Podcast Reviews: The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe
As part of my ongoing work with our Church, I've been tasked with reviewing the media being consumed by the youth in our congregation. Today I'm reviewing a Podcast entitled "The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe" or the SGU to its fans. As in my past reviews, I listened to three episodes in their entirety.
The SGU bills itself as an analytical podcast. They claim to be skeptical of any and all claims made by just about anyone. There are of course exceptions. The hosts pretty much accept global warming as gospel truth and they're all unapologetic atheists. They go so far as to routinely ridicule Christians for having religious beliefs.
The podcast is as anti-Christian as they come. Even if you set aside the wholesale endorsement of vaccination, their wholesale rejection of homeopathy, their complete lack of regard for anything supernatural and their unthinking acceptance of all things humanist there's still their constant ridicule of Christ and his followers.
There is nothing redeemable in this podcast. It's a propaganda mouthpiece for Satan and his followers. The content is a lock step repetition of the same humanist lies that have plagued the United States since the invention of the "separation of Church and State" fiction.
Despite their lock step service to Satan and the intellectual dishonesty of claiming to be skeptical while accepting the same beliefs as the rest of their peer group, I can't help but feel sorry for these people. This is because of one episode where they interviewed an atheist musician who had written a song about his dog's death. This song was an attempt by someone with no belief in an afterlife to deal with the death of his pet. The shoddy, hopeless, empty shell of "consolation" he came up with was so "moving" to other atheists that one of them had this song, about the death of a DOG, played at his mother's funeral.
What was the best the atheists could come up with to console them on the death of a loved one?
"The deceased won't have to miss me."
Despite everything these people are doing to drag souls to Hell, I can't help but pity such lost, hopeless, pathetic creatures.
98 comments:
I always listen to SGU while sinning.
hail satan.
Seriously though, how can you expect anyone to take a review such as this in any way serious? Are you so afraid of people with a differing set of belief from your own, that you have to attribute everything that doesn't agree with your own close-minded beliefs as "satan"?
That much sinning will make you go blind.
bwaahahahahahahaha!
that's so funny "a propaganda mouthpiece for Satan and his followers".
HELLO! The SGU hosts are, as far as I'm aware, atheist, that means they do not believe in supernatural beings, Satan included.
How could they be the dark lord's followers if they find no basis on which to believe in his existence?
-an avid SGU listener
But Alexander...they love you!
Just out of curiosity. How can one be a mouthpiece of Satan when one does not BELIEVE in Satan? That just struck me as odd.
The pity is mutual.
Atheists are against God and by very definition in league with Satan. They don't KNOW they're in league with Satan, its certainly not intentional, but they are serving Satan's ends by abandoning God and pursuing humanist endeavors.
Anyone who is not with God is against God, and anyone who is against God is in league with Satan, as Satan supports and desires anyone who is against God.
Even if you set aside the wholesale endorsement of vaccination,
You mean the vaccinations that are saving millions of people from suffering measles, mumps, diptheria, polio, etc.? How can you ignore the overwhelming pile of scientific evidence that vaccinations are simply not causing autism? That argument has no legs to stand on. You should actually read the scientific findings and stop listening to Oprah and Jenny McCarthy. Where are their medical degrees?
their wholesale rejection of homeopathy,
Have you ever actually looked into the math of homeopathy? Because there is absolutely no scientific evidence--not to mention any possbile method--for it to do what its proponents claim it can do.
their complete lack of regard for anything supernatural
As soon as there is valid, scientific evidence of anything supernatural, you watch as a million skeptics cry out in joy that something was finally verified scientifically.
and their unthinking acceptance of all things humanist
You're wrong on the 'unthinking' part.
there's still their constant ridicule of Christ and his followers.
Not exactly. If they ridicule anyone at all, it's the same people that you probably wish would stop calling themselves Christian. People who pick up rattlesnakes? Crazy. Speaking in tongues? Amusing, but still nonsense. Picketing innocent people with "God hates fags" signs? Despicable and beneath contempt.
The majority of people who self-identify as Christian are nice people. But I will ridicule people who do things worthy of the ridicule.
And that includes christians, agnostics, atheists, wiccans, muslims, satanists, buddhists or anyone else.
Well Alexander I can't fault your logic there. I guess I am Satan's Sinful Minion after all.
Oh wait, wasn't there a small unjustified assumption at the start of your argument there..? Something to do with the existence of a "god" character?
Satan hates people who drink water and claim it has healing powers. All hail Satan!
That is the argument of the excluded middle. There are more than two choices.
"Atheists are against God and by very definition in league with Satan."
Seriously, you need a better dictionary. You cannot be against something you don't believe in.
Is someone who doesn't believe in Santa Claus in league with the Easter Bunny (by definition)?
Don't be a putz.
Not sure what your objection to vaccination and acceptance of homoeopathy has anything to do with faith.
Even if you set aside the wholesale endorsement of vaccination, their wholesale rejection of homeopathy
You are equating support of vaccination, which has been clinically tested and confirmed through millions of cases, and dismissing homeopathy, which has NO fact-based evidence or clinical trials to support it, as being in league with Satan?
Are you serious?
For more on my stance regarding Vaccines see the following posts:
Vaccines
The coward who could save Billions of lives
Let's look at a few other points, shall we?
"The hosts pretty much accept global warming as gospel truth"
This is completely wrong. None of the rogues accept anything as gospel truth. To do so would be to deny the very spirit of skeptical inquiry.
"they're all unapologetic atheists"
So what?
"wholesale endorsement of vaccination"
Do Christians reject vaccination? Why?
"wholesale rejection of homeopathy"
The SGU is a podcast rooted in rational, scientific thinking. Homeopathy has not been proven to work in any way. Homeopaths cannot even tell the difference between a vial of water and one of their "remedies".
"complete lack of regard for anything supernatural"
Show us the evidence and we will evaluate it.
"constant ridicule of Christ and his followers"
untrue, I have never heard the Rogues ridicule your Christ. Some of the stupid things the followers do sure does deserve ridicule though.
"There is nothing redeemable in this podcast"
Education?
Teaching enquiry?
evaluating evidence?
cautioning us against scams?
Actually there us VERY much which is redeemable in the SGU podcast.
