|
|
|
dimossi
Skeptic Friend
USA
141 Posts |
 Posted - 04/02/2002 : 14:04:56
|
How could someone who is this prejudice, ignorant, and hateful become a successful columnist?
Columnist Cal Thomas goes over the top in insulting atheists:
http://news.crosswalk.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID74088|CHID194343|CIID1132016,00.html
What a jerk! 
"Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy." [Carl Sagan]
ADMINISTRATOR: WHY DOESN'T MY LINK APPEAR CORRECTLY? WHY IS HTML NOT WORKING EITHER?
Edited by - dimossi on 04/02/2002 14:17:17
|
|
|
@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 14:20:00 [Permalink]
|
Glancing at the rest of this Cal Thomas area I can see exactly how easy it was for him to say such ignorant things. If he's so successful how come I have never even heard of this idiot? What the hell is Crosswalk.Com? I also notice that there is a strong connection to religion on this website and see how this Cal fellow would fit right in. he's just preaching to the choir.
@tomic
Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law! |
 |
|
|
dimossi
Skeptic Friend
USA
141 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 14:29:36 [Permalink]
|
I admit I had never heard of this guy either. I was basing my definition of "successful" on his bio on the crosswalk website. I suppose the bio might not be accurate. Either way, he sounds like just another loud-mouthed fundie zealot to me.
"Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy." [Carl Sagan] |
|
|
|
SueW0
New Member
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 14:42:00 [Permalink]
|
<<What the hell is Crosswalk.Com?>>
"Cross" plus "walk", get it? In other words, don't go expecting rational discourse.
Sue
|
|
|
|
@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 14:50:01 [Permalink]
|
I checked Cal's bio. He does or did stuff on Fox News and I avoid that channel that masquerades as a news channel so it's no wonder I've never heard of him.
@tomic
Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law! |
|
|
|
James
SFN Regular
USA
754 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 14:57:55 [Permalink]
|
quote:
How could someone who is this prejudice, ignorant, and hateful become a successful columnist?
Columnist Cal Thomas goes over the top in insulting atheists:
http://news.crosswalk.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID74088|CHID194343|CIID1132016,00.html
This guy better be glad I do not know where he lives and it is snowing out, because I'm gonna --
<i>*looks around for his custom made 30-odd rifle and missle launcher*</i>
-- alright, alright. I'm calm. I'm cool...
quote:
What a jerk!
Don't call him a jerk, Dimossi. You'd be insulting all the jerks out there. 
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." -Buddha
Edited by - James on 04/02/2002 14:59:50 |
|
|
|
filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 16:47:40 [Permalink]
|
And a belated Happy April Fool's Day to you, Cal.
May you someday learn to think.
f
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."--Benjamin Franklin, _Poor_Richard_, 1758
|
|
|
|
Xev
Skeptic Friend
USA
329 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 17:03:26 [Permalink]
|
Just testing - I can't see it and I refuse to soil my computer by typing it into the little - umm, thing.
http://news.crosswalk.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID74088|CHID211724|CIID1132016,00.html
Oh there it is. Find the homepage, I was able to backtrack from the error message, go to Cal Thomas and scroll down.
*Shrugs*
Yeah, he's a moron. He commits the appeal to popular opinion fallacy, and a couple others that my sleep deprived brain can't remember.
Just remember, when Cthulhu awakens, he will drag everybody who annoys Him to a grisly death. Ia!
- Cthulhu Saves! -
Edited by - Xev on 04/02/2002 17:14:43 |
|
|
|
Tokyodreamer
SFN Regular
USA
1447 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 18:43:44 [Permalink]
|
I'm no fan of Cal Thomas, but he is a syndicated columnist. That "article" sounds like something some under-educated moron would write.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out it was a hoax, though I wouldn't really be that surprised were it not. It just lacks a professionalism in writing style that makes me suspect it.
[Well, looks genuine. What a maroon.]
------------
Sum Ergo Cogito
Edited by - tokyodreamer on 04/02/2002 18:52:02 |
|
|
|
Stygma
New Member
36 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 20:22:16 [Permalink]
|
I enjoy being able to find numerous (and I mean numerous!) typos all over the site. I can't wait for his next book to come out in July, ironically entitled 'Wit and Wisdom of Cal Thomas.' I think that speaks for itself.
Knowledge is power. Arm yourself. |
|
|
|
Lars_H
SFN Regular
Germany
630 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2002 : 21:08:17 [Permalink]
|
Well I read the article and I have to say that he was mostly right.
- Aprils Fools Day should be considered a atheist and skeptics holiday. It is the one day in the year when a sizable percentage of the population react with doubt on unbelivable stories and tries to find out if they are true. (Unfortunatley most people don't have a lot experience in Skepticism and just disbelief everything they hear on April 1st)
- He is right when he says that there are no dead atheists. Of course there are no dead anything else, seeing as there is no life after death.
- He is also right when he says that it is the worst form of pride to belive that oneself is right and everyone else who has belived differently for millenia is wrong. Christians are not a majority either.
