tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12262161996637532982012-01-25T08:38:45.520ZNuts and ReasonsThe scrapblog of a theological noncognitivistquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.comBlogger5521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-60681538894082541172012-01-25T08:38:00.000Z2012-01-25T08:38:45.524ZThe Power of Prayerquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-31306027191170805752012-01-21T12:19:00.000Z2012-01-21T12:19:08.968ZHelp Protect Freedom of SpeechThe National Secular Society has recently submitted a response to the Police Powers Consultation, calling on the Government to remove 'insulting' from Section 5 of the Public Order Act. A change in the law would protect freedom of expression for both the religious and non-religious. It would also lay down clearer guidelines for the police and direct them to focus on more serious cases.
The quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-47272314414699560782012-01-20T21:48:00.000Z2012-01-20T21:48:08.151ZThere is no God. There is no Fatequedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-6745204054731996852012-01-20T04:20:00.000Z2012-01-20T04:20:20.306ZStephen Fry on American cultsquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-33368128951723049362012-01-19T11:29:00.000Z2012-01-19T11:33:52.803ZWhy there is something rather than nothing 2
The finite, infinite and eternal
by Peter Lynds
Abstract
Many believe that the deep question of “why is there something rather than nothing?” is
unanswerable. The universe just is and no further explanation for its existence is
possible. In this paper I explain why this question must have an answer, and why that
answer must establish that physical existence is inescapable and quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-77257651846257402792012-01-18T16:28:00.000Z2012-01-18T17:07:11.341ZSolicitors say Catholic Church is incapable of stopping abuse and must be called to accountLetter to the Times, 17th January 2012:-
"As lawyers working on behalf of children and vulnerable adults who have suffered sexual and physical abuse in institutional care, we write to call for a public inquiry into abuse within church organisations in England and Wales.
Officials of church organisations hold influential and highly respected roles within the community; historically they have quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-46155100527841718572012-01-16T16:20:00.000Z2012-01-16T16:20:30.416ZMichael Nugent & aphilatelismquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-71856883545611844262012-01-14T08:45:00.000Z2012-01-14T08:54:27.139ZBanned ice cream adverts
"Immaculately conceived"
"We believe in Salivation"
These mildly-amusing adverts have been banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Authority on the grounds they might offend catholics. Yet very few complaints were received.
In a letter to Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, the National Secular Society says:-
“Although these advertisements were only meant to be mildly humorous quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-9373261345142986912012-01-10T15:24:00.000Z2012-01-10T15:37:25.797ZEugenics
Poster on display in the Museum of London
With its espousal by the Nazi Party eugenics became almost a dirty word after WW2, but this was not always the case as this 1915 poster from the UK Board of Education shows. However no substantial government funding has ever gone into it, and the subject has now become subsumed into the bioethical debate. Some regard the modern techniques of quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-54029265480180402202012-01-10T03:30:00.000Z2012-01-10T03:30:14.430ZNothingquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-2710818604297940242012-01-09T04:12:00.000Z2012-01-15T08:56:18.909ZWhy there is something rather than nothing . . .
Krauss finds something in nothing from ASU News on Vimeo.
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-50266310754531007752012-01-04T13:39:00.001Z2012-01-15T08:56:58.226ZDebunking the Kalam Cosmological argument of William Lane Craig
Nice video.
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-39721321755989294072012-01-03T13:39:00.000Z2012-01-03T13:39:06.288ZReligious Belief in America"Why do the majority of Americans believe in the ability to predict specific details in the distant future, the existence of winged messengers living in the sky, the worldwide flood as told in genesis, and the resurrection of a man who had been dead for over a day? How can these people believe they are enlightened enough to insist upon the veracity of these outlandish beliefs when studies show quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-4977125559165179992011-12-31T16:58:00.000Z2011-12-31T16:58:20.149ZRosa Rubicondior: Beyond Belief.Rosa Rubicondior: Beyond Belief.: How many chances does the Judeo-Christian god need for goodness sake? First it goes to all the trouble to create a vast universe out of...
