Carnivalia, and an open thread

How clueless can you get?

I would like to know which Christian churches recognize the "science" of evolution. To my knowledge, none do.
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Miss Knotts may not have heard about the hundreds of scientists who have been switching to creationism after their research has led them to the conclusion that the Earth had to have been created by an intelligent being.
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More and more, science is proving that the events recorded in the Bible are far more accurate than some atheists would like people to believe.
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I am not suggesting that any of the dear bloggers here have anything to hide, but you might be just honest businessman--if that exists--and not want your business plan to be discovered.

So, be careful with your old cellphone!

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1157002091148600.x…

" Selling your old phone once you upgrade to a fancier model can be like handing over your diaries. All sorts of sensitive information pile up inside our cell phones, and deleting it may be more difficult than you think.

A popular practice among sellers, resetting the phone, often means sensitive information appears to have been erased. But it can be resurrected using specialized yet inexpensive software found on the Internet.

A company, Trust Digital of McLean, Va., bought 10 different phones on eBay this summer to test phone-security tools it sells for businesses. The phones all were fairly sophisticated models capable of working with corporate e-mail systems.

Curious software experts at Trust Digital resurrected information on nearly all the used phones, including the racy exchanges between guarded lovers."

A few years ago, I went to a magic show (Fusion, http://www.fusionshow.com/pamelaNajera.html) in Reno with my family. One of the cast members is Pamela Najera, who invited us to visit her website. So, I did...

Layers of Light International.

Has anyone else heard of this complete tripe??

https://www.2lolii.com/PamelaNajera/

A preview:

"Optimum living starts with the free flow of energy throughout your being. Layers of Lights' products focus on achieving sympathetic resonance with Truth and Peace within. From a center of Peace...all else follows. Once your energy is organized then your entire body and mind becomes stronger. Your balance, coordination, flexibility, coordination, endurance, mental clarity and focus all improve measurably. In fact, results are felt immediately."

Um, okay. That sounds rational. Not.

...balance, coordination, flexibility, coordination, endurance, mental clarity and focus all improve measurably...

wow, coordination gets improved twice as much as everything else?

Okay, I have a story.

I'm walking across the university campus, and I see a crowd gathered around an open square/plaza/thing. I stop to see what's going on. A woman with crazy hair and a long dress shouts in a threatening voice, "So give your life to Jesus! A loving God!" She carries a Bible under her arm.

She sounds so unhinged that I think this is a parody. Then I see a man, wearing a gigantic sign: "Adulterers, fornicators, atheists, [a dozen other nouns], HELL AWAITS YOU!" The juxtaposition of "loving God" with "HELL AWAITS YOU!" is perfect in every way. It would have been funny if the two Christians weren't so serious.

A calm, articulate college student is talking to the man with the sign. "You see, if there were a god, we would expect some sort of observable evidence that this god exists. But I have seen no evidence in my life whatsoever to even suggest that there is an invisible god or a guy named Jesus."

If I hadn't had class, I totally would have stayed longer. As it was, I simply flashed a thumbs-up to the college student and continued on my way.

I love college. Such a wonderful exchange of ideas.

Miss Knotts may not have heard about the hundreds of scientists who have been switching to creationism after their research has led them to the conclusion that the Earth had to have been created by an intelligent being.

I think she's supposed to say "intelligent design" instead of "creationism".

To wit:

"Intelligent design means that various forms of life began abruptly through an intelligent agency, with their distinctive features already intact. Fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers, beaks, wings, etc."

That quote was from a famous intelligent design textbook. (By the way, I think that quote is referring to the fancy scientifical theory called the "Cambrian explosion" where everything was "poofed" in about two or three days or so.)

Pope lends credibility to fraud

Pope Benedict XVI has become the first pontiff to visit the site of a holy icon thought to carry an imprint of the face of Christ - the Veil of Veronica.
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The original cloth, which measures 17 by 24 cm (6.8 by 9.6 in) is housed in a heavy gold case and bears a striking resemblance to the Turin Shroud - believed to be Christ's burial cloth.
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The veil has been held sacred by pilgrims in Italy since the 12th Century.
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But sceptics say the image of Christ's face was painted onto the cloth.
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They also say the name Veronica - which is a deformation of Greek and Latin words meaning "true image" - is too much of a coincidence.

These comments seem to have drifted in from other threads, but I do want to remind people that there's another carnival 'this week.' (I use 'baseball time' where the week starts on Monday.) That is this biweekly installment of
CARNIVAL OF THE GODLESS.

These comments seem to have drifted in from other threads,

Do you suppose it could be because of the open thread in the title?

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Atheism of big powers is root cause of man's plight
Or so says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.

More on atheism, science

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Atheists have an a priori belief about ultimate reality -- there is no God. Agnostics have no a priori beliefs.

What makes her think that the atheistic claim is a priori, rather than an appropriate conclusion based on the lack of evidence? Why does she arbitrarily decide that the agnostic claim that the existence of god(s) is not knowable is not a priori?

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In doing science one must not behave like an atheist, nor a theist, but only like (a semblance of) an agnostic. Have an open mind so as not to prejudice the experiment or ignore any data.
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Dianne Wachs
Loon Lake and Minneapolis

*Yawn* - at least her address is appropriate.

Supserstition is adaptive

Religion and other forms of magical thinking continue to thrive - despite the lack of evidence and advance of science - because people are naturally biased to accept a role for the irrational, said Bruce Hood, professor of experimental psychology at the University of Bristol.
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"Superstitious behaviour - the idea that certain rituals and practices protect you - is adaptive. If you remove the appearance that they are in control, both humans and animals become stressed. During the Gulf War, in areas attacked by Scud missiles there was a rise in superstitious belief.
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"I want to challenge recent claims by Richard Dawkins, among others, that supernaturalism is primarily attributable to religions spreading beliefs among the gullible minds of the young.
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"Rather, religions may simply capitalise on a natural bias to assume the existence of supernatural forces," he said.