Monthly Archive for April, 2008

National Day of Prayer

Published
by
DocMike
on April 30, 2008
.
Tomorrow, May 1st, is being promoted by as the . So they all get together and pray for... what? It's hard to believe that nobody has ever prayed to end the war or feed all of the starving children or end poverty or rid the world of all suffering, etc. And if they have (and they surely have) and we still have all of these things (and we certainly do), then how the hell can they still believe prayer works?

It's the same old thing. The - just can't lose! If Christians pray for something and they get it, they thank him for answering their prayers. And if the thing they prayed for doesn't happen, they excuse him with something like, "It wasn't God's will" or "God has his reasons." (I wonder what his reasons could be for allowing innocent children to suffer through sexual and physical abuse, starving, and disease.)

And if their god is going to do whatever the hell he wants to do anyway, then why the hell pray in the first place?

Technorati Tags:
Thank you for subscribing to "By The Book Comics"

Natural Selection and Eugenics, part 2

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on April 30, 2008
.

A reader called Ashlea has replied to my post Natural Selection and Eugenics with this comment:

I fully believe that what Hitler did WAS Eugenics. And Darwinism is a direct link to this and other things. By eliminating a God and a creator, you really do eliminate the value of human life. If one believe that firstly, he was out on this earth by some cosmic accident, that his life is nothing more than to live and to die, and that after he does there is nothing left, no after life, what value does it have? So of course people are going to look at the "evolution" of people from mud or apes or whatever the case, and they are going to try to "perfect" it. If human life is NO more valuable that the life of an animal, which why would if be if we were once animals, and we have no soul, then what is the harm in picking and choosing and killing??
It has also led to other things, such as euthanasia and abortion. If life is as valueless as Darwinism suggests, then why not just kill of the ones who are "useless"?
What we need to realize is that Yes! We were created by an Intelligent Designer. Look at what trying to prove this wrong has done??? Resulted in the death of Millions of innocent people, people with a purpose in life.

I had started to reply with a comment there, but the reply was getting too long, so… a new post it is. :)

Ashlea: I’m sorry, but you are guilty of several common mistakes there. I’ll try to enumerate them:

I fully believe that what Hitler did WAS Eugenics.

No argument there (although it has been argued by some that the Holocaust wasn’t really done to perfect humanity, but because Hitler envied the Jews.)

And Darwinism is a direct link to this and other things.

Here I can’t agree. Both Dawkins’ quote in my post and my own follow-up to it clearly explained that eugenics is simply an attempt to apply the millennia old selective breeding of animals to humans — which is artificial selection, and has nothing to do with Darwinian evolution (not "Darwinism", but that’s a subject for another post), which is based on natural selection.

By eliminating a GOd and a creator, you really do eliminate the value of human life.

I disagree, and such a thing has never been proved. You’ll note that virtually everyone who says "without God, life is pointless" is a believer… and if they were right, then atheists would be sad, nihilistic, suicidal people who saw no point to anything. That is, of course, not the case at all. In other words: only the people who need an external justification for their lives believe that such an external justification is universally needed. Forgive me for the harsh comparison, but this is like an addict who claims that nobody could ever live happily and healthily without the drug.

Besides, even if you were right, and life were pointless without a god, it would not follow that a god would exist. Something is not more likely to be true simply because the consequences of it being false "would be bad". Please see this entry in my FAQ for more details.

If human life is NO more valuable that the life of an animal, which why would if be if we were once animals, and we have no soul, then what is the harm in picking and choosing and killing??
It has also led to other things, such as euthanasia and abortion. If life is as valueless as Darwinism suggests, then why not just kill of the ones who are "useless"?

Again, you are confusing two separate things. Darwinian evolution describes how things work, now how people ought to behave — and neither Darwin nor modern biologists advocate eugenics (which, again, is artificial selection, and which humanity has performed on animals and plants for ages).

