Two things from todays Australian

[Ectes]

First up, an editorial on Dawkins that calls us deluded. I rolled my eyes at all the same 'arguments' put forward over and over.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/dawkins-preaches-to-the-deluded-against-the-divine/story-e6frg6zo-1225841086925

The other is a small article that should give us a bit of relief:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7061704.ece

Here, have this grain of salt, free with that article.

--Ectes

[Praxis]

I clicked the link for the "small relief" article (won't bother reading the other one) and got this article:
Da Vinci ‘predicted world would end in 4006’ says Vatican researcher


:rolleyes:

I'm pretty sure that's not what you meant!

[Fearless]

Wow, what an article indeed... she is quite venomous isn't she? but don't you always seem to feel the same emotions and from these people... fear, anger etc... they are so scared of their own vulnerability it's disturbing in a way.

If you can't win your argument with proof, bastardise and demonise the other guys instead.

[Praxis]

Wow, what an article indeed... she is quite venomous isn't she? but don't you always seem to feel the same emotions and from these people... fear, anger etc... they are so scared of their own vulnerability it's disturbing in a way.

If you can't win your argument with proof, bastardise and demonise the other guys instead.
Yep. And Barnie wants us to grow up, and Bolt thinks we're barbarians :rolleyes:

[gruber]

oooo i didnt know nazism was athiestic (or some other fancy word that means non belief), even though Hitler thought he was doing gods work and the third Riech soldiers had something about god on their belts (cant remember the german phrase)

[Fearless]

oooo i didnt know nazism was athiestic (or some other fancy word that means non belief), even though Hitler thought he was doing gods work and the third Riech soldiers had something about god on their belts (cant remember the german phrase)

Ha, that's one thing I did write down that I didn't know... 'god with us' were the words on their belt buckles.

[gruber]

Ha, that's one thing I did write down that I didn't know... 'god with us' were the words on their belt buckles.

Thats the one:D, I learnt about that when some bible basher went on about how you need religion for morals in battleground Europe (online game I play), which, as usual, exploded in a big arguement (after that guy got ripped a new one) and this belt buckle inscription was brought up.

[Mentally Saturated]

I'm sorry to say I didn't know anything about the belt-buckles either.. and I've had almost a life-long interest in all things WWII.. :(

Well, I just Googled this.. and I'm more than a little shocked.

http://www.nobeliefs.com/mementoes.htm

Has anyone seen this site before... if so, how reliable is it ? If it is reliable, the word "goldmine" comes to mind.

I shall take it all with a grain of salt until it's confirmed worthy of further study.

Gary

[NakedApe]

Wow, what an article indeed... she is quite venomous isn't she? but don't you always seem to feel the same emotions and from these people... fear, anger etc... they are so scared of their own vulnerability it's disturbing in a way.

If you can't win your argument with proof, bastardise and demonise the other guys instead.

That's right, and don't forget to coat the whole ugly enchilada with a thick layer of hypocrisy as well. A quick check of the claims made by Phillips reveals little more than a raft of sloppy assertions, dishonesty and a breathtaking lack of humility - the very things she accuses Prof. Dawkins of.

Oh well, at least we can take some comfort in the likelihood that her upcoming book will sink without a trace - unlike those of the good Professor. Pehaps that's what's bothering her ;).

[efiesley]

Hi,
I'm a member of qskeptics (a Yahoo Group) and earlier today sent this to that list. I think it behoves me to give it to you, I wrote...
This article seriously worries me. At the conference we all feared for Taslima Nasrin who is being actively sought out by would-be murderers simply because she is a free thinker who communicates. With mindless rubbish as is written in this article, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/dawkins-preaches-to-the-deluded-against-the-divine/story-e6frg6zo-1225841086925 (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/dawkins-preaches-to-the-deluded-against-the-divine/story-e6frg6zo-1225841086925) how long will it be before Richard Dawkins finds himself similarly threatened? It’s all very well to state the obvious about atheists and believers, but if we cannot encourage someone to continue to contribute quality, carefully-worded countering arguments to The Australian then we may have blood on our hands one day (perish the thought).
I dare say the article was in response to what is written at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/celebrating-life-beyond-belief/story-e6frg6z6-1225840634149 (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/celebrating-life-beyond-belief/story-e6frg6z6-1225840634149) but I’m not sure – they’re only a day apart. Come to think of it, there was much in the 16th March bulldust that may well have been in response to this one. It’s a good article, but the crack about Dawkins saying ‘the Pope is a Nazi’ was sadly shy on qualification.
I'd be interested in your comments.
Eric Fiesley (aka Fiz)

[bipedalhumanoid]

Dawkins has delivered talks in places where there is much more opposition, and many more firearms, than you will find in Australia. I think you will find your concerns are unwarranted.

