301. Bad Faith Awards: Vote for the winner now

Comment #94677 by kaiserkriss on December 6, 2007 at 8:47 am

Surely the award has to go to that despicable Archbishop Chim(p)oio.

DimwitDD would just boast about this honour. The Rat is living in another world (probably the next one in his mind)

The General should lead his troops into battle, rather than spout such drivel. (Same goes for those Pentagon bible thumpers)

As for the rest, they are all small potatoes compared with some of the other potential nominees outside of the British Isles...jcw

302. Fear of censure deflects The Golden Compas

Comment #94354 by kaiserkriss on December 5, 2007 at 12:48 pm

Now that the intolerant Catholic league of America has suggested boycotting this movie, I just HAVE to see it. Will probably wait for it to come out on dvd and rent it though..

Re Brian' question: 0, 2 and 5.. Zero, because I've never read any of Pulman's works.jcw

303. Papal encyclical attacks atheism, lauds hope

Comment #93594 by kaiserkriss on December 3, 2007 at 3:57 pm

Northern Bright: That is BRILLIANT!, the thud you heard was me falling off my chair laughing! jcw

304. Fear of Barbara Forrest

Comment #93309 by kaiserkriss on December 2, 2007 at 4:13 pm

Has anyone received a reply from TEA? My guess is they will just ignore email complaints, since they are not part of the "formal" process as indicated on their website. jcw

305. Papal encyclical attacks atheism, lauds hope

Comment #93303 by kaiserkriss on December 2, 2007 at 4:05 pm

Please excuse the pun, however this is just more PAPAL BULL!! jcw

306. Daniel Dennett Debates Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #93177 by kaiserkriss on December 2, 2007 at 11:27 am

Dr Benway Re your comment 246. I'm not sure if it was in response to my comment 245, however if it was, I "think" you missed the point I was trying to make.

DDD has recently debated the leaders, if you prefer the more vociferous published atheists to presumably promote his books about religion and belief. When cutting to the bare bones in each of these debates, he continues to use the same arguments and style from previous debates, and does not seem to have understood or personally grown from these experiences, judging by his continued use of the same script.

If these were genuinely debates of reason, with no ulterior motive,(such as financial gain) one would expect to see some new arguments put forward, and some growth in the argument, rather than the same old, excuse the expression, "hogwash" put forward in the same style. This style is preaching or a lecture, but not a debate with give and take and counter arguments.

DDD is gifted to do well under the current format. Will he do as well when held accountable to his arguments in a different format?? Currently the format of these debates is stacked to his strengths, namely spewing forth retoric, half truths and outright misinformation at the rate of 20 per minute!!

By the way, I'm not trying to be patronizing here, however I ALWAYS enjoy your excellent comments, insights and command of the English language. jcw

307. Daniel Dennett Debates Dinesh D'Souza

Comment #93140 by kaiserkriss on December 2, 2007 at 10:00 am

It's all about money! DDD is using the same tactic and arguments over and over again, not learning from any of his "debates" with rationalists.

No doubt under the current format these debates take place, DDD can get away with these less than honest tactics, but is it really helping the world in moving forward by constantly regurgitating the same old arguments by pandering to a "debate" style that allows these arguments to go unchallenged? I would agree with those on this forum who suggest these types of debate are a waste of time and resources. So it boils down to MONEY.

The dishonest debate approach which can be rationalized by the faithful needs to be replaces with something more effective and more modern. This has nothing to do with substance, but rather style. DDD is a great "debater", albeit a dishonest one who is allowed to get away with hid dishonesty. He also seems to crave the limelight, so don't give him an audience and the limelight.

By debating DDD, he is given credibility, so marginalize him, and he together with his arguments will wither and go away. jcw

308. Banishing the Green-Eyed Monster

Comment #92024 by kaiserkriss on November 29, 2007 at 5:58 pm

The function of sex is procreation, which if successful will result in offspring that need tending and nurturing for about 20 years. This responsibility should be shared by both parents, and during that time, philandering should be off limits.

Once the brood has flown the nest, all bets are off. Staying with a partner who is a green eyed monster kills off the love and trust built up during the joint rearing of the brood.

Were it not for economic and "don't want to change" reasons, many relationships would probably dissolve, much like the relationships of Penguins.

So for the most part, I agree with Richards views, especially today, where our lifespans have increased, contraception readily available, and commitments to child rearing are something that can be controlled.