You also imply that human life is only worth anything if we have something known as "souls". This is the old argument: theists claim that a finite life is worthless; I say that its finite quality only makes it more precious, more worthy of being lived to the fullest. And, look — I care for other people even though I don’t believe they have supernatural, immortal "souls"! Isn’t this weird, according to your way of seeing things?

I’d also argue that euthanasia and abortion arise from respect for human life and dignity, not from lack of it, but that’s another story.

To conclude, most of your comment was an appeal to consequences. You didn’t try to show either how evolution doesn’t happen, or how intelligent design does; you just claimed that, if evolution is true, "things would be bad", therefore it must be false, and intelligent design wins "by default". Sorry to say, but that’s not very convincing…

P.S. – I’m glad you didn’t use the "Hitler and Stalin did what they did because they didn’t believe in God, therefore they thought they could do anything" argument. My reply to that one would have been a lot less nice… :)

Copyright © 2012 Way of the Mind

Dogma

Published
by
Q
on April 30, 2008
.
Is there any difference between a perfect machine with just a tiny flaw that cannot be corrected and a completely flawed machine? What's the difference between a person with perfect thoughts that are constricted with emotions and belief, and a person with no good thoughts at all? It is when people stop applying logic in their thoughts, decisions, or actions that they cross the line between reason and dogma.

One of the most serious dangers of dogma (of which religion is a big example) is that it doesn't contain a self-correction mechanism, it doesn't require thinking, hence it's a comfortable path for people to follow. It's always much easier to go with the flow than to go against it, especially when going against it is considered nothing short of a revolution.

Looking at all the great minds that were, and still are being, wasted because of such dogmatic lines of thought (excuse the oxymoron), one is left with only one thought: What a loss....

Dogma

Published
by
Q
on April 30, 2008
.
Is there any difference between a perfect machine with just a tiny flaw that cannot be corrected and a completely flawed machine? What's the difference between a person with perfect thoughts that are constricted with emotions and belief, and a person with no good thoughts at all? It is when people stop applying logic in their thoughts, decisions, or actions that they cross the line between reason and dogma.

One of the most serious dangers of dogma (of which religion is a big example) is that it doesn't contain a self-correction mechanism, it doesn't require thinking, hence it's a comfortable path for people to follow. It's always much easier to go with the flow than to go against it, especially when going against it is considered nothing short of a revolution.

Looking at all the great minds that were, and still are being, wasted because of such dogmatic lines of thought (excuse the oxymoron), one is left with only one thought: What a loss....

Listening

Published
by
The Spiritual Atheist
on April 29, 2008
.
Currently Reading:
The Way of Chuang Tzu
Translated by Thomas Merton



True Compassion:
When you are truly listening, you stop listening and become listening.


Namaste,
CET

"Much of the suffering in the world comes from the illusion that we are separate from one another." - Gautama Buddha


US Strikes Back

Published
by
godjeeringatheist
on April 29, 2008
.

The US has been struggling with a way to combat Iran’s involvement in Iraq. Now word has come out about the unbelievably effective use of a 50 year old weapon. This weapon has very unique characteristics. It is stealthy, small, inexpensive and lightweight; in fact, the Iranians themselves bring it into the country. Current defenses have been ineffective. Iranian officials have called it “destructive” and a “danger.”

There is one potential downside to this weapon; it targets children. This could lead to extensive world criticism, but surprisingly so far it has not.

It seems when a country is a theocracy, it gives an enemy a much wider arsenal of weapons to employ.

What is this weapon? Yes its Barbie.


Skeptic looks under rocks

Published
by
Christian
on April 29, 2008
.
looking under rocks
As a boy, I have dreamt of becoming a naturalist, discovering new animals in the jungle. When strolling around creeks and other places in free nature, I used to flip pebbles and rocks in order to discover beetles, worms and other interesting things. Andrea's buzzing new Skeptics' Circle, Looking-under-Rocks edition, reminds me of these old days that I still love to remember. And times have not changed in so far as still very interesting things can be discovered, flipping rocks.

What I have found is another science-based mix of rants, partly about philosophical and partly about medical nonsense. All excellent stuff as usual, and all those who tend to be tolerant about creationism and ID should bear in mind that anti-science (aka quackery) can be bad for health.

