26/05/2013 NZDave said - "or some such shite like that " hmm.. let's see how that fares as a quote in 50 years time :wink:
But that's faith and belief Pete, two things which get muddled up. You don't have to believe to have faith. Many so called atheists and agnostics, even though rejecting the notion of deities or a supreme being as such might still 'wish for good luck' or 'pray that something bad hasn't happened' or really really hope that the shit wont hit the fan, as if putting or willing some power or consciousness beyond their control to affect the reality pertaining to an event. That's faith and perhaps, and I'm not saying it does, goes hand in hand with that lovely bit of human nature which is hope? Gilps, funny thing about the CofE, is that as a divorcee you still can't go back and get married in a CofE church, so King Henners aside.. what's really changed apart the head of the church is a monarch instead of a pontiff in the Vatican. It never really tore itself that far from its founding roots.
Terry Pratchett developed the entertaining notion that gods without adherents exist but are small and without power. Gods who gain a lot of fervent believers have great powers in proportion to their numbers. OK it was fiction, but it is an interesting way of connecting delusions about gods to consequences in the real world.
One of the team leaders at work is Muslim, as is her husband who also works for the company. Both are highly respectful, accepting and tolerant of the gay community and thoroughly appalled by female genital mutilation. They don't drink, and don't eat pork but that's not exactly the end if the world, is it. Technically the christian bible forbids the eating of pork too, something about meat from the beast on cloven hoof?
and let's not forget that Jews and Muslims are not supposed to eat shellfish either............ Oh hang on............maybe the fact they aren't supposed to eat these foods dates back to when they wandered around the deserts. When they were hungry they'd perhaps slaughter a pig and stick it on the spit. So what happens if you don't cook pork properly? You get food poisoning don't you. Same happens if you don't cook shellfish properly. You vomit and/or get the shits.......... So how's about this for a theory...............man can't cook certain food types properly and make themselves ill because of it, but allegedly God then decides that they shouldn't eat those foods, and over time bollox such as "cloven hooves" is spouted out by the religious idiots. Food hygiene has improved over the centuries and so have other religion beliefs. Islam and Judaism hasn't. It certainly would be a plausible explanation in my view.
I'm sure that IS the explanation. it was just good sense a few thousand years ago. But then they didn't have fridges. I do find it astonishing, that when you look up at the stars and see an infinite universe, you could really imagine that there is some supernatural being, who created and ordered it all, and still does today, who really cares if you eat a plate of moules frîtes. That has to be religion at its wackiest.
All illegal Freedom of choice Illegal Should be illegal. Freedom of choice. But hiding ones face in public should be illegal. Illegal The secular law of the land must take precedence over cultural and religious rights.
Most religious folks are "followers". The few "leaders" (now and in the past) are obsessed by power and control of others, dressed up as the word of their "god". Their motivation may be explained by the writings of Darwin or Dawkins, but not because they have a close relationship with a creator. I believe that if it was possible to remove todays religions from the world tomorrow, the same shit would happen over time, perhaps for different reasons. The issue is that the minority of people (mostly men) who are prepared to hurt others to further their position in their society (however widespread or localised that may be) do not really care about the consequences of their actions (to others or themselves). I also firmly believe that punishment (not rehabilitation) is the right course of action for such people (within the law of the land of a democracy of any type). I also believe that the majority of people in any group are "good", or have the potential to be "good", but many are led astray by a few bullies. The above over simplifies things somewhat, but give me valid examples where it is not the case, and I would be surprised.
I broadly agree, but where do you draw the line? Do you ban full beards? What about full face crash helmets?
Is anyone else amused by the fact that the adverts linked to this thread are for Muslima.com? I wonder what their mission statement is........ .......how about......"We cover our heads, but we give good head"......or "god allows us to judge others by his standards, but to live by our own" Challenge.........I'm sure you lot can come up with much better ones!
Or makeup ? Take your full face crash helmet off when you get off your bike. You wouldn't go into a bank wearing one would you ?
Good stuff from Boris in today's Telegraph. Boris Johnson: Ban Islamic groups teaching segregated university lectures - Telegraph He makes a very good distinction between Muslims and Islamists. If the secular state is strengthened then this helps to protect religious freedoms, creeping Islamification should be resisted.
I did on Friday. I also had a violin case to help explain why I wanted a loan for a musical instrument. It did not go well.
Believer or not; I've invoked His Son's name a few times in days of yore in the wet on the 999 with the Pilot Power's. "Jesus f**king Christ!"
You should have tried the earlier Sport Cups. Downright nasty. There weren't enough religious figures in all history for all the curses I swore.