With passing time, people change, couples grow apart. It would be unreasonable torture for both parties to submit them selves to the GEM under such circumstances. Some good friends of the opposite sex can go a long way to make life more bearable. jcw

309. In the name of God: the Saudi rape victim's tale

Comment #92007 by kaiserkriss on November 29, 2007 at 5:16 pm

I might be naive, but surely the judges in this case as well as the prosecutors should be charged with by the UN with crimes against humanity and forced to appear before a court in Den Haag to justify their position.

A few successful convictions, together with jail time while waiting in a holding cell should get the message across that such barbarity is not acceptable in today's society, and think twice in future before acting like Eighth Century troglodytes.

Since these guys do like the decadent west, they do travel and should be arrested as soon as they step foot outside their flea besotted country. jcw

310. Schools should put faith in science

Comment #91987 by kaiserkriss on November 29, 2007 at 4:55 pm

Glad to see someone in Alberta familiar with the science curriculum point out the deficiencies in the Alberta curriculum.

Many Press types, including editors of the Calgary Herald are constantly reminding Joe Public on how well educated Calgarians are by pointing out the fact that Calgary has bragging rights to the city with the most University educated population.. Can't be in the Sciences though can it?? Must be basket weaving or something similar. jcw

311. Megachurches Add Local Economy to Their Mission

Comment #91764 by kaiserkriss on November 29, 2007 at 7:29 am

This is just another scam at the expense of the "taxpayer at large". I don't have a problem of the churches running a business, but it should be under the same conditions and provisions as anybody else, and not subsidized by the state through tax free exemptions.

If they are going into Caesar's line of work, then they should render unto Caesar as their "wholly book" dictates to them. What coital expletive rectal orifices!! jcw

edit OOPSY changed imperative to expletive

312. Bankrolling Ali's Asylum

Comment #90874 by kaiserkriss on November 26, 2007 at 2:34 pm

Corylus, so I'm guessing you have been assimilated?? :-)

313. Bankrolling Ali's Asylum

Comment #90842 by kaiserkriss on November 26, 2007 at 1:44 pm

"And someone said they were going to buy a 2nd copy of Infidel and give it to someone as a gift: which gives me an idea - how about buying Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book and giving it to people at Christmas? A book by an atheist for a Christmas present, man I like it .."

Thanks GoatBoy36 !!!

Yes, people should lighten up a bit, however we are ALL individuals with our individual quirks and pet peeves.. jcw

314. Bankrolling Ali's Asylum

Comment #90831 by kaiserkriss on November 26, 2007 at 1:26 pm

Despite Sam's sometimes "shrill" pronouncements, I have made a one time donation, and purchased a second copy of Infidel I will be gifting to one of my friends.

This brave person deserves our respect and, if we are able and willing, our financial help, regardless of other more worthwhile causes. Recognizing we each have a limited amount of resources at our disposal, in this instance I have chosen this cause as one I wish to contribute to as hopefully others on this forum. jcw

315. Taking Science on Faith

Comment #90517 by kaiserkriss on November 25, 2007 at 12:15 pm

Steve99
While I Do understand your frustration with this site, and some of the contributors, your comments on many other threads, including this one are appreciated by myself, even if I don't always agree with you.

It would indeed be a loss to this site if individuals such as yourself feel intimidated by individuals who get their rocks off by obviously agitating for the sake of agitating.

Having the last word in a debate is not a life and death issue. You have made your arguments, and if others don't accept them, do as I do, MOVE on to another thread that interests you... jcw

316. URGENT APPEAL: Please Help Protect Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #89083 by kaiserkriss on November 19, 2007 at 4:55 pm

Brian wrote "It is merely the outraged sense of violation, of something profaned, that pervades the thread that I find disturbing and, yes, religious for want of a better term."

Must admit I have not felt your "religious" feelings pervading through this thread, probably because I'm too thick skinned or not sensitive enough.
What bothered me was a few individuals on the nay side, coming up with more ridiculous justifications for not contributing, which brought out intemperate responses from the yeah side etc. etc., a downward spiral.

Nothing wrong with a healthy debate since we live in a free society, but we don't have to stoop to ad hominem attacks to make our points and let our arguments deteriorate into mindless drivel in the heat of the moment.