"intellectual dishonesty of claiming to be skeptical while accepting the same beliefs as the rest of their peer group"
Clearly you didn't pay much attention to the podcast, they do NOT accept everything proposed by their peer group, and what exactly would you say is their peer group?
"What was the best the atheists could come up with to console them on the death of a loved one?"
Seems more rational then "we will all meet in heaven after we die"
The Skeptic Detective
Autism, and the diseases for which there are vaccines, are judgments from God, punishment for our hubris.
Remember what I said before about ridicule where ridicule is due?
Keep that in mind.
I hope for your sake you don't get something curable by modern medicine. Like pneumonia or one of the really bad influenza strains.
Wow. There's no response to that other than, "Have a nice life."
I find that SGU's hosts have been skeptical of many global warming claims as any critical thinker should be.
They have weighed the evidence and formed their position. If sound and rational evidence were presented to the contrary, they would certainly weigh it against their position and change that position if the arguments presented bore themselves out.
That is the wonderful thing about science and thinking critically. Critical thinkers are able and willing to change your mind when they are wrong or mistaken.
Believers cast aside their ability to think and reason, thereby becoming a slave to a belief system that will not allow them to accept anything contradictory. They conjure up their own private hells out of the frustrations that their belief system imposes upon them; they try to blame their troubles on everyone else that doesn't believe the same way. They do a great disservice to humanity with their indoctrination of others into a realm of false hope and superstitions that do nothing for fellowship, peace or prosperity but rather contribute to hatred, racism, ignorance, poverty and suffering.
This must be some kind of joke, right?
1) How can you be the mouthpiece of something that you don't believe in?
2) It isn't just christianity that they bash. The SGU will take on anything that tries to answer questions of science with religion. Sylvia Brown, Scientology and homeopathy get a lot of flack, and for good reason!
3) I thought that the guy who wrote a song about his dog was very moving, a very touching story. It was about coming to terms with the concept of death. Something that christians don't seem to want to do. My girlfriend (who is deist) also thought it was moving.
4) You clearly listened to the show, but did you really LISTEN?
The show makes me laugh, cry and above all, think.
I really think you are missing the point of the show. You seemed to go into it with a closed mind, and that is your flaw.
"Anyone who is not with God is against God"
Only a Sith deals in absolutes!
God punishes young children for the sins of others by giving the Autism?
Nice guy, this god...
They just replaced the word "gay" with "skeptics" from prior messages of hate
“[The SGU podcast is] a propaganda mouthpiece for Satan and his followers.”
Assuming just for the sake of argument that they exist, your god made Satan. Therefore, it also happens to be a propaganda mouthpiece for your god and her followers. That would be the god who is a sham and a deceiver. Or wholly inconsequential for impotence.
The stock habit of religionists whereby they peddle a hollow and false hope to the bereaved as though their feel-good fairytales were the Real McCoy™ is wholly immoral and, in fact, utterly despicable. False hope is ultimately more debilitating than no hope at all.
Z O M FSM This review is so funny! You're the best comic EVER!!
Oh, wait... you mean this is not ironic/sarcastic? :-|
Dear Alexander,
Perhaps I've been on the internet for too long, but my first thought is:
Successful Troll is successful.
Truly a masterpiece. I laughed, I cried, I briefly wondered if you were for real.
8/10
After reading a few of your other whacked out pages, I must ask, "Drink kool-aid much?".
I hope you get the mental help that you need.
Just so you know hitting your wife and mental abuse of your and kids is not acceptable in anyway, and you know what I mean.
Have you ever actually looked into the math of homeopathy? Because there is absolutely no scientific evidence--not to mention any possbile method--for it to do what its proponents claim it can do.
Since Mr Cornswalled objects to vaccines because they interfere with God's punishments (pretty impotent that God, if mere mortals can thwart him that easily), I think he's concerned about people finding out that homeopathy is bullshit. After all, if they spend their savings on magic water, they can spend it on real, god-defying medicine.
Errr, *can't* spend it on god-defying medicine.
So apparently if you tell people that there is no Satan then you're in league with Satan. Damn.
OK, this is what I think. You can't just listen to 1 episode. Because with the exception of Rebecca (the sole female), the other 4/5 (depends on which episode you're listening to) have NEVER said what they believe. You happened to be listening to an episode when they were talking to an ATHEIST!!!! Of course it's going to seem atheistical!!!. Listen to 3 or 4 other episodes before just assuming.
Just because someone is against God doesn't make them evil. Just because someone is against God doesn't make them worship Satan. If you don't believe in God, why would you believe in Satan?
@ Lexy:
Urm, hate to play Yawe's Advocate here, but he apparently listened to at least 3 episodes before writing this review. Besides, I doubt this guy would be a friend of skeptics even if he avoided the occasional explicitly atheist content. Freedom of inquiry is not high on his list of Good Things.
You know what I love about the unity of church and state?
How hundreds of men and women can be hanged just being accused of witchcraft.
Now THAT'S what it's all about.
SGU rules! What the hell has Jesus REALLY done for anyone? "Mouthpeice of Satan"! That is awesome!
Silly Christian!
It' all a joke, people.
Cornswalled isn't real.
Anticornswalled
You, sir, are a douchebag. Maybe "God's douchebag," but a douchebag nonetheless...
SATAN IS MY HOMEBOY
HE TURNED UP TO MY LITTLE LEAGUE GAME AND BEAT UP NASTY OL JESUS
HE ALSO ATE MARY
OH LAWDY
o/
All Hail Satan, Master of the Universe!
Or was that he-man?
Shit.
btw, ILU guise!
SGU never struck me as “anti-Christian.” They simply seem to prefer the scientific method over 'God wants it that way'. After all, just because Pope Shanuda states that the Sun orbits the Earth and big rocks fall faster than small rocks, does not make it true. The only small issue I have with SGU is that they seem to be too willing to legislate personal responsibility.
As for the notion that "The deceased won't have to miss me," I agree completely with that thought. I suppose you would have us all sulk around in heaven, watching over our loved ones like sick voyeurs, waiting for them to die and be with us. Only thing is, after our loved ones die, they watch those that they left behind. Now we are all bored because we have nobody left to watch, and lonely because those we were watching are busy watching others. To quote that musician you pity, “heaven must be pretty boring, if you think about it logically.”
