Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:15 am  

I'm sure that teaching young, impressionable children that, by incantation of a few spells, their 'priests' can literally turn bread and wine into the actual flesh and the actual blood of a man who was executed thousands of years ago; and that once they are old enough to deserve it, they too can literally get to eat the body of and drink the blood of their saviour, every day if they like but compulsorily once a week, can only make them rounded citizens. It is not nutty at all, because it is a central tenet of "faith". Thus demonstrationg that the bigger the lie, the more will believe it.

Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:27 am  

SaintsFan wrote:

Not only that but they graded me as good. Shocking, isn't it? ...

Considering that you think that a lottery is discriminatory, I hope that you don't teach English or anything that involves logic.

Oh, hang on, you have a faith, right?
Forget the logic bit, you wouldn't understand.

Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:29 am  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

I'm sure that teaching young, impressionable children that, by incantation of a few spells, their 'priests' can literally turn bread and wine into the actual flesh and the actual blood of a man who was executed thousands of years ago; and that once they are old enough to deserve it, they too can literally get to eat the body of and drink the blood of their saviour, every day if they like but compulsorily once a week, can only make them rounded citizens. It is not nutty at all, because it is a central tenet of "faith". Thus demonstrationg that the bigger the lie, the more will believe it.

Which, of course, raises the question of why faith itself seems to be considered so highly in our society.

Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:47 am  

Mintball wrote:

Which, of course, raises the question of why faith itself seems to be considered so highly in our society.

Particularly when you consider how selective that faith usually is.

"The Bible is the word of God and God is infallible."

"So you believe there are circumstances when genocide is acceptable, or that a rape victim should have to marry her attacker?"

"Well, no, it shouldn't be interpreted literally - it's merely a message."

"Ok, leaving aside the question of quite what message your infallible God was trying to convey in Deuteronomy 22: 28-29 (for example), you don't believe that Jesus was born to a virgin mother? Or that he performed miracles?"

"Well, of course we believe that."

"So, although the Bible is the word of God - who is in fallible - you only believe the parts of it that you have decided are word believing? You know better than your infallible God?"

"Er..."

Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:01 am  

Just out of interest, how is it decided which faiths can run a school?
For example, I seem to remember that Scientology (another word for science fiction) was designated as a cult rather than a recognised religion ... I think that was for some charity status application but could be mis-remembering.
Who decides? ... and how?

Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:02 am  

Indeed. But setting aside that, why is faith itself held in such esteem or with such respect?

Serious question, BTW – to which I do not personally know the answer, even having had faith myself for much of my life.

Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:11 am  

Mintball wrote:

Indeed. But setting aside that, why is faith itself held in such esteem or with such respect?

I literally cannot think of a single good answer to that question. It's seen as a virtue, but it's totally unfathomable as to why. It's not only that there's an absence of evidence for God's existence, but that all available evidence points towards his non-existence. And yet belief that he does exist - totally ignoring the evidence - is somehow seen as a good thing. It's like a celebration of ignorance on a massive scale.

Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:28 am  

El Barbudo wrote:

Just out of interest, how is it decided which faiths can run a school?
For example, I seem to remember that Scientology (another word for science fiction) was designated as a cult rather than a recognised religion ... I think that was for some charity status application but could be mis-remembering.
Who decides? ... and how?

I assume it must be some government department, but what criteria they use is anyone's guess.

Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 12:05 pm  

El Barbudo wrote: Just out of interest, how is it decided which faiths can run a school? For example, I seem to remember that Scientology (another word for science fiction) was designated as a cult rather than a recognised religion ... I think that was for some charity status application but could be mis-remembering. Who decides? ... and how? A bit of info

El Barbudo wrote: Just out of interest, how is it decided which faiths can run a school? For example, I seem to remember that Scientology (another word for science fiction) was designated as a cult rather than a recognised religion ... I think that was for some charity status application but could be mis-remembering. Who decides? ... and how? A bit of info

Re: Prevent The Church Hijacking Our Schools : Wed Jan 11, 2012 12:29 pm  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

I'm sure that teaching young, impressionable children that, by incantation of a few spells, their 'priests' can literally turn bread and wine into the actual flesh and the actual blood of a man who was executed thousands of years ago; and that once they are old enough to deserve it, they too can literally get to eat the body of and drink the blood of their saviour, every day if they like but compulsorily once a week, can only make them rounded citizens. It is not nutty at all, because it is a central tenet of "faith". Thus demonstrationg that the bigger the lie, the more will believe it.

I thought we already had the definitive answer to that one as presented in that bible of catholicism, "Angela's Ashes" - the bit where the kid goes for his first communion, goes home and then throws up in the yard sending his granny ballistic as he's just puked up the body and the blood of christ.

She send him back to the priest to ask if its ok to swill the body and the blood of christ down the drain and he says that yes, its ok to do that - so there you are, the priest magically turns bread and wine into body and blood but as soon as you've swallowed it it magically becomes just bread and wine again.

Its quite simple when you work it through really.

PS - I still get upset when I listen to Puff the Magic Dragon, maybe we should concentrate on that poor soul instead, as far as I know he's still agoraphobic and in his cave.