Best degrees for atheists who want to debate creationists?

[micuzzo]

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R u serious buddy???

[Ben1220]

Originally Posted by Cookie182

Most ppl find this motivation strange I admit...

I get the vibe that a lot of students are studying to get a job or becuase they have some specific interest/research idea to a known problem...

Is it common to study purely for the pursuit of knowledge and in some way "spiritual" (which I will define in a materialistic sense of "knwoing truth") attainment about the universe?

Not so much in Australia, because our culture unfortunately views education as just a means to get a job, but elsewhere: yes, with more intelligent individuals. That is not to say many Australian students do courses purely for the pursuit of knowledge, its just not overly common.

Also, about debating creationists, there is no point really. They mostly don't care about scientific evidence or logical arguments. Many probably couldn't care less if there happened to be a logically sound argument against creationism that Forrest Gump could follow... It is probably best to transcend discussions with these kind of people, as nothing of meaning can come out of them. I'm not saying you shouldn't debate with intelligent open minded christians who have actually put some thought into their position though. (I know there are few people like this, but its better then going after the millions of strawmen that won't even realise when they loose)

You might enjoy taking a course on epistemology, which is the philosophy of knowledge. It deals with ideas such as certainty and skepticism. The philosophy of Science is also good. I'm doing a Bachelor of Science at Melbourne, and as you might know, with the Melbourne model, you need to do 1/4 of your subjects from another faculty. So I am taking B.A philosophy subjects along with Science, which is perfect for me, and maybe something you might want to consider in the future.

[ComingUpForAir]

Cookie dont you dare attempt to debate religious people in real life, ur horrible at articulating your muddled little thoughts, the shit you spew will give us 'athiests' a bad name

What kind of mentally retarded individual needs to go to university in order to 'debate creationists', in case you havent realised, there is no debate.
Imagine someone saying;
''I'm off to go and study marine biology because my schizophrenic freind tells me he can speak to coral, I rekon after 3 years of sitting in a dark basement studying coral I'll be ready''.

Do not enter their fantasy land at all.

The intellectually nauseating conversationg you and KFunk are engaged in really makes me cringe, please learn how to construct meaningful statements...

"I'm an unsettled agnostic sipping the straw of probabilistic atheism, a similar position to Albert Ellis the great American Psychologist"

it's just NOT ON.

[KFunk]

^ Short poppy.

[ConquerDiscover]

im doing a science degree and im not atheist.

[Cookie182]

Originally Posted by KFunk

^ Short poppy.

Indeed

He is a Hitchens wannabe, spouting the very dogmatism we chuckled at.

[ay0_x]

And you guys are making your religious [or lack thereof] beliefs a central point in your life, just like the Christians do, and you make me LOL. Really now, wanting to spend 3 years and a lot of money just so you can sound "right"? No different to a man entering a monastery.

It's this kind of forceful, belligerent atheism that makes me roll my eyes. No better than Christians. -_-

[ComingUpForAir]

Originally Posted by Cookie182

Indeed

He is a Hitchens wannabe, spouting the very dogmatism we chuckled at.

uh you satisfy the definition of a 'wannabe' precisely, you want to go to uni so you can 'debate the believers'.......(just like Hitchens)
dim wit stay silent

[Studentleader]

YouTube - You're too stupid to be an atheist.

Physics and biology.

[Hello2U2]

consider taking up an arts unit like religious studies/studies of religion or something similar offered at whatever university you go too. you may find it easier to understand where they are coming from, what beliefs they hold. Maybe then you'll find it easier to debate creationists.

[Vce121]

Originally Posted by ComingUpForAir

uh you satisfy the definition of a 'wannabe' precisely, you want to go to uni so you can 'debate the believers'.......(just like Hitchens)
dim wit stay silent

We have a little thing called freedom of speech. Dip shit.

[chucknthem]

Originally Posted by Vce121

We have a little thing called freedom of speech. Dip shit.

Not under Australian law :P
Free Speech and the Constitution

The Australian Constitution does not have any express provision relating to freedom of speech. In theory, therefore, the Commonwealth Parliament may restrict or censor speech through censorship legislation or other laws, as long as they are otherwise within constitutional power. The Constitution consists mainly of provisions relating to the structure of the Commonwealth Parliament, executive government and the federal judicial system.(6) There is no list of personal rights or freedoms which may be enforced in the courts. There are however some provisions relating to personal rights such as the right to trial by jury (section 80), and the right to freedom of religion (section 116).

Free Speech & Defamation

In Australia there is no explicit legal protection of freedom of speech. The most commonly understood notion of freedom of speech derives from the United States where the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights reads, 'Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...' Some argue that freedom of speech in Australia exists to the extent that there is no law restricting it. However in the absence of a positive right to freedom of speech there is little protection against censorship on the part of government or other interests.

Yeah not that relevant to this discussion, but it seems to be a common misconception in Australia

[Cookie182]

Originally Posted by chucknthem

Not under Australian law :P
Free Speech and the Constitution

Free Speech & Defamation



Yeah not that relevant to this discussion, but it seems to be a common misconception in Australia

Adding to the strong case for a legislative Bill of Rights.

[Ben1220]

Originally Posted by cookie182

adding to the strong case for a legislative bill of rights.

+1