Harrison’s new book challenges popular beliefs

| 22/02/2012

Guy P Harrison.jpg(CNS): Author Guy P. Harrison, a former Grand Cayman resident now living in southern California, has written a new book that is attracting high praise. 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think are True is a skeptical grand tour of extraordinary claims and unusual beliefs, including UFOs, psychics, near-death-experiences, ghosts, intelligent design, alternative medicine, alien abductions, conspiracy theories, faith healing, astrology, doomsday predictions, Atlantis and more. “Rather than just explain away beliefs that are unlikely to be true and leave it at that, this book also attempts to enlighten people about how our brains work and how they set us up to fall for false claims and irrational beliefs,” explained Harrison.

“I’m very sympathetic to people who believe weird things because it can and does happen to all of us. One does not have to be dumb or crazy to believe dumb and crazy things. It’s part of the human condition. For this reason, no one should doubt the importance of skepticism. It can save you time, energy, money, your good health and maybe even your life.”

50_popular_beliefs_Cover 2.jpgAstrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson of the American Museum of Natural History described Harrison’s book as a must-read for all: “What would it take to create a world in which fantasy is not confused for fact and public policy is based on objective reality? I don't know for sure. But a good place to start would be for everyone on Earth to read this book.”

“Harrison has added to the growing body of skeptical literature a contribution that will continue to move our culture toward one that openly embraces reason, science, and logic," wrote Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and Scientific American columnist.

A glowing review in Library Journal states that Harrison’s book “will blow readers' minds by making them realize how easy it is to hold a strong belief without applying either critical thinking or skepticism. Harrison guides us gently but firmly along an explorative path of our collective illogic, strong tendencies toward easy answers and magical thinking, and susceptibility to confirmation bias. He doesn't judge readers for buying into beliefs that have no real basis in fact and science, but instead asks them to second-guess the tendency to readily accept the unproven and the illogical as true. Verdict: An outstanding book that is required reading no matter what you believe.”

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think are True is Harrison’s third published book, all of which carry a pro-science/critical thinking theme. His other books are: 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God and Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know About Our Biological Diversity. Harrison said people often ask why he dedicates himself to writing about science and skepticism.

“Truth is, I really couldn’t care less about what someone believes,” he explained. “But when I see a lack of skepticism and sound thinking diminish someone’s life or cause serious harm to others I feel obligated to speak up and offer a helping hand. If irrational beliefs weren’t so often dangerous and such a drag on human progress, you would never hear a peep from me about anyone’s beliefs. The way I see it, promoting science, reason and skepticism is a moral issue. It’s about caring for your fellow humans and trying to make the world better.”

Harrison recently spoke about his new book for two hours on Chicago’s WGN Radio and is scheduled to be interviewed on other nation-wide US radio shows, including “Coast to Coast AM” and Michio Kaku’s “Science Fantastic”.

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think are True is published by Prometheus Books and available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and bookstores worldwide. 

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  1. I Love Snakes says:

    Have you ever watched peasants killing grass snakes simply because they were taught that snakes were the enemy of the human race for tricking Eve into eating an apple (OK, xxxxing Adam’s brains out actually)? Seriously, they kill the poor little snakes that they run into, simply based on that fable. You don’t need to go to an Afgani madrasa to see religion twisting the brains of our less-educated fellow humans.

  2. Anonymous says:

    well, Mr. Harrison, you definitely got them thinking.

  3. Pedigree Chum says:

    Many of these evangelicals are poorly educated third world hicks brainwashed from birth by the well funded MidWest fundamentalist machine, or at least had parents who fell into that category   You canot reason with them and there is little point is debating with them since their viewpoint is fixed in a cruel manner.

    • Anonymous says:

      What ignorance. There are highly intelligent, educated individuals on both sides of this issue.  

      • Anonymous says:

        This is very true.

      • Alan Nivia says:

        But there are lot more stupid people on the intelligent design side.

        • Anonymous says:

          Not true. Intelligent design (as opposed to literal 7 day creationism) tends tobe held by educated people of faith because they wish to reconcile the two. There are plenty of stupid people who grab a hold of the atheist position because they think it makes them look intelligent. Some of them are clearly on here.

          • Anonymous says:

            I was with you until the gratuitous insult at the end.  

          • Like It Is says:

            No one with intelligence would ever try to reconcile "intelligent design" with anything because it is clearly nonsense.  "Intelligent design" was just an attempt by evangelicals to come up with an opposition to evolution when creationism was rightly rejected from schools so there was a need to have some pseudo-science introduced.

            • Anonymous says:

              Many intelligent design supporters are not evangelicals at all. Some are not even religious but, like Einstein, they feel compelled to come to that conclusion by the evidence.

          • Anne T. Krist says:

            (Un)intelligent design is simply what little was left over after science disproved the whole of your mythology, and your kind grasped desperately at any straw to stay relevent. A claim that “This is so complicated that I can’t understand it, so a god must have made it” (i.e. it’s irreducibly complex), does not prove the existence of a god. It proves you have a small brain (the structure being common to the species, so that’s not meant as an insult). Further, that line of pseudo-reasoning has been conclusively show to be… well, the technical term is “bullxxxt”.
            Good luck staying relevent.

    • Anonymous says:

      Speaking from experience, you are spot-on.

  4. Anonymous says:

    What about Tupac!! Conspiracy to kill all the prominent black leaders.

    • Anonymous says:

      So you are trying to debunk Christianity with science. Fine.

      I personally did not realize that he was qualified to clear up such matters. This is not a science book with proven facts or are you suggesting that we start to use it as a textbook at UCCI?.

      In the end their are extremely intelligent people on both sides. There are even scientist on both sides.

      This arguement will not end so simply.

      • Anonymous says:

        There are real scientist, performing real work on one side, and then there are psuedo-scientist on the other side who are basically goons who make their mama and papa proud for the religious establishment.

  5. Anonymous says:

    I love that story about David and Goliath. What happened to all those Giants anyway? 

    • Anonymous says:

      I think they must have r-evolved. Or maybe they dissolved.

    • Anonymous says:

      They died and their bones are to be found right next to the bones of the missing links of evolution.

    • Anonymous says:

      My son, David, killed them with a sling shot.

  6. Angel of truth says:

    If you are a true christion do not try to fight these type of battle, godcan take care of himself,

    those persons who is saying these things about god only want to do things that is an abomonation to god and our human race, they love greed and immoralty this is there way of doing what there agenda takes them please ignore them.

    gods time will come, where is there closets,  oh what fools are they, it hurts dont it?.  

    • Anonymous says:

      Its more painful to watch "christians" constantly try to redefine themselves in modern terms with archaic stories. Walking contradictions. More disgusting is that you are teaching your kids to reason the same in the face of volumes of mounting evidence.

      A perfect analogy would be somebody caught in a lie about a murder scene, and they constantly change their story to match new evidence(and scientific facts) found at a crime scene.

      Do you want to teach the next generations how to lie or convolute new facts to match a previous belief , or to teach them how to change their world view when new facts are presented.   

