Richard Dawkins is an Idiot

Well I guess my promise of writing on this thing at least once a month didn't work out... I just got back from the US and heard the most amazingly idiotic thing I have ever heard.

Summer Camp for Atheists.

WTF

And its backed by none other than Richard Dawkins - you know that guy who thinks he can prove that God doesn't exist.

The funniest thing is that the camp and Dawkins for that matter are very religious about their atheism. They are proselytizing. Trying to raise religious atheists.

Basically the camp tries to show kids the "error" of religious thinking by teaching them how to think rationally. Now I have no problem with a non-religious camp or a religious camp and would send my kid to either one if I thought 1) it was a fun camp and 2) it didn't disrespect others' beliefs. This camp sounds like fails on both counts. A camp that teaches that miracles and magic do not exist and that everyone else that doesn't think like us are wrong.

Which brings me to my next point. Atheists are bigots.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am religious but I have no problem with the agnostic. In fact most if not all religious people are agnostic to some extent. Most of us doubt or have doubted at one time or another. The agnostic says "maybe there is a God, who knows?" while the atheist says " there is no God. You're wrong." By saying that you've just ruled out all other possibilities. Now if you are religious I guess there are two ways to go, you can be open and except the possibility that you don't know everything and that other belief systems maybe right, or you can be a zealot and say "Only my religious is right. Go to Hell." hmmm... sound familiar? It's not very different from the atheists' claim is it?

If anything is irrational it is not the religious claim but the belief that there is only one truth, one possibility. Okay now an atheist might say, "I am open, just prove it to me with empirical evidence that there is a God and I will believe." No you're not because you are basing all truth on empirical evidence. If you take science to be the only means to truth than that is not being very open. You're just being a zealot, a scientific or "rational" one rather than religious one.

You can't, nor should you try although unfortunately some Christians and atheists do, prove the existence of God. God says so Himself. The scientific and religious criteria for truth are different. Of course they are not completely opposite - you need to have a kind of faith to practice science and faith is not totally blind but based in part on reason. In science you base truth on empirical and rational evidence, while in religion you base it on faith. Faith is not belief in the sense that I believe that the sun will come up tomorrow, it is trust in something beyond yourself. And if there can be any proof it is in the life of the believers.

Anyway don't send your kids to the camp.

Torihada Minoru

Thought I'd write a bit about some comedians I like over here. Actually I'm not sure if comedian is the right way to describe this guy though...

I'm not sure how to classify him. I want to say 'comedian' but I don't think anyone is sure when he is serious and when he is joking. His main 'act' is a parody of Japanese ultra-rightwingers (called 'Uyoku' here). Uyoko drive around in this big black buses blaring the national anthem and shouting things like "Loyalty to the Empire" and other fun stuff. So Torihada drives around in a small van yelling things that make little sense... He has even been known to stand out in Tokyo and Osaka with a loud speaker giving 'campaign speeches.' But the funniest thing is that despite all his nonsense and outrageous monologues, people on the right and left actually take him seriously. Torihada means 'goose bumps' by the way.

He has also appeared in a few movies, namely: Space Police (his latest, haven't seen it yet), Tanaka Hiroshi no Subete, Bikyaku Meiro, and his greatest Getting Wild with Our Monkey, in which he plays a flaming gay recluse.

Mike Rogers has a great page about him too.

His suit is covered in kanji, which is also a parody of the 'Uyoku' here who often wear clothes with political statements or things like 'the soul of Yamato,' roughly equivalent to a guy wearing a 'Don't Tread on Me' T-shirt in the U.S. Torihada's sleave lists the days of the week...

Here's a sample of a campaign speech I translated into English:

This morning I awoke to find four oranges beside my pillow.
Hmmm... It's summer already I thought, and when I finished eating all four of them,
I jumped out of my futon.
42 years old, mod raptor,*
and self-styled bird trainer.
I am a member of the Communist Party of Japan and I like fruit.
I work from 8:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the evening at the bread factory,
and during my break I hold Amway meetings to recruit new members.
Once a month on my day-off, I beat the crap out of Sokagakkai members.
President of the Japanese Boomerang Association,
Torihada Minoru, 42.
I reside in a public housing development.
I can't keep up with the assembly line at work and am a Kuroyume* fan.
Walking around in Waikiki suits me,
and I only use Rappa no Mark*
Yamazaki Bread, American Football captain,
This is Torihada minoru, 42.
I've been taking Dolphin therapy for five years now,
was born premature and raised in a capsule.
I am also on welfare.
I have nothing really to say,
a politician without a message.
But I'm good at introducing myself and
am trying to improve my reputation.
I'm endorsed by the top breeders.
Torihada minoru, 42,
night-blind quarterback.
The artist I respect the most is Daisaku Ikeda.
My favorite actresses are Keiko Matsuzaka and Kayo Matsuo
My favorite saying is "Nothing but a drop in the bucket."
When I jump on my trampoline, I get dizzy.
At the Yamazaki Bread Factory, I am chief of the sandwich section,
in charge of the pickles.
Ah, making sandwiches is harder then it looks doesn't it!
Dammit I said TWO cucumbers!
Do that bread with jam over again!
There is no bread that I can't handle!
Listen, this is my career buddy.
I ain't no part-timer!
You little brats... you think you're so smart don't you?

It is now time for me to return to work.

*Raptor- I think this refers to the Hawks, which conservative politicians are sometimes referred to (?)
*Kuroyume- Japanese punk band
*Rappa no Mark- stommache medicine