Faith

‘Not a Moral Book’: Atheist Richard Dawkins Supports Passing Bibles Out in Public Schools — But Why?

Richard Dawkins Supports Handing Out Bibles in UK Schools

Atheist scientist Richard Dawkins

Famed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is turning some heads after writing an op-ed on Saturday, endorsing a plan by England’s education secretary Michael Gove to provide every school in the nation with a copy of the Bible. On the grounds that the holy book is a wonderful literary work, the famed atheist believes that it should be read by all students. But his reasons extend far beyond this justification, as Dawkins seems to have more sinister intentions.

Gove, who believes the Bible is a viable moral tool, decided to send King James Bibles, written in 17th-century English, to all primary and secondary schools to mark the 400th anniversary of the book’s completion. While this plan has caused a great deal of angst between church-state separatists, the project was funded with private money.

While on the surface Dawkins supports the initiative, his reasons for backing the Bible handouts, when examined closely, are more rooted in hopes of painting the book as a moral disaster than in supporting it.

The scientist begins his article by claiming that, had his organization, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, been approached, he would have considered donating to the Bible effort. While one may be scratching his or her head while reading Dawkins’ words, it doesn’t take much time to realize that there are ulterior motives driving his urge to put Bibles in schoolchildren’s hands. He writes:

A native speaker of English who has never read a word of the King James Bible is verging on the barbarian. In the week after the 2011 census, my UK Foundation commissioned Ipsos MORI to poll those who had ticked the Christian box. Among other things, we asked them to identify the first book of the New Testament from a choice of Matthew, Genesis, Acts of the Apostles, Psalms, “Don’t know“ and ”Prefer not to say”. Only 35% chose Matthew and 39% chose “Don’t know” (and 1%, mysteriously, chose “Prefer not to say”). These figures, to repeat, don’t refer to British people at large but only to those who self-identified, in the census, as Christians.

European history, too, is incomprehensible without an understanding of the warring factions of Christianity and the book over whose subtleties of interpretation they were so ready to slaughter and torture each other. Does the eucharistic bread merely symbolise the body of Jesus or does it become his body, in true “substance” if not “accidental” DNA? Prolonged wars have been fought over how we should interpret the words allegedly uttered at the Last Supper. Three bishops were burned alive just outside my bedroom window in my old Oxford college for giving the unapproved answer.

Richard Dawkins Supports Handing Out Bibles in UK Schools

It seems Dawkins wants children to see what he perceives as immoral lessons in the Bible for what they are — a purported travesty. If, indeed, more people read the Bible, he contends that they will be turned off to the Christian faith. Considering Dawkins’ mass efforts to progress atheism across the globe, such a prospect would be welcomed. While Gove sees the Bible as a morally-sound document that can build students up, Dawkins sees it as a corrupt manual that will do just the opposite.

“I have an ulterior motive for wishing to contribute to Gove’s scheme. People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality,” Dawkins admits. This mistaken view may have motivated the “millionaire Conservative party donors”. I have even heard the cynically misanthropic opinion that, without the Bible as a moral compass, people would have no restraint against murder, theft and mayhem. The surest way to disabuse yourself of this pernicious falsehood is to read the Bible itself.

Richard Dawkins Supports Handing Out Bibles in UK Schools

Throughout his Guardian op-ed, the famed scientist attempts to poke ethical holes in the Bible, citing examples of alleged Old Testament moral infractions and attempting to diminish the story of Christ’s death. He even refers to the lessons and stories attached to the Ten Commandments as “horrors.”

“Whatever else the Bible might be – and it really is a great work of literature – it is not a moral book and young people need to learn that important fact because they are very frequently told the opposite,” he wrote in the final paragraph of his article. “The examples I have quoted are the tip of a very large and very nasty iceberg. Not a bad way to find out what’s in a book is to read it, so I say go to it. But does anybody, even Gove, seriously think they will?”

Comments (299)

1 2 3
  • Brainmuffin
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:50am

    Dawkins’ orthodoxy is not science.

    Report Post »  
    • ForeignWatcher
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:08pm

      “The best cure for Christianity is reading the Bible” -Mark Twain…this man knew all along…

      Report Post »  
    • SquidVetOhio
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:41pm

      Give Twain’s quote in context. He was not bashing christian doctrine, he was bashing christians not following the teachings of scripture.

      Report Post » SquidVetOhio  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:59pm

      SQUID – i like Ghandi’s take on that too:

      “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • SquidVetOhio
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:05pm

      Ghandi had a point. Too bad he’s spending an eternity in torments for rejecting that Christ. Besides, we christians do not claim to be perfect. Just the opposite. We claim only to be forgiven by our Saviour who is perfect.

      I don’t mind a christian who sins because I am one. I mind a christian who sins and then claims it’s not a sin to be accepted by the world.

      Report Post » SquidVetOhio  
    • Osaka
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 2:13pm

      I very much doubt Gandhi is burning in hell, just as I very much doubt any of us could really say who is and isn’t. We may have suspicions (as I suspect the likes of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao will end up there) but that’s all we have. I would think a man claiming to be a Christian who goes about being a liar and a thief has more chance of burning in hell than a non-Christian who went about preaching peace and trying to be his best self.

      I think we should spend our time worrying more about where we are on our paths to salvation than proclaiming whom we think is and isn’t burning in hell. Besides, I would hesitate to proclaim with any kind of authority about anyone’s eternal destination. Suspect, sure, but I leave the actual judging up to God.

      Report Post »  
    • lukerw
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 2:37pm

      @PHILLY…
      Christ was PERFECT. Christians recognize the Perfection, and try to be better… than the rest of the AssOs in the World!

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • getalong
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 2:41pm

      Thanks Richard for spreading the “Word”. What you don‘t understand is that the Bible has a way of doing something science can’t, healing hearts, and believe or not, God is far more powerful than you or any other human being. So bring it on, Richard. This is a gift that God will certainly use to spread his message of love, morality, joy and hope through Jesus Christ which you seem to have such a hard time with. Richie, I bet God even loves you! Sometimes what we fight against is what we need the most.

      Report Post »  
    • Bryan B
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 3:47pm

      What I see is a lot of Hate,

      Do you know how much Hate someone has to have to lie, twist, pervert and manipulate the truth ?

      This is what I have seen people do on here with the Bible. They have taken verses and parables from the Bible and removed parts, changed them around or not told the whole verse or parable. Changing the entire meaning.

      If atheism is so great then why must you lie and belittle others ?

      Why don’t you talk about how great your lives are, and how you go and minister to prisoners, help the poor and needy, tell others about how you go to foreign countrys with the risk of death to help the needy, and do it without gun. Please tell us all about….
      Christians do these things and more everyday armed only with their faith.

      I don’t hate you, in fact I feel very sorry for you atheist, and I love you with all my heart. And I pray that our Father in Heaven and his Son Jesus Christ lift the blinders from your hearts….

      Report Post » Bryan B  
    • joe.r.piehole
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 4:52pm

      SquidVet,
      Ask yourself: Is a god that would torment someone like Gandhi for eternity the type of being worth worshipping?

      Report Post » joe.r.piehole  
    • 4truth2all
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 4:58pm

      Yo Philly:

      You see our flaws … do you see you’res … cause you just like us … except we realize we need help; we humble ourselves and ask for it, and you mock us for doing such, all the while stating that you don’t need God cause you fine …
      Ghandi concerned himself with the wrong thing, he shoulda been worried about himself and not others ( christians) … bet he would love to share how stupid THAT was…!