Even though I've read Infidel, and have lived in the muslim world and understand the difficulties Ayaan has gone through, and admire her courage, like others here have yet to make a long term contribution, basically since my personal budget and priorities for charities currently lie somewhere else, LIKE MANY OTHERS!

This call to arms to support one of our own financially, regardless of her ability to contribute to these costs should not be the issue.

The right to live is THE most basic right we have, and anybody denying an individual the right to live on the grounds of religion needs to be held accountable by civilized society and the potential victims of this religious zeal protected at all costs. That is the price of freedom of religious oppression.

Asking questions is okay. You may or may not contribute, no one is forcing you one way or another, just please don't come up with lame excuses to make yourself feel better. jcw

317. URGENT APPEAL: Please Help Protect Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #89011 by kaiserkriss on November 19, 2007 at 1:31 pm

Josh.. You hardly EVER say anything, but when you do, most people listen. As the working stiff behind this site, ALL contributors should respect your efforts, despite contrary opinions.

Your words (above)will hopefully sound reasonable to the majority of the contributors, and they will show a little restraint in voicing their more controversial, and in some cases bigoted world views, something not at all useful to the cause of clear thinking.

Keep up the good work!! jcw

318. URGENT APPEAL: Please Help Protect Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #88973 by kaiserkriss on November 19, 2007 at 10:24 am

SilentMike.. Point taken. I'm not judging people here for contributing or not contributing,(each to his own). However after reading through ALL the posts, my impression was that certain individuals were digging a deeper hole trying to justify their position with continuously more inane and childish arguments.

I certainly did not wish to give the impression that I wanted to manipulate through guilt either way. jcw

319. URGENT APPEAL: Please Help Protect Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #88955 by kaiserkriss on November 19, 2007 at 9:03 am

Well argued Goatboy36!!

What truly amazes me is the fact that individuals that don't want to contribute to this fund find the strangest and weirdest arguments to justify their inaction.

Silence is GOLDEN!

No one is being force to contribute to this fund, unlike tithes etc and "church taxes". If you don't want to contribute, simply DON'T! Trying to justify your inaction just digs a deeper hole from which you have to justify to yourself your lack of contribution.

We are supposedly all grown up here, those that want to contribute will, regardless of any put downs from the naysayers. So naysayers, shut up and move on... jcw

320. Saudi gang-rape victim is jailed

Comment #88512 by kaiserkriss on November 17, 2007 at 8:08 am

"She was in an unrelated man's car at the time"..

NOT TRUE. Given that our species can trace its origins to a group of about 800 individuals living approximately 180 000 years ago, it would seem especially in a closely knit clan culture as that which exists in Saudi Arabia, this poor woman was indeed in a "related" man's car.

Which begs the question at what point is one no longer related to someone else: 4 generations?, 5 generations?? Is it written in the koran or hadith? Just goes to show how foolish some of these man made rules are.

These "judges" together with the perpetrators should be hung up by their testicles for 48 hours, for surely it can be interpreted somewhere in the "holy books" that injustice and "lust" should be punished for their less than pure thoughts. jcw

321. For the glory of God

Comment #88438 by kaiserkriss on November 16, 2007 at 4:18 pm

Daksian: You have gone too far with your sweeping statements about the enlightened east and the ignorant west. If you must play bigoted regional politics, do it elsewhere, but not in a forum that set up to be a "clear thinking oasis".

With a relatively large, University educated urban population, you might be surprised that at least in the urban areas, especially with the younger age groups, bible thumping is about as popular as swim wear at minus 40C.

Just like elsewhere, the squeaky wheel gets the oil and press in the west. Religion is just too far down on most people's priority list to worry about most of the time. jcw

322. Exorcism death shocks archdeacon

Comment #87819 by kaiserkriss on November 13, 2007 at 8:46 am

Shuggy wrote:
There is a racial undercurrent to this thread I don't like. I agree that this exorcism was loony, but it is any more culpable than any of the fatal exorcisms that have occurred in white societies

"Racial undercurrent" OUCH! The ethnicity of the perpetrators is NOT the issue here.

That the perpetrators are potentially hiding behind a cultural mumbo jumbo belief systems not compatible with life in the 21st Century is more likely it. The same argument applies to any other fatalities as the result of archaic belief systems any where else on the planet.

GOLDY:I think I understand your argument, however your analogy is a bit off; I could never think of myself as a Christian.

