251. Fleabytes

Comment #148479 by phasmagigas on March 23, 2008 at 7:03 am

plagioclase

When the Gospel of Christ came to that area the worship of the Creator God replaced the worship of idols, Local tribes turned away from practicing witchcraft and from observing occult arts. Headhunting and cannibalism ceased almost overnight.

i'll agree that cannibalism and headhunting are not nice, certainly for the 'subject' but you sound naive when you mention that witchcraft and occult arts were no longer practiced as if they had a sound basis anyway (a bit like that poor woman in saudi accused of witchcraft just because some guy cannot get an erection anymore, funny that its not his problem or even gods, its hers-superstitions suck eitherway)

You would have made a good missionary. BTW, this creator god you mention, they probably had one to begin with and their god had probably been around in their cultures for way longer than the one that i assume is yours, dont you see the silliness of it all?

obviously not.

im also sure its possible to reduce headhunting etc without pushing jesus onto people, im sure the same effect could be achieved with islam, although given one or two recent admittedly isolated incidents, that might not be the case. i bet a simple 'dont headhunt and well give you this radio, it has spirits inside it' could work too.

252. Fleabytes

Comment #148474 by phasmagigas on March 23, 2008 at 6:50 am

Spoof? Not really. My business partner supplied the earlier posts: his scattergun use of the aposstrophe was very useful,

im a bit behind here, so pathfinders posts are by 2 different people??

253. Fleabytes

Comment #148468 by phasmagigas on March 23, 2008 at 6:41 am

pathfinder

You seem to think it knows it NOW, and forever. I find this disturbing, as you clearly do not follow your own tentative methodology,

you are putting words in to peoples mouths and then using that as a basis to argue against them, very, very poor form.

you completely LOST SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT a "non-scientific" cure was STILL effected on a dangerous illness. (Unless, of course, there was no disease in the first place!)

in all your posts you have made the concessions of saying 'if' regarding the cure etc but thats what i do all the time, you are pretending to be reasonable when you are postulating something very unlikely as a possible cause and then shouting people down if they dont want to consider it.

Its like me saying that the flu i had last month was actually a punishment from a tree spirit after i urinated against a tree whilst camping, its a possibility isnt it??? it could also be a virus or maybe the affect of eating a bad diet for 4 months beforehand, there are an infinite # of possibilities, for the sake of pragmatism though im not going to start assuming that it is a tree spirit and i wouldnt expect anybody else to either....given the evidence.

254. No Admission for Evolutionary Biologist at Creationist Film

Comment #148117 by phasmagigas on March 22, 2008 at 6:07 am

US documentaries are arguably weak in comparison to their UK counterparts so this one is going to be awful as it style AND content will likely be flawed. (i say likely as ive not seen it, im sure our library will get it in like they also have the priveleged planet, not seen that either)

255. No Admission for Evolutionary Biologist at Creationist Film

Comment #148116 by phasmagigas on March 22, 2008 at 6:02 am

Dr. Dawkins, who like everyone was asked to present identification, said he offered his British passport, which lists him as Clinton Richard Dawkins.

OMG, so dickie is really a clinton!! so hes hidden his first name from us, thats deception, so therefore god must exist right??

some fundie somewheres going to say that so i best them to it.

256. I suppose it's due ('Expelled' review)

Comment #147988 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 6:03 pm

zaphod

Although I enjoy Richard's books they never convinced me that the theory of evolution is the best theory for how the variety of life on this planet came to be and that evolution happened.

the 'best' theory? you know of another???

257. Fleabytes

Comment #147984 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 5:55 pm

" What facts? What evidence? "

.." Twenty year-old testimonial... "

" all I see are words in a post "

You know, in the interests of courtesy, you might have told me a while ago you weren't going to believe a word I said.

WOFT. Not just gonna throttle back but reverse over the pier.

well its good to know you have a sense of humour!

