Logic Arguements for God(s)?

Child Abuse in Ireland

It's been a couple of weeks since the Ryan Report into Child Abuse by the Catholic church in Ireland has been released and I'm still not sure what to say about it.

I mean, clearly the religious orders are evil and perverted, but I don't need to repeat what thousands of others have said, albeit, with a little more tact.

But clearly something is deeply rotten in Irish society, how else could "we" have let the religious torture and rape children for over 50 years without anyone cruing "halt!"? It absolutely beggers belief. I've heard this described as "Ireland's Holocaust" meaning Irish people should feel the deep sense of shame and embarrassment that many German's still feel over the actual Holocaust. I think we certainly should. Trouble is, I don't really see that happening. Instead a vague uneasyness and a shirking of responsibility has set in. It was the religious. It was (a lot) of bad apples. It was in the past. Let's give the victims money and hope they shut up.

For me this had been a disastrous couple of weeks for Ireland. Not only did this happen, but the churches where full at the weekend.

link via jkeyes

Catholic Church in Ireland

View more OpenOffice presentations from damienmulley.

Something that sounds like joke ...

but isn't...

The hottest thing on the griddle at the Las Palmas restaurant these days is not the food – it is the image of the Virgin Mary that a cook said she saw on the griddle.

Restaurant manager Brenda Martinez said more than 100 people have flocked to the small town of Calexico on the California-Mexico border to gaze at the likeness since it was discovered as the griddle was being cleaned.

Among the awe-struck was a group of masked Mexican wrestlers who arrived for an exhibition.

One, known as Mr Tempest, said: “This is amazing. It’s a true miracle.*”

Since the discovery, the griddle has been taken out of service and placed in a shrine in a storage room

.

* easily impressed that guy

link

Swine flu "offensive"

A nice example of just how stupid religious "feelings" can be;

JERUSALEM – The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday.

So now the word is a problem?
It must raise some interesting theological questions as if pigs are "unclean" then what happens if you catch a flu some comprising DNA of a pig flu? I imagine the pig flu itself is not unclean (DNA and virus's are not mentioned in the perfect, word-of-god, holy books) but never the less, the virus has been kinda associating with pigs and I doubt it "cleansed" itself before infecting humans.


Maybe they should volunteer to have it called "Israeli flu"??

link

GAH! Blasphemy to become crime in Ireland

Just when you thought this country couldn't get any nuttier - now they want to make blasphemy a crime;

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern proposes to insert a new section into the Defamation Bill, stating: “A person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €100,000.”

“Blasphemous matter” is defined as matter “that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion; and he or she intends, by the publication of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage.”

Rather than just 'fix' the constitution they would rather ban free speech!!!

Goddamn these fuckers!

Hitchens on Turkey & the E.U.

Clearly, I am against Turkey ever being made a member;

Here is what Hitchens thinks.

Turkey wants all the privileges of NATO and EU membership but also wishes to continue occupying Cyprus, denying Kurdish rights, and lying about the Armenian genocide. On top of this, it now desires to act as a proxy for Islamization and dares to waste the time of a defensive alliance in trying to censor the press of another member state!

link

Hatuey

I am currently reading “The Brief Wondrous life of Oscar Wao” which, aside from being very good, contains lot’s of footnotes and asides about the Dominican Republic and it’s history. Not a subject I know much about.

The most recent footnote regarded a native chief called “Hatuey” who tried to throw off the Spaniards in 1511. He was captured in the end and before being burned at the stake a priest asked him if he would accept Jesus and go to heaven.

Hatuey asked "Are there white men in heaven?" When the priest assured him that there were many, Hatuey replied "Then I’d rather go to Hell."*;

A quote I really liked and it could easily be paraphrased for use by today’s unbelievers, “Men of Faith”, perhaps?

I got an extra kick out of this as it really puts the Popenfuhres opinion of the conquest of the Americas into context;

Pope Benedict XVI told Latin American bishops in Brazil that American Indians had been "silently longing" to become Christians 500 years ago.

* There seems to be several differing versions of this statement on the web, I’ve used the one from the book

What would Jesus Not Do

One of the best yet, also humorous;

Jarred Diamond on religion

the lecture is about 40 minutes, with a Q&A afterwards.

