Comments by Peacebeuponme

Comment #130656 by Peacebeuponme on February 21, 2008 at 5:43 am

What I am saying is that if evolution is indeed indifferent, if it neither knows nor cares, then it is meaningless to expend our energies in defense of the weak and vulnerable.

AAAARRRRGGHHHH!

How many times do we have to explain this!

1352. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130320 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 9:47 am

Sorry to have been away for a bit. Just had one of my parishioners knock at the door asking for some advice on how to deal with a couple of rather persistent atheists who seem to have take up going round door to door selling copies of the "God Delusion". I mean, can you believe it...trying to sell them. Surely, they should be giving them away.

Troll, surely?

1353. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130303 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 8:35 am

Ah well, this has been kind of fun. However, I think it is time I was more productive and put some time and effort, for a while at least, into some more substantial personal projects to help promote reason and rationality. The excellent results of others' efforts in this area have made me feel like I need to buckle down and actually do stuff!

Are you signing off from the site?

1354. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130302 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 8:31 am

Presumably the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Atheists 347-9 off 50 overs.
Theists are 74-5 off 21 overs before rain. Need 278 off remaining 24 overs to win (D-L).

A McGrath and F Collins at the crease.
To bat: R Williams, A S A H Khamenei, D Robertson.

Betting: Theists looking for divine intervention

1355. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130275 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 7:59 am

Well, of course it is! It was written by one person.

Your challenge of post #130180 is therefore totally unfounded.

Now where is that evidence?

1356. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130226 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 7:24 am

If you can't, then I consider myself equally justified to quote the wise words of Elrond - from Lord of the Rings - back at you with equal authority.
Please do. Let's see if they make any sense.

The Lord of the Rings is a much more coherent work of fiction than the Bible.

I'm going to have to ask for the third time. Are you going to provide evidence for your biblical claims mentioned earlier?

1357. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130167 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 6:43 am

You really are missing out on an awful lot.
Please elucidate.

For one thing you are missing out on proper understanding of evolution by putting your lot in with the bible. Read and understand The Blind Watchmaker, it really will broaden your horizons.

Will you provide evidence for the biblical statements you have made?

1358. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130157 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 6:35 am

They cannot see past what satisfies their bodies.

Inaccurate generalisation. I think it is more that you cannot see past the bible, which is such a shame. You really are missing out on an awful lot.

1359. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130152 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 6:29 am

The Bible is the foremost authority on evolution.

Every single evolutionary biologist working today may disagree with you there son.

Good-o for posting deliberately inflammatory rubbish. You are really moving the debate along.

1360. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130141 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 6:17 am

2 Corinthians 4:4

Fiction. Please provide evidence supporting your statement.

1361. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130135 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 6:13 am

Really? Shows what you know! I have been reading the bible since I was a child

I wonder if The Bishop is really as naive as to think all atheists here have not been anywhere near the bible?

1362. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130133 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 6:10 am

They will soar on wings like eagles;

Oh right. I've wondered why every single Christian in the world is having things just peachy, while the rest of us struggle to get by.

1363. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130131 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 6:08 am

I don't think you have the courage!

Please! You have an unusual definition of what it is to be courageous. Reading a fairly muddled work of fiction is does not seem courageous to me.

1364. Why Darwin matters

Comment #130062 by Peacebeuponme on February 20, 2008 at 2:07 am

Now try leaving them behind.

I don't get your point?

1365. Why Darwin matters

Comment #129817 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 3:45 pm

A non-hostile group of friends

I got those. Next.

1366. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #129810 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 3:38 pm

I seem to be unfamiliar with this game. Care to enlighten me?

Epeeist and Irate_Atheist seem to be well matched adversaries. Of course, under the revised special rules brought out since 2000, Epeeist has had the advantage of taking west London routes many moves earlier than classic players are comfortable with:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mornington_Crescent_(game)

1367. Why Darwin matters

Comment #129804 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 3:31 pm

Programme about child preachers (under 10 as well) called "Baby Bible Bashers". Watching a small blond child preaching outside a bar as his father watches is actually pretty sad.

(Sorry, that was all off-topic.)

1368. Why Darwin matters

Comment #129799 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 3:27 pm

Steve - are you looking at Channel 4 right now?

1369. Why Darwin matters

Comment #129795 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 3:24 pm

KrisKing

I am mistrustful of cogent argument alone.

How else can we go about understanding the world and talking to each other? If its not cogent its unconvincing or irrelevant by definition?

1370. Why Darwin matters

Comment #129791 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 3:20 pm

If you ever feel like going through the Monty Hall problem with my by e-mail or PM,

Now that is something I'm going to have to do! But I'm now scared that you find it a problem when I don't! Too many glasses of wine tonight, but will have to take this up with you again.

1371. Why Darwin matters

Comment #129782 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 3:13 pm

when they are counter-intuitive (which most of them are
Interesting.

Yes, they certainly are. Even the well known mathematical problems such as the Monty Hall problem and the Boy Girl problem are truly interesting. I greatly enjoy taking an uninitiated person through those.