Finally, Anticornswalled is probably right. Cornswalled is likely fake. He has trolled other podcasts, and now he is trolling SGU. Just enjoy the laughs.
"Even if you set aside the wholesale endorsement of vaccination, their wholesale rejection of homeopathy..."
Er, when I was a Christian neither I nor my family nor my larger Christian community were anti-vaxers, and we thought homeopathy was complete bull. How nice of you to insult your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ because they don't think exactly like you do.
"...their constant ridicule of Christ and his followers."
I must have had ear plugs in my ears every time I listened to the podcast; I don't ever recall hearing that.
"It's a propaganda mouthpiece for Satan and his followers."
Vote Satan.
"...the invention of the 'separation of Church and State' fiction".
I agree, church and state are not separate enough. What a lazy ass Thomas Jefferson was.
I just cant figure it out, is this a joke or is it real? I wonder if somebody thinks like this for real, his brain is a bit twisted, and if it was a Joke was a good one!!! I just couldn't stop laughing @ this post!!!! :))))
Danny, I think this is a joke and I agree with yuki on this one.
Have you read the Pokemon entry? You should, it's a riot.
James
Atheists are against God and by very definition in league with Satan. They don't KNOW they're in league with Satan, its certainly not intentional, but they are serving Satan's ends by abandoning God and pursuing humanist endeavors.
Hmm...
Atheists also don't believe in Satan so by your own torturous logic we're against Satan and are by definition in league with God. We don't know we're in league with God and it isn't intentional but anyone who isn't with Satan is against Him.
Yay, atheists are good again!
The Novella Brothers, Evan and Rebecca craft more lucid arguments in their sleep than you put up on this miserable little blog. With any luck, you will one day take off your blinders and look at the world the way it really is, not as it's portrayed in your lousy little Bronze Age horror book.
Alexander, I'm going to assume you're an epic troll because, quite frankly, it just scares be to think you believe the drivel you write.
Maybe you could get a job as a writer for Landover Baptist Church, your stuff would fit in perfectly over there.
Did you know "Cornswalled" is widely used in the gay community as a euphemism for "buttsex"?
Dear Mr. Cornswalled,
Regarding your comment, "The content is a lock step repetition of the same humanist lies that have plagued the United States since the invention of the "separation of Church and State" fiction." This appears to be the statement of a person whom is completely ignorant regarding our founding fathers, or has severely misread the history of that era. I would ask that you pick up writings of our founding fathers and see for yourself their true desire to have a secular government that would not intrude upon their sectarian lives. Please see the writings of Thomas Paine ("Common Sense"), the Federalist and Anti-federalist papers, and the various biographies of the founding fathers. They came from differing faiths and changed the course of history in creating this nation which has provided countless millions an opportunity to live their lives in accordance with their own belief systems and religions. As you will see, the Separation of Church and State is no fiction, rather, it was the intended consequence of the vast majority of our founding fathers at the birth of this nation. Even the most conservative reading of period writings illustrate this.
Anyone who is not with God is against God, and anyone who is against God is in league with Satan, as Satan supports and desires anyone who is against God.
You tell 'em Alexander! You are so right! If you're not a Catholic then you're not right with God. And if you're not with God, then you're going to go to Hell!
It's just like Pope Benedict XVI said back in July of 2007, "other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches and Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation."
If you aren't Catholic, you're on the side of Satan!
Regarding: "Anyone who is not with God is against God, and anyone who is against God is in league with Satan, as Satan supports and desires anyone who is against God." This is simply flawed logic. These kinds of absolutes are not something that would come from a god that loves all of his creations. This is the writing of a man, by definition, one whom is inherently flawed. That being said...
Why is it you want to impose your religious views on others. By attempting to control their access to ANY information, you are restricting their God given right to exercise their free will. Removing the opportunity for others to exercise their free will is to place yourself in the position of God, and that as we all know, is blasphemy; for which you will be condemned to Hell. Let others find the right path on their own and they will be all the more grateful. It will mean so much more.
As part of my ongoing work with the reality-based community, I've been tasked with reviewing the media being consumed by the deluded and intolerant. I've recommended this site for a few chuckles and some possible podcast suggestions. Please continue to keep the kids updated on what they "shouldn't" be listening to. I bet that works wonders.
Alexander,
In imaginary worlds anything you want to say is by definition correct and possible.
Why did God punish King David for doing a census by murdering 70,000 people with pestilence? And God required the King to chose this from 3 choices all in some multiple of 3 time frames....3 years of famine......3 months of attacks from the enemies....3 days of pestilence.....
Punish person "A" by murdering people "B".
As I said: " in imaginary worlds.............."
Alexander,
I am atheist. I don't believe Satan is real. I am therefore against Satan. Therefore I am doing God's work.
Hey! How do you know someone is a MASTER SATANIST??? According to some deeply religious officials involved in investigating a missing girl in Texas in a very religious community: " The fact that there is no evidence proves they are master satanists."
This is the type of thinking that permits people to believe absolute fairy tales they were taught in their native regions. Voodoo, Krishna, Christian, Book of Mormon.. etc.
Hey Alexander. I don't believe the Devil exists therefore I am against the Devil. If you are against the Devil you must be for God. I guess I am doing God's work and didn't even know it.
Have you ever heard of a false dichotomy? Do you have a clue what fallacious thinking is?
Poe's law ???
I think we need to understand where Cornswalled is coming from. If he just says the podcast is bad and the youth shouldn't listen to it, of course they will, and the last thing any religion wants is to open the minds of the youth to critical thinking. How quickly their religion would fall apart!!
By equating SGU and its listeners to Satanists, he can scare the youth into not listening.
I suggest all readers of Cornswalled's blog listen to the podcast and develop some critical thinking skills - this will serve you well in life whether you are atheist, christian, muslin, etc. You can also go to http://herebedragonsmovie.com/ which is a pretty good primer on critical thinking.
I laughed at this review harder than at anything since Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric. Thanks for cheering me up down here in the sometimes depressing Infernal Regions.
By the way, the SGU folks don't believe in Satan any more than in God, so sadly we won't be able to accept them in Hell.
