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Letters From Our Visitors

Emails published here will usually be identified with a first name and location (if known), and nothing else, in order to protect the privacy of the sender. Any letters identified with more information will be done so only at the request or with the permission of the letter writer. Anonymous emails will usually be tossed out, at my sole discretion.

3-16-06
Hello

Enjoyed my visit, Bill. Signed up for updates.

I'm good at proof-reading, if that could be of any help to you in your efforts.

Regards,
Perry
New Zealand

Perry,

Glad you enjoyed your visit, and welcome to the Update list.

Since you sent this note, we have exchanged a few more emails; and I can see that you'll be a great proofreader. I'm definitely going to accept your offer.

Thanks. I need the help.

Best wishes,
Bill

5-12-06
Bill,

Just to let you know, some of us do check out your site even though we may not agree with most of it...in reading an article on it I found an apparent error I thought you might want to correct (though, since I believe in a "young earth" of no more than about 6-8 thousand years, I wouldn't pretend to know what is accurate for your article, just that it has a self conflicting statement    ).

The article is the one about "Lucy" and begins:

"This Ethiopian woman (or one like her) was our many-times-great-grandmother about 3.2 million years ago. She is known now as Lucy....."

The error is between the above statement and this one near the end of the article...

"...She was more human than ape, though her body hair makes it difficult to tell; and she was not enough like us to actually consider her a part of the genus homo (human). Her people are known as Australopithecus afarensis, as we are known as Homo sapiens.

The homo genus did not appear for at least another 700 million years, as far as we can tell. Possibly even a little later. The sapiens species of homo (our species -- the only species of human that still exists) first appears in the fossil record about 195,000 years ago."

Have a nice day!  Seriously, just wanted you to know about the apparent conflict, and if needed be able to correct it. While I don't agree with a good portion of what you have on your site, it does make an interesting read at times, and gives me pause to reflect on how/what others believe. Hope you are doing well, TTYL

George
Texas

George,

Thanks for the email. You are correct, and I appreciate your calling this error to my attention.

The line that said "The homo genus did not appear for at least another 700 million years, ..." should have said "700 thousand years, ..." I have corrected it. This is exactly why I have accepted Perry's offer to proofread for me in the future. It is almost impossible to catch all my own mistakes.

I am doing very well now, thanks. We have some really great doctors here in San Antonio.

Best wishes,
Bill

6-1-06
Hey there, Bill,

Just a quick note to tell you that your site is one of the better ones I've come across in a while. I've bookmarked it so I can come back and read more (it's getting late; you've already kept me up). It is SO REFRESHING to read intelligent, well thought out and often pleasantly humorous material. I've added my name to your update list so as not to miss out on any of your excellent writing.

Keep up the fantastic work!

Best regards,
Jessica
Oregon

Jessica,

Thanks for the kind words. It's always nice to be appreciated. And welcome to No Bull.

Best wishes,
Bill

6-11-06
Dear Bill,

A question about Darwin's _Origin_ in PDF. Which edition are you using? The first edition (1859) is the one taken as "canonical" by historians of biology. Subsequent editions demonstrate some back-pedaling, because Darwin *hated* controversy and did everything he could to avoid it. Also, his wife Emma stayed Christian and would get after him from time to time. But after the death of his daughter, Annie, Darwin was never again a believing Christian.

Anyway, just a question.

Thanks!

Christopher
USA

Christopher,

We are offering the original 1859 edition for free download, along with a free subscription to our No Bull Update.

Thanks for asking.

Best wishes,
Bill

6-16-06
Bill,

Thanks for your site, it is really helping me as I come to terms with my true belief and that is the bible isn't the truth.

I won't bore you with my story. Suffice to say I am 44 years old Roman Catholic who is struggling with how to handle the other people in my life now that I have come to the truth. For now its the status quo and reading as much as I can.

I just read your last semi-blog on being polite to others etc. The rule I have taken for myself is from my youthful days in the Boy Scouts and to try and live by the Scout Law: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient ( OK maybe not that one - except to my boss?), Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, Reverent (Is suppose to be religious - but I feel reverent toward universe).

