Pat Condell

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Comment by Friend of Dorothy on July 25, 2010 at 9:07am

Awesome NGodnik, lets inscribe this on bronze plates and mount it on every court doorway in America.

Comment by Loren ɟɟןoʍ on July 25, 2010 at 8:34am

Thanks NGodnik for this awesome bit of writing. If you don't mind I would like to quote you to people who may find this interesting or may just open their minds a little bit more and make them think about truth in life also just a little bit more. Every little bit helps in changing old perceived and preconditioned, indoctrinated minds to become hopefully a little less so.

Comment by Friend of Dorothy on July 11, 2010 at 12:51pm

all I can say, is Brilliant, and funny as hell!! if there were one....

Comment by NoGodNik on July 9, 2010 at 12:18pm

Fellow Atheists:

Religion has existed, in various forms, for some several thousands of years, to the detriment of life, both human and otherwise, as well as to the detriment of the planet. All manner of craziness has been brought about because some people insist that there exists, somewhere, an all-powerful, infallible entity, to which we are all answerable, and, to whom we must all be deferential, lest we incur its wrath. Not a single useful invention, cure for disease, or advancement in understanding or enlightenment is attributable to religion. Neither has war, poverty, illness, or any other plague affecting the general welfare of the planet and its creatures been eliminated, despite the perverse perseverance of religion. It has, moreover, been directly responsible for persecution in various guises, including The Inquisition, slavery, anti-Semitism, “holy” wars, jihads, and homophobia, among others, and has incited people to all manner of nefarious acts. Yet, it clings tenaciously to our world, desperate not to die away. There are a plethora of competing religions, which refute claims made by the others, and, which have their own internal inconsistencies. Although there is no suggestion that imminent doom is at hand, it seems that the time is ripe to begin a campaign to advance reason, against the encroachment of senseless “faith”, in its various manifestations.
It is not, however, due merely to the preceding, that I issue this “call to arms”, so to speak. I urge this course because it is within mans’ power, not only to explain what can be explained, but also, to debunk such beliefs as can be superseded by reason. Among the problems I see are that the “faithful” will not consider rational philosophies and statements, particularly when such things conflict with their faith, however illogical their faith may be. I suggest that, rather than continuing to try to persuade the “faithful” to abandon religion, through such means as the Theory of Evolution and the Big Bang Theory, it may prove necessary to “chip away” at their beliefs, by proving how fallacious such beliefs are. There must be some way to present such an argument as the one that follows:
“God is mans’ invented anthropomorphic representation of objective authority, the purpose of which is to compel obedience.” Dissent, which is a feature of independent thought, is inimical to the perpetuation of arbitrary mythology. This mythology has been, in many ad myriad ways, harmful to life, both human and otherwise, and prevents progress; who knows: without religion, mankind might by now have evolved into a higher creature, with powers and understanding that we can only dream of.
I feel obligated, before I continue, to issue the following disclaimer:
While I find Evolution a perfectly acceptable basis for explaining how life came about and how it has evolved, I’m afraid that it has been a very tough sell. My concern is that, logical and plausible as these things are, they are failing to convince believers to abandon religion. I would like to see more proselytizing by Atheists, even if doing so constitutes “militancy”.
If I may suggest a theory I’ve held for many years:
Religion probably originated in pre-historic times, when “primitive” man wondered about the many mysteries of life and the world in which he lived. Absent science, the best explanation such a creature could come up with was that some mysterious entity was in charge, and that being deferential to such an entity was probably prudent. This eventually evolved, as most disciplines do, into what we’re faced with today: the idea that we must all placate some unseen agent, lest we incur its wrath, and, on the flip side, that we can expect to be rewarded, if we are obedient.
A veritably ideal example of the harm religion causes, is the scandal that erupted in Spring 2010, when George Rekers, a high-level figure in the movement that purports to “cure” people of homosexuality, was found to be traveling in Europe with a companion he found on the Rentboy website, which anyone who has visited it, can see, is a site for gay escorts. Rekers is a classic example of how religion forces people to repress their own true nature, in favor of living a lie. People like this spend virtually their entire lives in a state of denial, until such a time when an opportunity arises to safely explore their true feelings. Since we know that there is no afterlife, then there is no reason to waste the one and only life we get on foolishness that deprives us of living our lives to their fullest extent. But, people like Rekers, who has devoted most of his adult life to persecuting gays, by putting them through “treatment” to “cure” them, when nothing was ever wrong with them, and who has contributed to attempts to enact legislation to further limit their ability to function, would have everyone be subject to what the “Bible” tells them, none of which is at all useful.
The “faithful” inculcate their children with this nonsense at an age when their ability to discern truth from fiction is not yet well-developed, crippling the poor young things intellectually and emotionally, for the rest of their lives, unless they develop the wherewithal to see through it. Religion causes people to go through their lives with blinders on, and generally encourages followers to have rigid ideas about right and wrong.

Comment by Loren ɟɟןoʍ on June 25, 2010 at 12:28am

Apologies all, discussions are now enabled, my bad!

Comment by Thomas Stanley on June 21, 2010 at 8:18am

Sorry Pat. Before you go building up American values, consider that America is less what we claim to be and more what we claim to hate. We are no longer a land that honors diversity (if we ever really were). In my experience, we are a land of hateful, bigoted Christians. Your criticisms of Islam equally describe most Christians that I know. Give it time. Burj Khalifa will be brought to the ground by some Evangelical nutjobs praising Jesus to the end. Praise the Lord and pass the ammo.

Comment by Prog Rock Girl on June 20, 2010 at 9:53pm

I don't know what you are asking exactly Jstn, but I'm guessing you are holding a grudge from the banning religion thread.

Comment by Фелч Гроган on June 20, 2010 at 8:45am

What's the point of a group that has discussions disabled?

Comment by Jay A Small on June 4, 2010 at 9:36pm

The world needs more Pat Condells in it!

Comment by Secular Forces 2013 on May 13, 2010 at 2:09pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llrHr92WNeo

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