401. A Revelation

Comment #78229 by Matt H. on October 12, 2007 at 8:01 am

I see. Thanks for clearing that up. It always seemed disrespectful to me when in Q&A sessions (particularly the one at Virginia), people called him Doctor instead of Professor. As Martin points out, Professor is a title given in universities to Doctors who have proved themselves and contributed a great deal to their particular field. The head of Ancient History at the University of Manchester, where I studied last year, was Professor Tim Parkin. In honorific terms, he would rank above Dr. Daryn Lehoux, who ran my course on Rome.

So it's settled. To anyone from the UK, 'Professor' holds significant meaning. To anyone from the US, 'Professor' simply means teacher. That's a big difference, and it explains why he's known as Dr. more in the US.

Back to the article, its obviously biased from a Christian point of view, it's quite a shame really because I bet the people of Alabama are sick of having such idiots represent them.

402. A Revelation

Comment #78214 by Matt H. on October 12, 2007 at 7:13 am

Not even Dr., he should be called Professor as he currently holds the Simonyi Chair at the University of Oxford!

403. Muslims tell Christians: 'Make peace with us or survival of world is at stake'

Comment #78193 by Matt H. on October 12, 2007 at 5:22 am

Speaking for my Christian friends here, it's a bit hard to make peace with Muslims when they keep killing innocent people.

404. Ban teachers from religious dress, Quebec group says

Comment #77813 by Matt H. on October 10, 2007 at 4:53 pm

I quite liked the hooked fish emblem.

405. Ban teachers from religious dress, Quebec group says

Comment #77728 by Matt H. on October 10, 2007 at 10:21 am

My English Literature teacher at Sixth Form was a Muslim and she wore a headscarf. If it were not for that headscarf, you would not know she was a Muslim. She taught in a completely secular way and didn't let her religious views filter in to her teaching. We studied William Blake (a religious fanatic) and First World War poetry (heavy on jingoism and God-is-on-our-side stuff) and not once did she talk of her religion. She knew that her religious views were a private thing to be kept in her own personal life and were not to be pushed on anyone else. She was a great example of how Muslim women can be just as good teachers as any else. Headscarves are not worth campaigning against in my view (at least not until more distasteful elements of Islam are extinguished) because they are not imitating, the face is not covered, only the hair.

I do have a massive problem with the burqa and niqab. They are clear signs of sexual oppression, more so than the headscarf which can just be interpreted as a sign of religious pride. The burqa and niqab have a far more sinister purpose though, they are callsigns of the wretched sharia law and the Hadith, an evil book if there ever was one. Women are taught in Middle-Eastern cultures that they are inferior to men and that they must cover their skin and obey the man in all things. If he chooses to hit her, then she cannot complain. If she is raped, she takes the blame. If she disobeys her husband he has the right to mutilate her or kill her. Now obviously many Muslims in western society don't hold such extreme views. But their niqabs and burqas are relics of an intolerant, oppressive, violent society which has no place in free, equal civilisation.

[/religious rant off]

406. If Muslim doctors are intolerant, let them go

Comment #77669 by Matt H. on October 10, 2007 at 4:45 am

"I once attended, as a silent observer, an appointment board for RAF aircrew. One question asked was: "Would you be prepared to kill someone under appropriate circumstances?" If the answer was "No", the interviewee would have been politely shown the door."

Heh heh, great quote. It shows the point clearly - either you want to do the job, or you don't. Muslim students bringing their religion into medicine are nothing more than time wasters.

407. If Muslim doctors are intolerant, let them go

Comment #77571 by Matt H. on October 9, 2007 at 5:43 pm

It goes against the very ethics of a doctor to refuse treatment to someone based on their sex. Ever heard of the Hippocratic Oath, Muslims?

And putting their fingers in their ears shouting 'We don't want to learn about alcohol or STIs' won't make them better doctors either.

Andrew O'Hagan is right. Tell these idiots to grow up or get out of the medical profession.

408. The Price of Freedom

Comment #77166 by Matt H. on October 8, 2007 at 4:16 pm

I would love to say Britain would welcome her too but in recent times we have done so much to appease the Muslim community in this country we would probably be accused of Islamophobia by inviting her here.

I hope she can get safe residence in the States.