Cheers. Please write more of this stuff. Done anything about Stephen Colbert?
YOU REGECT YOU CALL US IGNORENT OF YOUR WORLD VEIW WHEN YOU ARE BLAINTENTLY INTOLERENT OF OURS IN THIS REVIEW WE ARE FARE WE JUST DO NOT SEE THE EVIDENCE TO BACK UP YOUR BELIEF BUT MOST OF OUR BELIEFS HAVE BEEN PROVED YOU ARE BEING BLATENTLY MEAN AND IGNORENT ALSO YOU MAKE FUN OF A MUSICIAN EXPRESSING HIS SORROW AND BELIEF THROUGH HIS MUSIC THAT IS SEIRIOUSLY UN FAIR AND UNKIND
AND YOU COMMET was ignorent and there for A SIN SO YOU WILL GO TO HELL.
I'm glad youths in your congregation are listening to Satan's followers. That must get you worried!
Of course this is a joke...or rather the start of a new meme: You've Just Been Cornswalled!
Cornswalled - a mix between a RickRoll and a Poe's Law
OMG! The SGU has been cornswalled!
What a troll. But no real damage done. This guy is so far off the mark... my guess is that no church anywhere has every asked him to review anything for them. His ideas are far too radical for main stream Christians. I truly doubt anyone who reads this tripe takes it seriously.
And on a side note... whomever wrote the comment "How hundreds of men and women can be hanged just being accused of witchcraft." needs to get their facts straight.
Only 20 people were executed.
I am a Naturalist who listens to the SGU Religiously, and I highly recommend that everyone do so. The Podcast explicates all manner of things, with just the right balance of dry facts, little known interesting detail,and SciGeek humour.
As for your claim that "They claim to be skeptical of any and all claims made by just about anyone. There are of course exceptions."
The only example I can think of which supports that charge is the SGU position on "The Moon Landings". The SGU dismisses the possibility that the US Government may have fabricated the whole thing, for Political Reasons. The SGU maintains their "Belief" in the face of the evidence that this supposedly fairly easy feat has not been repeated in recent times.
Astronauts are having a hard time bumbling around in a fairly useless Tin Can in low earth orbit. Kind of like trying to learn to walk.....even though humans have supposedly learned, and performed the complicated Ballet of going to the Moon multiple times.
I am still Skeptical on that, while they seem a little too credulous for comfort. I believe this could be one of the "Exceptions" you mentioned, but I know of no others.
The Freethinkers here are not helping anyone by propagating this Satan joke as they are. Atheists do not believe in Satan, and you are only feeding the fears of the people who read this blog by joking that you do.
The Believers who read this Blog only know of Atheists what they are told by their leaders, and then they come read this, and have those false beliefs confirmed. It is a joke to you to make fun of, but these people believe it to be true.
The Truth Is: Atheists do not believe in any Supernatural Beings, so cannot worship satan,angels, demons or gods.
You are merely poking these good, but misguided people with a stick for your own amusement. Let us raise them up not put them down.
Let us encourage them to come out of their Dark Caves of Superstitious Dogma, into the Bright Light of Truth. So please quit it with all the Hail Satan foolishness. It is only fit for Children in the Same way Hail God is. Grow Up!
God, and his alter ego Satan are merely fictions. If they are not fictions, then who is to blamed more for Satan's actions. Satan himself, or the one who created him for the purpose, and who allows him to freely function as he does?
If you buy a nasty dog, train it to be vicious, or it just goes bad on you, it is your responsibility to keep it under your control so that nobody is injured by it. we can't blame the dog, but must place the blame on it's master for letting it freely wreak havoc.
It is a cowardly thing indeed to devise, construct, and then toss landmines into a Children's playground and then blame the landmines themselves when children are maimed, and killed by your creation.
God is not such a coward, because God does not exist, and neither does Satan. If you believe this is not the case then it is God who bears the Blame for Satan's actions, and you should Damn Him for it, not his henchman.
Grow up Believers!
Thank you for the laugh Alex,
As a SGU follower in Australia, I am closer to hell than anybody, and no skeptical rogues here.
I'm a Christian who has listened to several of these podcasts and I'll comment on the second paragraph because I don't really understand anything after that.
I think you miss the point if you think that sceptics would necessarily question "all claims". I think it's more accurate to think of organized scepticism as a group of self-appointed defenders of scientific orthodoxy. If "most scientists" currently favour a certain theory, it's gospel truth. Anyone who disagrees is denounced as a heretic. Global warming/climate change is just one example.
I've listened to quite a number of these podcasts and don't remember anyone being ridiculed for their religious beliefs. Creationism and other beliefs associated with Christianity are regularly ridiculed, but they stop short of attacking people simply for being religious.
Have you been drinking, Alexander?
Looks to me like you were listening to the "3 episodes" with your ears closed or you would have been enlightened.
And please do show some respect. As my dear father used to say, it is not Satan, it is MR. SATAN
uh oh, guys, our secret satanist agenda has been laid bare. our plan to drag thousands down into the denizens of hell by implanting logic and reason into the minds of SGU's listeners will have to go underground.
*sighs* what is there to say? i could sit here and tear apart this guy's argument on SO many levels, but its such a monumental waste of time. anyone with half a brain should be able to read this blog and go "QUE?" and anyone who REALLY takes this guy seriously is most likely beyond help.
ps. all hail satan.
You always know you have found the truth when the fundamentalist nutters start accusing you of being a mouthpiece of the devil! Congratulations to the SGU!
A Pox on the silly god worshippers, and a more festering Pox on the even sillier satan worshipers. Neither are real, yet the cretinous atheists are too idiotic to not perpetrate the myth that they worship one of these.
The fact that god worshippers are idiots does not mitigate in the least the fact that the Atheists who profess to believe in satan are juvenile Idiots!
Grow up you so called, self professed but obviously dumb as a fucking turnip satan believing atheists.
Stupid cunts like that Moron Erica here give Atheism a bad name. You Fucking Moronic shit for brains assholes!
Do you all get that satan worshiping meme from that Whore on the SGU who always thinks it so funny. You dumb fuck parrots. Is this just Group Think, or don't you assholes have two braincells of your own to rub together without having to regurgitate the ridiculous nonsense about Hailing satan you are getting from the SGU. When the SGU grows out of that foolishness, perhaps you hail, hail satan children will grow up!
