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Richard Healy Male Chesterfield, Derbyshire, United Kingdom: Like

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Richard Healy's Discussions

Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.

Started this discussion. Last reply by MADHUKAR KULKARNI Jan 20. 14 Replies 0 Likes

The Catholic Church looses again... (Har-de-har-har)

Started Nov 8, 2011 0 Replies 2 Likes

Should we care what other people think?

Started this discussion. Last reply by The Nerd Jul 25, 2011. 3 Replies 0 Likes

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MADHUKAR KULKARNI replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

The creationists want to run with the rabbit and hunt with the hound. If they want to prove creation, they must produce their own scientific data. They can not own the data science has produced.

Jan 20

Loren Miller replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

One man's "magic" is another man's engineering. "Supernatural" is a null word. -- Robert A. Heinlein

Jan 17

Loren Miller replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

We just have different worldviews." A typical copout. Our worldview is to take the evidence and see where it leads us and what we can learn from it. Their worldview is to either ignore the evidence or to cherry-pick it to support and…

Jan 16

MADHUKAR KULKARNI replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

What does it mean?

Jan 16

Rob van Senten replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

The Catholic Church has accepted evolution as a fact in the early nineties, apparently god waited some time to convey that truth to his disciples when the evidence could not be ignored any longer. Francis Collins is a prime example of a…

Jan 16

Jonathan Christie replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

wow...

Jan 16

MADHUKAR KULKARNI replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

The evidence of evolution is voluminous, no doubt, but the creationists keep finding non-existant errors in it. Everubody is not an expert in science of evolution. My belief is that instead of confronting them with science, we should logic to…

Jan 16

Dan Rea replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

These days many are not so silly as to argue against the theory of evolution. Instead they say evolution is certainly a sound theory but it was created by and administered/tweaked by god. GyarrrrGH!

Jan 16

AnneT replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

"One does not need to deny the fossil record or genetic data to accept creation, merely one interpretation of that data." Given these two interpretations, why choose #2? 1. provided by science because of evidence 2.…

Jan 16

Rob van Senten replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

The evidence for evolution is astounding, it is so vast that it is impossible to truly convey it in a Facebook discussion. If I were you I would buy Richard Dawkins book "The Greatest Show on Earth" and go through the book chapter by…

Jan 15

Jason Fleming replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

Fossil records are layered in various strata that accumulate over time. Tracing back through those layers comparing variance against carbon dating demonstrates that species changed over longs periods of time. You don't find the same animals in…

Jan 15

MADHUKAR KULKARNI replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

What Dan Rea says is absolutely true, but if you are conversing with a creationist, you can not avoid replying either. I am therefore suggesting something. It is very unfortunate that the believers resort to every sort of gimmick to oppose science…

Jan 15

Dan Rea replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

text text text text text You will have more luck convincing an ant that the world is round. You're trying to use reason and deductive logic against delusion stupidity. It's like trying to argue with a three year old who responds with…

Jan 15

Richard Healy replied to Richard Healy's discussion 'Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.'

oops didn't mean to put that in 'introductions' oh well never mind....

Jan 14

Creationism: we have the same data but different interpretations.

Just a plea for some help really.Been arguing back and forth with a creationist on facebook - he's just pulled out the "we just have different world views" canard.Any ideas on how to deal?Specifically he says:"The raw evidence is primarily a collection of fossilized creatures and genetic data on which we have observed similarities and differences. Some such as yourself attempt to interpret these observations as the result only of evolution whereas others explain much of it as a common designer…See More

Discussion posted by Richard Healy Jan 14

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3.4.1(2) Atheism: Objections to Evidentialism

Jan 12

Richard Healy commented on Claire Donnelly's group 'Gay Atheists: LGBTQ nontheists and friends'

At least the high priestess of bat-shit insanity Bachmann imploded democratically and disappeared back up the sphincter of republican crazy from which she had descended like a swollen haemorrhoid.

Jan 10

Richard Healy replied to skg's discussion 'Convincing a Christian that the Jesus story is false.'

