No God

Yes !

To be fair, he did not define atheism as such, but some vague glancing misrepresentation of cosmology and evolution/paleontology. In fact he failed to mention the single defining notion.

I would agree that the label is unnecessary if it were not for the sheer dominance and preeminence of religion. Atheism, for me, as a phrase should not really exist, we don't, after all, employ a unique phrase for people who don't believe in levitation or astrology or ghosts or water divination or telepathy or . . . (insert any number of magical / superstitious beliefs).

I certainly wouldn't define or describe myself as an 'a-theist' any more than I would describe myself as a 'a-astrologist'.
atheism shouldn't really be defined I used to (and still do) see it as simply not subscribing to organised religion but, as lucas said, people have a need to label things

I hadn't heard of that! When I was a kid and had to attend CCD (confirmation of Catholic doctrine, i.e. Sunday school) I had a teacher who told us stories of people smuggling the host out of the church after it had been consecrated and the host bleeding or doing other crazy (or 'miraculous') things.

He should have taken some pictures or video of this miracle, should of had the bleeding biscuits run through tests to verify his observations, he didn't do this by any chance did he ?

I can guess the answer. :)

I wasn't sure that this was correct, so I used my search-fu. I wish I hadn't, what I found was bonkers:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05573a.htm

Only click if you're REALLY interested.

No way ! Religion making ludicrous supernatural claims ?

The Purpose of Life is Religious Discovery.

That intermediate manifestation of the Divine Process which we call the DNA Code has spent the last two-billion years making this planet a Garden of Eden. An intricate web has been woven, a delicate fabric of chemical-electrical-seed-tissue-organism-species. A dancing joyous harmony of energy transactions is rooted in the 12 inches of topsoil which covers the rock metal fire core of this planet. Into this Garden of Eden each human being is born perfect. We were all born Divine mutants, the DNA Code’s best answer to joyful survival on this planet. An exquisite package for adaptation based on 2 billion years of consumer research (RNA) and product design (DNA). But each baby, although born perfect, immediately finds himself in an imperfect, artificial, disharmonious social system which systematically robs him of his divinity. And the social systems - where did they come from? Individual societies begin in harmonious adaptation to the environment and, like individuals, quickly get trapped into non-adaptive, artificial, repetitive sequences. When the individual’s behaviour and consciousness get hooked to a routine sequence of external actions, he is a dead robot, and When the individual’s behaviour and consciousness get hooked to a routine sequence of external actions, he is a dead robot, and When the individual’s behaviour and consciousness get hooked to a routine sequence of external actions, he is a dead robot, and it is time for him to die and be reborn. Time to “Drop-out”, “Turn-on”, and “Tune-in”. This period of robotisation is called the Kali Yuga, the Age of Strife and Empire, the peak of so called civilisation, the Johnson Administration, etc. This relentless law of Death, Life, Change is the rhythm of the galaxies and the seasons; the rhythm of the seed. It never stops.

I am a shallow scientist type and base my views of the universe and its creation on books like 'The elegant universe' and 'A brief history of time'. I realise that these view are sometimes unpopular, and always boring to others. So I seldom voice them.

My mrs took my son to baby singing as a way for him to mix with other toddlers before starting nursery. This was kindly run by the salvation army. At the end of the year the toddlers recieved a diploma. At a little award gathering, where they sang for the parents (aaaahhh). The songs were understandably all christian in nature. Fair enough I thought.

Then out of the blue they pull out a projector and show a ten minute film on how some old grey beardy guy (not trying to be offensive, the guy in the film was old, grey, and beardy) built the planet, everything on it, and in fact the whole fecking universe in 6 days. I realise that this a metaphor or something, but my son doesnt have the first clue how it was actually formed yet. So it might be a bit early days for metaphorical versions.

My counter preachings from the book of 'super strings' did not go down too well ;(

Babies don't like tensor calculus. FACT.

I was always told that babies hate uncertianty.
String theory is all about removing uncertianty dont you know ;)

I doubt science can directly remove religion, but as our understanding of the nature of reality develops the need for creation myths/gods will be lessened and the sense of awe and comfort people get from religion they will get from knowing the way things really work.

Religion is not an absence of information or a lack of education or intelligence, it is a wholly different world view that, amongst other things, rejects 'reason' as a path to 'knowledge'. People have an innate attraction to mystery, they desire it, they are literally attracted to the unknown in the sense that they want things that they cannot understand.

Religion is at best incompatible with science and increasingly openly hostile to science. I really cannot see how something that is such anathema to core religious theology could be the thing that stems superstitious and magical thinking.

Subsequently more and more rational people are drawn away from the religions leaving groups of hardcore believers further and further isolated from a rational society. At some point in that process negative selection kicks in and the meme dies out. slowly.

hey, I can hope right?

:)

You can hope, and I share your hope, but that is all it is unfortunately. :(

Religion is on the rise, when I went to school 1 in 200 pupils in the UK believed in creationism, today that figure is 1 in 10, in American they are calling the current surge in fundamentalist/evangelical Christianity the 'third wave' - I think that is the right phrase (would need to check) but the point is that there is a massive blossoming of religion in the US over the last couple of decades, the same thing is happening in the Muslim world.