      Report Post »  
    • FromSeaToSea
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 6:40pm

      Men must be governed by God, or they will be ruled by tyrants. -William Penn

      “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.” George Washington

      “It is religion and MORALITY alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.” John Adams

      “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” -Theodore Roosevelt

      “Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for all the problems men face.” Ronald Reagan

      Report Post »  
    • JGraham III
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 10:33pm

      It would be poetic justice if Dawkin’s endorsement of placing the KJV resulted in a revival in England (which desparately needs it). Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to bring God’s plans to pass in spite of the oh so sublime efforts of the silly atheists to the contrary.
      Dawkin’s problem and I suspect some of the atheistic posters here is that they all think they are smarter than God. For whatever reasons, they reject Him and God is a gentleman and so backs away from their lives. It is pathetically obvious that the atheist posters (or at least one in particular…) has not a drop of the love of God in them, as evidenced by the hateful and highly contentious manner used to “refute” those who disagree. But as they have to live with themselves, I submit that the “hell” they face is already here.

      Report Post »  
    • Cesium
      Posted on May 22, 2012 at 3:36am

      “Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.” ― Isaac Asimov

      Report Post »  
    • binge_thinker
      Posted on May 24, 2012 at 1:49pm

      Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, 1809-1865

      “I am busily engaged in the study of the Bible. I believe it is God’s word because it finds me where I am.”

      “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good of the Savior of the world is communicated to us through the Book.”

      Report Post » binge_thinker  
  • COFemale
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:46am

    Your perception of the Bible is just that a perception. If you don‘t read it in the context of the time and try to use today’s misconceptions and idealogies, you will be throughly disappointed and miss the premise behind the stories, parables, and lessons of humanity.

    I really feel sorry for Hawkins, because he can’t see past his bias, and he will die a lonely old man.

    Look at the lesson God learned with the flood. He made a covenant to never destroy the earth again. He realized with free will you can’t punish someone into obedience. You need to have them realize and choose whether they want to follow God’s laws. He also realized with free will that man will fall from grace and sin, so he sent his only son to die for our sins.

    It is your choice, with choice, consequences can come, choose wisely.

    Report Post » COFemale  
    • The_Jerk
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:03pm

      “Look at the lesson God learned with the flood.”

      So, God is imperfect? What other mistakes did he make?

      Report Post »  
    • ForeignWatcher
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:08pm

      “The best cure for Christianity is reading the Bible” -Mark Twain

      Report Post »  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:12pm

      When man sins it is not God’s fault, or everything the devil does is God’s fault too. Rather it lines up with what God said in Genesis, man has fallen and the whole universe groans under the curse.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • mrpenguine
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:16pm

      So…. God learned something… Interesting for a perfect being who knows all isn’t it?

      Report Post »  
    • brother_ed
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:18pm

      @FOREIGNWATCHER

      Never trust a man who uses a pseudonym.

      Report Post » brother_ed  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:27pm

      The world is under sin and judgment right now, and is supposed to be messed up. The Bible says at the very end all wrongs will be fixed, and eternal life will be the reward for believing and doing good in a world still consumed in darkness. Just because it‘s dark now on earth doesn’t mean God doesn’t know everything. When you or anyone sins it doesn’t blot him in the sleightest, he will judge all sins one day, every word.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • COFemale
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:27pm

      God never said he was perfect, it is man’s definition of God. Yes, God is all knowing and all seeing. Have you read anywhere in the Bible where God said I am perfect? NO. All God has done is given us laws to live by for man to keep. Without laws you have chaos, with chaos you have free reign without consequences, with free reign you have evil.

      Report Post » COFemale  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:28pm

      @BrotherEd …. Your using a pseudonym….

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • The_Jerk
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:36pm

      “A son will not be punished for his father’s sins, and a father will not be punished for his son’s sins.”

      Explain the story of Adam one more time. I missed something.

      Report Post »  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:39pm

      @Coffemale here is verse for sinlessness of Christ which = perfection.
      1 Peter 2:22 says, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 1 John 3:5 says, “. . . And in him is no sin.” Then in John chapter 8 Jesus said of himself, “Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. . .”
      <>Look to me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
      Claiming to be God, assumes perfection B.T.W.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • SquidVetOhio
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:40pm

      @COFEMALE

      Actually, God did say He was perfect throughout the Bible. God has never “learned” any thing. God knew before He created man that he would have to destroy all but Noah. The Bible clearly says that the plan for Christ to die on the cross was from “the foundation of the world”. You do not know the Bible or traditional christian theology as laid out by the prophets and apostles.

      If God is not omnipotent, ominpresent, ominiscient and purely holy then the athiests are right and we have no leg to stand on. But, He is.

      Report Post » SquidVetOhio  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:00pm

      “God knew before He created man that he would have to destroy all but Noah.”

      wow, that’s some plan. good thinking, numb nuts (er, i mean God).

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:08pm

      Yes, he also created hell in advance. His good deeds is not the only thing that glorifies him, his righteous judgements on sinners does too. I’ll be one of the ones praising him for tossing the trash in hell for all eternity.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • SquidVetOhio
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:11pm

      @PHILLYATHIEST

      I knew before I had kids that I would have to dicipline them at some point. Anyone who has had a child knew before they had them that they would have to dicipline them. Yet, we don’t keep them caged up so as to not disobey us.

      Also, don’t think that you can offend my by your blasphemy. I warn you for your own good, “Be ye not deceived for God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

      God is not your enemy, your pride is. Repent my friend, lest you reap what you sow.

      Report Post » SquidVetOhio  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:38pm

      you can’t blame me for pointing out the absurdity of the quoted statement. you’re trying to get me to believe that God KNEW that he would have to destroy mankind (and the innocent animals no less) before he made them? suggestion God – just skip that step. it doesn‘t make sense because it’s all bunk.

      as for my repentence – nope, not gonna happen. out outgrew these superstitions decades ago. the flow of Religious adherents towards Atheism/Agnosticism is speeding up. very few Atheists ever return to their religion. there’s a reason for that, which is largely that this is much of religion is nonsensical. once the wool has been removed from your eyes you can never put it back.

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • SerikFox
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:41pm

      @ Phillyatheist You don’t seem to understand the concept of free-will as it pertains to the bible. Simply said, God may have known that from the beginning of creation, but it was by our doing, not his. He gave us truly free choice – we have dominion over the earth. Evil within this world is our own doing.

      @Everyone else If God created us and is our lord, then would he be our definition of perfect? He can have no fault because he is God; there is no other.

      Report Post »  
    • brother_ed
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:55pm

      Not true.

      My name is Ed, and I am called ‘Brother” by almost everyone I know.

      Report Post » brother_ed  
    • lukerw
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 2:50pm

      @THE_JERK
      You must be reading a different Bible from all the one’s that I have. I read: GOD tested Noah; GOD gave him the plans for the Ark & told him to build it; GOD saved Noah; GOD made a Covenant with Noah where GOD would not Destroy this way again… where it is implied that GOD brought Destruction upon the Earth many times before.

      GOD is PERFECT, ALL KNOWING & ALL SEEING; and TRUTH!

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • FreedomsFury
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 3:14pm

      GOD didnt get taught anything by the Flood but seek to teach man, and GOD said that HE would never again destroy the world by Flood, but Judgement is coming again as JESUS CHRIST says “As It Was In The Days Of Noah So Shall It Be At The Coming Of The SON Of Man” and the next time it will not be with Water but with Fire.

      Report Post »  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 3:23pm

      “JESUS CHRIST says “As It Was In The Days Of Noah So Shall It Be At The Coming Of The SON Of Man” and the next time it will not be with Water but with Fire.”

      well if he said it it must be true. did he care to speculate when this might happen? it’s only been 2000 years. i guess the conditions just weren’t right during the World Wars, or the Crusades, or the Inquisition, or during Stalin’s reign, or….seriously, what’s he waiting for??

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • lukerw
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 3:24pm

      @COFEMALE
      The God that Learns… implies a God that did not know: was Stupid. The Christian GOD… Infinite & Eternal, Creator… Knows All & HE cannot make Mistakes nor Errs.

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • lukerw
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 3:47pm

      @PHILLY…
      Intesting Question: Ask Him!

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 3:54pm

      LUKER – i would but i gave up talking to imaginary friends when i was 6 :)

      would someone else care to answer as Jesus’ proxy?

