Neil deGrasse Tyson - Bad Design

2006 Neil DeGrasse Tyson speaks on bad design in the universe.

Hilarious.

Extract from Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time

"There are something like ten million million million million million million million million million million million million million million (1 with eighty zeroes after it) particles in the region of the universe that we can observe. Where did they all come from? The answer is that, in quantum theory, particles can be created out of energy in the form of particle/antiparticle parts. But that just raises the question of where the energy came from. The answer is that the total energy of the universe is exactly zero. The matter in the universe is made out of positive energy. However, the matter is all attracting itself by gravity. Two pieces of matter that are close to each other have less energy than the same two pieces a long way apart, because you have to expend energy to separate them against the gravitational force that is pulling them together. Thus in a sense, the gravitational field has negative energy. In the case of a universe that is approximately uniform in space, one can show that this negative gravitational energy exactly cancels the positive energy represented by the matter. So the total energy of the universe is zero." -Stephen Hawking

Magnificent.

At Lincoln Memorial, a Call for Religious Rebirth

WASHINGTON — An enormous and impassioned crowd rallied at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial this weekend, summoned by Glenn Beck, a conservative broadcaster who called for a religious rebirth in America at the site where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech exactly 47 years earlier.

“Something that is beyond man is happening,” Mr. Beck told the crowd, in what was part religious revival and part history lecture. “America today begins to turn back to God.”

The rally organized by Mr. Beck, a Fox News broadcaster who has been sharply critical of President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats, had been attacked as dishonoring the memory of Dr. King by being set on the anniversary of his speech. Despite Mr. Beck’s protestations, his event and a much smaller and mainly black counter-rally seemed to underscore the country’s racial and political fissures.

Critics have suggested that Mr. Beck was trying to energize conservatives for the midterm elections in November. Mainstream Republican leaders remain skittish about the group emerging on their right — and the influence it displayed in primary elections Tuesday — and had little to say about the Beck event.

But in an interview aired Sunday, Mr. Beck denied any political motivation — or political aspiration — and shrugged off conservatives’ suggestions that his ability to mobilize so large a crowd made him presidential material.

“There’s nothing we can do that will solve the problems that we have and keep the peace unless we solve it through God,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”

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Hitchens on cancer diagnosis: 'Why not me?'

Anderson Cooper
I just flew down to Washington to talk with author Christopher Hitchens. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in June, and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Many people upon receiving a cancer diagnosis would ask "why me?" Hitchens's answer, is "why not me?"

Much of his hair has fallen out, but he seems strong as ever. We discussed whether his diagnosis has in any way altered his well-known opinion of religion and prayer.

Is it a turn off if you find out someone believes in god?

This morning I was reading my usual websites and catching up on a little news, after a weekend of running the City2Surf competition and drinking excessively afterwards, and I came across this little questions on one of my favourite sites and I thought I'd share it with you:

Recently I met a guy online who I liked. We got into a discussion about god and it became pretty obvious that he didn't believe in any kind of higher power. Soon after finding out I do, he stopped replying to my messages. Now I might be completely wrong about why he stopped messaging me, but it made me think: Is it really such a big of a turn off?

I'd be interested to hear of anyones thoughts on the matter. For me personally I think I genuinely could not form a romantic relationship with someone who believed that God was looking out for them. I'm too opinionated and wouldn't be able to let the topic drop, for that is a flaw of mine.

However, there was probably a more reasonable response that I'll also share with you, but I'd love to know your opinion on the subject too.

No, believing in a higher power isn't a turn-off for me. However things like:

• Young-Earth creationism
• Denial of the scientific method as a self-correcting and objective way to ascertain the nature of Reality
• Inability to argue logically
• Inability to entertain a notion without agreeing to it
• Inability to question one's beliefs
• Inability to grant the possibility that one is wrong about the existence or nonexistence of God

Those things are turn-offs for me. I wobbled between being an atheist, a theist, and a deist all while dating a Christian girl. Only broke up because she had trouble not fucking another guy.
I know... I know. I thought that too.

So anyone else have any other thoughts?

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From: BLACK SKEPTICS GROUP - What if?

