Skepticism
Intelligent Design: Yet again shown as idiotic
Abstract from Footprints of nonsentient design inside the human genome, by John C. Avise:
Intelligent design (ID)—the latest incarnation of religious creationism—posits that complex biological features did not accrue gradually via natural evolutionary forces but, instead, were crafted ex nihilo by a cognitive agent.
Yet, many complex biological traits are gratuitously complicated, function poorly, and debilitate their bearers. Furthermore, such dysfunctional traits abound not only in the phenotypes but inside the genomes of eukaryotic species. Here, I highlight several outlandish features of the human genome that defy notions of ID by a caring cognitive agent.
These range from de novo mutational glitches that collectively kill or maim countless individuals (including embryos and fetuses) to pervasive architectural flaws (including pseudogenes, parasitic mobile elements, and needlessly baroque regulatory pathways) that are endogenous in every human genome. Gross imperfection at the molecular level presents a conundrum for the traditional paradigms of natural theology as well as for recent assertions of ID, but it is consistent with the notion of nonsentient contrivance by evolutionary forces.
In this important philosophical sense, the science of evolutionary genetics should rightly be viewed as an ally (not an adversary) of mainstream religions because it helps the latter to escape the profound theological enigmas posed by notions of ID.
Source: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/05/05/0914609107
-
Atheism: a ‘broad church’ writes Catherine Deveny
Atheism is a broad church, by Catherine Deveny – our very own “atheist eye candy”:
What were we going to talk about all weekend? Nothing? Could we scientifically prove the existence of Richard Dawkins? What does an atheist scream during sex? “Truth, evidence and reason?” We’d heard them all.
We atheists were in heaven at the Rise of Atheism Convention held last weekend. More than 2500 people, who for many years had felt like the only atheist in the village, were suddenly luxuriating in a free-thinking soup. There were enough people who looked like Trekkies and scoutmasters for The Chaser boys to say, “Welcome to the Global Atheist Convention, or Revenge Of The Nerds 4,” and for all of us to laugh.
Holy Grail: Hunters and Collectors
There were loads of great lines. I loved Sue-Ann Post’s take about religion being like going without the lobster in favour of the invisible dessert; A. C. Grayling’s “Religion and science have a common ancestor – ignorance”; Dan Barker, ex-minister, now atheist, who spoke about his debate with Cardinal George Pell.
“The debate topic was ‘Without God we are Nothing.’ Maybe without God he is nothing.”
Funniest line of the weekend? “Here’s a two-word argument against religion: Senator Fielding,” from ABC’s science guy and confessed ”congregational hedonist” Robin Williams. He was referencing Fielding’s appearance with Dawkins on Q and A last week. Watching Fielding, a creationist, speak, Dawkins looked as if he was witnessing a talking cat.
And no, we didn’t all agree on everything. But we were all open to rational debate.
When any topic is off limits for rational thought and critical analysis, it infects the way we think about everything.
Becoming an atheist, I’ve become fascinated by religion. When I was a believer I was very uncomfortable discussing or reading about religion because so much of what I read conflicted with my fundamental beliefs.
When you no longer believe, it’s fascinating to look under the bonnet and see how it all works.
Myths & Memes used to mislead on climate change
YouTube user pothole54 writes:
This video also looks at whether other planets are also warming, and an Internet myth that NASA is now attributing warming to the sun. In this video I examine the importance of sources — tracking information back to a source and making sure the source is credible. My sources are cited in the video, but I’ll also post them here. Sources are also cited throughout my climate change series.
These videos are not a personal opinion or a theory of my own; I’m not a climate scientist or a researcher and I have no qualifications to do anything other than report on what real climate scientists have discovered through their research. So there’s no point in disagreeing with me. If you dislike their conclusions, take it up with the researchers I cite. If I’ve made a mistake in reporting their conclusions, please pooint out the mistake and I will happily correct it. If you think you know better than the experts, write a paper and have it published in a respected, peer-reviewed scientific journal.
- Climate Change: Is the earth cooling?
YouTube source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvMmPtEt8dc
If The Bible Wasn’t Nonsense….
From 2 Kings 2:23-24
2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
Wait… what?! Forty Two, eh? Sour grapes Lord?
——————-
2:25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.
