there’s a new book for sale on the shelves here in Utah, called Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring. i quickly went to the index and looked up the ever-controversial subject amongst the religious: EvilEvolution.
to quickly summarize, Eyring accepts, supports and even defends human evolution in 3 out of the four locations where the subject turns up in the book (one quote is rather ambiguous).
good for him, now on to the rest of the millions of LDS who are still unaware of their human origins.
did you serve an LDS mission? did you break any rules? of course you did! over at MormonMatters.org there’s a discussion going on where returned missionaries are “confessing”. it’s really funny to read other people’s lists of broken rules, sins, and indulgences (it’s funny how many list “drinking cola” since that’s supposed to be so bad). my list is below, if you have comments to add, i’d like to read them here.
(mission area: Brasilia, Brazil 2000-2002)
just off the top of my head:
listened to unapproved “EFY” music and got interviewed by my mish. pres. for it (yeah, weird, huh.)
had pictures of a cute pop star (Sandy) under my name tag.
was seduced by 2 different women who would nurse and not cover up after removing the baby (one told me she was seducing me, the other i may have just been reading into “the body language” a little too much).
had a buddha statue on my desk for a while- felt weird/dark and took it down when a companion complained.
waded my feet in water in a river in the jungle (satan could have swept me away but i was lucky)
had sleepovers with another zl friend and we’d rent 5-6 movies and watch them all in one go. did this 2-3 times.
semi-porn billboards and posters were everywhere in brazil, and i would “notice them” just a few seconds too long.
lied to mish pres. about having “clean hands”. he left it unclear, so i just took it literally and said they were clean (with a “duh” look on my face- “c’mon, pres.”)
played nintendo at a member’s house, watched the news during lunch at the bishop’s house, went to domino’s on sunday with a member who forgot to cook us a meal (i gave her a guilt trip and recommended she take us to the new domino’s that had just opened).
towards the end of my mission i purchased whatever CD’s i felt like from the mall and listened to them while i went to sleep (it ended up being mostly enya).
and last but not least:
tricked a greenie brazilian missionary into praying to joseph smith- complete with candles and photographs!
jonathan and EricSwell posted on some quotes guaranteeing the exaltation of all descendents of temple sealed worthy parents. i posted a comment to EpicSwell, but wasn’t allowed to comment there so here is my comment:
we’re saved!
i actually remember my dad bringing home from church an article that compiled quotes just like these. it was nice to hear something as liberal as this coming from him. i’m sure now that i am basically an apostate, though, that he would quickly announce the article/these quotes as just opinion now. Continue Reading »
tonight i watched into the wild on my ipod. i watched while lying in my bed, before going to sleep. my short 2-3 sentence review is this: thank you, mr. krakauer for letting me vicariously live a fantasy of going into the wild and being one w/ nature. i alss learned thru the experience of christopher (the main character in the story), that “happiness is only real when shared” (he wrote these words towards the end of his lonely, soul-searching journey to alaska). there’s got to be a way to be one with the world and continue our relationships around us, too. this is a new goal for me to live by. tonight my wife shared a poem with me that said: “real tragedy is not death, but a life not lived” Continue Reading »
a part i thought interesting was on human suffering as proof for or against god. Steven says:
As I stated [previously], this is not a serious argument against God in any case. But since Rhodes is throwing the challenge out there, I can think of some ways to drastically reduce human evil that should not violate anything. Human nature can be tweaked without violating any notion of free will (whatever that means, but that’s a different post). Perhaps humans can become a bit less tribal and blood thirsty, for example. Also, much crime and evil comes from desperate situations. How about a moratorium on natural disasters for awhile, and stop throwing new diseases at us. Anyway, that’s a good start. I’m sure given eternity an omniscient being might just have a few more ideas at their disposal.
another interesting thing steven brings up here is free will. many of the religious believe that god does not stop evil or natural disasters from happening because this interferes with free will. well what is a miracle, if not an interception with one’s free will or the natural course of nature?
