The Hazards of Belief

Hotblack Desiato

Actually her sort of viewpoint gets more media exposure these days if anything. Iona Instutute are in the papers and on the radio every week.

Nodin

Lock yer doors, the gaypocalypse is upon us.....

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The president of Gambia is using his address to the
United Nations General Assembly to attack gays and lesbians, calling
homosexuality one of the three “biggest threats to human existence.”

President Yahya Jammeh on Friday said homosexuality, greed and obsession with world domination “are more deadly than all natural disasters put together.”

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/27/gambia_president_homosexuality_top_global_threat/singleton/

Bannasidhe

Nodin wrote: »

Lock yer doors, the gaypocalypse is upon us.....


http://www.salon.com/2013/09/27/gambia_president_homosexuality_top_global_threat/singleton/

Grrrr...I'm takin' over...grrrrr...mine, mine, MINE....grrrrrrr.

Lezmageddon

Banbh

Does Ireland give any aid to Gambia?

robindch

Banbh wrote: »

Does Ireland give any aid to Gambia?

I'll be happy to contribute a finger.

Bannasidhe

robindch wrote: »

I'll be happy to contribute a finger.

I'm in for a jaffa cake...feck it, I'll give 'em a whole box of jaffa cakes.

smacl

robindch wrote: »

I'll be happy to contribute a finger.

Body parts for the third world? Maybe a wagon wheel at most.

Nodin

Bannasidhe wrote: »

............
Lezmageddon

Hotblack Desiato

A hazard of belief - being a condescending so-and-so.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/it-would-be-a-tragedy-to-neglect-vital-link-between-family-based-on-marriage-and-well-being-of-society-1.1537363

It would be a tragedy to neglect vital link between family based on marriage and well-being of society

Bishop Christopher Jones

Few institutions have been subject to such pressures and change in recent years as the family based on marriage. From the emotional and practical turmoil of dealing with the fallout of the economic crisis, to wider societal and attitudinal changes, the unit regarded by our Constitution as the very foundation of society has passed through some very turbulent waters in recent years.

The sacramental dimension of marriage not only brings with it co-responsibility for each other as a couple, but also for the support and good of marriage itself.

What is often expressed as good-neighbourliness is actually a living out of the vocation of married couples to be a sign of God’s faithful and committed love for his people.

Renewing our appreciation of how married couples can be a support to each other and how the Christian vision of marriage can become a catalyst for renewal of good neighbourliness and support in local communities could offer something timely and important for us all.

In these questions lie the seeds of a renewed appreciation of the vital link between the family based on marriage and the wellbeing of society, a link that would be a tragedy for this generation to neglect.

My family isn't is based on a non-christian marriage, so therefore it's bad for the wellbeing of society, I'm not a good neighbour, and I'm undermining the basis of marriage? Wtf??

Amazing how he got a whole article full of this sort of dross to plug his conference in a national newspaper.

Wouldn't be at all surprised if the real aim is to mobilise the troops against gay marriage...

Brian Shanahan

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Lezmageddon

Saw that film. Five stars from me.

Hotblack Desiato

Thumbs up from Siskel, and a whole fist from Ebert...

robindch

smacl wrote: »

robindch wrote: »

I'll be happy to contribute a finger.

Body parts for the third world? Maybe a wagon wheel at most.

Well, I was just thinking about extending, then retracting, my middle finger. Briefly. But upright.

FouxDaFaFa

Boko Haram showing their shining courage again by shooting students as they slept.

"There was an attack at the College of Agriculture in Gujba this morning by Boko Haram terrorists who went into the school and opened fire on students," while they were asleep, Eli said.
Molima Idi Mato of the Yobe state College of Agriculture told AP news agency that the gunmen also torched classrooms in the attack at about 1am local time.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/09/gunmen-storm-nigerian-college-201392910646471222.html

Nodin

This week, in Sainting News.....

John XXIII, the pontiff who called the landmark second Vatican council, and John Paul II, who crisscrossed the globe during his 26 years as leader of the Roman Catholic church, will be declared saints in April in a historic ceremony that could be attended by their
two living successors

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/pope-john-paul-saints-canonisations

Two Popes will be "made" while two Popes watch.

Sarky

There'll be a whole lot of rent boys hired for that celebration.

/cynic

Hotblack Desiato

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/strenuous-objections-to-appointment-of-first-woman-bishop-by-church-of-ireland-group-1.1542614

Strenuous objections to appointment of first woman bishop by Church of Ireland group
‘God’s order for the family and for his church is male headship,’ says Reform Ireland

The appointment of the Church of Ireland’s first woman bishop has brought “more disharmony and disorder into God’s church,” a theologically conservative group has claimed.

