Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

This board is closed and will be kept as an archive. Please head to our new home at tch-forum.com



(Existing members: Please check your PMs for your password on the new board. If you do not have a PM, then please send one to me)



Welcome to The Coffee House - your dose of caffeine!

The Coffee House is a friendly and informal community dedicated to having fun. We're a diverse bunch, and so we have plenty to offer, including:
  • Discussions on a wide range of subjects, from science and current events to sport and gaming (and most things in between!);
  • Community-centered forums where members can get to know each other better, and share things they've made;
  • Regularly-scheduled contests, where members can compete for awards and forum currency (Coffee Credits);
  • Shops, where members may spend the Coffee Credits they've earned;
  • A Discord server, where anyone can chat to our members in real time.
What you can see below is a snapshot of what we have to offer. To see the rest, and gain access to all of this, all you need to do is register as a member. Registration is quick, free and easy.

Join our community!

If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Richard Dawkins on Santa Claus, fairy tales
Topic Started: Jun 6 2014, 05:07 PM (202 Views)
CJ
Member Avatar
A very minor case of serious brain damage

:santa: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/480161/Richard-Dawkins-says-believing-in-Santa-could-be-bad-for-kids :santa:

At Cheltenham Science Festival, the biologist and writer suggested it was "pernicious to instil in a child the view that the world is shaped by supernaturalism."

Dawkins, 73, author of The God Delusion, also compared the use of religious threats to child abuse.

Referring to fairytales and stories about Santa Claus, he said: "Is it a good thing to go along with the fantasy of childhood? Or should we be fostering a spirit of scepticism?

"To call it testament to child abuse would be a bit strong, but when you tell a child to mind their Ps and Qs otherwise they'll roast in hell then that is tantamount to child abuse,"

Dawkins also spoke about his autobiography An Appetite For Wonder, which detailed his childhood growing up in Africa, and recounted an incident when a master at his school once put a hand down his shorts.



If my personal experience is anything to go by, teaching fantasies and fairytales to children is actually not a bad way to foster a spirit of scepticism :P . Like the vast majority of children in this part of the world, I was told that my Christmas presents were delivered by Santa Claus (through the back door in my case, as my house lacked a functioning chimney). I even received a Christmas letter from Santa himself, which I accepted as 'proof' of his existence - until I noticed that Santa's handwriting apparently matched my grandfather's!

Following on from this observation, I then encountered this page, which must be pretty ancient by internet standards :P .
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · History, Culture and Philosophy · Next Topic »
Add Reply


Anti-Spam Bots! Mazeguy Smilies