Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Scotland

2007-04-01T22:07:08Z

JS: Removed reference to the 'Highlands being virtually uninhabited'. They aren't.

'''Scotland''' is the second largest country of the [[United Kingdom]]; about three-eighths the size of its larger neighbour England, but is much less populous; most of the population is centred around the capital, Edinburgh and the city of Glasgow.

==Merger with England==
After the death of Queen [[Elizabeth I]] of England, James VI of Scotland ascended to the Throne of England, becoming [[James I]] of Great Britain. This is referred to as the Union of the Crowns.
==Fame==
Scotland is famous for its disproportionate amount of inventions and discoveries (as immortalised in [[Wha's Like Us]]), its world class universities, the Scottish Enlightenment, being the first country to adopt English as its official language decades before England, being the first industrial nation while still preserving some of the last great wildernesses of Europe, and being the home of [[golf]] and the [[Loch Ness Monster]].

The symbol of Scotland is the thistle. Other things associated with the country are [[kilts]] ([[tartan]] skirts worn by Scotsmen), and the haunting music of the [[bagpipes]]. Famous Scottish products include [[pie]]s, [[haggis]] and Scotch [[whisky]].

Scotland's motto is Nemo me impune lacessit ("No-one provokes me with impunity")<ref>http://www.scotland-guide.co.uk/ALL_AREAS_IN_SCOTLAND/Glasgow/Areas/Centre/Mercat_Cross.htm </ref> which translates as `Wha daur meddle wi` me` in Lallans.

==References==
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[[Category:Countries]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]

Jam

2007-04-01T22:04:56Z

JS: Deleted facts which are entirely untrue...!!

Jam is a type of sweet spread or condiment made with [[fruit]]s or sometimes (though rarely) vegetables, sugar, and sometimes pectin if the fruit's natural pectin content is insufficient to produce a thick product. Jam and its variations are often spread on [[bread]], and used as a culinary sweetener, for example in yoghurt.

Jam appears in some English sweet foods such as the 'Jam doughnut' (albeit in less viscous form), the 'Jam Rolypoly' (beloved of many who had to eat school-dinners as children), 'Jam Tarts'

[[Category:Food and drink]]

Socialism

2007-03-13T20:07:14Z

JS: Corrected spelling error

Born out of the deprivations suffered by the urban poor in proto-capitalist 19th century Europe, socialism is an economic and political ideology that stresses the rights of the many over the privileges of the few. Politically, socialism is democratic and has been responsible for the extension of the franchise to all adult citizens. As an economic theory, socialism calls for the redistribution of wealth. This may be achieved indirectly via taxation of private wealth coupled with progressive social policy or directly via nationalisation and public ownership.

Although socialist ideas such as the provision of unemployment benefit, state pensions, universal healthcare, and state control of key industries have been common throughout the developed world in the modern era, the [[United States]] has tended to reject socialism as an ideological position. In other parts of the world, such as Europe, Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, there has generally been more explicit support for socialism as a doctrine, and socialist parties have been among the most successful political forces of the last 100 years. This correlates with a rise in atheism.

[[Marx, Karl|Karl Marx]] considered socialism to be a transitory stage between capitalism and communism. In his view, socialism is summed up by the expression: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." A major criticism of socialism is that it infringes individual rights in favour of the collectivity. In a very real sense, politics in the western world throughout the 20th century were shaped by the conflict between a more socialist and a more individualist conception of history.

Although socialist parties are common in Europe, the leading examples all currently embrace some free enterprise, individual property rights and certain other aspects of capitalism.

Leading European Socialists are very critical of America<ref>[http://www.pes.org/content/view/666/74/lang,en/]</ref>.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Economics]]

Atheism

2007-03-13T19:55:04Z

JS:

Atheism is disbelief in, or denial of, the existence of a [[God|god]] or gods, or any supernatural entity.

Some Atheists are tied with [[Secular Humanism]]. Popularly-known Atheists include [[Stephen Hawking]], [[Albert Einstein]], [[Stephen Jay Gould]], [[Carl Sagan]], [[Richard Dawkins]], [[William Borden]] and [[Sam Harris]].

== Atheist morality ==

Many atheists base their [[moral code]] upon [[emotion]], [[experience]] and empirically derived ethics, such as those promoted by secular humanism. Atheists hold that neither the [[Bible]], nor the [[Koran]], nor the [[Torah]], nor any religious text can be our only source of morality.

Atheists often subscribe to the secular humanist idea that it is far more ethical to do what is right because you believe that it is right, rather than because you fear divine punishment or desire divine reward. One example is illustrated in the following quote from [[Albert Einstein]]:

:“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death”.

== Origins ==

It is difficult to trace the origins of atheism as a result of the incomplete historic record. It is known that ancient Greece produced a theory of materialism as early as the 5th century BCE. The materialist world view was essentially mathematical and had no room for gods{{fact}}.

