The Hazards of Belief

MrPudding

recedite wrote: »

Pity he didn't shoot himself in the head instead; then he could have got a Darwin Award.

No he couldn't. The fact hat he has already managed to breed bars him from an award. The award is recognition that you took out yourself out of the the gene pool before you polluted.

MrP

joseph brand

'Bishop' Eddie Long accused of sexual relations by four boys.

http://i.mediatakeout.com/photo/1306485625eddie_long_scandalpics.jpg

http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/eddie-long-case-officially-958537.html

Rasheedah Oliver of DeKalb County, a member of New Birth for about a dozen years said the settlement means "we can move forward and continue to do what God would have us do." Oliver said it doesn't bother her that she may never know the terms of the settlement. "I'm still steadfast," she said. "I know what he's done in my life, and I know what he has done in the lives of others."

Kamelya Hinson, a Web content editor who lives in Decatur, said the settlement has not shaken her faith.

"It doesn't make me think he's guilty or anything," she said. "I decided when this came out that I loved my pastor unconditionally. Even if he came out and grabbed the mic and said ‘I'm guilty,' it wouldn't change the way I feel about him. I wouldn't be angry like a lot of people are. You can't walk away after 15 years of being a member of a church."

Hinson said it doesn't bother her that she may never know whether the allegations are true. "He's done 1,000 good things," she said, "and he may or may not have done four really bad things."

Love a pastor unconditionally? That's a lot of power they have over their 'flock'. Baaaaaaaaa. Scary stuff.

MrPudding

Stong is the delusion in this one, mmmm.

MrP

vibe666

apparently, if you say a novena against children's rights, you'll get a medal.

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2012/02/15/no-kidding/

recedite

MrPudding wrote: »

No he couldn't. The fact hat he has already managed to breed bars him from an award. The award is recognition that you took out yourself out of the the gene pool before you polluted.

Not so, these be the rules

Take Angry Wheelchair Man, do we really know (or care) whether he has sired a sprog, prior to his impatient descent into the lift shaft?

dmw07

MrPudding wrote: »

Stong is the delusion in this one, mmmm.

MrP

:eek: It would want to be!!

Reminds me of a piece I think by Hitchens, on how religion distorts the brain to such a degree, that an individual can't actually unbiasedly judge it on what society generally considers right and wrong, or even the law for that matter.

To have a member of society that condones such a horrific act it is disturbing, and leaves me quite apathetic to that persons morals in general. Sarcasm I get, trying to understand if a persons opinions are skewed due to religion, is a quagmire i find.

RichieC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYZL2xf9YnI

They even sound intelligent..

joseph brand

RichieC wrote: »

They even sound intelligent..

What a well educated, intelligent family. That small town praises ignorance and inspired the film Idiocracy.

There's absolutely NO remorse either.

robindch

MrPudding wrote: »

The fact hat he has already managed to breed bars him from an award. The award is recognition that you took out yourself out of the the gene pool before you polluted.

Not so. Or so I believe.

Pace the desperately sad fact that a young girl was shot by some thundering moron who happened to be her biological father, I believe the sole criterion for winning a Darwin Award is that you've managed to remove all your genetic material from the gene pool. As such, you'll be eligible, so long as you kill all of your kids at the same time as you kill yourself.

Galvasean

RichieC wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYZL2xf9YnI

They even sound intelligent..

Another case of militant secularism oppressing the religious no doubt. :rolleyes:

MrPudding

recedite wrote: »

Not so, these be the rules

Take Angry Wheelchair Man, do we really know (or care) whether he has sired a sprog, prior to his impatient descent into the lift shaft?

Bah. I can't believe they have devalued the award.

MrP

recedite

MrPudding wrote: »

Bah. I can't believe they have devalued the award.

It's perfectly logical to me; no award winner will pass on their genes. It would would only be a devaluation if somebody took a sneaky "posthumous sperm donation" and used it to procreate.....but now we are straying into an area of weirdness worthy of a Mormon theologian.

Galvasean

Didn't somebody win one after he accidentally castrated himself?

Gbear

robindch wrote: »

Not so. Or so I believe.

