argument against posting it here again?
;-)

1220. Fleabytes

Comment #139813 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 2:20 pm

Though I would be careful. Start posting links in too many places and you might get accused of using this site to garner unwarranted publicity for your own nefarious purposes. Only someone deeply unscrupulous and desperate would stoop that low...

As long as it is linked in a, errr, linked thread, should be OK. Obviously not much use informationally in something like, oooh, I dunno, the blasphemy thread.

1221. Fleabytes

Comment #139812 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 2:18 pm

I think the "show us yer evidence then' comment , sometimes stifles discussion. Hell is shrinking to a cinder. The bible is a badly written joke book riddled with new punch lines on old jokes. But 'I love God' 'prove it', always feels a little naive to me, from both sides.

As the Crossing the Divide thread shows, it is not the best argument from either side. Some of us athiests are completely, totally, unable to comprehend the theist mindset. People read the Bible and gain solace, knowledge, morality, everything from it. I read it and at Genesis I am struck by the inconsistencies. Genesis! The first book! And within the first chapter!
Somehow, there has to be another way of putting our information across.

1222. Fleabytes

Comment #139803 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 2:13 pm

Well, it's of interest to me, but I hadn't found my way to that other thread - it's impossible to keep up with all the threads on this site. So I still think it's worth posting it here too. Just my twopennyworth.

I'll second that. My 10 cents worth :-) (smallest denomination here in NZ)

1223. Fleabytes

Comment #139800 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 2:06 pm

http://richarddawkins.net/articleComments,2330,Fleas-on-the-Horizon-In-Defense-of-God,Publishers-Weekly,page2#139757
It's here. Other flea thread

1224. Lords Approve Abolition Of Blasphemy

Comment #139798 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 2:01 pm

Is it just me, or does Arabic sound like a beautiful language when someone who's not an Islamist uses it?

:-) It is quite a nice language. Apparently rather poetic. I, unfortunately, rely on translations, as I did on the BBC. Should be online on the news - BBC.co.uk - go to the news section or listen to the World Service online on the hour.

1225. Lords Approve Abolition Of Blasphemy

Comment #139770 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 1:26 pm

BLASPHEMY IS A VICTIMLESS CRIME!

Depends if one is the blasphemer or the blasphemee too, I guess....

1226. Crossing the Divide

Comment #139764 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 1:21 pm

If someone tells me they de-converted in a matter of months or weeks - I'm skeptical. It is likely that they; 1) had serious doubts from as far back as childhood, or 2) they were not heavily indoctinated in the first place. For me, it took about 3 years of consistant study.

It is this that makes me feel like Dawkins when he talks of religion being child abuse (I paraphrase - but I think we all know what he meant). However, I have to try and think on the other side - if this fear of Hell is real, then I can see why parents would want to keep their children safe. So it isn't child abuse.
The lack of questioning is hard for me to grasp - probably why I am a scientist now :-) I did try the oilfield for a spell, even worked in Alberta and saw the Drumheller Museum (used to drive through Drum when going from Red Deer to Brooks) but the blind acceptance of things because that's how they were was hard. Have to say, though, that as much as Alberta is Canada's Bible belt, Christian mores were not that great in evidence, expecially when coming to sex and moderation!
I can see why there is a chasm between the rational and the religion. We both look at teh same things but our brains just don't process the info the same. Be an interesting study into brain development, methinks :-)

1227. Fleas on the Horizon: In Defense of God

Comment #139753 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 1:09 pm

Aaaah, I get it now.
See, I am a bit dim on a Friday morning... It's the gin, you know...

1228. Crossing the Divide

Comment #139752 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 1:08 pm

I have to be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking, "If everyone was just as bright, witty, and rational as me, there would be no religion."

This is something, I must admit, that plagues me. If I can see it, I assume everyone else can. If I can see it and point it out, I assume everyone else can understand my point.
It is something I do as well, though - many's the time I believed and even argued a point even when told it was wrong. If YEC is shown to be right, I shall probably undergo the same feelings :-)

1229. Fleas on the Horizon: In Defense of God

Comment #139747 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 1:03 pm

[sic]

:-) No spellcheck. I think I do OK mostly, but transposition of letters does seem to be my thing!
Ah, well, I'll leave it as is. Part of my humanity :-)
The Tzu feller is the same Tzu or a different one? Just asking becasue (sic) I don't want to sound stupid by sounding smart ;-)

1230. Crossing the Divide

Comment #139746 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 1:00 pm

Ah, but if you were brought up, like me, to put the cart before the horse, i.e. the bible IS god's word, so no matter what "seems" wrong with it: it's your inability to understand it. Seems too simple to work but, unfortunately, it does

You're right, I know. I'm still floored by certain Chinese beliefs - try and tell the wife it's bollocks and try to get her to see it, but it is deeply ingrained.
Odd how flexible the human mind can be, flexible in its learning capacity and flexible in the way it can process data.

