The Hazards of Belief

Nodin · 14-01-2014 10:19PM

Jernal wrote: »

Irish Times is printing a lot of rubbish these days, period.

Still not as bad as the one across the water though. Nosedived after Murdoch took over.

Hotblack Desiato · 14-01-2014 10:56PM

Brian Shanahan wrote: »

You know its commenters like this one that really put me in a stink about religion. He should be forced to emigrate to a country that practises his brand of "religious freedoms" like Saudi Arabia for a year or two to see how it works.

He's not to be taken at all seriously. He cuts and pastes that several times into any 'discussion' he posts on. It could be about any topic whatsoever, religion related or not.

Brian Shanahan · 14-01-2014 10:59PM

ninja900 wrote: »

He's not to be taken at all seriously. He cuts and pastes that several times into any 'discussion' he posts on. It could be about any topic whatsoever, religion related or not.

That's another thing I hate about these people, not a single one of them have a single new idea just spouting the same bovine excreta over and over again (aside from the ones who turn out to be Poes).

robindch · 15-01-2014 11:02AM

Listen up, all your atheists. Your fathers were just crap. And it says so here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/did-your-absentee-father-make-you-an-atheist/2014/01/13/a0d96b5a-7c9f-11e3-97d3-b9925ce2c57b_story.html
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/14/catholic-publisher-fights-militant-atheism-with-book-blaming-disbelief-on-bad-fathers/

Raw Story wrote:

The president of a Catholic publishing house has said that the “rise of militant, evangelical, fundamentalist atheism” has made it necessary to republish a 15-year-old book that blames absentee fathers for turning their kids into atheists.

According to Religion News Service, the book “Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism” by Catholic psychologist Paul C. Vitz has been revived by Ignatius Press, even though the book was considered controversial when it was first published 15 years ago.

“The rise of militant, evangelical, fundamentalist atheism in our time adds to the pertinence of this book,” Ignatius Press Mark Brumley explained. “Some atheists try to equate atheism with rationality. Vitz’s book shows that atheism, like many belief systems, has significant irrational elements. In the book, Vitz argues that history’s most “intense atheists” — such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Voltaire — had poor relationships with their fathers that made it difficult for them to form a bond with God.

“We need to understand atheism has a lot to do with our emotional attitudes towards life, other people and a lot of other things,” Vitz told the Religion News Service. “I think that is an important thing for atheists and believers alike to take into consideration.”

“I am certainly not predicting that every atheist is the result of one hypothesis, much less mine,” he said. “I am just saying there is a tendency for more things to go together than you’d expect normally.”

Atheist blogger JT Eberhard recently reviewed the book and noted “how strange this was for me to learn, since I have a spectacular relationship with my father and consider him to be the most admirable man I’ve ever known (or at least, I thought I did).”

“Who knew that moral commandments like killing everybody who works on a particular day (Exodus 35:2) and stories of someone living inside the belly of a fish for three days were perfectly reasonable, which I would see if only my relationship with my father were even better?” Eberhard asked. “Or maybe Paul Vitz is a sham looking to cash in on confirming the prejudice of other Christians,” he added.

Delirium · 15-01-2014 11:16AM

robindch wrote: »

Listen up, all your atheists. Your fathers were just crap. And it says so here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/did-your-absentee-father-make-you-an-atheist/2014/01/13/a0d96b5a-7c9f-11e3-97d3-b9925ce2c57b_story.html
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/14/catholic-publisher-fights-militant-atheism-with-book-blaming-disbelief-on-bad-fathers/

Catholic fathers are to blame for atheists? :pac::pac:

seamus · 15-01-2014 11:21AM

Seems like a logic fail to me. It would make more sense that someone who had a poor relationship with their parents would seek a parental resource in an imaginary friend, i.e. a God.

It of course also fails because of the large number of devout Catholics in this country who can say their father was a very devout man, cold and unaffectionate.

My father would have been quite strong in his faith and is very close to his kids, but he still managed to raise 4 atheists before becoming one himself...

robindch · 15-01-2014 11:31AM

SW wrote: »

Catholic fathers are to blame for atheists?

No doubt a bit like all those men and women who indulge in heterosexual sex producing all those dreadful gheys.

Bannasidhe · 15-01-2014 11:48AM

robindch wrote: »

No doubt a bit like all those men and women who indulge in heterosexual sex producing all those dreadful gheys.

What about when two gheys produce a heterosexual?

Did I do it wrong? :eek:

robindch · 15-01-2014 12:10PM

Bannasidhe wrote: »

What about when two gheys produce a heterosexual?