       

    • School Can Help says:

      Step right up folks, see before your very eyes the horrors of a failed education system and an indoctrination into a cult of fable-believers. Oh, the horror!!! Don’t look in it’s eyes!

  7. Chuck D says:

    The oddest thing about many of these intelligent design comments is that it assumes that humans are intelligently designed.  We are not.  It is clear that with a blank slate and an intelligent designer we would be designed very differently.  Our bodies have significant design issues which arise because we have evovled from previous designs and the incremental effect of evolution does not permit wholesale redesign.

    Our spines are not well designed for upright living, they are designed to work best horizontally, like our evolutionary predecessors.  We still have tailbones.  Why?  And why does our laryngeal nerve loop the way it does?  Evolution explains that perfectly.  There are many many other examples.

    If there was a conscious designer, it was not a very lazy and not very good designer.  But there simply is only one credible explanation for how we are designed, evolution.

    • Anonymous says:

      I believe the human body was designed by an architect. Who but an architect would run a toxic waste line through a recreational area?

    • Pedigree Chum says:

      It is interesting how the foaming religious posters have chosen to ignore responding this post. 

  8. Anonymous says:

    As we have so many religious expert following this thread.

    Can someone explain why we are a God fearing rather than a God loving country?

    And what is the difference?

    • Sally says:

      Irrational belief in anything should be feared. Love your fellow terrestrial life forms instead.

  9. Like It Is says:

    One thing I have learned on CNS is that it is impossible to engage in reasoned argument with dogmatic Christians.  But it can be tempting to try when some churn out the typical mid-West US inspired drivel to try to support arguments against sound science.  Of course to a rational reader the arguments are one-sided and the fanatics response hilarious but these people are not rational. 

  10. Guy P. Harrison says:

    It seems there isway too much noise about religion being made in these comments about a book that addresses so much more than that. Below are the contents of the book for those interested. To be clear, I offer skeptical analysis for all of these entries.

     

    It's also important to know that I do not present myself as some towering voice of authority. I simply point out problems with popular beliefs, ask key questions, and encourge people to think for themselves.

     –Peace

     

    50 Popular Beliefs That People Think are True

    Contents

    FOREWORD Dr. Phil Plait………………..13
    INTRODUCTION………………..17
    1. "I Believe in the Paranormal and the Supernatural."………………..23
    2. "I Know There Is an Afterlife Because of All the Near-Death Experiences."………………..36
    3. "A Psychic Read My Mind."………………..42
    4. "You're Either Born Smart or You're Not."………………..51
    5. "The Bible Code Reveals the Future."………………..58
    6. "Stories of Past Lives Prove Reincarnation Is Real."………………..62
    7. "ESP Is the Real Deal."………………..68
    8. "Nostradamus Saw It All Coming."………………..74
    9. "I Believe in Miracles."………………..81
    10. "NASA Faked the Moon Landings."………………..89
    11. "Ancient Astronauts Were Here."………………..100
    12. "UFOs Are Visitors from Other Worlds."………………..108
    13. "A Flying Saucer Crashed Near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947 and the Government Knows All about It."………………..121
    14. "Aliens Have Visited Earth and Abducted Many People."………………..132
    15. "Astrology Is Scientific."………………..139
    16. "All Scientists Are Geniuses and Science Is Always Right."………………..147
    17. "The Holocaust Never Happened."………………..154
    18. "Global Warming Is a Political Issue and Nothing More."………………..161
    19. "Television News Gives Me an Accurate View of the World."………………..167
    20. "Biological Races Are Real."………………..180
    21. "Biological Race Determines Success in Sports."………………..186
    22. "Most Conspiracy Theories Are True."………………..192
    23. "Alternative Medicine Is Better."………………..201
    24. "Homeopathy Really Works, and No Side Effects!"………………..210
    25. "Faith Healing Cures the Sick and Saves Lives."………………..218
    26. "Race-Based Medicine Is a Great Idea."………………..226
    27. "No Vaccines forMy Baby!"………………..233
    28. "My God Is the Real One."………………..245
    29. "My Religion Is the One That's True."………………..250
    30. "Creationism Is True and Evolution Is Not."………………..259
    31. "Intelligent Design Is Real Science."………………..273
    32. "The Universe and Earth Are Fine-Tuned for Life."………………..279
    33. "Many Prophecies Have Come to Pass."………………..283
    34. "Prayer Works!"………………..290
    35. "Religions Are Sensible and Safe. Cults Are Silly and Dangerous."………………..296
    36. "They Found Noah's Ark!"………………..300
    37. "Archaeology Proved My Religion Is True."………………..305
    38. "Holy Relics Possess Supernatural Powers."………………..310
    39. "A TV Preacher Needs My Money."………………..315
    40. "Ghosts Are Real and They Live in Haunted Houses."………………..323
    41. "Bigfoot Lives and Cryptozoology Is Real Science!"………………..333
    42. "Angels Watch Over Me."………………..350
    43. "Magic Is Real and Witches Are Dangerous."………………..354
    44. "Atlantis Is down There Somewhere."………………..363
    45. "I'm Going to Heaven When I Die."………………..368
    46. "Something Very Strange Is Going on in the Bermuda Triangle."………………..372
    47. "Area 51 Is Where They Keep the Aliens."………………..382
    48. "The Mayans Warned Us: It's All over on December 21, 2012."………………..391
    49. "The End Is Near!"………………..397
    50. "We're All Gonna Die!"………………..407
    FAREWELL AND GOOD LUCK………………..417
    NOTES………………..421
    BIBLIOGRAPHY………………..443
    INDEX………………..451

    • Anonymous says:

      True is not all about debunking religion but 80% is about debunking the supernatural including religion. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Point taken. Let’s talk about “Atlantis Is down There Somewhere” instead. My sky fairy told me it’s down there (in a dream, speaking in tongues, i.e. it was babbling but I knew what it was saying) , and since my sky fairy can never be wrong it must be down there. I know my sky fairy can never be wrong because my sky fairy told me it can never be wrong. Well, not directly. I read it in a book that said my sky fairy can never be wrong. And since the book also said that my sky fairy helped write the book, it can never be wrong either, so I can trust the book to be true when it says that my sky fairy can never be wrong. So my sky fairy can never be wrong. And so Atlantis is down there somewhere. Good idea this not talking about religion. Besides, it pisses off my sky fairy when we do, and you know what the book says about pissing off the sky fairy… pillars of salt, hellfire and damnation and so on. Look what happened to Atlantis… I mean I bet they pissed off the sky fairy and see what happended to them!

  11. Shock and Awe says:

    Add to this list of fantasies – Voting in a U.S. Presidential Election.  Let's see your choices are Barack Obama who has not fulfilled one single promise including the closure of Guantanamo, has not reigned in Wall Street nor incresed regulation of the financialindustry and just announced reducing corporate taxes.  Or maybe you'd prefer to vote for Mitt Romney a multimillionaire predatory investor or Newt Gingrich the red neck .  But we can't accept that it is a joke because then we'd have to accept 9/11, Bush, Iraq, Cheney, Halliburton, weapons of mass destruction, and the list goes on all the way back to Reagan.  That is one of the true fantasies that must be dealt with because I would rather believe in UFO's than democracy in America.  There is more evidence.

