Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Richard Dawkins to Appear on Doctor Who

Posted by Zonk on from the do-the-evolution-baby dept.

Ravalox writes "In an interview with The Independent, current curator of the Doctor Who legacy Russell T. Davis announced that distinguished evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins would be making an appearance in the new season of Doctor Who. To quote Davies: 'People were falling at his feet ... We've had Kylie Minogue on that set, but it was Dawkins people were worshipping.' Dawkins is the author of many best-selling non-fiction books, from The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker to The God Delusion, and a renowned advocate of both Darwin's evolutionary theory and the merits of atheism."

4 of 692 comments (clear)

  1. Big Deal by sconeu · · Score: 1, Troll

    He's already been on South Park.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  2. Re:Dawkins may may a renowned evolutionary biologi by Brian+Gordon · · Score: 0, Troll

    I never really understood atheism anyway. They mock theists for their faith, but there's certainly no way to prove that there's not a god, so aren't they also believing in something independent of scientific proof? IMO agnosticism is the only tenable position for the non-theist.

  3. Re:Dawkins may may a renowned evolutionary biologi by the_womble · · Score: 0, Troll

    as those who embrace God are the fittest to survive in our society, due to social stigmatism on atheists. That may be true in the US, but Dawkins is British. As in much of the rest of Europe, it is religious beliefs that are stigmatised. Why do you think British politicians do not discuss any faith they have until after they have retired? Do you know about man who was not made an EU commissioner because he was a Catholic?

    I do think Dawkins does do one thing that is harmful: he attacks theism without understanding it. He makes the common mistakes atheists make that faith is synonymous with belief and that that belief an arbitrary, unreasoned choice.

    Many Slashdot posters do something else that is both harmful and dishonest: associating atheism with evolution. The vast majority of Christians (and most people I meet of other religions) accept the theory of evolution as well proven.

    In fact, creationism is more of an characteristically American belief than a Christian one: every Christian creationist I have ever come across is either American or belongs to a heavily American influenced evangelical church. The other major stronghold of creationism is in the Middle East, where Islamic fundamentalists have a very similar mindset to Christian ones (or intolerant groups of any religion, or none, in general).

  4. Re:Dawkins may may a renowned evolutionary biologi by avajadi · · Score: 1, Troll

    Dawkins is the atheist analogy of a religous nut. His argumentation when it comes to religion is just as fanatically against religion as an american TV-preacher is for...donations.
    Seriously, after 9/11 he went out in british media and used the terror acts as a springboard for his anti-religous campaigning, how extremist isn't that? I have no problem with people questioning faith or being agnostics, atheists or whatever, but claiming to be a rationalist and then going all atheist-jihadic like Dawkings has does not add up.
    When is someone going to see through this man, he obviously has some profound issues to take care of.