Newstalk god slot with Mary McEvoy

Banbh

Mary McEvoy - she who used to be Biddy in the Riordans - is on Newstalk's Tom Dunn's show giving advice on baptism.

She's in favour of it as: it's a lovely ritual; never did anyone any harm; helps get the kid into school; is a great day out; fulfills the need for ceremony in our boring lives and you never know but you might die and find god is real. I can't remember the rest but it was like a list of cliches from the Good Christian's Guide to Atheism.

I think Newstalk are presenting her as an agony aunt.
John Waters and Co won't be pleased with another Catholic spokesperson getting in on the act.

lazygal

Did she even try to understand why families don't do christenings?

Real Life

I hate this sure it never did anyone any harm attitude so many people seem to have.

Penn

Banbh wrote: »

...helps get the kid into school...

That's a significant problem, not an advantage to baptism.

robindch

Real Life wrote: »

I hate this sure it never did anyone any harm attitude so many people seem to have.

Which, quite apart from anything else, is false anyway. Here's a protestant baptism going wrong:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/novemberweb-only/14.0.html

Christianity Today wrote:

yle Lake, 33, pastor of University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, died Sunday after being electrocuted while standing in the church baptismal during a morning service. Lake received a shock while adjusting a microphone before baptizing a woman. He was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m. after being taken to the hospital. The woman being baptized was not yet in the water and was not seriously injured.

"At first, there was definitely confusion, just because everyone was trying to figure out what was going on," Ben Dudley, community pastor at University Baptist Church, told the Waco Tribune-Herald. "Everyone just immediately started praying." About 800 people were attending the service, which was more than usual due to Baylor University's homecoming weekend, reports the Associated Press.

"We will move forward as a church," Dudley told the congregation at a Sunday evening service. "I don't know how, when, why, where, or what's going to happen, but we will continue as a church in the community, because that is what Kyle would have wanted." Chris Seay and musician David Crowder founded University Baptist in 1995. Seay is now pastor of Ecclesia in Houston. University Baptist has grown into a community of about 600.

Lake was known beyond his church in Waco as the author of two books, Understanding God's Will and [Re]understanding Prayer, and as a rising leader in new church movements such as Emergent. In Understanding God's Will, Lake wrote, "May God bless our journeys with him and give us the awareness to encounter him in whatever our roads may hold—all things planned and unplanned." Memorial and visitation services will be held today in Waco. Lake is survived by his wife and three children.

Genghiz Cohen

robindch wrote: »

Which, quite apart from anything else, is false anyway. Here's a protestant baptism going wrong:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/novemberweb-only/14.0.html

Well obviously a prod baptism is going to go wrong.
We are talking about real baptisms.

krudler

Banbh wrote: »

Mary McEvoy - she who used to be Biddy in the Riordans - is on Newstalk's Tom Dunn's show giving advice on baptism.

She's in favour of it as: it's a lovely ritual; never did anyone any harm; helps get the kid into school; is a great day out; fulfills the need for ceremony in our boring lives and you never know but you might die and find god is real. I can't remember the rest but it was like a list of cliches from the Good Christian's Guide to Atheism.

I think Newstalk are presenting her as an agony aunt.
John Waters and Co won't be pleased with another Catholic spokesperson getting in on the act.

So basically all the wrong reasons to get baptised. Money, school, doubling down just in case god is pissed off. ah Catholic Ireland.

Sarky

robindch wrote: »

"At first, there was definitely confusion, just because everyone was trying to figure out what was going on," Ben Dudley, community pastor at University Baptist Church, told the Waco Tribune-Herald. "Everyone just immediately started praying."

800 people there and not one of them thought "Sh*t, he's been electrocuted! Someone get him out of the water, we need to restart his heartbeat! Come on, one of you must have first aid training at least!"

hardCopy

Tom came out with more or less the same stuff before Christmas. Said he wasn't religious but would like to bring the kids to Christmas mass for occasion and the hymns.

markfla

she really is an oul' Biddy

yeppydeppy

If all those people who got their kids baptised to get them into school hadn't done so, wouldn't that problem already be over and done with?

Bannasidhe

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Well obviously a prod baptism is going to go wrong.
We are talking about real baptisms.

As I once told a friend who was trying to convince me Buddhism was for me

'Sure since I have already rejected the one true church why would I bother with a false one?'


:pac:

Genghiz Cohen

Bannasidhe wrote: »

As I once told a friend who was trying to convince me Buddhism was for me

'Sure since I have already rejected the one true church why would I bother with a false one?'


:pac:

Oh how I would have loved to see their face...

Bannasidhe

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Oh how I would have loved to see their face...

It did take a good few minutes for her frozen expression to pass

She then went off to a retreat which involved 3 years of total silence and meditation but later informed me that about 18 months in she just burst out laughing over my comment and couldn't stop for hours.

