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Quote
"Remember that the burden of proof is on the person alleging the existence of something. If someone tells me that the Easter Bunny is hiding in somebody's clothes closet somewhere in North America, there is no need for me to search every closet on the continent. The person making the claim has to produce the rabbit or stop wasting my time."
- Frank Zindler
- Frank Zindler
Quote - Steve Jones
Steve Jones, the award-winning geneticist and author, argued that suggesting that creationism and evolution be given equal weight in education was "rather like starting genetics lectures by discussing the theory that babies are brought by storks".
Quote
"Although I'm not an atheist, I feel compelled to address this...
Unlike most religions, atheism has at its core the idea that one should NOT take someone else's word for something if it conflicts with one's own reasoning. Because atheism ISN'T a religion. It's simply an affirmation of the idea that people should think for themselves. Atheism has no saints, no prophets. If a particular atheist chooses to consider Christopher Hitchens their "biggest weapon," it's not because they consider him infallible - it's because they are convinced, intellectually, that some or most of his arguments are sound.
An atheist, therefore, is absolutely free to agree with Christopher Hitchens on almost everything, and still believe he's wrong when it comes to abortion. Because he's not "inspired" or "guided" by God or anyone else, he can have both good ideas and bad ideas.
I guess I'm mostly wondering, then... what's your point?"
Unlike most religions, atheism has at its core the idea that one should NOT take someone else's word for something if it conflicts with one's own reasoning. Because atheism ISN'T a religion. It's simply an affirmation of the idea that people should think for themselves. Atheism has no saints, no prophets. If a particular atheist chooses to consider Christopher Hitchens their "biggest weapon," it's not because they consider him infallible - it's because they are convinced, intellectually, that some or most of his arguments are sound.
An atheist, therefore, is absolutely free to agree with Christopher Hitchens on almost everything, and still believe he's wrong when it comes to abortion. Because he's not "inspired" or "guided" by God or anyone else, he can have both good ideas and bad ideas.
I guess I'm mostly wondering, then... what's your point?"
The Second Coming
An excerpt from The Second Coming:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
Word of the day
Asceticism
"Asceticism ... describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals. ... The founders and earliest practitioners of these religions ... lived extremely austere lifestyles refraining from sensual pleasures and the accumulation of material wealth. This is to be understood not as an eschewal of the enjoyment of life but a recognition that spiritual and religious goals are impeded by such indulgence."
"Asceticism ... describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals. ... The founders and earliest practitioners of these religions ... lived extremely austere lifestyles refraining from sensual pleasures and the accumulation of material wealth. This is to be understood not as an eschewal of the enjoyment of life but a recognition that spiritual and religious goals are impeded by such indulgence."