Black atheist! Do these words mean anything? Certainly not if such a person does not exist.

Everyone knows that black people love Jesus. With tears in our eyes and a bittersweet joy in our hearts, we marvel at the wonder of the divine. With hands raised high we sway to our own celestial rhythm. With a look of transcendent torment upon our faces, we sing His praises. Don’t we love Jesus? Don’t we all love Jesus?

I’ve heard it said that black people have a “Jesus fixation”, a single minded focus on God. From our earliest days we are taught that there is a mysterious and powerful man in the heavens above- enthroned some place between time and space. Omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient- He is God-the-Father. The ethereal embodiment, if you will allow, of benevolence and love. We are taught by parents, grandparents and the preacher that “God is good!”

But, as the lesson of God’s goodness is taught with one breath, we are taught that God is awful with the next. He knows our thoughts, He knows our feelings, He knows what we will do next, and He knows our secrets and the hour of our deaths. This God is not to be trifled with. What fool would question Him- even in the quiet of one’s own mind?

Respecting the God that black Christians serve means not speaking doubt or even thinking it. How could there ever be such a thing as a black Atheist?

You serve the Lord with fear and trembling. You serve Him in perfect submission. You must love Him always. You must never think ill of Him. He is without fault. He is responsible for everything good in your life- not you. You are responsible for everything bad in your life- not Him. Praise the Lord when things go right; beg His forgiveness when they go wrong.

Now, how did we end up with this particular religious system? Well, that’s simple: Slavery. One of the original justifications for slavery was to bring the “heathen” African into contact with Christianity. The earliest enslaved Africans were converted by force before even leaving the slave castles of western Africa. They were now Christian by virtue of the slave trader’s power.

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Selective creationists

Some interesting, if terrifying statistics from the Why Evolution Is True website.


This flashy graph has already been posted on Pharyngula, but I thought I’d echo P. Z.’s sentiments. This graph comes from a survey of high school biology teachers published in PLoS Biology in 2008 (download is free). The teachers were asked about their personal beliefs about human origins (click to enlarge):


Only a tad more than one in four teachers really accepts evolution as scientists conceive of it: a naturalistic process undirected by divine beings. Nearly one in two teachers thinks that humans evolved but that God guided the process.

Can we count those 48% of “guided-by-Godders” 0n our side? I agree with P. Z.: the answer is NO. Yes, they do accept that our species changed genetically over time, but they see God as having pulled the strings. That’s not the way evolution works. The graph labels these 48% as believers in intelligent design, and that’s exactly what they are, for they see God as nudging human evolution toward some preconceived goal. We’re designed. These people are creationists: selective creationists.

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Our Responsibilities

As some of you may know I live in Australia, and recently Australia elected an new Prime Minister. Well actually, she took over leadership of the Labour party which was already in power, so wasn't actually elected by the general public.

Regardless of the how, Julia Gillard is now the Prime Minister of Australia. She is also an Atheist.

So, today on the radio, the presenter asked the audience to call in and discuss what they thought about having an Atheist leader in power.

Obviously, the only individuals who could be arsed to call up and give the presenter their 2cents where those religious types who were most angered by this "heathen" being in charge of the country.

Naturally it got me thinking, and not just about the obvious desire for a separation of church and state, but more about responsibilities.

If I am honest I could probably handle a leader any person of faith being in charge, although perhaps with the exception of a Scientologist, if that person was able to improve the standard of living for the majority of people and beast within Australia.

However, it is refreshing to have a person in charge of this large political boundary who understands that their sole responsibility is to better the lives of those who live within that boundary, and who understands they are only accountable to the Australian people and herself, and not to something that be seen, heard, felt, tasted or tested to exist such a God.

That is one of my main arguments against religion; if you are religious, and I don't mean you believe there is a god, but if you are religious then you are at the mercy of the infallible laws of your religion. To the reasonable mind this is scary enough considering they are often 2000 years old and we live in a modern society, and thats before we even read the contents of those laws.

However, to some this can be comforting, because really you don't have to think for yourself, or worry about the hard questions. Unfortunately though it means you are not accountable for your actions, because you are only doing what it taught through that religion.