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-86496257794251259192011-12-29T13:27:00.000Z2011-12-29T13:27:15.582ZThe Burden of Proofquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-7854966477436728202011-12-27T08:47:00.000Z2011-12-27T08:48:45.981ZScience from Texasquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-58008633421395938262011-12-26T13:51:00.000Z2011-12-26T13:51:22.736ZThe arrogance of religion"The fact that stares one in the face is that people of the greatest sincerity and of all levels of intelligence differ and have always differed in their religious beliefs. Since at most one faith can be true, it follows that human beings are extremely liable to believe firmly and honestly in something untrue in the field of revealed religion. One would have expected this obvious fact to lead to quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-21543650904491054342011-12-26T08:39:00.000Z2011-12-26T08:39:36.501ZHappy Boxing DayTraditionally, Boxing Day is a secular holiday, and though there are a lot of theories about where the term 'boxing' came from, the tradition has long included giving money and other gifts to those who are in need.
Historic mentions of Boxing Day include one from diarist Samuel Pepys, who recorded in his entry for 19 December 1663:'Thence by coach to my shoemaker’s and paid all there, and gave quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-37326348962538524862011-12-23T11:48:00.000Z2011-12-23T11:48:57.486ZTim Minchin - "Woody Allen Jesus"Peter Fincham, Director of Televison for ITV ordered this to be cut from the Jonathan Ross, fearing it might cause offence! quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-75051266744840650822011-12-22T08:38:00.000Z2011-12-22T08:38:08.348ZSam Harris's hatchet job on religion . . and William Lane Craig.quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-88214010559137633082011-12-20T16:25:00.000Z2011-12-20T16:25:10.449ZPerhaps the best Hitch speech ever . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-66254513436143280792011-12-20T08:34:00.000Z2011-12-20T08:34:10.093ZThe Anticipation of Reward
4 Minutes. Watch to the end for the punchline. . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-30470949380564865782011-12-19T16:19:00.001Z2011-12-19T16:41:42.989ZA victim of Dutch Church speaks . . .
If religion does not temper even the behaviour of its priests why does David Cameron recommend it to the rest of us?quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-59275550908916253012011-12-19T11:46:00.000Z2011-12-19T11:46:51.924ZThe Meaning of Life
Carl Sagan, 1934 -1996
“The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined only by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life's meaning. We long for a Parent to care for us, to forgive us our errors, to save us from our childish mistakes. But knowledge is preferable to ignorance. Better by far to embrace the hard truth than a reassuring fable. If we crave quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-2131306031356777082011-12-16T13:45:00.000Z2011-12-16T13:45:10.864ZMorality"What binds us together, what gives us our sense of empathy and compassion - our goodness - is something far more important, more fundamental and more powerful than religion: it is our common humanity, deriving from our pre-religious evolutionary heritage, then refined and improved by centuries of of secular enlightenment." ~ Richard Dawkins. "Do you get it now Prime Minister?" New Statesman, 19/quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-67182412901801501112011-12-16T05:10:00.002Z2011-12-16T05:10:58.185Z"Godless" - movie trailerquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-91460554618400570892011-12-15T17:23:00.000Z2011-12-15T17:23:24.310ZYes! - We're ALL individual
. . but you could have fooled me . . . quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-48843360189349142212011-12-14T19:57:00.000Z2011-12-14T19:57:05.458ZNew American Atheists posterquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-15817673712662463072011-12-14T06:14:00.000Z2011-12-14T06:14:07.872ZCatholicism . . ."Catholicism, that stodgy humbug and haven of horrible old men who think they’ve found love in the rape of children, that citadel of cowards who retreat from reality to find meaning in the dust and lies of antique theology." ~ P Z Myersquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-1871404436524528952011-12-13T17:16:00.000Z2011-12-13T17:16:07.039ZTo Xmas and beyond . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-29730063106608617052011-12-12T12:20:00.001Z2011-12-12T12:55:56.726ZThe US - getting in the Christmas spirit . . .
Peace on Earth. Goodwill to Men
(As the saying goes)
Merry Christmas America - Enjoy your presents!
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-65338269701243289812011-12-12T03:31:00.000Z2011-12-12T03:31:34.148ZA pleasant Christian gentleman . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-31387082451627291842011-12-08T10:40:00.000Z2011-12-08T10:40:14.010ZIt's a wonderful world . . . . .Why do the faithheads yearn for heaven?quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-24001900168830524442011-11-30T05:33:00.000Z2011-11-30T05:33:58.611Z"We need believing people""Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith.... We need believing people."-- Adolf Hitler, April 26, 1933quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-17580933838822846392011-11-29T08:18:00.000Z2011-11-29T21:23:34.252ZIslamic paradise
Ok that's what the men get. Now what do the women get in paradise?
