Feb 19 2013

Religion corrupts the search for truth

Categories:

Atheism, Religion

by PZ Myers

Michael Nugent speaks out on the incompatibility of science and religion.

I approve this message so hard.

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23 comments

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1

julial

19 February 2013 at 3:34 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

“I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks. I do, I do, I do, I do believe in spooks” Cowardly Lion

The spooks I believe in work for the CIA.
2

Cuttlefish

19 February 2013 at 4:04 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Or, in rhyme: http://freethoughtblogs.com/cuttlefish/2013/02/19/believing-in-both-god-and-evolution/
3

JohnnieCanuck

19 February 2013 at 4:23 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Now that’s an atheist’s atheist.

It’s the first time I have heard him speak. I wonder who is athier, PZ or Michael Nugent.
4

Abdul Alhazred

19 February 2013 at 4:24 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

He had me going for a while there, then he veered off into suicide cult leftism.
5

JohnnieCanuck

19 February 2013 at 4:33 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

For those whose hearing or familiarity with an Irish accent isn’t what it could be, there is a transcript of the speech at the link PZ gave in the Post.
6

Brain Hertz

19 February 2013 at 5:43 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

He had me going for a while there, then he veered off into suicide cult leftism.

Ok, I’ll bite. What are you talking about?
7

Natasha

19 February 2013 at 5:46 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

JohnnieCanuck, athier? that is a new one for me.

Abdul Alhazred, what exactly do you mean by suicide cult leftism?

A very nice demolition of the accommodationist position and religion in general.
8

glodson

19 February 2013 at 5:46 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@6

Thanks for asking. I was wondering the same thing, but never got to asking myself.
9

qwerty

19 February 2013 at 6:05 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I liked his ending where he said we’ve moved (due to science) from all all-powerful god who creation the universe to a god whose main function is to appear on our toast.
10

Dalillama, Schmott Guy

19 February 2013 at 6:47 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

“Suicide cult leftism” is almost certainly referring to a failure to be as rabidly islamophobic and anti Arab as Alhazared. That’s the main context I’ve heard it in lately, although some people still mean “environmentalist”, or re referring to some broader ethnic bigotry.
11

Mandrellian, Kicker of Biological Goals

19 February 2013 at 6:50 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@4:

He had me going for a while there, then he veered off into suicide cult leftism.

Would you like to add some dressing to this word salad, or is it enough that only you know what the fuck you’re on about?
12

unclefrogy

19 February 2013 at 7:32 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I followed the link to his page and read some but had to stop at the comments on one getting wound up over an old post is not so good I already spend too much time here.
I would have to say that it was science that finally won which path to follow in the search for truth I am not sorry in the least either.

uncle frogy
13

congenital cynic

19 February 2013 at 8:04 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

This is a really good exposition of why we are on the side of reason and religion is a crock. Well done.
14

Rich Woods

19 February 2013 at 8:46 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@Brain Hertz #6:

Ok, I’ll bite. What are you talking about?

Not to put words in your mouth, but I believe you meant to say:

Ok, I’ll bite. What the monkeyfuck are you talking about?

Regardless, good luck in getting an answer.
15

Weed Monkey

19 February 2013 at 9:02 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Abdul Alhazred is just the resident nincompoop who insists on giving mad arabs a bad name.
16

JohnnieCanuck

19 February 2013 at 9:39 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Natasha,

A lot of theists and not a few atheists misspell ‘atheist’ as ‘athiest’ when they are commenting.

This occasionally provokes someone to make a humourous reference to athy, athier, athiest. For some value of humour, of course.
17

Brain Hertz

19 February 2013 at 11:20 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Ok, I’ll bite. What the monkeyfuck are you talking about?

That was pretty much exactly my first draft, prior to minor editing. My version didn’t use the word “monkey”.

Anyway, it appears that drive-by troll has driven by…
18

rorschach

20 February 2013 at 1:32 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Now that’s an atheist’s atheist.

It’s the first time I have heard him speak.

Mick is awesome. I wish he would speak more often outside Ireland.
19

timothya1956

20 February 2013 at 6:06 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

How come those Irish are so good at explaining ideas?
20

glodson

20 February 2013 at 10:24 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@ 15

I prefer Achmed The I Just Get These Headache, author of both the Necrotelicomnicon, and Achmed The I Just Get These Headache’s Book of Humorous Cat Stories.
21

thumper1990

20 February 2013 at 10:26 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

He’s preaching to the choir here, so I don’t applaud his conclusions so much as wonder how anyone could come to any other. Which unfortunately for me relegates c.99% of his talk to “stating the bleeding obvious”, but he is certainly a very good public speaker and I think any accomodationists or moderates would have a good chance of being persuaded by that talk.
22

Michael Zeora

20 February 2013 at 3:47 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Some Googling of the term “suicide cult leftism” has very few results, one of which is this page.

One of the others is a now debunked website that went by the name “Patriots for Freedom” which sounds as right-wing as it gets.

The Last two both speak on Micheal Bloomberg; one an article of Michael Walsh’s and the other is a Forum for Gun Owners called “SilencerTalk” which links back the the Walsh article.

So… what does this mean in the minds of those who coined it? (this is after reading that screed and trying to sush out a defination”

Leftist-Suicide Cult seem to be a term to describe a version of “suicide by cop”-esque nihilism. Which Walsh used to describe how “Mike Bloomberg wants you to be killed by a gun and then have the cops show up; you can’t defend yourself since they took away all your guns” which this was right after the Aurora shooting. In this particular reference I believe that #4 Abdul Alhazred; was using this term when Mich described the universe in realtion to humans and the difference between Religious outlook (“the universe made for us”) and science (“our insignificance in comparison to our universe”)

In other words. Abdul Alhazred, is a lackwit individual who reads right-wing articles and that particular asshole didn’t have the fortitude to defend himself or explain himself.
23

daniellavine

21 February 2013 at 8:01 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Alhazred is almost certainly talking about what rightists call “multiculturalism” as “suicide cult leftism”. Never mind that he has never been able to successfully defend his thesis that middle eastern folks are vicious beasts or explain why Christianity can exist in moderate forms while Islam cannot.