10 year olds have as much reason to believe in santa as a grown man does to believe in "god".
a no-nonsense vicar
A contradiction in terms.
Did you still believe in Santa at 10 or 11? 😳 We indulged it in our kids for as long as they were prepared to go along with it, but that wasn't into double digits.
Some people object to it and that's fine, but imho it's not a bad idea to let kids know that just because someone is in a position of authority over you doesn't mean they're not bullshîtting you.
My 10 year old still believes in Santa, tooth fairy and magic. Happy that he does as he will be older for long enough when all of the magic is gone.
The religion of peace has offered its benevolence to the good people of Magdeburg, two dead so far.
Media reporting said the alleged assailant is an anti-Islam activist, for what that's worth. A medical doctor from Saudi Arabia.
So it's islamist activist, kill Western infidels.
Anti-islamist activst, kill Western infidels?
Hmmm
He is reported as an AfD sympathiser. Who knows what motivates those nutters but it doesn't seem to have a religious basis so doesn't belong here.
https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2024/12/21/german-christmas-market-attack-driver-kills-at-least-two-and-injures-over-60-after-ramming-into-crowd/
Turns out he was an anti-Islamist atheist.
Bishop annoyed that others are copying them
"You will often find that religion is hijacked by groups for their own purposes and the message of Christianity is distorted in particular dimensions,” he said.
https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/leader-of-catholic-church-in-ireland-criticises-social-media-stars-for-hijacking-christianity/a1292342467.html
See, kids, this is what happens when your beliefs aren't evidence-based.
You having a go at me Peregrinus based on the information available at the time?
All the hallmarks of a jihadist attack, which makes it totally bizarre for a person who claims to be anti-Islam.
Some Twitter accounts (yes yes I know) are claiming that he fled Saudi Arabia because of impending rape charges and sought asylum on the basis of being an apostate to avoid extradition.
Alpha courses in the UK are flooded with asylum seekers claiming to be apostates.
I am indeed having a go at you, but not for drawing conclusions "based on the information available that the time". The precise opposite, in fact; asserting a conclusion for which the information available at the time provided exactly zero evidence.
Rather than getting all defensive about it, and postulating "evidence" that still doesn't exist to try to convince yourself that you might yet snatch truth from the jaws of falsehood, maybe think about how your failure to adhere to your own principles led you into this situation, and about what it was that led to this failure.
You knew absolutely nothing about this guy, and you knew you knew absolutely nothing about him, and yet you assumed he was a Muslim motivated by Islamism. Would it have killed you to wait for some evidence, one way or the other? Why didn't you? And, given that you chose not to wait for evidence, what did you base your assumption on? Stereotyping? Prejudice? Something else?
RCCophiles sharing the Xmas spirit:
https://www.boredpanda.com/catholic-league-mocked-winter-solstice-billboard-for-atheists/
'Murica.
BTW I hope everyone is enjoying the "traditional seasonal celebration".
Amazing how up their own holes that Catholic group are (although it seems to be one very angry guy rather than a group… this "charity" also pays him $700k a year.)
They call themselves a "league for religious and civil rights" then come out with that sort of sectarian, bigoted nonsense.
Quoting Harvard professor Arthur Schlesinger, Sr., the group believes that prejudice against the Catholic Church is “the deepest bias in the history of the American people.”
Not slavery? Not antisemitism? Not racism? Not sexism? Noooo… wealthy American catholics are the Most Oppressed People Ever™ 🙄 The level of conceit is amazing.
Wait. Arthur Schlesinger was a wealthy American Catholic?
I suspect not but he's clearly not the group being referred to
This is Senior, who was Protestant and a Harvard prof, not the one famous for working for JFK then RFK. Protestants the lot of 'em.
Some interesting quotes from Junior:
“America gets the President it deserves”
and
“Anti-intellectualism has long been the anti-Semitism of the businessman," by which he meant that those at the top of the heap use intellectuals as a scapegoat to distract people from the societal inequities that actually affect their lives: those of wealth and power. Intellectuals are posited as both sinister and powerful, conspiratorially undermining the values of ordinary people."
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1184434.Arthur_M_Schlesinger_Jr_
Intellectuals are posited as both sinister and powerful, conspiratorially undermining the values of ordinary people.
Not a million miles distant from Hofstadter's famous essay 'The Paranoid Style in American Politics':
https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/
Menawhile, in Russia, an orthodox priest announces that the Lord is is using US HIMARS missiles to punish Russia, and that the invasion of Ukraine was, broadly, caused by masturbation - although, he doesn't clarify whether it's Ukrainian masturbation or Russian. The same priest was also wondering whether women really need breasts if they're not breastfeeding:
https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2025/01/15/v-rpts-zayavili-chto-voina-v-ukraine-nachalas-iz-za-masturbatsii-a152450
OK… been a verrry long time since I've clicked on a .ru link and I'm not going to resume now!
So I will take that "on faith" 🤣
Sunday Worst
https://www.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/defence-forces-member-who-raped-partners-long-term-friend-jailed-for-five-years/a864022730.html
The court heard O'Connor maintains his innocence and does not accept the verdict of the jury. Testimonials were handed into court, including a letter from a priest who said that this “was totally out of character from the Alan he knew”.
He'd never tried to rape that priest
Kind of reminiscent of the argumentative couple John and Mary from Fr Ted. Priests live in a sort of dream world where their every (material) need is met without having to lift a finger, everyone who interacts with them is putting on a front. They have no idea of the everyday lives of ordinary people but somehow are still regarded as having opinions worthy of being aired in court.
been a verrry long time since I've clicked on a .ru link and I'm not going to resume now!
😂 The Moscow Times moved to Amsterdam in 2022 and has been banned in Russia since around then too. The current Russian government first declared the publication a 'foreign agent', and more recently, an 'undesirable organization', for which anybody in Russia interacting with the Moscow Times can be prosecuted and jailed. Together with Meduza.io and TV Rain, the Moscow Times is considered generally reliable, given the restrictions in place.
Dublin's most recent religious attraction - Cherry Tomato Bridge - flowered about ten days back during the cold spell, and died as quickly as it arose, leaving nothing but sweet memories and the occasional red skidmark.
https://www.thejournal.ie/cherry-tomato-bridge-dublin-6591206-Jan2025/
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=follow+the+holy+gourd+life+of+brian#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ce4fe92c,vid:Ka9mfZbTFbk,st:0
That's a sign if ever I saw one.
US National Football League franchise exposed as 'free PR advice' to help defuse a pedophilia scandal in New Orleans, the host city for this year's annual Super Bowl. Seems like the RCC is doing what it does best - cultivate the rich & famous for help in its hours of need. Apparently 1 Saints exec influenced the list of names released by prosecutors. Nasty.
https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-saints-catholic-church-sex-abuse-77f92deb50e6333fa04a9db1897f8171
The churches and the sporting bodies have a common interest in learning how to manage the fallout from sex abuse cases. Just sayin'.
1992. I used to think they were being waay too alarmist about rebith of fascism in the US, I mean how could that be possible?
[1:07] "black robe in swill [Clarence Thomas], I believe Anita Hill, that judge will rot in hell"
But it's reality now, the US Supreme Court packed with religious fuckwit puppets, open Nazis in the US government, the supposed cradle of democracy is a long way away now. It's sickening.