I'd be phoning Norris McWhirter

legspin · 15-01-2014 01:41PM

robindch wrote: »

I'd be phoning Norris McWhirter

Good luck with that. He's only been dead ten years.

Brian Shanahan · 15-01-2014 02:50PM

legspin wrote: »

Good luck with that. He's only been dead ten years.

His number is in the Necrotelecomnicon then.

mewso · 17-01-2014 08:39PM

Just watched Sergio on Netflix, a very good (and sad) documentary about Sergio Vieira de Mello of the UN who died when the UN headquarters in Iraq was bombed. Two army reserve firemen tried to dig him out and one of them at one point stopped and tried to get Sergio to pray finally blaming Sergio for not having faith in God as a reason for why he passed away. Listening to this guy had my blood boiling.

Read this for the details or watch the documentary on netflix (recommended).

Nodin · 18-01-2014 03:58PM

"A UK Independence party (Ukip) councillor has claimed that Britain's recent storms and floods are "divine retribution for the government's decision to legalise gay marriage.
David Silvester, who defected from the Tories in protest at David Cameron's support for same-sex unions, claimed he had warned the prime minister that the legislation would result in "disasters".
The Henley-on-Thames councillor said that the country had been "beset by storms" since the passage of the new law on gay marriage because Cameron had acted "arrogantly against the Gospel".
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/18/uk-storms-divine-retirubtion-gay-marriage-ukip?CMP=fb_gu

Yep, I'd say the Tories had a cry when he went out the door.....bit like FG and Healy Eames.

PopePalpatine · 18-01-2014 03:59PM

I had no idea there was a fundie wing within UKIP.

Nodin · 18-01-2014 04:03PM

PopePalpatine wrote: »

I had no idea there was a fundie wing within UKIP.

O yeah. It attracts the right wing of the conservative base. That's why theres all the pandering with the anti-Romanian/Bulgarian crap. Theres a fear that they'll suck in enough of the Tory vote to let Labour in.

Hotblack Desiato · 19-01-2014 01:14PM

William Reville is at it again.

Philosophers must oppose arrogance of scientism

An entire article built on stuff and nonsense and a massive strawman.

It is a disgrace that a college professor would denigrate and misrepresent science in this way. His claim that most scientists of history are christians is laughable (Galileo was forced to recant heliocentrism, if he'd openly questioned the existence of god he'd probably have been executed.)

BTW I wasn't aware until I read the comments that he writes for the Irish Catholic. Explains much.

Between him, BO'B, JW and the frequent guest contributors attacking science and promoting woo, the Irish Times has a major religion problem.

Turtwig · 19-01-2014 03:44PM

The claim that most scientists from Europe were Christian is indeed true because the only people educated enough to be scientists were people of the church. If you wanted to learn what Galileo knew you kind of had to be Christian. How, and why, people seem to think this is saying a good thing about Christianity is beyond me.

[-0-] · 19-01-2014 03:50PM

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/19/justice/maryland-exorcism-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

Hotblack Desiato · 19-01-2014 07:25PM

Jernal wrote: »

The claim that most scientists from Europe were Christian is indeed true because the only people educated enough to be scientists were people of the church. If you wanted to learn what Galileo knew you kind of had to be Christian. How, and why, people seem to think this is saying a good thing about Christianity is beyond me.

Indeed, it's a completely rubbish claim. Most scientists have lived in societies where the dominant religion is christianity and many of them were brought up in that faith. Meh. All it's really saying is that Europe and then America have been the dominant centres of ecnomic activity and learning for the last few hundred years, but we knew that already.

We'll never know how many men of science (and indeed the church) were well aware that it was all a load of old cobblers, but also knew that keeping very quiet about their suspicions was the best way to enhance their life expectancy.

Jews (mostly secular jews) are highly over-represented among scientists. Nowhere near a majority but far larger in influence and Nobel prizes than you would otherwise expect.

Before that we had the important contribution of Islamic scientists and astronomers, before that the Greeks, etc.

The contribution of far eastern scientists and mathematicians in the modern era is often overlooked and/or downplayed in the west, too. e.g. :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyendra_Nath_Bose
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagadish_Chandra_Bose
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_Chandra_Bose
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan

kylith · 19-01-2014 10:03PM

ninja900 wrote: »

It is a disgrace that a college professor would denigrate and misrepresent science in this way. His claim that most scientists of history are christians is laughable (Galileo was forced to recant heliocentrism, if he'd openly questioned the existence of god he'd probably have been executed.)