409. Scandal brewing at Oral Roberts U.

Comment #76392 by Matt H. on October 5, 2007 at 5:23 pm

Televangelists should be locked away like the dangerous conmen and fraudsters that they are.

410. Teachers 'fear evolution lessons'

Comment #76390 by Matt H. on October 5, 2007 at 5:19 pm

"one in 10 people in the UK now believes in literal interpretations of religious creation stories - whether they are based on the Bible or the Koran."

I feel sick reading that. This is the UK we're talking about, not America. Evolution is a commonly accepted view of how life exists, there are no areas that ban its teaching.

"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."

That explains it then. It doesn't surprise me in that sense, as a third of British Muslims advocate terrorism.

411. We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Brothers

Comment #76352 by Matt H. on October 5, 2007 at 3:26 pm

A good video. I wish I could show it to my theistic friends because it has a great argument against religion.

412. 'Flying Spaghetti Monster' Religious Group Turning Heads at MSU

Comment #76327 by Matt H. on October 5, 2007 at 1:57 pm

Great group... though it is quite weird that theists such as Christians and Muslims are joining it. They seem to have missed the point.

413. Norway flourishes as secular nation

Comment #76077 by Matt H. on October 4, 2007 at 3:41 pm

"Rev. Rick Mason notes that atheism is on the rise. He blames Christian fundamentalism. Certainly the ineptness, dishonesty and lack of ethics of the overtly God-fearing Bush administration may be turning people off on God."

Or maybe, thanks to the new wave of books by such people as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens have wakened many people up to reality?

414. Christianity's Image Problem

Comment #76076 by Matt H. on October 4, 2007 at 3:37 pm

The views that Christianity is too anti-homosexual whilst saying that the Bible is a good thing are mutually exclusive.

415. AAI 2007 Photos

Comment #76023 by Matt H. on October 4, 2007 at 11:41 am

Sounds like you guys had a great time! If only I was a millionaire and could afford flights to and from the United States for events like this.

416. A Face-Off Over Faith

Comment #75963 by Matt H. on October 4, 2007 at 6:43 am

Well I've just listened to the debate (many thanks to Oxytocin for the link) and although the format was against Dawkins, and the referee seemed to allow more time to his opponent, Dawkins made all of his points strongly and Lennox failed to respond to all of them, he brushed off the comment about Zeus, saying he was a non-existent deity, he seems to not understand that precisely the same can be said of Yahweh/Jehovah/God. Lennox is one of the types who thinks the universe has to have a supervisor because chaos is a bad, bad thing. Evolution has shown that some degree of order can come out of chaos, we have evolved into sentient beings capable of making our own decisions, and that shows some hope for the future.

417. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75607 by Matt H. on October 3, 2007 at 6:06 am

SilentMike: To clarify, I think we are not necessarily born racist, with a racist gene inside of us. I think that somewhere along the way, as we grow up, we are exposed to prejudice, hatred, lies and tribalism and some, not thankfully all, but some of us begin to follow racist views. The rest of us may think prejudicial things time to time (I think its unavoidable) but mostly we don't think other ethnicities are inferior to our own. At least, I hope that is the case.

It was strange for me because, having lived in a small, rural middle-class village in England, the only person I knew who was not white was a Greek Cypriot at my school called Tina. As a child I knew her family came from elsewhere but that didn't lead me to forming any prejudices about her. I knew she looked different from the rest of us but that didn't lead me to think she was less evolved, or in some other way inferior. I didn't treat or think of her differently than anyone else in my school. I still follow that precept today. I know some people who are stupid, who happen to be white. I know some people who are intelligent who happen to not be white. And vice versa. The skin colour really has no effect.

418. A Face-Off Over Faith

Comment #75604 by Matt H. on October 3, 2007 at 6:00 am

I hope there will be a video of this!

419. A New Debate

Comment #75603 by Matt H. on October 3, 2007 at 5:59 am

Matthew Chapman, I couldn't agree more.

The trouble is, when asked questions relating to evolution, after denying it the candidates also say 'I don't see why that will make me a better or worse President'. We must quash this silly notion before we have them take part in scientific debates.

420. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75592 by Matt H. on October 3, 2007 at 5:25 am

On the whole racism thing, think back to when you were a child. Did you even notice if one of your fellow classmates had different colour skin? Or if you did, did you think it mattered? Children are not born racist, it is not inherent to our species. I think we can use that to look more positively on the future. Someday, it will be totally stamped out. I think it mostly only exists today in a form of tribalism anyway.

421. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75590 by Matt H. on October 3, 2007 at 5:11 am

I really like Sam Harris too. And I agree with him on some points. I agree that the term 'atheist' shouldn't be used so much because its starting to make the religious people think we're some kind of cult or religion of our own. Nothing could be further from the truth, we are all people of different backgrounds, sexuality, politicial views, interests and outlook on life, who just happen to not believe in any god. Calling ourselves 'non-religious', or under religious views, tick 'None', is a much better name.

That doesn't mean we should 'go under the radar' though. You only need to look at the amount of books Harris, Hitchens and Dawkins have sold to know how popular they are. You only need to look at the convert corner here to see that there ARE people de-converting. I think that's a really noble cause. And surely we would just be making things easier on religion if we just stopped our writings, our talks, our whole campaign? How do you expect clear-thinking, rational people to turn away from religion if we are not there to support them? I am serious on this point. Some of the most intelligent people I know are devoutly religious. I am sure they are this way because they clearly don't know enough about the religion they follow, and about non-religion in general. They haven't read The God Delusion and End Of Faith and God Is Not Great. That's why we need to be there, and I really don't mean that in a condescending way, look at the amount of people here in Converts Corner who were afraid to speak out before Dawkins wrote TGD. A lot of people need support to come out of the closet. That is what we are for.

422. Logical Path from Religious Beliefs to Evil Deeds

Comment #75286 by Matt H. on October 2, 2007 at 8:36 am

"Polls suggest that 13% of British Muslims regard the 7/7 London bombers as blessed martyrs."

As a British atheist that scares me... 13% is a sizeable percentage, and it's simply not acceptable to have that many Muslims in our society that think its right to kill innocent people. But as Dawkins and Harris say, they aren't renegades, they are the pious ones, they are following their evil religion the way the Koran and the Hadith tells them.

423. Scopes Two

Comment #75237 by Matt H. on October 2, 2007 at 5:19 am

"Those issues are not important today."

I think evolution, gay civil rights and global warming are three VERY important issues, especially the last one.

424. Republican candidates range from ignorant to dishonest, part 2

Comment #75236 by Matt H. on October 2, 2007 at 5:12 am

He forgot to mention that 4 of the candidates raised their hands to say they did not believe in evolution... which to me is nearly as offensive as saying gay people cannot serve in the armed forces.

425. Larry King Interviews Kathy Griffin

Comment #75230 by Matt H. on October 2, 2007 at 4:54 am

I like Larry King. He seems like the Michael Parkinson of American interviewers.

426. Dawkins - what can't he be blamed for?

Comment #75205 by Matt H. on October 2, 2007 at 3:44 am

Why are there people who think that we'll only stop Muslims murdering and blowing themselves up, by apologising to them and being nice to them? They are following their book word for word, they have undeniable faith which is seen as quite a good thing in the west. Time for that to change.

427. Atheists arise: Dawkins spreads the A-word among America's unbelievers

Comment #74922 by Matt H. on October 1, 2007 at 6:19 am

I can understand his hesitancy. There's an attitude amongst some Americans that if you're English, you have no right to talk to the American people about religion (or non-religion) in their country. On internet message boards I have visited recently, I have been attacked by those in the deep south who refuse to accept that being atheist is detrimental to your chances of political success, and they actually say that it is Christians who are being persecuted.

428. Harper's Index

Comment #74786 by Matt H. on September 30, 2007 at 12:28 pm

I went into a few bookstores a couple of weeks ago to look for Christopher Hitchens' and Sam Harris' books. The religion and spirituality sections in both bookstores had swarms of Bibles and Qur'ans, some religious history books, some fundamentalist or denomination-specific books, and very few atheist books. I could only find Dennett, Dawkins, Harris and Hitchens and there was only one copy of each of their books.

429. Religion as a Force for Good

Comment #74598 by Matt H. on September 29, 2007 at 4:37 pm

Well as Christopher Hitchens keeps saying, 'Think for me a moral action taken by a believer that could not have been taken by a non-believer.' We don't need religion for a force for good.

