Thought I'd answer this anoymous person on the main blog. :-)

Been a bit shy on the blogging front lately... however, this gem landed in my comments section. My new comments are, quite helpfully, coloured red.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Until your god, Science, can keep you from dying you will have to deal with the real one at some point.
Scientific studies show that belief in Jesus greatly reduces stress, anger, and hostility in most people...if you believe those sort of studies.

So I replied...

15 September 2009 21:16

Randomfish said...

Science is not a god.
Belief in a deity will reduce stress if you are the kind of person who worries about death and ghost stories.
A lot of people who call themselves christians are, in my opinion, LESS tolerant of others. At worst they see themselves as morally superior or at least, a better person for having that 'belief'.
A lot of christians ARE less hostile, but too few will turn the other cheek as recommended by Jesus. I have a great deal of respect for nice people. I just don't think that being a believer makes the slightest bit of difference. I personally would rather trust a genuine nice person than someone who is doing it because they are 'told to' or will 'go to heaven'.

So 'anonymous' made quite a few reply statements...

15 September 2009 21:28

Anonymous said...

Science is not a god.
- - - - - -
I'm glad I'm getting through to you.

AARRggghh!!! Since WHEN has ANY atheist EVER thought 'Science' was a 'god'. This is an utterly ridiculous statement that has no merit answering. (They should try getting their nose out of a bible and try a dictionary for a change!)

...but too few will turn the other cheek as recommended by Jesus.
- - - - - -
We do try harder than the folks who sit in the bleachers calling the fouls.

Sorry, I'm not sure what this statement means. :-) Being British and all that. But in my personal experience and opinion (it is MY blog after all) I have found NO difference to the many atheists that easily forgive others. Forgiveness is not the exclusive right to religious folk. Declaring a 'Holy war' on the other hand...

16 September 2009 05:31

Anonymous said...

You exhibit very little tolerance in your post for those you claim are intolerant.
Why complain about Christians who don't turn the other cheek? Isn't this an indication that they are rejecting what you also despise? Perhaps they are well on their way to your side. Otherwise, if you are in agreement with this teaching, then you concede that Christianity does carry some merit.

I readily admit, I like a good rant. Clears the air. Stops you bottling stuff up inside. I apologise but I really hate to see a waste of intellect. (This is the reason I became a teacher!) When someone informs me that the Earth is 4000 years old, my first thought is 'You poor, misinformed person.' If they carry on then I'll try to explain, reasonably, why they are wrong. And if they still carry on then I will mock them.

16 September 2009 15:21

Anonymous said...

I personally would rather trust a genuine nice person than someone who is doing it because they are 'told to' or will 'go to heaven'.
- - - - - - - - -
You must do some interesting screening when someone stops to help you fix a flat or pick up something you dropped on the ground....Sir, are you helping me because you want to go to heaven or because you think I might give you a tip? I hope you are helping me for no reason other than for evolutionary and scientific purposes, as this is a genuine motivation and will allow me to trust you in much higher matters such as babysitting my young daughters and managing my bank account.

That was funny! :-) Actually I might start asking people who help me! Seriously. And this is what I predict. Most people will do nice things BECAUSE they are nice people. Not because they are hoping to go to heaven/ nirvanna/ valhalla/ reincarnate as a cow etc... My conclusion, they don't need a sky pixie. You may disagree. (And I'm sure you will...)

16 September 2009 15:34

Anonymous said...

Belief in a deity will reduce stress if you are the kind of person who worries about death and ghost stories.
- - - - - - -
Belief in science will induce stress if you are the kind of person who worries about global warming and aliens.

I am actually getting my breath back from laughing out loud at this! Thanks. The idea of aliens would be wonderful! Science has been able to predict events about global warming and the scientific community are working together to provide alternative methods of energy supply. Scientific discoveries are improving lives, saving lives, getting us closer to understanding the wonderful world around us! Having a scientific knowledge has enhanced my life immeasurably. The very fact you are actually criticising science is only available to you because of .... wait for it... scientific discoveries!!! (Electricity, plastics, semiconductors, EM radiation, materials science, electrons.... oh I really could go on.)

Science has made me (and billions of others) happier, safer and more aware of what is happening around us.

If you think you will find all the answers in a holy book, I honestly, HONESTLY, pity you. :-(

16 September 2009 15:48

Anonymous said...

I have a great deal of respect for nice people. I just don't think that being a believer makes the slightest bit of difference.
- - - - -
So, you mean you consider yourself no nicer than the average ignorant ****wit? You shouldn't be so hard on yourself.
The truth is, you think you are better because you can be just as nice with no extra help from God...isn't that right?

Yes.

Sorry, did you want me to explain (again!)
Anyone who does nice things BECAUSE they believe in a god is a ****wit. I am a nice person (well enough people tell me anyway) and I will recieve NO benefit from some supernatural power who can mystically weigh up all my deeds.