It follows the annoucement last Friday that Rev Pat Storey, currently rector of St Augustine’s in Derry city, had been chosen as Bishop of Meath and Kildare.

Reform Ireland is believed to include some influential clergy in the Church of Ireland, mostly in Northern Ireland, and and at least one bishop who is believed to have belonged to its sister Reform England group. Whether he will attend the consecration of Rev Storey as a bishop has become a matter of conjecture.

This week, and since the announcement that Rev Storey was the latest appointee to Meath and Kildare, Reform Ireland has had a strongly-worded posting on its website objecting in forceful terms. It states that it “has furthered the disorder in God’s church that it originally initiated with the decision to appoint women as presbyters and bishops by an act of Synod in 1990.”

It says “God’s order for the family and for his church is male headship” and that the Church of Ireland “has not only brought more disharmony and disorder into God’s church, but it has also side-lined Christ in his own church.” This “will not only prevent those who believe in God’s agenda for man and woman being able to serve in Meath diocese, but also impair fellowship throughout the Church of Ireland,” it says.

Hard to credit that this bunch would call themselves 'Reform' :rolleyes:

Brian Shanahan

ninja900 wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/strenuous-objections-to-appointment-of-first-woman-bishop-by-church-of-ireland-group-1.1542614



Hard to credit that this bunch would call themselves 'Reform' :rolleyes:

Lots of groups that thought it was a bad idea to progress to AD thinking have been taking up the "Reform" banner lately. Seem to think that if they lie hard enough and often enough a critical mass of people will believe them.

Sadly enough they're probably right.

Nodin

ninja900 wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/strenuous-objections-to-appointment-of-first-woman-bishop-by-church-of-ireland-group-1.1542614



Hard to credit that this bunch would call themselves 'Reform' :rolleyes:

....they may now be facing the 'Wimmin or Papists' dilemma....

recedite

Nodin wrote: »

This week, in Sainting News.....

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/pope-john-paul-saints-canonisations

Two Popes will be "made" while two Popes watch.

Am I right in thinking that neither of these popes ever actually saw or met the three people who were supposedly "miraculously cured" of their illness?
Out of all the millions of sick people who have prayed to various popes over the years, these three randomers did get better. And therefore the magic powers of popery are deemed to be legit.
It seems incredible. The only outcome of this is that the uneducated masses will be further encouraged to pray to popes, as if they were minor deities in their own right. RCC must have decided this is a good thing to encourage, perhaps to increase public respect for the clergy in general.

Banbh

We forget just how Roman, Roman Catholicism really is. The Romans had a god/saint for every occasion and often they made living people, such as their emperors into gods as well.

If people are praying to these popes before they become saints, its only a small step to pray to them while they are still alive, as they will inevitably be sanctified when they die.

kylith

Banbh wrote: »

We forget just how Roman, Roman Catholicism really is. The Romans had a god/saint for every occasion and often they made living people, such as their emperors into gods as well.

Like they said on an episode of QI I watched last night - The Roman Empire never fell, it just became a church and carried on regardless.

Sarky

Banbh wrote: »

We forget just how Roman, Roman Catholicism really is. The Romans had a god/saint for every occasion and often they made living people, such as their emperors into gods as well.

If people are praying to these popes before they become saints, its only a small step to pray to them while they are still alive, as they will inevitably be sanctified when they die.

For a long time in the early church, being pope automatically made you a saint when you died. This must be the "renewal" the new guy was talking about. I'm not sure if dragging a 1500+ year old corruption back into fashion could be called renewal by anyone with a shred of sense, but it is the catholic church.

Hotblack Desiato

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/catholic-bishops-call-for-end-to-devastating-austerity-policies-1.1548016

Catholic bishops call for end to ‘devastating’ austerity policies


Irish Catholic bishops have called on the Government to end its “devastating and demoralising” policies of austerity ahead of the budget. The call was made at the end of a two-day general meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth.

“Bishops wish to draw attention to the joint appeal to Government by seven Catholic social justice groups which are calling for an end to the devastating and demoralising austerity policies that have characterised annual budgets of recent years . Any further reduction in income – direct or indirect – will have serious consequences, threatening the wellbeing of the individuals and families concerned, and damaging social cohesion, which is an essential foundation for lasting and sustainable economic recovery.”

Y'know lads, that billion or so euro would really come in handy right about now, if you weren't complete and utter hypocrites.

joseph brand

ninja900 wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/catholic-bishops-call-for-end-to-devastating-austerity-policies-1.1548016



Y'know lads, that billion or so euro would really come in handy right about now, if you weren't complete and utter hypocrites.