430. Teacher: I was fired, said Bible isn't literal

Comment #74580 by Matt H. on September 29, 2007 at 3:38 pm

Flea's use of the miscarriage was really quite shocking. My mother had suffered from two miscarriages, that's two potential siblings that I could have had. I could nearly have been miscarried too - my grandfather died a few months before I was born, which put considerable emotional strain on my mother. We all know someone who has suffered a miscarriage, and using it in a religious argument is in my view morally bankrupt.

I dread to think what happens in Flea's services, if he truly is a church minister. I can think of no mainstream ministers who would say such a thing, so I can only guess what kind of church he runs.

431. Teacher: I was fired, said Bible isn't literal

Comment #74493 by Matt H. on September 29, 2007 at 6:23 am

Wee Flea, why on earth do you post here on this website? The description in the banner says 'A Clear-Thinking Oasis'. I don't think telling a room full of students that atheists don't believe in God because of Russel's teapot, is very clear-thinking.

You also say there is arrogance on this website. I would think the real arrogance comes from someone who thinks his imaginary friend is more real than all the thousands of others.

432. AAI Convention webcam

Comment #74484 by Matt H. on September 29, 2007 at 5:13 am

I've listened to some of their radio shows and the videos thye put up on YouTube and I definitely think their hearts are in the right place. They are intelligent and on the most part rational.

The real problem is how they present themselves... they wear t-shirts and hoodies with their logo on it, they can be loud and crass, it doesn't send out a good message to agnostics and apathetics who of course are our main target. It makes them look like another kooky religious cult, when they aren't. This is where the problem lies.

And charging people $20 to see an interview on the internet featuring Richard Dawkins is in my view ridiculous.

433. Scientists Feel Miscast in Film on Life's Origin

Comment #74366 by Matt H. on September 28, 2007 at 8:59 am

Maybe there's a legal action Richard can pursue in regards to this shameful documentary?

Or, maybe he can make another documentary for Channel 4, aiming directly at creationism.

434. Keeping the faith at school

Comment #73507 by Matt H. on September 25, 2007 at 6:12 am

Simon, that's a great story. I'm only 19, a little young to have children but I fear someday that when I do, they might turn out to be religious nutjobs despite how I may try to bring them up. Glad to see its working just fine with your kid, makes the future seem much brighter!

435. Keeping the faith at school

Comment #73478 by Matt H. on September 25, 2007 at 4:30 am

We in the UK might say 'only in America' but the truth is some schools here are starting to get like this.

True we've always had Church of England-funded schools, like the one I went to, but the most religious thing we did in that was sing hymns and occasionally do the odd prayer in assembly. As the teachers become more and more liberalise and secular, hymns and prayers vanished. I remember my teacher in year 6, Mr. Burgess, flatly refused to do hymns or prayers in any of the assemblies he led, and in the classroom he refused to teach R.E., or when he was forced to, he did so jokingly. In science class, we were never taught creationism. It was all photosynthesis, how sound travels, how mould forms, simple but important things like that. I of course did not go to a Catholic school where I hear things are a lot more strict. But even there, the teachers must teach evolution in science lessons.

We might say the really dangerous religious indoctrination in schools only happens in America, but we're getting state-funded faith schools here now, which I hear will be able to make their own choices as to whether they teach evolution or intelligent design. As you all know it is wrong, and I beseech any fellow Briton here to sign the following petition to the Prime Minister:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/faithschools/

436. A Response to Jonathan Haidt

Comment #69883 by Matt H. on September 13, 2007 at 4:37 am

Well, since religious people base their beliefs on faith and not reason or evidence, there can be no debating with them. I have... or should I say 'had' two friends who were religious, one Catholic the other C of E, who refused to enter into a civilised discussion with me on religion. All of the people 'deconverted' over the past few years by Dawkins, Harris, Hitchins etc were either agnostic or religiously apathetic.

437. Bible Belter

Comment #68141 by Matt H. on September 6, 2007 at 8:40 am

A good review, and I especially like what you said right at the end about not reviewing his politics. I don't share many of Hitchens' political views but as an atheist and reasonable thinker I do share his critique of religion.