We as a species are so scared of the unknown that we fabricated wonderful bargaining superstitions that will allow us to avoid the cull of death and go on to a wonderful netherworld if we follow the rules set by a bronze age religious priests and priestesses. We need only say sorry and we are allowed in through the pearly gates.

Of course that's a wonderful prospect, but there isn't any evidence for an afterlife so why worry about getting there. We know for a fact that we are here right now, so this is what must be most important; the betterment of the people beside and around you.

What makes the opposition of an atheist in charge is that nowhere on earth can the benefits of secularism in power be so clearly demonstrated than in Australia. The Early Christian's bigoted view that the "savage" Aboriginal Australian's must be civilized by educating them about the wonder of their own European god meant they set up churches all over the outback. When the Aboriginal communities continued to celebrate their native culture the church forcefully removed the Aboriginal Australian children away from their parents so that they can not only educated the children about God, away from their "savage" ancestry, but to "breed the black out of them".

Here is a clear example that by following the views of a religious mind, who believes wholeheartedly that they are doing the work of God, they cannot see how bigoted their life view really is and can accumulated to the attempted mass genocide of one of the oldest civilizations on earth.

If this wasn't bad enough, we need only look at the bible to see that it is the most appalling guide to the correct ethical treatment of our fellow human beings. It clearly states in the bible that rape and slavery are excepted; if you don't believe me please look at the Scripture Project linked on my favourite online reads list.

These facts enough should make the prospects of having a keen secularist and atheist in charge of the country to be a relief not a cause for concern.

Richard Dawkins on Bill Maher Show

A Conversation Between Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking

A clip from the Channel 4 documentary Genius of Britain Episode 5. Last aired June 3, 2010 and still available on 4oD

Hawking: Religion will be defeated by science

There were some techies Monday who believed they experienced a sighting of God somewhere in San Francisco.

Those people might care to hark at deeply relevant news. God will be defeated by science. No, not by faltering Wi-Fi systems at a conference. And, no, these are not my words. This is the considered opinion of someone sometimes referred to as the cleverest man in the world, Stephen Hawking.

In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, due to air Monday evening, Hawking expounded upon the largest questions, those that transcend iPhones and androids: Can science and God live happily ever after?

According to ABC News, Hawking first tried to define God in a way that he, as a scientist, might feel comfortable: "What could define God (is thinking of God) as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God," he said.

Indeed, he expressed disappointment at how humans have thought of deity.

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How To Fill The God-shaped Hole

An extract from The School of Life site about how to fill that hole left by religion after you've left your church or lost faith but still want to find somewhere to contribute and do good in the world.

The School of Life is a new social enterprise offering good ideas for everyday living.

We live during a period of human history in which, perhaps for the first time, no single religion or philosophy dominates. It’s a plural world.

We can choose what we make of religion and how we might pursue spiritual matters – or not. There’s a tremendous freedom in that, but also a profound challenge. For while many feel little or no inclination to follow a particular religion, they are nonetheless conscious of what might be called ‘the God-shaped hole’. They seek to nurture the spiritual side of themselves, and would like to deepen how this might be done.

In this class, we’ll explore the ramifications of our secular predicament, how people try to fill the gap, how successful they are when set alongside what traditional religious practice has offered, and we’ll identify some practices that you might take up in your own life.

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No, I don't believe in God

An article by Alom Shaha from the Guardian.co.uk website about "coming out" as an Atheist from a Muslim background.

I am an atheist. I imagine that the typical Cif belief reader may not think this is a particularly big deal, but it is for me, because I'm not just an atheist – I'm an apostate from Islam. Apparently there are people who would happily kill me for making such a statement. But I'm not expecting to be killed, or even threatened; despite what the BNP and certain elements of the press might want you to think, the overwhelming majority of Muslims are not rabid fundamentalists who respond with violence to every perceived slight.

It's not easy "coming out" like this. Yes, this is a term that is usually applied to people declaring their homosexuality, but there are parallels which justify its use in this context – especially if you come from the kind of background I have.