Maybe this is the Skepchicks only Trick, but it is counterproductive and Childish one, so perhaps the SGU would benefit from an infusion of some sensible Talent, as they put out the TRASH!
Wow, Anonymous.
Bitter?
Have something personal against Rebecca?
Can't find any rational arguments so you resort badly worded insults?
Cool.
anonymous...we obviously don't believe in satan, let alone "hail" him, i was being facetious. i was poking fun at the false dichotomy embodied by alexander and a great deal of people, which is that if you don't believe in god, then you must believe in satan.
oh, and there's a little thing called SARCASM. lighten up, please.
Bite Me!
You are correct about me merely limiting my comments to Rebecca. It is not ultimately that one trick ponies fault, but rather it is the fault of Mr. Novella who believes that her stupidity in that regard actually has value.
If those clowns, and the asshole want to only keep preaching to the same old Choir until the time they all find out for certain themselves whether gods, and devils exist by testing the hypothesis firsthand they are certainly on the right track.
I would have thought that allaying the fears of fence sitters, and the Believers would be the more intelligent approach to get them listening, without scaring those pathetic scared potential non-believers away by always Praising, and Hailing Satan.
I know the difference Erica, but many many tens of thousands, and potentially millions do not. Their preachers, teachers, and indoctrinated parents tell them that there is evil in the world, and they must stay from Satan, and as soon as some of them begin to come sniffing around free thought Podcasts like SGU, they encounter the likes of Rebecca the big fucking retard who has to scare them off with that Hail atan Shit, which idiots like Erica, and the rest repeat like bloody morons. why not just send the podcast out to people by private landmail to ensure that there will never, ever be any chance whatsoever of a Believer being contaminated by rationality. Is she spreading it around or what? something must be keeping Bob from kicking that endless tape Hail Satan spewing goodness to the curb, for limiting the podcast in this way. Fucking Amateurs! Fiddling as Rome burns just so you can get a few extra stick jabs into the eye of any religionists who may stumble in.
It is as pathetic as the assholes who are going to waste their time discounting what i have said, by focusing on the grammatical, structural, and lack of punctuation in this constructive rant which I banged out quickly to make a point. Pathetic!
Oh, did I forget to say "Bite Me"?
Bite Me!
The SGU explores the science behind the headlines that the mainstream media just can't seem to get right and has NOTHING to do with religion or SATAN. The author of this review is a moron. Absolutely the best podcast I have ever listened to. Like so many others I have never missed an episode. It truly is my weekly "escape to reality."
I think there is some truth in what that guy said about everyone always saying Hail Satan.
The Believers are not the sharpest tacks in the drawer, and they may just take all that as a confirmation of what A. Cornswalled has said.
I don't even know who this Cornswalled is, but if he has followers, or other Believers read this blog, they might agree that SGU promotes Satan Worship.
Kind of like playing right into the hands of Cornswalled, by confirming to his followers that the SGU is dangerous.
Maybe he, or she has a point there!
Just Sayin!
I think that all SGU Minions should keep right on praising Satan, as the SkepSlut does.
It's A Wonderful Life, and I think that every time a Minion says Hail Satan, another Believer "Retains" it's wings!
One of the (many) posters without a name made a rather good point about the some of the poor tactics used by Rebecca (the "bite me" dude). His or her argument would be strengthened if written up in a rational, clearly worded essay rather than these ramblings. I wish he/she would do so, and post them where skeptics could read and comment. I would enjoy reading it.
I still haven't figured out the leap from "I don't like what Rebecca says" to "SkepSlut", though.
Does it seem pointless to try to head off damaging Hail Satan comments from SGU Listeners here where they are doing damage. Such comments are confirming what Cornswalled is saying to his readers here, so where better but here to attempt to mitigate the damage that Rebecca is doing.
Rebecca is unable to control herself, and others are obviously unwilling to control her, so I have to appeal directly to SGU fans to stop repeating Rebeccas misguided attempts at humor here because you are scaring potential SGU listeners away!
Where better than here for such an essay of which you speak? If I post it here perhaps some dedicated SGU listener will repost it wherever you think it will do more good. Where would be better?
An eassay here, but perhaps also on SGU's forum.
I am not interested in having these thoughts intercepted, and deleted by the SGU before they get posted to the Forum. I will post it here, and perhaps Erica or others can Copy, and post it wherever they think it warrants posting if at all. I will read whatever responses make sense, and modify my approach accordingly.
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The Toothless Version
I deem it sabotage from within for members of the SGU to utter such phrases as Praise or Hail to Satan, or we love sinning or their derivatives. Ask yourselves the purpose of the SGU, and see if that nonsense is aligned with those goals, and aspirations.
Ask yourselves who among the populations of the planet are most prone to Magical Thinking, and if you do not come to the conclusion that it is the religionists then I am wasting my time with you. It is the Religionists who are taught from the cradle to the dinner table, and the pulpit to distrust or even revile Science as being useless or dangerous, and of the Devil.
The Religionists are the ones who need the SGU the most, yet they are the ones who are regularly frightened away by such childish antics as Rebecca spewing forth her Pro Satan jibes which are not taken lightly by the Religionists at all.
The Believers represent a large pool of potential converts to the ways of Rational Thinking, and should be welcomed in, and not driven away by Rebecca, and the bootlicking minions who emulate her antics all over the internet. Smooth the path to the door of reason, and do not throw stones at those who timidly approach.
If the way is inviting you can get them listening, and may even keep them listening long enough to instill in them the Woo-Woo eroding faculty of critical thought which will serve them well in all aspects of their lives. Do this, and you may well make some larger positive contribution to the overall wellbeing of the planet as opposed to just limiting those effects to those of us who already have the capacity to think as you do.
The SGU arguably represents the Pinnacle of aggregated rational inquiry in the modern age as more and more people are turning to their computer to access higher streams of thought than may be readily found in other media.
The SGU not only skillfully applies the rational thought process to the news, and views from all corners of the world, but also equips the listener with a Rationalists Toolkit in the form of Skepticism 101 so that everyone may be self sufficient in the ways of critical thinking themselves without having to be told what or how to think on any given topic.