Having just read the backlog -I just want to give Matt VDB this *hug* for dedication shown in the defence of reason. The thought that's been rolling round my head, now after having read all that follows on from this exchange between Matt and…

Jan 10

Richard Healy replied to skg's discussion 'Convincing a Christian that the Jesus story is false.'

What's a way to convince them that the gospels cannot be true? Convince them to read books by Bart Ehrman. If you really want to bake their noodle, go after the Old testament too, get 'em to google "The documentary hypothesis"…

Jan 10

Videos posted by Richard Healy Jan 6

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My URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/plain/U113478

About Me: A true story:

I'm eight years old and I'm in church with my mum and the minister is trying to construct a metaphor about opaque messages in the bible.

His voice soared over my head....

"When I look at the bible, I see the stories of men and women of faith describing their encounters with god and recording their experiences. Their experiences become a kind of window for me to look through and see the god that they saw."

"Unfortunately..." , he continued... (pun intended)

"...some of the stories in the bible are not clear and actually obscure our understanding. Sometimes the messages in the bible are like a window that is....that is....

"You child!"

Having had the misfortune to be sitting near the front, I was startled from the detailed inspection of my shoelaces by the realisation he was talking to me.

"Yes? " I asked.

"I was just saying the messages in the bible are like a window you can't see through - what do you call a window that you can't see through?"

I considered this and the answer seemed obvious:

"Dirty," I said.

He spent the remainder of the sermon trying to deconstruct his own metaphor about obscurantism in scripture and dirty messages from god.

I think I earnt my bona fides as an atheist agitator that day.
---------------------------

I don't honestly recall ever having faith. I did attend Sunday school and was told stories which all seemed irrelevant to me. And doing lots of arts and crafts. (Praise be the banality of English religiosity!)

I can remember deciding not to believe in ghosts. I didn't believe that surviving death made sense, and since ghosts presupposed that you could survive death I abandoned belief in ghosts. Simple really. So rational, so young.

I think two steps came in quick succession: I finally abandoned any pretence of dualism as a consequence of studying philosophy, I realised I was a materialist while reading around my degree specifically quantum field theories and philosophies of mind. I couldn't grasp how non-material mind could communicate with the material, probabilistic world of the particle. I stood for a while in definance resisting the idea that the mind were material and not contained of special powers.
And then as with ghosts before, the confrontation was suddenly resolved. And this happened because I had dropping this insistence of mind as a separate substance (my studies had reduced this so-called substance down to literally nothingness; my masters dissertation - hilariously - contrasts two different forms of nothing!)

And that was it: the last vestiges of dualism died within me; my journey to the dark side was complete. With no intellectual place for god to be and already scathing of the ontological, design and moral arguments I was and remain an atheist by force of intellect and reason alone.

I happened to revisit sometimes the church of my youth (mum is still a believer) I once took a detour through the children's area. On the wall was a sign in the familiar glitter and card: Jesus's love renews me like a butterfly" on an appropriate butterfly-shaped stencil. I reflected they failed to get me then because then as now some 20-years later, I still have no clear idea what that means. Christians don't pupate. (or do they?)

Reading Dawkins, Dennet, Harris, Darwin, Hawking, Shubin, and Hitchins, has been just fuel for the fire and though they are not responsible for my atheism, as for some people I am sure they are, they have been good for deepening my level of understanding about why I truly am an atheist.

Songs in playlist are from Pirates of The Caribbean, The Crow, Twister, Touching the void, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Chocolat Fifth Element, E.T, Star Wars, Matrix, Aliens, Alien 3, Jaws and Sin City.

I collect rare and deleted movie scores and a few more besides.
Have a listen. Never fails to put me in a good mood. I hope you enjoy them too.

School/College/University: Universities of Hull ('99 - '02), Warwick ('03 - '04) and Sheffield Hallam ('08)

Profession: Unemployed and looking for work.

Age Group: 22-30

City and State (For Member Searching): Chesterfield, Derbyshire

Country (For Member Searching): Britain

Richard Healy's Blog

Thaumaturgy

Posted on August 15, 2011 at 5:00am 2 Comments 2 Likes

What Dread Sorcery is this?

