I thought MythBusters proved this wasn't possible???

patrickem

Oh come on, guys, the man was trying to raise money for a charity, not convert you. I've had as many bad experiences with religion as the next person but you can't really knock everyone who believes in something different from you, especially if they're trying to do some good in this world.

Shame, too, that he didn't learn to use his GPS as it would have saved his life. Perhaps THAT story would have gotten some of the religious to open up towards new technology instead of blaming it for everything, even if they merely saw it as a vessel through which a deity or two could work.

Yeah, it was a boneheaded move but the guy wasn't hoping some mystical fairy would save him, and you at the very least have to admire his intentions. Damn shame.

mhlaxp

@itchytooth: While I couldn't agree with you more, they've got the ultimate trump card. God wanted this to happen, it was part of his plan.

How can you argue rationally with that? Might as well smash your head into a brick wall. Maybe one day we'll all progress towards the light of science and reason.

DestroyerMTL

@elgilicious: Way to be very wrong and cluster most of the population into a single box.

Kharnellius

I'm very sorry that he lost his life. I recognise he didn't plan very well-- obviously not well enough, at any rate-- but he was trying to do a good thing. Godspeed, father.

wild homes is non-canonical!

@itchytooth: maybe god just created so many party balloons that even he couldn't control them.

Pope John Peeps II

Im sorry but I have no sympathy towards people like this.

I've been following this gentleman's story and it is a tragedy the way he died, but I can't feel any sympathy to the lack of planning, organization and SMARTS!

He got himself in a situation where the outcome could have been avoided if he had just USED HIS BRAIN.

xint

Do I think that he was stupid for not taking proper precautions? Of course. But he was a man dedicating his life to helping others, in fact gave his life in the attempt to help others. Thats why he's off limits.

If it would have been a dude in Texas with a 12 pack of beer going for a thrill ride, Id be right there diggin in.

Seiko

On the bright side, hopefully we can all finally agree that there is no God.

itchytooth

What happened to respect? Just asking. Have we de-evolved so much, or do people actually see this as moving forward?

mykalt45

@scrag: exactly what I was going to say. The appropriate time to learn how to use the GPS is while he was still on the ground, not while he was in the air. It's hard to feel sorry for him.

Just sayin....

wookie909

I gotta say it's pretty funny. He didn't even know how to use the GPS he brought with him. What the hell did he bring it for?

"Oh yeah, I knew there was something I forgot to do..."

Kaisum

There's no shame in making fun of anything to be honest. Here we have a guy launching himself into the sky without knowing how to use the equipment that would enable him to land and be rescued alive... seems pretty stupid to me!

Incidentally - elgilicious - Most religious people choose not to believe the theory of evolution, popularised by Darwin. The Darwin award is simply the name for the award which is relevant to anybody.

xanderbeedle

Scrag said it best!!!!

GadgetGhurl

Oh Please people, he figured he would learn to use the gps on the go. oops. He may have been the most giving and kind person but risking his life for no good reason is a joke.

Bake sale people.

GDUB

let's be honest here, this all could have been prevented easily. Additionally, how hard is it to follow a bunch of balloons in the air?

Nissan288

At risk of sounding like a jackass... shouldn't "learning how to use the GPS" have been on the list of things to do _prior_ to takeoff?

scrag

@buyj3llo: How can we NOT? Are you kidding? Darwin proving his theories to those who don't believe in them! FANTASTIC! Father De Carli deserves the award whether he believes in Darwin's theories or not.

dambo29

poor taste

this guy was trying something outrageous to raise funds for his charity.

nakmario

yeah I agree, what a tragedy.

Tohe

Wow real bad taste jesusdiaz.
The man was working to help others. Not some asshat that is fair game.

At least now we know why the dog bit you.

Seiko

awww, you guys. Don't make fun of this :(

buyj3llo

"Another potential winner for the Darwin Awards" may not be appropriate, as Darwin means nothing to religious people.

elgilicious

Darwin +1

DaveExile

Guys.. please more respect to this tragedy.

Domogeek

The Helium Lobby is really trying hard to get the word out these days. Is this really the answer to Foreign Oil?

CEOself

@Pope John Peeps II: @DestroyerMTL: Mysterious ways.

itchytooth

i'm starting my GPS lessons on monday.

tucker

@biker_ray_pa:

Congratulations, I think that qualifies as the most ignorant statement I have ever read on this site. Other than, perhaps, "First!"

Blastfemur

@biker_ray_pa: O RLY?

itchytooth

So they found his "body," also stated is that they found his "remains." So is it his "remains" because this happened back in April and they decomposed or was his cause of death being eaten by a shark or something?

karmaghost

Supposedly there's a guy in Central Oregon who's about to try the same thing; today!

He want's to fly to Boise in his lawn chair; he was supposed to launch today.

hoserelder

@patrickem: mythbusters used smaller ballons.

its a very sad and stupid story.
yes, the poor man was trying to help other, but he died because he didnt took the safety measures needed for such stunt. that was very stupid. dont come telling me "he gave his life in the attempt to help others", this was no sacrifice, it was a very stupid accident, wich could had been avoided.

I am a religious person, and i think he deserves the Darwin award more than anyone.

Erzengel

@patrickem: I think what they ended up proving was just that you'd need an absolute fuck-ton of balloons to make it work. Also, they were using regular-sized balloons... these ones looked to be freakishly large.

Darwin +1

mcdonnr

Oh, there is a God, and God wanted this padre home. I mean, GPS? He was going to radio his position? What part of "HELP ME, I'm crossing the coastline!" did nobody get on their radio?

Seriously, I suspect something was wrong with this from the beginning. They found his clothes and his shoes, but not him... okay. He had to undress to make it easier for the sharks to eat him? Very kind of him.

No, I'd be willing to bet the padre made a parachute getaway, and that's why there wasn't a radio call for help much closer to the coastline.

GreyGander

@patrickem: Mythbusters, isn't the end all be all place for truth.