1372. Why Darwin matters

Comment #129775 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 3:04 pm

No offense to krisking, but I don't find his views that interesting,

What do you think he is here for though? For me, he will no more change his mind than Wooter. I agree that the views of, say, Pastor Phelps, are more interesting, because they are more unusual, but it is mildly interesting for me to consider Krisking's motive. Just posting smug rubbish (if he is doing the former as well as the latter) must get boring after a while.

At the very least the responses are being read by other theists, so its good that you provide cogent argrument even though it may not affect KK.

1373. Why do we believe in God? 2m study prays for answer

Comment #129769 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 2:58 pm

They will not attempt to solve the question of whether God exists

Dagnab it! Cos there's us thinking chucking £2m at the millennia old problem will solve it.

Though, for my money, the project couldn't proceed unless it assumed God did not exist?

1374. Fleabytes

Comment #129761 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 2:50 pm

I'll read the article soon. Paula's prose is something I enjoy reading. All I'll say for now (in the best of spirits) is that that's along way of writing "they're all full of shit".

I tried to read some theist apologist stuff a while back, but between McGrath, CS Lewis and Francis Collins, I'm not sure I can stomach any more obfuscation.

1375. Why Darwin matters

Comment #129754 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 2:41 pm

If it you are interested, you will be pleased to hear that I have finally cracked and I have today ordered a copy of "The God Delusion" . I hope it's as exciting as commentators here suggest.

I enjoyed the book, obviously, as an atheist. I think its power was maybe a bit lost on me though since it was preaching to the converted. A better book for me though is The Blind Watchmaker. I would say that will have more power to deconvert because of the fabulous way it describes biology and evlolution. His best book that I've read, though partly that's because it made me realise I hadn't fully understood evolution before.

1376. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science

Comment #129353 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 2:22 am

Steve - Stop bashing The Bishop.

(Sorry, know it was done by Johan Hari recently, but couldn't help myself)

1377. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #129350 by Peacebeuponme on February 19, 2008 at 2:18 am

A designer's intuition inserted each an animal to do their duties best to serve human beings.

Like E. Coli, the Brown Recluse Spider and the Box Jellyfish.

1378. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #128859 by Peacebeuponme on February 18, 2008 at 5:42 am

How about:

Flag as [Offensive] [Troll] [Spam] [Wooter]

?

1379. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #128856 by Peacebeuponme on February 18, 2008 at 5:31 am

I did have another idea, which was to keep track somehow of who has asked what and when.

The "Other comments by..." helps a bit in this regard, but it is still a pain to track it all though. It would be good if you could flag your comment as a response to another comment, as in some others websites.

1380. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #128850 by Peacebeuponme on February 18, 2008 at 5:11 am

At some point last year I suggested setting up a resource which would contain quick rebuttals.

Isn't this what Josh tried to do with the debate points section? Maybe tidying that up would be a good idea. I would have liked each item to be labelled as "Argument from..." and then just contain the best 2 or 3 responses from the hundreds that were made.

1381. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #128496 by Peacebeuponme on February 17, 2008 at 7:44 am

why can we no longer edit or make 2nd posts

I have to hit the refresh button to post another comment. Editing seems to still work.

1382. Feb 12th: Happy Darwin Day!

Comment #128489 by Peacebeuponme on February 17, 2008 at 7:03 am

("How did the universe come into existence?" or something like that)

Okay let me parapharase the question again lowering to your intellectual level: Who painted the paintings in the art exhibition center"
a. Black colour evolved into other colours and mixed all together by chance.
b. the artist.

I'll go for b. Your move.

1383. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #128478 by Peacebeuponme on February 17, 2008 at 5:20 am

annabanana

As I admitted earlier, I think it is my achilles heel.

Lots of women without your looks may not appreciate that! But I do know what you mean.

I think most heterosexual males here can cope with both enagaging you in respectful debate and thinking "she's fit" (even airing these thoughts in bolder moments, testostrone and all that). I wouldn't make too much of it.

I suppose it doesn't help, either, that I sometimes engage in less-than-intellectual, silly chit-chat depending on the thread.

Bollocks. I like silly chat. It lightens the mood and people should allow for both. Irate_Atheist's posts are something I always look out for (I think he actually is Ardal O'Hanlon sometimes).

1384. Ben Stein Wins Intelligent Design Money

Comment #128270 by Peacebeuponme on February 16, 2008 at 4:40 pm

Lying for Jesus seems to be a common phenomenon.

Extremely common: 100% of Christians do it.

1385. The argument from oranges

Comment #128238 by Peacebeuponme on February 16, 2008 at 3:31 pm

How to people like this manage to pass the bar?

1386. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #128230 by Peacebeuponme on February 16, 2008 at 3:23 pm

annabanana

EDIT: If I had a dollar for every time I'd gotten called naive on this site...

I think almost everybody on this site has been called naive at one time or another. Mostly as a result of the antagonist losing the argument as well it would seem.

1387. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #128228 by Peacebeuponme on February 16, 2008 at 3:16 pm

I've always said that without people like me, who actually make/do useful things for a living, all the chair-bound, middle-management, bureaucratic paper-pushers would still be living in caves and shitting in their own water supply.