    • Anonymous says:

      Gee thanks for the insight on America. You're a real pundit.

      • Dreadlock Holmes says:

        Not just critical of America, but the process in general so if you are American don't take it personally.  Just pointing out that following Guy's theories missing is our sometimes fantastical belief (almost religious belief) in what is presented to us as a democratic process because it does seem to be based on similar criteria as the other choices included in his book.  The U.S. politcal system as an example is just one.  Going back let's examine recent U.S. Presidents then decide for yourself if politics should have been included.  Lyndon Johnson and the Gulf of Tonkin lie. Used to escalate the war in Vietnam. Then into Cambodia and Laos. Why not? We were there already. Richard Nixon. almost impeached and many would agree a pathological liar bordering on psychotic.  Granted a full pardon by the next president. Gerald Ford.  Who really wasn't very smart. But that was on purpose. Ronald Reagan even less so. Including his Vice President Bush Sr. Very smart. Under whose tenure financial markets were de-regulated.  Bush Sr. a member of the Carlyle Group then became the next president who made the first move to captureMiddle East oilfields in Desert Storm. Sold as a rescue mission to Kuwait.  And financed the Taliban in Afghanistan. Soon to be mortal enemies. Bill Clinton who really unleashed Wall Street. And diddled his office help. But now he's presented as a "statesman".  And we believe that too. And George Jr. Who stole an election and invaded Iraq under false pretense, brought the U.S. the Patriot Act, Homeland Security and plundered the U.S. Treasury.  Barack Obama.  Time to switch up to a black president. Just to confuse anyone who might see an agenda. Now are we to believe that all of these people with the resources and vast array of intelligent and moral people available within the U.S. were duly elected?  Or… are the choices handpicked? Filtered? And purposely limited?  Not just by some unseen hand or hands at work but by our unquestioning beliefs?  I see no difference between believing this is an open and honest system than people who have believed in Astrology as a science. 

        I'm not a pundit but if we are going to talk about irrational beliefs it would be a mistake to leave out politics.

        • Rick Berns says:

          I gues you are an exception to Guy Harrison's skepticism about Conspiracy Theorists?!?

  12. Anonymous says:

    many of us would be millionaires if in 1981 we or our Parents  invested $1000 in Cisco or microsoft @ $2.50 per share and let them compound until now .Is this science or economics?

  13. Anonymous says:

    science doesn't need a god.

    • Anonymous says:

      True because God is outside the remit of science which deals only what can be measured and observed.  

  14. Anonymous says:

    I find it interesting that while you people debate God. 

    Our Premier is making deals with the godless Chinese and many of you are saying nothing about that.

    • Sotong says:

      'Godless Chinese' seems a bit derogatory and dismissive of the beliefs of over a billion people.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Duppies DO EXIST!

  16. Anonymous says:

    Guy Harrison practices critical thinking, something few people are capable of. Already the blogs have focused on his supposed atheism, which seems to be quite irrelevant to the discussion. I have always enjoyed his newspaper articles, as he usually brings a harvest of facts and clear  thinking to his writing. I, for one, will be buying his book. I know I will learn something unexpected.

    • Anonymous says:

      His atheism is obviously the motivation for a book which seeks to debunk the supernatural. It is very relevant.  

  17. Knot S Smart says:

    I would like to know the answer to this one:

    Why did the chicken cross the road?

    • Just Kiddin' says:

      Because he could before it was sold to Dart?

    • Anonymous says:

      Why can we not live in a world in which chickens are free to cross the road without having their motives questioned?

    • Anonymous says:

      God created the chicken on this side of the road. There is no evidence that it was ever on the other side.

  18. Anonymous says:

    Thing is he's more famous than any other current or former resident, including Selita, so why not be happy that someone is successful?

  19. Anonymous says:

    Since Mr Harrison's intelligence obviously could not possibly have come from God, we have to assume it came from aliens on a UFO. If that is so, we are left to wonder where the aliens got THEIR intelligence. Mr Harrison would you please be good to write us a book on which came first, the chicken or the egg?

    • Anonymous says:

      Oops. Sorry I meant to click LOL and clicked thumbs down instead.

      Why, Mr. Harrison will say that human intelligence evolved by a process of evolution involving natural selection and random mutation over hundreds of millions of years. And he really believes it. Go figure. Somewhat smugly he thinks he is performing a public service by bringing the light of human reason to the poor unenlightened religious folk.     

    • Anonymous says:

      What  a  nightmare to watch someone logically chase their own tail by allowing only one alternative explanation to a complex question.

      I guess you never thought that millions of years of trial and "error" creates enough variation for intelligence to evolve by itself, without outside help of any kind  from foreign aliens… or even a middle-east carpenter/magician who looks like he is from Norway.

      • Anonymous says:

        And just exactly where do you suppose that intelligence would have evolved by itself FROM? What  a  nightmare to watch someone logically chase their own tail by allowing only one alternative explanation to a complex question.

        • Anonymous says:

          I think the only excluded explanation was "a big magical sky fairy invented from bronze age myth". 

        • Anonymous says:

          …and so the fake christian chase for truth continues…as long as your church can pocket its 10% vig, let the games continues… 

          • Anonymous says:

            I do not profess or pretend to be a Christian nor do I pay tithes to any church, wherever you may have gotten THAT information from. It seems to me that the "chase for truth" is in fact being carried out by the evolutionary theorists and that they in fact have a very long way to go with no light whatsoever at the end of the tunnel. Thank God I was created with a more intelligent brain than that.  

            • Anonymous says:

              Your right, I totally forgot about the "chase for lies" religious scammers that pander to the ignorant and enable their continued ignorance. I've got all my money(at least 10%) on them to make the next biggest discovery.

              • Anonymous says:

                I promised to stop this but I just can't resist one last one: Thank you for acknowledging that I'm right. Apparently you STILL don't understand that I am not religious, but that's understandable coming from an evolving brain. I'm afraid this one will end up with even more thumbs down than your last one, buddy. Sorry.

                • Anonymous says:

                  What you have failed to comprehend is I and several others are not pandering for a thumbs up, nor do we really care about what you believe(as long as your not hurting or targeting any group)…its what you can reason from the facts and observations..the balls in your court, and your denials are anonymously and infamously evident…and prove nothing.

                   

                   

                  • Anonymous says:

                    King James 2000 bible
                    And why behold you the speck that is in your brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      If they revise it so often that the latest revision is in the year 2000, why haven’t they gotten around to revising out the parts that make it look so stupid, like the commandments to kill homosexuals, kill adulterers, kill people who swear at their parents, kill people who work on Sundays, kill people who don’t believe in the Jewish God, and so on and so on? I mean really, take out the trash already.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      I'm not sure. You'll have to ask THEM that.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Who?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Very obviously not you.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Like everything else on this earth, I only pay attention to the parts that make sense.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      That it was revised in the year 2000 is no indication that it is revised "so often".