Silver_Back

Didn't they do this on Mythbusters? 2000 balloons and it could barely get a 3 year old off the ground. This is impossible.

nintendude

This is sad but how the heck was he navigating, by the Sun???? where did he think he was going, didn't the ocean or the deep Amazon cross his mind??? where was he planning to land?? sorry but this makes no sense, how long did it take him to see he was approaching the ocean

snitch29

I think it's funny how nobody on earth pushes their religion on others as much as atheists do.

biker_ray_pa

Wouldn't a church bake sale be safer, easier and equally tasty?

thechansen

Wow I thought my Spanish would help me understand that video I got maybe 20%. The Father was easy to understand.

elgringoguapo

Nobody has come in to say: "where is your god now?"

for shame.

logruszed

heres an idea... get alot of pot heads together, and then hold a bakesale... or a... wait for it... BAKEOFF!

JYJ705

@Domogeek: Darfur is a tragedy. This is poor planning.

EBone

He didn't learn to use the gps before hand. It's said, it's done. Regardless of whose fault, he was trying to do something good and something bad happened to him. Tragedy.

Can someone reply to me with the exact model of gps he had? I am incredibly curious. Not all of the easy-to-use car gps will give you access to latitude/longitude data, And any expensive specialized gps might really have a difficult user interface. Hell, he may have known exactly how to use it and it just broke and he didn't realize he was doing everything right.

madcow3417

Is it really a Darwin, because he already had taken himself out of the gene pool - (most) priests don't have offspring.

EBone

@relewis1: Nothing about this post is disrespectful. All the contrary. And yes, tying yourself to helium balloons with no control whatsoever and now knowing how a GPS works automatically qualifies you as a candidate for the Darwin awards.

jesusdiaz

Wow... I'm a little disappointed in the tone of this article.

i4ni

@EBone: Ha!

I'm all for the Darwin but EBone makes a good point.

goo2

Though, doing things for charity should immunize people from internet douchebagery.

Mecharine

@Seiko: There is nothing about being a clergyperson that immunizes that person from also being a dumbass.

infmom

Wow! first I am really stunned this is posted on Gizmodo because it really has nothing to do with its regular fair. Second, this is a tragic affair ending in death and to see it belittled by the post itself and the comments is just really sad more than anything else. Third, I can't beleive you gave a priest a potential darwin award. The right to speech is one thing (which is not the blog is about) but respecting a man's faith especially in death is just simply the right thing to do.

I visit this site daily for the "Gizmodo" stuff but lately there have been a couple like this. Unfortunately this is off my home page now. Good luck in your endeavors.

relewis1

@biker_ray_pa: Let me guess, someone actually told you they weren't interested in your tracts.

infmom

wasn't he trying to reach God? I think he succeeded in his quest.

VakeroRokero

@Hand_O_Death: Yeah seriously. James Kim was just as much of a dumbass as this joker was, but note the disparity.

anonymous

This guy was a stupid asshole that tied himself to a thousand ballons to fly away, carrying in his hands the only device that could save his live, he did not bother to read the device's user's manual, and ended up dieing a miserable death in the middle of the ocean.
He really worked hard to get himself killed.
That means suicide.
And he may be rotting in hell because that.
Moron.

pharago

OK, Tech guy dies (either accidental or being dumb), and a memorial is up on the site. Guys makes a dumb move for charity and the only post is making fun of him. I do not care one way or the other, but at least be fair about it across the board and dont decide by someones profession whether you can make a joke or not about the whole thing.

Hand_O_Death

@Seiko & mhlaxp: Ditto.

The guy didn't think this through (or we haven't gotten the entire story from the news - shocking I know, but it sometimes occurs) and paid for it with his life. There are a lot of other dim bulb stories that you could use to make yourself feel intellectually and morally superior. For the record I'm an atheist, but mocking a dead priest just makes you an asshat.

It would be an entirely different story if it was a priest from the Westboro Baptist Church.

Toshie

Give me a break. A man of god, trying to raise money for charity, dies in the process and Giz makes fun of him and his efforts?

While I am not a religious man by any means, this story (a) only is tech related in his struggles with a GPS, and (b) shows just how ridiculous this 'tech' site has become. From the articles detailing Woz and Kathy Griffin's relationship (who honestly gives a fuck?) to the posts about a ship of containers heading to apple HQ, and it's apparent this site has lost its way.

An immediate retraction and apology for the lack of taste in this post is in order.

keene

some people say the most idiotic things...just because God doesn't protect everyone from their own stupidity doesn't mean He doesn't exist...

analyticalmind84

May have been a nice guy trying to help people, but honestly, how stupid was he??? Shouldn't he have learned how to use his GPS before strapping himself to thousands of balloons and flying into the air?

kcm117

If he would have had Sally Field (The Flying Nun) with him he would have been A-OK!

Rick36

I see a helmet, and tinfoil pajamas. But no life vest.

And why a GPS instead of a transponder?

Hand_O_DeathI: do not care one way or the other, but at least be fair about it across the board and dont decide by someones profession whether you can make a joke or not about the whole thing.

I'd be making fun of anyone who died because they tied themselves to a ton of baboons and floated off into the ocean, regardless of profession.

lordargent

@relewis1: Oh noes! Gizmodo are off your home page!!1 You sure showed them!

@biker_ray_pa: Pray tell how a person without a religion can also push their religion? That's like saying that the most commonly transmitted disease is "None." I'm not trying to equate religion with a disease (although you make it so easy!), but merely saying that you can't transmit the absense of something.

Gizmog

Why when he took off did he run straight at the electric power lines? and a highway/freeway? He started off in pretty bad shape.

epr

Who takes an 'emergency gps' with them in case of an 'emergency' but doesn't learn how to use it before they set off?

Idiot.

Nickbee

@John Prado

It's nice to see that in Brazil, the "autorithies" can keep everyone from doing something stupid....

Stupidity should hurt, but you should still have the right to do something stupid. I would rather see 100 idiots try this than allow your authorities to tell me what to do.