SGU please be inviting to the irrationalists, and the time will soon come when they run all manner of Woo-Woo Magical Thinking through the Toolkit to separate the good from the bad, and wheat from the chaff then they will be free as we are. Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Equip a man with the Skeptic Toolkit from the SGU, and he feeds his mind for a lifetime!
Sincerely,
The Bite Me Dude
Toothless Essay
Supplemental:
So it is the Believers who are the chief enemies of Reason. It is they who harden their children against rationality by indoctrinating them in the cradle, at the dinner table, and from the pulpit to believe in the unbelievable without evidence.
They dismiss out of hand any fact based scientific evidence against those fantastic beliefs by saying that if the "Science" contradicts God then the Science, and Scientists must be in league with Satan.
The non-thinking indoctrination process is in some ways like Learned Poverty in that it is cyclical with Welfare parents who learned it from their parents, passing it on to their children, and the cycle repeats. For our purposes here it is the Poverty of thought, and is a difficult cycle to break. It is a relatively closed loop well supported from within, and where outside negative, or should I say positive influence is rigidly, and Religiously guarded against.
If the SGU can attract instead of repel Believers anywhere in the cycle then the cycle may be broken. Break the cycle before the tabula rasa of the next crop of children gets inscribed with the code for the Virus of Faith so that the yet to be developed natural faculties of reason may have their chance to immunize them from their Parents, and Preachers Woo-Woo doodlings on that blank slate.
The Virus of faith is not limited in scope, and has a disabling porous effect on the mind which extends into other areas beyond the religious. It causes the afflicted to let in all manner of nonsense which would otherwise be screened out.
Why not lets try to get the religious pre-reproductive faithy teen or Religious Dad, and or Mom listening, and learning from the SGU to inject some hope for change into the mix. Lets get them thinking so the Ripple effects of rationality can radiate out from ever increasingly more Believers dinner tables like raindrops falling onto a stilled lake.
At first there will be a peck or two as the rain begins, then more specks, and ripples radiate out as those rationalized children go forth in all directions to intersect with others, and in time the entire fetid pool of blind ignorance becomes blanketed with the refreshing din from the waves of Reason to the point that the entire surface is dancing with delight, and no still spot can be seen. No small feat, but worth the effort!
There is now a new more rational President so Humanity could do with more Rational Thinkers to aid in his efforts to bring Science to the forefront in solving more of the worlds big problems, after being relegated to the back-burner for so long by the outgoing one.
The SGU can help to bring this change about, or it can just continue to play the fiddle for the same self-contained audience! You, and the Minions need not make flat falling jokes that you worship Satan or pronounce up front that there are no gods. Just allow them to come in, and teach them to think.
Once they get the knack they will apply their new found critical faculties to all matters, and even that matter in their own good time. Once they know how, they will critically examine the issues for themselves the very next time a Preacher issues forth some absurdity from the Pulpit. They will reach into the back of their minds for the SGU Tools of Thought to shave away the fluff with Occam's Razor, or search for the contained Fallacy.
The SGU has great potential to more widely distribute a powerful anti-virus program, and Woo-Woo Firewall to those who are stumbling through their lives with brains vulnerable to all manner of silly propositions without such protection, but you are being willfully self-limiting.
It is the SGU itself who is either turning its back on or baring its teeth at those who come in search of a new way of thinking. You do it by perpetrating the myth that the SGU in particular, and Science in general is demonic as the Believers have often been taught, and told here on this Blog, and elsewhere.
When you do this you play right into the hands of Preachers who do not want their followers walking the Scientific Path, nor watching Scientific Shows, or reading Scientific Articles, nor listening to the SGU or applying tools of reason.
Preachers do not want their flock to peer behind the curtain of Faith because they know that Science is corrosive to faith, so they say Science is of Satan, and against God. Lets be honest here, if Believers listen to many SGU podcasts, or read this Cornswalled Blog, those fears are only reinforced by Rebecca and the Minions.
These fools regard it the heights of humor to invoke evil themes to play a joke on, and scare the Believers away. However the Believers do not get the Joke, and I frankly think the Joke is on Rebecca, the SGU, and consequently on all of us!
Sincerely,
BMG
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Post the above wherever you think it might help, and reply here with a critique if you feel the need.
Very good.
After reading the Toothless Essay I can only stand in awe at the audacity of atheists to claim they don't have a religion. Their religion is the belief that Christians are wrong, that there is no God and they follow that belief with all the energy, prejudice and hatred of a Muslim plotting to kill Christians.
Their lack of a moral foundation gives them an additional means of attack, these atheists can run around pretending to be members of communities they're not, because they have no morals they see no reason not to lie and betray to achieve their ends.
The moral depravity of atheism is vividly highlighted by the Toothless Essay.
The essay also highlights the fact that atheists DO have an agenda, that humanists ARE out to destroy Christianity and beat down Christ. I've already shown the Toothless Essay to my brother, the pastor of our local church, and he plans to use it in his sermon this Sunday as part of extolling the congregation to fight Satanic influences and not ignore the very real humanist agenda.
If being an atheist is a religion, is not collecting stamps a hobby?
The atheist agenda is not about 'destroying Christianity'. It's about not subscribing to irrational or supernatural beliefs. It's about not being marginalized for not subscribing to the surrounding society's prevailing notions. You're an atheist, Cornswalled, with regards to Zeus, Thor, Allah, Chalchiuhtlicue, Vishnu, Osiris, Ahura Mazda, Yahweh and his consort Ashra, or any of the thousands of gods. Atheists just go one god further. One of the Roman charges against the early Christian sects was that the Christians were atheists - denying the existence of the gods.
I claim that atheists are more moral than religious people, because we believe that we must be good in the HERE AND NOW - you don't get a second chance, this is all you get, so you must do the best you can. We don't hate groups that don't believe as we do - nor do we ban them from society, ship them to camps, burn them, convert them at sword-point, tell them they are evil, or that they will be subject to eternal torment by a loving and gentle God because they were born in the outback of China or the desert of Saudi Arabia and raised in their parents' belief system.