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Perhaps not, but it doesn't take much reading to find that what you call "the Bible" has, in fact, been revised and translated and revised and translated again many, many times.   Surely you can admit that?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      I was not denying that.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Really?  Then what was your point? 

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Read it as many times as you need to. It WILL become clear eventually. Ahh these evolving brains…

                    • Anonymous says:

                      No need. None of that appears in the New Testament which contains the ethic for Christians – love the Lord your God with all of your heart and love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus specifically intervened to prevent a woman being stoned for adultery. 

                      Incidentally, no part of the Bible commands anyone to kill people for working on Sundays.

                      A revision does not mean that you are changing the teaching of the Bible. It simply brings modern scholarship to bear on the way it is translated and expressed.    

                    • Jack Flash says:

                      But the whole creation myth is in the big bad Old Testament, so why is that still so important?  And while you are at it, explain to me why planesdon't cash into the firmament.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Because they're evolved?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Many Christians do not take the creation story as an historical account of a six day creation event. I doubt that it was intended to be. Even some of the early Church Fathers, long before the rise of modern science, didn't take it literally but allegorically.

                    • Anne T. Krist says:

                      The bible is wrong, in other words. Welcome to the start of enlightenment.

                    • Anonymous says:

                       

                      What about this part?

                       

                      Exodus 31:12-15

                      King James Version (KJV)

                       12And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

                       13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

                       14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

                       15Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

                       

                    • Anonymous says:

                      What about it? Did you read my post?
                       

                    • Anonymous says:

                      I see.  You're going to point out that god does not COMMAND anyone to kill those working on the sabbath — he just SAYS they will be put to death.  That makes it so much better.

                       

                       

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Er.. no. Read my post again. The passage you have quoted says nothing at all about Sundays.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      RIght.  Good point then.  So god will save his slaughtering for those who violate the sabbath then — whenever that may be.  Thank you for clarifying. 

                    • Anonymous says:

                      You're not good at reading comprehension, are you? That was simply a correction as a matter of fact, not a defence. Try re-reading the original post. This time slowly.

                    • Athiest says:

                      You appear to be arguing that the sabbath is not Sunday. Evidence appears to the contrary, but were that even true does that detract from the force of the argument that the bible promotes killing people who work on a day they are commanded not to? I think you are splitting a hair that isn’t even growing out of your head.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Maybe.  But he does command that the parents of wayward youth drag their sons to the city gates to be stoned to death in Deuteronomy 21.  And he chastises the Pharisees for NOT killing their wayward youth in Mark 7:9 — even in modern revisions.

                       

                    • Anne T. Krist says:

                      Never read the bible I see…

                      Exodus 31:15 commands: “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be PUT TO DEATH.”

                      I love it when believers don’t even read their own fable. Shameful for the whole lot of you.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      I definitely agree on killing homosexuals and people who swear at their parents.

                    • Your Mother says:

                      Yo mama is so fat, that when she jumped for joy, she got stuck.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Your mama is so fat she can't jump

                    • Anonymous says:

                      I take it you either swear at your parents, or…err…

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Come on, it's a good book. I mean, there is no commandment about killingfolks who support the evolution theory.

      • Anonymous says:

        Anyone on the face of this earth who can blink their eyes is either not using their God given intelligence, or they have to concede that their eyes and every atom on this planet was created by a supreme intelligence. There is very simply no other intelligent explanation.

        • Anonymous says:

          Except for evolution. It’s probably new to the people living in your cave. You should read about it, or have someone read it to you.

          Beware of reading though – in extreme cases it can lead to actual enlightenment. Like thinking, it’s dangerous to the preservation of the old ways. With that in mind, maybe you should stay in the cave.

          • Anonymous says:

            I am still asking you to please explain what exactly you think caused evolution to exist. You can avoid that question all you like but the fact remains that it is a supreme intelligence that enables you to stick your tongue out, rub your nose, put your shoes on, brush your teeth, wake up in the morning, use your brain, touch your thumb with your forefinger, pick a rose. see a rose, smell a rose,  or go fly a kite. There is simply no other intelligent explanation.

            • Anonymous says:

              The real problem is that you have stopped searching for other explanations when confronted with obvious contradictions created from scientific discoveries…and now you want me to do  that work for you…and I can only expect you will also try to cover up your sloth in some fashionable manner by belonging/contributing to some charity…all in vain because the real solution to problems like poverty will in the end be solved by science. So if you are truly concerned about solving problems, then you would support scientific research, even if it leads to the fall of your archaic beliefs.

              • Anonymous says:

                You haven't answered my question.

                • Anonymous says:

                  That’s cause you make no sense and we’re ignoring you.

                  • Anonymous says:

                    That's because you don't want to admit the answer.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Crickets…. nothing but the sound of crickets.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Don't you just LOVE the sound of crickets? After all, they WERE CREATED by a supreme intelligence you know. Or do you think they just evolved out of nowhere from nothing at all. 

                    • Anonymous says:

                      There comes a point when you know the person you are talking to is too incompetent to make certain jumps in thought. The "aha" moment will never come to them unless it is spoon fed…don't waste your time with idiots….

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Point well taken.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Getting pissed because nobody agrees with you is definitely a good sign of an evolving brain.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Hey guys, I think we should really call an end to this blog while I'm still ahead of the game. So far by my count I have approximately 407 supportive thumbs and 180 non-supportive thumbs, not including the lol's. This has reached the point where whe are calling each other incompetent itiots, and THAT is really not becoming of either intelligently created or evolving  brains. It has been interesting nontheless and it is my sincere hope that we can all blog together again on the same level when the evolving brains of this world have finally caught up with the intelligently created ones. Have a wonderful life all. 

                    • Kung Fu Iguana says:

                      Homo erectus.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Don't be so hard on yourself.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      I thought you were supposed to be an iguana.

                    • Kung Fu Iguana says:

                      None of my ancestors swam all the way over here from Ararat following a spell on an ark.

              • Anonymous says:

                Actually I haven't been entertained by this level of mumbo jumbo in my entire life. Thank God Almighty I did not evolute but was created in the image and likeness of my supremely intelligent and Almighty Creator. Now if I could just get you to answer one simple little question…

                • Anonymous says:

                  I was always curious about this: If we are created in the image of god, des it follow that god is a sexual being?

                  • Anonymous says:

                    If so would there be something wrong with that?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Not to me.  I am just curious.  But alas, no one has answered the question.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Thank you, with respect, it was God (with a capital 'G') who came up with the wonderful idea of sex so I would say yes he was (and still is) indeed a sexual being.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Hmmm.  I wonder who He has sex with???  And why?  

                    • Anonymous says:

                      I only think about who I have sex with. And I definitely know why.

                    • Crusty the Snowball says:

                      He’s been xxxxing me for years… must like it I guess.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      You or him?