As Darwin would prove, all your authorities are doing is allowing moron breeders to overtake your country.

naegling

I remember there was a poll about which one would kill us: technology or global warming... Well, I voted global warming, and yes I still think this way. Nevertheless, technology didn't quite help this time. I think he should have tied himself to the ground, however. Foolish actions lead to disaster.

DaSmith

Poor Father, here in Brazil we laugh a lot on this.

But the major problem is the autorithies who permits this kind of stupidity.

The resources spent in this guy search could feed a lot of poor kids...

John Prado

Don't care what the poor priest was trying to do it for, but the total lack of simple safety measures dude deserves this years darwin award.

He wanted to float in the air for helping, why not tie him down to the ground with a safety rope to keep him from blowing away?

why not learn how to use the dang GPS before going up?

SImple things could have saved this poor mans life. The fact that he failed to take any of them into account says darwin +1

trekkie

Ia agree it's a tragedy because he was helping others by doing this stunt but i find it stupid he didn't learn how to use the GPS device that was supposed to guide his rescue team. But it is still a tragedy and not something to make fun of. If it was an idiot making a stunt for fun and when he was in the air realized he never knew how to use a GPS ok make fun of it, but this is a totally different thing.

Felix26591

@keene: I concur.

i4ni

@lordargent:would that be english baboons or african baboons? Just curious how many baboons in a ton...

I do think that it is a real shame that the Flying Father went out the way he did. I think that someone should have gone chasse the minute that he said he didnt know how to figure out the GPS. A news chopper, or maybe a SAR bird (with a bb gun in the back seat to bring him down in a controlled manner, of course.) This didn't have to end this way, and there lies the tragedy. Yes the priest was foolish, mortally stupid even, but he was trying to help people in ways that he couldnt accomplish on his own. Enough other people knew what he was doing, and someone should have stepped up and said "this is out of control, and someone is probably going to die." I don't think he should have died for trying to better the lives of others. Too many other people deserve that award for much better reasons.

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

well, he was going on the trip to "find god." i guess he found him. most other people going to "find god" generally do it in a less glamourous way, like jumping off the side of a building, but at least this priest gets points for creativity.

willyolio

some things are juts better left for nuns....

jcrockerman

@naegling:

Well, I can't say that you're wrong.

The most stupid people here are the authorities (thanks to correct my spelling).

And the moron breeders already overtakes.

If you could see our national congress and politicians...

PS: I except Lula on that.

Regards from the tropics

:P

John Prado

Well, at least we know that if he doesn't get a Darwin Award, the Catholics will definitely have him elevated (no pun intended) to "Patron Saint of the Wayward Balloons".

johnnyabnormal

@keene: You know, the internet is huge. Why do you waste your time reading blogs that annoy you?

itchytooth

@scrag: You are correct sir!

Trowble (XBL/PSN)

@johnnyabnormal:

"result of act of logic and reason, not faith."

I mean,

"Consequently, disbelief in this case is the result of logic and reason, not faith."

johnnyabnormal

@GadgetPlay: no fair, i wanna play too! where's the smarmy retort to my comment?

i guess i wasn't as clever as i thought.

tucker

@GadgetPlay: Each and every human that ever lived is born an Atheist. But, the brainwashing does take a toll on some of us.

The problem here is that the deist, errors in thinking that in discarding a god, one needs do so by having faith in something else.

When I stopped believing in Santa as a child, I simply came to the conclusion that this entity did not exist because there was no evidence to the contrary. This is despite the fact that his image was everywhere during xmas season and many people continued to behave as if he were real.

Consequently, disbelief in this case is the result of act of logic and reason, not faith.

johnnyabnormal

Wow. A priest dies doing something stupid and everyone gets all sensitive. Cute. Internet, you disappoint me.

scaught

@buyj3llo: "awww, you guys. Don't make fun of this :("

New here?

@dambo29: You have no idea whether he believed in evolution or not. He believed in helium and GPS, so why not? Oh, you just wanted to insult a religious person? Oh. OK. Carry on.

@xanderbeedle: "Most religious people choose not to believe the theory of evolution"

How very wrong and stereotypical of you. Are you racist and homophobic as well?

@mykalt45: "do people actually see this as moving forward?"

Here they do.

@itchytooth: "On the bright side, hopefully we can all finally agree that there is no God."

Why?

@DestroyerMTL: "God wanted this to happen, it was part of his plan."

Who said that? Why do you people have imaginary arguments with yourselves?

@biker_ray_pa: "I think it's funny how nobody on earth pushes their religion on others as much as atheists do."

Boy did you hit the nail on the head with that one. Now tell them that they have no more evidence for a lack of a God than the religious do for the existence of one; that they both equally require faith! Whee-doggy Granny!

@Silver_Back: "Mythbusters, isn't the end all be all place for truth."

YOU TAKE THAT BACK!

@Erzengel: "I am a religious person, and i think he deserves the Darwin award more than anyone."

But you don't believe in Darwin, his theories or his award. That seems to be the prevailing opinion, at any rate.

@logruszed: "where is your god now?"

I don't know, he's having trouble with his new GPS.

@Hand_O_Death: "dont decide by someones profession whether you can make a joke"

Anybody vaguely religious is fair game to the commenters. Posters are fairly even handed.

@pharago: "And he may be rotting in hell because that."

Calm down, Skippy.

@relewis1: "Unfortunately this is off my home page now. Good luck in your endeavors."

Bye. Oh, and this was an update of a post about the difficulty he had in using what should be a simple to operate GADGET!!!

@jesusdiaz: The post was fine Jesus. I think this guy had to have a sense of humor, and is probably chuckling about it all right now.

@Gizmog: "Pray tell how a person without a religion can also push their religion?"

Your religion or "faith" is Atheism. A faith is a strongly held belief, held despite a total lack of supporting evidence. The main point is why some in your camp feel it necessary to attack a group of people, and their beliefs, who, for the most part, aren't even here.

@Rick36: "If he would have had Sally Field (The Flying Nun) with him he would have been A-OK!"

