Do you believe in Evolution?

[tyred]

Not sure what you're getting at! I'm referring to Bertrand Russel's silly comment about a teapot orbitting around the sun.

The heat of the sun should keep the tea nice and hot although the centrifugal forces of the orbit may cause it to spill...

 

[Unkraut]

The heat of the sun should keep the tea nice and hot although the centrifugal forces of the orbit may cause it to spill...

Ah yes, but how did the centrifugal forces get there in the first ...... tea is at least a suitable subject for cafe. Everyone agrees on that.

(Why do I only ever notice typos after posting?)

 

[Rob3rt]

Not sure what you're getting at! I'm referring to Bertrand Russel's silly comment about a teapot orbitting around the sun.

Gong were a psychadelic/progressive band in the 70's, they had a trilogy of albums called the radio gnome trilogy, one of which was called "flying teapot"

 

[Unkraut]

Thanks. I don't remember them, but I cannot claim this was before my time!

 

[theclaud]

i) Where's the orbiting teapot? We've have the flying spaghetti monster but not the teapot!

ii) Why in a discussion (yet again) on evolution does the subject almost immediately turn into that of does God exist or to be more exact, we now know God doesn't exist? If this is so obvious, why keep bringing it up? I reckon that everyone who contributes to this thread, and anyone who ever reads it, knows there is a God, and is desperate to suppress this truth, but it won't go away despite all the bluster to the contrary .....

I don't agree, Unkers, but it's a classy post. These horrible Dawkinsy threads are almost enough to make me relinquish my atheism...

 

[marinyork]

Ah yes, but how did the centrifugal forces get there in the first ...... tea is at least a suitable subject for cafe. Everyone agrees on that.

(Why do I only ever notice typos after posting?)

We did this ages ago. There is a tea pot that exists in the platonic realm.

 

[Glow worm]

Okay, so you can have your belief that God doesn't exist but I can't have my belief that he does. And just consider all the good work done by Christian organisations. The charity and missionary work, the fact that if it wasn't for the religious orders, nobody but the extremely rich in Irish society would have had an education, the support of people with problems, the various youth clubs, etc, the provision of parish halls for social functions, the provision of graveyards to bury our dead and support to the bereaved.
I don't tell you what you should or shouldn't believe. I believe in a open society and the right to believe whatever you want.

Er, no. No one's saying that you can't have your god if you need it. You miss the point somewhat. It's the brainwashing of children I have a problem with. Adults forcing their kids into whichever religious mumbo jumbo (especially the rituals surrounded by terrible fears and intimidation) their parents before subjected them to, is an abuse of trust and a kind of mental rather than physical abuse (though we all know lots of religions are also very keen on mutilating children for their own bonkers superstitions). I'd ban indoctrinating children with religious mumbo jumbo until they are old enough to make up their own minds and make their own choices in life. If they get to 18 and decide to put on a frock, have the ends of their knobs chopped off (depending on which flavour of religious cobblers they choose) and tell us normal folk how we should be living our lives then go for it. No one's stopping you.

As for religious organisations, if I've got this right, you have to be an Xtian organisation to do any good in the world. I'm sure folks like Amnesty the WWF and Greenpeace among others will be very interested to hear it. Of course some religious organisations do some good. But it always comes with a price- i.e. buy into our mumbo jumbo and then we'll help you. And frankly I'd be pressed to see what good if any missionaries have ever done apart from brainwash the locals with hogwash. What's wrong with a bit of compassion and humanity without all the god bo**ocks- it is possible you know!
And as I said above, no one's telling you what to or what not to believe. This is the classic Xtian ploy of crying persecution whenever someone points out that religion may in fact be a load of old cobblers.

 

[tyred]

Er, no. No one's saying that you can't have your god if you need it. You miss the point somewhat. It's the brainwashing of children I have a problem with. Adults forcing their kids into whichever religious mumbo jumbo (especially the rituals surrounded by terrible fears and intimidation) their parents before subjected them to, is an abuse of trust and a kind of mental rather than physical abuse (though we all know lots of religions are also very keen on mutilating children for their own bonkers superstitions). I'd ban indoctrinating children with religious mumbo jumbo until they are old enough to make up their own minds and make their own choices in life. If they get to 18 and decide to put on a frock, have the ends of their knobs chopped off (depending on which flavour of religious cobblers they choose) and tell us normal folk how we should be living our lives then go for it.  No one's stopping you.

