101. 'Atheistic fundamentalism' fears

Comment #102261 by alexmzk on December 22, 2007 at 7:58 am

i think Polly Toynbee pretty much covered this in her article.

102. For the Love of Christ

Comment #101876 by alexmzk on December 21, 2007 at 4:06 am

"If you sin, you better have the courage to bash Jesus' face in!"

103. Three wise men just legend: archbishop

Comment #101330 by alexmzk on December 20, 2007 at 8:39 am

from the timesonline article:

"The thing is, belief in Santa does not generate a moral code, it does not generate art, it does not generate imagination. Belief in God is a bit bigger than that," the Archbishop said.

104. Three wise men just legend: archbishop

Comment #101246 by alexmzk on December 20, 2007 at 6:27 am

...?

105. Dawkins: I'm a cultural Christian

Comment #99731 by alexmzk on December 17, 2007 at 12:38 pm

And the head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, said schools were wrong if they thought celebrating Christmas excluded children who were not Christian.

He said: "Christmas and the celebration of Christmas in this country, though it is a religious festival, is one in which people who are of no religion - or other religions - can share."

106. Happy Newton Day!

Comment #99688 by alexmzk on December 17, 2007 at 10:16 am

And where are these mountains of evidence?

107. Happy Newton Day!

Comment #99672 by alexmzk on December 17, 2007 at 9:37 am

Yes, amazing isn't it.....and the Bible predicted it!!

108. Synthetic DNA on the Brink of Yielding New Life Forms

Comment #99620 by alexmzk on December 17, 2007 at 7:47 am

Followed by the creation (damn that word!) of the Federation and war with the Klingons on the political front......

109. Synthetic DNA on the Brink of Yielding New Life Forms

Comment #99616 by alexmzk on December 17, 2007 at 7:38 am

mindblowing.
possibly one of the most important scientific processes ever?

110. Except for Dr. Richards cat...

Comment #99545 by alexmzk on December 17, 2007 at 3:12 am

the dog/bird looks absolutely thrilled.

111. Do the laws of God trump those of man?

Comment #99542 by alexmzk on December 17, 2007 at 3:09 am

wooter:

Before attack on religion, how do you convince yourselves that the an unborn baby developes in Mother's womb? Please without mentioning blind "blindwatchmaker. Thanks

112. Here's an improvement on democracy

Comment #98287 by alexmzk on December 13, 2007 at 12:30 pm

i imagine good education would play a part.

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

Comment #97565 by alexmzk on December 12, 2007 at 11:13 am

i don't really know what he's hoping to achieve with this. at most we'll get all the Sudan-style nutters venting their rage and attacking embassies (again) and the "moderate" Muslims in the Netherlands (probably everywhere else too) will just be very offended indeed.

114. The empty myths peddled by evangelists of unbelief

Comment #97499 by alexmzk on December 12, 2007 at 7:41 am

this guy just seems to be an out and out nihilist. what's so awful about humanism?

115. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins

Comment #96872 by alexmzk on December 11, 2007 at 3:13 am

extremely chilling, and very fucking stupid.

For most of us, including many atheists, it takes little effort to recognize how their belief that man can be reduced to his material properties (that he has no spiritual soul and therefore no sacred dignity), makes killing the innocent for political or selfish reasons a whole lot easier.

116. Atheists' sign sparks controversy

Comment #96274 by alexmzk on December 10, 2007 at 9:13 am

to be honest, it just seems confrontational for them to stick up a sign like that. it'd be reasonable enough to have an atheistic Winter Solstice type message, but this is almost like they put up the sign just to see if the locals would be offended or not.

117. The art of the soluble

Comment #95728 by alexmzk on December 9, 2007 at 3:56 am

ouch, where to start?

Ironically, these arguments break the rule of parsimony - always opt for the simplest explanation - which lies at the heart of science itself.

118. Springer opera court fight fails

Comment #94341 by alexmzk on December 5, 2007 at 11:27 am

Mr Green had said the show "clearly crossed the blasphemy threshold".

119. Nurses Told to Turn Muslims' Beds to Mecca

Comment #93977 by alexmzk on December 4, 2007 at 2:12 pm

a large part of making people better involves psychological care, surely. it may be unwittingly selfish on the part of Muslim patients, but surely it's the nurses' duty to make sure the patients are well? i imagine not being allowed to pay homage to yr patron deity would make a lot of patients feel worse?

120. Double-checking Dawkins

Comment #93045 by alexmzk on December 2, 2007 at 3:47 am

what a strange article.

121. A New Flea in Town!

Comment #92385 by alexmzk on November 30, 2007 at 11:54 am

it has a really nice cover actually. much better than most of the rest so far.

122. Papal encyclical attacks atheism, lauds hope

Comment #92334 by alexmzk on November 30, 2007 at 10:03 am

In the second encyclical of his papacy, Benedict urges Christians to put their hope for the future in God and not in technology, wealth or political ideologies.