And another arrogant tosser shows up. Yes, tooltroll (great name by the way, right on both counts), clearly all those who work a desk job should prostrate themselves at your feet for that you do to help them out.

Such astonishing generallising is an insult to this site.

1388. Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

Comment #128225 by Peacebeuponme on February 16, 2008 at 3:10 pm

Even having an American friend is something people keep to themselves, in fear of ridicule.

Complete tosh.

I've found the Americans I've met in Britain to be nothing but courteous, intelligent and a pleasure to be around. Jocularity aside, I can’t imagine being so pathetic as to be embarrassed by the nationality of my acquaintances.

1389. A match made on RichardDawkins.net?

Comment #128220 by Peacebeuponme on February 16, 2008 at 3:00 pm

Yorker, Veronique

Many congratulations to you both. I made a throw-away remark about a "Dawkins Dating Agency" after some banter on a thread a while back. It seems like there's some truth in that now!

1390. Debate between Richard Dawkins and Madeline Bunting

Comment #127027 by Peacebeuponme on February 14, 2008 at 5:29 pm

Diacanu - 'sup?

1391. Earliest bats did not 'see' with sound

Comment #126483 by Peacebeuponme on February 13, 2008 at 10:41 am

And two more created. Sigh.

Unfortunately while dumb creationists do not understand evolution, there will be an infinite amount of these 'gaps'.

1392. Council pays psychic for exorcism

Comment #126477 by Peacebeuponme on February 13, 2008 at 10:22 am

The council is sending out the wrong message by tolerating this nonsense.

Yes, the council is effectively affirming the existence of poltergeists. As a government department this is crazy.

1393. Why multiculturalism must be abandoned

Comment #125772 by Peacebeuponme on February 12, 2008 at 3:00 am

Would that be called reverse fascism?

Ha! Perhaps. I enjoy being facetious with people like David from time to time.

1394. Why multiculturalism must be abandoned

Comment #125758 by Peacebeuponme on February 12, 2008 at 1:49 am

The Britons have their own culture of which they can be justly proud

be proud to be British

What a queer way of thinking. I'd like to see DavidJMH list these "British qualities" of which he is "proud" (for reasons I can't fathom), to see whether:

i) they are valued by all Britons; and
ii)whether they are exclusive to Britain.

Almost every country has nationalists who claim that their "great" country is being eroded by foreign influence. There is even a sort of multi-party EU group of nationalist parties who want to get out the EU!

I say this to you Dave - get off my Island and take your backward thinking with you.

1395. Bill Maher on Larry King Live

Comment #125753 by Peacebeuponme on February 12, 2008 at 1:39 am

As someone (similar to Maher) whom believes the vast majority of diseases are due to lifestyle (and by this I do not mean simply what we eat, but how we live, i.e., vastly overpopulated and processed, unnatural foods, etc.)

Yes, you are correct. Disease is a totally modern phemonenon. As the bible says, they used to live for several hundered years back before Christ. The Romans, Carpathians, Macedons, Huns and Incas never had any trouble with disease until meddlesome western "scientists" came along.

1396. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science

Comment #125252 by Peacebeuponme on February 11, 2008 at 6:25 am

the salary will look considerably more attractive to Americans than would have been the case in the past.

Was Richard working for chump-change? ;)

1397. What he wishes on us is an abomination

Comment #125218 by Peacebeuponme on February 11, 2008 at 4:40 am

Whilst I appreciate the article I was left with one dominant thought: Yasmin if this is all so abhorrent to you why the hell are you a part of it? Just get OUT and renounce the whole rotten filthy barrel.

Exactly my thoughts on reading the article.

I have often admired the Archbishop's lofty thoughts, his intellectualism, the passion for human rights, his guts when the Government needs to be chastised.

The Archbishop should not have a special place to chastise the Government. He does not speak for the people.

1398. Charles Simonyi Professorship in the Public Understanding of Science

Comment #125146 by Peacebeuponme on February 11, 2008 at 2:56 am

Is it a case of: "materialists only need apply"? If not, I'm sure that many non-materialist candidates would be more than eligible in every other respect.

Rowan Williams perhaps?

1399. Why multiculturalism must be abandoned

Comment #125145 by Peacebeuponme on February 11, 2008 at 2:54 am

The young Hari talks a lot of sense, presenting his arguments with clarity and useful information.

I have moaned somewhat about the recent Condell video on this subject, posted on this site. I feel strongly that this is the way to do things: Hari has it right.

Excellent point. Hari's columns in the Independent are always a pleasure to read. Condell makes me cringe more often than not.

1400. Why Darwin matters

Comment #124983 by Peacebeuponme on February 10, 2008 at 3:05 pm

It is our collective position that intelligent design has no basis in science, has not been tested experimentally, and should not be regarded as scientific

And it would be so easy to get it into science. Let it make some experimental predictions. Let these predictions be supported by experience, then I will be an ID fanatic.

I'm listening to Nine Inch Nails right now and the line "Dress up this rotten carcass just to make it look alive" seems wonderfully applicable ti ID.