Simple version: An altruistic person is nicer than someone who expects a reward for their actions.

Hope that clears things up. Thanks, as always for taking the time to respond to my blog. :-)

Conversations with a (nice) christian.

This is a response to my 'Alpha Course' post. (If it has scrolled off the bottom of the page then 'clicky!' )
'JL' is one of those nice christians who (in my experience) make up the majority of christians that are willing to talk to me. Currently we are in the middle of a friendly 'holy war' at our school, where she is trying to get me to appreciate Jesus and I am bestowing the gift of Pastafarian knowledge. I have shown her undeniable evidence of FSM's power by making her jump and pointing out how the kind FSM brings her safely back to Earth with his noodly appendages. (He loves us all and keeps us safe - FACT!)

Randomfish, I believe I might even have been the long-haired born-again that suggested an Alpha course to you.

Yep, The most recent one.

It's not like you have anything to lose, anyway :-p

Well, my scientific reasoning for one...

re: 'based on a relationship, not knowledge'
It always makes me smile that people get so OUTRAGED that the Bible is younger than Jesus, or at least most of it. That it's been *gasp* ADDED TO(!!!111) over the years. Of course it has. Ours is a living God. He didn't just speak once 6000 years ago (you heard right, DB!) and that was it. If you develop a relationship with your living God, he will speak to you. And he will tell you do not have a religion based on laws, you have a new life based on His loving gospel.

We agree here. Religion (especially christianity) has evolved. It has HAD to! Let's face it, if we had the same thinking as we did 1000 years ago, you would look pretty stupid now.
We don't get ill because god is punishing us. We get better because we 1) take medicine or 2) naturally get better over time.
Gods don't live in the sky. We are not the centre of the universe. Evolution is happening. The Earth is over 6000 years old. Morality is not owned by any religion...
Damn those astronomers, doctors, biologists, historians, geologists, philosophers...! They have had to make those crrraaaazzzyyy christians do some drastic rejigging of what to believe! LOL.

'Faith is more important than logic'

Logic is more important than blind faith. Blind faith is an insult to intelligence and reason. Blind faith can be harmful. For example, feel my pain when Arsenal lose! (Thankfully rarely!)

Don't pretend that you have faith in nothing, that faith in itself is ridiculous. You have faith in love, if nothing else, surely.

I DO have faith in humanity; kindness of strangers; love and hope. They are essential for understanding our humanity. I just don't attribute an imaginary friend to fill the gaps in knowledge.

Logic tells me that you can't get evolution from one species to another, only within species. Science tells me that even after thousands and thousands of generations of fly mutations, a fly is still a fly. So how did every living species in the world evolve from a fish? Including, presumably: turnips, scabies mite, chinchillas, sharks etc etc? Are you not putting your faith in a straaaange theory of evolution, hmmmmmm? ;)

Fellow humanists/ atheists, JL is a really nice person and please do not judge someone on their lack of understanding of evolution.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/different-patterns-of-evolution.html
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/sat-ii-biology-understanding-origins-of-life.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution

'Because of who god is, we will always have questions'
Of course. And let's face it, when Jesus came and proclaimed himself the Son of God, not many people believed him, and what more proof could God really give us? Perhaps you would like a book full of graphs and diagrams, haha.

I proclaim to be the leader of Alpha Centauri. Can you see the problem with that? Jesus was not the first prophet to claim to lead the Jews. He happened to be the most famous. Stories told, generations later, wrote the gospels with a bias to make him more holy. Events were taken from a wide variety of religions (resurrection, death on a cross, virgin birth, claim of godhood, miracles, 12 followers, betrayal, ascension) sometimes even directly rewriting existing religions. See Dionysus, Osiris, Mithra...
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa3.htm
Jesus, the man, existed.
Jesus, the son of a god, sadly (but it would actually have been rather groovy) is HIGHLY UNLIKELY. More likely a work of fiction and copyright theft.

"You are sinners and in need of a lord and saviour".
Hell for you probably isn't the same idea of hell for me. I think there is a cartoon idea based on lakes of fire with a little red devil with pitchforks. In reality, to me anyway, hell is death; it is separation from love and joy; from contentment and safety and the Lord. For me, now that I know the Lord, no pit of burning sulphur could ever hold as much sadness and fear as separation from His love. But that's just me.

Ahh, you refer to the 'nice' Hell. Depends on how literally one takes the bible doesn't it? Even Jesus refers to Gehenna.
Two very useful sites below
http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/jesusteachingonhell.html
and this is pure class.
http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/hellreal.htm (This nutter is doing theism no favours!)

And finally...
My final point I made in a rather fun theological debate is that JL is ACTUALLY a 'humanist with an imaginary friend'.

Peace to you all.

Wine tasting?