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Doctors to 'print' new organs for transplant patients

Although God may not like amputees enough to give them the limbs they desire (See WhyWontGodHealAmputees.com), we are fortunate enough to have real doctors and scientists to look after us.

I cannot understate that fact enough.

Yesterday I found out a friend of mine had been diagnosed with having a brain tumour. It sounds horrific, and frankly it is, but the doctors and nurses simply said, "You're going to be fine, its an easy operation and we'll do the surgery within 2 weeks; we'll cut away part of the skull, take out the tumour and put your skull back in place."

Think about that for a second. How easy do they make it sound.

That is how far we have progressed in our knowledge of the human body. No longer are we are the mercy of an invisible force who would take away peoples life without any warning.

We as a species have learnt so much about the human body and its inner workings that we are now able to diagnose and treat even the most terrifying ailment such as a brain tumour and pass it off as if you were having a fracture re-set.

Now we are, nearly, at the stage where if an organ of ours fails, for whatever reason, we can simply create the necessary cells using our DNA, manipulate them into shape and create a completely new organ.

Doctors might one day be able to 'print' living body parts they need for surgery, including blood vessels and entire organs.

The astonishing technique is known as bio-printing and it could make the transplant list a thing of the past.

Currently patients on the transplant list have to wait months or even years before a suitable organ becomes available.

Some religious people may say that we are only acting according to God's plan, and without the tools he put in front of us we'd never have succeeded.

If anyone honestly things this then they should be very very concerned, because I cannot imagine people worshiping a God who is fucking toying with us. A God who torments us, by killing our friends and loved ones, into spurring us on to find bigger and better ways of saving people.

Surely a world where in the vastness, possible infinite, of space lived an organism that evolved from single cell organisms to the point were we can manipulate the world around us so much that we can create new ways of ensuring we can keep on procreating, is much more likely than one where a God created us in all his love but for millions of years tortured and tormented us until only the strongest survived.

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Melanie Phillips: God, Truth & Power

In her latest work, Melanie Phillips, repudiates the view that faith and reason are incompatible, demonstrating that in many cases the opposite is true. Her central thesis is that the trivialization of religious belief, rejection of the Judeo-Christian heritage, and postmodernism all combine to erode the foundations upon which Western civilization is based. Ms. Phillips explains that this vacuum has resulted in the emergence of a host of irrational cults and preposterous conspiracy theories-a world in which verifiably false statements are continuously reiterated, while truth and lies, right and wrong, victim and aggressor are reversed; a world which may lead Western civilization to a new antirational dark age.

Tornadoes, Quakes, and the Myth of Karma

An interesting article by Rob Asghar of the Huffington Post on Karma.

They say Karma's a bitch. They're too unkind. Recent floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes reveal her as a coolly indifferent, altogether inscrutable customer.

One wag noted a few years ago that the map of the Confederate slave states is pretty much the same as the map of today's Bible Belt. True. And it doesn't take a lot to see that those maps overlap nicely with a map of major tornado activity in the U.S.

So why exactly does Heaven so happily pummel the region that is God's last, best hope for bringing salvation and good values to His beloved creation?

But I realize that's just a matter of a conservative Christian perspective. A devout Muslim in Iran might say that his country is God's last, best hope to stabilize the world.

But wait: You say Iran represents one of the most seismically unstable regions on the planet? And that it was unstable before women started dressing immodestly?

No wonder even the Bible finds a few candid moments to confess that it wonders sometimes if it's all B.S.

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TED: Julia Sweeney on letting go of God

'We Don't Do God'? Secularism and Faith in the Public Square

Is secularism or some faith-based worldview a superior public philosophy? Which provides a more robust foundation for respect of human rights and liberties, and other widespread public values and ideals? Would it be fairer or more neutral to have a secular public square -- one free of appeals to religiously informed principles and arguments? Is this even possible?

Journalist and author Christopher Hitchens and philosopher John Haldane will discuss these and related issues in the third Veritas Forum at Oxford University.

May 12, 2010 at 08:00 PM

Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford

Presenters: John Haldane, Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Andrews

Christopher Hitchens, Author and Journalist

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