No Gods in Our House

Verdict in: Catholicism is not a force for good

electricmud — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:45:14 +0000

Excellent video of the Intelligence^2 debate entitled “The Catholic church is a force for good in the world”. The Roman Catholics represented by Archbishop of Abuja and UK conservative MP Ann Widdecombe were trounced by the side of Reason represented by Hitch and Stephen Fry. If the proponents’ devastation was not obvious enough the poll at the end of part 5 hammered the point home. Interestingly the passion was coming mainly from Hitch and Fry (though especially Fry). I am thoroughly encouraged not just by the scale of the defeat but by the swing away from those that initially agreed the motion.

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER83SF3-DoY

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PP6e5q6OtA

4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeeRuJ6eBUw

5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYWl5Zw2kbU

“Evolution is a FACT” Amen to that.

electricmud — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:55:47 +0000

Great (and long) discussion about gentics, evolution and biology between Dawkins and Steven Rose.

Is it me…

electricmud — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:34:46 +0000

..or is Dawkins’ latest book ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ not one of Dawkins’ greatest books?

I thought TGD was OK, but not great. It picks up by chapter 4 but it depends on where your coming at it from (eg athieism noobs might find the mental stimulation kicks in sooner). TGSOE however seems to be a bit flat in style throughout. I’m starting to get irritated by his asides and puns where in the past I relished them. I hope RD is not losing it…

(I’m not criticising the content or the intention so much just the delivery – obviously (and sadly) that evolution is a fact is something that needs to be pulicised widely.)

If you haven’t read The Selfish Gene yet, do so. Now, that one really is one of the greatest lay-science books ever written.

Victor Stenger ‘God: The failed hypotheisis’

electricmud — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:05:04 +0000

I’ve just discovered that Victor Stenger is brilliant, and it really surprises me that he is not more widely known. I’ve heard Dawkins mention him a few times but I’ve only recently made the effort myself to read one of his books and seek out videos on YouTube. If you consider yourself intellectually active in the atheism/theism debate (passively or not) you owe it to yourself to check out his book God: The failed hypothesis. I really can’t recommend it enough.
In the book Stenger takes a ‘common sense’ approach in assessing whether the current evidence available to science allows us to finally say that the Judeo-Christian-Islamic god, ‘God’ does not exist. He does so without the distraction of discussing philosophical, social or political issues. Differently to Dawkins for example Stenger completely ignores issues relating to the taboo’s attached to the criticism of religions, the devastating effects it has on people’s lives and the ramifications of following doctrine. Dawkins’ point in this matter is of course an important one but Stenger doesn’t waste your time by going over old ground. It’s a relatively slim volume because it is almost completely devoid of chaff and waffle. And this is one of the best things about the book. Its sticks to the science and leads you by the nose to the unavoidable conclusion of its subtitle (How Science shows that God does not exist).
Again, I have no idea why Stenger is not as big as Dawkins/Hitchens/Harris/Dennet/Shermer etc and I’m even more surprised at myself for not checking his books out sooner.

http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/

Welcome, and getting things rolling…

electricmud — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:24:40 +0000

Welcome to my blog. I’m going to post things that interest me, and hopefully a few of you too. Mainly it’s going to be about Science, Philosophy, the Atheism/Theism debate and maybe some art too.