258. EXPELLED!

Comment #147980 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 5:45 pm

Uh, no, you douchebag, Dr. Dawkins has been in this country for weeks now, making appearances. He didn't come to America just to see your IDiotic film!

haha, a pity dawkins didnt turn up in a snorkel and flippers and said that he'd swam there.

259. Fleabytes

Comment #147968 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 5:02 pm

The scientific method, as espoused by some on RD net: take the least possible hypothesis, elevate it to the level of a religion, cravenly genuflect before the altar of "objectivity" and "empirical truth". ignore all the facts, all the evidence, repeat all your failed hypotheses, even though they've been shot down 20 times and, Voila! The truth! Then : stagger through a sea of corpses.

pathfinder, you are getting desperate now and sounding ridiculous. you want us to accept a 20 year old testimonial about some witchdoctors branding cure for some guy we know nothing of, or you for that matter. ignore all the facts you say, well technically there are none.

260. Fleabytes

Comment #147964 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 4:50 pm

Hepatitis can be caused by: viruses, other critters, obstruction, meds, toxins, etc. Oh, did I say that already?

so some hepatitis could theoretically vanish without any intervention at all?

assuming of course it was even hepatitis.

261. Fleabytes

Comment #147940 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 4:15 pm

4. Hep A, B, C, D, E, CMV, EBV, HIV, etc., etc.
5. Other critters
6. Drugs
7. Toxins
8. Obstruction - e.g., gallstones, tumor
9. Hemolysis - sickle cell, thalassemia, etc.
10. God

dr benway, you importantly missed out 'curse'.

262. Fleabytes

Comment #147938 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 4:13 pm

I know several aid workers in the Sudan. What is the point? Is that the miracle?

severe but funny.

263. I suppose it's due ('Expelled' review)

Comment #147928 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 3:44 pm

hopefully they wont 'review' this film on 'the view' ive never seen the view, just heard about it, and thats enough.

they could call that segment 'stoopid meets stoopid'

264. Fleabytes

Comment #147915 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 3:10 pm

Look, I'm in favor of conventional medicine. I believe homeopathy, acupuncture etc. is mostly NONSENSE. But I am at a loss to explain how, when conventional medicine fails ( I am not adducing my father's example here) those who have turned to "holistic" therapies have been cured. As in my Ethiopia/Sudan example. How? God? Possibly not. I HAVEN'T A CLUE. But I think it's somewhat hubristic to think you have, too. Is it TOO much to demand - OK, REQUEST - a little evidence from your side? Onus on me? Well, I've done the best I can! Is that so unfair?

pathfinder. you are wasting your time here trying to persude people that there is the potential for supernatural intervention with the hep case you saw and your father, you need to try to persuade the medical establishment, as you agree conventional medicine works (well, you said words to that effect) you must realise that there are doctors out there who are passionate about peoples lives (as opposed to drug companies who want us all on drug X).

why not tell the great hep specialists about the african witchdoctor, see how far you get there. At the moment your witchdoc is in the same league as the homeopathists.

when you talk of 'holistic' cures you sound naive, I can think of dozens of times when ive had an unexplained ache or pain, a skin complaint etc, they have all just gone on their own, had i ran to the health food shop and got some homeopathic cure for headaches i could easily have been conned into believing that $20 bottle of chalk (or whatever it is)actually got rid of the headache. for the danegrs of this type of nonsense consider the plight of that saudi woman (if shes still alive) who has been accused of withcraft, made some bloke impotent, sounds like the bloke (again) has some issue with his libido.

265. Fleabytes

Comment #147908 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 2:59 pm

billysands:

True, but many of them just are not competent either

for sure. Knowing the workings of the body which has approx 7 billion variants alongside all the ways in which it goes wrong from within and from external causes be it trauma, other organisms, poison etc is an impossible task even for the most gifted, then theres that whole hands on thing, a doc might know the ins and outs of your thoraic cavity but be a clumsy oaf when it comes to putting a needle in your arm.

