Comments on: Pre-infected Condoms

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:10:29 +0000

“There’s enough unavoidable illness and misery in the world…” But there _isn’t_ enough for for the Church. Miserable people are more receptive to superstition. Christianity and Islam are, at bottom, death-cults. You’re _supposed_ to be miserable until you go to your Eternal Reward, which you won’t get unless you are sufficiently miserable in life. If he’d had the power, I’m sure that the Pope would have ordered the first microbiologists burned to prevent people from finding out where plagues really come from.

By: Rajesh Kher

Rajesh Kher — Mon, 30 May 2011 05:24:51 +0000

Where do these religous people swarm to. If you carefully look they are the areas where people are suffering from social ( not political) problems against which they find themselves helpless. Science where it has partial solutions is truthful about it. These religous people offer solutions that are lies and a human right betrayal of all people. They will not go where science can offer solutions because then it is the science which does the explainable miracles.

By: Mike T

Mike T — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 01:09:18 +0000

Thanks for your comments on Il Papa’s talk, OB. He certainly links Xtianity and reason – as in ‘reason and faith are compatible’ and, as you point out, ‘reason is incomplete without faith’ – but i thought he left ‘faith’ as something that comes from some other non-rational (unexplained) source (‘revelation’ i spose). Otherwise wouldn’t he be making Xtianity into some kind of ‘natural theology’?

And thanks for bringing to your readers’ attn both ‘Jesus and Mo’ and Richard Carrier’s ‘Hero Saviour of Vietnam’.

By: OB

OB — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 18:36:14 +0000

Well, maybe. He implied it, but didn't state it quite that explicitly, I think.

"We will succeed in doing so only if reason and faith come together in a new way, if we overcome the self-imposed limitation of reason to the empirically verifiable, and if we once more disclose its vast horizons. In this sense theology rightly belongs in the university and within the wide-ranging dialogue of sciences, not merely as a historical discipline and one of the human sciences, but precisely as theology, as inquiry into the rationality of faith."

I would say that implies it, or rather that the speech as a whole does. Reason and Christianity are linked, and a concept of reason that excludes Christianity is inadequate; therefore (implied) if reason is used properly all people will be led to a rational belief in the Christian God described in the Bible.

By: Mike T

Mike T — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 03:58:17 +0000

“His recent lecture was devoted to the premise that the free pursuit of reason will lead all people to a rational belief in the Christian God described in the Bible.”

um… is that what Papa Ratzi actually said? I think his argument was less extreme than that.

By: James

James — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:07:47 +0000

“the premise that …”? Surely that was the thesis rather than the premise?

By: Norman Jenson

Norman Jenson — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 01:11:02 +0000

I sent you an email the day it went live. Perhaps it never arrived, or you don’t read your email or :)

By: OB

OB — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 19:08:35 +0000

Oh ah – thanks, Mike. I was misled by the dates on the first posts. Silly; I should have thought of backdating; I backdated some items when B&W was born. Gave it that lived-in feeling (actually, just included some items I wanted included).

By: Andy Armitage

Andy Armitage — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 18:54:01 +0000

‘the free pursuit of reason will lead all people to a rational belief in the Christian God described in the Bible’

Hahahahahahahahahaha! Oh, bugger, I’ve wet me knickers!

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 14:47:13 +0000

The website itself has been on-line only for a couple of days. Prior to that, it had been under construction for a couple of months.

By: Stewart

Stewart — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 14:14:58 +0000

As I frequently check to see what Dawkins is up to, I was also surprised, but I suspect the site itself hasn’t been up that long. Most of what there is is either older or reviews of “The God Delusion” or articles about Ratzinger and Islam. Many sections still aren’t functioning and their first newsletter has yet to make its appearance. So I think we’re still witnessing the birth, rather than coming in after the first act has started properly. It is great news that he’s doing it. Especially that he’s putting such emphasis on awareness of religious labelling of children.

By: don

don — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 23:31:48 +0000

Newsnight’s on in five minutes. Might have missed the interview. Thanks.