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-11482754817549182292011-11-23T13:32:00.000Z2011-11-23T13:32:33.644ZThe Magicky Man did it . . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-63752418169699602352011-11-23T09:23:00.001Z2011-11-23T13:34:18.820ZThe Case of the Pope - Epilogue
"This book was completed in August 2010, and published in time for the Pope’s visit to Britain the following month. En route, he made his most grovelling apology yet for the damage caused by clerical sex abuse, expressing “deep sorrow” for these “unspeakable crimes”. He made a similar apology at the outset of his visit to Germany in September 2011. But he does not have the moral integrity to quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-40230420409074937862011-11-23T09:03:00.000Z2011-11-23T09:03:24.769ZPoster Boyquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-29644588821936014392011-11-21T14:04:00.000Z2011-11-21T14:04:31.925ZE-petition to close the UK Embassy in the Holy SeeThe petitioner says: "Following Ireland's closure of it's embassy in the Vatican it seems to me time to review our links with this small state. Do we need an embassy here? There is an embassy for Italy in Rome more or less a short walk from the Vatican. Let's save the money."
Go to: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/22434quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-43176824717023554422011-11-19T10:18:00.000Z2011-11-19T10:18:16.776ZHow the Universe came from nothing
See also Rosa Rubicondor's inspiring: "What makes you so special?"quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-89225793312806778342011-11-18T14:12:00.000Z2011-11-18T14:12:59.925ZGod defined . . .Graphics Tina Farnworth quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-21494747366475521972011-11-17T08:26:00.000Z2011-11-18T02:34:24.452ZWilliam Lane Craig (et al) gets crushed by Hitchquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-27785359889409618612011-11-11T04:24:00.002Z2011-11-11T04:24:49.518ZTo Christopher Hitchens . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-8965442607844613542011-11-09T04:50:00.002Z2011-11-09T04:50:58.210ZAtheist bitchslap . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-47831458123688089482011-11-08T16:41:00.000Z2011-11-08T16:41:27.990ZScience versus ReligionBy Kerri Kellerman.quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-46018251927832069712011-11-07T15:59:00.000Z2011-11-07T15:59:47.087ZCircular arguments illustrated. . .Any questioning of a Christian about the validity of their faith, if persisted with, and no matter how minor the original question, invariably end up like this.quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-74284921975021493192011-11-06T10:08:00.002Z2011-11-06T10:08:27.605ZEvery sperm is sacred . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-27435085211502183062011-11-04T17:30:00.000Z2011-11-04T17:30:12.708ZNote to the rationality-challenged . . .A quick reminder to any of the great tribe of the 'rationality-challenged' who happen to light upon this blog:-
What goes on inside your head is only evidence for what goes on inside your head.
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-16468010295170984292011-10-29T15:30:00.000+01:002011-10-29T15:30:47.953+01:00Public acceptance of evolutionThe frightening effect of religious propaganda on the mind . . . quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-76158073845479577252011-10-28T09:26:00.000+01:002011-10-28T09:26:44.717+01:00Debunking Christian ScienceAn incident last night at a Christian Science "lecture" entitled "Healing with Scientific Certainty Through Christ":-
Speaker: "I've never relied on medicine or been to a hospital...." Robert Stovold*: "You've been to an opticians though, haven't you?"
So, emotive testimonies of people being brought back from the dead on one hand, and the speaker's glasses implying that prayer doesn't cure minorquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-14974342332331232222011-10-27T20:34:00.000+01:002011-10-27T20:35:14.804+01:00The piercing insight of Bertrand Russell.
Graphics by Byron Hudson
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-36372960403439606212011-10-27T08:09:00.000+01:002011-10-27T08:09:11.163+01:00Misconceptions of hell . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-5689157250482985442011-10-24T14:48:00.000+01:002011-10-24T14:48:41.159+01:00Voltairequedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-263288959748004392011-10-22T18:10:00.001+01:002011-10-22T18:18:30.234+01:00Bad Faith Awards 2011
"It’s time once again for New Humanist readers to vote to decide who walks away with our annual Bad Faith Award. Now in its fifth year our award is a means of dishonouring the year's most outspoken enemy of reason. Previous winners include Sarah Palin, the Pope and last year's victor Sheikh Maulana Abu Sayeed, the head of the UK Islamic Sharia Council, for his assertion that it is not possiblequedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-64905000764460397832011-10-21T04:23:00.000+01:002011-10-21T04:24:08.663+01:00Agnostic or Atheist
"A friend, an intelligent lapsed Jew who observes the Sabbath for reasons of cultural solidarity, describes himself as a Tooth Fairy Agnostic. He will not call himself an atheist because it is in principle impossible to prove a negative. But "agnostic" on its own might suggest that he though God's existence or non-existence equally likely. In fact, though strictly agnostic about God, he quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-67338883532576810372011-10-20T13:48:00.002+01:002011-10-20T13:48:41.731+01:00How to argue with a muslim . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-30401529977423569802011-10-19T09:02:00.000+01:002011-10-19T09:02:23.028+01:00Putting faith in its place.A beautifully presented demolition job on fuzzy faith-based 'reasoning', including William Lane Craig's.quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-58555152944567096752011-10-15T09:52:00.000+01:002011-10-15T09:53:29.940+01:00Voluntary work for Atheists
I like the cotton gloves touch . . .