266. Fleabytes

Comment #147892 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 2:10 pm

I've taught medics, and my advice is dont get ill

interesting, ive never assumed that docs get it right, those who do are deluded, thats because science is tentative as we know, advice on even common issues can be various from several docs, a slightly high cholesterol reading one says do more exercise, one says go onto medications now, one says 'you'll be ok' just watch the egg yolks, and im sure theres others even wondering if theres any issue with cholosterol anyway??

do we need juju then, of course not.

267. Fleabytes

Comment #147883 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 1:46 pm

Doctors misdiagnosed my parents: specialists, consultants, experts with inflated salaries that would make El Fayed blanch. God help me if I were in the care of SOME of those on RD net. But then I deserve it anyway, don't I?

technicians make mistakes every day be they car mechanics or brain surgeons, mistakes on their parts do not constitute evidence for gods/spirits/ressurections.

bad luck that both your parents were misdiagnosed.

its a strange affair how people expect doctors to get it right, i never assume that what any given doctor tells me is actually right, i simply assume that they PROBABLY have it right and go from there, im not going to suddenly start invoking buju bodji magic just in case they are wrong.

pathfinder, you are starting to sound like a full on weirdo.

268. Fleabytes

Comment #147878 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 1:39 pm

Give me an ALTERNATIVE hypothesis that is just as plausible,

just as plausible, as what, that a buju spirit cured the guy?

or maybe it was the hidjeh spirit, i need to read up on those, theres not much between them, only those with the 'knowing' can tell.

269. Fleabytes

Comment #147800 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 9:36 am

With regard to exorcisms: well, I've seen one performed, in Romania, by the Romanian Orthodox. Could have been fakery, of course. I have seen withchdoctors at work in East Africa. One in particular impressed me, as I was able to observe the effects OVER TIME, and on a westerner. It involved a "cure" for hepatitis A, when said person's six-month insurance from gamma-globulin ran out. The witchdoctor effected a "cure" by branding the guy on the arms. Later, no jaundice, no piss the color of Pepsi - a complete cure. He could even drink alcohol! Placebo effect? Maybe, but wouldn't it be wiser GENERALLY to suspend judgement before you dismiss anything faintly smacking of the supernatural?

a new paradigm, my friend with hep should know about this one, wheres the nearest rough cut runway??

yesterday it was brought to my attention that a particular child had its cold cured by a nice salt bath 'it worked' said the mother. i just smiled and left it at that.

270. Fleabytes

Comment #147786 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 8:43 am

You know, I think Pathfinder may have produced evidence for resurrection at last. Just look at how he used to post when he first graced us with his presence:

i noticed a lot of er, inconsistency a bit back, i mentioned that PF was a 'wind up merchant' and i still feel thats a good description.

271. Fleabytes

Comment #147783 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 8:38 am

THURS. 15 Pray for Dr Richard Dawkins, a confirmed and aggressive atheist, who has a lot of input in the media. Maybe through our prayers he will come to know with certainty and with joy the God he now thinks is 'a delusion'.

FRI. 16 Remember too Rev David Robertson, Dundee, who is responding in open letters to Richard Dawkins' book,
'The God Delusion'. Pray that he will be given clarity in
his presentation and that the Lord will open hearts and
minds to His Truth.

truly pathetic, pass me the sick bucket..again.

272. EXPELLED!

Comment #147775 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 8:21 am

plagioclase

I can't wait to see Richard in the film. I've heard that in it he entertains the idea that life was seeded from space--panspermia. That will be interesting to see because, if so, the creationists will say that Richard agrees that the origin of life on earth is impossible

if life on this planet was seeded from another it doesnt change a single thing, simply that life would have started on some other planet.

to suggest that lifes origin on this planet is impossible but it is on others is absurd, i suppose quote mines and love for jesus provide ample sauce for tomfoolery.