What I'm suggesting is that dangerous aspects to human health rituals, in this particular case aspects of the Maori tradition, should be condemned by an enlightened society regardless of how quaint and noble other aspects of their tradition may seem. They should not be given carte blanche by hiding behind tradition.

I'm sure if another member of your family decided to dunk one of your offspring " for their benefit" and the child drowned, you would quite correctly feel quite different and not be so apologetic.

shaunfletcher: I totally support your position.

WE are responsible for our own actions and destiny, NOT some sky fairy, or inner earth troll. jcw

323. Exorcism death shocks archdeacon

Comment #87635 by kaiserkriss on November 12, 2007 at 4:30 pm

Shuggy, I plead ignorance to the Maori treaty with Queen Victoria's reps, nevertheless, some of the "cultural" practises of some of the Maoris, should stay in the past, and recognized for the un-contemporaneous hogwash they represent.

A complete dunking (referred to as baptism in some circles) is but a quaint quirk, that does no real harm, with willing participants,despite the whole thing being quite ludicrous.

Referring to this tragic circumstance as hydrotherapy, even with a question mark or a Milgram experiment gone wrong is belittling the fact we a have a dead victim. A victim that tried to fight off a "well meaning" mob. That is no excuse in civilized society. jcw

324. Dr Bari: Government stoking Muslim tension

Comment #87527 by kaiserkriss on November 12, 2007 at 11:28 am

"Dr." Bari is the worst kind of hypocrite out there, an educated one.

I have heard the Rushdie argument Bari made from one of my Muslim acquaintance's as well. I responded with the freedom of speech argument, together with the fiction argument and that blasphemy being in the eye of the beholder argument. He eventually saw my point.

The thing that truly upsets me though is this character being viewed as a moderate Muslim. He condemns a belief system that has educated and fed him and has been a refuge for him from his less than ideal Islamic homeland, just like a malicious parasite that turns on its host.

He and his like should be returned to their homeland where they can continue to live in the squalor their oh so perfect belief system has given them.

Dr Benway: I salute you. That was a great piece of writing!! jcw

325. Exorcism death shocks archdeacon

Comment #87522 by kaiserkriss on November 12, 2007 at 11:09 am

As mandrellian and Foggerty pointed out above, and I paraphrase, governments and politicians are reluctant to step on indigenous and cultural toes... Well my response to that in the case of the Maori, Aborigines, and North American Indian, all of them are a conquered people(by the Europeans) where such barbaric behaviour is no longer condoned by the state, regardless of cultural and religious tolerance. Should the practitioners feel themselves to be above the law of the land they should reap the consequences.

Surely basic human rights should supercede any such irrational and dangerous behaviour. The practitioners of these barbaric rituals should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and condemned by society for the charlatans they truly are. jcw

326. The New Atheism rocks

Comment #85932 by kaiserkriss on November 7, 2007 at 2:01 pm

Well done Russell, I have passed on the link to your well argued and written article to several of my theist and atheist friends.

Trying to find common ground where both sides can see eye to eye is a great strategy in showing that the new atheist is not the radical, immoral caricature the more blatant fleas paint us to be.. jcw

327. The Turning of an Atheist

Comment #85020 by kaiserkriss on November 4, 2007 at 2:25 pm

"Where are the hordes of atheists preying on aged ex-bishops or senile mullahs? "

Good one, hmm on second thought we would just be lowering ourselves to "their" standards. Anyone with a shred of decency will recognize Varghese and co for the despicable people they truly are. May they be tormented by in their own delusional hell-fire for eternity.. jcw

328. Rome playing politics

Comment #84962 by kaiserkriss on November 4, 2007 at 10:57 am

Is anyone surprised that the catholic church is playing politics? They have their own country recognized as such the world over with special privileges (spy network and foreign agents)within other countries.
The catholic church should be treated just like any other nation state with no special diplomatic privileges or rights to meddle in the internal affairs of another nation state.

Imagine the uproar if Taiwan, Singapore or Kazakhstan decided to get involved in the internal affairs of Britain or the US. The respective populations would quite rightly tell these countries to "butt- out" and mind their own business. So it should be for the nation state, we call the Vatican and the catholic church. Or is this too simplistic? jcw

329. The Turning of an Atheist

Comment #84955 by kaiserkriss on November 4, 2007 at 10:40 am

The ironic thing is these Christians always claim to have the moral high ground.. Disgusting!

