Rebranding

He guys,

This is a message for the people that I’ve been engaging with regularly over this blog.

An Offensive Blog Post

Have you ever noticed how the meanings of words can get twisted beyond all recognition?

Consider the word ‘offensive’ for a moment. It gets bandied about a lot these days. How often have you heard someone get up and decry, “That comment is offensive to me and my beleifs!” and get the sympathy of the politically correct audience on sensitivity grounds, because we shouldn’t be offensive.

Notice how they’re using the word ‘offensive’ as if it meant the same thing as ‘abusive’?

Orwell on Faith

From 1984, by George Orwell:

The first and simplest stage in the discipline, which can be taught even to young children, is called, in Newspeak, CRIMESTOP. CRIMESTOP means the faculty of stopping short, as though by instinct, at the threshold of any dangerous thought. It includes the power of not grasping analogies, of failing to perceive logical errors, of misunderstanding the simplest arguments if they are inimical to Ingsoc, and of being bored or repelled by any train of thought which is capable of leading in a heretical direction. CRIMESTOP, in short, means protective stupidity… Orthodoxy in the full sense demands a control over one’s own mental processes as complete as that of a contortionist over his body.

On Faith:

The first and simplest stage in the discipline, which can be taught even to young children, is called, in theology, FAITH. FAITH means the faculty of stopping short, as though by instinct, at the threshold of any dangerous thought. It includes the power of not grasping analogies, of failing to perceive logical errors, of misunderstanding the simplest arguments if they are inimical to Religion, and of being bored or repelled by any train of thought which is capable of leading in a heretical direction. FAITH, in short, means protective stupidity… Orthodoxy in the full sense demands a control over one’s own mental processes as complete as that of a contortionist over his body.

Refutation: The Argument from Inferred Design

The Argument:

1. Many things that look designed do so because they are designed.
2. From 1, it can reasonably be inferred that everything that looks designed does so because it is designed.
3. The universe looks designed.
4. From 2 and 3, the universe has a desinger.

Refuting Tad Cronn. Again.

Another essay posted by Tad Cronn was titled:

Darwin Day: Celebrating a mediocre theory.

It seems that Tad has blocked my account after I sent a pingback to him via my ‘Expelled’: An argument for ignorance post yesterday. Nice to see his staunch and unwaivering support of the principles of free speech, especially when he comes over as such a strong supporter of free speech in his review of Ben Stein’s creationist propaganda.

However, I had a response I very much would have liked to post on his ‘mediocre theory’ thread. Since that’s disallowed to me, I decided to stick it up here.

‘Expelled’: An argument for ignorance

Recently written by Tad Cronn:

If you haven’t seen Ben Stein’s movie “Expelled” yet, I highly recommend you take the opportunity….

Underlying all of the discussion is the theme that this conflict between evolution and ID theorists is less scientific in nature than it is religious, but Stein makes the case that it is atheism that is the religion being promoted…

The impulse in academic, political and media circles to declare debates closed, issues resolved and consensus established, while labeling the open-minded as “deniers” or “fringe,” is totalitarian in its essence and if ignored its practitioners will only become more prevalent and determined.

Tad… This is utter nonsense.

The Model for the Enlightened Cognition of Compassion

The Preface

Essays written on morality would have to be some of the most boring texts ever written. Every so often some twit out there in the world writing for a published magazine - or even an unpublished, non-peer-reviewed blog post such as this - gets up on their moral high horse and preaches to the masses about How The World Should Be More Moral.

It’s enough to make a thinking man sick.

Crazy Good

Arguments in support of Theism

Here’s the deal.

I like good arguments. Even if I disagree with an argument, I still enjoy reading it. So I’ve put up this post as a sort of filter to catch your attention in the hope that you’ll be kind enough to give me an argument in support of Theism. I invite you to either post such an argument here, or use the trackback feature by posting on your own blog and linking here so I can see it.

My Ego absolutely loves this.

As title.