Adventures on the bible boat

Fysh

So did anyone else go and check out the Logos II over the last week or so? I was interested by the idea cos I've seen similar things done when I lived in Spain and they were generally interesting bookfairs, but...well...I was amused and disappointed in equal measure. Because the bastids "forgot" to mention on their flyers that the whole thing was Christian dogma-based.

They had books on a variety of subjects - from a christian angle. Everything from dating to cooking. To my disappointment, the only thing even vaguely comic-related was the cover of a discussion group book. I would've loved to see some Jack Chick tracts in print, just for the comedy value, but alas it was not to be.

There was dodgy christian pop music playing (and for sale, including such popular beat combos as MercyStreet, who appear to combine Jesus with surf-rock, from the blurb on the album cover), and generally a vibe not unlike that of the cult in that episode of the simpsons (although to my disappointment there wasn't anyone around singing "nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-JEEEESUS!" in an effort to catch my attention).

Mind you, they did look faintly nervous at the fact that I was openly wandering round taking photos, so perhaps that's why I avoided their attentions. (May also have been the Strapping Young Lad album which was blasting out of my headphones too - who can say?)

I've got some pictures kicking around which I'll upload if anyone's interested...

Saruman

Back in my confused christian days we had people from the ships come to my church.
Almost considered joining for a bit.. would have been fun regardless.. travel around meet new people...

AFAIK they have plenty of "secular" books too. They have another ship, the Doulos which i think was made the same time as Titanic which makes it the oldest ocean liner in the world or something like that Its a lit bigger.

rymus

christians eh? Just when I was about to go and check it out too... I think thats one boat I'll be giving a wide berth to.. eh? anyone? ahhh ferget it!

dudara

Passed it last night on our way back from Dublin, and thought to myself "That might be cool to check out"

and then foggy memories of mobile catholic bookshops with pamphlets, rosaries and scapulars surfaced from my youth, and I got cautious.

And now I know!!!

parsi

I got a good hardback on the "Olympic Image" which was nice and cheap. They had plenty of comic books - the End of the World or Last Days which I dimly remember from my primary school days (one of my teachers was a bit evangelical..)

Fysh

Tbh, when a bookshop is selling bible covers and labelling them as such, I don't have a great deal of faith (hohoho) in their selection of "secular" books. And, outside of deranged fundamentalist dogma, I seriously doubt they'd sell much in the way of comics I'd be interested in.

Still, was something a bit different. I've calmed down a lot in my atheism/agnosticism over the last couple of years so I don't feel the urge to get involved in arguments about religion with people - although I don't think I would have bothered with the boat if I'd known in advance that it was heavily religious in tone. But I'd imagine it was something nice and a bit unusual for people who have faith, which is a good thing. And I should give credit to the staff on the boat who weren't at all pushy, and much less in-your-face than the rabble-rousing idiot with a microphone on Patrick street on Saturday.

Judes

Thanks for warning, I drive past it every day and keep thinking must go. You've saved me a trip now. And you're right - nothing to pre-warn people that it's more inclined towards religion, I think I was expecting a Captain Birdseye type bookshop - full of books relating to nautical adventures throughout the Seven Seas. Phew. (How innocent am I?)

Get down to Cobh when the Liners are in - you can't board them but just standing next to them has enough wow factor to enthrall! J

deRanged

Judes wrote:

Get down to Cobh when the Liners are in - you can't board them but just standing next to them has enough wow factor to enthrall! J

And if you get there in the last hour before the liner is due to depart you get to watch busses full of passengers tearing down to make it before it sails. highly entertaining.


I must have missed something though - I heard there was a boat in, run by a religious group. I saw it on the quays and it was easy enough to identify. I knew full well it was run by a religious group and would expect a fair
amount of advertising if I went on board.
What did ye think was on board?

Fysh

deRanged wrote:

I must have missed something though - I heard there was a boat in, run by a religious group. I saw it on the quays and it was easy enough to identify. I knew full well it was run by a religious group and would expect a fair amount of advertising if I went on board.
What did ye think was on board?

Didn't see anything on the signs outside that specifically said anything about religious orientation, nor do I remember there being anything about it on the flyers they were giving out. (I could be wrong about that, I can't find the flyer now).

More than anything I'm just kind of surprised - given that it was very specifically Christian-oriented rather than just open to spirituality in general, it seems kind of odd they wouldn't be more upfront about it. It wasn't really an issue though - I'd have been annoyed if they'd started pestering me and asking me about whether I've let Jesus into my life, etc, but as it was they seemed very reasonable about giving people space, considering they're travelling to spread the word of God. If only the Christian Union back in my old college in the UK had undertaken a similar approach.

simu

Fewer people would have visited if they knew it was a religious thing. Think yourself lucky it didn't happen in the olden days - back then, they would have taken the anchor in and sailed you off to some tropical island to start a new Jerusalem or sth. (not true but it's funny)

el Bastardo

Good that I didn't know that! I'd have set fire to the boat and pushed it out to sea! Nothing annoys me more than masked evangelists! All the free currys/chilis/veggy-stew etc. in unio had the opposite effect

parsi

Did ye not feel the air of goodness exuding from the vessel ?

Anything with no advertising logos or bimbos handing out leaflets or the Street Fleet has to be of a non-comemrcial , vaguely ""well-meaning" nature.

nesf

simu wrote:

Fewer people would have visited if they knew it was a religious thing. Think yourself lucky it didn't happen in the olden days - back then, they would have taken the anchor in and sailed you off to some tropical island to start a new Jerusalem or sth. (not true but it's funny)

I was planning on going....

Then someone texted me to tell me it was a religious thing.

Good thing too. It'd been awkward when the fires started after I set foot in there.

simu

Anyway, if they had true faith, they'd be walking the oceans. Says so in Bible! Page 4544!

nesf

simu wrote:

Anyway, if they had true faith, they'd be walking the oceans. Says so in Bible! Page 4544!

Ever considered a career in trolling Christianity?