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-20147403011371734182011-10-12T16:04:00.000+01:002011-10-12T16:04:05.106+01:00Jesus still loves you . . .THEIST: "I just want you to know Jesus loves you."
ATHEIST: "Actually, you realize Jesus is a direct ripoff of Dionysus and many other mythological characters from earlier cultures, complete with virgin births (divine father / human mother), execution and resurrection on the third day, a 2nd coming prophecy, and miracles like turning water into wine. There's no hard, historical proof that he everquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-62956934222019374622011-10-10T21:51:00.000+01:002011-10-10T21:51:54.484+01:00Freud puts his finger on it . . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-20809921108758268172011-10-10T05:05:00.000+01:002011-10-10T05:05:42.355+01:00Religion in America
"The only thing we know for sure about the next President is that he won't be an atheist."quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-55145057216769428072011-10-07T07:50:00.000+01:002011-10-07T07:50:03.265+01:00Huge decline in UK ChristianityThe latest Office of National Statistics Integrated Household Survey figures on religion reveal an extraordinarily rapid decline in Christianity in Britain. The figures, published this week, show that growing numbers of Britons are rejecting religious belief, with almost one in four now saying they have “no religion at all”
Keith Porteous Wood, NSS Executive Director, urged Ministers to reflect quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-19737790001592713962011-10-07T07:38:00.000+01:002011-10-07T07:38:08.909+01:00Dexter the atheistquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-59664954973220673792011-10-01T16:06:00.000+01:002011-10-01T16:06:58.417+01:00Mr Deity & the philosopherI something good just because God says it is, or is it good anyway?quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-26034289177294236992011-09-30T19:23:00.000+01:002011-09-30T19:23:37.466+01:00Letter to the East Alien Dangly Times in response to some religious nutsReproduced from Flashmaggie's Posterous.
Dear Sir,
The responses that you’ve published to P J Davison’s assertion (26 September) that we should greet the decline of religious broadcasting with “Good riddance!” were predictable, but full of inaccuracies, particularly on science and evolution.
A R Wainwright of Halstead wrote, “You can’t always see electricity, nor touch, taste, hear or smell it – quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-40455776939019923682011-09-22T16:04:00.000+01:002011-09-22T16:04:11.696+01:00How to make a creationist weep . . ."Tell them advanced civilizations do not ever really intellectually degenerate. Tell them that, developmentally speaking, the human brain is not really designed to unfurl and regress, to suddenly erase complex, deeply learned wisdom. It is not our nature to understand, say, electromagnetic waveform and photosynthesis and suddenly revert to thinking it's all magic fairies and gnome spit.You can quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-43162902743449821532011-09-20T05:17:00.000+01:002011-09-20T05:17:35.012+01:00Profile of Richard Dawkins "A Knack for Bashing Orthodoxy". A nice profile in the New York Times of the world's most influential evolutionary biologist.
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-13732937198063580112011-09-19T17:02:00.000+01:002011-09-20T19:07:06.860+01:00Red neck, blue collar atheist.
This guy is great. There must be hope for America after-all . . .