Pace the desperately sad fact that a young girl was shot by some thundering moron who happened to be her biological father, I believe the sole criterion for winning a Darwin Award is that you've managed to remove all your genetic material from the gene pool. As such, you'll be eligible, so long as you kill all of your kids at the same time as you kill yourself.

If you kill or harm any innocent people, generally you're also disqualified.

vibe666 wrote: »

apparently, if you say a novena against children's rights, you'll get a medal.

http://www.broadsheet.ie/2012/02/15/no-kidding/

It always tickles me when the religious give out about "indoctrination."

At least my secondary school religion teacher admitted he had been indoctrinated (although bizarrely, he was glad he was).
It's as if they're saying: "HEY! INDOCTRINATION IS OUR THING!!"

robindch

Christians feel terribly oppressed during the reading of other religion's prayers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1onHSr58es

kylith

robindch wrote: »

Christians feel terribly oppressed during the reading of other religion's prayers:

Disgraceful carry on. Absolutely disgraceful. The worst thing is that they're all going to be patting themselves on the back about it.

Is it any wonder that a lot of the American public seem to have lost the run of themselves if that's the example they're getting from their senate.

muppeteer

CiaranMT

RichieC wrote: »

They even sound intelligent..

They don't...?

Galvasean

robindch wrote: »

Christians feel terribly oppressed during the reading of other religion's prayers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1onHSr58es

And yet if you told them they couldn't say their prayers in the Senate they'd be squealing, 'Oppression!!!'.
Heck, they probably think being told to pipe down and stop being so rude is some sort of persecution.

Who was doing the yelling? Where they laypeople or actual politicians?

robindch

Galvasean wrote: »

And yet if you told them they couldn't say their prayers in the Senate they'd be squealing, 'Oppression!!!'.

Well, funny you should say that:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099300/Councils-BANNED-saying-prayers-meetings-sparking-fury-Government-church-leaders.html

Luckily, the government only took eight days to restore law and order to the nation:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17082136

dmw07

robindch wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17082136

The comments section at least give me hope that someday there will be enough sane minded people, that everyone will be treated equally.

muppeteer

After all the times I've watched the Olympics I never realised women are still excluded.

http://www.bancroftthisweek.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3477299

Time to bar Saudi Arabia from Olympic competition
By Andrea DeMeer

“At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.” — Ruqaya Al-Ghasara, devout Muslim and the first female Olympian to compete veiled from head to toe. (2004)

Dick Pound, Canada’s representative on the International Olympic Committee, is absolutely correct when he says that group has made great strides in the equality of women in the Games.

Consider the organizers of the ancient Olympics put unmarried women to death for simply attending the event, and when the modern Games were founded in 1896, women were barred from competing as it was thought their inclusion would be

“impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect.”

So yeah — we’ve come a long way, baby.

With every Olympic sport now open to female competitors — boxing was the lone holdout and it will be included in the 2012 Games — this marathon is practically on its last leg.

So it’s time to disqualify Saudi Arabia from the race.

Last week, an international human rights group called for the IOC to consider barring Saudi Arabia from the Games unless that country opens its team to women, and moves to improve physical education and opportunities for Saudi girls.

Saudi Arabia is one of three countries that fields men, but never women, in the Olympics, and the only country that is prohibited by national law from selecting women for its team.

The call for exclusion is not without precedent or law.

In 2000, Afghanistan was barred from the Sydney Olympics, in part because of its treatment of women.

Apartheid kept South Africa from the Games, and the Olympic Charter precludes discrimination.

At first blush, it might seem the fielding of a Saudi women’s beach volleyball squad would mark only a symbolic victory.

However, it would necessarily require funding for a women’s Olympic program, investment in sport for Saudi women and eventually a reversal of the law that forbids sports for girls in Saudi state schools.

At the Olympics, race or religion is irrelevant. We’re all just here to do sport.

Sport is a human right.

Any nation that does not recognize this basic fact does not deserve a spot on an international stage of excellence.

amacachi

Heh, Dick Pound.