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • InWithForGod
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 4:12pm

      Cofemale: I appreciate your defense of Christianity against Dawkins but remember that you also must read the Bible in its context. God did not have to “learn” any lessons.
      In Proverbs 8: 12-31 we find “Wisdom” speaking and saying, “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of His way before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.” (KJV)
      Isaiah 46:9-10 states, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.” (KJV)
      In 2 Timothy 1:8-10 the grace of God found in the salvation work done by Jesus Christ “was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.”
      In Titus 1:1-3 Paul announces “a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.”
      I now ask you to read 2 Timothy chapter 2, all of it. I hope you see the deception Satan has worked in your heart and the reason for my response. Do not degrade God in the way you have. He has never had to “learn.” He knew of the fall of man before creation and “from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” In verses 14 – 17 you will see my motivation. Please believe in, with and for God who is omniscient and perfect: (Deut 32:4, 2 Sam 22:31 and

      Report Post »  
    • scarebear83
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 4:22pm

      @ Philly- Like it was in the days of Noah, although he preached and warned them of what was about to transpire, they mocked him. Then without warning the heavens opened up and the flood waters rose. Those people had plenty of opportunity to hear, believe, and obey BEFORE the flood. When Jesus comes there will be no 1,000 year reign, there will be no second chances. That’s what Jesus meant by comparing His 2nd coming to the days of Noah.

      Why has 2,000 years already passed? We read in Matt. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. -So apparently the gospel has not been preached throughout the whole world yet. There are still precious souls to be saved. I also recommend reading all of 2 Peter 3 “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” -Sound familiar? “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” When the floods opened it up it came without warning. When Jesus comes again it will be without warning for No man knows the day or hour.

      To also answer your question about miracles, they were only for a short time (1 Cor. 13:8-10). Now that we have the perfect word of God there is no need for miracles. Jn 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

      Report Post » scarebear83  
    • mycomet123
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 4:58pm

      @COFEMALE, God is Omniscient (knowing all things), along with Omnipotent (all powerful) & Omnipresent (present everywhere). I’m afraid you have misinterpreted the flood. When God told Noah “Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” God is reestablishing His covenant with humanity & He evens gives a sign to humanity by the rainbow. He still has His way of “cleansing evil” from the planet–just read about Lot “geting the hell out of Sodom” before God wiped them off the planet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Report Post »  
    • Therightsofbilly
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 7:02pm

      Phiily,

      You can give your atheist talking points manual back to MOD now.

      I think you have them all down pat.

      Or did he borrow it from you?

      Hard to tell.

      Just sayin

      Report Post » Therightsofbilly  
    • copatriots
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 9:34pm

      Hey Billy!

      That is scary because I thought the same exact thing. I lost complete interest in discussions with MOD and has one dialog with Phiily. It’s always the same tired arguments from them. They feign like conservative interests but really they just want to bash Christians.

      Excellent observation!

      Report Post »  
    • Jaymz70
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:55pm

      Look at the lesson God learned with the flood.

      I think you meant to say “Look at the lesson God TAUGHT with the flood.“ People sometimes misuse the word ”learn“ when they really mean ”teach.”

      Report Post »  
    • davecorkery
      Posted on May 22, 2012 at 1:20pm

      God must not be too efficient, if, to punish a couple of “sinning” villages, he floods the world? And kills most of the animals? But saves 14 million? (7 million species times 2). How do you get 14 million animals on one little boat? How do you feed them? How did the Kangaroos get there? Give me a break. I’m glad religion is fading from the world. Faith is no reason.

      Report Post »  
    • scarebear83
      Posted on May 22, 2012 at 3:23pm

      @ Dave- a “couple” of sinning villages? Gen. 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. The whole WORLD was corrupt.

      Second of all it was not a “little” boat. That sucker was 450ft long, 75 ft wide, and 45 ft high. The total floor space would be about 100,000 square feet.

      Thirdly I have no clue where you got 7 million from but most have stated there are around 1-1.5 million species. Take a good portion of those living in the water (why take a fish aboard when it’s flooding?) so you really only need to take the ones that can’t survive in the water. Something else to think about, Noah could have taken 2 wolves and we have our dog population. So he didn’t need to take every single species (as scientists define species) on the ark. He took every kind. Also people assume that he took the fully grown adult version of each animal. He very well could have taken the younger animals. Given all this, there would have been plenty of room for all the animals and Noah and his family.

      Report Post » scarebear83  
  • jakartaman
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:45am

    First and foremost – The bible is a love story.
    How much love can our Heavenly Farther give to the world – than to give us his perfect beloved son.
    How much love can our Lord and Savior give than to be humiliated, tortured, crucified and accept the wrath of GOD for human sin and our eternal salvation.
    THAT’S LOVE

    Report Post »  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:55am

      So wait, God sends his one and only son (who is actually God) to endure the wrath of God (himself) for the sins of humanity, whom he (God = Jesus) created knowing full well (that darned omniscience of his!) that his creation would eat from that tree, following the bidding of a Snake, whom God also created and being all powerful could have stopped. I see no love, I only see a dimwitted and cruel god, playing games with its creation. What an absurd myth that is.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:04pm

      @tradition..
      Your missing the first part.. He did it for YOU. You broke God’s moral laws listed clearly. You have lied, and committed sins your whole life, The Bible says your now headed for hell, but God in his all-knowing love, looked ahead and bailed you out on the cross. He won’t force the gift on you though, you can be your own lawyer before God one day if you insist.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • davecorkery
      Posted on May 22, 2012 at 1:22pm

      No. That’s a silly story.

      Report Post »  
    • binge_thinker
      Posted on May 24, 2012 at 1:56pm

      @ Tradition,

      None are so blind as those who are unwilling to see.

      Report Post » binge_thinker  
  • GilbertPearlie
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:40am

    just as Joe answered I cant believe that any body can earn $9373 in a few weeks on the internet. did you see this web site..FreeJobCv.notlong.com

     
  • Hollywoodron
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:32am

    So I read the article and I’ve read the Bible. I prefer the Bible and its moral teachings. Why? Because the truths in the Bible are much more HARD then his OBLIQUE misinformation. To seek truth, in the Bible, or with his article… I still have to go to the Bible.

    For instance, the Sabbath… for us Christians, Christ resolved that.
    Stoning… again Christ resolved that.
    No other God’s before me… very simple… we all worship one thing. Money? Sex? Power? God? Manipulation? Self?
    God told Abraham to kill son, then Dawkins uses “thou shalt not kill” but that commandment had not yet been issued. Just chronologically Dawkins got it wrong.
    Thou shalt not kill? Dawkins amazingly thinks humans find killing repulsive? Man has killed man quite easily through history. Dawkins, coddled in a Christian culture, thinks otherwise. I’m amazed at such unfathomable ignorance of history. Gladiators? Stalin?
    Israelites killing Canaanites etc… God gave reasons & justice for such. They were a sexual slave cult that sacrificed their babies. HULLO!!!??? God said it quite clearly!

    Yet Dawkins… in his willing blindness scoffs. There is a hell… Dawkins proves it.

    Report Post »  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:42am

      yet Jesus said this:

      “But I say to you, that to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: and from him that hath not, even that which he hath, shall be taken from him. But as for those my enemies, who would not have me reign over them, bring them hither, and kill them before me.”— Jesus

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:43am

      and this:

      “Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And as a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.” — Jesus

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:57am

      The failing in your logic (one amongst many) is to assume we must worship anything. This just gets me laughing every time. I don’t worship man any more than I worship the sun. Why ought I to worship anything?

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • Hollywoodron
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:00pm

      Hey Philly… CAREFUL… that was a parable, that quote was of the Leader character in the parable, angry at his servants. Severe? Yes. You could put it this way, that nobleman, was a govt official! So there!

      Report Post »  
    • brother_ed
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:01pm

      @PHILLYATHEIST

      I’m happy to see you are able to pull quotes from the Bible.