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-53744835688669775742011-09-18T05:17:00.000+01:002011-09-18T05:17:36.501+01:00A thought for Sunday church-goers"The most powerful being ever created a universe of over 100 billion galaxies, each with over 100 billion stars, which existed for 14 billion years, and then picked one of the 100 billion galaxies and picked one of the 100 billion stars in that galaxy, and picked one planet revolving around that star, and of the million species on that planet he picked one animal member of all those species and quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-77844651117936017512011-09-14T06:38:00.000+01:002011-09-14T06:38:22.706+01:00The Magic of RealityRichard Dawkins on BBC2 Newsnight.quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-80368974804731734782011-09-12T17:02:00.002+01:002011-09-12T17:02:56.034+01:00The Magic of Realityquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-32724357853071015902011-09-12T14:04:00.002+01:002011-09-12T14:04:54.139+01:00The Athiest's prayerquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-86045972973954982302011-09-11T17:30:00.000+01:002011-09-11T17:30:18.481+01:00Family Guy visits Ground Zeroquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-81155164987544649622011-09-09T17:52:00.000+01:002011-09-09T17:53:07.242+01:00How to 'sell' a ban on religion. . .quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-42757284464994476282011-09-08T17:01:00.000+01:002011-09-08T17:01:24.977+01:00How evolution poses a problem for ChristianityBut of course . . . . that's not to say it poses a problem for all Christians, since many Christians happily accept evolution: they see Genesis 1 as merely a metaphor, and declare that if God chose to create us using evolution, that's fine by them. I used to be this kind of Christian myself; but I must confess that my blitheness was only possible because I had only the vaguest possible idea of quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-42242561422207293992011-09-02T13:46:00.000+01:002011-09-02T13:46:51.791+01:00BHA campaign against Faith Schools
Help support the ongoing British Humanist Association's campaign to abolish Faith Schools in the UK.
http://justgiving.com/nofaithschoolquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-35918115913093991722011-08-31T14:44:00.002+01:002011-08-31T14:44:59.425+01:00Captain Picard rejects Theismquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-38850740535212456312011-08-31T14:42:00.000+01:002011-08-31T14:42:17.051+01:00Gay scientists isolate the Christian genequedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-36467574248904930222011-08-31T09:23:00.000+01:002011-08-31T09:23:14.369+01:00Petition supporting legal action in France against Bible & Koran.On February 16th 2010, the Association “Athées en action / Atheists in Action » launched a new lawsuit in France against publishers of the bible and the koran.
"With the support of our lawyer, master Loïc Waroux, a complaint was lodged at the central police station in Rennes, France. This was the start of a legal proceeding that aims at obtaining the sale and distribution of the bible and the quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-6850164853665242572011-08-30T09:31:00.000+01:002011-08-30T09:31:50.511+01:00Religion - the crux . . .From Andy Thomson's talk: "Why we believe in God (s)."quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-81173313288587474662011-08-30T07:11:00.000+01:002011-08-30T07:11:31.704+01:00Richard Dawkins on Rick Perry"The population of the United States is more than 300 million and it includes some of the best and brightest that the human species has to offer, probably more so than any other country in the world. There is surely something wrong with a system for choosing a leader when, given a pool of such talent and a process that occupies more than a year and consumes billions of dollars, what rises to the quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-37981712102742927772011-08-29T19:28:00.000+01:002011-08-29T19:29:49.539+01:00Why we believe in God(s)An excellent talk by psychiatrist Dr. Andy Thomson
"We are risen apes- not fallen angels."
"If you understand the psychology of a Big Mac meal you understand the psychology of religion."
"Half of all 4 year-olds have imaginary friends."
"We are on the threshold of a comprehensive cognitive neuroscience of religious belief."
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-68247796026952790752011-08-29T15:14:00.000+01:002011-08-29T15:14:59.948+01:00Rare Bible on eBay"You are bidding on an extremely rare copy of a "THE BIBLE." written by. Jesus, et al.
What makes this copy so rare is that it is autographed by JESUS CHRIST himself!!! It appears he has signed it using a royal blue Expo marker...which makes it even more valuable.
Book is 'like new' with some slight use. I'm not pointing fingers at Jesus or anything, but someone has included some crudely drawnquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-8981129344371026892011-08-27T14:45:00.000+01:002011-08-27T14:45:06.075+01:00BHA petition to abolish collective worship in UK schoolsResponsible department: Department for Education
"As it stands, the law requires all schools to hold an act of collective worship every day. Even in schools that aren’t ‘faith’ schools, this must be ‘broadly Christian’ in character. In a society which is increasingly diverse, this is an affront to the rights of young people to express their beliefs freely. Although there is the opportunity to optquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-60467111156617902252011-08-26T10:58:00.002+01:002011-08-26T10:58:46.723+01:00Evan Harris - Secular Europe Campaignquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-48227307756377939902011-08-26T09:06:00.000+01:002011-08-26T09:07:38.889+01:00"We are Atheism"
A new campaign:-
"This is your chance to finally be heard. This is our chance to stand up, speak out, and be counted. We want to provide a platform for atheists around the globe to see that they are not alone. Atheists come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and backgrounds. The only thing that we all have in common is that we don’t see any credible evidence to believe in a god. It’s ok to be an quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-51735928712988229042011-08-26T08:13:00.000+01:002011-08-26T08:17:17.717+01:00Richard Dawkins on the Secular Europe Campaign
Join the London march for a Secular Europe 17th September 2011
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-46337350451789960262011-08-21T18:48:00.000+01:002011-08-21T18:48:47.077+01:00Faith requires self-delusionThe following is an extract from: "Why We Believe in god(s): A Concise Guide to the Science Of Faith." The author is psychiatrist J. Anderson Thomson, JR., MD.
