Infallible: the fragrance for men who never need to admin they're wrong
How on earth did I miss this?
Source: Newsthump
Mar
28
Someone I follow on Twitter posted this link, with the warning “Dear fellow atheists, know thy enemy”: The Catholic’s Guide to Atheists. Intriguing. So I read it. And I found it fairly interesting, humorous and irreverent (… you must remember that atheists are just like you and me, except that they eat small children for [...]
Sep
18
There’s been a bit of scandal in the UK over the last week or so regarding a visit of Pope Benedict XVI. There’s a lot to cover from this visit, so I thought I’d summarise it as best as I can and bring up some of the talking points.
State Visit
As pointed out in the open letter to UK paper The Guardian, much of the opposition to the Pope’s visit is the way it has been funded. The Pope was invited by Queen Elizabeth II as a head of state, thus rendering the visit an official “State Visit”. This means that the UK taxpayer picking up the tab for large portions of the visit. The cost of letting a Pope into your country? In excess of $20 million not including police protection, which would probably run another $10 million. For a country which has more non-cathcolics than Catholics, it seems a bit on the expensive side.
Third World Country
Prior to the visit, one of the Pope’s official advisors, and member of the visiting party Cardinal Walter Kasper, made a statement that the UK was like a “third world country”. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, regardless of how ignorant. But the noble Cardinal went on to clarify…
Cardinal Walter Kasper told German magazine Focus that someone landing at Heathrow airport might think they were in a ‘Third World country’ as there are such a variety of multicultural faces there.
Oh, so he’s not just an idiot, he’s a racist idiot. Such was the backlash that he pulled out of the tour before it started. But of course, this is the Catholic Church, so they can’t just apologize and state that Cardinal Kasper is pulling out of the tour to prevent any offence, no, instead they are claiming illness. but once again, public relations aren’t their strong point, so the illness that they chose was gout.
Affecting around 1–2% of the Western population at some point in their lives, gout has increased in frequency in recent decades. This is believed to be due to increasing risk factors in the population such as metabolic syndrome, longer life expectancy, and changes in diet. Gout was historically known as “the disease of kings” or “rich man’s disease”.
I’m sure the starving Catholics in third world countries who are dying of AIDS, and spreading AIDS because this Pope has forbidden the use of condoms have real sympathy for someone suffering the “disease of kings”.
The Pope’s Views
If you’ve read this blog before you’ll no doubt be aware that I find the Catholic Church to be one of the most despicable organisations on the planet. We’ve had the the Church, or representatives thereof, claiming child abuse is linked to homosexuality, abusive clergymen weren’t technically pedophiles and generally sweeping the problem of child abuse under the carpet. It is not a nice organisation that refuses to face up to its problems whilst simultaneously blaming everyone else for it’s own problems.
The Catholic Church needed a bold leader who would front up to its problems and weed them out. A leader who would change the public image of the Church by being more open, honest, accountable and inclusive. Instead they got Pope Benedict XVI.
His views on contraception and women’s rights are antiquated. His protection of those who abused children is disgusting. His demonisation of homosexuality appalling. This does not make him popular in relatively liberal developed countries, such as the UK.
His Speech
Given the controversy of the visit for the points noted above, the Pope (or his advisors assuming he is not the one who writes his own speeches) chose to court yet more controversy. In his opening speech he decided to associate atheism with the Nazi party.
Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live. I also recall the regime’s attitude to Christian pastors and religious who spoke the truth in love, opposed the Nazis and paid for that opposition with their lives. As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the twentieth century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus to a “reductive vision of the person and his destiny”
There are a few things that need to be pointed out in response to this ridiculous gibberish.
Firstly, perhaps we should consider that this isn’t an insult at all. After all, he was in the Hitler Youth and later served as an anti-aircraft gunner in the German army during WWII. He knows Nazis, and maybe he liked them. He may have been comparing us to people he likes.
Furthermore, I’d like to refer you to this:
Today they say that Christianity is in danger, that the Catholic faith is threatened. My reply to them is: for the time being, Christians and not international atheists are now standing at Germany’s fore. I am not merely talking about Christianity; I confess that I will never ally myself with the parties which aim to destroy Christianity. Fourteen years they have gone arm in arm with atheism. At no time was greater damage ever done to Christianity than in those years when the Christian parties ruled side by side with those who denied the very existence of God. Germany’s entire cultural life was shattered and contaminated in this period. It shall be our task to burn out these manifestations of degeneracy in literature, theater, schools, and the press—that is, in our entire culture—and to eliminate the poison which has been permeating every facet of our lives for these past fourteen years.
A reasonable person might draw some similarities between the views of Pope Benedict XVI and the speech above. So who is this person that seems to share the Pope’s views? Why it’s everyone’s favourite Nazi, Adolf Hitler.
So what other pearls of wisdom did the Pope have to pass on?
As we reflect on the sobering lessons of atheist extremism of the 20th century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus a reductive vision of a person and his destiny.
What are the “sobering lessons of atheist extremism”? Let’s take a stab at them, shall we?
