The Hazards of Belief

Hotblack Desiato

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

I'm too young to remember :pac: but apparently if you wanted illicit contraception in the 70s and 80s, Hayes Cunningham Robinson chemists were the place to go, because they were 'Protestant'.

I remember, at about 7 or 8 years old, being in a bus with my mother and going past what must have been the Well Woman Centre, seeing a large sign saying 'Contraceptives Unlimited', and asking my mam what that meant ...because all the other shops and businesses said Limited!!!

Dragged up this ancient post because when I happened across this video on RTE Archives the other day, I remembered I'd posted about this place before

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2013/1127/489465-contraception-unlimited-1978/

Corner of Charlemont Street and Harcourt Road, Dublin 2. The shops are still there, but the whole block is closed down since last year and no doubt is soon going to be demolished. The area is unrecognisable today - apart from the block of now-closed shops (late night dive and alleged food supplier The Manhattan among them), the just-about-visible phone exchange on Adelaide Road is pretty much the only feature in that streetscape which is still there - and it's also being demolished.

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.3326868,-6.2636642,3a,75y,92.45h,80.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swsLKIRuXnJ2UwyI68a5B6w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Even the road layout has changed, the road on the left at the very start of the video was built over and a new road constructed further away.

All bland office blocks and convenience stores and coffee chains now.

I remember the optician's on Harcourt Road as well, it was the last hold-out after everything else around it was demolished:

https://comeheretome.com/2012/03/27/stein-opticians/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29381920@N03/5801512492/sizes/o/in/set-72157608591425786/

But at least now you can get johnnies...

Hotblack Desiato

Another couple of interesting things I found:

JW has changed. But shure haven't we all

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2017/0703/887378-in-dublin-magazine/


Down With This Sort Of Thing:

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2016/0113/759802-protests-over-hail-mary-film/


Careful Now:

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2015/1029/738231-protests-at-screening-of-scorsese-film/

Odhinn

On August 14, a court in Rajasthan acquitted all men on trial of killing a Muslim dairy farmer, Pehlu Khan, saying there were serious lapses in investigation. Khan, 55, and four others, were stopped by a mob in Alwar district in April 2017 as they were legally transporting cows. They were brutally beaten in an attack that was filmed on a mobile phone and widely shared on social media. Khan died two days later from his injuries.




Since 2014, at least 50 people, mostly Muslims, have been killed in similar attacks. Dalits, so-called untouchables, have also been targeted because they handle animal carcasses and leather. The government has promised justice for these hate crimes, but Khan’s case highlights many findings of a Human Rights Watch report that police stall investigations, ignore procedures, file criminal cases against witnesses to harass and intimidate them, and even cover up to protect perpetrators.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/08/15/failing-hold-violent-cow-protectors-account-india?fbclid=IwAR3w6TfIkC-m8XPbyobD7ZviHCXmRLwFUisrqFCm7ThG3t9ZEzdslGJELWc

Odhinn

Should have jailed them, tbh.

An Australian couple who put their baby daughter on a strict vegan diet that left her severely malnourished have avoided serving a jail sentence.
The couple in their 30s, who cannot be named, were sentenced to an 18-month jail term which will be served as a community order.
The girl, now three, was so malnourished she looked like a three-month-old at 19 months.
She was fed a diet of oats, potatoes, toast and rice among others.
The child was found with no teeth when she was taken into care earlier last year.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-49430857

Hotblack Desiato

Multiple fatalities as lightning strike hits cross at Polish pilgrimage site

"Oops", says God.

Hotblack Desiato

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_von_Hochstaden

Konrad von Hochstaden (or Conrad of Hochstadt) (1198/1205 – 18 September 1261) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1238 to 1261.

Scroll down a bit and there's a picture:

Konrad von Hochstaden at the tower of Cologne City Hall standing atop an autofellatio-performing grotesque.

WTF?!? :eek:

PicardWithHair

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Multiple fatalities as lightning strike hits cross at Polish pilgrimage site

"Oops", says God.

Reminds me of this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca_crane_collapse

But that was a tragedy, while the Polish lightning strike is hilarious.

Mr_A

This went poorly.

https://victormatara.com/pastor-dies-after-30-days-of-fasting-to-beat-jesus-record/

smacl

Mr_A wrote: »

This went poorly.

https://victormatara.com/pastor-dies-after-30-days-of-fasting-to-beat-jesus-record/

Nominee for a Darwin award perhaps?

