gdp's Comments

Atheist Revolution : Another Reason to Avoid Chick-fil-A

Thu, 6 Jan 2011 16:13:59 +0000

If their high-calorie, artery-clogging, cholesterol-laden, deep-fried, processed food with very little nutritional value doesn't turn you off...

Atheist Revolution : Questions for Those Raising Their Kids Without Religion

Sun, 2 Jan 2011 16:59:23 +0000

My son in now 16 but yeah it was a problem. His mother however does believe in the christian god. She isn't nearly as concerned with it today as she once was but I think she would still consider herself a believer. This makes it difficult. I do believe that if you want any sort of control over how you raise your child be sure the child's mother has a similar world view. I say this because, and I know it isn't something you ever want to think of when you love someone, but there may come a day when she leaves and takes the child with her. You'll then find that as the non-custodial parent you have just about zero say in the child's upbringing, religious or otherwise. in the end, it was out of my hands. I think my son's strategy, at least when he was younger and more subject to peer pressure was to just play along, he may still do this to some extent for the sake of "live and let live". It is a peace-keeping strategy but if push came to shove he would stand up for what he actually does believe. I have in the past questioned the way he deals with this but I don't have to walk in his shoes and to say anything at all critical of christianity would be more than I could muster at his age.

Atheist Revolution : Responding to the Accommodationists: What Are We Trying to Accomplish?

Tue, 9 Nov 2010 14:07:57 +0000

Not that I agree with them and not that I have any desire to "help" but I think "you're not helping" is a reference to a general state of good relations between theists and non-theists. Answering the unspoken question: "Why can't we all just get along?"

Atheist Revolution : We Don\'t Need The Huffington Post

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 17:49:04 +0000

I agree with you in principle but not in practice. Do you have any idea how much traffic they get? It is the same issue I have with product boycotts. I have often wished I could influence the actions of a large corporation with the actions of myself, friends, and family but even the entirety of the agreived is but a drop in the proverbial bucket and is almost certain to go entirely unnoticed. Also, to be intellectually honest you would need to also boycott those that support the site (advertisers) which would eventually have you living in a cave somewhere.

TechCrunch : TechCrunch Friday Giveaway: An EVO 4G #Crunch

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:43:20 +0000

What about those of us who have sworn off the evil facebook?

Atheist Revolution : The Question Christians Must Answer

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:35:31 +0000

Yes, I think Dan Dennett hit the nail on the head with this bit from "Breaking the Spell" "some people who consider themselves believers actually just believe in the concept of God. … They … think that their concept of God is so much better than the other concepts of God that they should devote themselves to spreading the Word. But they don’t believe in God in the strong sense. (p. 216)" I think this goes even farther, most Christians actually only profess belief. This is obvious because, as you have said, if it were otherwise you would surely be able to tell the difference. If I believed every word of the bible were true surely you would be able to differentiate me from the average guy on the street. However, if I only profess belief, you would expect to find that I lived my life in a manner that is not significantly different than those that profess belief. In fact, you could almost call it Dennett's postulate: A person with a true and real belief in a god could could be expected to behave and appear differently than one who does not believe. This would, of course, be true for belief in the literal truth of the bible as well.

Exsisto Sane : Holding Deities Accountable

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:20:38 +0000

I'll leave your straw man to the side for now and allow you another go at it. I made myself very clear. Why don't you? Better yet, show me that you know what you are talking about and stop insulting everyone's intelligence. Come back when you can be intellectually honest. Correction: Actually there was no blatant equivocation in Arcanus' post, however, I still stand by the claim of straw man. The author is clearly aware that my argument is not meant to be read with such specificity but chooses to ignore it in an attempt to bolster his/her own argument. This is also an evasion of the real question which, once again, is why did your god let little Will get acute myloid leukemia?

Exsisto Sane : The Nook

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:08:48 +0000

On the contrary, from what I've read these devices are great for low-vision readers. You can adjust the type size on the fly and the devices are designed to be easy on the eyes. e-ink displays mimic the printed page and aren't like any of the displays to which we are typically accustomed. See e-Ink display information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eink

Deep Thoughts : What normal sounds like

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:53:11 +0000

Now that wasn't so hard was it? I'm militant? Not hardly, now who is making the assumptions? Now if only the country's religious leaders would publicly take the same step you did today.