Just to prove a point that its not just religion but other superstitious nonsense I find silly, here is an article about wine tasting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/18/wine-lunar-calender-tesco-supermarkets

It shows that Tesco and Marks & Spencer believe that the taste of wine is affected by the moon and the lengths they are going to to ensure it tastes 'right'. Apparently, the evidence is 'overwhelming' (sigh).

This 'biodynamic method' is gaining increasing popularity.

"Biodynamic winemaking is well established in France, Germany and the USA, and it mostly means avoiding chemical fertilisers and pesticides and encouraging biodiversity.

It also involves spraying the vines with preparations which sound more like witches' potions than agricultural aids. One involves fermenting cow manure in a cow horn, buried underground over winter. In another, oak bark is fermented in the skull of a domestic animal."

What I find a little amusing is the claim that it is a 'root day' from 8am (Sat) until 10am (Sun). I can just imagine the complaints during communion services across the country...

"Er... this blood of christ doesn't taste so nice today" ;-)

Faith, Darwin and superstitions in the UK

Fascinating report on Faith in the UK.
http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/Faith_and_Darwin.aspx?ArticleID=2911&PageID=6&RefPageID=5

It shows that the UK is a varied mix of beliefs in religions and, more surprisingly, an increase in superstitious ideas. I haven't read it all yet, but it's good to share. :-)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7996187.stm
The BBC link contains a summary of some of the points, but still suggests that we are an increasingly secular society.

Only 55% believe in a heaven. (But 70% believe in a soul)
4 in 10 believe in ghosts? 27% believe in reincarnation?
22% in horoscopes! (Oh come on!)

Seems that as some people turn from religion, they still feel the need fill their minds with irrational 'gap fillers'.

I'm really looking forward to the theistic viewpoint of this survey. Will they see it as a 'further moral decline'? Will it be condemned as an irrational false belief? (The irony would probably escape them!) Will it lead to us all suffering eternal damnation by the devil as we veer from the true path of christ? Will they blame atheists?

No power for three days!

No electricity for three days!

Wow. Certainly an experience. No light, heating, TV, CD player, internet... makes you realise how much we take for granted. More importantly, how much we take scientific achievements for granted. Have our lives improved because of scientific discovery? That's another blog entry ;-)

It was quite relaxing, sitting by candlelight -we even managed to play a family boardgame- and it gave me plenty of time for contemplative thinking. It was fun (for a while) to make do with what we had. And humbling to think how lucky we still were compared to millions of other families in the world. We had offers of accommodation, showers and meals (even internet access!) which were all appreciated.

Did I find it a spiritual experience? No. Although religion does often try to lay claim to acts of human kindness, it had no relevance in what was simply a power failure and the natural, altruistic behaviour of friends. There are cases where people choose a simpler lifestyle to avoid 'temptations' and they think it makes them better people; there are many who simply want to live off the land and try to harmonise with nature; some just want to be left alone; each to their own, I say. I am not the hunter-gather that my ancestors were many thousands of years ago. I have enough trouble trying to find specific items in a supermarket! I need my luxuries and people we know were more than happy to share theirs.

As I have always thought, people are basically nice. Unfortunately, even in this enlightened age of science and knowledge, some still think they need a magical sky pixie to make it so.

Templeton Prize

Just thought I'd share a fascinating article I found on the BBC website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7955846.stm

You can even add your own opinion at the bottom of the article.

Things I'm accused of ... (part 3)

That I am anti-christian. I can see how people might occasionally think that. And if I come across as such, then I do apologise. The vast majority of christians I have met have been wonderful, caring people. The people I work with at school are all people I trust and care about and I never want to upset. I love a good debate though - and when 'faith' is concerned it is often hard to accept when someone has a 'ridiculous' idea on either side of the argument.

Atheist - means 'without gods'. Many assume it means 'Against gods'. Being against gods would imply that I think they exist... :-)

To summarise, I apologise if 'christianity' is used when 'religion' should be. (Thanks to my colleagues for pointing this out) :-)

That I am narrow minded. To be honest, I find this deeply offensive and barely worth a comment. But since it is an accusation...

I am open to persuasion. In my early years, when I was brought up in a Church of England school, I believed in a god. I had a teacher who encouraged free thinking and looking at evidence and, unintentionally perhaps, started me on a path of reasonable thought.
In my late teens and early twenties I made a point of looking at religions and comparing beliefs, spirituality and hoping to find the answer to the awareness of 'self'. I have talked, at great length to christians, pagans, white witches, muslims, evangalists, witnesses (for far too long!) and (to balance it all) a satanist! (He was quite a nice bloke actually.) All the ideals provided no answers. Then I discovered the term 'Humanism' and found that I had been living those ideals nearly all my life anyway. (Humanism embraces atheists and agnostic points of view)

Call me narrow minded? Well you can just *&%" off. (No apologies!)