And think what SHE could have accomplished with a GPS!

GadgetPlay

@keene: ...What, you didn't tell us all to "grow up" too? I'm dissapointed!

johnnyabnormal

@GadgetPlay: Oh Gadget... You've said all these things before on another thread and when people (myself included) responded with logic and reason, you were immune to it.

Just for kicks: What is behind or happened before the big bang? Why, does the church have some evidence? The point is, I'm comfortable not knowing exactly what happened. It doesn't scare me. I don't have to make up wild stories and anti-science to fill in the blanks. My not knowing gives me intellectual curiosity, motivation to think with a independent mind, to require observation and proof...which is exactly what the church does not want little sheep to do.

On the topic of the faithful flock, at least MY kids won't have to worry about this every Sunday:

johnnyabnormal

Looks like god dropped the ball that that one

DarwinCB

Ok the priest did not know how work his gps -- Amelia Erhart while a good pilot wasn't the best radio operator either, she knew it and didn't care. Cost her and Fred Noonan their lives as well. Geez people in their enthusiasm for one thing can make mistakes in other aspects of their endeavors.

Kingteddybear

@johnnyabnormal: I think your faith in the lack of a Santa is pretty strong.

What is behind, and what happened before, the Big bang?

@tucker: "i guess i wasn't as clever as i thought."

Apparently not. (There, are you happy now?)

GadgetPlay

@biker_ray_pa: Let's see, trying to remember the last time an atheist knocked on my door wanting to talk, or tried to push a pamphlet into my hand as I'm walking along the street... Hmmm...

Oh, right , that would be never.

FredicvsMaximvs

The guy was trying to raise money for a local charity. Problem is we don't know what the charity was. Maybe he was trying to convince the poor that family planning is a sin, or that suffering is the noble path to God, like that other nut case Mother Theresa did.

I mourn a wasted life, but I'm sure as hell not going to assume that this was a good guy. Some of the greatest evil in the world is accomplished by people who believe (key word here) that they ware doing good.

stryder100

@John Prado: "But the major problem is the autorithies who permits this kind of stupidity. The resources spent in this guy search could feed a lot of poor kids..."

We have the Darwin Award, but this wins the Big Lib Award. The Government should not only stop him, they should then divert the rescue money they now don't need (but took by threat of force "just in case"), and feed "hungry children" that apparently they didn't give a shit about a minute ago. Yikes.

@johnnyabnormal: "'Patron Saint of the Wayward Balloons'."

I hear he did card tricks, can they count as his three miracles? I think the Vatican should "fast-track" this guy!

GadgetPlay

Priest or not it is sad someone died due to lack of knowledge in regards to what could have been their life saving gadget.

lilaliendog

His charity money probably would have been spent on ceremonial golden chalices and extravagant stained glass windows anyway. He probably took one look at his gps, was baffeled and decided to resort to the power of prayer.

madpharmy

@dambo29: your ignorance is showing, being a catholic priest, father de carli would not have been required to reject evolution.

and yes folks, for all of you who are jeering, may the world be more kind if ever you were to die in a stupid way. not excusing father de carli, though, he was doing something risky and foolhardy.

and why is the issue of god even being brought up? Just cos he's a priest?

indigloworm

@johnnyabnormal:

The point is, I'm comfortable not knowing exactly what happened. It doesn't scare me. I don't have to make up wild stories and anti-science to fill in the blanks. My not knowing gives me intellectual curiosity, motivation to think with a independent mind, to require observation and proof...which is exactly what the church does not want little sheep to do.

FredicvsMaximvs

@johnnyabnormal: Let's all stay away from a religion bash-fest. His beliefs are different from your beliefs which are different from my beliefs.

Religion and Science are not mutually exclusive and simply because you put faith into the correctness of one way of thought does not alone yield you superior.

Stop baiting people Mr. Star.

Seni

@GadgetPlay:

Your religion or "faith" is Atheism. A faith is a strongly held belief, held despite a total lack of supporting evidence.

1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.

The second type, or "weak" atheism, is what I'd characterize as just being non-religious. That is, they don't buy into the god mythos, no matter what the flavor. These folks (myself included) don't feel a need to prove anything to anyone, either way. We just don't buy your hypothesis.

FredicvsMaximvs

Captain Bringdown

@biker_ray_pa: What the hell are you talking about!!?? I'm an atheist. I also know quite a few atheists. None of us push our "religion" on anyone. None of us go around stating "I'm an atheist!", or "I'm a born again atheist!". We don't go around knocking on people's doors at 8am on the weekends. We don't accost people at the airport. We don't have our own tv shows with multimillion dollar churches with wives that put on makeup with a trowel. Most of us will quietly bow our heads at the dinner table of religious friends. I'll make fun of people who kill them selves in stupid ways, if they were being stupid to begin with. The "hey ya'll watch this" crowd is who I'm talking about. I'm not going to make fun of this guy. He was honestly trying to help people. Sure it was a bit of poor planning not knowing how to use the gps. I'm sure getting blown out to sea was the farthest thing from his mind. He probably figured he could find someone to help him if he got lost a few miles from where he took off. He probably didn't think a couple hundred party balloons could carry him that far. No one is perfect.

Barry99705

Why didn't he take a satellite ELT instead of a GPS?

shooter

@jesusdiaz: "Nothing about this post is disrespectful. All the contrary. And yes, tying yourself to helium balloons with no control whatsoever and now knowing how a GPS works automatically qualifies you as a candidate for the Darwin awards."

Your Post: "And now I don't know if I should say "Godspeed, Padre De Carli" or "Another potential winner for the Darwin Awards," so I guess a "rest in peace" will do."

Now this is my post: "This just in, jesus Diaz' Mother has been found dead in her home after choking on a prepared meal in her living room last evening. jesus comments "This is sad news indeed, though not unexpected." Likely in reference to his late mothers new employment at at the Cinema where she works as the screen.

Indeed this is a sad tragedy, yet some silver lining can be found. NASA has announced plans to use her to shore up the hole in the Ozone layer."