273. Fleabytes

Comment #147766 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 8:09 am

Are you so sure there? There are crucified ninnies being carted around as we speak in celebration of the Cosmic Jewish Zombie holiday. I think I would classify that as even more stupid.

well i suppose they are crucifying themselves and praying at the same time. to think, had the full moon been at a different time they could have delayed the pain until later, oh the sillynesss of it all.

274. EXPELLED!

Comment #147765 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 8:06 am

After seeing the picture of the group after the screening (via http://amused-muse.blogspot.com/2008/03/expelled-from-expelled.html) It's obvious why no one took notice of Dawkins. His trench coat was the perfect disguise!
Though seriously, I now know what it feels like to be both in laughter and in tears at the same time, and I was just at a funeral with much laughter and tears. Here's hoping that this all plays out to the benefit (if even just a little) of finally showing off just what kind of deluded people these ID people are.

this who thing is a like a monty python sketch. can you image next time, dawkins sneaking around with his trechcoat on and his false moustache and then getting hitchens to create a big rouse at the door standing there gesticulating with a big bottle in his hand.

275. Fleabytes

Comment #147760 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 7:57 am

Well at least they are praying, it keeps them from doing anything useful.

change out 'useful' to 'even more stupid'

276. Fleabytes

Comment #147758 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 7:53 am

I do find it interesting that no one doubts the content of the Iliad (written at the end of a long period of oral transmission in song - got that from Melvyn Bragg) yet have extreme doubts over much more reliable ancient documents (EG the Bible).

ehh? this is really weird, why do you think anybody here accept the illiad as some truthful historic account?? this sounds like typical believer desperation.

'he doesnt believe in the bible but he reads those HP lovecraft stories, what does that tell us about him? see, hes just as religious as we are and god exists, all say 'god exists'.

277. Fleabytes

Comment #147747 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 7:28 am

tistinchcombe

Well, I seemed to recall hearing mention of Ellen Degeneres (hence the 'degenerate' bit) in relation to Hurricane Katrina, and a moments Googling revealed this:
http://www.datelinehollywood.com/archives/2005/09/05/robertson-blames-hurricane-on-choice-of-ellen-deneres-to-host-emmys/
Should have guessed it was some loony comment, in this case from none other than Pat Robertson!

thanks for that. eitherway if i assume that pathfiner accepts this as a valid bit of evidence for gods existence then he/she embodies one of the reasons why i carry a sick bucket around with me.

A riduculous assumption to begin with and one which seems to satisfy that very fragile male ego (if pathfinder is a man), if the flood was due to a lesbian being at the emmys maybe god should have done it in a rather less ambiguous way and had her carried off by two brutish, very manly, winged angels to 'show her the error of her ways'.

278. Fleabytes

Comment #147735 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 7:04 am

You do not get life from non-life. Not one of the New Atheist writers even attempts to answer the question - how do you get life from non-life?

oh dear, we'd better scorn harris and hitchens for not including a chapter on abiogenesis, they are experts on that subject. the evo/abiogenesis equivalence is getting as silly as the 'no transitional fossils' bit.

its amazing how the religious mind can say 'science is finding it difficult to explain things that happened about 5 billion (or whenever it was) years ago so you are therefor wrong and goddidit' a bit like the wise men of times gone by who assumed that volcanoes were angry gods. the god of the chasm argument

sheesh, yesterday during the course of general conversations with various people in my neighbourhood the following things were brougt uop in the conversations in various ways:salt baths to get rid of a cold, plants used for homeopathy, praying so one could have a baby....

anyway, i just keep quiet, nobody was forcing any of those on me.

279. Fleabytes

Comment #147724 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 6:46 am

clearthinker

The vast majority of people in Britan are not Christians because they are growing up in a secular society where atheist myths are generally believed

hmm, funny how every kid in the UK has to go through prayer and often hymn singing EVERY school morning.

Every morning we would recite the lords prayer and sing the likes of:

'who put the colours in the rainbow..
'who put the cold into the snowflake..
'who made cats and rats and bats...

lets just say the answer wasnt 'evolutionary processes'.