      It would be best to take them in their context, but unless you understand the mission of Jesus, that would be difficult.

      Truth is the sword He is talking about. As you can see, it HAS divided us. You are on one side, believers are on the other. If you were my father, son, mother, daughter or in my household, we would be divided.

      Your ‘death’ would be a ‘spiritual death’.

      Report Post » brother_ed  
    • Hollywoodron
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:01pm

      Philly… Jesus divides family. As a Christian, I totally get it. I love God more than my wife and children. You see, if you love your wife more, than that will be your obsession. If you love your children more, than you will forget all the other children, and equality and compassion. Follow Jesus first, then you will end up loving your family more than you could ever have imagined.

      Report Post »  
    • Hollywoodron
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:04pm

      Traditions: Trust me… you worship… something. Trust me…

      Report Post »  
    • midnightvelvet
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:07pm

      For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

      This is the actual verse you reference in your first comment. I don’t know where you got the other. Wishful thinking, perhaps?

      Report Post »  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:10pm

      @tradition
      Thats why worship is freewill, he doesn’t want praise from lips but hearts. I have no problem worshiping him once I beheld him (I beheld his face when i read the Bible, and the gospels). Once I could see who I was (lost sinner, helpless), and who he is (the one who saves the helpless), the issue was settled, I have never regretted. Praise his everlasting name.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • DeavonReye
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:19pm

      How can you love a character from a book more that your wife? Even if you believe you get some sort of “personal relationship” [through prayer, bible reading], . . . if you love that more than your own wife, you have a serious problem. Your WIFE . . . is right there! Jesus is absent, invisible, and leaves it up to YOU to “believe any of it is real”.

      I’ve heard this line before, but find it a bit absurd. Just because an ancient religious text says something, people assume it WAS divine. You can’t know that. There’s the issue.

      Report Post » DeavonReye  
    • Hollywoodron
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:31pm

      Deavon: Jesus is more real than Aristotle, Julius Ceaser, Homer, Sophocles… there are more ancient copies of the NT than all of the above combined. And the NT are even older, closer to his date, then they. Also Rome mentions this cult figure in its texts as a “problem”. And when the NT was written, it was during the life time of said witnesses. And there were 5000 hand copied Greek NTs unearthed with amazing accuracy. So Jesus was about as real as you can get.

      Concerning wife, family… you have to have a belief system, a CORE foundation right? To love your wife, your children… the CORE is God, Jesus… those teachings are what keep me loving my wife more than I could love her on my own. My own selfish desires… are NOT the way to love my family! Without God, anything is permitted. I’m 17 years of marriage, I love my wife more now than ever. Thank God.

      Report Post »  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:31pm

      @devonrey I can love the CREATOR of my wife more that her, yes. I love CREATOR more than all others, without CREATOR i would have no world, no hands,no mind, no heart, no eyes to see her with, etc….

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • COFemale
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:38pm

      Philly would you like to post the Chapter and Verse where your got your scripture or did you just cut and paste from the Athesit website?

      Reading or writing one line of scripture means nothing, you must read the whole chapter and verses to get the full context.

      See this is what you atheist do all the time. Heaven forbid if you actually understand what you post, I think Hell would freeze over.

      Report Post » COFemale  
    • DeavonReye
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:44pm

      “Without God, anything is permitted.” No, . . . anything would NOT be permitted, just because you desire it. I can have self restraint completely outside any “relationship” with an unseen character in a book [regardless of whether or not a literal Jesus actually lived and was written about].

      Maybe you guys are able to see something real in it. I never was able. I pretended on many occasions! I never recall any moment in my “christian life” where I felt/saw/heard anything outside myself. I hope you can see how I would not be able to “love” something like that. Even if I found NOTHING of question in the pages of the bible and it was all incredibly beautiful in language and ideology [which it isn't], I STILL wouldn’t be able to “love” . . . what isn’t there. Not with any sincerity.

      Having said that, I’m [at least] glad that your relationship with your spouse is good.

      Report Post » DeavonReye  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:56pm

      Luke 19:11-27 “the parable of the pounds”

      i can‘t for the life of me imagine loving someone i’ve never met, never seen, and have exactly zero proof of his existence more than any important person in my life. that kind of sentiment borders on delusional, if not insanity. but if it makes you happy, go for it.

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • DeavonReye
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:05pm

      Philly, . . . perhaps it is a bit delusional. Insanity? No. Many people have been indoctrinated so heavily [especially when a christian from a young age] that is encompasses who they are. The “fear of hell” encourages them to “remain faithful”. The “group mentality” can make many things appear more real and can sway the emotions. I have friends and family who are still christians. Some deeply. Though I don’t understand HOW they do what they do, . . . a part of me understand the WHY. Fear and simulacrum are powerful to the mind.

      Report Post » DeavonReye  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:11pm

      @Philly …Your existance is proof of his existance……

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 2:28pm

      PAPA – thank you for that lesson in circular reasoning.

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • FreedomsFury
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 3:25pm

      Not to mention that every Canaanite tribe that were irradicated were a corrupted people with corrupted genes or DNA from fallen angels “Genesis 6” that was all part of satans plan to try to corrupt the bloodline of the Israelites that would bring forth Messiah, JESUS CHRIST.

      Report Post »  
    • DeavonReye
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 4:49pm

      Freedomsfury. . . . . do you REALLY think that “angels” came to earth and “had sex with human women”? You DO understand how human sexual reproduction and DNA works, right? Do you truly believe that [for the sake of argument, angels are real] ANGELS can produce some sort of sperm that can impregnate a human female???

      And IF this happened, . . . do you not agree that either your god WANTED it to happen, or was powerless to prevent it?

      Report Post » DeavonReye  
    • girlnurse
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 8:34pm

      Hi PATHIEST. What exactly is your point with all of Jesus quotes?…What is it you don’t understand lil one? Jesus said those things because He is God and as God, He knows ALL. Because He said, “before you were in your mothers womb, I knew you”. Sooooooo
      Seeing how He knows us so well, He is our TRUE Father and He knows what is best for us. He knows that IF we get into sin we will be in eternal trouble and may face HELL. Sooooooo therefore He really wants us to put Him first above all else….I was in the Navy, so I will say, it’s kinda like a chain of command and He is the Commander in Chief. He knows if we do this–everything else will fall into place…Yes, we are to love Him EVEN above our own children! Because IF we do, He also knows we will LOVE our children the best way for them too! My Lord Jesus said; “Is it because you have seen me that you have believed? How blessed are those who have never seen me and yet have believed!” John 20:29

      Report Post » girlnurse  
  • vaman
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:31am

    A bible for each child! Who can argue that? Just let them decide for themselves what to think of it. Keep the interjections of personal faith out of it. No trying to convince the kids and let’s see what happens.

    Report Post »  
    • Sol Invictus
      Posted on May 22, 2012 at 6:59am

      It’s actually a Bible for each school, not each child. The point is that all schools already have Bibles and Religious Education is already a compulsory subject in all British schools. What we have here basically is a publicity stunt by Gove that has actually provided more publicity for Richard Dawkins than for Gove.

      Report Post » Sol Invictus  
  • momprayn
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:30am

    LOL — What satan meant for harm, God turns into good…..and the atheist doesn’t even know it.

    Since he has a “reprobate mind”, he doesn’t think that he could be wrong and that other people would come to the same conclusion as he has if they read the Bible. The Holy Spirit will use this opportunity to “convict”, “reveal” Himself and recognize “truth” to “whosoever will” and bring in the “harvest” of souls. Thank you God!!!!