Taking advantage of the old and weak, is similar the child abuse. Surely there are laws in "Blighty" protecting the old from exploitation by scrupulous shysters? jcw

330. Italy's Padre Pio 'faked his stigmata with acid'

Comment #81351 by kaiserkriss on October 24, 2007 at 4:02 pm

In the name of god, nut cases like PP (seems appropriate doesnt it) can justify ANYTHING their warped little minds can make up including faking a stigmata to impress his fellow cell mates. When all you are doing all day is "praying" , idle hands and minds can come up with the weirdest ideas.

Just look at the picture with this article, the guy looks as though he just escaped from a mental asylum.

I vaguely remember hearing about this whack job as a child from devout catholics, who as the Baron suggested above, thought this delusional idiot could be in 2 places at the same time. He probably just had a "doppelgaenger" just like most of us. jcw

331. Catholic condom ban helping AIDS spread in Latam: U.N.

Comment #80947 by kaiserkriss on October 23, 2007 at 3:44 pm

I wish the UN or some other international organization would bring the Roman Catholic Church up on charges of promoting racism, complicity to homicide and knowingly spreading of misinformation with regards to the whole condom and HIV issue.

At the very least, the negative publicity and costs associated with defending themselves should hopefully shut them up from spreading this clap trap forever. jcw

332. Egypt's fight against female circumcision clashes with tradition

Comment #80657 by kaiserkriss on October 22, 2007 at 2:09 pm

The question that begs asking is how do doctors in Muslim countries, often trained in the west, justify performing this barbaric practise??? (This is being unkind to the Barbarians by the way).
That some local witch doctor or shaman can get away with the warped thinking in their minds, might be understandable, but University trained Doctors (even in the Muslim world) is a different matter. Shame on them! It is these cases that make me (almost) wish for a hell these people would be condemned to once their lives are over.. jcw

333. Atheists aren't a bad lot

Comment #80603 by kaiserkriss on October 22, 2007 at 10:01 am

Good article.. Just want to remind my fellow posters, who might not know, that Lethbridge is a hot bed of individuals of the Mormon faith. Not sure if Reggie is one of them though.

IF he conducted his poll in Southern Alberta, his data is skewed and not representative of even Alberta, let alone Canada, the US, or the rest of the world.. jcw

334. God's honest truth?

Comment #79963 by kaiserkriss on October 19, 2007 at 9:11 am

The proposal by the Swedish government looks intriguing, however as others have pointed out, the potential for Orwellian scenarios are always present with any type of legislation, when the SPIRIT of the law is forgotten, by unscrupulous individuals. After all we live in a dynamic world, and language is dynamic as well. A potential safety valve would be for ALL legislation to have a mandatory 25 year review to see if it is still applicable, or require modification or dropping altogether.

mmurray post 67 above, if you don't like any of the candidates on the ballot, might I suggest you spoil your ballot as a protest vote. If enough people do it, and politicians made aware of what spoilt ballot mean through a public awareness campaign, they just might start listening more to the electorate.

RD, great rebuttal, make that setting the record straight by calling a spade a spade! Keep up the good fight. After watching your acceptance speech of the Deschner prize, a good friend of mine commented on the clarity, wisdom and heart felt delivery of your speech. I concurred. jcw

335. Help Counter the New Atheist Crusade to 'Evangelize' America!

Comment #79500 by kaiserkriss on October 17, 2007 at 1:01 pm

"In His Grace" etc. etc. What a presumptuos twit!! jcw

PS President and CEO = Business title, so this is ALL about making money for Coral Ridge Ministries, not "saving souls". What a bunch of hypocrites!

336. Debate between Christopher Hitchens and Alister McGrath

Comment #79259 by kaiserkriss on October 16, 2007 at 3:34 pm

Well done Hitch, as for McGrath, sorry, I can only take so much animated Monty Python action with out the sarcasm and satire in one go.

Had I not heard of McGrath before, and what he stands for, I might have been able to see this presentation as a poor interpretation of Eric Idle and the boys...jcw

337. Richard Dawkins receives the Deschner Prize

Comment #78959 by kaiserkriss on October 15, 2007 at 2:17 pm

USA_Limey... Missed your link. Point WELL taken.jcw

338. Richard Dawkins receives the Deschner Prize

Comment #78955 by kaiserkriss on October 15, 2007 at 2:09 pm

Steve, Nick, Brian.. Firstly, THANKS for hijacking this thread and going so off topic it isn't funny anymore..