The writer of the Book of Psalms knew of atheists and atheism and registered disapproval in Psalm 14: "The Fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."

== The Problem of Evil==

A central argument against religious belief in all powerful entities ('gods') is the problem of evil. First identified by the philosopher and materialist Epicurus (341-270 BCE), this problem points out the difficulty created by the mere existence of evil:

:Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
:Is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent.
:Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
:Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

A number of responses to this logical paradox have been put forth including those which assert human ignorance as the culprit, the concept of free will and the specific writings in some faiths which discuss the co-existence of good and evil (such as the book of Job in the Christian and Jewish faiths).[http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evil-log.htm]

== Atheism and Agnosticism ==

Atheism and agnosticism are logically distinct concepts. Whilst atheist reject the existence of a god or gods, agnostics do not do so. [[Richard Dawkins]] has contrasted the two positions as follows:

:“There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden. There is no evidence for it, but you can’t prove that there aren’t any, so shouldn’t we be agnostic with respect to fairies?”.

==References==

<references/>

[[Category:Religion]]

Atheism

2007-03-13T19:54:03Z

JS:

Atheism is disbelief in, or denial of, the existence of a [[God|god]] or gods, or any supernatural entity.

Some Atheists are tied with [[Secular Humanism]]. Popularly-known Atheists include [[Stephen Hawking]], [[Albert Einstein]], [[Stephen Jay Gould]], [[Carl Sagan]], [[Richard Dawkins]], [[William Borden]] and [[Sam Harris]].

== Atheist morality ==

Many atheists base their [[moral code]] upon [[emotion]], [[experience]] and empirically derived ethics, such as those promoted by secular humanism. Atheists hold that neither the [[Bible]], nor the [[Koran]], nor the [[Torah]], nor any religious text can be our only source of morality.

Atheists often subscribe to the secular humanist idea that it is far more ethical to do what is right because you believe that it is right, rather than because you fear divine punishment or desire divine reward. One example is illustrated in the following quote from [[Albert Einstein]]:

:“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death”.

A modern example is the absurdity with which we view Islamic suicide bombers acting on a desire for 72 virgins in the afterlife. Atheism condemns this desire, along with other religious desires for exclusive reward (and the punishment of others) such as are found in all religious texts.

== Origins ==

It is difficult to trace the origins of atheism as a result of the incomplete historic record. It is known that ancient Greece produced a theory of materialism as early as the 5th century BCE. The materialist world view was essentially mathematical and had no room for gods{{fact}}.

The writer of the Book of Psalms knew of atheists and atheism and registered disapproval in Psalm 14: "The Fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."

== The Problem of Evil==

A central argument against religious belief in all powerful entities ('gods') is the problem of evil. First identified by the philosopher and materialist Epicurus (341-270 BCE), this problem points out the difficulty created by the mere existence of evil:

:Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
:Is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent.
:Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
:Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

A number of responses to this logical paradox have been put forth including those which assert human ignorance as the culprit, the concept of free will and the specific writings in some faiths which discuss the co-existence of good and evil (such as the book of Job in the Christian and Jewish faiths).[http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evil-log.htm]

== Atheism and Agnosticism ==

Atheism and agnosticism are logically distinct concepts. Whilst atheist reject the existence of a god or gods, agnostics do not do so. [[Richard Dawkins]] has contrasted the two positions as follows:

:“There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden. There is no evidence for it, but you can’t prove that there aren’t any, so shouldn’t we be agnostic with respect to fairies?”.

==References==

<references/>

[[Category:Religion]]

Karl Marx

2007-03-13T19:47:35Z

JS: Removed two identical mottoes which the article claims are different

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German economist who codified communist theory in his book "The Communist Manifesto" (1848), which he co-authored with his associate Fredriech Engels. The book declared, "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class [economic] struggles." Communism prohibits a full right of private property and in its place attempts to force people to be equal in wealth.

Marx predicted that the proletariat (working class) would overthrow the wealthy in a capitalistic society, and then establish a new system that would be socialism in its early stage and pure communism in its later stage. Socialism differs from communism in that socialism does not require full equality in result and does not deny all private property. But socialism was considered by Marx to be an early stage of communism.

Marx was born in Prussia, educated in Germany, and a writer in London. His most famous work in the field of economics was "Das Kapital" ("Capital"), in which he declared economics to be the guiding force of history and that owners pay workers just enough for them to support their families. The value of the goods produced by workers is much more than the wages paid, and this "surplus value" is literally stolen from workers by owners. Owners took this surplus value and perpetuated this unfair system by investing it into more machines and consumption by the wealthy. Inevitably, class struggle by the poor against the rich, and the poor would violently overthrow the rich and end capitalism.

Marx drew heavily on the ideas of the German philosopher [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] and collaborated closely with another German philosopher, [[Friedrich Engels]].

Marx is considered very controversial in religious circles for his view that, "Religion is the opiate of the masses." This is generally used as an expression of atheism.

[[Category:Biographies]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Sociology]]