1231. Fleas on the Horizon: In Defense of God

Comment #139741 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 12:57 pm

Pretty good Steve :-) Sam Tzu? Had to ask - is this a different Tzu or was it meant to be Sun Tzu? Haven't read Vox's book, btw, so can't really comment on the review, but you worte nicely :-)
(There, no one can accuse me of being too partisan now :-))

1232. Crossing the Divide

Comment #139728 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 12:44 pm

Every evening after dinner, his father, a Sunday school teacher, pulled out the Bible. "We would go systematically through two readings of books," says Godfrey, and devote time to prayer

Amazing - if it was my family, we'd still be hammer and tongs at Genesis. Too mnay inconsistencies in the first few words for it to make any meaningful sense.
Odd how some people are. Glad he saw the light, as it were, but surprised it wasn't from his Bible readings...

1233. Fleabytes

Comment #139723 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 12:38 pm

All these recent posts about funerals reminds me of a recent NZ scandal.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10496641
Not quite sure what part religion plays here, but certainly cultural forces are at play.
A red herring...

1234. Lords Approve Abolition Of Blasphemy

Comment #139720 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 12:33 pm

Maybe America is less backward and Europe a tad less enlightened than some claim?

Yes.
Only thing, though - we (well Britons. Having emigrated to NZ, not sure if I count as one anymore) don't elect our religiously deluded...
But in the main, yes. In fact, I'd go as far as saying the Americans and Europeans are the same. They didn't strike me as any more or less odd than the average European.

1235. Lords Approve Abolition Of Blasphemy

Comment #139715 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 12:27 pm

Wonder how the other faiths will react, especially those that don't view Christianity or any western concept as worthy of interest.
On another note, but still regarding blasphemy, I hear Wafa Sultan was a bit outspoken on Al Jazeera :-) Sounded good on the BBC World Service as I drove into work this morning. Made my day in fact and certainly made this sun shiney Friday a lot brighter!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lYB4pG3kHIY&feature=related

1236. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #139709 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Dissent among the ranks eh? Is that how it is viewed here? A band of merry atheists sore from the resounding backslaps and mutual agreements that its all sorted out now. If it werent for dissenters (or otherwise known as people with a different POV) this site would be the dullest spot on earth. How long can you talk about nothing?

Hmmm, wrong word, methinks. Should have used the phrase "opposing views". Ah, well, what can you do... ;-) Not, of course, that the views are opposed to the majority as such - I think Buddhism is liked for the philosophy it espouses, at least, the bits of buddhism as I have been told. But then the only Buddhist I know is a white woman from the Midwestern States and she only got into it because she's...ahem, a bit in need of help.

I would like to "ban" all crap that is not evidence based

Sometimes I too would like to do this...but then it's the start of the slippery slope to totalitarianism and dictatorial action and we all know what that produces. If only there was a way of making everyone learn, rationally, what it's all about, then decide. If there was a way, if one really needs this crutch of mythology to get tehm through life, that the Teapottists are right and that all religions are equal and valid (heheheh - ie. brainless and stupid...but that's just my - and yours too I presume - opinion).
One day, maybe...one day...

1237. Fleabytes

Comment #139488 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 1:34 am

http://www.fmi.ch/members/andrew.matus/index.htm
Some background reading

1238. Fleabytes

Comment #139487 by Goldy on March 6, 2008 at 1:28 am

Damn, Goldy

I would love to see that. Can't anyone record it?
Or do you happen to know online resources for that research... ?

I'll ask Emma, the contact. I'd also love to see it but family things prevent me :-( Hard being such a good father!

1239. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #139423 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 7:36 pm

ok sure, I made it up

What? Buddhism? Well, it is attractive to athiests, so that could explain things a bit... ;-)
So, who is your money on? Hills or Oba? I see the Republicans decided too much Goddiness wasn't a good idea :-)

1240. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #139421 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 7:23 pm

wow I totally agree, monks and buddhists get a free ride on this website and I can't see why!

Ummm, the more recent contributions show some dissent. I think it's all...a crutch. Like any other religion. The fact it can be athiest is, to me, neither here nor there. Guess, like all other religions, it has some good philosophies - but then that's all in the translation. And the religion is let off lightly - I think the monks are as mocked as any other person who feels a need to wear fancy dress...
My reincarnation did involve worms eating one's body, birds eating said worms and us eating said birds. You don't have to die on Ilkley Moor, by the way, for this "reincarnation" to happen ;-)

1241. Fleabytes

Comment #139417 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 7:17 pm

http://www.science.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/science/events/2008/03/matus.cfm
If you happen to be in the Auckland area.