If the argument is that historical scientists were Christian, therefore they were intelligent, therefore the Christian god is real then, by that logic, branches of sciences and mathematics were developed in the middle east by Muslims, therefore those historical scientists were very intelligent, therefore the Islamic god is real. Yes? And branches of the sciences were developed in China, and those scientists believed in the Chinese pantheon, therefore the Chinese gods are real. Also the Roman and Greek gods since very clever people believed they existed too?

Mark Hamill · 20-01-2014 12:29AM

Nodin wrote: »

"A UK Independence party (Ukip) councillor has claimed that Britain's recent storms and floods are "divine retribution for the government's decision to legalise gay marriage.
David Silvester, who defected from the Tories in protest at David Cameron's support for same-sex unions, claimed he had warned the prime minister that the legislation would result in "disasters".
The Henley-on-Thames councillor said that the country had been "beset by storms" since the passage of the new law on gay marriage because Cameron had acted "arrogantly against the Gospel".
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/18/uk-storms-divine-retirubtion-gay-marriage-ukip?CMP=fb_gu

Yep, I'd say the Tories had a cry when he went out the door.....bit like FG and Healy Eames.

I wonder did he have anything to do with this (taken from YLYL) :pac::

robindch · 20-01-2014 10:45AM

UKIP Shipping Forecast

https://m.soundcloud.com/nicholas-pegg/ukip-shipping-forecast

The Black Oil · 20-01-2014 08:17PM

Whatever one thinks of Catholicism, this seems to be standard issue bigotry from big Ian, no?

Ian Paisley: Tony Blair was 'a fool' to become a Catholic

Sulla Felix · 20-01-2014 09:31PM

The Black Oil wrote: »

Whatever one thinks of Catholicism, this seems to be standard issue bigotry from big Ian, no?

Ian Paisley: Tony Blair was 'a fool' to become a Catholic

Maybe it's an honest moment conceding the fact that moving from one kind of woo to the other is a pretty foolish, pointless thing to do?

Nodin · 21-01-2014 06:24AM

Sulla Felix wrote: »

Maybe it's an honest moment conceding the fact that moving from one kind of woo to the other is a pretty foolish, pointless thing to do?

.....hehehehehe.

Nodin · 23-01-2014 05:02AM

"The parliament of Morocco has unanimously amended an article of the penal code that allowed rapists of underage girls to avoid prosecution by marrying their victims.

The move follows intensive lobbying by activists for better protection of young rape victims. The amendment has been welcomed by rights groups.

Article 475 of the penal code generated unprecedented public criticism.

It was first proposed by Morocco's Islamist-led government a year ago.

But the issue came to public prominence in 2012 when 16-year-old Amina Filali killed herself after being forced to marry her rapist."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25855025

Nodin · 23-01-2014 10:15AM

"Police in India's West Bengal state have held 13 people in connection with a gang rape of a woman allegedly on orders of village elders who objected to her relationship with a man.

The 20-year-old woman has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition.

Unofficial courts in India's villages often sanction killings of couples deemed to have violated local codes."

"The relationship was going on for almost five years. When the man visited the woman's home on Monday with the proposal of marriage, villagers spotted him and organised a kangaroo court. During the 'proceedings', the couple were made to sit with hands tied," Birbhum police chief C Sudhakar told the BBC.

He said the headman of the woman's village fined the couple 25,000 rupees ($400; £240) for "the crime of falling in love".

The man paid up, but the woman's family were unable to pay, police said.

The headman, who is a distant relative of the woman, then allegedly ordered the rape, Mr Sudhakar said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25855325

Cabaal · 23-01-2014 11:35AM

Nodin wrote: »

"The parliament of Morocco has unanimously amended an article of the penal code that allowed rapists of underage girls to avoid prosecution by marrying their victims.

The move follows intensive lobbying by activists for better protection of young rape victims. The amendment has been welcomed by rights groups.

Article 475 of the penal code generated unprecedented public criticism.

It was first proposed by Morocco's Islamist-led government a year ago.

But the issue came to public prominence in 2012 when 16-year-old Amina Filali killed herself after being forced to marry her rapist."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25855025

good news...
However, in reality they were just following the word of the bible...isn't that many Christians say people should do anyway?

robindch · 23-01-2014 01:18PM

Remember the nun who got pregnant? Well, she had a kid the other day and called him "Francis"

http://www.inquisitr.com/1101220/pregnant-nun-birth-by-roxana-rodriguez-honors-pope-francis/source/outbrain/

norrie rugger · 23-01-2014 01:22PM

The second coming?

The Hazards of Belief

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