You tell me where mine is offensive and I'll tell you where yours is. (Hint: everyone does stupid things, doesn't make them idiots. Tired jokes are not funny at times like these. You're an ass.)

Seni

Every church I have been in, collects money for "charity". Every church I have been in also has marble, expensive hardwoods, gold, stained glass and all the trappings of a rich man's mansion. Yet there are still poor in the world.

To suggest that laughing at a person who does something stupid just cause they did it for a good cause is wrong, is well...wrong.

The fact that he had so much faith in what he was doing that he didn't even take basic safety precautions is what makes it funny.

As for the world moving forward, if one person who tries to convince others that there is an invisible, all powerful being who will protect us from evil just because we try to do good has managed to eliminate himself in a way that proves all he believed in is wrong, then yes, mankind has taken one giant leap forward.

Aegis13

Mythbusters didn't prove this was impossible. Mythbusters actually had TWO balloon episodes.

One was to prove that no little kid was going to go flying away with a handful of regular sized balloons handed to them by a guy at a carnival.

The other proved that the story about the guy in the lawn chair who flew using a bunch of WEATHER balloons was true by putting Adam in a lawn chair tethered to the ground and floating him fifty feet in the air.

Elliuotatar

This isn't about religion or balloning, just some guy who wanted to help others. Simple as that. In pace requescat.

gravitation

Well what can you say about this? hope he learn his lesson, next learn how to use your equipment before flying in balloons.

potohead1

@Seni: I'd say it's been nice knowin' ya, but it really hasn't.

@johnnyabnormal: "What is behind or happened before the big bang? Why, does the church have some evidence?"

Oh, Johnny...I mainly play Devils's Advocate because the Atheists here tend (with notable exceptions) to be hateful bullies. I do not subscribe to any organized religion, but I find the existence of some sort of God far more logical than the absence of such. I don't know what's behind and before the Big Bang, either, and, as are you, I am perfectly comfortable not knowing, but I think there's something.

The Church has no more evidence than you or I do, and, like many Atheists, refuse to admit that they don't know or could be wrong. We all have sufficient reason to believe what we believe or we wouldn't believe it! How's that for circular reasoning?

Technically, I guess I'm an Agnostic Theist, sounds like you might be an Agnostic Atheist. It's a little irritating to hear ANYONE claim to have a handle on the unknowable. A pleasure, as always, Mr. Abnormal.

GadgetPlay

I'm with thechansen. Hold a bake sale, and leave the suicidal ballooning to Michel Fournier, who has spent decades preparing for death-by-balloon.

frigg

Bad taste? Come on. I think this article was great. The man was a looney -- anyone willing to strap themselves to hundreds of balloons in BAD WEATHER is just asking for trouble. Had he not been a priest, and was doing it for kicks, I'm sure the tone of the comments here would be different. But because he is a "Man of God" you're all suddenly butt-hurt. Clearly, God forgot about de Carli that fateful day.

diesel828

ah I think I'm going to "hell" for laughing rather hard at this.

NumbSinner

@elgilicious: Excellent! You got the joke!

Gilbert

@GadgetPlay:

The very fact that you spelled atheism with a capital A demonstrates that you don't know what your talking about. My "Atheism" is no more a religion (or as you misleadingly call it a "faith) that my Awerewolfism or my Amickeymouseism.

stryder100

@Seni:
"Mr. Star"? Like that is any of my own doing. Talk to the Giz editors about that one.

FYI, I won't stay away from my "religion bash-fest". Why? Because the church can't shut me up. The time of being tied to a stake and burnt to death for thinking with your own mind is over. Religion is the reason the USA (where I live) is doing so poorly:

The religious mind set (belief without evidence) conditions the public to be absolute morons about politics, war, science, environment, other cultures, history, etc. It is outdated, backwards mythology taught by hypocrites.

Speaking of morons, conservative douche bag Jesse Helms, long time oppressor of civil rights, gay rights, and foreign aid died yesterday on the 4th of July. Talk about celebrating independence. Maybe there is a god!

johnnyabnormal

Belief vs. nonbelief: Even god makes mistakes. If you're a statistician, you'd agree. There seems to be a lag time between comments. think about it, even if the priest was deluded, his heart was in the right place. Is yours?

gravitation

@Seni: Jesus is a pretty reasonable guy, but as GadgetPlay implied, you did go quite a way beyond what was necessary for you to make your point.

FredicvsMaximvs

I can't wait until the situation portrayed in the book "God is Dead" takes place. Instead of religious divides we will have scientific wars. Its an awesome book btw, if only to experince the joy of reading a fictional Colin Powell call Bush a "cracker ass honky". That and the talking wild-dog gods, which is hilarious and heartbreaking all at the same time.

thechansen

@silentmoo: I don't think it's broad and reaching at all. It's called gullibility. It's just as much a part of human nature as any other negative trait which doesn't suit a large population of people, like greed or aggression. But hey, what might have been beneficial to our ancestors becomes counterproductive when the human population explodes into proportions that defy elbow room. I'm not saying religious people are BAD people. I know plenty of good people who are religious. But, even the good people can still teach fiction as fact to their children and enable the age of misinformation to persist.

johnnyabnormal

@GadgetPlay: By "your hypothesis" I meant the hypothetical existence of God, or a god, or gods. But upon reading this post of yours, I do hereby retract that statement.

FredicvsMaximvs

@GadgetPlay: "I'd say it's been nice knowin' ya, but it really hasn't."

Aw, sad. I didn't realize you had such a negative view of me. Oh well, I'm confident he'll realize the error without taking personal offense.

jesus Diaz seems to be a pretty reasonable guy most of the time and just got carried away a bit here.. maybe I did as well, but that doesn't mean we can't ever be friendly.

Seni

The question about the Darwin awards is whether his DNA will not be part of the human gene pool anyone. This means that he would need to have no children before the stint.