Skeptic looks under rocks

Published
by
Christian
on April 29, 2008
.
looking under rocks
As a boy, I have dreamt of becoming a naturalist, discovering new animals in the jungle. When strolling around creeks and other places in free nature, I used to flip pebbles and rocks in order to discover beetles, worms and other interesting things. Andrea's buzzing new Skeptics' Circle, Looking-under-Rocks edition, reminds me of these old days that I still love to remember. And times have not changed in so far as still very interesting things can be discovered, flipping rocks.

What I have found is another science-based mix of rants, partly about philosophical and partly about medical nonsense. All excellent stuff as usual, and all those who tend to be tolerant about creationism and ID should bear in mind that anti-science (aka quackery) can be bad for health.

Coming Soon – Exclusive Interview

Published
by
godjeeringatheist
on April 29, 2008
.

Coming soon to this site will be an exclusive interview with a world renowned Intelligent Design expert. He is about to publish his latest book that he claims will have several breakthrough discoveries.

Watch for updates.


"Just a theory"

Published
by
Pedro Timóteo
on April 27, 2008
.

The Intelligent Design proponents make a compelling, and totally legitimate, argument that if a theory has not been proven, then one suggested theory is just as good as another.

Take gravity, for example: the force of attraction between massive particles. We know a great deal about the properties of gravity, yet we know nothing about the cause of the force itself. Why are particles attracted to one another? If we review the literature, we find a lot of material dealing with the properties of gravity, but very little dealing with the underlying cause of this attraction. Until we have a proven answer to this question, it seems irresponsible to instruct students in what is, ultimately, just a theory. However, if we must discuss the theory of gravity at all, then it’s reasonable that all suggested theories should be given equal time, since none have been proven or disproven. Therefore, I formally submit that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is behind this strange and often misunderstood force.

What if it is He, pushing us down with His Noodly Appendages, that causes this force? He is invisible, remember, and is undetectable by current instruments, so in theory it is possible. And the fact that the gravitational powers of the Spaghetti Monster haven’t been disproven makes it all the more likely to be true. We can only guess as to His motives, but it’s logical to assume that if He is going to such trouble, there is a good reason. It could be that He doesn’t want us floating off earth into space, or maybe just that He enjoys touching us — we may never know.

– Bobby Henderson, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Copyright © 2012 Way of the Mind

(OFF-TOPIC) I forgot how i fell in love with this song =(

Published
by
T-Jay Bautista
on April 27, 2008
.
Just like to share you guys one of my most favorite song:



Enjoy!!

Religious free riders

Published
by
Christian
on April 24, 2008
.
child with measles
The outbreak center of the most recent measles epidemic in Europe has been identified: Muttenz, Switzerland, a couple of miles away from the headquarters of Anthroposophy. This is not quite a religion of its own because most Antrhoposophists consider themselves as Christians. But in my view it is sort of a compound religion with a mix of Christianity and eastern religions such as Buddhism.

Center of the measles outbreak that has expanded to Austria, Germany, and Norway meanwhile is the Rudolf Steiner School of Muttenz. Outside of Switzerland, such institutes are called Waldorf schools.

Anthroposophists reject the idea that children should be vaccinated. They have managed to gain much influence: Switzerland has become the antivax center of Europe, nowhere else is the immunization rate so low. The health officials of European Union are concerned and have become diplomatically active.

Rejecting science but profiting from it

This example is typical for the free riding behaviour that can be observed in many religious or spiritual people. They profit from the benefits of science in our modern world but are not willing to pay the price, that is, respecting science. Not enough with indifference, no, they reject science. They are against it.

The fact that their unvaccinated children mostly stay free of measles is due to all those parents and children who have been vaccinated. They profit from a behaviour that they reject. Not only are they free riders, but free riders of a very deliberate sort.

This is enough reason for an anti-religious rant

After some tolerant, kind-hearted posts about respect for religious beliefs, common traits with theists, and looking for sense in religion, it may be high time for this rant: Religious beliefs can undermine the coherence of our society, they can be bad for health and may even kill children.