Mark Hamill

Don't know wether to put this in the Funny thread or here, but it's anti-vaccination and while the video is comically stupid, anti-vaccination is a hazard so I guess it belongs her.

So, basically, I was looking for youtube videos to do some pilates at home to manage backpain and came across this guys channel, Dr Adam Fields. Scrolling down the channel and the first few videos of exercises seemed good, he's a good speaker and demonstrator and the exercises seem good. But then I came across this doosy of a video explaining why vaccines are against his christian religion and I'm posting it here because, particularly the first part (which I'll detail below), is an argument I've never heard before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arekyXJ7g8o

If you can't watch it, the jist is how can he tell a child, who is "fearfully and wonderfully" made in their mothers womb, that right after birth god abandons them and therefore they will need so many vaccines before they become adults (the volume of which also drive the childs inferiority complex) :eek:

But there's more:
He says things like "I studied critical thinking in Chiropractor college and there was always Cause and Effect, not Cause and Side-Effect" :pac:.
He tries to claim that vaccines actually increase infant mortality rate (based on an extremely dubious study) :rolleyes:.
He uses a medical drawing of a syringe in the skin to scaremonger how it bypasses our normal defence systems :eek:.
He decries the dangerous toxic ingredients of vaccines like aluminium, formaldehyde ... antibiotics, MSG, soy and egg? .
He says our bodies are temples and god told us of the sanctity of blood and how we should keep it pure.

And all in a 3 1/2 minute video!

Igotadose

Mark Hamill wrote: »

Don't know wether to put this in the Funny thread or here, but it's anti-vaccination and while the video is comically stupid, anti-vaccination is a hazard so I guess it belongs her.

There's an anti-vax thread already. This guy is a "DC" so it's wrong to call him "Doctor." He's "Doctor of Chiropractic," which isn't the same thing. Not surprised he's a Chiropractor, that's just another form of voodoo medicine like holistic and naturopathy.

Hotblack Desiato

I don't want my child's body to become a temple of TB, whooping cough, diphtheria, polio, chicken pox, HPV-related cancers...

The only thing that might knock a bit of sense into these idiots is a good old-fashioned polio epidemic :mad:

Igotadose

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

I don't want my child's body to become a temple of TB, whooping cough, diphtheria, polio, chicken pox, HPV-related cancers...

The only thing that might knock a bit of sense into these idiots is a good old-fashioned polio epidemic :mad:

Having known polio victims growing up, I would never make light of it. The best thing that can happen if you contract polio, is to die from it quickly. It's truly horrible stuff.

Hotblack Desiato

I know that. I'm not making light of it (and I remember seeing polio victims too, there were epidemics in the 50s) but some people are so fcuking thick that they need to have the consequences of an action to be visible right in front of them before they'll acknowledge that it exists.

ChrisJ84

Mark Hamill wrote: »

Don't know wether to put this in the Funny thread or here, but it's anti-vaccination and while the video is comically stupid, anti-vaccination is a hazard so I guess it belongs her....

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

I know that. I'm not making light of it (and I remember seeing polio victims too, there were epidemics in the 50s) but some people are so fcuking thick that they need to have the consequences of an action to be visible right in front of them before they'll acknowledge that it exists.

I'm a bible believing, evangelical Christian and I think he's an idiot as well.

The cynic in me wonders whether this has less to do with "Dr" Fields supposed Christian convictions, and more to do with the marketing value of slapping "Christian" on something in the US to give it credibility.

Bannasidhe

ChrisJ84 wrote: »

The cynic in me wonders whether this has less to do with "Dr" Fields supposed Christian convictions, and more to do with the marketing value of slapping "Christian" on something in the US to give it credibility.

That could very well be true, but it also shows how meaningless the term "Christian" has become.
Those who identify as such can vary from pacifist to war hawk.
Charitable to (for want of a better term) Professionally Grasping.
Forgiving to 'Hang 'em High'.

It's a catch all term that encompasses those who mean "I follow the ethos of Jesus as outlined on the Gospels" to "I use the Bible to state why people I don't approve of are going to burn eternally" to "I'm white and Western" to "Buy what I'm selling because Jesus".

Zubeneschamali

Bannasidhe wrote: »

It's a catch all term

That's why there is also the much more selective term "real Christian". Anyone from a different place on the spectrum is a Christian when big numbers help the argument, but not a "real Christian" when shown to be awful in one way or another.