Public lecture - Can molecules explain minds?

12 March 2008

6pm to 7pm

Venue: Engineering Lecture Theatre 1.439, 20 Symonds St
Contact: Emma Timewell, e.timewell@auckland.ac.nz, 373 7599 x 83258

Hood Fellow - Professor Andrew Matus

Our senses and our behaviour depend on the pattern of connections in the enormously complex circuits of the brain. Recent research has uncovered a molecular mechanism that produces rapid changes in the structure of synaptic connections between nerve cells. This discovery adds a new perspective to the debate on the extent molecular events in the brain can explain mental phenomena such as consciousness.

Professor Andrew Matus grew up in Auckland where he studied Chemistry and Cell Biology at the University of Auckland. After obtaining a PhD in Anatomy and Embryology at University College London he spent the following 36 years as a Neurobiologist at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel Switzerland studying the plasticity of brain circuits. He is a Professor at the University of Basel and received a Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa from Stockholm University.

1242. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #139399 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 6:05 pm

Jesus of course rode on his arse!! Do you think he rode his ass on his belly?!

As there is debate on the actuality of Jesus and indeed any ridings into town, I accuse you of the blasphemy of assumption! Ka-POW! Lightning strike returned! ;-)

1243. Fleabytes

Comment #139395 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 5:53 pm

Moving away from brain structures, sensations etc, what do our resident fleas have to say about this
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/a-life-or-death-decision-792058.html
In the Independent - late reading it as I am busy today.
DR, Clearthinker or whatever it is you are calling yourself, do you agree with the decision? He is obviously not a worthy person, having succumbed to his feelings.
Maybe that is why he is being deported - the stigma of homosexuality is a meme that runs deep in humanity.

1244. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #139392 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 5:43 pm

This sentence should read: "Which is mine, and which I thought of, ass-hole!!!"

Ass? But that's what Jesus rode in on! That's blasphemy!
More of an arse man, meself...
OK, no more ending in propositions...though really you did too as you proposed that I should have ended as the example you gave.
:-D

1245. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #139381 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 5:07 pm

In my part of the world, this kind of public confession would be described as an "own goal".

Ever since watching that brontosaurus theory sketch (I think it was Monty Python) I have had a habit of saying that. Must learn to stop! Mind you, I am not dogmatic - if a better theroy comes along, I shall use that one :-D
Homeopathy - well, if it's good enough to support a huge online industry, it's good enough to be my theory...which is mine and which I thought of ;-)

1246. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #139372 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 4:45 pm

My son, a fine chef, made orange duck a few nights ago, and try as we might, we were unable to find even a molecule of Steve in it

T'worms avven't started on Steve yet. You'll have eaten the molecules of others, though.
Stands to reason, us living in a closed system like Earth. Not sure about the "transmission" of other things like spirit or animus (can't think of a better term...soul, I guess) - that, I'd assume, would be in the memories others have of you. Meme, isn't it? Your teachings should influence your children (or surrogates - Steve may not have children, but I dare say his teachings will live on in others), which will influence your grandchildren and pass on to their children andso on. Along the way, of course, there will be changes. After a few generations your "animus" will die out totally.
That's my theory, it is mine and I thought of it.
:-)

1247. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #139366 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 4:38 pm

If ad known this siiiite wa full o yorkshamen, ad ave oppend a shop an a pub

What? And missed out on the fun of the pits? Or the delights of the steelworks?
Eeeeh, tha's soft, lad!

1248. Bulldozers tear down giant religious teapot

Comment #139362 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 4:34 pm

why has the columnist used the phrase "Muslim, Chinese and Indian Malaysians", referring to Islam as a race? I mean, it's a religious group; that doesn't make sense.

in Malaysia, an ethnic Malay is Muslim. No ifs, ands or buts. http://pgoh13.free.fr/noway_out.php
So really, what the columnist was saying was Malays, Chinese and Indians.

1249. Christopher Hitchens on Real Time with Bill Maher

Comment #139313 by Goldy on March 5, 2008 at 2:56 pm

I know that this might be like bringing pork chops to a barmitzvah but reincarnation is not such a crazy idea

The answer to that lies in an ancient hymn sung by parents to children over the realm of Yorkshire.
All together now...
On Ilkla Moor baht 'at,
On Ilkla Moor baht 'at,
Oooon Illllkla Moor baht 'at...

;-)
If you don't know it - look it up. The words are explain all...

1250. Church exhumes Padre Pio

Comment #138769 by Goldy on March 4, 2008 at 7:11 pm

One would think that a God who lives in his creation is going to have a fair number of issues to sort through.

Why? This is God, after all.

I had never smelled anything like it before, but I recognized the scent immediately.

How? If you've never smelled anything like it before, how could you recognise it?