                    • Elmer Fudd says:

                      The hunter goes hunting for bear, but the bear sees the hunter coming, jumps out from behind a bush, knocks his gun away and has his way with the hunter. The hunter, enraged, goes and gets a bigger gun and comes back huntuing for the bear. Same thing. The bear sees the hunter, jumps out from behind the bush, knocks his gun away and has his way with the hunter. The hunter, furious, gets a bazooka and goes hunting for the bear. The bear again sees the hunter, jumps out from behind the bush, knocks the bazooka away and says, smiling: “You’re not here for the hunting, are you?”

                    • Anonymous says:

                      No serious replies?  

                  • Anonymous says:

                    Then if it’s omnipotent, it must be both sexes at the same time – boobs and balls, ovaries and a hairy chest… what a sight!

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Surely an imagination like that must have 'evolved'. It couldn't possibly have been created by intelligent design.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      What we’re dealing with here is a total lack of respect for the irrational belief in bullsxxt. Call up the Crusades! Death to rational people!

            • Anonymous says:

              Repeatring a mantra that something is intelligent design does not make it so. Evolution was not 'caused to exist', it is the way of our world and the driving force of life. Not being able to explain away every criticism of the theory does not make it false… Not being able to support the theory of intelligent design with ANY EVIDENCE leads rational actors to presume it's false. Yes there is a bible, yes it is wholly contradictory and laughabbly false, yes it is the only thing backing up this dumb theory of intelligent design. Look up the Spaghetti Monster online, get back to me.

              Peace.Anon.

            • Anonymous says:

              Except for evolution.

              The mechanical process of evolution from an earlier state of “less organized conscisousness”, if I can call our prececessors that, makes infinitley more sense than an invisible sky fairy waving its magic wand and bringing this all about. Your “supreme intelligence” view presumes a “designer” is involved, which begs for you to answer the obvious question: “Who designed the designer?”, at which point you say, “Yeah, but that doesn’t apply to my supreme intelligence because it’s supreme; that only applies to you and your world view”, at which point rational people start to ignore you.

              Another fact about the universe is that you are not in a position to know anything about this supposed “supreme intelligence” even if it did exist (if you are please tell us what colour it is, and whatit eats), so please stop blowing smoke up our collective butts.

              • Anonymous says:

                OK. So we 'evolved'. Just exactly like the car you drive, and the house you live in, and the clothes you wear were not created by intelligent design but simply 'happened', they simply 'evolved' right? Sometimes I have to wonder just exactly how totally and completely lost itis possible for some of humankind to become.

                • Anonymous says:

                  Yikes, ..you obviously can't differentiate between the intelligence to design being evolved over millions of years through natural selection,  and the process to design itself.

                  Sorry if I don't have some Walt Disney animation to make this clearer so instead of being a drag to progressive thought, read some more material on evolution, and then we can have an earnest conversation without me baby-sitting a conversation. 

                  • Anonymous says:

                    No, thank you. I prefer to have an earnest conversation with someone who can differentiate. And so should you. 

                    • Anonymous says:

                      You prefer to act like a mimicking monkey who can't contribute anything new to the argument…

                    • Anonymous says:

                      I see you gave yourself a thumbs up. Congratulations.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      …and so another rationale diesalong the wayside…just like natural selection works…

                    • Anonymous says:

                      …and so another rationale dies along the wayside…just like natural selection works…

                • Anonymous says:

                  eh, yes our clothes seem to be fairly well suited to our environment, fur coats are not particulary popular in cayman. And fashion and car designs try a lot of different things and the best prevail, the others just fade away. Evolution in progress my friend. Nobody said evolution is perfect, just that if you try enough different options the better ones will prevail.

                  • Anonymous says:

                    You miss the point completely my friend. Obviously your brain is still evolving.

                • Reality Check says:

                  You would wonder when you are this simple.  There are many scientific experiments that show how natural selection leads to evolutionary changes without any external intelligent involvement.  The Lenski Flasks is a great example.

                  • Anonymous says:

                    So is radioactive dating, but that stuff is bad for you. Stick with good Christian girls.

                • Anonymous says:

                  You think cars evolved in the same way living things evolve? AAAAhhhhhaaaaahhhhaaahhhhaaaaa!!!!! Waht a marooooon!!!

                  • Anonymous says:

                    My point very clearly is that cars did not 'evolve' at all. Very obviously it is you thinking that. What a maroooon!!! 

                  • Anonymous says:

                    Just to clarify my point for a poor evolving brain: cars did not 'evolve' at all. They were INVENTED by INTELLIGENT brains, and then DEVELOPED or IMPROVED by intelligent brains into what they are today. Sorry, no room at all for 'evolving' there my friend.

                  • Anonymous says:

                    Sure sounds like a Neanderthal's laugh to me…is that how they used to spell 'What' before it evolved?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      If finding a typo is your best argument then your parents probably still groomed each other and ate whatever they found in the hair, didn’t they?

                      PS: Neanderthals became extinct about 24,000 years ago, so how is it that you would know what one sounds like? Very old family movies perhaps?

                      “Waht’s” that? Darwin’s on your other line? Go ahead, take the call. It’s important.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Boy are we pissed.

            • Anonymous says:

              Wrongo, Gonzo!  Michael Ruse, preeminent evolutionist and wizard of the philosophy of science can be seen on youtube's "Ben Stein and Ruse" clip proving without a doubt that we came in "on the BACKS OF CRYSTALS, I TOLD you, on the backs of CRYSTALS!"

              So, that's final!  

              Oh, and that guy on BethlehemStar.net totally FORGED the NASA software to make it just LOOK like the stuff happened, especially the star stopping on December 25!

              And, and the real reason they don't Carbon-14 those T-rex blood vessels?  They're WAY too old!

              Stay SKEPTIC my friends.  

            • Reality Check says:

              Listening and comprehension are not your greatest life skills are they?

          • Anonymous says:

            Let us remember that it is called the THEORY of evolution for a very good reason – its a theory

            • Anonymous says:

              And good theories are supported by facts and the ability to reproduce results, as opposed to mythical rumors carried down through the generations as stories or miracles that always seem hard to reproduce…hmmmm.,,,,I wonder why? 

              • Anonymous says:

                You need to get it in your head that these are two totally different spheres. Miracles by definition are not phenomena that you can re-produce at will under certain predetermined conditions. If they were then they wouldn't be miracles, they would be science. That does not mean that they don't occur, however.  

                • Anonymous says:

                  "You need to get it into your head…"?

                   

                  I understand the point you are trying to make, but you don't get to decide what goes into or comes out of anyone else's head.  This is your opinion, and you are welcome to it.  But it doesn't hold any more weight than my opinion.

                  • Anonymous says:

                    No, it's not merely my opinion. I am explaining to you what, by definition, a miracle is versus science. You cannot determine whether a miracle occurred or not attempting trying to replicate conditions subject it to a scientific experiment.

                • Anonymous says:

                  Miracles?  You mean burning bushes, bloody tears oozing from stone and pictures of women burned into grilledcheese sandwiches?   