"Ungodly"

"Fiend"

…

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Has anyone else ever had a video uploaded to A|N mysteriously vanish?

Posted on May 19, 2011 at 5:27pm 1 Comment 0 Likes

I'm just wondering if it's a bug or if I've been gotcha'd by a moderator.

I've an inquiry in with the A|N Admin so we'll see where that goes. Meanwhile a more generalised question - is it just me or has anyone else experienced this?

My record as an Atheist Activist (Your opinions sought....)

Posted on May 12, 2011 at 12:43pm 2 Comments 0 Likes

I have been, in the past, accused of endlessly whining about religion generally and Christianity specifically and not doing more about it. I respond usually that my activism has included going on marches and writing to my MP.

Here is an example of a recent exchange between me and my MP on the reform of the house of lords which proposes an increase in the religious representation and not as I would prefer the removal of this anachronistic oddity and the advance of a secular…

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Mindblowingly Amazing. Just. Wow.

Posted on April 26, 2011 at 5:24pm 3 Comments 1 Like

34 Photos from The ISS

I couldn't decide if my favourite was the shot of The Milky Way from beyond The Earth or the image of the Aurora - taken from what seems like inside the aurora!! or the sunset reflecting of The Caspian Sea.

Okay - that's my top 3 right there - but they are all of them absolutely awesome. Do your brain…

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The Science of Good and Evil (London, April 11th, 2011)

Posted on March 29, 2011 at 4:20pm 2 Comments 2 Likes

I am going down to London to go see Sam Harris in an Intelligence Squared debate the "reverand" Dr Giles Fraser, Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral on the topic of where do our ideas about morality and meaning come from?

The last time I went to one of these it was the now legendary Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry Vs Anne Widdecombe and Archbishop John…

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Richard Healy's Photos

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Richard Healy's Videos

3.4.1(2) Atheism: Objections to Evidentialism

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3.4.1(1) Atheism: Evidence

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Go to jail - OR GO TO CHURCH!

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Every Debate with a Creationist Ever

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Julian Baggini at the BHA Conference 2011

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Oklahoma Free Thought Convention

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Comment Wall (121 comments)

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At 8:46pm on December 8, 2011, Sentient Biped said…: Sleep well!

At 8:27pm on December 8, 2011, Sentient Biped said…: Nice to see you here. I've missed you!

At 9:01am on July 31, 2011, Wanda T said…: Thanks for the add!

At 11:44am on July 30, 2011, matt warren said…: what the hell is going on across the pond?

and I thought texas in the U.S. was barking mad!

Britain's "Islamic Emirates Project"

At 5:32pm on June 29, 2011, dr kellie said…: Or bursting. Whichever...

At 5:31pm on June 29, 2011, dr kellie said…: I don't get some people. He is a negative Nancy.

I'll take whatever details you are bursthing to give!

At 12:17pm on June 7, 2011, dr kellie said…: Nice description. Hang on to those lapels;)

My "situation" was in Montreal for the weekend, so I went to my island home to visit my parents. The only glorious moment I had was Sunday morning when I was loading up the Jeep to go to the beach, and my mother came out and decided to skip church and go with me. Win! That, and my father gave me a kickass old shotgun to hunt hogs with. I live in Texas. Yeehaw.

At 7:36am on May 29, 2011, dr kellie said…: Your date sounds very nice. It's cute that you mentioned that you like kissing boys. I'm pleased that you had an hour and a half for that part of the date. Kissing for that long is something that I enjoy when I am into it. And I usually am...

My situation is going great. We are about to meet for brunch at a cute downtown local venue. Haven't made the progress you made last night, but it is on the way.

Your 3rd date IS going to be killer. How exciting! Enjoy.

At 10:20am on May 28, 2011, dr kellie said…: How was the second date? Maybe it is still going on...

At 6:37am on May 21, 2011, dr kellie said…: Good for you and your date. Nothing beats that. Warm regards from Texas. I have a situation arising tomorrow afternoon and I hope it proves to be as delightful as yours.