- The part that says that christianity has to be right because dead people believed in it does not really follow for me. I mean a lot more dead people have believed in a lot more stupid stuff. The majority of dead people probably belived that the world was flat.
People die for lies all the time. In fact people die for lies a lot more readily then for the truth. A lot of people died for communism or nazism or anything else you would like to think of. Terrorists died on September 11th. Does that mean they died for the truth?
There also is the problem that he completly ignores the fact that many of the billions of belivers hold mutual exclusive beilves and only a fraction of them can be right in any case. There also is the problem that truth is not democratic.
|
|
|
|
Donnie B.
Skeptic Friend
417 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2002 : 08:35:07 [Permalink]
|
quote:
I can't wait for his next book to come out in July, ironically entitled 'Wit and Wisdom of Cal Thomas.'Knowledge is power. Arm yourself.
It's a pamphlet... most of which is taken up by the author's bio.
-- Donnie B.
Brian: "No, no! You have to think for yourselves!" Crowd: "Yes! We have to think for ourselves!" |
|
|
|
dimossi
Skeptic Friend
USA
141 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2002 : 09:39:44 [Permalink]
|
One reader's challenge to Cal Thomas:
50@32.fdlRabfsNgQ%5E0@.eea484c" target="_blank">50@32.fdlRabfsNgQ%5E0@.eea484c" target="_blank">http://forums.crosswalk.com/webx?50@32.fdlRabfsNgQ%5E0@.eea484c
"Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy." [Carl Sagan] |
|
|
|
Omega
Skeptic Friend
Denmark
164 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2002 : 16:08:01 [Permalink]
|
HirhirHAHHAHAH… Humour. Weeh. I love it! (And am still looking for a way to make those colourful smileys! :))
Come on. Is that supposed to be taken serious? Abraham Lincoln was a president of the USA, does that make him an expert on whether or not gods exist?
Considering the time there have been people on Earth, I think modern religions account for a small percentage of all men and women who have walked this planet.
I think it's hilarious.
"All it takes to fly is to fling yourself at the ground... and miss."
- Douglas Adams |
|
|
|
Randy
SFN Regular
USA
1990 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2002 : 16:52:51 [Permalink]
|
dimossi, were you referring to M.Wagner's letter pasted below?...
50@217.Sg7TaatsN3S" target="_blank">http://forums.crosswalk.com/webx?50@217.Sg7TaatsN3S^0@.eea484c
"Why engage in healthy debate over issues when simple-minded bigotry and hate speech will do the job? This seems to be Cal Thomas's premise in his April Fool's Day column on crosswalk.com. Cal could easily have chosen to engage in a discussion of the merits of believing or not believing in a God. Instead, he just engaged in hate, which, I suppose, is easier than thinking. If an article like this had been published about Jews or blacks, it would be considered racist; if it were about women, it would be considered misogynist. Lucky for Cal there's one minority left against whom it's socially acceptible to be bigoted. What would a bigot do with no one he could be permitted to hate? (And personally, I think other Christians should be embarrassed by Cal's editorial. It's men like him who give Christianity the appearance of being a club for ignorant, prejudiced morons.)
Cal's remarks are surreal in their ignorance. He accuses atheists of being guilty of the worst form of pride, but all atheists are saying is that we don't believe the claims of religion. If you want to talk about pride, how about a person who claims that not only does the universe have a Supreme All-Powerful Creator, but the He is YOUR BEST FRIEND!? If you ask me, religion, not atheism, is the ultimate in human hubris.
Cal also supports his points with one of the lamest of fallacies, the appeal to popularity. So what if there have been vast numbers of Christians who've been willing to die for their beliefs? There were Japanese pilots in WW2 willing to die for theirs. There were 19 Islamic fanatics on September 11th willing to die AND kill for theirs. Does that mean they were right? Does the willingness to martyr yourself automatically make your beliefs true? Or does this only hold for Christians?
If Cal would like to come out of his coccoon and debate an atheist (even me), I'd be willing to engage in dialogue with him. Indeed, I will be willing to engage in an e-mail debate with Cal, the text of which would be posted in unexpurgated form on the web. But considering the intensity of his hate, I guess that would be like asking Arafat to go to a bar mitzvah. Still the offer stands. If I'm such a fool, Cal should have nothing to worry about."
Sincerely,
Martin Wagner
Atheist Community of Austin
mw_director@yahoo.com
========================================
Martin is a local good guy here in Austin.
http://www.atheist-community.org/
He's an on-going co-host of the local Austin Atheist Community TV program, - Sunday's 4:30 to 6pm. The group also has an web radio Atheist program.
There was a mention of Atheists re-ing to his post above, on the crosswalk site like was done with the ill-famed Kathleen Parker's message board, before she shut it down.
|
|
|
|
Xev
Skeptic Friend
USA
329 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2002 : 17:19:26 [Permalink]
|
Come on! I really don't see why so many people are upset....isn't this what fundies are for?!
(That and taunting mercilessly....and begging Great Cthulhu not to let the little twerps increase thier control over your country)
- Cthulhu Saves! - |
|
|
 |
|
Topic Locked