Morality is about treating all people with dignity and compassion, being kind and honest, being the best citizen of the world you can be. You are good because we evolved to be altruistic. If your religion, your fear of burning in hell, is the ONLY reason you don't stab your neighbor and steal his home and rape his wife, then you are not a moral person. Surely you are not claiming that all the cultures in the world that have never heard of Christianity or Islam, are all immoral and run amok in moral anarchy? The basis of Christian and Islamic morality is fear of punishment in an afterlife, by a all-knowing, all-loving, all-good God who is mostly worried about what you do when you are naked?
One of the reasons I left religion behind is because of the hypocrisy I saw (that, and because I am able to think clearly). When I pointed this out to my pastor - he gave me the speech about 'well, THOSE people aren't really Christians". Who defines what are 'real' Christians? Baptists think Catholics are idolators and that infant baptism isn't valid. Some Catholics think there is no salvation outside of the Church. Mormons think Smith was the recipient the latest version of Revealed Wisdom, and most other Christians think the Mormons are doomed for all eternity. The owner of this blog thinks the use of vaccines are toying with God's will. Others think that God gave man a brain and free will in order to develop science and create vaccines, and end suffering (a very moral thing to do). I can guarantee that you are NOT a Christian because to made a systematic study of all the world's religions and decided that your particular sect was the one true religion. You belong to your particular church either because you were raised in it (which is true for 90%+ of the world's people - which also negates the veracity of religion, ie, we believe strongly because we were taught to believe strongly), or because you had an emotional conversion experience.
Dearest Brother Cornswalled,
As the Author of the Toothless Essay I speak for myself alone. I am not a member of the SGU, nor do I post on the Forums of their website, so when you critique my essay you merely critique the views of one person, and not those of a community or group. You may well critique me for whatever you like, but you may not use my Essay to critique the actions, or motives of others, anymore than people should use your falsified views, and writings to Judge all Believers!
I speak for, and represent myself in this world "*A. Cornswalled", and speak for no other. I merely listen to the SGU Podcast which can't be all that horrible a thing to do, as I believe you yourself have indicated that you are also a listener. (I suspect that you are more than a listener)
I listen to, and read many things, and I find myself in agreement with some things, but not others. I have read your comments, and the comments of others here on this Blog, and have concluded that you are a Fake Persona concocted as a Literary Foil, by some interested party.
I ask myself who would profit from creating this Fake Persona for Humanists, Atheists, and Rationalists to Rail Against, and demonise. I ask myself what better way to Rally the troops than to create A. Cornswalled, a Character most laughable, and made for the purpose of feeling superior to. After reading everything here combined with the direction to this heretofore unknown Blog by the SGU in a podcast, and after applying the process of thought, and deductive reasoning skills I can only come to one conclusion! It has to be the SGU, or at least one of its Rogues who is the Creator or A. Cornswalled. Other commenters above had indicated that they thought the character was a Fake Character with references to cornholery, but this actually clinches it for me.
You A. Cornswalled are A Literary Foil concocted by some member of the SGU! How low, and despicable can a group or one pathetic individual be to create such a sendup Characterisation as A. Cornswalled just so they can seem more justified to Fans when poking fun at and belittling all Believers. Believers who are only guilty of ignorance! Believers who are only believers because they were mishandled by their parents into believing that silliness as small children, and have yet to apply rational thought to the issue. Believers who might be helped by the SGU if not merely all Pigeonholed as all being like the Character A. Cornswalled, and only fit to be ridiculed, and treated as lesser than us.
I tell the Minions, and all who have ears to listen that this A. Cornswalled stunt is an old trick. First Create a problem then present yourself as a solution or remedy to that problem. Create the Woo-Woo then offer up the Cure. The SGU has created A. Cornswalled so they can react to A. Cornswalled, and give you all someone to hate. Like when the military Demonises the enemy by portraying them in the worst possible light. First "Make" Cornswalled say foolish, and absurd statements so that the SGU or one of it's rogue Rogues can respond very, very, quickly indeed with long well crafted solutions to those outlandish statements. That Shit might be fooling the rest of the Minions, and other listeners to the SGU Podcast who the SGU has directed to this Fake Blog, but it does not fool me!
I made a legitimate observation in my "Toothless Essay" about the Juvenile behaviour of Rebecca always using the Childish Hail Satan nonsense, and thereby promoting that counterproductive copycat behaviour in the Minions, so now to supposedly destroy my legitimate Critique, you Make A. Cornswalled say that the "Toothless Essay" actually hurts Atheism, Humanism or the SGU, and that it will be used by some "Fictitious" preacher to fight against Humanism from the Pulpit. That is pretty pathetic Ruse Rebecca. Can't you come up with a legitimate excuse for your Bizarre, and perhaps even Pathological behavior without resorting to this obvious subterfuge?!
Is that what creating this Straw Man, A. Cornswalled is all about for you Beccy? Did you merely create this Absurd Character so you could vent your Bile, and disgust at anyone who believes in silly things like gods, and devils, so you would be considered a great, and intelligent hero in our community for belittling, and demeaning the theists as all being as stupid, and backward as this Character A. Cornswalled? Does this one A. Cornswalled Characterisation justify your continued action of Repelling ALL believers from being rationalised by the Podcast? I think "someone" needs to grow up! I think you really do need help Rebecca, because this is definitely abnormal behaviour!
Is this what the entire SGU has sunk down to, or just you Rebecca? I think you should be made to walk the Plank for your Traitorous Sabotage of a great show! I think the SGU can do a lot better than to use these types of underhanded tactics, and I truly feel that this entire deceptive pack of lies by the SGU is beneath contempt, and I rebuke the SGU for stooping to this!!
The "Toothless Essay" still stands unchallenged by Rebecca, and The SGU, and I think it deserves a REAL Response, and not this slimy treatment from an SGU Cowards who have to use a Fake character named A. Cornswalled to bail them out from my Legitimate Criticism in the Toothless Essay!
Speak in your own defence you Gutless, Slimy, Underhanded, Dirty Rotten Low-Life SGU Cowardly Bastards!
In Contempt Of Fraudsters
The BMG
I posted my Critique of Rebecca's ongoing Hail Satan childishness because I care about Truth, and the SGU, and I want to promote the Scientific Method to a wider audience. Look how they treat my legitimate concerns.