    Report Post »  
  • PapaPatriarch
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:29am

    The Bible was written by many people over many years, this is it’s strength. It’s called EYEWITNESS.
    Remember that eyewitness evidence is the strongest evidence you can bring forward in any court to this day, even written accounts are viable (police reports), in murder trials.
    Like it or not the Bible is full of eyewitnesses that retain differences, yet harmonize. The diferences are supposed to be there, they are called viewpoint differences, as each saw each story from a different distance, angle, perspective, etc. If the different accounts all matched word for word the story would be an obvious fake and coraboration.
    Other cult books are written by one or two men who find or translate questionable works in the dark, and lack the eyewitness evidence of the Bible.

    Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • encinom
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:07pm

      Eyewitness evidence is the single type of evidence tha tis most at fault for those wrongly convicted. eyewitnesses evidence is the least actucrate. That and given the centuries of poor translations, the bible is nothing close to being true.

      Report Post »  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:19pm

      The Bible was critticized for not having enough evidence to compare verses over years and years of copying. Then we found THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS< which were older than other scrolls by hundreds of years. When compared by the haters, the Bible was proven to be accurate after all that time, and we now have thousands and thousands of copied scrolls on different continents to prove God's word doesn't change. There will always be "cult" bibles, there are today and was in the begining days of christainity also.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:23pm

      @encinom You said “eyewitnesses evidence is the least actucrate”. Tell that to the worlds courts. How else can we pursue any crime??? DUH….Why even have people come to the trial then? … no… we don’t need any witnesses for this case…???? No…. don’t have the victim testify, it’s the least important…

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • encinom
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:59pm

      Here is a small sample of the articles talking about the problems with eyewitnesses:

      http://agora.stanford.edu/sjls/Issue%20One/fisher&tversky.htm
      http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dna/photos/eye/text_06.html

      Than there is the classic Invisible Gorilla experiment that proves how unreliable eyewitnesses can be.
      http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/gorilla_experiment.html

      Report Post »  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 4:08pm

      They can also be reliable, thus we continue to use them.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • Constantine Ivanov
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 5:13pm

      @PAPAPATRIARCH
      “It’s called EYEWITNESS.”
      Hmmmm.
      If I am not mistaken, “eyewitness” means “he who saw something by his/her own eyes.”
      And how on Earth could somebody see by his/her own eyes anything before God created a man?
      Does the Bible say that God had equipped Adam with ability to read and write? If yes, – in what language?
      Did Adam write at least that part of Genesis where it tells about life AFTER he was already created?
      Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera…
      Could you, dear Papa Patriarch, please refrain from using words that immediately disprove whatever you say further?
      Because you give me a reason to believe that there are many fervent Christians who either did not read the Bible or have read without any pondering over it. Just as Richard Dawkins said…

      Report Post » Constantine Ivanov  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 10:55pm

      There were 40 writers of the Bible, each must be handled as an eyewittness to the historical events they are writting about, not to mention all the fullfulled prophecy (behold a virgin shall conieve…).

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
  • IslandAtheist
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:28am

    What about the book of Moron?… Don’t you want gods latest edition?

    Report Post » IslandAtheist  
    • brother_ed
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:37am

      @ISLANDATHEIST

      It‘s not the ’latest edition, parts of the Book of Mormon were written contemporaneously with the Bible.

      Free copies are available.

      Order yours today, read it, and make up your own mind.

      Report Post » brother_ed  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:44am

      @IslandA
      “Other cult books are written by one or two men who find or translate questionable works in the dark, and lack the eyewitness (many) evidence of the Bible.”

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • IslandAtheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:46am

      If three wives were good enough for Jesus, why weren’t three wives good enough for Joseph Smith?

      Report Post » IslandAtheist  
    • brother_ed
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:05pm

      @ISLANDATHEIST

      I finish my discussion with you, as you are obviously on a mission to discredit, not to learn.

      “Speak not in the ears of az fool; for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.” Prov 23:9

      Report Post » brother_ed  
    • COFemale
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:10pm

      Like all stories Island there are two or more sides. We know the Native Americans existed before the English came to the Americas. Why isn’t it feasible to think that some in Biblical times traveled through modern day Russian crossed over in a boat to modern day Alaska then traveling accross the U.S. Where did American Natives come from originally?

      Even the Bible says once God confounded the language the inhabitants spread accross the earth.

      Open you mind and look at the bigger picture instead of staying in your own one dimensional world.

      Report Post » COFemale  
    • themachinist239
      Posted on May 22, 2012 at 3:32pm

      “I finish my discussion with you, as you are obviously on a mission to discredit, not to learn.”

      The fault lies with you. When one asks reasonable questions about a very very unreasonable belief (hence why one must have ‘faith’ instead of logic), you must give him reasonable answers. The questions will keep coming because there is no factual basis behind religious beliefs. When you say “learn”, you know that means “accept what I’m telling you as truth” and atheists reject this fallacy.

      Report Post »  
    • binge_thinker
      Posted on May 24, 2012 at 2:08pm

      You can dog Christianity all you like but it is evident that you owe Christianity (or at least Theism) a debt for stealing from it the concept of personal rights and the sense of moral absolutes. I wonder if that is why you constantly mischaracterize and ridicule Christians/Christianity as being illogical and irrational because by doing that you defray attention away from your illogical and irrational beliefs despite the logical conflict of those assumed beliefs with your stated worldview (materialism – survival of the fittest).

      Report Post » binge_thinker  
  • huey6367
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:27am

    Regardless of your religion, you have the right practice it WITHOUT scrutiny from another. However atheisits always want to tell you how wrong you are. Truth be known, NO ONE knows the answer until they die. Then it is too late. So why not just respect another’s beliefs. YOU could be wrong.

    Report Post »  
    • encinom
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:31am

      Funny, Christians in America are demanding that their faith and beliefs be turned into laws governing the nations. If they want the Bible to be turned into a law book, than we should pick about the book and see if a book that okays, honor killings, slavery and genocide is worthy of such a lofty place.

      Report Post »  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:31am

      Jesus claimed to be the only eyewitness who could tell you with authority (who had seen heaven and hell and the afterlife and told about it CLEARLY), I believe him.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:34am

      No, no, no. Christianity, and any religion, is ultimately an idea, and ideology – something that does not warrant a special barring from criticism. Religion, like any idea, or set of ideas, may very well, and in fact, ought to, be scrutinized most heavily. If I find a belief to lack evidence utterly, and be of such a nature that it appears more detestable than respectable, then you can be assured I will attack it at every chance for being a poor dogma, as it is.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • encinom
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:09pm

      PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:31am
      Jesus claimed to be the only eyewitness who could tell you with authority (who had seen heaven and hell and the afterlife and told about it CLEARLY), I believe him.
      ___________________
      Yet he didn’t write a single book of the Bible. Every account is second hand and the gospels do not always agree with each other.

      Report Post »  
    • brother_ed
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:14pm

      @TRADITION DIES HERE

      An idiot is someone who doesn’t know something you found out 5 minutes ago.

      That is a good enough reason to not belittle anyone. We are here to learn, and everyone should be given that chance. That means they have a right to be wrong.

      I have no respect for someone who demeans another’s lack of intelligence.

      Surely you can look back on your life and see there were times you had a different opinion then because of a lack of knowledge you now posses.

      A man who refuses to be open minded and respectful of other’s opinions shows that he has ceased to have the desire to learn

      Report Post » brother_ed  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:44pm

      @encinom He was making an even stronger court case here…
      <> “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” He let everyone else do it.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • encinom
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:01pm

      PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:44pm
      @encinom He was making an even stronger court case here…
      “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” He let everyone else do it.
      __________________
      Which means the gospel is nothing more than hearsay and not accurate.

      Report Post »  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 5:06pm

      @encinom
      Since all history is by definition, eyewitness, do you reject all history that relies on eyewitnesses? If so, you can accept nothing you have ever been taught or read about history, including your own eyewitness experiences.
      The (40) eyewitnesses in the Bible come from different backgrounds, different times, different countries, and different social positions of wealth and poverty. The accounts harmonize. There is no stronger courtroom evidence in the universe for a historical event. A bunch of different people saw it and the stories all fit, with minor differences because of each individual perspective, or distance from the event.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • Balpit
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 6:07pm

      “Funny, Christians in America are demanding that their faith and beliefs be turned into laws governing the nations. If they want the Bible to be turned into a law book, than we should pick about the book and see if a book that okays, honor killings, slavery and genocide is worthy of such a lofty place.”