                   

                  You know what I would have considered a real miracle?  If god had stopped those planes from hitting the twin towers — just stopped them cold and let them hang in the air like a couple of silver phoenixes for an hour or so, then gently set them down on the earth whilst spelling out the word "PEACE" in contrails… that I could have respected.

                  • Anonymous says:

                    I mean miracles like being healed from incurable diseases, like having blind eyes opened.

                    That is what you might like but God is not there to entertain you.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Entertain me?   Is that what you think?  

                       

                      I was thinking of the way he might have saved all those people from a horrible, needless death, while at the same time proclaiming his message of peace for all the world to witness.   I'm not looking for a diversion, just some god-like action that is meaningful, loving, worthwhile, kind, just, awe-inspiring — or even just a good role model.

                       

                      Besides, I've never heard of anyone being healed from incurable diseases by god.  I've seen some people talking on television talking about it, but it always seems ungrateful to me that they fail to mention the doctors who worked so tirelessly behind the scenes to save them.  

                    • Anonymous says:

                      "What God Wants" …christians always seems to know this, and christians always embed this mantra  into their dialogue. Perhaps from feeling of lack of power in their own life. Christianity(and most religions) is nothing more than a vain attempt to reclaim some sense of power over others(all in the name of love) originating from a slight case of an inferiority complex that they never outgrew from their teenage years. The same reason that some teenagers that were picked on or excluded sometimes over identify with super heroes with "super" powers.

                    • Anne T. Krist says:

                      Your “god” is imaginary, so rational people don’t get entertained by it. You believers though, now you are fun to watch! Spinning fables about supernatural events you have no evidence for, then claiming there isn’t evidence because it was supernatural (“But believe me anyway, because you’ll BURN IN HELL if you don’t.”). You can’t get comedy like this on TV (well, maybe the Beverly Hilbillys), which is why these topics get so many posts – you folks are hilarious!
                      PS – Blind people often have their eyes open, but they are still blind. Please quote a single case in living history of restored sight that medical science agreed: “Hey, this is a miracle”, or any incurable disease that was “healed” (as opposed to the usual culprits, like a misdiagnosis being discovered). Just one please, and not some unprovable case like where your cousin heard about a tribe in the jungle of Central America where all the 2-headed babies suddenly had one head each when the Missionary showed up and blessed the village, “…and here is a picture and look, they all have one head…”. Just one.

            • Anonymous says:

              May I offer a friendly heads up: You don't understand what a theory is. The general public thinks of a theory as a hunch or wild guess. In science, however, a theory is something very different. It's a well thoughtout idea that can be tested repeatedly and used to make accurate predictions. Scientists and people who know science do not toss around the word "theory" lightly.

              Calling evolution "only a theory" is embarrassingly silly so don't do it. There are better ways to argue your position.

              • Anonymous says:

                A scientific theories are attempts to provide naturalistic explanations for phenomena. Scientific theory does not equal fact. It is provisional and can be changed as new data emerges.   

            • Anonymous says:

              And it is called the THEORY of gravity, but I am guessing you have no problem with that one.

              • Anonymous says:

                Actually it is not. It is called the LAW of gravity. Look it up.

                • Anonymous says:

                  actually it is newtons law of gravity. which works pretty good in most cases, but as einstein proved is only valid under certain conditions. In science nothing is certain, just very probable. As soon as you are certain, eg 100% no exeption, your talking religion. That is the beauty of science, it is just our best guess and if you have a better explanation we would love to hear about it as we are always willing to change our mind when provided with overwelming evidence.

                  • Anonymous says:

                     

                    No, it's not Newton's Law of Gravity.  It's Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, which explains how gravity works, but not why.   Einstein's Theory of General Relativity attempts to explain why things fall.  

                     

                    When scientists discuss gravity, they use a "law" to describe the attraction between two objects, but a "theory" to describe the reasons for this attraction.

                     

                    So, yeah…at least in part, it's a theory.

            • Chuck D says:

              It was a theory in the 19th century.  The scientific data supporting and proving evolution are now overwhelming and it is probably more accurate to describe it as a theorem.  Yes, in something as broad as evolution there are still issues to investigate further, but the central "theory" is fact.

            • Knot S Smart says:

              I believe in the theory of evolution because how else would you explain the lack of intelligence in some people – except to acknowledge that they are only partially evolved.

              • Anonymous says:

                Speak for yourself, Bozo. I was CREATED with a perfectly DESIGNED, intelligent brain.

                • Anonymous says:

                  Nothing personal but it’s actually a very poor structure, inclined to all sorts of disease and prone to damage from trauma, it fails as it ages, it only remembers small potions of the data it’s fed, it dies in due course, it creates rage and emotion that drives antisocial behaviour, it is frequently prone to addiction and mental health disorders, and rather strangely it needs to turn off for several hours each night or it goes insane.

                  If you think this was a perfect design, I hope you aren’t an aircraft engineer or anything like that. If you think this was designed by a designer, then you would have to admit that this hypothetical designer really pooched the job!

                  • Anonymous says:

                    Actually it is the manner in which we have subsequently 'evolved' under our own free will that 'pooched the job'.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Hang on a minute.  I'm sure I've heard Christians say that god was overseeing the process of evolution.  As in:  Evolution does not explain existence, only changes in that existence, so there still must have been a creator who now (because omnipotent) guides the process of evolution?  Isn't that one of the arguments from creation scientists?

                  • Anonymous says:

                    "…inclined to all sorts of disease and prone to damage from trauma, it fails as it ages, it only remembers small potions of the data it's fed, it dies in due course, it creates rage and emotion that drives antisocial behaviour, it is frequently prone to addiction and mental health disorders".

                    Not a failing of the original design; all accounted for by sin.  

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Including our own refusal to accept that we were created by divine intelligence.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Now that’s just stupid…

                    • Anonymous says:

                      See what I mean folks?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Not really.  What do you mean?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Now that's just stupid.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      My refusal?   I've had nothing to refuse.  No god has ever contacted me.  I have never perceived (though I have, in the past, held my mind and heart open to such perception) any inkling of any god who wanted anything to do with me.  If there is a god, he is holding out on me.  I wouldnever refuse a potential friend.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      So if I fall and bonk my head on the floor, and receive a traumatic brain injury, this is down to sin?  When your grandmother is afflicted by Alzheimer's, it is her fault because she has sinned?  

                    • Anonymous says:

                      We were originally created to be immortal but sin entered. We now live in a fallen world. Bad things do happen to good people, not necessarily because of your own sin, but because we live in a fallen world. 

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Oh, that's right.  Your god is going to hold my grandchildren responsible for a sin committed millennia ago.  That seems fair…

                    • Anne T. Krist says:

                      So goes the fable that is christian mythology, so fully disproven in this time of reason and enlightenment. Science knows better as to our history – it’s called EVOLUTION. It’s a fact, Jack, and no mythology can stand (to reason) in the face of facts, reason and science, so you’ve just branded yourself as irrational and uneducated. Sorry about that, but for what it’s worth I have no doubt that you were innocent and that you were brainwashed into it by the prior generation of brainwashing victims and their brainwashers in funny costumes and hats and their ornamental buildings. Mass belief in wrong information has been a common problem in human history, but it doesn’t make the wrong information right. It just makes lots of people wrong. You CAN get over this.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      May Jesu S. Krist have mercy on your poor unfortunate soul.