Genghiz Cohen

Bannasidhe wrote: »

It did take a good few minutes for her frozen expression to pass

She then went off to a retreat which involved 3 years of total silence and meditation but later informed me that about 18 months in she just burst out laughing over my comment and couldn't stop for hours.

Did she have to start again?

Bannasidhe

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Did she have to start again?

3 months of pot washing and toilet cleaning duty.

Genghiz Cohen

Bannasidhe wrote: »

3 months of pot washing and toilet cleaning duty.

Keep your mouth closed for the second bit anyway.

Sarky

Bannasidhe wrote: »

It did take a good few minutes for her frozen expression to pass

She then went off to a retreat which involved 3 years of total silence and meditation but later informed me that about 18 months in she just burst out laughing over my comment and couldn't stop for hours.

It sounds like she achieved Enlightenment if those Zen koans are anything to go by.

jimd2

Banbh wrote: »

Mary McEvoy - she who used to be Biddy in the Riordans - is on Newstalk's Tom Dunn's show giving advice on baptism.

She's in favour of it as: it's a lovely ritual; never did anyone any harm; helps get the kid into school; is a great day out; fulfills the need for ceremony in our boring lives and you never know but you might die and find god is real. I can't remember the rest but it was like a list of cliches from the Good Christian's Guide to Atheism.

I think Newstalk are presenting her as an agony aunt.
John Waters and Co won't be pleased with another Catholic spokesperson getting in on the act.

I don't think this is North Korea.

You are more than welcome to avoid this programme at that time slot in the future. There are many people that would listen to the programme - just because you don't agree doesn't mean those people should be deprived of a broadcast in keeping with their beliefs and values.

I would have zero interest in listening to the programme and am at work that time anyway. However I fully support those that do want to listen. To suggest otherwise is plain arrogance.

Lapin

jimd2 wrote: »

I don't think this is North Korea.

You are more than welcome to avoid this programme at that time slot in the future. There are many people that would listen to the programme - just because you don't agree doesn't mean those people should be deprived of a broadcast in keeping with their beliefs and values.

I would have zero interest in listening to the programme and am at work that time anyway. However I fully support those that do want to listen. To suggest otherwise is plain arrogance.

Leaving aside the hyperbolic nonsense about North Korea, I re-read the OP's post a couple of times after reading this and I still cannot find where it was suggested that anyone "should be deprived" of listening to this broadcast.

As I see it the OP is merely passing his own comment on what he heard.

You are guilty of your own "plain arrogance" if you suggest that he is not fully entitled to do so.

Banbh wrote: »

Mary McEvoy - she who used to be Biddy in the Riordans............

A true Irish Atheist - One who believes neither in God nor Glenroe !

Banbh

I wrote that piece as my observation but you have seen through me. In fact, the fatwa against Biddy was barely promulgated at the time, and the instruction to readers of boards to turn off their radios was still at the drafting stage.

But nonetheless, even though I have been found out, the directive stands. Newstalk is forbidden.

just because you don't agree doesn't mean those people should be deprived of a broadcast in keeping with their beliefs and values.

I am sorry it is too late. There is no point pleading. I am zeroing my radio station blaster on the Newstalk coordinates right now.

Benny_Cake

Banbh wrote: »

Mary McEvoy - she who used to be Biddy in the Riordans - is on Newstalk's Tom Dunn's show giving advice on baptism.

She's in favour of it as: it's a lovely ritual; never did anyone any harm; helps get the kid into school; is a great day out; fulfills the need for ceremony in our boring lives and you never know but you might die and find god is real. I can't remember the rest but it was like a list of cliches from the Good Christian's Guide to Atheism.

I think Newstalk are presenting her as an agony aunt.
John Waters and Co won't be pleased with another Catholic spokesperson getting in on the act.

Actually, she's a Buddhist. Her points are well-intentioned, but suggest she doesn't take the whole thing seriously at all. If people feel they need to have their kids baptised simply to get them into school, the problem is with the education system, not the parents.

Banbh

She was advising listeners to stick with the Catholic Church and its rituals. And among her arguments was the one that parents by conforming to a religion,whether they believed in it or not, and obliging their children to continue with this double-standard and craven conformity, would be doing a good thing.

I have seldom heard a more spineless and immoral performance. The fact that she esposes a different code of nonsense only makes it more so.

Dades

jimd2 wrote: »

I don't think this is North Korea.

jimd2, this is formal warning that you are on troll-watch. I find it hard to believe you could unintentionally misconstrue the OP the way you have.

---

On topic, I like Mary McEvoy generally, but she's a bit too flippant here about something that really deserves more serious discussion.

jimd2

Dades wrote: »

jimd2, this is formal warning that you are on troll-watch. I find it hard to believe you could unintentionally misconstrue the OP the way you have.