Hotblack Desiato

Ever so slightly harsh perhaps to come down on this guy for "abusing" the christian label for marketing purposes, when churches rake in billions tax-free and "prosperity gospel" charlatans criss-cross the globe by private jet.

Whatever about belief itself, religion is marketing - marketing belief, selling salvation by the pound.

Hector Savage

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/islamic-body-seeks-to-become-patron-of-new-school-in-west-dublin-1.4011578#.XXcc7As_dpU.twitter

Islamic Foundation of Ireland to open secondary school in Dublin. The Islamic Foundation of Ireland regularly hosts Islamist hate preachers including supporters of violence.

theological

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Ever so slightly harsh perhaps to come down on this guy for "abusing" the christian label for marketing purposes, when churches rake in billions tax-free and "prosperity gospel" charlatans criss-cross the globe by private jet.

Whatever about belief itself, religion is marketing - marketing belief, selling salvation by the pound.

That's overly simplistic.

I would agree that people who do abuse others to line their own pockets should have their tax exempt status removed.

Other churches (mine included) which are transparent about expenses highlighting their accounts at the annual church meeting and being accountable on it, where staff have a modest salary to cover their needs without very much if anything in surplus at all aren't really in the same grouping as this.

Bannasidhe

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

That's why there is also the much more selective term "real Christian". Anyone from a different place on the spectrum is a Christian when big numbers help the argument, but not a "real Christian" when shown to be awful in one way or another.

Reminds me of trying to put your finger on a bit of mercury. Impossible to pin down.

ChrisJ84

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

That's why there is also the much more selective term "real Christian". Anyone from a different place on the spectrum is a Christian when big numbers help the argument, but not a "real Christian" when shown to be awful in one way or another.

That's fair. He could be a Christian and be horribly misguided. Or he could be a charlatan. Either way I think we can agree that his stance on vaccines is completely wrong.

Hotblack Desiato

Hector Savage wrote: »

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/islamic-body-seeks-to-become-patron-of-new-school-in-west-dublin-1.4011578#.XXcc7As_dpU.twitter

Islamic Foundation of Ireland to open secondary school in Dublin. The Islamic Foundation of Ireland regularly hosts Islamist hate preachers including supporters of violence.

Did you even read the headline? "Seeks to"

I hope it doesn't happen. But we really shouldn't be allowing any more religious patronage schools of ANY religion.

Zubeneschamali

I don't think they should get a cent of tax money, but I don't think they should be banned.

Muslim, CofI, Catholic... none of them.

Hotblack Desiato

We're talking publicly funded schools here.

If religious groups want to abuse kids' brains in private with their own money there is little that can be done to stop them.

robindch

Taking, cough, a line from Colombia, an orthodox priest from Tver who's trying to cut down on sin by means of Holy Rain.

https://twitter.com/MoscowTimes/status/1172291298533027840

Hotblack Desiato

Hail Mary voted Ireland's favourite prayer at Ploughing Championships

The Hail Mary has been voted Ireland's favourite prayer at the National Ploughing Championships in Co Carlow.

The competition was held at stand 399, which was run by the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, and had the theme 'Digging Deeper – Rooting For Christ'.

Visitors chose their favourite prayer from a shortlist, which included Our Father and the Rosary.

Hail Mary received 61% of votes, while O Angel of God (the Guardian Angel Prayer) received 39%.

ohnonotgmail

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Hail Mary voted Ireland's favourite prayer at Ploughing Championships

The Hail Mary has been voted Ireland's favourite prayer at the National Ploughing Championships in Co Carlow.

The competition was held at stand 399, which was run by the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, and had the theme 'Digging Deeper – Rooting For Christ'.

Visitors chose their favourite prayer from a shortlist, which included Our Father and the Rosary.

Hail Mary received 61% of votes, while O Angel of God (the Guardian Angel Prayer) received 39%.

No surprise that the shorter prayers won

Peregrinus

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

No surprise that the shorter prayers won

"'Twas the short mass that kept the Faith alive in Ireland."

Odhinn

Two men in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have been arrested for allegedly killing two Dalit (formerly untouchables) children who were defecating in the open, police say.
Roshni, 12, and Avinash, 10, were attacked on Wednesday while defecating near a village road, they said.
The children's family told BBC Hindi that they have no toilet at home.
Millions of poor Indians defecate in the open, which especially puts women and children at risk.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49835830

robindch

File this under "Should have seen this one coming":

Psychic medium event in St Keverne interrupted by prayer group

With video goodness.

https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/17923428.psychic-medium-event-st-keverne-interrupted-prayer-group/

Hotblack Desiato

Irony, much?