                    • Anne T. Krist says:

                      I’m doing just great, thanks. I don’t need to pretend there’s an imaginary being bestowing misconceived mercy on a body part that doesn’t actually exist. I mean really now, please do the math on this.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      The math?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      I think the story of original sin is a powerful myth, I really do.  Someone very intelligent, even poetic, came up with it.  I envy that person's powers of imagination, and believe the story itself is worth thinking about for its consideration of the light and darkness inherent in the human condition.  In that sense, it has some "truth".    

                       

                       

                    • Anonymous says:

                      So long as you understand that "myth" does not mean unreal or imaginary story, but instead "a story of forgotten or vague origin, basically religious or supernatural in nature, which seeks to explain or rationalize one or more aspects of the world or a society".

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Those are ALL self induced (believe it or not) conditions that the Creator endowed us with more than enough intelligence to avoid. The very meaning of sin is not recognizing or acknowledging the perfection and intelligence that God Almighty graced us all with at our creation. The very theory of evolution, therefore, I'm afraid, has it's origin in sin.

                    • Jack Flash says:

                      Absolutely crazy and they have no idea how crazy they are because they are brainwashed

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Better to be brainwashed than have no brains at all.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Oh my.  Really?  Is this the level of debate we can look forward to?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Hope it wasn't you that started it.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Nope.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Thank you.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Do you jack and flash at the same time?

                    • Anonymous says:

                      It has always surprised me that an omnipotent god would be so needy.  

                       

                      Also, I am apparently made in his image — so I am perfect.  Or at least I was perfect…but unfortunately not so perfect because I sinned anyway.  Or at least some remote ancestor of mine did.  And so now I am imperfect — which I am told was all part of god's plan in the first place.  So now, given my imperfect intelligence, imperfect state of grace and so on, I may or may not be able to perceive and accept god's perfection.  If I am unable to do so (because I am imperfect), I am to be burned in an everlasting fire for all eternity.

                       

                      That seems fair.

                       

                       

                    • Anonymous says:

                      You have our very deepest sympathy.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      Thank you so much.  I really don't need it though, since we're dealing in the imaginary here.  Perhaps you should save your sympathy for the innocent children your loving god is allowing to starve to death on this very day in history.  

                    • Anonymous says:

                      You deserve even more sympathy than I thought. Actually it is a greedy, ignorant, evolving mankind that is causing that. God put more than enough on this earth to go around. You should be thanking him that he is so loving that you haven't been struck by lightning yet. 

                    • Anonymous says:

                       

                      I don't disagree that humans are partly at fault for inequality.  

                      However, you give a fairly easy out to your almighty.  Human greed aside, it seems that it would be fairly easy for the god of miracles to help those innocents who are suffering and punish those you say are the culprits.  I assume you believe that he has intervened in human history before?  Why not now?  

                       

                      Also, I'm curious.  Are you implying that mankind is consciously, purposefully evolving and therefore becoming more evil?  That's an interesting theory and I'd like to hear how you came to it.

                       

                       

                    • Anonymous says:

                      The god of miracles has ALREADY supplied this earth with more than enough to sustain us. The fact that people are starving to death is PROOF of mankind's greed and evil.

          • Anonymous says:

            As long as there ar dinosaurs like you running around I certainly will stay in the cave.

      • Anonymous says:

        That's just the problem. No it couldn't. It is mathematically impossible given what scientists tell us is the age of the earth – about 4.5 billion years. Recognising that problem is why some scientists prefer to speculate about panspermia and design by highly intelligent aliens rather than accept a creator God. The same problem arises with cosmological structures versus the age of the universe so some scientists speculate about a multiverse instead of a universe. Of course there is no evidence of panspermia or a multiverse but these are more acceptable to the scientific establishment because they are still consistent with atheism. This issue is driven by ideology and philosophy rather than by science.       

        • Anonymous says:

          Please indulge us with the details of your proof of 4.5 Billion years not being enough time for variation to induce intelligence.  You seem to know with 100% certainty by pure logic without observation or solid reference. 

          I don't want to ruin your fairy-tale existence, you would probably have to swallow years of attending futile religious ceremonies that you would claim as fulfilling(any social event does the same), and forgive all the other peoples lives you have ruined in the name of your religion(blacklisting your colleagues from promotions and benefits).

          Wait….now it makes sense why some people fight tooth and nail to defend archaic ideas, accepting the opposite would be too jarring to the way they have accepted rationalizing their past conduct, in the name of God.

          Better to keep the lies alive, the memories and slogans short and unreasoned, and the tithes and red wine flowing. As long as you can cake enough perfume on the stench of your hypocrisy, life will be a dream.

  20. Anonkymous says:

    Wow! This is truly a disappointing set of comments already…so early in the morning!!

    The man wrote THREE books. What have you done? He's published THREE books. Where are yours? His works are critically acclaimed pieces of intellect – by powerful minds of our generation. He's making an effort to DO something, BE someone, GO somewhere with his God-given talent (sorry Guy…I'll differ with you there!)

    So what if he's an atheist! He's human. He's a husband and a father. The man is questioning everything in life – not taking it all in as it's given to him. He has the right to his opinion – of which incidentally, I do not agree – BUT he has the right. I couldn't read his 1st book on the basis that I did not want to question my religious choices. I bought his 2nd one and it is evident that the man has researched everything he chose to include in it.

    I am by nature a skeptical person so am sure that I will enjoy his take on UFOs, aliens and the IRS man (oh and surely he has something on the myth of honest politicians too!)

    No one is demanding that any of us read his book but for Heaven's sake (sorry Guy…I am sure there must be a Heaven!) don't come on here and bash him so lustfully. He is not a heathen who practices witchcraft and gives live sacrifices to his children…or of his children!

    He has accomplished something. Let him have that you bunch of bitter old ninnies! Geesh!

    Guy: Good job! Don't say I agree with your religious views but respect that you're open about it and entitled to your opinion. It doesn't diminsh your success and maybe one day we'll be able to convert you and give you 50 reasons why you should believe! LOL!!

    Wish you and Sheree the best and miss you both in Cayman!

    • Anonymous says:

      Since when do you need to publish books to accomplish something as you have implied

      • Anonkymous says:

        OMG, nvm! Just go on being argumentative for the sake of being argumentative. SMH!

      • Anonymous says:

        You don’t really, but it is a sign of higher intelligence than posting meaningless drivel on CNS. Opps – I just lowered my IQ 3 points…

        PS – if you want to advance an argument, try, um, an argument.

        • Anonymous says:

          Do you understand the basis of an argument?  I posted an opposing view.  That is to say I do not believe you need to publish a book to prove IQ or to be accomplished.  It is ONE of many ways.  I beleive it is well established that there are many books that are just plain rubbish.