Non Overlapping Magisteria

Non Overlapping Magisteria, I'm not a fan of this argument, neither is Pharyngula, here's a snip of why he thinks it's bunkum;

Think about it. Why can't science address the existence of gods? Why should we simply sit back and accept the claim of apologists that what they believe in is not subject to "observation, measurement, and experiment"?

In the United States today, we have tens of thousands of priests, rabbis, mullahs, pastors, and preachers who are paid professionals, who claim to be active and functioning mediators between people and omnipotent invisible masters of the universe. They make specific claims about their god's nature, what he's made of and what he isn't, how he thinks and acts, what you should do to propitiate it…they somehow seem to have amazingly detailed information about this being. Yet, when a scientist approaches with a critical eye, suddenly it is a creature that not only has never been observed, but cannot observed, and its actions invisible, impalpible, and immaterial.

Defamation of Religion

worth reading;

The whole idea of defamation of religion is nonsense. Taken literally, it would mean that I could not utter any falsehood that is damaging to the reputation of a religion (so, it might lead people to leave the religion or doubt its doctrines, or fail to be convinced to convert to it). But a religion has no right to flourish, be believed, retain adherents, gain converts, or anything of the sort. On the contrary, it is in the public interest that the truth and credibility of various religions be tested continually, and it is quite within my rights to try to convert people from their current religion to my religion of choice or to an anti-religious position.

continued

YowZaa! Indulgences are back

This is too nutty for words - the Roman Catholic church is bring back "indulgences", you know, one of those crazy ideas of purchasing forgiveness that helped spark the reformation.

The Church has done so many crazy things lately I could nearly keep a blog just pointing them out but this one really made me slap my head. Even the recent business of offending every Jew and 'fact based' person on the planet didn't really surprise me.

What's next? Geocentricism?

thanks to Pharyngula for the link.

The Difference

This really should get them going.

Respecting Religions

Obviously I'm in the "no way" camp;

Johann Hari: Why should I respect these oppressive religions?

Starting in 1999, a coalition of Islamist tyrants, led by Saudi Arabia, demanded the rules be rewritten. The demand for everyone to be able to think and speak freely failed to "respect" the "unique sensitivities" of the religious, they decided – so they issued an alternative Islamic Declaration of Human Rights. It insisted that you can only speak within "the limits set by the shariah [law]. It is not permitted to spread falsehood or disseminate that which involves encouraging abomination or forsaking the Islamic community".

In other words, you can say anything you like, as long as it precisely what the reactionary mullahs tell you to say. The declaration makes it clear there is no equality for women, gays, non-Muslims, or apostates. It has been backed by the Vatican and a bevy of Christian fundamentalists.

Atheist Shame

Mildly amusing video.

Instruction Manual For Life

A beautiful animation about "instruction manuals", very much in the same vain as Blankets

A picture is worth a thousand words

One of the great things about religions is how much time they spend hating other people. Sadly in the modern world many people don't have time to read how the other guy is evil so this website presents it in pictorial form.





The first panel above is particularly amusing but it does explain why Ahmadinejad hates gays so much.

The priest in the fourth panel is identified as "Fr. O'Toole" which really miffed me. I'm Irish and was born a Catholic and if it turns out our guys are running the world then I want to know why this place isn't neater! At the very least we should all have giant TV's and cheap alcohol. Also, the other countries have to start letting us win things in sport.

Fatwa +20 years

It's 20 years since the fatwa was issued against Salman Rushdie and Christopher Hitchens has some thoughts to share;

[on self censureship] So there is now a hidden partner in our cultural and academic and publishing and broadcasting world: a shadowy figure that has, uninvited, drawn up a chair to the table. He never speaks. He doesn’t have to. But he is very well understood.

link Assassins of the Mind

I have to admit I've never read Rushdie, although I have pawed his books a few times while browsing. In the end I've been a little intimidated by the standing of the man - like a modern Joyce. Someday I'll get over myself and pick up The Satanic Verses, could be a good New Years resolution ...

It's Christmas - that means it's time for ...

A hate speech!

Pope Benedict said today that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

Pretty much every blog I visit is commenting on this and with good reason. It's so mind blowingly ignorant/hateful/stupid/weird/etc/etc that I was taken aback when I heard it.

Today many in the media will howl in protest at the man, but tomorrow he and his superstition will still be "respected" (It's one of the great* religions - don't ya know!?)



* great : Def, 'Very large in size.' but when refering to religions usually is taken to imply 'august'

How it is