Secondly, Steve and Brian, Using your argument, PHds in Climatology should have absolutely no expertise and should NOT comment on all the other scientific disciplines that make up much of the data (Geology for example come to mind with its many sub categories) Climatologists actually use. A Climatologist is NOT an expert in ALL the fields that make up the vastly complex fields associated with the pros and cons of human influences on global changes in temperature. They are only experts in a very specific field. They derive their data from many sources in which they are definitely NOT experts...

To Quote Wikipeidia "Phenomena of climatological interest include the atmospheric boundary layer, circulation patterns, heat transfer (radiative, convective and latent), interactions between the atmosphere and the oceans and land surface (particularly vegetation, land use and topography), and the chemical and physical composition of the atmosphere. Related disciplines include astrophysics, atmospheric physics, chemistry, ecology, geology, geophysics, glaciology, hydrology, oceanography, and volcanology." Flame away..jcw

339. Richard Dawkins receives the Deschner Prize

Comment #78927 by kaiserkriss on October 15, 2007 at 12:25 pm

Congrats to RICHARD DAWKINS for being nominated and accepting the Deschner Prize. His acceptance speech was FANTASTIC. Wish I could have been there instead of enjoying one of the last days of warm weather on the golf course in Western Canada.

Also credit should be given to those posters who have woken up to the fact that there is a world outside of the English speaking world that does actually contribute significantly to Humanism and Critical thought.

As I pointed out on a previous thread the children's book being released in Germany by Michael Schmidt-Salomon "Wo bitte geht's zu Gott? fragte das kleine Ferkel" (freely translated as Where is the way to God? asked the little piglet)should be translated into every language to counteract the "virus" currently fed to our offspring at a young age.

Richard, I hope sincerely you would support such an endeavour. jcw

340. Teachers 'fear evolution lessons'

Comment #76890 by kaiserkriss on October 7, 2007 at 3:45 pm

Slightly off topic, but still to do with education: I happened to notice Richard Dawkins is to receive the Deschner Prize in Frankfurt, Germany next Friday.

One of the contributors to the event is Prof. Michael Schmidt-Salomon who is currently releasing a delightful children's book, albeit in German, freely translated as "Where is the way to God asked the little piglet?"

According to the press release, this book for young and old breaks the even greater tabu of Dawkins (religion as delusional systems)by informing children of such. http://www.schmidt-salomon.de/homepage.htm

I hope this book is translated into every conceivable language and becomes a best seller, just as the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.

Congratulations RD you are also making waves in the non English speaking parts of the world!!! jcw

341. Scandal brewing at Oral Roberts U.

Comment #76661 by kaiserkriss on October 6, 2007 at 3:53 pm

veronique: Well put, my sentiments exactly, wish I were so eloquent.

Richard Morgan : LOVE your new Avatar!! jcw

342. Teachers 'fear evolution lessons'

Comment #76660 by kaiserkriss on October 6, 2007 at 3:50 pm

discipline: I know what you mean, actually, I live in Canada and have visited the US quite often. "Jesus land" is quite remarkable in many ways, it surprises me, given the amount of conformity to NOT think outside the box, such progress has been made in the past. I hate the LCD principle with an absolute passion. As semi intelligent animals we should strive to better ourselves by at least recognizing the fallacy of the LCD principle.

I'm reminded of a poster I saw 20 years ago "How am I supposed to soar with Eagles when these Turkeys are dragging me down", and believe you me, there are way to many Turkeys in the world. jcw

343. Scandal brewing at Oral Roberts U.

Comment #76652 by kaiserkriss on October 6, 2007 at 3:28 pm

Mother2eight: You seem to be missing the point. These charlatans and hypocrites, who prey on the weak minded, are the first to point fingers and condemn others who do not follow their creed.
They have basically become psychopaths who believe they are entitled to fleece their flock and live the good life, with no real compassion for their fellow man. Absolutely disgusting, and not worthy of any compassion.
In a sense they are no better than suicide bombers(realizing I've probably opened up a can of worms with that remark). jcw

344. Scandal brewing at Oral Roberts U.

Comment #76374 by kaiserkriss on October 5, 2007 at 4:27 pm

Another case of power corrupting weak individuals, leading to an attitude of "entitlement" . Disgusting!!
Hope all the Roberts family end up as paupers. jcw

345. Teachers 'fear evolution lessons'

Comment #76366 by kaiserkriss on October 5, 2007 at 3:55 pm

"The number of Muslim students has grown considerably in the last 10 to 20 years and a higher proportion of Muslim families do not accept evolutionary theory compared with Christian families."