123. Dutch lawmaker planning film criticizing the Quran

Comment #91480 by alexmzk on November 28, 2007 at 12:25 pm

to be fair, the Koran's fairly mild. really.

124. Taking Science on Faith

Comment #90407 by alexmzk on November 25, 2007 at 3:42 am

Clearly, then, both religion and science are founded on faith — namely, on belief in the existence of something outside the universe, like an unexplained God or an unexplained set of physical laws, maybe even a huge ensemble of unseen universes, too. For that reason, both monotheistic religion and orthodox science fail to provide a complete account of physical existence.

125. Tony Blair: Mention God and you're a 'nutter'

Comment #90402 by alexmzk on November 25, 2007 at 3:17 am

his belief that his decision to go to war would be judged by God

126. New Ape Fossils Found in Africa

Comment #88644 by alexmzk on November 18, 2007 at 8:39 am

i second that, Rick.
fascinating.

127. The Psychology Behind Cults/Religion

Comment #87188 by alexmzk on November 11, 2007 at 12:10 pm

extraordinary article. i recognised that description of brainwashing in my Christian friends' regimes, and indeed in my own early exposure to religion.

the key things to note are that the "cults" are now run by the "brainwashed" and that most are not aware that they are actually brainwashing people anymore.

128. The good that comes from belief

Comment #86778 by alexmzk on November 10, 2007 at 6:19 am

voluntary work is no accurate measure of selflessness. hell, i'd be doing voluntary work if i had time, but i'm at uni, working towards a degree.

129. Georgia plans service to pray for rain

Comment #86775 by alexmzk on November 10, 2007 at 6:13 am

""The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power," Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday."

i laughed out loud when i read this. Perdue could have been reading straight from the Koran at this point.

130. Church row evolves over fossil boy

Comment #86541 by alexmzk on November 9, 2007 at 1:48 pm

"Bits of it are being disproved by scientists every day,"

-same for the Bible. stop "teaching" the Bible.

131. The Turning of an Atheist

Comment #85046 by alexmzk on November 4, 2007 at 4:48 pm

very sad. and it must be painful for Prof. Flew's family that to refute the theists' exploitation of him, atheists must pointedly draw attention to his growing senility. very delicate ground.

132. I didn't know the FLEA CIRCUS was back in town!

Comment #84970 by alexmzk on November 4, 2007 at 11:35 am

you'd think that if the apologetics had a valid response, one book would suffice. the Bible made a pretty awful case in the first place.

133. Tests of faith over 'The Golden Compass'

Comment #83569 by alexmzk on October 30, 2007 at 12:53 pm

from the FAQ on Pullman's own website:

"Q.You have run into criticism from certain religious groups who regard you as subversive, with the Catholic Herald describing your work as 'worthy of the bonfire.' Do such emotional responses concern or upset you or does it please you to generate strong reactions?

A.I'm delighted to have brought such excitement into what must be very dull lives."

134. Tests of faith over 'The Golden Compass'

Comment #83336 by alexmzk on October 29, 2007 at 5:51 pm

"Earlier this month, he [William Donohue] called on Christians to boycott the movie because it will "seduce" parents into buying Pullman's "pro-atheist" book."

"fucktard" is not strong enough. if people were boycotting a film for being pro-catholic, there'd be outrage.
i really feel that the Dark Materials trilogy did a lot to help me feel i could actually criticise religion when i read it as a teenager. the books are not explicitly anti-Catholic, but they certainly put forward loads of philosophy that's amazing to read at that age. it's upsetting that they're removing the religious element from the film - almost like undermining Pullman's credibility by turning it into a straight-out fantasy film for kids.

135. Evolution to be taught in SA schools

Comment #82884 by alexmzk on October 28, 2007 at 5:59 am

"The video traces the origin of tiny prehistoric humans somewhere on an Indonesian island. They are depicted as short and dark-skinned people. This offended some black teachers. They said that evolution was a racist theory. It "terribly undermines black people, everything bad gets a black colour. It means blacks were apes," they said."

well, the ancestors of humanity were likely black - is this offensive? if you take offence at history, it won't change history. it's not like our ancestors were "dark-skinned" on purpose just to make modern Africans feel uncomfortable.

136. Face to faith

Comment #82882 by alexmzk on October 28, 2007 at 5:53 am

"i'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance anyday."

scientific wonder is not simply the wonder of looking at puzzles.

137. Don't write off religion - it can be the key to a stable family

Comment #82630 by alexmzk on October 27, 2007 at 3:30 am

"I personally have very little religious belief. I love some religious liturgy in the same way that I love poetry, the music in a synagogue can do powerful things to me, and the enduring ritual I find moving."

she's not religious, she's just self-consciously middle-class. she seems to be making sure her point of view is not fully one thing or t'other, with the result that she misconstrues Dawkins' original point as a threat to the wellbeing of her family.

