Oh, for fuck's sake... Ontological Argument When you say that no evidence is offered by this argument, you seem to be ruling out immediately the possibility of an a priori argument for the existence of God. As a methodological conclusion, a bit more is required. In any event, I agree that there is something wrong with this argument. Then again, there may be forms of the argument that get past your objection that it also proves the existence of any imaginary kind of thing. Consider this simple form: 1. God is, by definition, the most powerful person. 2. Persons that exist are more powerful...

... but there is a political controversy, and a religious controversy. What brought this on? Well, as a couple of previous posts have intimated, Sydney Atheists popped on up to Toongabbie Anglican Church over the weekend. During the discussion afterwards, I was chatting with a member of the congregation, I believe one of the pastors. Sorry dude, forgot your name, but you'll soon know who you are. The conversation, paraphrased, went something like this. I'm 'J', Mr Christian is 'X' X: But evolution is just a theory, right? J: You're misunderstanding the word "theory". It does not mean the same as "hypothesis". X: But...

I've been trying, for quite some time now, to post this response on Toongabbie Anglican's website. All I got was fucking fail:  I'm a bit fucking annoyed about this. Still, I saved the comment and can post it here. Original thread HERE. Hi David, I can understand why you’d feel a little intimidated at the thought of entering a pub full of atheists. After all, you may interrupt us while we’re eating babies and plotting our next shopping mall rampage. Obviously we couldn’t let you out alive if that happened. Note: that is a joke. Anyway, as for discussion with Sydney Atheists as a...

Bitches don't know about Uke tech

A contingent of Sydney Atheists ran a little sidequest this evening, off to Toongabbie Anglican church in Sydney, where the specialised subject was: "Tough Questions: Does God Exist" Firstly, this is not a tough question, though I will admit some people have trouble. Secondly, well, nothing in the sermon added substantively to existing knowledge, which while not entirely unexpected, was slightly disappointing. We did, however, get a new argument for the existence for god. It goes like this, and forgive me if I'm misremembering. If you're annoyed about this, L2 read my title bar. So a christian sits down with an atheist and over...

I've been meaning to post this for a few days, but today's collossal media fail on the Hudson River's newest boat has prompted me to step up and do the rant thing Stop throwing the word "miracle" around to describe things that are not miracles. Here is what a miracle is, according to dictionary.com an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. A highly-skilled pilot ditching a plane in a river without loss of life is NOT A FUCKING MIRACLE. A baby surviving against long odds is NOT A FUCKING MIRACLE Being...

Holy shit No, really. Holy shit At least, that's how I read Narelle Jarrett's post dated 13th January 2009. But wait! Before I wade in, let's just set some context. For one thing, What the fuck is an Archdeacon anyway? Teh Wikipedia delivers. So, an archdeacon is supposedly one step below a bishop. So Narelle, while having mastered sophistry, strawmen and non-sequiteurs, hasn't quite got the hang of moving diagonally. Unfortunately, neither has she mastered the art of the hyperlink, so throughout this post I'll be making some assumptions over Narelle's sources, and linking accordingly. Right, so let's get to the point, it's late and...

... and god will do fuck all That is the inevitable conclusion I am forced to draw from reality as it manifests itself. Anyway, let's just update on where I'm at right now. After a minor explosion in blogging over recent times, when I looked like I may actually establish myself as a regular blogger once more, I've had another outage. This one is not because I'm a lazy asshole. No, this one is because my girlfriend of several years, Esther, has been in intensive care with severe respiratory problems for the last few days. Make no mistake about this: it was severe, life-threatening,...

Produced by... oh, you know, some genius editing and production dude, with support from Ian Woolf*. This represents the first complete release from Flightpath Studios, even though it was emphatically not recorded here (we tried it. It was problematic. Think about the name "flightpath") I also talk on it, a bit, though having to share a mic and being my first podcast, I did stay to the background a little. Wait till next time though. Also, my news item: Serious Business. Features, our friends: Ian Woolf, Alan Conradi, Dave The Happy Singer, Anthony Englund and myself. Published via SydneyAtheists.org here. * truth be told,...

Oh, @the_chasers, you're made of pure win! Oh, the beeped word is CUNTS, in case you couldn't figure it.

It must have ben a slow news day, because I ended up finding this story in the "National" section of the Sydney Morning Herald, normally a fairly reliable news source: Holy vision greeted return of Mary MacKillop's nuns  OK, I mean seriously, WTF? You mean just because an SMH fluff-peddler had a boring day, I have to beat up on some old codger from SA? Fair enough, let's get moving. The story tells of a 93-year-old man called "Nat Renfrey", a devout catholic and long-term resident of Penola, Mary McKillop's home town. Supposedly, in 1936, when 20 years old, at Renfrey was playing...

Many media outlets are reporting on this, most under their "entertainment" sections, and this being the case, you may wonder, if you're not already in the know, why I'm writing about it, on the homepage of a self-confessed atheist, geek, climber, curmudgeon. How can this possibly tie back to the topic this blog is ostensibly based on? Well, if you'll allow me to elaborate, this ties back to potential harm caused by religious dogma. Come with me on a journey into dogma unleashed. You see, Jett Travolta, in addition to being a 16 year old kid prone to seizures and exhibiting symptoms...

Those of you who know me well will be aware of my policy, held for quite a few years now, of not giving money or support to charities with strong religious affiliation. Some people have called this personal policy into question, pointing out that they're still charities, and surely they're still doing good things. Others have just shrugged and called me a curmudgeon. I commend those people into the care of the Sydney Morning Herald, particularly this article on the St Vincent De Paul Society's real mission. Finally the truth is out "The primary function of the society," said St Vincent de Paul's...

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