      -Funnier still, militant atheists complain about all this while demanding THEIR beliefs be turned into laws. They want their right not to be offended to trump the rights of free speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion for everyone else. Despite successfully banning prayers from schools and removing religious symbols and scriptures from public buildings because they don’t agree with it, they still cry “theocracy!” when so much as a shadow of a cross appears on a courthouse. Then, after all that crying and effort to remove religious symbols from government property (because it promotes a belief system), they hypocritically put up signs promoting THEIR belief system: how there’s “no God” and religion is “superstition” and “myth”…all on government property.

      Funniest of all? Even though militant atheists get their way when it comes to the law, they have the nerve to complain that they’re being oppressed.

      As for the last sentence in your comment, I have YET to meet a Christian in favor of honor killings, slavery, or genocide. Newsflash: The dark ages ended LONG before you were born. Get with the present already.

      Report Post »  
  • DeeJae345
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:26am

    If one soul gets saved because of the Holy Bibles being distributed, then it would be worth it even though R. Dawkins has evil motives. God can use idiots like Dawkins for good.

    Report Post » DeeJae345  
  • mayihelpyou
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:24am

    What a moron this senile fool is. Show me the person who actually believes the eucharist is the true DNA of Christ and I’ll show you another idiot like Dawkins. It is people like Dawkins who do not understand the nature of the Bible. The claims of the idiots like Dawkins such as “they were ready to kill each other over the interpretations” is the thinking of a person incapable of critical thought.

    Report Post »  
  • Hawkeyefan19
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:21am

    THe only thing I can agree with Dawkins on is the last line “Not a bad way to find out what’s in a book is to read it, so I say go to it. But does anybody, even Gove, seriously think they will?”

    For centuries Christians have mindlessly, blindly, listened to and followed the teaching of those “in authority” when they should be digging more deeply into the original languages, understanding the social structure and context in which the scriptures were written, and proving their faith based on these efforts.

    Dawkins is an arrogant and uninformed intellectual who propagates his bitter concoction of anger and small minded skepticism. As J.P Holding says, he is among those who are “uninformed and unaware”, much to their own comfort (having settled into their own bed of blissful ignorance) and their ultimate downfall.

    Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:17am

    They say God works in mysterious ways; so bibles provided by an atheist are used by God to reach people who otherwise may never have been…the irony is so poetic only God could compose it to where much good can come forth from it.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • Mark0331
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:14am

    Giles Fraser: Richard, if I said to you what is the full title of ‘The Origin Of Species’, I’m sure you could tell me that.

    Richard Dawkins: Yes I could

    Giles Fraser: Go on then.

    Richard Dawkins: On The Origin Of Species.. Uh. With, Oh God. On The Origin Of Species. There is a sub title with respect to the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.

    Giles Fraser: You’re the high pope of Darwinism… If you asked people who believed in evolution that question and you came back and said 2% got it right, it would be terribly easy for me to go ‘they don’t believe it after all.’ It’s just not fair to ask people these questions. They self-identify as Christians and I think you should respect that.

    ……..This the same guy who doesn’t know the full title to the Atheists Bible?..This the same guy who doesn‘t know the definition of the word ’theory’?……anyone who takes him seriously is lacking in objective reasoning when it comes to a ‘character check’….this guy enjoys making a fool out of himself for a living.

    Report Post » Mark0331  
    • DeavonReye
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:12pm

      Yeah, . . . because if someone has a momentary lapse in memory, . . . he MUST [therefore] be “a fool” and his opinions don’t matter.

      That is one of the silliest arguments against a person I’ve heard.

      Report Post » DeavonReye  
    • ProRepublic
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:35pm

      @DEAVONREYE
      In the interview with Fraser, just prior to the excerpt written by MARK0331, Dawkins had just finished telling Fraser that Christians who could not answer questions about Christian beliefs from the questionnaire that was sent to them were not really Christians because they could not answer questions about their faith.

      What you are reading in this post was the response by Fraser to that assertion. The whole point of the question to Dawkins about the full title of Darwin’s book was to show him that just because you cannot remember something does not mean you don’t believe it. Obviously Dawkins is an atheist and evolutionist. Nobody would tell him he is not just b/c he could not remember the title of the Origin of species. Just like Dawkins should not tell Christians they are not Christians because they could not answer his question about Christianity.

      Report Post »  
  • broker0101
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:06am

    Atheist promotes bible distribution – in SCHOOLS no less????? Blazer heads are exploding in literally dozens of homes across America today.

    Report Post » broker0101  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:14am

      You’re a Blazer, if you hadn’t figured that out yet.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
  • Free2speakRN
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:05am

    Dawkins. Just what do you think of the Islam Faith? I’d like details. Show honesty. You believe in honesty, don’t you? Courage? Many want to hear. Say it. Just say it. No? I thought so. No culture rewards cowardice.

    Report Post »  
    • Hollywoodron
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:17am

      You’re so mean!!! ;)

      Report Post »  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:27am

      Again, another dimwitted example of “Why hast thou atheist slandered naught by my Christianity?!!” Google. Use it. Before you assume that Dawkins has never spoken critically of Islam, do a little research first, because he has, and harshly I might add. Its hilarious, every article in this vain on the Blaze warrants an endless throng of comments wondering why Islam is never targeted, and how its just another example of pandering liberals; yet, this whole time the people posting this opinion fail to do any research into the matter.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:28am

      Dawkins: “I’m reasonably optimistic in America and Europe. I’m pessimistic about the Islamic world. I regard Islam as one of the great evils in the world, and I fear that we have a very difficult struggle there.”

      good enough for you?

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • themachinist239
      Posted on May 22, 2012 at 11:53am

      Atheists know Islam is the craziest one in the bunch, but you know what? In a mental institution you kind of expect one loon to stab another from time to time. Many atheists choose not to bash Islam as much because they are a rather small minority making a religious debate scarce; and are impossible to reason with when it comes to human rights. Atheists refuse to get caught in the war between Christianity and Islam which has materialized itself in nonstop war and political/military conflict over centuries. I refuse to take sides between two groups with whom I abhor. Saying “well at least christians don’t do [insert islamic violent act]” is not going to convince me to abandon logic, reason and my own values/morals.

      It‘s obvious the OP knows nothing about Dawkins’ view on Islam or else he wouldn’t have said something so off base.

      Report Post »  
    • binge_thinker
      Posted on May 24, 2012 at 2:16pm

      @ Machinist

      On Dawkins’ website, you will find, lies, distortions and half-truths, accepted as empirical fact. It seems that you have been taken in.

      Dawkins is just another irrational, fundamentalist ranter. You don’t have to have a strong religious faith to be one of those. In Dawkin’s case, a massive ego, with far too much media exposure makes most people forget that he is viewed with a great amount of derision by many of his peers in his chosen field of study.

      Report Post » binge_thinker  
  • rangerp
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:05am

    And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient

    Report Post » rangerp  
  • Mark0331
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:04am

    Again I ask, if he doesn’t believe, why does it have him so agitated?….Making a quick buck by defaming or disparaging anothers beliefs is the occupation of a bored, insecure and lazy mind…If he is so high and mighty morally, in accordance with his own value system, why hasn’t Tolerance entered his thinking process…

    Report Post » Mark0331  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:10am

      He makes a lot of money selling books to guys like Phillyatheist. It’s all about money to a lot of those guys.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:18am

      Why should religion – the Bible in particular – be placed on a pedestal, free from harsh criticism? It’s just another holy book that ought to be heavily scrutinized, and upon this scrutiny, bashed for its inane dogma.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • brother_ed
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:33am

      @TRADITION DIES HERE

      You are free to scrutinize and/or criticize the Bible, but to say that it is inane;

      in·ane   [ih-neyn]
      adjective
      1.
      lacking sense, significance, or ideas; silly: inane questions.
      2.
      empty; void.

      one would have to be ignorant of history, philosophy and political science.