But Reverend Deirdre Mackrill, Assistant Curate of St Keverne Church, said that clairvoyance poses a risk to people's mental health and that her prayer group was only trying to help.

She said: "There's always a risk when people dabble in the occult, calling on spirits.

"I know of three people who have gone down that route and suffered long-term serious mental health issues, some of whom might have been quite vulnerable if they have lost a loved one."

She added: "I think from a Christian's point of view there's plenty of biblical evidence about why people shouldn't engage in those kinds of activities. It's in fact wrong and dangerous.

"The power of prayer is immeasurable. When two or three, and we were more than two or three, gather together we have the power of the Lord God himself."

Hector Savage

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49850408

Nigerian police say they have rescued nearly 500 men and boys from a building in the northern city of Kaduna, where the detainees were allegedly tortured.

Those held at the building, which housed an Islamic school, included a large number of children and some were found chained up, police said.

Odhinn

A family who spent nine years in a basement "waiting for the end of time" have been discovered by police in the Netherlands after one of them turned up at a local pub, reports say.
A man, 58, and six adults - aged 18 to 25 - were living at a farm in the northern province of Drenthe.
They were found after one of the six ordered beer at a bar in the nearby village of Ruinerwold.
He then told staff he needed help, broadcaster RTV Drenthe reported.
The older man was initially assumed to be the father, but local mayor Roger de Groot later told reporters that was not the case. Nor was the man the owner of the farmhouse, Mr de Groot said, adding: "I've never seen anything like it."
The public broadcaster said that the family had been living in isolation waiting for the end of time.
Bar owner Chris Westerbeek described how one family member had come in, ordered five beers and drunk them.
"Then I had a chat with him and he revealed he had run away and needed help... then we called the police," he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50054044


Terrible state of affairs if you can't have a few scoops waiting for the end of the world.

robindch

Odhinn wrote: »

Terrible state of affairs if you can't have a few scoops waiting for the end of the world.

That's what Ford Perfect thought and look what happened to him.

Speaking of which - the actor who voiced Marvin the Paranoid Andriod died the other day:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-50035065

"I think you ought to know that I'm feeling very depressed."

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50081466



The Vatican is hoping to pull in tech-savvy youngsters with the launch of an "eRosary" bracelet.

The gadget, which costs $109 (£85), can be worn as a bracelet and is activated by making the sign of a cross.

It is connected to the "Click to Pray eRosary" app, which is designed to help Catholic users pray for world peace and contemplate the gospel.

The app tracks a user's progress, and contains visual and audio explanations of the rosary.

The traditional rosary is used to aid prayer and meditation. Its beads are counted as prayers are recited.

Users can choose from three ways of praying. There is the standard rosary, a contemplative rosary or a thematic rosary.

The rosaries are made up of 10 black agate and hematite beads, plus a metal cross that detects movement.

"This project brings together the best of the Church's spiritual tradition and the latest advances of the technological world," a Click to Pray press release said.

Taiwan-based tech company GadgTek Inc developed the gadget, which is water-resistant and compatible with Android and iOS smartphones.

This is not the first time the Catholic Church has attempted to attract young people with technology.

In 2018, a Catholic evangelical group launched "Follow JC Go!", a Christian take on the hugely successful Pokemon Go gaming app. It let players "catch" saints or Bible characters, instead of monster characters.

Bannasidhe

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50081466



The Vatican is hoping to pull in tech-savvy youngsters with the launch of an "eRosary" bracelet.

The gadget, which costs $109 (£85), can be worn as a bracelet and is activated by making the sign of a cross.

It is connected to the "Click to Pray eRosary" app, which is designed to help Catholic users pray for world peace and contemplate the gospel.

The app tracks a user's progress, and contains visual and audio explanations of the rosary.

The traditional rosary is used to aid prayer and meditation. Its beads are counted as prayers are recited.

Users can choose from three ways of praying. There is the standard rosary, a contemplative rosary or a thematic rosary.

The rosaries are made up of 10 black agate and hematite beads, plus a metal cross that detects movement.

"This project brings together the best of the Church's spiritual tradition and the latest advances of the technological world," a Click to Pray press release said.

Taiwan-based tech company GadgTek Inc developed the gadget, which is water-resistant and compatible with Android and iOS smartphones.

This is not the first time the Catholic Church has attempted to attract young people with technology.