Rhodes ends his article inviting his theist defenders to stick with “demonstrating the logical impossiblities of atheistic claims”. Dr. Novella’s response:
Wow, this guy needs to get out more. I may suggest that it is a flawed strategy for the faithful to confront non-believers with logic. That is not a field of combat they wish to take - as evidenced by Rhode’s effort. Talk about bringing a pea-shooter to a gun fight.
To be clear, I have nothing against people of faith - as long as they keep their faith, faith. But “logical evidence for faith” is an oxymoron. Once you enter the arena of evidence or logic - prepare for a smackdown.
the only other time i have heard steven novella talk about religion and agnosticism is on the reason driven podcast, episode 10. listen for a great discussion on agnosticism vs. atheism and steven’s own critiques of faith.
It is important to note that we are often far more capable of changing the basic conditions of our lives than we believe. THH sheds light on why we tend to unnecessarily stay in unhappiness producing circumstances.[7] On the other hand, the massive effort required to drag oneself from the middle class into the super wealthy category or achieve other significant social status markers, appears to pay negligible happiness dividends unless the process by which these symbols are obtained is itself enjoyable. That is, happiness is about the journey. Those who endure the journey in hope that the destination will pay off are almost invariably frustrated. And continuously arriving at seemingly desirable destinations (buying as opposed to earning, for example) is ironically depressing. Many major life events, such as moving to the climate that seems most desirable, winning the lottery, or becoming a paraplegic have surprisingly small happiness effects.
Today we effortlessly obtain more than any prior generation dreamed possible and are faced with a supreme irony – we have reached the Nirvana toward which our ancestors climbed, and it turns to dust as we grasp it.
this pretty much sums it up in an intelligent, non-extreme way. for some reason i really enjoyed this comic- it shows many honorable attributes creationists have and that they really don’t have any misconceptions towards us infidels (link to comic; found via Pharyngula
just found this post and thought it quite interesting. it’s from a liberal mormon blog “celebrating sexuality”. Doctor Jane says:
For all you Mormons out there who wonder why semen seems so sticky, there is a simple biological explanation. But you may not like it. Continue Reading »
there are many illogical aspects of believing in a devil. the best take i’ve read on this so far is shermer’s the science of good and evil. this post is on “a mormon testimony of satan”, by John Nilsson:
“I know that the Devil lives in outer darkness surrounded by concourses of ghastly minions amidst weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth”.
Why don’t we hear this from the pulpit in LDS testimony meetings? It’s just as much an article of faith as the existence of God, right? There must needs be an opposition in all things, as Lehi said.
Here’s the problem: many modern LDS leaders have told us that truth feels GOOD, and that we can recognize spiritual truth by the good feelings it engenders in us. Barring a rational way to arrive at a conviction of the existence of Satan (which I have yet to find, although both Hitler and Hannah Montana could be cited as evidence of Old Nick’s meddling in our world), the spiritual method appears to be the only method for being sure that Scratch exists. But to have GOOD feelings about the existence of our ultimate adversary, the being of pure redolent evil whose every thought and action is bent on our destruction, physically and spiritually? So I would bet a lot fewer LDS folks have firm convictions of the devil based on spiritual subjective evidence like the kind mentioned above. Continue Reading »
great story about an amazing prediction by darwin. UPDATE: PZ Myers says a single insect can’t demonstrate evolution, it could also demonstrate a creator who designed both the insect and flower to compliment each other. (link)
a discussion of the bakulum led to a discussion about masturbation. i thought it would be wise to alert the public about this warning from the American Medical Association, about the dangers of being a “wanka”: Continue Reading »
well ned challenged his readers to post the next 10 songs that come up at random on you iPod. here go mine:
1. Sleazy (Mr. Timothy Remix)- by Dirty south. Found on DJ Solyn’s album Sunset Deluxe. I like to listen to good House music while i drive, and especially while working out. this is a pretty decent song that came up randomly (out of a thousand House tracks). [4 out of 5 stars].