Austerity being felt further down the food chain.

Fr. Belcher: "All we're gettin' is bloody coppers in the baskets!" "It's not fair!"

biko

http://observers.france24.com/content/20130919-video-woman-flogging-sudan-whipping

A video has surfaced online showing Sudanese police repeatedly hitting a woman with a whip. For years, local women’s rights groups have called for the repeal of a law that allows police to publicly whip women they say are breaking public decency laws.

The video was posted on September 15 by a Sudanese opposition media organisation. The journalist who uploaded the video says someone sent the video to him via email, but does not know who the email address belongs to nor when the incident took place. Judging by the accent of those speaking in the video, it was shot in the region of the capital Khartoum.

The incident takes place in a courtyard – possibly at a courthouse – with a crowd of bystanders watching on. A police officer whips a woman seated cross-legged and facing a wall, all while the person filming and another person next to them giggle. At 39 seconds, an officer tells the woman, called Halima: “This is so you don’t get into cars anymore”. An Observer in Sudan who has watched the video says it is not unusual for a woman to be punished with lashes if she is found in a car with a man who isn’t from her immediate family (such as a husband, a father, or a brother).

Punishing women with lashes was written into law following the 1989 coup d’état and the arrival of Omar al-Bashir to power. However, this common practice only started attracting the international media’s attention in 2009, when journalist Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein was sentenced to flogging for wearing trousers. Since then, women’s rights groups have campaigned for the abolition of article 152 of Sudan’s law of 1991, commonly known as the law on public order, which allows for this type of punishment.

Banbh

The world sorely needs a women's rights movement.

Nodin

......planning to hang around, it seems....
http://www.broadsheet.ie/2013/10/04/is-europe-ready-for-ronan/?fb_source=pubv1

Obliq

Nodin wrote: »

......planning to hang around, it seems....
http://www.broadsheet.ie/2013/10/04/is-europe-ready-for-ronan/?fb_source=pubv1

"I intend to be an independent candidate in the European Elections next year for the constituency of Midlands North West. I have been reluctant to declare this during the present campaign lest it be wrongly portrayed as undermining my arguments for retaining the Seanad."

Oh right. Holds off on that till after the vote in case he influenced the continuation of his job in the senate. Smells funny in here........

Brian Shanahan

Nodin wrote: »

......planning to hang around, it seems....
http://www.broadsheet.ie/2013/10/04/is-europe-ready-for-ronan/?fb_source=pubv1

If you buy the wrapping paper and Obliq buys the packing tape, I'll buy the stamps.

Deal?

Obliq

Brian Shanahan wrote: »

If you buy the wrapping paper and Obliq buys the packing tape, I'll buy the stamps.

Deal?

*Spits on hand* .....odds are good, tis a deal ;-)

Turtwig

Obliq wrote: »

*Spits on hand*

Ewwww gross!

Obliq

Jernal wrote: »

Ewwww gross!

Wut?! Is there a better way of sealing a deal? *Spits on Ronan Mullen* might be more gratifying, but possibly illegal. Hmmm. Lightweight. Wouldn't last a minute in a horse-fair ;-) (Neither would I, to be fair).

*virtual spit*, if it makes you feel better.....

Sarky

That numpty in Europe? Jesus f*cking Christ.

Obliq

Sarky wrote: »

That numpty in Europe? Jesus f*cking Christ.

No, no. I'm writing the address, as well as tying him in very tight knots with the packing tape :cool: Suggestions for where to send him welcome.

Bannasidhe

Obliq wrote: »

No, no. I'm writing the address, as well as tying him in very tight knots with the packing tape :cool: Suggestions for where to send him welcome.

There is that new island off Pakistan....

Brian Shanahan

Bannasidhe wrote: »

There is that new island off Pakistan....

No, don't be cruel send him to his spiritual home, a country where disagreement with religious orthodoxy is severley punished.

Saudi Arabia, here he comes!

Oh, I talked to the local post mistress, An Post will do a special deal, anywhere in the world for Ronan only €5, no return to sender allowed.

PopePalpatine

Nah, send him to North Korea. :pac:

Genghiz Cohen

PopePalpatine wrote: »

Nah, send him to North Korea. :pac:

That might be considered an act of war.

Hotblack Desiato

http://www.teachdontpreach.ie/2013/08/national-schools-give-pupil’s-private-information-to-priests/

National schools give pupil’s private information to priests.

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Jane Donnelly

Publicly funded National schools are handing over the contact details of some children to priests. This breaches the Data Protection Acts and the human right to private and family life under the European Convention (Article 8).