As for trying to raise money for a good cause, we need to carefully consider the circumstance. Should any good cause know that far much money could be lost on rescue operations than could be gained for the cause.

If I announce that I am going to climb Everest solo, without oxygen, walking on my hands and I raise $5000 doing so (Which you easily could), and then cause $1 Million rescue operation, am I acting responsibly for the causes that I am trying to champion?

altus

@GadgetPlay:

Why?

itchytooth

@stryder100: "The very fact that you spelled atheism with a capital A"

Excellent! In the middle of a deep philisophical discussion, you're reduced to quibbling about spelling. Well played!

(Oh, and the word "Atheism" as the title for a philisophical movement with a following is appropriately capitalized.)

@FredicvsMaximvs: "We just don't buy your hypothesis."

What was my hypothesis?

GadgetPlay

Sorry about the spelling: "ballooning." Even god makes mistakes.

gravitation

@stryder100: Shit, I've been using a capitol A too. Color me an idiot now too!

@GadgetPlay: Well, some might lump me into the "hateful bullies" crowd, but I hate the idea NOT the people. Big difference. I would re-write what you said though:

"We all have sufficient reason to believe what we believe or we wouldn't believe it!"

as

"Atheists have sufficient reason to believe what they believe without having to make things up!"

Hahaha...

johnnyabnormal

@johnnyabnormal: Those are some pretty broad and reaching statements there. While there are definitely lots of religious nutbags out there, there are just as many (if not far more) who aren't quite as...nut-baggy. It's just unfortunate that the minority has a tendency to speak for the majority in almost all cases (and not just within the christian, or for that matter any community).

The "unfortunate" truth is that we all operate on faith for most everything (if you've taken a high-level [read: abstract] math course, even axioms can be questioned), and a darn good number of religious people believe in Darwinism and the big bang (lest we not forget that Darwin himself was agnostic at best).

silentmoo

@johnnyabnormal: That's weird, I look more like this:

We must be different asshat species.

itchytooth

@silentmoo: "Barring certain administrations (or rather, just one), I would certainly be hard pressed to find any empirical evidence of a direct link."

Well, just for that last point alone: Look at how many people voted for that administration! TWICE!!

"are the perceptions (be they good or bad) that we apply to a religion the fault of the religion itself, or the fault of human incompetence stacked over the course of time?"

I'd say both. I will say this though: Coming up with all these religions and stories shows imagination and creativity. The latter being the hallmark of human progress and ingenuity.

johnnyabnormal

Keene: Who art thou?

gravitation

Darwin, Schmarwin.

The average IQ is 100.

Someone has to be well below the mean.

dulcamara

@FredicvsMaximvs: True, True.

I merely wanted to convey that many people are personally affected by his loss. He was neither a nut, nor an idiot; simply a man who tried to do something good in a manner that ended poorly.

In this internet age, many people forget. This blog is read by people from all over the world and what may sound funny to one may, to another, be quite upsetting and distasteful so soon after the man's remains were found and one really should expect that not unreasonable viewpoint.

The Mother aspect served dually to put him into a position directly affected as well as to set up the "yo mama" scenario, showing that neither "yo mama" nor "Darwin Awards" jokes are really very apt in these situations.

And honestly, "Darwin Awards" is about as clever/funny as the perpetual "Wecome.. Overlord" jokes. No?

Looking back, yes I was probably over the line. But, Ideally he'll look past that. My apologies if offended.

Seni

my favorite thing in the world is religious people dying.

cashoverass

@keene:

1 - None of my friends or familiy are stupid enough to do something like that, plus I'm proud to say they all know how to use GPS.

2 - "Asshat"? Damn, you nailed it. Did I ever tell you my avatar is a picture of someone else? Here's my real photo:

johnnyabnormal

Nemo: "Father? Father de Carli?"

GiltProto

@johnnyabnormal: Well, to be fair, I was referring more to your statement: "The religious mind set (belief without evidence) conditions the public to be absolute morons about politics, war, science, environment, other cultures, history, etc." Barring certain administrations (or rather, just one), I would certainly be hard pressed to find any empirical evidence of a direct link.

The general notion of religion acting as an "enabler" of misinformation is to me, somewhat malformed, especially given the context/purpose under which various religions (or religious texts) have been formed historically. Of course we as humans have long since distorted any true meanings or messages that may have represented them long before - but that begs the question: are the perceptions (be they good or bad) that we apply to a religion the fault of the religion itself, or the fault of human incompetence stacked over the course of time?

silentmoo

@keene: Yes, I would be more upset if a friend or family member of mine died. Very perceptive.

itchytooth

@johnnyabnormal: "'Atheists have sufficient reason to believe what they believe without having to make things up!' Hahaha..."

You're FUNNY! Try this one:

Agnostics have sufficient reason to not know what they don't know, and nobody else does either, no matter what they say! Meh...yours was better. You are definitely one of the exceptions BTW, I assumed that was clear. Well, you can be a bit of a bully, but it would be hard not to be with that enormous intellect of yours.

@silentmoo: : "and a darn good number of religious people believe in Darwinism and the big bang (lest we not forget that Darwin himself was agnostic at best)."

I don't think that anyone on either side that can't admit to being somewhat agnostic is being entirely intellectually honest with themselves.

GadgetPlay

At least he's not out fondling kids...

CEOself

@itchytooth: @johnnyabnormal:

I'm sure you clowns would feel differently if this was about a friend of family member of yours.

It's not a matter of growing up, asshats, its a matter of respect for the dead.

keene

@johnnyabnormal: "Nah, Seni shouldn't be banned." "...especially if a nasty hangover is involved!!"

I wasn't thinking so much that he SHOULD be banned, as much that he WOULD be banned, and with alacrity. And yes, we should tread lightly on Sunday AMs (plus it's the Lord's day, don't you know). Hmmm...I wonder if Addy still has Hammer Powers?