Sarky

I'll admit, I had to make several attempts to read the whole article because of "Dick Pound".

muppeteer

The death toll has risen from yesterday over this. People are dead because a reaction to carelessness. Even if it was intentional it still isn't worth dying for.

The only, albeit small, consolation is that it appears non protesters haven't been harmed so far. Unlike when that pastor burned the koran resulting 7 UN workers dead.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17123464

At least six people have been killed and dozens injured in Afghanistan after protests spread over the burning of copies of the Koran at a US airbase.

One person was killed in Kabul, one in the eastern city of Jalalabad and at least four in Parwan province.

US officials apologised on Tuesday after Korans were "inadvertently" put in an incinerator at Bagram airbase
Officials at Bagram reportedly believed Taliban prisoners were using the books to pass messages to each other.

The charred remains of the volumes were found by local labourers.

Protesters in Kabul shouted, "Death to America!" and threw stones at Camp Phoenix, the main US base in the city.

Riot police used water cannon to disperse protesters, some of whom were blocking the road leading to Jalalabad, one of the main trade routes into the capital.

Witnesses said security guards were firing into the air. There were also reports of people chanting pro-Taliban slogans......

recedite

"The charred remains of the volumes were found by local labourers.
Protesters in Kabul shouted, "Death to America!" and threw stones at Camp Phoenix, the main US base in the city"

Would make for a good scene in a movie.... The Life of Brian 2, or maybe Team America, World Dustbinmen

Delirium

Christian loses employment tribunal over Sunday working

A Christian woman who claimed she was forced to leave her job because she was made to work on Sundays, has lost her case against Merton Council.

An employment tribunal ruled that Celestina Mba, 57, was not constructively dismissed from her job in 2010.

Miss Mba, from south London, worked helping children with severe learning difficulties.

The council said it had a duty to ensure children had weekend care.

Ms Mba worked for Merton Council at Brightwell Respite Care House in Morden for three years.

She told the tribunal she was prepared to work night-time and Saturday shifts, or to have accepted less pay, to be able to observe Sunday as a day of rest.

'Amazed'

She said she had told her employer she had "difficulties" working on Sundays before she was employed, but did not specify they were religious.

The tribunal in Croydon found there were no viable alternatives to requiring Miss Mba to work Sundays.

Merton Council director of children schools and families, Yvette Stanley, said: "As a local authority, we have a duty to ensure our children with disabilities who need weekend care are supported by carers who are familiar with their specific needs."

Miss Mba said: "I am amazed by this decision.

"I thought that this country was a Christian country.

"I worked hard for years at my job, and to lose it because of intolerance towards my faith is shocking to me."

In 2003, quarry worker Stephen Copsey also lost a claim of constructive dismissal on religious grounds for being required to regularly work on Sundays.

Source

MagicMarker

If I were her I'd study for an MBA, just cos.

Gbear

koth wrote: »

Christian loses employment tribunal over Sunday working

I've always wondered about this in relation to Euan Murray not playing for the Scottish rugby team on the "sabbath".
Has it caused problems with his club sides?

I'm pretty sure Pep Guardiola was getting pissed off at his muslim players not eating properly during ramadan aswell.

Almost out of principal I wish these people would be sacked from their clubs.

The idea of someone missing work because of their nonsensical beliefs really really annoys me for some reason.

muppeteer

Gbear wrote: »

I've always wondered about this in relation to Euan Murray not playing for the Scottish rugby team on the "sabbath".
Has it caused problems with his club sides?

I'm pretty sure Pep Guardiola was getting pissed off at his muslim players not eating properly during ramadan aswell.

Almost out of principal I wish these people would be sacked from their clubs.

The idea of someone missing work because of their nonsensical beliefs really really annoys me for some reason.

I once watched one of those UK police shows. It followed an officer in a foot chase with a helicopter overhead giving directions.
After a couple of minutes the officer feels light headed, has to stop and has a little vomit in a field because he hasn't eaten due to ramadan.
Whatever about accommodating sports players, accommodating po-lice is a different thing altogether.

because The Wire

Delirium

fitz0

So, wait. She's an elected official that wants to undermine the electoral system? Ironical.

robindch

^^^ A female senator who disapproves of females voting?