2. If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time- by R. Kelly. this song was okay like 10 years ago. not so into it now. [3 out of 5 stars]. Continue Reading »
Jen writes: “Out of my interest for Chemistry and my heritage I chose to get this tattoo done almost a year ago. It is on the back of my upper right shoulder and it is a reminder of my philosophy for life “question all objectively.”
all primates (except for humans) have a bone, or bakula, in the penis. why did humans lose the bone over time? dawkins speculates:
All that females need is a dependable tool for diagnosis. Doctors don’t use an erection test in routine health check-ups–they prefer to ask you to stick out your tongue. But erection failure is a known early warning of diabetes and certain neurological diseases. Far more commonly it results from psychological factors–depression, anxiety, stress, overwork, loss of confidence and all that. (In nature, one might imagine males low in the ‘pecking order’ being afflicted in this way. Some monkeys use the erect penis as a threat signal.) It is not implausible that, with natural selection refining their diagnostic skills, females could glean all sorts of clues about a male’s health, and the robustness of his ability to cope with stress, from the tone and bearing of his penis. But a bone would get in the way! Anybody can grow a bone in the penis; you don’t have to be particularly healthy or tough. So selection pressures from females forced males to lose the os penis, because then only genuinely healthy or strong males could present a really stiff erection and the females could make an unobstructed diagnosis. Continue Reading »
John has converted! he tells me he’s a humanist now (via e-mail), and his facebook account lists his religious views as “mormon humanist”.
i’m (pretty) sure his love of mormonism continues strong. i personally think he loves the community aspect, not to mention that mormonism is his (and my) roots, and it’s difficult to turn away from that. most of us want to stay true to our culture and heritage, right?
as for me, it’s not as hard to turn my back on my family religion/heritage as i am simply doing the same as my ancestors: leaving the religion of my fathers for some higher truths.
also, bob mccue has said in a podcast interview, “i prefer to take these arrows [of dissafection] now in my life so that my children don’t have to go through it in theirs”. i find that honorable.
whatever and wherever john ends up, though, i admire him greatly. few have any idea at all how much he has reached out to dissafected LDS on a personal level. he’s the epitomy of a truly good neighbor in the community and a friend to all. his theme has been “building bridges” (between faiths, and believers/non-believers, etc.) and he’ll continue to do good wherever he goes.
Understanding something as seemingly trivial as the evolution of hiccups can help clear up some profound misperceptions on the nature of life and humanity.
The sound of a hiccup echoes back to our very distant past as fish and amphibians some 375 million years ago, says Shubin. It’s really just a spasm that causes a sharp intake of breath followed by a quick partial closing of our upper airway with that flap of skin known as the glottis. It’s best if you can nip it in the first couple of hics, he says.
It’s much harder to stop once you’ve let yourself get up to 10. By that point you’ve reverted to an ancient breathing pattern orchestrated by the brain stem that once helped amphibians breath, letting water pass the gills without leaking into the lungs. “Tadpoles normally breathe with something like a hiccup,” Shubin says. Continue Reading »
i haven’t been following the pres. race very much lately so i don’t know who is considered “ahead”. i wouldn’t even vote strictly “democrat” just for the sake of someone being democrat. the acceptance of science is a big issue for me, however. Continue Reading »
another problem with the noah’s arc story: the story of genetic variation in the cheetah (which started inbreeding 10,000 years ago from an extremely small population) should look homologous to all other species who, as the story goes, started inbreeding only 4000 years ago and from an even smaller population (of two).
i really enjoyed reading this letter. some great information on hitler’s religious views are summarized here. if this jew’s reaction to the film is typical, expelled is much more evil than i initially imagined. letter via:
On 18th April, the day Ben Stein’s infamous film was released, Michael Shermer received the following letter from a Jew (referencing a past article that Shermer had written debunking the Holocaust deniers) whose identity I shall conceal as “David J”.
Now I truly understand who you atheists and darwinists really are! You people believe that it was okay for my great-grandparents to die in the Holocaust! How disgusting. Your past article about the Holocaust was just window dressing. We Jews will fight to keep people like you out of the United States!