Also:

'god is love, god is truth, god is beauty, praise him'.

and of course easter and christmas it was more prayers and more singing. This was outside our useful comparative and compulsory religious education classes.

this was years before id even heard of evolution or had any notion of science.

unfortunately we were never introduced to the Maori creation myth and stories so im actually wondering if we were shortchanged and maybe that is actually the greatest insight into truth known to man, hmm.

atheist 'myths'. i dont quite get that, its a bit like reading some random nonsense on a piece of paper then showing a blank piece of paper and the believer of the nonsense (that they have been exposed to) saying 'ughh, thats the nonsense that you believe in, its not the same as mine'. maybe its a bit like those 'nessyless myths' regarding the disbelief of the loch ness monster yes? or the 'nopixiesincornwall' myths regarding the disbelief in cornish pixies. please take time to explain a few of the atheist myths.



clearthinker, I believe you are talking nonsense.

280. Fleabytes

Comment #147713 by phasmagigas on March 21, 2008 at 6:36 am

Ever heard of a child prodigy, a 13-year-old artist called Akiane? Visit YouTube. God speaks through her.

eh, so a kid paints pictures so god exists. erm, im not quite sure on that one, had she painted a large beast with an octopus head would that mean cthulhu was buried under the pacific somewhere?

New Orleans Flood: divine disapproval of that Degenerate woman.

so which woman is that? am i missing some satire here? or can it be confirmed in my mind that the religious mind can truly be dispicable?

281. Religion 'linked to happy life'

Comment #146133 by phasmagigas on March 18, 2008 at 4:45 pm

its likely to do with being part of a large community all slapping each others backs.

It could also be a case of ignorance is bliss, I looked at the new 'non fiction' section of our library today and just about every book was religion, pseudoscience (one on atlantis and alien DNA manipulation stood out! FUCKING BULLSHIT, in the non fiction!!!)or those lifestyle books, there wasnt a single book there useful to myself (actually there was a couple on cooking so thats OK), so i felt a bit pissed off, whereas a believer in bullshit of any variety would have found it wonderful!!

282. Fleabytes

Comment #145820 by phasmagigas on March 18, 2008 at 7:17 am

The Joy of Sex (part's One & Two... filth from beginning to end AND my copies fell apart)

im all for a joke but im not sure of the point of imitation on this site.

Ill used copies, you should find the pages tend to get stuck together over time.

283. In Britain, creationist theory is evolving

Comment #145580 by phasmagigas on March 17, 2008 at 6:20 pm

pathfinder is surely a wind up merchant, ignore.

284. The Great Tantra Challenge

Comment #144776 by phasmagigas on March 16, 2008 at 5:53 pm

the problem is that he used butter oil and wheat flour, it should have been ground quinoa oil and soy flour.

i remember doing a ouija board when i as 19 with a gang of friends, it was for a laugh, i wanted to see if anything happend, i just KNEW nothing would happen, and of course it didnt! doh.

285. In Britain, creationist theory is evolving

Comment #144760 by phasmagigas on March 16, 2008 at 5:36 pm

lee,

you make some fair points and you are well aware of the teaching situation with a PGCE. the head of science in question could have ripped the creationist literature a new asshole but she simply threw it away, it wasnt supposed to be in the school in the first place, it had no place there and was rightly put in the recycle.

no mattter how well a teacher could show the inadequacies of creationism to pupils many are going to reject it anyway as we see the world over. because it can oppose religious beliefs it becomes contentious way above that which it should. It would be great if the creationist idea could be mentioned (as it was) but then have it ripped apart bit by bit but unless a consistently effective teaching method was used it could prove counter productive. Its not even something that could be realistically implemented except with upper ability kids, its difficult enough as it is to get the basics of heredity and evo to the lower/middle kids.

another point, getting really creation savvy isnt easy, im not sure every teacher would have anywhere near enough time or inclination to start identifying false arguments and bogus information, I agree that it would be great to get the kids 'evo savvy' from the onset but it could be asking to much from an already saturated timetable.

interestingly if evolution occupied a more prominent position in the biol curriculum instead of being tagged on at the end in year 11 there could well be a case of looking at the 'contentions' but only from a historical/social viewpoint.

