Well, I was going to do something with that awful, horrible, ignorant Klinghoffer piece that the Discovery Institute was pushing, but my distracting weekend kept me occupied, and
Pro-Science,
Thoughts in a Haystack, and
Salt on Everything
all demolished it for me. Anything I could say at this point would just be bouncing gibs around.
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Bouncing gibs, eh? I hope you honed your FPS skills on standard fare like the Quake/Unreal series rather than Left Behind: Eternal Forces.
Eternal Forces is an RTS, noob. ;P
Ah, caught in the act of stretching analogies, oh well :)
But an atheist society could not survive.
A religious society can survive, see, while an atheist society could not survive (witness communism's demise. Uh-huh, the old rightist claim was that it was all economics). But atheism is a religion, cause you know, Buddhism can be atheistic (try using a Vin diagram to show how atheism thus becomes religion, Davie).
So yes, religions (he really only credits his God, but surely even he'd admit that other religious societies have lasted--rather longer than monotheistic societies have) are needed for society to survive, atheism is a religion, therefore atheistic society cannot survive. Slipped a cog there, Davie.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/35s39o
There is an ultimate authority on what is and is not a religion. That authority is the Internal Revenue Service. Show me any atheist community that is classified as a tax exempt religious group and I will crawl back under my rock.
BTW. There are some obnoxious, massively egotistical public athiests, mostly radio personalities. As an atheist I contribute to secular charities, have been a foster parent, and done years of work (name a board, and I've served) for my community while never denying my denial of the local gods.
Dear PZ,
Someone has had some fun with Coulter's Godless (via The Rude Pundit):
The Coulter Hoax: How Ann Coulter Exposed the Intelligent Design Movement
I've been on to Klinghoffer's bullshit for quite a while now. Glad to see others have him in their sights. He is completely insane.
Honestly, Klinghoffer would have had it much easier if he had just written it out as the series of cliches it is.
Graf 1: Science is just another religion.
Graf 2: Courtier's Reply.
Graf 3: Better dead than Red.
End article.
I kinda wish people would stop calling communist regimes atheistic. Not Christian, sure, but all they did was substitute the State and the Beloved Leader for God. Pretty religious "framing" there, you ask me.
Yeah, but if you say that to the fundagelicals, their next move is always to claim equivalency--that Darwin/Dawkins/science/whatever are being substituted for $DEITY. It's so tiresome.
Aw, man, and I was planning on writing something about it tonight. Oh well, more time for, well, whatever it is I do.
Bouncing the gibs eh?
PZ, I wonder if you could satisfy my curiousity.
Please tell me if you picked this up from direct contact with first person shooter culture, or if it came to you indirectly. If indirectly, do you recall the scenario, or do you have an impression of how many generations of alienation are between your using it and Quake-era games.
I am facinated by the transmission of internet/computer game slang and neologisms.
If you like science check out SKEPTISISM EXPERT AND AUTHOR
MICHAEL SHERMER: Lectures at CAl Tech, Pasadena (student prices)
Check out webpages-Skeptic Michael Shermer
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featured symbolism between cultural ideas about religion, and the ideas of scientific evidence including his accounts of researching the philosophy to his remedy of the argument:
SCIENCE VS RELIGION
Gives great examples.
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Thanx
T>B