Shermer wrote to Mr J to ask if he had by any chance just seen Expelled, and he received this reply:
Yes I have. You know, I respect you as a human being and you have done great work exposing psychics and frauds, but this is a very touchy issue that affects me and family emotionally. Our family business was affected because of Auschwitz because now, our family has nothing. It is gone. Things began to make sense once I saw the movie and I am just appalled. I have learned a lot from Ben Stein, a Jewish brother, who has opened my eyes up a bit. Continue Reading »
Florida did something interesting, and even better, it was done at the university where I am doing my grad work!
I’ve always thought that guys who burp the alphabet were neanderthals and it turns out I was right. Robert McCarthy of Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus worked with Phil Lieberman (who calculated the size of the larynx based on skull fossils in the 1970s) to actually reconstruct the vocal tract of the Neanderthal and simulate the sound of his voice. Hear it here.
McCarthy describes the sound as “part croaking frog, part burping human”, saying that Neanderthals “would not have been able to produce the quantal vowels that form the basis of spoken language”.
Accurate information is like sunlight – it stops most kinds of rot while encouraging growth.
-Bob McCue
With the FLDS (fundamentalist mormons) continuously in the news this month, the LDS attempts to distance themselves from these “splinter groups” and the doctrine of polygamy. President Hinckley, in an interview with Larry King attacked polygamy 10 years ago on television. He said:
I condemn it, yes, as a practice, because I think it is not doctrinal. It is not legal.
[Current polygamists in Utah] have no connection with us whatsoever. They don’t belong to the church There are actually no Mormon fundamentalists.
we have nothing to do with it. We’re totally distanced from it.
Michael Nielsen, writing for the Salt Lake Tribune, tries to remind the church and its members of their ties to the doctrine and practice (albeit in the afterlife) of polygamy. (See http://www.sltrib.com/Opinion/ci_8923…)
Bob McCue, formerly a mormon and bishop, comments on the article:
Michael Nielsen is always worth listening to – carefully – in my view and I am glad that he has chosen to publicly weigh in on the connection between Mormonism and FLDS polygamy. His analysis sets FLDS polygamy in its Mormon context and gently (that is one of his many strengths) reminds the Mormon faithful of their polygamous roots, polygamous afterlife, and the way in which both influence contemporary Mormon reality in many respects. I think his public relations advice is excellent, and will be surprised if something like that does not already hold sway within the Mormon leadership cadre. Those folks receive some of the best corporate communications advice on the planet, and much of that is drawn from Dr. Nielsen’s area of speciality – social psychology. Continue Reading »
doing my duty. y’all should link the movie Expelled like this (notice the link address): ExpelledExpelledExpelled . here’s the most recent on the creationist movie by ben stein. (post written by pharyngula):
This is just getting weirder and weirder. What kind of dummies are behind Expelled, anyway? First they lied about the premise of their movie to get interviews; then they copied Harvard/XVIVO’s cell animations; then they threatened XVIVO with a lawsuit; now it turns out that they’re using music from John Lennon and The Killers without permission, stirring the ire of Yoko Ono. It’s total legal chaos, as far as I’m concerned, and I’m not going to even guess how any of it will turn out. Is the movie industry always this rife with sneakiness and dishonesty?
Anyway, no matter how the lawyers dance, one thing is clear: the makers of Expelled have been paragons of ethical dubiety, doing their best to skirt the edges of the law and sneak as much doubtful, dishonestly obtained content into their little propaganda movie as they can. I guess they had to skimp on the budget for the actual content of the movie to scrape together a very large advertising budget — it’s as if their movie is a metaphor for all of Intelligent Design creationism.
i’ve listened to some sound bytes of Rook debating christians during a couple of live chats they’ve hosted. he’s really fun to listen to and really knowledgeable. anyways, on his blog he just posted a story that just happened with him. He was working at the bookstore and ended up getting into a half hour long conversation with a Jehovah’s witness. pressed for time, they decided to continue the conversation via e-mail. Rook’s first e-mail response to the jw bring up some good issues to consider. here’s his e-mail:
(Name with held to ensure anonymity),
Thanks for your prompt e-mail. Yes, it was a productive conversation. If I listed my concerns, in their entirety, I’m afraid your inbox would be so full it would not allow for other e-mails to be sent to you. With that jocularity in mind, we should perhaps focus on one issue at a time. How about we start once more with the problem of suffering. Allow me to hash out my problem for you. Continue Reading »
The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a computer-generated picture that shows Earth surrounded by thousands and perhaps millions of pieces of space junk (Link).