“The human ability for self-deception is crucial to religious belief. If many believers could see their own minds more clearly, they would see that self-deception plays a role in their acceptance of faith.Maybe there are ONLY atheists in quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-87645024263144863012011-08-21T18:40:00.001+01:002011-08-22T12:48:03.428+01:00Pope in Spain
The highspot of the visit so far . . .
If I was one of the faithful I would surely interpret this as god's message to stfu . . . . . .
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-23228996331737882962011-08-20T07:06:00.000+01:002011-08-20T07:06:24.538+01:00AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CLERGY, MISSIONARIES & CHRISTIAN FRIENDSDear believer in Jesus,Only out of common courtesy do I tolerate your efforts to share the Invisible Man in the Sky gospel with me. I know that much time and money has gone into your efforts; way out of proportion to the success rate of people actually accepting your delusional teachings. Therefore, I feel it only fair that first I reciprocate by sharing something important with you.Before I quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-64510207165658128092011-08-16T05:15:00.001+01:002011-08-16T05:15:35.126+01:00Teach evolution - not creationismA new petition on HM Government's website:-
"Creationism and ‘intelligent design’ are not scientific theories, but they are portrayed as scientific theories by some religious fundamentalists who attempt to have their views promoted in publicly-funded schools. At the same time, an understanding of evolution is central to understanding all aspects of biology. Currently, the study of evolution quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-24491659420536504962011-08-16T04:58:00.000+01:002011-08-16T04:58:01.482+01:00The Virgin Birth and Occam's RazorPantaloon Descendo: The Virgin Birth and Occam's Razor: "In Christian myths, one of the central elements is the Virgin Birth -- the belief that Jesus Christ was the child of Mary and the Holy Ghost..."quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-77402590829209583172011-08-13T08:05:00.001+01:002011-08-14T10:17:05.252+01:00Separation of Church & State - epetitionsThree epetitions have appeared on HM government website calling for disestablishment and the ending of religious privilege:-
Disestablish the Church of England. "With the British Social Attitudes survey showing that just 20% of the population are C of E, and that 50% have no religion at all, England should no longer remain one of the only developed countries to have a state religion."
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-16577985368094194262011-08-11T18:42:00.000+01:002011-08-11T18:42:19.238+01:00Britain is a riot
Pat doesn't seem to like rioters much . . . . . quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-44854949870733774752011-08-11T18:30:00.000+01:002011-08-11T18:30:10.874+01:00Goodbye Religion?Something strange is happening to American teenagers. If you believe popular wisdom, young people are apathetic, cynical and jaded; or, they're supposed to be conformists whose overriding desire is to fit in and be popular. But if you've been paying close attention over the past decade, you might have seen any of a growing number of cases that conspicuously defy these stereotypes: stories of quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-36319370785929803932011-08-06T10:21:00.000+01:002011-08-06T10:21:22.715+01:00Sharia poster boyI think he means "peace" ironically.quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-78642901375884511892011-08-06T05:10:00.000+01:002011-08-06T05:10:22.713+01:00Elevatorgate - the last wordThis seems to say it all . . . .
quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-70746621518740704812011-07-28T09:30:00.000+01:002011-07-28T09:30:16.690+01:00Pat Condell on violence.quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-75857732656341939782011-07-16T16:11:00.000+01:002011-07-16T16:11:13.071+01:00That Fake Christian gets pownedquedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1226216199663753298.post-63341495265877578762011-07-15T17:20:00.000+01:002011-07-15T17:20:37.528+01:00Insulting religionI always listen to Pat with a feeling of glee . . . quedulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09737971867539674984noreply@blogger.com0