      No other book has had more influence for good in this world than the Bible.

      Report Post » brother_ed  
    • Mark0331
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:35am

      Traditions…..no one is placing it in a pedestal, your argument lacks teeth and common sense…I was posting about Tolerance….look it up, figure out the definition, then get back to me…by the way, check out the 1st Amendment, fully grasp it then read your post and see if what you wrote makes sense then…your usage of the phrase ‘inane dogma’ proves that the definiton of the word Tolerance eludes you….Why would you bash someone elses’ beliefs?…Insecurity is the only motivator I can see for someone doing that….sad, really

      Report Post » Mark0331  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:40am

      The Bible has withstood the test of time of bashing athiests. Bash away, the Bible remains.

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
  • phillyatheist
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:02am

    greatest book of fiction EVER.

    Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • lukerw
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:26am

      From the advent of Abraham onward… the Bible Dating matches Historical Dating. Your opinion of Fiction… is based upon your Ideology, not Fact!

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • Rayblue
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:29am

      You’re so philly.

      Report Post » Rayblue  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:32am

      so Moses turned his staff into a snake? and Pharoh did too? Pharoh must have had some powerful God on his side, but not powerful enough to beat Moses’? gotcha. sounds like facts to me – NOT.

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • brother_ed
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:39am

      Also the most influential.

      Report Post » brother_ed  
    • lukerw
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:19pm

      When I was in Egypt… I was taken to small town with a Market… and there was an Entertainer, who one snake… that he could make stiff… and hold like a stick. A Trick; Magic… OK… but I saw it!

      Now, if you say… everything, that you have not seen, cannot exist… then you are a God in your own Mind!

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 2:48pm

      so Moses, and Jesus, were just really good magicians?

      can someone explain why the Biblical miracles of 2000 years ago stopped happening? where’d they all go? don’t we need them now to stop/slow the wave of non-Believers?

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
  • KickinBack
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:02am

    Just watching the protests in Chicago right now shows me all the morals I need to know from atheists.

    Report Post » KickinBack  
    • TheGrtDcptn
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:46am

      Nicely Stated, KickinBack…

      Report Post »  
    • Bruce P.
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 2:54pm

      Don’t think for a moment the protesters in Chicago represent atheism. They sure do not speak for this atheist.

      Report Post » Bruce P.  
    • DeavonReye
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 3:07pm

      nd this “Christian nation” was unable to keep that from happening? Churches on about every corner. Can’t help but to be staired in the face with religion here. Why is that? It isn’t about “taking prayer out of the schools” because if the home and the church wasn’t enough, why should we blame public schools for “what’s happening in Chicago”?

      Report Post » DeavonReye  
    • binge_thinker
      Posted on May 24, 2012 at 2:19pm

      Kickinback,

      Love that comment and so true.

      Report Post » binge_thinker  
  • Lone Ranger
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:01am

    Why are atheists always such weasels?

    Report Post » Lone Ranger  
    • HorseCrazy
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:24am

      and why do they make headlines when it is their goal? that is the part that irritates me running stories for every idiotic provacative thing they say helps serve their purpose. theblaze should probably just stop giving this clown any time or more exposure.

      Report Post »  
    • ProRepublic
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:44pm

      They are not weasles. They are a new type of Atheist that is coming about. They are being called the “New Atheist”. The only thing I find different about them from the the old atheists is that they are more angry, less tolerant and not as logical as old atheists. People like Dawkins also cannot admit mistakes when he has clearly made them (example: saying that Jesus never even existed when he did).

      Report Post »  
  • lukerw
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:01am

    The Bible is… a History Book… compiled by people of a Religious Faith… who believed… that GOD insprired their Deeds & Prophets… that GOD was in their Lives… and that GOD gave them Laws & Land!

    Report Post » lukerw  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:00am

    I wish this guy would expend a fraction of the energy he uses refuting Christianity and Judaism on refuting Islam. No guts Dick?

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • Calm Voice of Reason
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:13am

      The first result of a Google search, “Dawkins: Islam ‘one of the great evils in the world’”.
      :

      Report Post » Calm Voice of Reason  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:23am

      Right, Gonzo, you’re just another nut who constantly wonders “WHY HAST THOU ATHEIST SLANDERED NAUGHT BUT MY CHRISTIANITY!!!!!” Well, its simply not true. Many major outspoken atheists have HEAVILY attacked Islam as a poor guide to morality, and as another false doctrine.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • Rayblue
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:50am

      I can safely say that after reading the Bible at least twelve times and comparing it to other holy books and other literature that I‘ve also read and reread dozens of times is the incontestable fact of it’s divine, inspirational character. Whether the historical chronology fits perfectly or the translation is accurate doesn‘t take away from it’s origin and message. Some of the Christians here would not approve of even study of other beliefs. But it‘s how I’ve come to the conclusions that make sense to me. And I’ll stand by those conclusions.If you have just a cursory knowledge of the Bibles contents, it won’t help your argument. The floor can be mopped with the armchair theologian.

      Report Post » Rayblue  
    • SquidVetOhio
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:03pm

      Yes Gonzo, Google search and after the first 100,000 hits of Dawkins slamming Christianity, you’ll find the article in some obscure media site where he frowns upon Islam. smh…

      There is a reason Christianity is attacked and Gonzo ( I suspect ) and I both know it; darkness hates the Light and the true Light is Jesus Christ. Satan hates the Truth but loves false religions. “Religion” has sent more people to hell than any other force in this world and Satan knows it.

      Report Post » SquidVetOhio  
    • Bruce P.
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 2:20pm

      GONZO — I could not agree with you more! It makes absolutely no sense and is the height of hypocrisy that Dawkins spends his time challenging the predominate faith of the country he lives in, of the society he is part of. He shouldn‘t challenge the faith who’s adherents actually have the power to affect to life. If he wasn’t such a huge hypocrite, his time would be better spend challenging the predominate faiths of other countries and cultures, the ones who have no affect on his life whatsoever.

      Report Post » Bruce P.  
    • Bruce P.
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 2:59pm

      SQUIDVETOHIO — your ignorance is showing. Your claim that you must search through thousands of hits bashing Christianity to find one where Dawkins challenges Islam, and then on some obscure site, hold no merit.

      Google shows 2,500,000 hits referencing Dawkins on Islam. http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=Richard+Dawkins+%2B+Islam

      Report Post » Bruce P.  
  • johnjamison
    Posted on May 21, 2012 at 10:56am

    Yes lets hand out the Christian New Testament bible in schools…Wait that’s not what Dawkins wants he wants Old Testaments handed out because there are some questionable passages in it.

    Report Post »  
    • self-reliant man
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:11am

      Actually it says they would pass out King James versions of the bible, which version includes the new and old testament. I think they both are fantastic and teach wonderful moral lessons

      Report Post »  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:31am

      Wonderful moral lessons Self-Reliant Man? Such as? Please, I beg of you to enlighten me as to just how moral the King James Bible truly is. When compared with other doctrines, philosophies, creeds, and codes, the Bible fails dismally as a moral guide. What? The 10 commandants? They are merely a laughable and far too limited array of absurd and vague dictums from a primitive bronze age scribe.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:36am

      “If a man have a stubborn and unruly son, who will not hear the commandments of his father or mother, and being corrected, slighteth obedience: 19 They shall take him and bring him to the ancients of his city, and to the gate of judgment, and shall say to them: This our son is rebellious and stubborn, he slighteth hearing our admonitions, he giveth himself to revelling, and to debauchery and banquetings: The people of the city shall stone him: and he shall die, that you may take away the evil out of the midst of you, and all Israel hearing it may be afraid.”

      such modern morality!