How would you feel if a Catholic priest rang you up and asked why your child is not making first Holy Communion? If you decide to opt out your child from the Holy Communion class in your local National school then you could be getting that type of phone call from your local Catholic priest.

....

Some parents have told us that during the phone conversation they are asked to reflect on their lives and pressure is put on them to let their child take first Holy Communion.

FFS.

Sarky

****in' hell, that's pretty despicable.

Bannasidhe

Not calm enough to respond civilly yet.

PopePalpatine

Unfortunately, any transition of our schools to the 21st century probably requires the sacking of the entire civil service within the Department of Education. :mad:

Obliq

The first comment after the article is logical, in that the priests in question are probably on the Boards of Management. Data sharing with a 3rd party wouldn't be the case then - misuse of data certainly.

Also, how come none of us spotted this before? It was up since August!

Bannasidhe

Obliq wrote: »

The first comment after the article is logical, in that the priests in question are probably on the Boards of Management. Data sharing with a 3rd party wouldn't be the case then - misuse of data certainly.

Also, how come none of us spotted this before? It was up since August!

So many outrages so little time.

joseph brand

Robertson: Tithers Don't Have Health, Financial Problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wur_jxYG4-E

My husband has medical expenses, so we barely have any money.
We still tithe, but would it be wrong to use that money towards medical expenses instead?
-- A Viewer

Pat Robertson: "Your husband be sick cos you didn't give 'nuff money and didn't give faithfully." "The lord is watchin'."

What. A. D*ck.

robindch

Arab states are reported to be working on a new international blasphemy law:

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/arab-blasphemy-law-being-drafted-1.1238319

Gulf News wrote:

Manama: Arab countries are working on a draft law that bans the defamation of religions and empowers them to take abusers to court even if they are not residents. The draft, presented by Qatar, is being reviewed by delegates from several Arab countries at the Arab League.

Under its provisions, all forms of defamation, derision or denigration of religions and prophets will be considered crimes. “The main feature of the draft is that it gives every state the right to put on trial those who abuse and hold in contempt religions even if they are outside the country,” Ebrahim Mousa Al Hitmi, the Qatari justice ministry assistant undersecretary for legal affairs, said, local Arabic daily Al Arab reported on Wednesday.

The official insisted that the draft law does not clash with freedom of expression. “The law does not interfere in any way with the freedom of opinion and expression which is well protected and guaranteed. All penal laws in Arab countries criminalise defamation of religions but there are no specific sanctions when an abuser is outside the country. Therefore, the main goal of this law is to deter all forms of defamation of religions and give each country that ratifies it the right to file lawsuits against those who offend religions, even if they are not residents,” he said.

The official attributed the Qatari initiative to a drive to counter relentless campaigns targeting religions. The draft will be taken up by the Arab justice ministers when they convene.

Banbh

Well Ireland can sign up to that, seeing as we already have an anti-blasphemy law on the statute books.

kylith

Let me get this straight. They want it so that if I'm in Ireland and I say something like 'Muhammed was a violent pederast' they can prosecute me under Qatari law? Will they want me to be extradited to Qatar to stand trial for this? And they want it so that someone in, say, Finland can prosecute someone in South Africa for blasphemy, even if the 'offence' was committed in South Africa?

Would that mean that it could set a precedent for extending laws, such as those ensuring women's rights, globally and prosecuting strict Muslims for things like false imprisonment for not allowing women out unchaperoned? "Sorry mate, if you can prosecute someone in Manchester for blasphemy I can prosecute someone in Doha for domestic violence".

Penn

The only thing I see happening from this is far more "Draw Muhammad Day"-type protests.

seamus

kylith wrote: »

Would that mean that it could set a precedent for extending laws, such as those ensuring women's rights, globally and prosecuting strict Muslims for things like false imprisonment for not allowing women out unchaperoned? "Sorry mate, if you can prosecute someone in Manchester for blasphemy I can prosecute someone in Doha for domestic violence".

Sure, you could extend the applicability of the laws, but it would really be a willy-waving contest where countries waste lots of resources prosecuting people they can never get their hands on.

Extraditions are basically never granted where the "crime" was committed outside of the jurisdiction of the prosecuting state. Though the US is famously one to throw its weight around in this regard when you look at the Julian Assange situation.
And even if the crime is committed inside of the prosecuting state, it usually has to be serious enough to warrant extradition - murder, rape, etc. As backward as we are, I can't see any western state extraditing a citizen to Qatar because he blasphemed online.
Though you'd probably want to steer clear of the middle east from then on.