ESA says the number of objects in Earth’s atmosphere has risen steadily increasing by 200 per year on average and that there are now 600 working satellites. Collisions, explosions and lost or discarded material from space flights and rockets has resulted in the atmosphere resembling a junk yard with potentially millions of pieces of metal travelling in permanent orbit 20,000 miles above the Earth.
websites like drnatura.com have a lot of people interested in colon cleansing and detox. with pictures and testimonials like the following one, it sounds promising:
The Root Cause and The Dirtiest Secret
So what is the root cause of most digestive ailments? Look at the picture below. How would you feel if long pieces of old toxin-filled fecal matter were stuck to the inside of your colon for months or even years? Would you feel constipated, bloated and lethargic? Would your bowels be irritated by this debris day in and day out causing what we call IBS? Just think about what else toxic build-up like this can cause? Stomach pain and constipation? Fatigue, gas and bloating? Headaches and indigestion? Weight gain and a large protruding belly? The list is almost endless.
science-based medicine has a couple of great articles on this alternative medicine. and if it’s worth doing or not.
Scientists discover oldest-to-date DNA of humans who lived in america 14,300 years ago! Some Mormons are scratching their heads over this one: a) that the Lamanite story is off by over 10,000 years; and b) how did people exist before God made Adam and Eve 6000 years ago? The study, published in the journal Science, went to extraordinary lengths to try to rule out the possibility that the DNA was the result of modern contamination. The DNA of nearly 70 scientists, archaeologists and students was cross-checked to make sure that it had not inadvertently contaminated the fossilised material. An analysis of the DNA showed that it contained two sets of genetic sequences which are shared with modern-day native Americans and people who are native to East Asia and Siberia – confirming that the first Americans came over the Bering land bridge from Asia during the last Ice Age.
Stephen Hawking: Asking big questions about the universe Filmed Feb 2008; In keeping with the theme of TED2008, professor Stephen Hawking asks some Big Questions about our universe — How did the universe begin? How did life begin?… (Atheist Media)
If similar generalizations were made about another race here it would be considered a racist site. Imagine “Stuff Black People Like”, followed by a bunch of idiotic plaitudes and the like. Cool?
that’s true, bugboy. and yes, i think there’s so many things that are messed up in our culture. me personally, i think there’s a happy medium in being politically correct. It can actually be progressive in some senses but so many things are taken too far.Continue Reading »
Statements like this illustrate why i’ll never go back to such an organization.
Quote by Thomas Monson, The Lighthouse of the Lord: A Message to the Youth of the Church, Ensign, February 2001:
Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.
Should doubt knock at your doorway, just say to those skeptical, disturbing, rebellious thoughts: ‘I propose to stay with my faith, with the faith of my people. I know that happiness and contentment are there, and I forbid you, agnostic, doubting thoughts, to destroy the house of my faith. I acknowledge that I do not understand the processes of creation, but I accept the fact of it. I grant that I cannot explain the miracles of the Bible, and I do not attempt to do so, but I accept God’s word. I wasn’t with Joseph, but I believe him. My faith did not come to me through science, and I will not permit so-called science to destroy it.‘
Religions that their parents don’t belong to (see post here).
White people will often say they are “spiritual” but not religious. Which usually means that they will believe any religion that doesn’t involve Jesus.
Popular choices include Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah and, to a lesser extent, Scientology. A few even dip into Islam, but it’s much more rare since you have to give stuff up and actually go to Mosque.