//head explosion

recedite

MagicMarker wrote: »

If I were her I'd study for an MBA, just cos.

Miss Mba MBA took me 24hrs to get it, but I got there in the end :cool:

seamus

Gbear wrote: »

The idea of someone missing work because of their nonsensical beliefs really really annoys me for some reason.

It's even worse in this case though as presumably the point is that she was an on-call care worker on weekends, so it simply doesn't work that she can "clock off" on Sundays because when people need help, they need help.

That she believed that observing a holy day is more important than providing care to someone in need, indicates that she is wholly unfit to occupy a position in the care industry.

Ironically, risking eternal damnation by breaching the ten commandments in order to provide care to a needy person, is something that her God would wholeheartedly endorse. Or so they tell us. But then they also tell us that moral relativism is evil.

Dades

koth wrote: »

Christian loses employment tribunal over Sunday working

She said she had told her employer she had "difficulties" working on Sundays before she was employed, but did not specify they were religious.

The tribunal in Croydon found there were no viable alternatives to requiring Miss Mba to work Sundays.

Merton Council director of children schools and families, Yvette Stanley, said: "As a local authority, we have a duty to ensure our children with disabilities who need weekend care are supported by carers who are familiar with their specific needs."

Miss Mba said: "I am amazed by this decision.

"I thought that this country was a Christian country.

"I worked hard for years at my job, and to lose it because of intolerance towards my faith is shocking to me."

Miss Mba is also a keen golfer.

Busted.

CiaranMT

Gbear wrote: »

I've always wondered about this in relation to Euan Murray not playing for the Scottish rugby team on the "sabbath".
Has it caused problems with his club sides?

I'm pretty sure Pep Guardiola was getting pissed off at his muslim players not eating properly during ramadan aswell.

Almost out of principal I wish these people would be sacked from their clubs.

The idea of someone missing work because of their nonsensical beliefs really really annoys me for some reason.

It's a more difficult one for me. I've thought about it and I'm undecided tbh.

In relation to Murray specifically, his stance on Sunday games, along with Mujati's form, contibuted to the cancellation of his contract at Northampton. As I remember it was by mutual consent.

Never heard anything about Muslim players and Ramadan but it'd be far more prevalent than Murray's case. Obviously it isn't much of an issue for the thousands of pro soccer players and their teams, otherwise we'd be hearing about it every year.

amacachi

CiaranMT wrote: »

Never heard anything about Muslim players and Ramadan but it'd be far more prevalent than Murray's case. Obviously it isn't much of an issue for the thousands of pro soccer players and their teams, otherwise we'd be hearing about it every year.

Çhamakh was doing well for Arsenal last season until around Ramadan. Never got his form back and there's rumours it's down to something else but apparently they had to work around his fasting etc. and give him different training scedules and diet.

MrPudding

CiaranMT wrote: »

It's a more difficult one for me. I've thought about it and I'm undecided tbh.

In relation to Murray specifically, his stance on Sunday games, along with Mujati's form, contibuted to the cancellation of his contract at Northampton. As I remember it was by mutual consent.

Never heard anything about Muslim players and Ramadan but it'd be far more prevalent than Murray's case. Obviously it isn't much of an issue for the thousands of pro soccer players and their teams, otherwise we'd be hearing about it every year.

There is no club football in Northern Ireland courtesy of the unionists. At least that used to be the case. I don't really do football so can't say if it is still the case.

MrP

mikhail

MrPudding wrote: »

There is no club football in Northern Ireland courtesy of the unionists. At least that used to be the case. I don't really do football so can't say if it is still the case.

MrP

What? The Irish League is small (comparable with the League of Ireland down here), but it's a bit rich to claim it doesn't exist.

Richard

mikhail wrote: »

What? The Irish League is small (comparable with the League of Ireland down here), but it's a bit rich to claim it doesn't exist.

I think he means on a Sunday.

MrPudding

Richard wrote: »

I think he means on a Sunday.

Yes, I did, sorry.

MrP

Penn

amacachi wrote: »

Çhamakh was doing well for Arsenal last season until around Ramadan. Never got his form back and there's rumours it's down to something else but apparently they had to work around his fasting etc. and give him different training scedules and diet.

