Richard Dawkins preaches to the faithful at an Atheist Revival meeting. The largest Atheistic revival meeting ever held in Australasia took place last weekend in Melbourne finishing on Sunday.
2500 unbelievers from around Australia and overseas filled the venue to hear noted preachers, including Catherine Deveny, Phillip Adams, Taslima Nasrin, Peter Singer, PZ Myers, Dan Barker, Stuart Bechman, Sue-Ann Post, Kylie Sturgess, John Perkins, Tamas Pataki, Max Wallace, Russell Blackford, Ian Robinson, AC Grayling, Robyn Williams, Simon Taylor.
With the grand finale on Sunday Night being the sermon "How do I misunderstand thee? Let me count the ways" - delivered by Richard Dawkins.
Alas I couldn't be there - so I don't know how it really went.
2500 unbelievers from around Australia and overseas filled the venue to hear noted preachers, including Catherine Deveny, Phillip Adams, Taslima Nasrin, Peter Singer, PZ Myers, Dan Barker, Stuart Bechman, Sue-Ann Post, Kylie Sturgess, John Perkins, Tamas Pataki, Max Wallace, Russell Blackford, Ian Robinson, AC Grayling, Robyn Williams, Simon Taylor.
With the grand finale on Sunday Night being the sermon "How do I misunderstand thee? Let me count the ways" - delivered by Richard Dawkins.
Alas I couldn't be there - so I don't know how it really went.
And Richard Dawkins, kit seems, had all the best lines.
ReplyDeleteMARY MacKillop's canonisation by ''Pope Nazi'' was ''pure Monty Python'', the world's most famous atheist told the world's first global atheist conference in Melbourne yesterday.
After a public lecture, Professor Dawkins was asked whether ''credulous'' media reporting and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's welcoming of last month's canonisation of Mary MacKillop as Australia's first Catholic saint were discouraging. Professor Dawkins replied that he did find it discouraging.
''The whole idea of creating saints, it's pure Monty Python,'' he said. ''They have to clock up two miracles. These are people we are supposed to take seriously.
As the young motorcycle rider took the corner at 140kph, the rear wheel skidded, and the bike left the road heading straight for the tree.
ReplyDeleteThe bike hit with tremendous force throwing the rider another 20 metres on. Lying on the ground, dazed, stunned, numb and unable to feel anything below his neck, the rider looked up into the infinite expanse of the night sky.
"God, if you are up there, now is the time to say something. If I survive this without long term injuries, I promise I will believe in your existence, and live my life in service to others."
Then he wiggled his fingers and toes. He stood up, finding he was completely unharmed.
"Oh, hang on. Doesn't matter Lord." he said up towards the heavens.
Gee LRO why does Richard Dawkins get so wound up over the Canonization of a nineteenth century Australian Nun?
ReplyDeleteIf he doesn't hold with Catholicism why would he care one way or the other?
I don't care about who gets Oscars, I either like the film or I don't.
That quote doesn't seem like an example of "the best lines" to me - rather it smacks of an irrational meltdown.
Perhaps if Dawkins applied similar comments to islam he could be regarded as an honest man.
ReplyDeleteBut he doesn't and he isn't.
andrei, I doubt Dawkins is "wound up" or even having an "irrational meltdown". I think its more a case of the absurdity of saints based on what, 2 supposed miracles out of how many suuposed requests for a miracle.
ReplyDeleteAnd the stupidity of making a saint because the last pope couldn't believe a counrty could be rational enough to not have a saint.
KG, its not up to me to defend Dawkins, he does it quite well on his own. And he doesn't seem to find it difficult to find the ridiculous in Islam. Maybe you should actually read his works and find out for yourself.
"Maybe you should actually read his works and find out for yourself."
ReplyDeleteI have and his primary target appears to be Christianity.
A worthwhile read on the Melbourne conference by Melanie Phillips:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.melaniephillips.com/articles-new/?p=724
also here ..
http://crusader-rabbit.blogspot.com/2010/03/dawkins-preaches-to-deluded-against.html
I wonder if Dawkins realises that by peddling his anti-God mantra, he is helping a very powerful being who only wants our destruction.
ReplyDeleteWhich, of course totally ignores the fact that the jihadists are drawn from just one or two extremist islamist sects...
ReplyDeleteTheir "scriptures" include the Suras and Hadiths which are open to various interpretations, depending on which radical cleric you're talking about.
As always, Dawkins and the useful atheist idiots of the left over-simplify.
"As for Dawkins's claim that religion is responsible for the ills of the world, this is demonstrably a wild distortion. Some of the worst horrors in human history - the French revolutionary terror, Nazism, communism - have been atheist creeds."
ReplyDeleteMelanie Philips
Recognise your ideological home among those, do you LRO?
Nazis? Their biggest crime was driven by anti-Semitism. Where does that old chestnut spring from?
ReplyDelete"Where does that old chestnut spring from?"
ReplyDeleteSocialism.
Anti-semitism pre-dates socialism by a long time.
ReplyDeleteLucia, quite right, but of course there were plenty of Catholics and Protestants in Germany, the Nazi regime and the SS. Which just proves the futility of these "more people have been killed by your people than by my people" arguments.
I know it's fashionable in some circles to see atheism as an evil counter-religion, but it's nothing of the sort. The only common factor amongst atheists is that we think there is insufficient evidence to support the various sky-god stories. Asking for evidence and rational argument is not a recipe for bad things.
Do you think the Nazis would have been more or less 'successful' if more people had asked for evidence of their key ideas? E.g. "Dr Goebbels: could we please see the evidence about how the Jews caused our downfall in the Great War and how they're plotting to enslave the German people?"