So now children are educated by the lowest common denominator principle?? Is it any surprise the level of scientific understanding in the population as a whole is decreasing when we lower our standards to the lowest common denominator of the population. A classic case of dumbing down.. Pity.. jcw

346. Christianity's Image Problem

Comment #76100 by kaiserkriss on October 4, 2007 at 5:43 pm

82abhilash: Boy are you quick!! Posting a response at the same time as my original post(3:35pm). I hope you are correct, I was just being conservative after noticing the gap in the data for 30-41 year olds...

Veronique: Agreed, we can NEVER sit on our laurels, as soon as we do that, we become fat, complacent and die off. jcw

347. Christianity's Image Problem

Comment #76074 by kaiserkriss on October 4, 2007 at 3:35 pm

"His study found that 23% of Americans over 61 were non-Christians; 27% among people ages 42-60; and 40% among 16-29 year olds."

There is hope!! All we have to do is wait for us oldtimers to die off, and in about 100 years the US will probably be a more secular society. jcw

348. Why are we Muslims so self-destructive?

Comment #73938 by kaiserkriss on September 26, 2007 at 4:38 pm

My, my children, don't we all have our proverbial knickers in a twist over rather trivial matters in the overall scheme of things (apologies to NortherBright, Veronique and any other females I might have offended).

RichardM, Prufrock, might I suggest you both grow up, act your age, get off both of your high horses and start acting like the responsible adults you both clearly are, judging from both of your previous posts on other threads.

This is embarrassing, with fleas probably rubbing their hands in glee at the sight of the heathen arguing over psydonyms on the net and trading personal insults. This is something one would expect from Xtians or Muslims etc. arguing about their specific "brand of Cornflakes" they have for breakfast being better than the others brand.

AS others have pointed out this forum should be big enough to include diverse opinions without trading insults, something one would expect a forum of reason, and reasonable individuals to respect. We should not fall into the same trap as the religious fanatics, or is that just another unavoidable human characteristic we try to suppress, sometimes with less success??

As for my own "net name" I'm "hiding" behind, does say something about myself: Yes, I'm of German background living almost exclusively in the English speaking world, and have been referred to as "Ze Kaiser" by some of my friends, both presently and in the past. Any one who really wants to find out more about me, just has to read all the posts I've made in the past, and you'll get a good idea who I actually am. Kriss is the name I actually go by on a daily basis. Can't use my real name since many of my clients are die hard Christians who would frown upon dealing with a die hard atheist.jcw

349. Good News: Both our Foundations are now Officially Recognized as Charities

Comment #70270 by kaiserkriss on September 14, 2007 at 4:29 pm

Try again..(after having one of my posts disappear on me on another thread)... WOOOO HOOOO!!
Now the same for Canada and the other Colonies in the English speaking world. jcw

350. In God we doubt

Comment #67516 by kaiserkriss on September 3, 2007 at 4:37 pm

NorthernBright: Great piece, your experiences when dealing with theists is EXACTLY the same as mine. Thanks for verbalizing many of my own thoughts.

You have touched on several key issues. When I first read TGD about a year ago, even though I was an atheist before, I like many religious reviewers at first thought the tone to be rather shrill, mistaken passion in the subject with a condescending tone. Since reading more of RD's works, and hearing him talk, together with his posts on this board, I have changed my mind and find him to be exactly as well mannered and even tempered as most others on this forum

As others have pointed out, as a society we are conditioned to accept and be pious towards other points of view especially when dealing with religious issues. I have changed my own stance, so much so, that I'm being accused of trying to make everybody else an atheist as well.

My response is something long the lines of asking people to think critically for themselves rather than take everything presented at face value.

Just as we despise the term militant atheist, with its connotation of strict military dogma, we should turn the tables and start referring to military Christians, military Jews and military Muslims, where the term actually applies.

The so called military atheists just don't conjure up an image of a jack booted Sargent Major as clearly as a cassock-ed priest, mullah or rabbi spewing forth their hateful froth from a pulpit, minaret or synagogue. Now that is military dogmatism at its best. jcw