I remember watching one of those Police, Camera Action type shows before. A policeman was chasing a criminal on foot but couldn't keep up with him. Then the policeman said that he normally would have caught the criminal, but couldn't keep up because he didn't have the energy as it was Ramadan and he was fasting.

robindch

Penn wrote: »

but couldn't keep up because [...] he was fasting.

Obvious not all that fasting...

//boom, boom

Genghiz Cohen

robindch wrote: »

//boom, boom

I hope that was the sound of you throwing yourself down the stairs...

Turtwig

Penn wrote: »

I remember watching one of those Police, Camera Action type shows before. A policeman was chasing a criminal on foot but couldn't keep up with him. Then the policeman said that he normally would have caught the criminal, but couldn't keep up because he didn't have the energy as it was Ramadan and he was fasting.

BRITISH rower Mo Sbihi has said he will postpone his Ramadan fast during next year's Olympics in order to maximise his competitive chances.

As a sports science graduate who wrote his dissertation on the performance of athletes without food and water, Sbihi has made an informed choice. In rowing, an endurance event, he believes the risk of dehydration could undermine his performance.

The arrival of Ramadan this year has focused minds on how the estimated 3000 Muslim athletes expected to compete in next year's Olympics in London will fare. In 2012, Ramadan will start on 21 July - a week before the opening ceremony - and cover the entire Olympic period. Athletes are allowed to defer their fasts until a later date, but many are expected to honour the religious period and fast during daylight hours throughout the games.

Recognising that this might put some athletes at a disadvantage, the nutrition working group of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) convened a meeting in 2009 to review the evidence. They agreed that fasting could create problems in some sports, though the impacts are far from clear.

For example, studies in soccer players found no deterioration in sprinting ability or agility, but saw a fall in aerobic capacity, endurance and jumping ability (British Journal of Sports Medicine, DOI: 10.1136/bjsm.2007.071712). Another recent study in the same journal found that moderately trained Muslim men ran an average of 5448 metres in 30 minutes when fasting, but 5649 metres outside Ramadan (DOI: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.070425).

"If you're running 100 metres or weightlifting, what you eat in the few hours beforehand will have no impact on performance," says Ronald Maughan of Loughborough University, UK, who chaired the IOC working group. However, he adds that in events that last for more than about 30 minutes, or that take place late in the day, performance may suffer.

While the focus is often on food, dehydration may be more significant, says Jim Waterhouse of Liverpool John Moores University, UK. "Performance is less good, physically and mentally, if a person is dehydrated," he says.

To overcome such problems, it makes sense to schedule events early in the morning where possible, when all competitors will be well fed and hydrated, Maughan says.

Waterhouse agrees: "All studies that have been done on Ramadan have concluded that morning performance deteriorates less than afternoon performance."

A question that Islamic scholars may need to consider is just what constitutes breaking a fast. Several studies have suggested that merely rinsing the mouth with a carbohydrate drink improves performance in cycling time trials. Rather than providing calories, the carbohydrate seems to act on mouth receptors that activate areas of the brain involved in motivation and reward during exercise (Nutrition Journal, DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-9-33). Many Muslims believe it is OK to rinse the mouth with water or mouthwash during Ramadan, as long as they don't swallow.

Even if fasting reduces performance during lab experiments, no one really knows if this equates to a slide down the medal table when it really matters. Manchester City soccer player Kolo Touré claims to have fasted through the first month of the English Premier League without consequence. Muslim athletes may even find fasting carries benefits. "Many say that the intense focus they experience during Ramadan gives them an added edge," says Maughan.

Source.

Seemed relevant to the previous discussion.:)

Turtwig

Church erects signage declaring "Jesus heals cancer." naturally some cancer sufferers are very pissed off.

robindch

Doesn't Jesus cause cancer too?

Galvasean

robindch wrote: »

Doesn't Jesus cause cancer too?

No, free will causes cancer.

Somehow.

seamus

Galvasean wrote: »

No, free will causes cancer.

Somehow.

God gave us free will. But if you use it, you'll get cancer.

Seems Legit.