Mostly they are into religion that fits really well into their homes or wardrobe and doesn’t require them to do very much.
Joseph Smith is quoted in the History of the Church (official church history of the LDS/Mormons) as saying:
I, like Paul, have been in perils, and oftener than anyone in this generation. As Paul boasted,* I have suffered more than Paul did. I should be like a fish out of water, if I were out of persecutions. Perhaps my brethren think it requires all this to keep me humble. The Lord has constituted me so curiously that I glory in persecution. I am not nearly so humble as if I were not persecuted…
Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet. You know my daily walk and conversation. I am in the bosom of a virtuous and good people. How I do love to hear the wolves howl! When they can get rid of me, the devil will also go. (History of the Church, 6:408-409)
* [Paul’s boasting, which he calls foolish and “talking like a madman,” is found in 2 Corinthians 11. Paul ends his “boasting” with these words: “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” ]
The laughing fellow on the left is Sanal Edamaruku, president of Rationalist International and atheist. The cranky old man in the robes on the right is Pandit Surinder Sharma, a self-described Tantrik Magician. The scene is in a studio on Indian television, where the magician is trying to kill the atheist with sorcery. Sharma had said he could kill anyone with sympathetic magic inflicted on a doll made of dough, and that he could accomplish this in a mere three minutes … so Edamaruku confidently offered himself as a victim. The old fake went on for hours and failed.
After nearly two hours, the anchor declared the tantrik’s failure. The tantrik, unwilling to admit defeat, tried the excuse that a very strong god whom Sanal might be worshipping obviously protected him. “No, I am an atheist,” said Sanal Edamaruku. Finally, the disgraced tantrik tried to save his face by claiming that there was a never-failing special black magic for ultimate destruction, which could, however, only been done at night. Bad luck again, he did not get away with this, but was challenged to prove his claim this very night in another “breaking news” live program.
Edamaruku obliged and willing went to his “doom” that night.
The encounter took place under the open night sky. The tantrik and his two assistants were kindling a fire and staring into the flames. Sanal was in good humour. Once the ultimate magic was invoked, there wouldn’t be any way back, the tantrik warned. Within two minutes, Sanal would get crazy, and one minute later he would scream in pain and die. Didn’t he want to save his life before it was too late? Sanal laughed, and the countdown begun. The tantriks chanted their “Om lingalingalingalinga, kilikilikili….” followed by ever changing cascades of strange words and sounds. The speed increased hysterically. They threw all kinds of magic ingredients into the flames that produced changing colours, crackling and fizzling sounds and white smoke. While chanting, the tantrik came close to Sanal, moved his hands in front of him and touched him, but was called back by the anchor. After the earlier covert attempts of the tantrik to use force against Sanal, he was warned to keep distance and avoid touching Sanal. But the tantrik “forgot” this rule again and again.
Now the tantrik wrote Sanal’s name on a sheet of paper, tore it into small pieces, dipped them into a pot with boiling butter oil and threw them dramatically into the flames. Nothing happened. Singing and singing, he sprinkled water on Sanal, mopped a bunch of peacock feathers over his head, threw mustard seed into the fire and other outlandish things more. Sanal smiled, nothing happened, and time was running out. Only seven more minutes before midnight, the tantrik decided to use his ultimate weapon: the clod of wheat flour dough. He kneaded it and powdered it with mysterious ingredients, then asked Sanal to touch it. Sanal did so, and the grand magic finale begun. The tantrik pierced blunt nails on the dough, then cut it wildly with a knife and threw them into the fire. That moment, Sanal should have broken down. But he did not. He laughed. Forty more seconds, counted the anchor, twenty, ten, five… it’s over!
Duke University Medical Center biologists have discovered a molecular switch that controls a zebrafish’s ability to regenerate organs and tissues, including hearts, eye parts and fins.
In zebrafish, one or more microRNAs appear to keep regeneration on hold until the fish needs new tissue. In response to an injury, the fish reduce levels of these microRNAs to aid regrowth.