Deep Thoughts : What normal sounds like

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:31:20 +0000

Ok, apparently you aren't going to answer the question. It isn't a difficult question or a trick question and your evasion is evidence enough that you do not believe the actions of Roeder to be domestic terrorism, you just don't have the guts to state it publicly. For future reference, the only acceptable answer is a definitive "YES" with no hesitation.

Deep Thoughts : What normal sounds like

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:53:18 +0000

Todd, just answer the question directly please, a yes or no answer would be the best. Are both cases examples of domestic terrorism?

Deep Thoughts : What normal sounds like

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:22:02 +0000

I don't have any trouble comprehending or even liking moderate Christians on a personal level, but as Hitchens has stated, their very existence serves to enable the right-wing extremist nut-jobs. I still haven't seen one Christian group state publicly that the kind of domestic terrorism we see in James von Brunn is no different than that perpetrated by Scott Roeder.

Mississippi Atheists : The Next Governor of Alabama?

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 19:52:44 +0000

I'm with Adam - not if I can help it.

Atheist Revolution : What Do Atheists Think of Christians?

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 16:24:04 +0000

This is not a simple question to answer. For me, it is hard because my answer could be very easily misconstrued to mean something that it does not. I don't see Christians as rational people. I often see them as the victims. Society has failed them, actually it has failed us all but some of us have been able to overcome. It is a failure at many levels: education being primary but it is also a cultural failure. Religion, or even more precisely, faith, is a mental disorder, a virus of the mind of which we humans are especially vulnerable. If anything, I regard most Christians with a sense of guilt for all of humanity and pity for the afflicted and a profound hopelessness at the number of infected. At least, that is the way I regard them when they aren't angering me to tears for trying to infect me, those I love, my government, and my way of life.

Atheist Revolution : Blogging Tip #15: Don't Moderate Comments Unless You Have To

Thu, 28 May 2009 13:06:27 +0000

I agree. I get more comments on my post since I stopped moderating and most of them are respectful. I thought that I would get overwhelmed with hateful posts just because it was an atheist blog but that wasn't the case at all.

Exsisto Sane : Moral Relativism

Wed, 6 May 2009 13:51:58 +0000

Yes, he goes further and describes pragmatism as a form of moral relativism that he believes to be more sophisticated. I disagree but more importantly I think the argument is academic as I've yet to meet anyone who subscribes to a pragmatic view of morality.

Exsisto Sane : Moral Relativism

Tue, 5 May 2009 04:04:52 +0000

Thanks, can't wait to check it out.

Exsisto Sane : Moral Relativism

Tue, 5 May 2009 04:04:30 +0000

Thanks, I don't know why but when I hear this "fallacy of type" I don't immediately recognize it for what it is but I know that there is certainly something fishy about it. I endeavor to learn how to discern the sophistry from true knowledge, it can be a very difficult task. I have seen so many people gush at the words of Harris and wonder if they have thought it through and still support these ideas or if they have engaged in the same kind of selective reading for which we fault the faithful.

Exsisto Sane : Moral Relativism

Tue, 5 May 2009 03:52:31 +0000

Thanks for replying, I like your take on it but I see this "Transcendent" morality as nothing more than a redefinition of what I have been calling absolute morality. Absolute is absolute, by definition. We need to be careful not to adopt the terminology used by the apologist, I'm not saying that is what you are doing but I've never heard it described in such a way before and the very use of the term seems to lend credibility to their point of view. What you describe as absolute morality seems to me to be more of a relative morality.

Atheist Revolution : Idiot of the Week: Carrie Prejean

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:21:24 +0000

I would guess these are her actual beliefs but even if this was not so she would probably stand a better chance of winning a pageant with the answer she gave. I doubt this was her motivation but you never know. I've also noticed that these pageant types tend to be conservatives. There is a link there somewhere between the type of people who would participate in this type of event and the type of person who holds to conservative ideology.