286. In Britain, creationist theory is evolving

Comment #144719 by phasmagigas on March 16, 2008 at 4:36 pm

leeC

I disagree... the best "possible way" would be to use the material in class as a critical reading exercise. Students need to be taught how to read this stuff with a smile :)

im not sure, even mentioning it is a bad idea unless you are very good teacher who knows evolution very well.

Not all science or even biol teachers know evo that well (one could argue that they should!) its like making an omlette, its very easy to do but also easy to get wrong.

A teacher not experienced in creationist arguments might find themselves in a compromised position if they are asked an anti evolution question they cannot answer well.

creationsim was mentioned in the curriculum a few years ago (still now??) but only in historic context of what people generally accepted in times past. The notion of special critical thinking components to lessons is almost impossible in the average UK school and it is dangerous to include creation ideas there as its contentious anyway and bullshit to begin with. why not something like the history of the knowledge of the earths interior as an alternative.

i'll take this a bit further and say that there is a distict possibility that the 'contention' of evolution could reach a critical mass and become a major bugbear for the UK's muslim component, unfortunate that the simple most impressive bit of deductive reasoning from any person could be demonised because it is a natural focal point for anti western/pro religious ideals.

this is useful of course:

http://www.ase.org.uk/htm/homepage/notes_news/oct2007/ScienceEduc_IntelliDesign_Creationism.pdf

says ID isnt science and shouldnt be presented even as a 'controversy'.

good.

287. In Britain, creationist theory is evolving

Comment #144699 by phasmagigas on March 16, 2008 at 4:04 pm

a few years ago i was talking to a head of science of a UK school, she had received some creationist material through the mail and went ballistic, she made sure it was used in the best possible way......via the recycle bin.

288. In Britain, creationist theory is evolving

Comment #144696 by phasmagigas on March 16, 2008 at 3:58 pm

what a laugh, i'd like to see the answers in genesis brigade trying to influence majority islamic schools in the UK.

id be suprised if the vast majority of science teachers in the UK are not totally opposed to teaching creationsim in the UK. what a fucking joke, can you imagine that in the curriculum, i mean, just what would it actually include???? sweet fuck all.

theres no time as it stands to get the basics of science into the heads of kids anyway never mind throwing myths at them too.

lets keep that in those nice RE lesson that the UK has.

there is no way this will actually be realised, remember the religious mind is very good at wishful thinking.

289. The atheist delusion

Comment #144210 by phasmagigas on March 15, 2008 at 10:39 am

There is an inheritance of anthropocentrism, the ugly fantasy that the Earth exists to serve humans, which most secular humanists share

i have never met anybody who I would call a humanist who thought that, that is pure bollocks.

The attempt to eradicate religion, however, only leads to it reappearing in grotesque and degraded forms. A credulous belief in world revolution, universal democracy or the occult powers of mobile phones is more offensive to reason than the mysteries of religion, and less likely to survive in years to come.

better the devil you know??

290. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #144129 by phasmagigas on March 15, 2008 at 6:46 am

the offended woman, she was the one who had contemplated if we were descended from a fish, an ape or even a rock! yup, she needs to do a bit of reading.

291. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #144110 by phasmagigas on March 15, 2008 at 5:40 am

When the caller said there were no transitional fossils, rather than say oh yes there are, why not go though some examples. I would have listed for example the whale transitional forms such as Pakacetus, Amobolocetus,Basilosaurus etc;explaining why they are transitional. This is may not convince the true believers but it might help sway the fence sitters.

when the 'no transitional fossils' rears its idiotic head I think Richard could spend more time going over the basics, indeed he did say that all fossils are transitional (if they leave descendents) and mentions Tiktaalic. I think as this is one of the most obvious and easily disprovable lies out there it deserves extra minutes. creationists have this funny idea that theres just a handful of fossils that are supposed transitionals, they dont know about the 1000's of invert transitional forms, eg trilobits, microfossils, urchins etc. Richard needs to press home there are 1000's of transitional fossils for many, many groups of animals and needs to challenge the listeners to actually visit a museum and ask to see them, they need to be told that the curator WONT run away and say 'oh, well, erm, we dont have any.....' unless of course they mistakenly go to that silly place in kentucky.