Regards,
Ron

Ron,

Thanks for the email. I'm glad to know I'm actually helping somebody. I have some serious disagreements with people in my own life, too. Still, we love each other and nearly always treat each other with the same respect we did when we all basically agreed.

I'm going to really try to add new material more often in the future.

I see that you subscribed for the Update, too. Welcome aboard.

Best wishes,
Bill

10-14-06

I have been reading so much of what you have posted on your website and I cannot believe how deeply your words spoke to me, reached me and made me see the error of my former ways in believing the lies of the Bible.

Frank

Frank,

Thank you for your kind email. I haven't written much recently because of personal problems, but I expect to begin adding new articles in the near future. As you probably realize, there are literally hundreds of contradictions and other discrepancies in the Bible. The ones I have mentioned are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Once you realize and admit they are there, you begin to see them almost everywhere.

Would you like me to put you on my free Update list, which I send out a few times a year?

Best wishes,
Bill

05-17-07
Greetings –

I ran across your website today, and thoroughly enjoyed the parts I read. Your mix of thoughtful analysis and humor works well. Thank you for putting the energy in to create and maintain it.

I’ve been doing visits to mega-churches recently (yikes), looking at what they do to recruit young people, and alternating humor and depth seems to be one of the constants. And using simple language! I think you’ve got the formula.

Below is an article (rather deficient I’m afraid in the humor dimension) that you might find interesting. Then again, when it comes to debunking religion with humor, we all need to bow to Julia Sweeny :).

All the best,

Valerie Tarico

Valerie Tarico, Ph.D.  is a psychologist and freelance writer in Seattle, Washington. She is the author of The Dark Side: How Evangelical Teachings Corrupt Love and Truth. Contact: VT@valerietarico.com

Greetings to you, too, Dr. Tarico.

Please forgive my delay in responding. I was very impressed with your article, but I wanted to know a little more about you. After all, I warned you on the home page that I'm skeptical.  

I googled your name and found an impressive number of references, of which I actually followed maybe two or three.

Your article titled "Three Chickens, Over Easy With Toast" at ExChristian.net was fantastic! I like that site a lot, although I've made no contributions there except for a few comments.

Then I searched Amazon for your name and found your book, The Dark Side. I'm satisfied now that you're who you say you are, which is essentially what I wanted to know.

I appreciate the kind words about my site and my writing. I'm primarily trying to attract both adolescents and adults with little or no science education. I want to make science both interesting enough and simple enough for these people. I don't feel like I'm doing it well enough yet, but I hope to improve as I go along.

Even though I have some anti-religious articles, my main purpose is to teach science (especially the methods of science) and skepticism. Your article fits this purpose perfectly, and I would love to use it.

I should have your article online and a link at the top of my home page within a couple of weeks. Any time you feel like doing some important volunteer work, I would love to see more of your articles. I need all the help I can get from qualified writers like you.

Best Wishes,

Bill

5-29-07

I enjoyed reading your deconversion story; the layout was nice too.

Robert

Thank you very much, Robert. I do my best and hope it is good enough.

Bill

5-15-07

Hi Bill

I just wanted to tell you that I think that is a great read. I like some of the examples you use. I like how you mention the Sputnik incident as a wake-up call for science education. I learned things from reading it and found it very informative. I also let my husband know about your website.

You write so well. You make everything complicated so easy to understand. That is the genius of it.

Hope you never stop writing. I will always be a fan.

Jessica

Jessica,

Thank you very much.

Making "everything complicated so easy to understand" is exactly my main aim, in addition to making it interesting. I am never satisfied that I've made it simple enough or interesting enough, or included enough information. But I enjoy trying. With help from my volunteer team, I think we're getting better.

Since I am not a scientist and have no other qualifications, except that I read constantly, I feel that my main contribution is a talent for simplification.

Bill

7-30-07

Bill,

I wanted to thank-you for your website and de-conversion story. I have recently become an atheist and it is comforting to hear about others like yourself from a deeply religious background.  It has been very helpful.

Thank you again,

Matt

You're very welcome, Matt; and I thank you for the feedback. It's letters like yours that make it all worthwhile.

Bill

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