Elisha Summoned She-Bears to Eat Forty Two Children who laughed at him... as ya do...
The Ghost Who Came Upon The Virgin
Or Virgin on the ridiculous as Catherine Deveny notes:
Israel. Upper Gallilee. A woman identifying herself simply as ”Mary” claims her nine-year-old son Jesus Christ is the Son of God™. The 28-year-old mother alleges she was a virgin when she gave birth and conceived via ”impregnation of the Holy Spirit”. According to Mary and her son’s followers, who refer to themselves as ”Christians”, her son performs miracles and ”speaks the word of God” because he is ”the Saviour of the World”.
Jesus’ insistence that he is ”King of the Jews” has led to the boy being home-schooled due to bullying. He is also allergic to nuts.
The family is currently being psychologically assessed by family welfare services.
Mary and her de facto husband Joseph claim around the time she became pregnant an angel called Gabriel visited and told Mary she was ”the favoured one”. The angel said: ”You will conceive in your womb and bear a son. You will name him Jesus.” Mary allegedly asked the angel how this could happen when she was a virgin and the angel responded: “The Holy Ghost will come upon you.”
Mary and Joseph were homeless at the time of Jesus’ birth and the child was born behind a backpacker’s hostel in Jerusalem. A group calling themselves ”The Three Wise Men” turned up uninvited to welcome ”The Messiah” and claim to have been given the heads-up on the birth from supernatural sources.
Mary and Jesus made headlines five years ago after being ejected from their neighbourhood mothers’ group due to ”an unshakeable belief of exceptionalism and entitlement that undermined the community spirit of the group”.
Ezrelle Orzberg, one of the mums from the now disbanded group known as The Nazareth Nine wrote a best-selling book about the experience, Son Of God? Let Me Guess, You’re Special, Join The Queue. “Sure, we call ourselves The Chosen people but every parent thinks their kid is special, which is simply an extension of healthy narcissism, which aids our drive for genetic superiority and survival of the species,” says Orzberg.
“Mary eventually alienated all of us after constantly insisting her son deserved superior treatment, saying things like ‘give Jesus the first go, he’s the Son of God, he’s the Saviour of the world’ so make sure he gets his cordial in a glass not a cup. Jesus wouldn’t have bitten her, he’s divine. Anyway, she started it.”
Mary is urging the world to follow her son’s teachings and celebrate his birthday, which falls on December 25, suggesting a holy feast called ”Christmas”.
Despite the far-fetched nature of the claims, soft drink giant Coca-Cola is negotiating branding the proposed ”Christmas” with a character called Santa, an elderly obese bearded man who lives in the North Pole and has elves who make gifts for good children who follow the teachings of Christ.
The idea has provoked an outcry from child labour protesters, environmental activists and anti-discrimination campaigners.
Santa, who wears red and white to advertise the world-famous soft drink and is allegedly friends with God, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, delivers gifts in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. The idea that Santa climbs down people’s chimneys has been slammed by occupational health and safety bodies as ”a bad example” and by family groups as ”an accident waiting to happen – not to mention issues with stranger danger”.
Mary is currently in negotiation with Oliver Stone to make her story into a feature film. Vivid Entertainment has offered her an undisclosed sum to appear in an adult movie. She has declined the offer.
The Facebook page Jesus Rulz currently has more than 30,000 members. Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens are yet to comment.
Follow @ jesustheawesome and @godssonsmum on Twitter.
Search
Atheist Age: Live Stream 11pm Tuesdays
Check Your Timezone. Select "Australia - Victoria - Melbourne" in the first field. Select your location in the second. Don't forget to select 23/11pm in the hour field. Amaze and astound your friends in a timely fashion.
Atheist Age on FacebookHelp promote equal rights, science literacy and human tolerance
Tags
Blogroll
- Atheist Foundation of Australia
- Australian Skeptics
- Bad Astronomy
- Center For Inquiry
- Evolution
- Fifteen Answers to Creationist Nonsense
- Freethought Multimedia
- Humanist and Ethical Union
- Humanist Society of Victoria
- Infidel Guy
- Melbourne Atheists
- Pharyngula
- Point of Inquiry
- Rationalist Society of Australia
- Religion News in Brief
- Skepticality
- Understanding Evolution
- University of Melbourne Secular Society