Father George Coyne Interview (2/7) – Richard Dawkins

Im not religious, but i would probably go to church if this guy was talking there. Without a doubt a smart religious guy, a rare thing these days!

do you admit you don’t know ClumsyRoot? or do you claim there definitely isn’t a god?

I think you hit upon the problem that Coyne faces, being a religious believer who also purports to respect the findings of science:

There IS no concrete evidence for his God, which is exactly why Coyne is forced to toss about vague terms and abstract concepts. He is engaged in utter speculation, trying his hardest to reconcile his faith with hard science. As a result, he offers no solid, cogent arguments, just a lot of “could be’s” and “might be’s.”

An honest man simply admits, “I don’t know.”

Yeah true,Dawkins should.I thought Coyne did a good enough job though,as it’s a very abstract topic to talk about as there is no concrete evidence.

If the Pope got into a debate about faith with Dawkins or another prominent athiest,that would be more interesting as his level of study is shocking.I heard that he would make mince-meat out of anyone in a debate,people even going so far as to calling him like a Rockweiler.

Coyne is trying to have it both ways, and as a result ends up being as slippery, both in argumentation and in terminology, as the worst of the fundamentalist apologists.

Dawkins should stick to the subject he knows–evolutionary biology–and leave it to others to work through the philosophical implications of science.

that’s a pretty crude way to break everything down.

Well if they’re religious I’d say they wouldn’t agree with him,but would respect his opinion more than Dawkins.I used the word qualified because there are too many people trying to pass themselves off as philosophers.Say Bono for philosophy would be lucky enough to get you a job in Mc Donalds

How do “qualified philosophers” rate Daniel Dennett?

I believe I was referring to Coyne.

As for Dawkins, I don’t care much for him either.

intellectual integrity? Oh please.Ask any qualified philosopher how they’d rate Dawkins as a philosopher and they’d laugh.

Good camera moves.

The priest is an expert rationalizer, but you can tell that his lack of intellectual integrity tortures him. So sad.

If people are religious, they should at least believe like the Father.

I have to agree. He sounds intelligent but it’s pretty obvious that he is trying his best do not sound like a nutcase defending his delusions.

The length and how elaborate are his answers shows this the most. But he indeed is very skilful in that and he threads carefully around all the logical fallacies of faith that Dawkins throws at him.

“i hate to be this harsh to people who are REAL believers and very religious but…. it reveals a fundamental ignorance”

so those that dont believe in god are wrong
those that REALLY believe in god are wrong.

and only those that agree with my view of what god is, are right.

gotcha.

self righteous self delusion strike again

Tell me, your theory (scientific theory) of how the universe began. Also do you believe in the possibility of multiple universes with their own sets of laws and time scales.

The priest isn’t really that smart.

“A certain type of hatred…”

Why do you assign such strong feeling onto me? I never for one moment said that I hate those who can’t think with reason, just that I don’t respect those who are unable to shake off primitive bronze age thinking. For you to assign to me a hate that I do not feel, tells me a lot more about your intolerance of those you don’t agree with you than my lack of respect does.

I don’t respect those who belief the earth is flat but that doesn’t mean I hate them.

1:55 “does that mean I’ve ben duped”?
Well..in a word….yes! Yes it does.

Denying respect to any human being who has done you no personal harm is a lack of compassion within yourself and a certain type of hatred. That’s not our responsibility to correct, you alone have to correct your own problems and live in the limitations of your own world. Time will show you that this is the truth.

Sorry, I have to say it, I don’t respect anyone who believes in god. Those with delusions should not be appreciated or supported in their delusions.. OK guys… I saw all the red arrows my last comment brought… bring it on again but it doesn’t change how I feel. I do not respect faith heads.

9:10 He hits the nail on the head.

I very much agree

I wouldn’t call Coyne an intellectual lightweight. This is a very different argument than you find with the likes of Wendy Wright or other less thoughtful theists. He is basically just arguing that we deserve to live our lives as we want, which is hard to deny. I disagree with his interpretation of “God,” and his assertion that there are supernatural forces at work, but he’s being very honest and admirable here. A strict scientist, no, but a decent person deserving respect, yes.

Ah, I see, thanks for explaining, I appreciate it. You are right, I should be nice but it’s tiresome to argue against those with faith.