    • Anonymous says:

      I respect your balanced viewpoint…the man thinks differently from you and you still give him kudos where they are due. I wish we had more people like you in our society. I am curious after reading your post. You say you could not read Mr. Harrison’s last book because you did not want to question your religious choices. Why not?

  21. Kosher Nostra says:

    Ahh humbugh!

  22. Anonymous says:

    If I'm not mistaken, I recall reading a previous column in which Mr. Harrison admitted or alluded to being an atheist, so don't expect him to recognize the existence of God. No sweat, his perogative and his right. I, for one, choose to disagree. My right. 

    • Anonymous says:

      "Admitted to being an atheist" ?  That's funny. You make it sound like he committed a crime.

       

      Just curious, how is it you settled on "recognizing the existence" of one particular god? What was your thought process? How did you logically reject all the others as imaginary creations and then come to the conclusion that the god who just happens to be promoted in your society was the real one?

      • Anonymous says:

        I agree – of all the thousands of gods that humans have invented over the millenia, how do you pick one that’s right for you? And should you mock the guy next to you who picked a different god? YES, of course you should! And seek further education. It’s the 21st century and we’re still talking about sky fairies for goodness sake. Holy crap!!! (no pun intended.)

        For me, I pick Terminus, who was the Roman god who protected boundary markers. Maybe that will help keep irrational people away from me.

    • Anonymous says:

      I agree, You have to be plain stupid to not believe in God. Do you know what perks and benefits from work you are not getting from being an atheist? I owe ALL my promotions and references from people that go to my Church or belong to a similar faith.

      Sorry, you need to know how to game the system, and by being an atheist, your an open target in a hostile christian environment.

      • Anonymous says:

        Therefore, you don't necessarily believe in god, just the benefits of belonging to a particular social group?

        I accept your self-serving motive as an understandable reason for spending your time this way. I just wonder how many of the people in your group agree with your motives (I assume many of them) and wonder if you and they wouldn't be better off if you just did the good works without joining that social club.

        • Anonymous says:

          You are obviously confused, those benefits come from a supreme being, not really from  my earthly friends. My friends from Church who give me benefits are only like "middle-men" from God, like a preacher is an anointed messenger of God.

          If all those benefits originated from merely social contact at a church, I would be promulgating the biggest social fraud of distributional benefits of all history.

    • Anonymous says:

      I would hope he’d confirm himself as an atheist, because the other option would be for him to admit to irrational beliefs in non-existent mental constructs left over from the days of the cave man. Who’d read his book if he admitted that?

      • Anonymous says:

        …or he could believe in God ;). Or he could admit that he just does not know. 

  23. Anonymous says:

    Nothing new here, its been done over and over again. From famous psychologists to modern day scientists.  By far the best book in my opinion on this subject is 'Voodoo Science'.  Sorry Mr Harrision, but I wont be buyng your book, its old news

    • Anonymous says:

      Confucious say: "He who condemns a book before reading it makes a sad statement about his intellect."

      • Anonymous says:

        Please point out where I state the book is 'condemned'.  There are millions of books published.  One has to develop a system of likes and dislikes.  We cannot read them all in a lifetime.

        What does confucious say about reading words that are simply not there?

      • Kosher Nostra says:

        Kosher Nostra said "He who kiss too much A** becomes one!"

  24. Anon 1.0 says:

    Itsa good read.

  25. Anonymous says:

    I hope he has included God in his book

    • Anonymous says:

      Which god?

    • Anonymous says:

      read the article again, it says it includes "intelligent design" which would include gods

      • Reality Bites says:

        I think that would be in his next book "50 Crazy Things Fundamentalists Really Believe (Honestly They Do)".

        • Anonymous says:

          Note sure i follow your post. Most people believe that God or a god exists not simply fundamentalists.  

          • Anonymous says:

            But only wackos buy into intelligent design in a desperate attempt to avoid accepting the obvious facts of evolution.  I know there are still a few creationists who struggle to get past the whole dinosaur thing but they make the wackos seem sane.

            I am not anti-Christian.  I know many many Christians who can just accept that the front end of Genesis is nothing more or less than a creation myth.  The "intelligent design"/creationist wackos do more harm to Christianity than they ever imagined.

            • Anonymous says:

              You are all confused. Fundamentalists do not subscribe to intelligent design theory but to biblical creationism. They are not at all the same and there is nothing at all wacko about intelligent design. Intelligent design accepts that evolution occurs but does not accept that it is a random process without a designer. Even some atheist scientists, recgonising the mathematical impossibility of intelligent life forms on earth having occurred by a series of accidents and the evidence of design, have come to accept intelligent design but prefer to believe that the designers were space aliens in order to evade the intuitive answer that the designer is God.

              Clearly, if one does not accept that there is intelligent design one does not accept that God exists and is grand designer of the cosmos all life therein. If one does not believe in either creationism or intelligent design one cannot be a Christian so I don't understand your argument that these views do harm to Christianity. Perhaps in the minds of atheists it does but that hardly matters to a Christian.      

               

              • Anonymous says:

                You are quite right. Some believe this; others believe that. No one can, as yet, prove anything about the existence or otherwisw of any sort of creator. The evidence just isn’t there, no matter what anyone of any faith can say. We do not know, people. Make your peace with it.

              • Jeroboam says:

                Christianity is about love one's neighbour and basically being a good kind person.  That is what Christ tried to teach us.  That does not "require" a belief in creationism or intelligent design.  As an educated Christian I cannot accept either of these "theories" because they are gibberish.  I believe in the Big Bang and evolution by natural selection. 

                • Anonymous says:

                  I see that you have quoted from Matt. 22:39 but you have quoted out of context:

                  "Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the FIRST AND GREATEST commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these TWO commandments.”

                  You cannot say that you are a Christian by simply following the second commandment while ignoring "the first and greatest commandment" or denying that God exists or that you owe your existence to him.

                  While as we have seen a central ethic of Christianity is to love your neighbour and trying to be a good kind person that does not make you a Christian. For example, a Buddhist would claim the same ethic. 

                  Being a Christian is fundamentally about having a personal relationship with the Father through his Son Jesus Christ and living that out in relationship with others.

                  It is your prerogative to believe in the Big Bang and evolution by natural selection, but while that may be consistent with Deism please don't deceive yourself into thinking that that is in any way consistent with Christianity.

                  • Anne T. Krist says:

                    Christianity?? Christianity isn’t even consistent with itself! Your bible says turn the other cheek, but KILL EVERYBODY who works on Sunday; do unto others as you would have them do unto you, unless they worship another god in which case KILL THEM; let he who is without sin cast the first stone, unless they are adulterers in which case you need to drag from the city and STONE TO DEATH!!!!

                    You ought not be talking about consistency and Christianity, because if you pull the Bandaid off of that wound, Christianity will bleed to death.

                    • Anonymous says:

                      That is such an ignorant post I am not sure where to start. And the caps and excessive exclamation marks and question marks only make you appear hysterical. You are clearly a confused and disturbed individual.

                       Suffice it to say that Christianity does not teach that you should kill anybody for any reason.