138. That's not MY God or Religion you're criticising

Comment #81882 by alexmzk on October 25, 2007 at 10:44 am

if you do not believe in God as described in the Bible - warts and all - then perhaps you are not as Christian as you thought you were? perhaps your God is some vague arbitrary construction for which you lack even the paltry evidence of Scripture to justify His(?) existence?

139. The God Delusion and Alister E McGrath

Comment #81811 by alexmzk on October 25, 2007 at 8:24 am

you have to admire his compulsion to agree with anyone he wants to please. especially when he makes the mistake of misconstruing the point, agreeing with it for a while, and then when he's told his mistake, agrees with the opposite point also.

140. Harper's Index

Comment #74878 by alexmzk on October 1, 2007 at 1:34 am

interestingly, i bought myself the Koran from Waterstones recently, and although it was firmly in the "religion" section, the back cover states it's "NON-FICTION/HISTORY". this is a copy published by Harper Collins.

141. Harper's Index

Comment #74782 by alexmzk on September 30, 2007 at 12:17 pm

how high did the Bible rank?

142. Out of Thin Air

Comment #72975 by alexmzk on September 23, 2007 at 4:51 pm

on the website, i like "Out of Thin Air - Coming Sept 28, 2007".

is it still coming "out of thin air" if they give us a week's warning, or is the air of anticipation detrimental to their campaign? maybe i'm reading too much into it.

as an afterthought, the National Geographic article includes an interesting statistic:
"According to a Gallup poll drawn from more than a thousand telephone interviews conducted in February 2001, no less than 45 percent of responding U.S. adults agreed that "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so."

is there a correlation between gullibility and whether or not you respond to a telephone poll?

143. Religion advances despite science (and thanks to Dawkins)

Comment #72974 by alexmzk on September 23, 2007 at 4:47 pm

"SHRILL!"

i didn't read any further.

144. Poll: Are Dawkins and Hitchens good for humanism?

Comment #72798 by alexmzk on September 23, 2007 at 2:08 am

from the age of about 13 i took a sort of Jonathon Miller style atheism of just not even bothering to assert that i didn't believe in gods.
reading the God Delusion ignited a new interest in Atheism and Humanism for me.

so yes, Richard Dawkins at least helped me onto Humanism.

145. Crisis of faith in first secular school

Comment #72795 by alexmzk on September 23, 2007 at 1:57 am

"Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, said: 'The majority of schools do not have a religious character, and are not affiliated to any faith group.""

this is twisting the point. while they're not affiliated to any faith, most British schools are openly Christian. at both primary schools i went to as a kid, and then at my high school too, we were expected to pray (in Christian terms) in all assemblies, and had to go to church to sing hymns at Christmas (we could only object to hymn-singing on religious grounds, ie, if we were of another religion, not including atheism).
if we objected to hymn-singing, they had a single classroom for any non-christians to sit in and wait til service was over. we had regular visits from an exceptionally naive minister who would give long talks about the nature of God (which would often extend into classtime). we were given Bibles in first year of high school (we were eleven!) by the Gideon Society.
it was very much a Christian type of free will - agree with us, or get shut up in another room til we're finished.

146. Row Brews Over DUP Call for Schools to Teach Creationism

Comment #72644 by alexmzk on September 22, 2007 at 4:18 am

this is a bit worryingly close to home. while it seems that faith schools are starting to fall out of favour in the US, over here in the UK, people seem to be on the brink of accepting them as a good idea.
very worrying indeed.

147. Yes, it's a Hobbit. The debate that has divided science is solved at last (sort of)

Comment #72641 by alexmzk on September 22, 2007 at 4:10 am

"There is a lot at stake. One group of people are going to be 100% wrong in what they have said, which is a situation that is rare in science," he said. "It will be a fascinating test case for science. Will the people who turn out to be wrong hold their position to the bitter end regardless of the evidence that accumulates?"


http://creationwiki.org/Main_Page

148. Why Christians should take Richard Dawkins seriously

Comment #72389 by alexmzk on September 21, 2007 at 12:38 am

the God that Mr Skinner believes in is clearly not the God of the Bible if it is truly as he describes it (or more acurately- how he fails to describe it).

149. Critical Analysis of Case for a Creator

Comment #72157 by alexmzk on September 20, 2007 at 12:46 pm

my personal favourite part is Strobel's anecdote about him smashing the toy train against the floor in an effort to find out how it worked. such an elegant analogy for his approach to science.

150. Oxford's Christian colleges 'are not suitable for school-leavers'

Comment #71540 by alexmzk on September 19, 2007 at 1:58 am

"The report will be seen as an attack on the evangelical wing of the Church of England, which draws intellectual credibility from the association of one of its colleges, Wycliffe Hall, with Oxford."

come again?