In 2018, a Catholic evangelical group launched "Follow JC Go!", a Christian take on the hugely successful Pokemon Go gaming app. It let players "catch" saints or Bible characters, instead of monster characters.

A praybit.
Just what the world needs.

Odhinn

No to the Yoga. Givin people ideas, so it is.

Bishop of Waterford & Lismore Alphonsus Cullinan has written to schools across Waterford City & County warning against the teaching of Yoga and mindfulness. In the letter, which was sent on October 10, Bishop Cullinan said that “Yoga is not of Christian origin” and was not suitable for a parish school setting “especially not during Religious Education time”.

https://waterford-news.ie/2019/10/18/bishop-warns-against-yoga-and-mindfullness-in-schools/?fbclid=IwAR1o_agVO9S5lBrXrT4j6pnusXXzVC_Ixrv5GPrTj_y_p0w_stRwh_gfFuY

ohnonotgmail

Odhinn wrote: »

No to the Yoga. Givin people ideas, so it is.




https://waterford-news.ie/2019/10/18/bishop-warns-against-yoga-and-mindfullness-in-schools/?fbclid=IwAR1o_agVO9S5lBrXrT4j6pnusXXzVC_Ixrv5GPrTj_y_p0w_stRwh_gfFuY

when i first looked at the URL i thought it said waterfordwhispers.

Hotblack Desiato

The Bishop concluded by asking teachers and principals to encourage children to “pray the Rosary” and help them spend time with Jesus in “adoration or in quiet meditation” in the classroom.

Is Phonsie for real?

Odhinn

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Is Phonsie for real?

O yeah. Poe's law writ large.

Hotblack Desiato

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

when i first looked at the URL i thought it said waterfordwhispers.

You can tell where they get their inspiration from though, seems some people down there have the aul' religion real bad.

We stayed down there a few months ago, holy pictures in the hotel lobby and a hard to resist offer by the lift:

ohnonotgmail

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

You can tell where they get their inspiration from though, seems some people down there have the aul' religion real bad.

We stayed down there a few months ago, holy pictures in the hotel lobby and a hard to resist offer by the lift:

that sequeira guy gets around

https://ephesians511blog.com/2013/03/03/bro-johnson-sequeiras-word-faith-theology-and-prosperity-gospel/

Odhinn

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

that sequeira guy gets around

https://ephesians511blog.com/2013/03/03/bro-johnson-sequeiras-word-faith-theology-and-prosperity-gospel/

Ye'd be tempted to turn up and see if he could cure the pain in your bollox.

smacl

Odhinn wrote: »

Ye'd be tempted to turn up and see if he could cure the pain in your bollox.

Brave lad letting a priest anywhere near your bollox :pac:

Odhinn

The good bishop has form on this issue -

Last year, Bishop Cullinan said that he is establishing a "delivery ministry" of exorcists to deal with evil spirits and also warned people against the use of Reiki and new age healing because they could be channeling "the wrong spirit".

Last year, Bishop Cullinan revealed that he was in the process of establishing a "delivery ministry" of exorcists in his diocese, in response to several requests and reports he said he had received from people about "what they believe to be evil forces".
He also warned people against getting involved in Reiki or new age healing, "because if you're opening yourself up to a spirit and someone is channeling a spirit, they could be channeling the wrong spirit".
The bishop said last year that the brother of a Reiki master had told him that the master had seen "a vision of Satan" while working on somebody and was "scared out of his wits, dropped the Reiki and went back to the church".
He said that he had received nine requests in the last few years from people who wanted the services of an exorcist.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2019/1018/1084312-yoga-bishop-school/


'my invisible world is better than your invisible world', although at least the yoga thing has exercise involved.




There's a good t-shirt in the slogan "channeling the wrong spirit"

Hotblack Desiato

Steve Jobs saying "You're praying it wrong" perhaps?

Odhinn

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Steve Jobs saying "You're praying it wrong" perhaps?

Or just the "channelling" quote with a bit of 80's black metal imagery. Bit of nostalgia etc.

expectationlost

Odhinn wrote: »

The good bishop has form on this issue -









https://www.rte.ie/news/2019/1018/1084312-yoga-bishop-school/


'my invisible world is better than your invisible world', although at least the yoga thing has exercise involved.




There's a good t-shirt in the slogan "channeling the wrong spirit"

is there any form of christian based (christian adopted) mindful movement (exercise)?

Hotblack Desiato

expectationlost wrote: »

is there any form of christian based (christian adopted) mindful movement (exercise)?

Yeah the Rosary Catholic pilates