There is no reason to think that science will 'win' in this regard.

Then out of the blue they pull out a projector and show a ten minute film on how some old grey beardy guy (not trying to be offensive, the guy in the film was old, grey, and beardy) built the planet, everything on it, and in fact the whole fecking universe in 6 days. I realise that this a metaphor or something, but my son doesnt have the first clue how it was actually formed yet. So it might be a bit early days for metaphorical versions.

The Jesuit motto "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man" recognises that indoctrination takes most readily with these young pliable minds.

I am not sure that the creation story is a metaphor to the majority of Christians.

Babies don't like tensor calculus. FACT.

If they can stuff it in their mouth, suck it a bit and then throw it on the floor, they will like it.

Babies don't like tensor calculus. FACT.

That's because it's too salty and their palates haven't developed enough.

My kiddly can't get enough Fourier Analysis, sweet AND chewy.

Back in the day, I went to youth church for a while (kept me out of trouble, at least for a while). I was already more inclined to belive in more scientific explanations for things, but it all seemed nice and harmless (free tea).

Then a kid near my age at the time (probably around 12 -13), who had broken his leg climbing a tree, started to claim that he had been healed. I remember hearing that he had very religous parents. He started walking through the church without his crutches. As his leg was safely plastered, his parents just called for him to calm down a bit, and everyone just carried on. He then started trying to rip the plaster off his most definitly still broken leg (in plaster for two weeks tops). I hate to think what would have happened, had he had this idea when no one was around to stop him.

I stopped going after that.

The Purpose of Life is Religious Discovery.

That intermediate manifestation of the Divine Process which we call the DNA Code has spent the last two-billion years making this planet a Garden of Eden. An intricate web has been woven, a delicate fabric of chemical-electrical-seed-tissue-organism-species. A dancing joyous harmony of energy transactions is rooted in the 12 inches of topsoil which covers the rock metal fire core of this planet. Into this Garden of Eden each human being is born perfect. We were all born Divine mutants, the DNA Code’s best answer to joyful survival on this planet. An exquisite package for adaptation based on 2 billion years of consumer research (RNA) and product design (DNA). But each baby, although born perfect, immediately finds himself in an imperfect, artificial, disharmonious social system which systematically robs him of his divinity. And the social systems - where did they come from? Individual societies begin in harmonious adaptation to the environment and, like individuals, quickly get trapped into non-adaptive, artificial, repetitive sequences. When the individual’s behaviour and consciousness get hooked to a routine sequence of external actions, he is a dead robot, and When the individual’s behaviour and consciousness get hooked to a routine sequence of external actions, he is a dead robot, and When the individual’s behaviour and consciousness get hooked to a routine sequence of external actions, he is a dead robot, and it is time for him to die and be reborn. Time to “Drop-out”, “Turn-on”, and “Tune-in”. This period of robotisation is called the Kali Yuga, the Age of Strife and Empire, the peak of so called civilisation, the Johnson Administration, etc. This relentless law of Death, Life, Change is the rhythm of the galaxies and the seasons; the rhythm of the seed. It never stops.

Superprecise.

You're bonkers. ;)

http://nogodsnovegetables.blogspot.com/ some NYC metal heads blog, I hear he just wrote something for Guylon, and had to call his mom and tell her he roller blades.

I wasn't sure that this was correct, so I used my search-fu. I wish I hadn't, what I found was bonkers:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05573a.htm

Only click if you're REALLY interested.

I've just read their stuff. I can confirm that it is bonkers.

I've just read their stuff. I can confirm that it is bonkers.

So's this...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-readmits-holocaustdenying-priest-to-the-church-1515339.html

I am not sure that the creation story is a metaphor to the majority of Christians.

I'm a Christian, and i see the 7-days thing as a metaphor (see 2Peter 3:8,10)

Also I don't hate gays. So there.

allah is the only god. mohammed is his prophet. fact, truth, no lie.

allah is the only god. mohammed is his prophet. fact, truth, no lie.

Been done...
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread10833.html

I'm a Christian, and i see the 7-days thing as a metaphor (see 2Peter 3:8,10)

Also I don't hate gays. So there.

That is the fundamental problem just there. It may be a metaphor and people interpret how they like for their own agendas, whatever they may be.

Then that leads to lunatics telling people the Earth is 6000 years old, people used to live to 1000 years old and other such rubbish.

Or we could base our understanding of everything on a what can be proven repeatedly, whether that is by empirically, mathematically or by deduction (or a combination of all three, which is usually the case).

There can be no confusion with facts, there is no need for metaphors, they belong in poetry.

I'm a Christian, and i see the 7-days thing as a metaphor (see 2Peter 3:8,10)

Are there any parts of the Bible you take literally ? Or is it all metaphor ?

Also I don't hate gays. So there.

Do you believe in life after death ?

@adoubletap

:)

(Should have been 'Jebus')

ok here goes

swine flu = the new christianity?