---

On topic, I like Mary McEvoy generally, but she's a bit too flippant here about something that really deserves more serious discussion.

Maybe I was a little harsh , however it is a tad sarcastic in its tone and I am not sure why it is being discussed at all on an atheist forum.

Cabaal

jimd2 wrote: »

Maybe I was a little harsh , however it is a tad sarcastic in its tone and I am not sure why it is being discussed at all on an atheist forum.

Why shouldn't it? It affects us all.

She suggested doing the catholic thing for the sake of "sure your parents did them and they are nice for a day out", this isn't the right reason to support any religion!

Its nonsense like this that has kept communions in schools taking up time which should be used towards more important subjects like maths and English,

Instead we have a system where in primary level almost as much time is put towards religion in school then either of the subjects I've mentioned! (source), and Ireland is twice the OECD average when it comes to time spent on religion in schools.

Instead of mindlessly doing stuff just because your parents did it its not harm in actually stopping and thinking and asking if you want to introduce your kids to a faith like this.

Remember that your parents effectively had no choice, we do and as such this is a perfectly fine topic for this forum because people should be aware of the other options.

Banbh

JIMD2: Maybe I was a little harsh , however it is a tad sarcastic in its tone and I am not sure why it is being discussed at all on an atheist forum.

(i) So you think this should not be discussed as you, incorrectly, think that I was being a tad sarcastic and presumably you think sarcasm should not be allowed in discussions.
(ii) You don't think we should discuss a radio station introducing an advice item which tells atheists to basically get over it and accept Catholic control.
And you tell me that I am being dogmatic? (I assume this is what the North Korean reference is about).
The news bulletins are yet again full of the horrors committed by religious orders and we are advised to shut up and accept their control? No thanks. The evil begins when well-meaning people are duped into giving over the rearing of their children to this organisation, starting with the nastiness of renouncing the devil and begging the god to forgive the child for crimes it never committed.
I hope many more atheists will join me and tell this radio station that their audience is wider than the head-bowing, knee-dipping, ring-kissing Catholics.

eviltwin

I'd have more respect for McEvoy if she had a genuine belief in the sacrement. Its this cultural thing I can't stand. It must piss off Catholics too.

I'll hold my hand up and say I had my first child bapthised and she's never been to mass once in 16 years since For us it was nothing more than a day out, a bit of a party etc. It was expected it would be done and I never questioned it.

Its great that people are starting to think more about the issue and are deciding to opt out if they don't believe in it. What is the problem with that? Surely Catholics out there don't want to see people going through with something like this if they are not going to respect it and what it means?

kylith

eviltwin wrote: »

Its great that people are starting to think more about the issue and are deciding to opt out if they don't believe in it. What is the problem with that? Surely Catholics out there don't want to see people going through with something like this if they are not going to respect it and what it means?

You'd think, wouldn't you? Unfortunately I suppose some people see their children's rejection of religion as some sort of comment on themselves, and in some places there's still a very parochial 'you have to go to mass and get the children baptised because everyone'll be talking about you' mindset.

Benny_Cake

eviltwin wrote: »

I'd have more respect for McEvoy if she had a genuine belief in the sacrement. Its this cultural thing I can't stand. It must piss off Catholics too.

I'll hold my hand up and say I had my first child bapthised and she's never been to mass once in 16 years since For us it was nothing more than a day out, a bit of a party etc. It was expected it would be done and I never questioned it.

Its great that people are starting to think more about the issue and are deciding to opt out if they don't believe in it. What is the problem with that? Surely Catholics out there don't want to see people going through with something like this if they are not going to respect it and what it means?

As someone who has drifted away from the Catholic Church I'd agree with this. Traditions do die hard though and I'd view the pressure that people face to have their children baptised as a bit of Irish tradition that is stubbornly hanging on. It certainly doesn't mean that the church is in good health because it is in very serious trouble indeed. Ultimately the present generation need to step up and decide what is right for them and their child according to their own conscience regardless of what others think.

I do feel that traditions around major life events is important to families and communities, but it is unfortunate that most Irish people, even a Buddhist such as Mary McEvoy, can only conceive of such traditions in a Catholic framework. That said, it was the Tom Dunne show, which is hardly a hotbed of deep debate. Any time I've hard her speak (and she has done a lot to raise awareness of depression), she has struck me as a decent person. I certainly don't think that she deserves some of the comments that have been made here.

the culture of deference

oh for the day when that murdering bunch of child raping scumbags gets the boot out of this country.

as i has posted many times
how does an organisation like rcc still have control of primary schools

what does that say about us

as i posted before

the culture of deference wrote: »

All schools should be religion free. We have threads here saying some schools are wasting 5 hours a week on religious studies. It's 2012 FFS.

There is no need to go into the dangers of catholicism here, this excellent forum is jam packed with all their abuse's.

If you are a parent and you value religion then off you go to Sunday school.