Parents do tend to pass on their own beliefs and opinions, religious or otherwise to their children. Always have done and probably always will. There are plenty of people brought up in strict Christian households which lead extremely un-Christian lives and also plenty of people who became born again Christians in later life, despite never being anywhere near a church as a youngster.

As for religious organisations,  if I've got this right, you have to be an Xtian organisation to do any good in the world. I'm sure folks like Amnesty the WWF and Greenpeace among others will be very interested to hear it. Of course some religious organisations do some good. But it always comes with a price- i.e. buy into our mumbo jumbo and then we'll help you. And frankly I'd be pressed to see what good if any missionaries have ever done apart from brainwash the locals with hogwash. What's wrong with a bit of compassion and humanity without all the god bo**ocks- it is possible you know!
And as I said above, no one's telling you what to or what not to believe. This is the classic Xtian ploy of crying persecution whenever someone points out that religion may in fact be a load of old cobblers.

I never said that an organisation has to have a Christian background to do good in the world, merely that many Christian organisations do good in the world. 


I don't see where I am crying persecution but you do appear to have some sort of irrational hatred of religions whereas I couldn't care less what people think or believe. This does suggest that you are trying to brainwash me and others into changing beliefs or have some sort of insecurity in your anti-religion ranting.

 

[Glow worm]

I don't see where I am crying persecution but you do appear to have some sort of irrational hatred of religions whereas I couldn't care less what people think or believe. This does suggest that you are trying to brainwash me and others into changing beliefs or have some sort of insecurity in your anti-religion ranting.

Sigh. You have no fear of brianwashing from freethinkers. We just make up our own minds based upon reason and evidence without resorting to sets of fabrigated Bronze Age nonsense to explain stuff. It's really quite simple. You can't brainwash closed minds anyway. I would suggest that if you are implying that a rational, reasoned debate about religion is 'ranting' simply becasue some views don't conform to your own, then I would very politely suggest that says an awful lot more about your own insecurities than anyone elses.
We're never going to agree, and this is a cafe after all, I suggest we order another pot of tea and biscuits, and maybe change the subject before we get thrown out.

 

[Ian H]

... freethinkers. We just make up our own minds based upon reason and evidence without resorting to sets of fabrigated Bronze Age nonsense to explain stuff...

Actually, no, you don't. As any psychologist will tell you, human beings do not, for the most part, make decisions based on rational thought. Mostly it's emotional, perhaps justified by rational reasoning.

And, er, no, I'm not of a religious persuasion, but I do get fed up with atheism of the simple-minded variety.

 

[jimboalee]

Well, for someone who has better things to do, you've certainly been putting your time in on this thread, and not exactly quality time by the look of it...

Look at the time on my posting, idiot.

I'm at work.... I'm on CycleChat AND being paid... "Double bubble".

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Look at the time on my posting, idiot.

I'm at work.... I'm on CycleChat AND being paid... "Double bubble".

That's, err... just fabulous for you. I'm not sure what it, or indeed the dull and unecessary insult, has to do with anything, but I am very happy that you have worked out how to post from work. Most of us find this way beyond our limited capabilities and are forced to post at night in secret. Perhaps you are more highly evolved than everyone else... or were you just made that brilliant?

 

[rich p]

Look at the time on my posting, idiot.

I'm at work.... I'm on CycleChat AND being paid... "Double bubble".

That's, err... just fabulous for you. I'm not sure what it, or indeed the dull and unecessary insult, has to do with anything, but I am very happy that you have worked out how to post from work. Most of us find this way beyond our limited capabilities and are forced to post at night in secret. Perhaps you are more highly evolved than everyone else... or were you just made that brilliant?

We need to know the time difference for Canada to find out if FM has evolved too.

 

[jonesy]

Thought it was quite clear, but here goes...

Throughout history mankind has had folks telling others all about the wonders of the world and how it all came about. These "experts" over time persuade people that their ideas are right and their knowledge becomes the generally accepted "facts". Today, scientists are trying to explain the way of the world with ever increasing complexity. Is it so difficult to accept that in the far future that some (or all) of the scientists theories are suggested to be wrong?

So your argument is that because in pre-scientific days people believed things that hadn't been tested experimentally, and often turned out to be wrong when they were, then it follows that current scientific theories that have been verified experimentally, will also turn out to be just as wrong? So aeroplanes will suddenly fall out of the sky? Newton's Laws will stop being a good predictor of the motion of moving bodies? Where exactly is the logic?

 

[Maz]

Yes, I believe in the existence of the Theory of Evolution.