P Z MYERS, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Minnesota Morris and author of the world’s most widely read science blog Pharyngula, will be in London next month to present a lecture organised by Atheism UK, established to advance atheism in the UK.
P Z Myers
The title of Myers’ talk – to be delivered at South Place Ethical Society, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL on Wednesday, June 8, at 7pm – is:
Dancing on the Graves of Gods: How Science Kills Faith.
Says Myers:
I think you can guess from the title what it will be about. I’ll be discussing how science works, what we know, and the folly of trying to find compatibility between science and religion.
Advance tickets are £8.00 each. Full members of Atheism get in free or charge. Tickets at the door are£10.00 each (ticket availability cannot be guaranteed if advance tickets are sold out).
If you are not a full member of Atheism, now could be a good time to join and attend this event for free as part of your annual subscription. You can become a member of Atheism here.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
May 16th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
“The folly of trying to find compatibility between science and religion”. Good to hear that straight out and it pierces the heart of all the tendentious bullshit which the vastly rich and equally vastly misguided Templeton Foundation spews out.
May 16th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Stephen Hawkins is in the news saying everyone should live life to the fullest. The beauty of science is that it informs us that we are all part of the tree of life. Religion has robbed so many of this observable truth. Whether by smashing plane into buildings or by superstitious sectarianism.
May 16th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
@JR: Hawking also seems to have upset the more fragile of his readers by saying that death is the end. There is no afterlife. I assume those who believe in an afterlife think they are destined for heaven and not for hell.
I think it was Mark Twain who said that when he died he expected his various constituents to return to where they had been for millions of years before he was born without any inconvenience to himself.
Christianity is a religion for slaves. They can work to exhaustion and in poverty in this life but they will get their reward in heaven. Meanwhile those who preach this slave religion, Popes, Cardinals, Bishops and those who support it Kings, Queens, Princes – live high on the hog and enjoy the very delights they would deny to others.
May 16th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
@ Broga and JR One of my favourite Hawking quotes was from his recent book, The Grand Design, in which he said:
“It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”
Which echoes another great quote from Albert Einstein, who in 1954 said:
“I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.”
And if two of the most brilliant minds in the entire history of humanity conclude, based on the evidence before them, that there is no such thing as god, I personally think you’d have to be pretty barking not to question the validity of religious claims, especially as there isn’t a single scrap of substantiation with which to corroborate them.
May 16th, 2011 at 6:03 pm
@AgentCormac: Terrific quotes. Thanks. Against these two great minds, what is on offer. I have been reading “The Closing of the Western Mind” and it has some carefully reasoned and adjuced conclusions about that star of the christian firmament – St Paul. He never met Jesus for a start. But he was a deeply insecure, unbalanced and unpleasant man who was roused to envy at any who might also state their views on religion.
He didn’t seem to know what he thought, regarded women as inferior (keep your mouths shut and your husband will explain it to you at home), and, not knowing Jesus, kept clear of those who did and created his own fantasy. He was convinced Jesus would soon reappear. Not much to set beside Hawking and Einstein. Lucky that christians rarely ever read the background to what they believe.
PS Whether Jesus actually existed is another issue and if he did he was not the son of god.
May 16th, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Although it is pretty likely that St. Paul was a bit of a bell-end, I think that it is fairly well documented that his most misogynist pronouncements were forgeries written in his name. The fact that most of the New Testament is either anonymous or forged has been known for about 150 years. The fact that Christianity is still around says more about human nature than it does about Jesus.
May 16th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
I was thinking exactly the same thing. Religion speaks volumes about human nature and nothing about god. That said, I do have anxiety on how we are able to make profound judgements based on a blip of human consciousness. I also have anxiety on how biological evolution can be relied on to inform our cognitive skills correctly. However, this in no way validates religion, but “living in the moment” and “admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it” makes a lot of sense.
May 16th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Folks
That bastion of sanity (and spousal abuse) ‘Birdshit’ Green has gone off the boil at Prof Hawking’s latest comment. To condense it, he concludes that the Prof may not be as bright as he thinks he is because he does not believe in a god.
Even by his usual pithy standards this latest bollocks is dire.
On the cv website
May 16th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
I’d love to get to PZ Meyers’ talk but that’s unlikely. I hope it’s going to be recorded and made available online, even if only the audio.
To make clear “the folly of trying to find compatibility between science and religion” is something that really needs to be said boldly and often.
For so long, world religions denied the scientific evidence for evolution and the origin of the universe. Now they’ve taken a different, sneakier approach, claiming the big bang and evolution as being all part their god’s cunning plan. Yeah, right.
I look forward to PZ demolishing this.
May 17th, 2011 at 12:42 am
If that wasn’t exam week I’d totally be there. I hope they’ll be a recording of some sort made available to dedicated little atheists like us!
May 17th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
“Dancing on the Graves of Gods: How Science Kills Faith.”
Best title EVER
May 17th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
@tony e: I think birdshit is a bit out of his depth if he’s going to go up against Hawkings.
Re: PZ in London, I’m flying back from Dublin that day having (hopefully) seen him at the AAI conf.
May 17th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
@Graham,
Birdshit would be out of his depth in a puddle.
As for heaven, all the descriptions of I have heard would become tedious in a week tops. Oblivion would be vastly preferable.
May 17th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Ah, would that be the puddle where he observed ducks and found God?
May 27th, 2011 at 11:46 pm
PZ Myers is in London next month?
Does London really need another loud-mouthed chauvinist male?
Think not.