292. Richard Dawkins on The Alan Colmes Show

Comment #144095 by phasmagigas on March 15, 2008 at 4:40 am

talking about the adverts. im a brit living in the USA and i'll say that advertisements on radio and TV are unsophisticated and unbearable, they do little but turn me away from a product! i mention my being a brit as of course there are horrible advertisements in the UK but i feel that generally those in the Uk are a bit more sophisticated (whatever that means).

you know that reaction most people have when you draw your nails over a chalkboard......

293. Beauty ad banned after Christian outcry

Comment #142543 by phasmagigas on March 12, 2008 at 5:04 pm

During "erotic things" is the only time I like to hear the Mrs. talk about god.

hahah, quite true, im sure we've all heard 'oh jesus' 'oh christ' 'oh god' during intimate sessions and that applies to both men and women (and they are the polite words!)

294. Seven new deadly sins: are you guilty?

Comment #141602 by phasmagigas on March 10, 2008 at 8:28 pm

so drinking alcohol is a sin too it seems. oops!

295. Seven new deadly sins: are you guilty?

Comment #141599 by phasmagigas on March 10, 2008 at 8:19 pm

wearing a condom puts your soul in mortal danger.

what a bunch of diseased, flaccid old farts. they are a fucking disgrace, thats all i can say, just what type of issues have those guys got, does it boil down to repressed homosexuality?

296. Should Galileo's tomb be opened for DNA tests?

Comment #141583 by phasmagigas on March 10, 2008 at 6:20 pm

you ever saw 'the creeping flesh' with Cushing and Lee? watch that and then think about messing with a long dead finger!!

297. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #141531 by phasmagigas on March 10, 2008 at 3:04 pm

Gay Jesus?


lol - I thought the same thing.

weird, so did i!! then again its not difficult to look at that picture and think 'gay jesus'

298. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #141244 by phasmagigas on March 10, 2008 at 7:49 am

That is not a study of supernatural things though. That is the study of people. We can test claims that proport to effect the physical world, if the claim involves testable and predictable situtations. Which isn't the same thing as testing supernatural and non-physical things

is that some type of cop out??

if the prayed to groups brain tumors all vanished overnight would you say that was a study of people or something supernatural? one could say that its the peoples minds that cause the effect, of course that would be indistinguishable from saying goddidit through them.

but guess what? unless im mistaken its been shown that prayer (double blind being prayed to) has no positive effect on patients, so theres not a lot to say about it.

what you say is of course right (unless im missing the point)as by definition you cant study the non physical, basically its a crock of bullshit and thats why i dont pray.

299. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #141224 by phasmagigas on March 10, 2008 at 7:18 am

its a great shame that the original topic of the salamanders tale has been boiled down to newts tongues and bubbling baby fat again.

300. The Salamander's Tale

Comment #141219 by phasmagigas on March 10, 2008 at 7:14 am

critical rationalism isn't the only philosophical position

'rationalism' is rather useful though, if an intruder to your home shoots you in the chest and the meds say 'oh dear, we need to get that bullet from the left lung to stop this guy from dying within the hour' you wouldnt realistically say 'no, no, its not a bullet, thats your rationalist assumption, no, no, its not 'left' thats a rationalist assumption, no,no, its not a lung, thats a rationalist assumption, an hour, whats an hour, thats a silly rationalist assumption, leave me alone, leave me alone.

Against their better rationalist judgement the meds would not leave you alone.