The researchers believe that mammals may have the same tissue regeneration capability, but that it is locked away somewhere in our genome, silenced in the course of evolution. Read Original Article>>
fascinating. revealing. these games will twist your brain and logic as you try to defend your own rational and morals. i was blown away at the moral inconsistencies i have when considering moral obligations closer to my own gene pool and community.
you can’t be a rational person six days a week…and on one day of the week, go to a building, and think you’re drinking the blood of a two thousand year old space god. via
Prov 14:15, 18:
The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going…
The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. Continue Reading »
i would love to see a youtube video of someone citing a scripture from 6, 5, 3, or 1 during a talk at an LDS church! or on someone’s “missionary plaque”.
Have you heard about the guy who was buried in dirt in a construction accident and yet survived for two hours on almost no air? Or have you seen the video of a monk who set himself on fire and died without squirming or screaming in pain? crazy self control. maybe. i’m skeptical but very curious. even sam harris is very interested in meditation so there may be something to it. or not.
anyways, i recently sent this e-mail to the SGU and i wanted to pose the same questions to any readers/visitors to this blog as well:
Hey skepdudes and chicks!
First off, I’ve listened to all of your episodes and give all of my friends an mp3 disc of your shows for them to check you out too. The woo is rampant here in Utah!
Anyways I have a couple items of interest on meditation: The first is this news item where a buddhist construction worker was able to survive being buried alive in an accident for two hours on almost no oxygen, via meditation:
The second story is one I have only heard about- it is about a monk (or Jainist, I’m not sure) who set himself on fire (Self-immolation) and did not scream in pain as he sat and died. Supposedly there is video of this somewhere as well.
Meditation is cool, but I’m skeptical as to if it is actually <i>this</i> cool.
Thanks!
i just found the video of the monk sat on fire here: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c06_1178706971. a quick reaction/explanation may be that the video is so short that he could have squirmed and screamed to death afterwards. maybe not. interesting nonetheless and i’d love any input from you guys.
there’s a new book for sale on the shelves here in Utah, called Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring. i quickly went to the index and looked up the ever-controversial subject amongst the religious: EvilEvolution.
1. Sleazy (Mr. Timothy Remix)- by Dirty south. Found on DJ Solyn’s album Sunset Deluxe. I like to listen to good House music while i drive, and especially while working out. this is a pretty decent song that came up randomly (out of a thousand House tracks). [4 out of 5 stars].
John has converted! he tells me he’s a humanist now (via e-mail), and his facebook account lists his religious views as “mormon humanist”.
I’ve always thought that guys who burp the alphabet were neanderthals and it turns out I was right. Robert McCarthy of Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus worked with Phil Lieberman (who calculated the size of the larynx based on skull fossils in the 1970s) to actually reconstruct the vocal tract of the Neanderthal and simulate the sound of his voice. Hear it 
Accurate information is like sunlight – it stops most kinds of rot while encouraging growth.
i’ve listened to some sound bytes of Rook debating christians during a couple of live chats they’ve hosted. he’s really fun to listen to and really knowledgeable. anyways, on his blog he just posted a story that just happened with him. He was working at the bookstore and ended up getting into a half hour long conversation with a Jehovah’s witness. pressed for time, they decided to continue the conversation via e-mail. Rook’s first e-mail response to the jw bring up some good issues to consider. here’s his e-mail:
people exist before God made Adam and Eve 6000 years ago? The study, published in the journal Science, went to extraordinary lengths to try to rule out the possibility that the DNA was the result of modern contamination. The DNA of nearly 70 scientists, archaeologists and students was cross-checked to make sure that it had not inadvertently contaminated the fossilised material. An analysis of the DNA showed that it contained two sets of genetic sequences which are shared with modern-day native Americans and people who are native to East Asia and Siberia – confirming that the first Americans came over the Bering land bridge from Asia during the last Ice Age. 
Statements like this illustrate why i’ll never go back to such an organization.
White people will often say they are “spiritual” but not religious. Which usually means that they will believe any religion that doesn’t involve Jesus.
irl’s the shiite.