GadgetPlay

Freud said that the young cannot conceive of death (they think they are immortal, have +9 lives in the game they are playing) until they see death in the face. Ask McCain.

gravitation

@silentmoo: Well, of course I don't wish pain and suffering on anyone. (well, almost anyone) Even though this guy did something REALLY stupid, I don't doubt that he had good intentions.

johnnyabnormal

That's really REALLY bad taste, Giz.

permissionmag

@cashoverass: "my favorite thing in the world is religious people dying."

You're a lovely person. And you're in luck, they all do! Is it better if the death is humiliating and/or slow and painful, or will just any old death do?

GadgetPlay

@GadgetPlay: Nah, Seni shouldn't be banned. If Jesus can make fun of a dead person, others should be able to as well. Ya never know though. Any Giz editor on a Saturday afternoon could invoke the mighty ban-hammer for less, especially if a nasty hangover is involved!!

johnnyabnormal

@johnnyabnormal: Ha! True enough - to be fair though, we're still only a small, stupid, 4-5% of the global population (we're trying to make amends now, honest!)

At any rate, regardless of religion or whathaveyou, it's sad to hear a community lost such a well-liked, and charitable person (notwithstanding these ill-conceived charity functions).

silentmoo

@itchytooth: I think we're all pretty diverse...here's a picture of my older brother:

johnnyabnormal

Johnnyabnormal: you're not.

gravitation

@Seni: "Aw, sad. I didn't realize you had such a negative view of me. Oh well, I'm confident he'll realize the error without taking personal offense."

I had no view of you at all until that comment. I've seen people BanHammered for less (a lot less, and not involving personal attacks on the poster's mother of all things). I really didn't expect to hear from you again. I think you were way out of line, but if the management's OK with you then so am I. And yes, we can all just get a long.

Of course the possibility does exist that nobody's noticed your comment yet...it is Saturday night...I'd better say "bye" just in case.

@itchytooth: OK, that makes sense. Thanks.

GadgetPlay

@GadgetPlay: "Hmmm...I wonder if Addy still has Hammer Powers?"

Are you kidding me? Jesus's dog has ban-hammer powers. It'll bite the face off your avatar and then kick you off the inter-tubes. :)

johnnyabnormal

@permissionmag:
I'm thinking along the same lines. There goes 20+ page views a day here. Guess around 70 if you add up lifehacker, Consumerist and jalopnik. Engadget, and other sites are just the same stuff for the most part. Aint the intertubes wonderful.

Not saying I'm done yet, but will give the boss a chance to respond on Monday.

Seiko

@Seni: You are right, it makes it worse when he is not humble about it, he could have retracted his comments, apologized and moved on.

Tohe

@jesusdiaz:
You know, I was going to just chalk this one up to a lapse in judgement, but seeing you say "nothing about this post is disrespectful" just shocks me.

I get that maybe you wrote something, thinking it was funny, without considering how others might take it. But to just thumb your nose at people who are offended that you're laughing at what was probably a terrifying death?

You know what, that's over the line.

I get that he didn't plan well enough, but really, you think that makes this fair game, when his friends and relatives are still in mourning?

I really liked Gizmodo, but this is too much. I'm deleting the RSS feed, and encouraging my friends to read this post and decide if they really want to read Gizmodo anymore either.

Really weak, Gizmodo. Really weak.

permissionmag

About the Darwin awards... this guy deserves a prize in it -> @biker_ray_pa

About Father de Carli, brazilians make fun of what happened, I see no problems with Gizmodo doing it too.

It's obviously tragic, but also obviously stupid.

The most valuable lesson he left behind was "don't do brainless crap like I did". Jokes will make people remember this more than grieving.

Making it for charity doesn't make it smarter.
And seriously?
Who can prove me he wasn't doing this only to show off?
Charity nowadays is used as an excuse for many things.

But those who are feeling too much sympathy, can go jump off a cliff for charity.. I'll try not to laugh.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

@frigg:

*in a british woman's voice*

"turn left....recalculating...turn left.....in 100 ft, turn left....take the bloody left.....recalculating....oh, you tosser!"

johnnyabnormal

Perhaps God views GPS as inextricably bound in free will, and is unwilling to intervene when these systems are engaged. I suppose we'll never know, but I can't help but wonder if the Priest had only chosen to discard his GPS device at sea, and instead entrust his fate to the Force, like a certain Luke Skywalker I know, perhaps he'd still be dangling safely from balloons as we speak.

As an Amish person (Mennonite, actually), I certainly didn't get any divine intervention last week when my Nüvi gave me directions from hell. Or maybe that was divine intervention punishing me for using it in the first place...

frigg

@biker_ray_pa: Rubbish. I don't care who you are or what you believe in, that statement is utter made-up, self-deluded crap.

You've just given me a reason to share my favourite statistic I've learnt this week: In the US, 50% of paedophiles and rapists admit to using pornography. 95% admit to reading the bible.

Now, as for the story, we'll make as mcuh fun as we want. "He was only trying to raise money for charity". Yes, but if he wasn't such a freaking moron he'd still be alive and continuing to raise money for charity for years to come.

DelSource

You think the above is stupid? I challenge you. Did you know the shark sheds 30,000 teeth in a lifetime?

gravitation

href="#c6529234">johnnyabnormal: I love you. Please have many kids and keep them away from the crazies.

href="#c6529299">GadgetPlay: @ What is behind, and what happened before, the Big bang?

Nothing happened before the Big Bang because there was no before . Space and therefore Time did not exist then. Only the singularity. At least that's our present understanding.

The amazing thing is that when and if evidence comes around and contradicts this, all rational people will simply be happy to have a clearer understanding of the universe. We will not stage rallies to "teach the controversy" and you will not find foaming-at-the-mouth Big-Bangers trying to teach a defunct theory to children at schools.

THAT IS WHY ATHEISM IS NOT A FAITH!

CribbageLeft

Peace! May the priest fly forever in wings of our dreams, of diaphenous gold forever May our heats be filled with love!

gravitation

@johnnyabnormal: We used to ride inter-tubes in the snow when I was a kid. Good times...

