646. Dennett's original presentation was okay, but his rebuttals were hesitant, scrambled, and vague. I could have delivered a far more cogent defense of atheism than he did. And I'm a Catholic.

That having been said, although I sympathize with Mr. d'Souza's point of view, I wish he were less shrill and confrontational. I really think he would convince more people if he *sounded* more reasonable.

Mike Koenecke at 12:50AM on Dec 10th 2007

647. mr D"Souza who Escribio the BIBLE whay you have been able to respont to me this question

Rafy at 2:55AM on Dec 12th 2007

648. Mr. D'Souza, I would be curious what your slant on the Christian crusade against the Albigesians would be.

JefFlyingV at 4:41AM on Dec 12th 2007

649. Frist off, if you believe in the Bible then, it say's we are created in God's image. We are not God. So we have no right to judge this fellow or other's like him or anyone for that matter. By doing so we are not believing in God. Life is about knowlegde of God and knowing that we are not nembre uno or number one. Let other's believe what they wan't and if they choose to believe in the future the door will be open

danny at 7:02AM on Dec 13th 2007

650. Great debate Dinesh, I watched the whole thing. You did very well...I would only advise you to put your tone down a tad.

Frank at 5:45PM on Jan 16th 2008

651. God exist, dude. We just went down to Crenshaw blvd. and bought an oz. of weed. He said he is sorry for letting little Jimmy blow up on a land mine in Bosnia, but he was totaly wasted.

BX at 12:09AM on Apr 6th 2008

652. ? - Who Needs Absurd ‘Beliefs’ - ?
Reflections of an Octogenarian.

Religiosity? – Throughout life, I’ve never regarded this subject as deserving of any serious thought - - -
However, with quietus in the offing, the excessive religious coverage in the media inevitably agitates the neurons.
Of late, these irritants have provoked a thorough reappraisal - - - & has utterly confirmed natural intuition!

Logical conclusions after a lifetime of listening (inadvertently) to the delusive portents of various ‘Faiths’.

A simple story. No need for the meandrine moonshine of ‘erudite intelligentsia’.
Just take yourself back in time & examine unvarnished facts.

Please acknowledge that the primitive mind was bound to generate quite naturally, mythological imagery of an Elysian nature.
Also, one must accept that the relative ignorance of early Humanity, coupled with understandable fears of the unknown, provided those individuals seeking power over their fellows (a natural human trait) with the conditions to set up as
Medicine-Men - Witch-Doctors - Sorcerers - Soothsayers - et al, all claiming to have insights & contact with a ‘power’ - of sorts. So began the blight of Shamanism - - - leading on to airy-fairy religions.

As time unveils the past, these facts have not yet been fully appreciated; the ensuing rash of religiosity has not been branded for what it really is - - - An early conceive - of ignorance & apprehension - - -
Perpetuated thro millennia by IMPOSTORS - Preying on credulous naivety.

The natural process of evolution, via many devious pious paths, has now landed us with the present crop of
Archbishops - Ayatollahs - Rabbis - Popes - Imams - JWs - & a host of other hypocritical sect leaders, incessantly brainwashing the largely unthinking masses with their ridiculous & childish ‘Holy Beliefs’. The Billy Grahams of the world, gifted with gab & showmanship, use their ‘bewitching powers’ to prey on the gullibility of the artless. Yes indeed, in modern form, the Witch-Doctors are still at it! - - - Mountebanks All!

With it’s initiation as above, religiosity can’t be recognised by any sane person to have the gravitas necessary for any authentic ‘Belief’. Seeking reality is anathema to the pious ones. They critically comment on facts of life that are painstakenly unearthed by the practical hard-working talents of seekers of truth. Knowledge of physics & biology would never have advanced if left to the ‘Holiest of Holy Men’ men. Sun would still be orbiting Earth. The dim past is their’s, with mystical rites that are still prevalent, complete with modern trappings. They are an absurdity! Their endeavours to exalt religiosity by the erection of ever more imposing ‘Places of Worship’ merely highlights – Monumentally – the benighted phases of Man’s past. - - -
Hell’s Bells! - - - What a shambles!

Weighing up the World-wide situation, a substantial proportion of Humanity are unable to let go of their forebears’ primitive ‘belief’ in a Creator that demands a daily dose of supplication. A person’s specific ‘belief’ is dictated by that part of the globe from where they originated; a simple inheritance of the parents’ unreal ancestral teachings, largely unquestioned! No need to be a ‘Religious Scholar’ (what a fatuous preoccupation) to comprehend why all of this utter humbug survives.

Persistent indoctrination over millennia leave the susceptible with feelings of unease when they attempt to ditch the ingrained silly ‘beliefs’ inherited from similarly programmed forebears. Most take an apathetic route & run with the various childish theosophical myths passed down through the generations via pious, shallow-thinking naivety - preferring illusion to reality - fantasy to truth.