My rant is not about all religious people but only about those who are anti-science: Anthroposophists, spiritualists, creationists, idealists, mind-matter dualists, reincarnationists, (un)intelligent designers, evangelicals, and the like.

What these people do is taking advantage of a world that could not have been developed without the progress of science, that is, by applied freethought and by eliminating the influence of religions on everyday life. Not only are they technological free riders. They are also moral free riders because the modern human rights are achievements of secular political processes that have restricted the influence of religions. That's it for today, I'm going to take up the issue of moral and religion later.

Photo credit: Wellcome Images

Religious free riders

Published
by
Christian
on April 24, 2008
.
child with measles
The outbreak center of the most recent measles epidemic in Europe has been identified: Muttenz, Switzerland, a couple of miles away from the headquarters of Anthroposophy. This is not quite a religion of its own because most Antrhoposophists consider themselves as Christians. But in my view it is sort of a compound religion with a mix of Christianity and eastern religions such as Buddhism.

Center of the measles outbreak that has expanded to Austria, Germany, and Norway meanwhile is the Rudolf Steiner School of Muttenz. Outside of Switzerland, such institutes are called Waldorf schools.

Anthroposophists reject the idea that children should be vaccinated. They have managed to gain much influence: Switzerland has become the antivax center of Europe, nowhere else is the immunization rate so low. The health officials of European Union are concerned and have become diplomatically active.

Rejecting science but profiting from it

This example is typical for the free riding behaviour that can be observed in many religious or spiritual people. They profit from the benefits of science in our modern world but are not willing to pay the price, that is, respecting science. Not enough with indifference, no, they reject science. They are against it.

The fact that their unvaccinated children mostly stay free of measles is due to all those parents and children who have been vaccinated. They profit from a behaviour that they reject. Not only are they free riders, but free riders of a very deliberate sort.

This is enough reason for an anti-religious rant

After some tolerant, kind-hearted posts about respect for religious beliefs, common traits with theists, and looking for sense in religion, it may be high time for this rant: Religious beliefs can undermine the coherence of our society, they can be bad for health and may even kill children.

My rant is not about all religious people but only about those who are anti-science: Anthroposophists, spiritualists, creationists, idealists, mind-matter dualists, reincarnationists, (un)intelligent designers, evangelicals, and the like.

What these people do is taking advantage of a world that could not have been developed without the progress of science, that is, by applied freethought and by eliminating the influence of religions on everyday life. Not only are they technological free riders. They are also moral free riders because the modern human rights are achievements of secular political processes that have restricted the influence of religions. That's it for today, I'm going to take up the issue of moral and religion later.

Photo credit: Wellcome Images

All’s Well That Ends Well

Published
by
drmomentum@gmail.com
on April 24, 2008
.

Did you hear the news story about the girl who would not recite the Pledge of Allegiance in high school classes? They booted her out of school for it.

Eighteen-year-old Tyner Academy senior Quinesha Garrett was removed this week from daytime classes and ordered to night school, where the pledge is not recited.

She refused to say the Pledge, so she's probably some kind of terrorist or other.

But there is a happy end to this story. Ms. Garrett simply told the administration that she had political reasons for not reciting the Pledge at this time, and that she felt it was part of her exercise of freedom of speech. And they let her back in!

I'm totally kidding. She told them it was against her religion.

Sometimes I wish non-theists could get notes from god, but he tends not to return our phone calls.

US Back in the Execution Business

Published
by
Dave McRitchie
on April 24, 2008
.
In a 7 to 2 vote the US Supreme court ruled April 15th that the most common method of lethal injection to execute condemned prisoners is constitutional. The justices said the three-drug...

US Back in the Execution Business

Published
by
Dave McRitchie
on April 24, 2008
.
In a 7 to 2 vote the US Supreme court ruled April 15th that the most common method of lethal injection to execute condemned prisoners is constitutional. The justices said the three-drug...