I get demonized by the SGU through their Faked Mouthpiece the A. Cornswalled Character.
They try to weasel out of the Criticism by turning me into an enemy of Humanists, and Atheists for offering my pointed, but constructive criticism, instead of addressing that criticism.
Where is your intellectual integrity SGU?! Have you no dignity, have you no honor?! Would Carl Sagan have stooped so low, would Richard Dawkins find it necessary to demean himself so? Would Sam Harris, Huxley or Daniel Dennett do so wicked a thing?!
I think that they would not use such dishonest subterfuge. I think they would address the criticism directly, and not be such intellectual cowards as the SGU.
I rebuke the SGU in the strongest possible terms for defiling yourselves, and tarnishing all freethinkers!
BMG
Thank you Mr Cornswalled for reviewing the SKU podcast.
In consideration of your opinions and positions, I knew I could not be wrong in subscrubing to the SKU podcast.
Anything you despise seems to be a shining review in my mind!
Could you review more podcasts? It seems that my appreciation of what you review is inversly proportionnate to your opinion; anything you hate, I'll love!
Thank you again!
Thank you for this stunning thought experiment. You have blown my mind, and while religious fanatics like yourself are indeed very frightening in the same way that a psychopath is frightening, I am amused and appreciate that people can be so incredibly different... and strange.
Future generations are going to find people like you very, very interesting; assuming that intelligence continues to progress and these ideas become quaint. It is also incredibly interesting that you have no idea what I am talking about, or at least no appreciation for the contrary point of view when considering your way of life.
Is the idea of someone not being able to miss you after dying really that bad? It sounds rather nice to me. Toughen up ol' chap and enjoy the time that you have now. Trust me, it is likely to be your last chance to enjoy your loved ones.
In my experience, most atheists have at one point (usually at a young age) been subjected to a religious way of life and have rejected it once they had reached the capacity and found the way to question this fantasy. It is a sound position to be in, to have truly seen both sides of these silly arguments, and they are silly. Anyway, I wanted to sincerely thank you for leaving a record for those who follow to explore the insanity of humans. It is a long record, but at least it will shed some light on the reasons why humans had such great difficulty in coming together.
Much love,
Greg
Alexander Cornswalled is an unapologetic, uneducated, and credulous boob. People like Al here are very happy to say that "God did it" in ever case, and any scientific discoveries that go against his religious dogma are considered an attack on his faith.
The stupid, unfortunately, may someday rule the Earth, because lazy idiots like this are growing in number daily. And dumb people don't think before crapping out dozens of mewling "dumblings".
And if Cornswalled would have done his homework (but that would take EFFORT...), he would realize that none of the Skeptic Rogues are Atheists. They are all AGNOSTICS. The Rogues believe that Atheism also makes a claim that cannot be tested, and therefore relies on FAITH, and that Atheism is, therefore, an intellectually dishonest conclusion to the untestable claim of the existence of a God.
Al, you are truly an idiot. Park that Ad-Hom attack where it belongs... in your rear end, right next to that atrophied walnut you call a brain.
To the Anonymous poster of May 10, 2009 1:11 PM. You seem upset by what "A. Cornswalled" has said, but your anger is misguided toward that character because he does not, and never did exist. Cornswalled is a Fiction!
The character was invented as a "Strawman sockpuppet" so your anger would be better off directed toward the scumbags who have suckered you, and used you and many others by employing this tool of deceit as a means to make a demon so they could elevate themselves as being the superior antidote and rational alternative to that idiot Alexander sockpuppet.
A strawman sockpuppet is a false flag pseudonym created by a user with one point of view, but acts as though the puppet has an opposing point of view, in order to make that point of view look bad and generate negative sentiment towards that view. Such sockpuppets will typically advance foolish straw man arguments that their puppeteers can then easily refute. They often act in an unintelligent, uninformed, or bigoted manner. The effect is to discredit more rational arguments for the same side.
The Sockpuppet was used to manipulate you and many others. You and they were made fools of, so if you want to vent your disgust then vent it at the Puppeteers of the Strawman Puppet because it is she and or they who deserve all of our contempt for this unconscionably dishonest behavior. I am disgusted with the liars who perpetrated this fraud!
SGU does not take a position on religion. It is a science show. You are listening with a "religious point of view" filter. If you enjoy science and rational thinking then enjoy the show. If you need constant praising of religion, then don't.
Alexander Cornswalled said...
"Atheists are against God and by very definition in league with Satan. They don't KNOW they're in league with Satan, its certainly not intentional, but they are serving Satan's ends by abandoning God and pursuing humanist endeavors.
Anyone who is not with God is against God, and anyone who is against God is in league with Satan, as Satan supports and desires anyone who is against God."
How about if it's written like this:
Atheists are against Satan and by very definition in league with God. They don't KNOW they're in league with God, its certainly not intentional, but they are serving God's ends by abandoning Satan and pursuing humanist endeavors.
Anyone who is not with Satan is against Satan, and anyone who is against Satan is in league with God, as God supports and desires anyone who is against Satan.
I'm not sure how that logic is any different from the logic above. Both are equally rediculous.
You my good sir, are a raving sycophant. There is more truth in a North Korean newspaper than in this review. They only ridicule religions claims when they are scientific. They have never ridiculed faith. You make Jesus cry when you don't use your brain.
Now that the Cunt responsible for concocting this fictional character called A.Cornswalled has been married off, perhaps her owner will be kind enough to busy her mind with more domestic duties. I believe that only the troubled mind of an idle spinster could dream up that fictional foe for the skeptics to rail against.
Cornswalled was a fake character invented by someone to boost the popularity of the SGU. First you create the problem then present yourself as the solution to that problem! It still amazes me that people who self identify as skepticks, and "Thinkers" are still falling for this scam designed to bolster the SGU. There truly is a sucker born every minute. Last sucker to take the bait was poor Evan just above. Hey Evan I just dropped the soap, be a good fellow and bend over to pick it up for me will ya, you moron!
"Cornswalled was a fake character invented by someone to boost the popularity of the SGU"
Google my name.
You'll find I've been around a lot longer than the SGU.
Another classic case of being unable to determine a spoof from a legitimate free range nutball. Which generally means that, either way, they are doing their job perfectly.
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