It has always been decreed that our only way forward is in the utilizisation of everyday experience & research - ie
pure evidential communal common-sense. The need to consult Biblical, Qur’anic, or any other ancient crap-laden fairy tales in order to pursue a decent & considerate existence beggars belief. As with everything, ethics evolve naturally. Man-made ‘Gods’ & ‘Prophets’ are clearly surplus to requirements!

The facts listed above are beyond dispute – Theism? / Divinity? – Absolute Man-made hokum! Any thinking person realises that the Universe is truly an awesome Quantum / Astronomical creation. As part of that creation, our attempts at it’s full understanding seem futile. Whether probing the Atom or ‘Heavenly’ Space, we’re contemplating Infinities. Fouling up our minds with a rag-bag of archaic religiose twaddle does nothing to help enlighten our ignorance!

Anyone taking this farcical subject seriously has to be absolutely pickled in traditional folklore and/or in a sad mental state. Using it’s bogus validity for an easy living and/or monetary gain, it’s impostrous practitioners must have no real conscience at all. Far too much reverence is devoted to the abstract of religiosity. Vast volumes of impotent bombastic rhetoric has been generated by self-righteous con-men who use their dominant & deceitful acumen to sublimely charm others to wander in an unreal ‘Spiritual Wonderland’ that is totally unworthy of any honest contemplation!

A rational response to the ‘standard’ questions posed by Alpha & similar organisations - - -


What is the point of life?

Need there be a ‘point’. Nature instructs all of life to reproduce; to what end, we just don’t know & it’s almost 100% certain that we never will. We can speculate, but are infinitely short of the necessary knowledge to form a valid judgement!

Certainly, life’s purpose cannot be identified by any ancient decrepit ‘Belief’!

Nature, red in tooth & claw, is pitilessly indifferent to an individual’s quality of life; the fittest for any environment prospers. Individual quality of life is a lottery. We have arrived & must make the best of it. Self-deceivers pray for Ethereal help; none is discernable - - - Quite definitely a DIY job!

We live, utilising facts that the experience of life plus research, provides!

The paralogism of religious charlatans can’t match the knowledge we now possess, scant though it be. Mystical Theosophy is drivel of the first order.

What happens when we die?

Starkly, when the brain ceases to function, that ‘being’ ceases to ‘be’.
The motivation driving that unique combination of elements is no more!
A ‘Spiritual Future’ ????? - - - Pure self-indulgent fantasy!
The chemo-electrical activity of the brain – the mind – is naturally prone to generate any illusive mirage.
If that imagery is not backed up by factual proof, it remains a fantasy.
To give any credence to life after death, one must be round the bend, if not well up the straight!

Natural cognition (common sense), affirms life’s future as solely dependent on reproduction!

Is forgiveness possible?

With almost limitless mutations possible, the evolutionary process can be expected to produce individuals with characteristics of an exceedingly complex gradation, in a myriad of aspects – eg - - -

Brilliant to Thick – Jovial to Morose – Benign to Sadistic – Hetero to Homo – ad inf.

Religions provide a very accessible dump for the perceived guilt generated by the various indiscretions to which all humans must, in some respect, be victim. The evolution of life cannot be fault-free. We learn as we live.
Forgiveness from on high is a concept that is, quite evidently, ludicrous in the extreme!

Do not kid thyself – No one is immaculate!

Those gifted with conscience & a degree of ‘normalcy’ just have to live with the unfortunates & scallywags; amongst
the latter - the ‘Con Men’ - enjoying a very comfortable living with their pretentious ‘Divine’ prognostications!

Further thoughts

With the barbarous & brutal acts of differing factions, the mutiplicity of silly ‘Beliefs’ has always been a handicap that
humanity can well do without. - - - Common sense must prevail!
As the sponge-like mind of an infant readily absorbs info, authentic or fallacious, in teaching the necessary basics of life, the follies of illogical & delusory religions should be emphasized - - - Strongly!
Offspring should be brought up from birth unprimed with needless pestilential ‘beliefs’ - - - Glaringly Obvious!

Preachers pontificate on a subject so ‘Holey’, it is artlessly transparent. Visualise it’s benighted origins & it’s quite obvious that the early human mind was bound to generate mythological imagery of an Elysian nature & from there, receptive, fanciful & predacious minds took over. ‘Beliefs’ were surely born of ignorance & fear of the unknown! With this realisation, why can’t we all recognise simple basic facts & treat all ‘faiths’ of today as ever they really were - - -
Dogmatic preservation of irrational early thought.

In this more enlightened age - Pure Phantasmic Godswallop!

The Rt Rev Fred Flintstone & his contemporaries should have dug themselves out of the Stone-age long long ago!

The Past is unveiled thro time.
We should Benefit from it - not Perpetuate it! - - - - - A m e n

Bill Davison at 3:43PM on Jul 19th 2008