[heresy]

we can't overlook the fact that the article was written to deliberately cause controversy to SELL A BOOK...

[atheist echo]

On a similar note, did any Sydneysiders read Cardinal Pell's regualr column in the Sunday Telegraph RE: his debate with Dan Barker? (and atheism in general)

[riddlemethis]

Linky AE?

[atheist echo]

My apologies...I know it sounds silly but I'm still not very tech-savvy or good at providing links. I was just wondering if anyone read it yesterday...:o

[Mentally Saturated]

Well, I tried to search the Telegraph's pages using their own search engine. 3 different search parameters were "Dan Barker", "George Pell" and "Macquarie University"...and all I got was "An error occurred processing your request." on all three. Of course the ADS worked perfectly..

Since the site is so friggin' useless, I'll just assume that their content is equally so.

Gary

[atheist echo]

It was only a small article but Pell seemed to use it to criticise Atheism in general.

[TimB]

If you google pell vs barker you get a few hits - and the catholic league does a lovely biased piece -a few good comments on their blog though.

I saw Pell give his talk at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas last year titled "Without god we are nothing". He had no arguements of any substance and quoted Antony Flew extensively which to me completely discredited Pell. All he succeeding in doing for me was to confirm that without god some religious people would be nothing - kind of sad.

[atheist echo]

Well people liek him would be out of a job for one thing!

[kencooke]

George Cardinal Pell writes about his debate with Barker in this weeks Catholic Weekly. (http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=6728&class=Features&subclass=Cardinal's%20Comment)

[Caio]

He lost me at "the odds of the amino acids randomly shuffling to produce life are..." (Caio closes window and bangs head in frustration), surely this is willful self denial, simply refusing to take away anything from the discussions he has had in the past, when the other persons gets up to speak, make sure to turn off your brain. I at least when i debate Christians at the very least i try to take away a better understanding about why they believe...
This man on the other hand is a moron. :mad:

[Seamus]

It was only a small article but Pell seemed to use it to criticise Atheism in general.

Yair, he likes to do that.I think it make him feel adequate.:p


I've never liked the man's public persona.He always seemed a little 'off' to me.My dislike increased exponentially when I learned of his role in protecting paedophile priests.The Nuremberg defense of following Vatican instructions doesn't wash with me.

[atheist echo]

That was pretty much the article that was in the Telegraph.
I can't believe how many people still think Mother Theresa is an untouchable or a saint. Anyone outside of Roman catholic circles can read much about her shortcomings. Christopher Hitchens has written quite extensively on this subject.

[atheist echo]

@A_Echo: It is not necessarily what Wee Georgie Pell thinks, so much as what he says.

His mission is to protect and promote the interests of the PopeCo conglomerate. The Old Albanian Woman is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PopeCo, and Georgie will do whatever he thinks necessary.

Fair point. It's amazing, though...I went to a Catholic school (even though I wasn't really brought up as a strict catholic)and we studied quite abit a bit about her in Year 8 and yeah...looking back we were really given the party line. She was made to sound as if she could do no wrong.

[two dogs]

...
The Old Albanian Woman
...

That's somewhat kinder than Hitchen's description of her as "a thieving, fanatical Albanian dwarf". :)

[Seamus]

I can't believe how many people still think Mother Theresa is an untouchable or a saint. Me too. I once saw her interviewed.

She came across as an ignorant,dogmatic,bigoted and rather obnoxious old cow. That impression has been reinforced by a lot of stuff I've heard about her since.

(A redeeming quality is that it now seems likely she was an atheist at the end of her life)


Whenever I think of her work,I think of this quote:


A wonderful thing death.So uncontroversial (Prime Minister Jim Hacker)

[atheist echo]

Indeed.
And that was a great series (Yes Minister/PM)