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:38am

      more wonderful Biblical morality:

      “But I say to you, that to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: and from him that hath not, even that which he hath, shall be taken from him. But as for those my enemies, who would not have me reign over them, bring them hither, and kill them before me.” — Jesus

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • SquidVetOhio
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:58am

      The athiests on here have no theological understanding of the Old Testament, who it was inteded for, and why the seemingly “harsh” laws apply. Yet, in their hypocracy they maintain the morality of secular huminism and evolution. In thier “moral” teachings, I am my own god and if I believe it is moral to kill someone, then it is. Who is society to deem it immoral? The only restrictions we have on us is the threat of violent force from our peers. So it boils down to who can be the most violent will rule the world fulfilling Darwin’s theory of the “Struggle among the favoured races”.

      Bottom line: You athiest should hold your hypocracy and ignorance for those dim enough to buy it. Your unwillingness to aknowledge your sinful nature has blinded your mind. You hate God because of the impending judgment that you desperately hope is not real but deep inside know is. How do I know this? Because every born-again christian has had to admit the same thing to come the revelation of God. As angry as athiests make me, I’m forced to remember that I am no better off than they but for the grace of God and if He is willing to forgive my wretched soul, so should I forgive them.

      The harsh laws of the OT was for Jews good. To preserve the chosen line of Messiah who God sent to free them (and us) from the law by faith and you dare to judge your Creator? Can a man judge God?

      The athiestic world-view has brought more mass slaughter than anything you can blame on the Christians or t

      Report Post » SquidVetOhio  
    • PapaPatriarch
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 11:59am

      @Philly
      Leviticus 18:29 “For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among thier people.”
      This verse says that ANYONE who breaks ANY ONE LAW is to be cut off. The point of this verse and those like it are to draw attention to the sin, the need for sacrifice and redemtion, and forgiveness. David commited murder and adultery and God dealt with him severely, yet also mercifully and even restored his kingdom after his discipline and repentance. No one stoned thier kids, it was to emphasize the sin of failing filial duty to ones parents, and bring restoration to the family and community. If you can’t read in context how do you enjoy other classics?

      Report Post » PapaPatriarch  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:08pm

      How highly cynical of you, Squido. You assume that without God society will decay, creating a moral abyss of relativism, as the masses murder, steal, and covet away? Look to Sweden; look to Denmark; look to Norway. Religion is on a rapid decline in these places. Atheism accounts for roughly 80% of these populations, give or take depending on where, and these highly secular/humanistic societies are the safest in the world, where crime is lower than anywhere else, particularly when compared to highly religious nations, such as ours. Rather than decay, it seems a loss of religion has lead to prosperity. Well, correlation does not necessarily imply causation, but at least we know that a largely irreligious society will not rupture into an atheistic killing frenzy.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • johnjamison
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 12:27pm

      SRM,
      The New Testament is the Christian Bible. Christ died for our sins and thus forgiveness for all those things the Old Testament offered no forgivenss for. Christ knew that man why inherently flawed by his vices,had a spark of the divine within him. That even within a man whose sins there can be good. The Old testament contained a message of total intolerence Christ spoke of tolerence not acceptance and not embracement of sin but tolerence and prayer that people end their wickedness.

      Report Post »  
    • SquidVetOhio
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:01pm

      @TRADITIONSDIEHERE

      “You assume that without God society will decay, creating a moral abyss of relativism, as the masses murder, steal, and covet away?”

      I don’t have to assume. Read a newspaper lately? The world is falling away from the faith (as the Bible prophesized) and we only have to look at any reasonable statistic. Look at Sweden. Let’s see, how does Sweden compare economically, militarily with the United States? Acutally, add all of the Euorpean sociallist countries and see what their GDP is as opposed to ours.

      Besides, let’s not only look at Sweden but Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Muldova, Russia since we’re naming athiestic countries. Any sane person will tell you the world is getting worse, not better ( as the Bible predicted ). The second law of Thermodynamics states that everything tends toward inorder and destruction.

      Interesting that you can’t argue the moral relativism point I made. If there is no God, who decides what is right and what is wrong and by what measure is that decision based on other than the threat of violence? All the athiests dictators knew this and acted upon it. Until some crazy kook Christians or Jews were there to finally put them down.

      Report Post » SquidVetOhio  
    • Zwolle
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:07pm

      @Tradition

      Uh oh, I took you up on your claim. Just a quick look at Denmark found this from the US State Department site:

      Although religious freedom is guaranteed, the state-supported Evangelical Lutheran Church has a membership of 80.7% of the population. Several other Christian denominations, as well as other major religions, find adherents in Denmark. Islam is now the second-largest religion in Denmark, with the number of Muslims in Denmark estimated at 3.6% of the population.

      Report Post »  
    • phillyatheist
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:08pm

      well SQUID, i appreciate your attempt to make sense of the nonsensical. at least you’re trying, as opposed to just attacking. i still don’t think those verses can be explained away, except to understand that it was a barbaric time and the lessons of that day are not applicable to modern life.

      Report Post » phillyatheist  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:20pm

      Zwolle, that statistic, although accurate, does not assess the levels of atheism. Many citizens in BOTH Denmark and Sweden are born into the church, and as adults, simply do not make an effort to officially severe ties with the Church. According to a European Commission report, only 31% of citizens in Denmark profess a belief in God, not just religion, but any belief in a deity. Only 31%. That implies the level of atheism in Denmark is at 69%, Sweden being EVEN higher.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:25pm

      There has always been mass conflict throughout human existence. It is a fact that the most least religious countries in the history of humankind are also the most ‘prosperous’, relatively speaking. The mass conflict you speak of is most volatile in the Southern regions of the world, and generally in the most religious places on earth. Does’t matter what religion it is, it is generally true, though, that the greatest regions of conflict and hostility are highly religious. Furthermore, Soviet Russia and China did indeed suppress religion, but the societies themselves were not all that irreligious. The population, despite laws, can harbor faith. What I am speaking of, is a largely secular social democracy with high levels of ORGANIC atheism amongst its populace that is NOT enforced.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:31pm

      Also, according to ‘The Legatum Institute’s index of prosperity 2010,’ Denmark is ranked as the 2nd most prosperous country in the world, ranking right behind Norway. According the same Eurostat Commission report on religion in Europe, only 32% of Norwegians believe in God. Thats only 1% higher than in Denmark, but considerably lower than almost any other place on earth.

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • Tradition Dies Here
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 1:40pm

      Error in my previous post. Not “the MOST LEAST religious countries,“ but rather just the ”least religious countries.”

      Report Post » Tradition Dies Here  
    • lukerw
      Posted on May 21, 2012 at 3:40pm

      @TRADITION…
      You… alike others before you… believe that Humans are Naturally Good… and do not need Religion.,,, alike Christianity, which Teaches Love, Charity, & Trust. And, you look arround the Current World… and you find Nations that support your Ideology.

      The problem is: History rejects your Conclusion! I am saying, Given Time your idols will be Destroyed by their own Self Conceit! And, I am saying, In a World of only Atheists… our Predatorial Species will turn ugly!

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • weismonger
      Posted on May 22, 2012 at 7:43am

      Really? What does the bible teach? To KILL nonbelievers in over 1000 bible verses that the xians conveniently leave out for public consumption.

      Report Post »  
    • binge_thinker
      Posted on May 24, 2012 at 2:25pm

      Christianity has been the foundation of the abolition of slavery, freeing women from oppression, caring for the poor and needy, giving to charity, building orphanage institutions, preventing infanticide, forbidding human sacrifice, equality, caring for the wounded such as the Red Cross, erection of hospitals, these my friend have their origins in Christianity. None of these are attached to deceitful atheistic schemes of man.

      Btw, Scandanavian countries like Norway and Denmark might have a higher concentration of atheists, but they also lead the entire world in the suicide rate. Coincidence? lol

      Report Post » binge_thinker  
1 2 3

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love