Speaking of Jones, I think we're due for an essay from our canine correspondent. Ha! The first time I read it, I thought it said that Jones would "kick you IN the inter-tubes." Now that sounds painful.

GadgetPlay

@GadgetPlay: qft man, lack of that so called faith is no faith at all, not having the answer to some question does not make any biblical crap true

pharago

@johnnyabnormal: Ha! I was nevr keen of your abnormal looks. But I couldn't agree with you more!

Tohe

I don't think we know everything. Maybe tomorrow, somebody will decide from his own experience. In the meantime, anybody who rapes and kills a child sholud be skinned alive (I'm willing to discussm the pros and cons)

gravitation

@GadgetPlay: Ah, but do you remember that bible you mailed to me? I opened it up and look what I found!

johnnyabnormal

@CribbageLeft: "Nothing happened before the Big Bang because there was no before ."

That's just semantics. You're taking advantage (not intentionally I'm sure) of how difficult it is to express certain concepts in plain language. If you could step outside of time and space, then what would have appeared to happen? If you can't admit that you don't know whether there is a God of some sort or not, then you're operating on FAITH.

GadgetPlay

@pharago: "the answer to some question does not make any biblical crap true"

Ask around, no one's ever heard me spouting any "biblical crap." Or better yet, just read this thread, I've pretty much laid out my few beliefs. My point was, that until we know what happened before, or what is behind, the Big Bang, we really can't know if there is a God or not. My starting point logically, is that if I see a fantastically intricate machine, it never would occur to me that it designed itself, or assembled itself without instructions (physical laws?), so I tend to lean toward there being a God of some sort, but I admit that I don't know. Can you do the same?

GadgetPlay

Just because he was trying to do something good doesn't make him any less of an idiot. He should've learned how to use the GPS *before* going up. I mean, c'mon, how is that not stupid?

And even forgiving that, which is a stretch, did he not have a way to come down? Once he figured out he couldn't use the GPS, and was drifting out toward the sea, why the hell didn't he just give up and land? If he went up without a way to come down - then that's just utter stupidity. If he had a way to come down and didn't realize it would be a good idea to use it - well, that doesn't indicate a lot of intelligence either.

MegaZone

@permissionmag: You're overreacting. This is a sober new story with a recurrent Giz epithet in the pic. The story is relevant because it includes the use of a common gadget in uncommon circumstances with disastrous results.

If this were a YouTube stunt of a kid doing the same thing, the reaction would be: this is tragic, but the kid is an idiot. That it's a Priest makes the story all the more startling, but the Priest no less of an idiot.

If you're going to get upset about the story, don't get upset about the reporting. Get upset at the Priest who caused all the grief for his family, congregation and community by virtue of a moronic publicity stunt with insufficient planning. Committing public suicide to help a local charity only underscores his bad judgment and hurts them as well.

And if blogging about it stops just one more Priest from tying balloons to himself and floating away, then Giz, if anything, has performed a valuable public service.

@johnnyabnormal: hehe! I have a feeling the nüvi has some internal algorithm that counts the number of times it says "recalculating," and once you pass a a certain threshold unleashes an even more exasperated British Headmistress text-to-speech engine to scold you through your journey.

frigg

@biker_ray_pa: Your statement isn't incorrect in that most people are vested in their belief systems and don't understand why everyone else doesn't feel exactly the same way they do. People behave consistently regardless of their beliefs - they all want you to convert to their way of thinking. The behavior isn't limited to any one group since all groups are composed of mighty imperfect humans.

For those who ask "Where is your God now?" It is called free will and you can do anything you want and you will live with the consequences, good or bad or a combo of good and bad. But what will be will be. Even those who do not believe in a particular religion have to agree with that: for every action, there is a reaction. Sometimes it is an equal but opposite reaction. Sometimes it is a chain reaction but all actions have some sort of effect, including those motivated emotions and beliefs. See, science and people are intertwined, with or without a religious context. Some people, not all, are the ones who said the two are mutually exclusive.

I am sorry that the priest apparently assumed the GPS would be easy to operate. I also don't see the joke here. It is sad all the way around. That he assumed it would be easy. That no one else talked with him about the effort. That people clearly didn't try to keep up with his progress or at least monitor him. What a cruel world we all live in right now. Especially after reading some of these comments.

sgrmba

@frigg: Exactly.

Re. the picture. We use the phrase for everything, it's from Teen Girl Squad. And it is fun.

Re. the headline. Looking at the world today, we are all missing our God Positioning Systems, even the so-called "religious people." God has also lost his Human Positioning System, because She/He is not giving a flying frak about all the crap happening in this rock in space.

So if anything, it's not only NOT making fun, but it's making a point about how lonely, scary, and sad the planet feels without a oh-so-comfortable $deity to rely on.

Maybe that's what has offended some religious people here: that the headline points out that there may be NO God. Or that God can't be located when you need Him/Her.

I'm catholic BTW. Like all the old religions, we take all these things easily and tend to laugh at dead, specially if it's this stupid (because it's a stupid death). There's no other way. The brazilians agreed with this, as you can see in their news treatment.

For all the people who keep saying this is a post in bad taste, I would only say two things: 1) it simply states the facts and doesn't make fun of him, and 2) you should read a lot more books, but not before taking a reading and comprehension class.

p.s. BTW, the ones who just decided to insult have been banned by Jones. He then went to the street and made a very big poop.

jesusdiaz

"I think it's funny how nobody on earth pushes their religion on others as much as atheists do."

Right, that's why there's an Atheist Center on damn near every corner and why there are multiple Atheist Channels on your local cable system. Then there are all the wars that Atheists have started to convert others to our point of view. Oh, and let's not forget all the Atheist holidays on the calendar.

Yup, we Atheists are always pushing our beliefs on other people, not keeping them to ourselves like you religious people.

crankymediaguy

Forget the GPS, what part of "the prevailing winds will blow you straight into the middle of the Atlantic ocean" was not clear to this guy?

And in an interesting coincidence, someone else points out how to do it right today...

[ap.google.com]

Z.