- Don’t put people who are ordered to suppress their sexuality in charge of minors and entrust them with their care.
- Allow the use of condoms because they prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS and HIV. Emphasise this especially in poorer countries where good healthcare is not available.
- Don’t oppress women.
- Don’t oppress homosexuals.
Ah, I see the problem there. Those are the lessons we’ve learned from the actions of the Catholic Church, not atheist extremism. The problem being that the Catholic Church has not learned these lessons, and probably never will.
The Demonstrations
Sir Ian McKellen at the protest
As I write this there are reports coming in of more than 10,000 people peacefully protesting against the Pope’s visit in London.
What’s interesting about this protest is the wide range of communities it has pulled together. In many ways, this is one of the great benefits of the Pope’s visit. There are secularists, gay rights activists, women’s rights activists, people campaigning for justice on the issue of child abuse and even Catholics who are opposed to the direction in which their church is heading.
But of course, despite all the negative media coverage world wide, the criticizm from all corners and now a major protest, the catholic Church still thinks the Pope has been “well received”.
That level of ignorance is so out of character for the Church and its leaders I’m shocked.
May
21
I finally got around to it. I just sent off my official request for defection from the Catholic Church. I have been a lapsed Catholic since about puberty, but it has gotten to the point that the mere thought of my name on their rosters seemed offensive to me. Given their actions on child sexual abuse, their positions on contraception, women, gays, etc. etc. etc, I felt the need to put as much distance as I could be me and the Pope.
There is a formal process for defecting and you can read about it here. I just filled out a form and sent it via certified mail to Cardinal George in Chicago. I included the following letter (some personal information changed for posting here)
21 May 2010
To: Cardinal Francis George
From: Mike Burns
Subject: Defection from the Catholic Church
Mr. George,
I write to you today request that my name be formally removed from the official roll of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). I do this with a clear head and with the full understanding of its implications (as perceived by the RCC).
What motivates me to this action is the final and full recognition that the RCC, at its highest levels, is more concerned with the power structure it maintains than the congregants that it purports to serve. Most recently, the Irish abuse revelations, the Wisconsin abuse revelations, the RCC’s position on contraception in Africa, the demand of clergy celibacy, the status of women, and the status of homosexuals (to name but a few) make it clear that I cannot allow myself to be, even informally, associated with the RCC.
The Wisconsin abuse revelation brings involvement to the very highest level of your organization. The teachings that condoms make the AIDS epidemic worse can only be described as primitive, dangerous, ignorant and evil.
I have been a lapsed Catholic for over thirty years now and recognize that there is no compelling reason to believe in any supernatural actor (creator) at work in our universe. I further believe that religion is an abysmal basis for a moral/ethical framework. I actively educate interested parties to the facts of science and the history of religion in a conscious effort to dissuade others from adopting a theistic worldview.
I have informed my family that I no longer wish to be associated with the RCC at any level.
I have enclosed a self-addressed, stamped envelope which I request be returned to me with documentation/acknowledgement that my formal defection has been affected and that I no longer appear on the RCC register. Pertinent information for the request is:
Full Name: Michael Burns
Parents: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DOB: ~~~~~~~~~
Diocese of Baptism: Chicago
Parish of Baptism: Mount Carmel, Melrose Park, Illinois
Date of Baptism: Unknown
It should be noted that I will be documenting these communications and efforts publicly on my blog site. Staff may contact me at FVThinker@gmail.com or [phone number] if necessary.
I also included a document to be returned to me in a self-addressed, stamped envelope. It read:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF DEFECTION FROM THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR MICHAEL BURNS
This document is for the purpose of documenting the formal defection of Michael Burns. It may be substituted with a document of your choosing as long as the substituted document contains at least the same information below.
I (printed name) _______________________________ can verify that Michael Burns, baptized in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Melrose Park, Illinois has been formally removed from the registers of the Roman Catholic Church.
Signature:____________________________________________
Date:______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________ Title/Position/Role within the Roman Catholic Church:
Apr
30
Tim Minchin does it again. NSFW. Or catholics.
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Sep
30
I've just found out (suppose I should have checked before) that today is International Blasphemy Day. The title of this post links to the site Blasphemy Day , which was set up to "open up all religious beliefs to the same level of free inquiry, discussion and criticism to which all other areas of academic interest are subjected." which is not only a noble cause but also gives us an extra excuse, as if one were needed, to ridicule beliefs held and proselytised without foundation in reality. Excellent.The site makes no attempt to debate the existence or non-existence of Gods of any flavour, and makes it quite clear that such topics are well outside it's remit.
The reason that September 30th has been chosen for this day of blasphemy, is that it was on this day in 2005 that those infamous cartoons of Mohammed were published in the Danish Newspaper Jyllands-Posten. As a result of this, we found out just how fragile our values of 'free speech' and 'free expression' are here in Britain, as every single one of our newspapers declined to print any of the images, ostensibly for fear of causing offence, in reality for fear of having their windows broken by ramapaging mobs of hate-filled bigots, sorry, I mean peaceful and devout Muslims whose feelings were hurt by nasty cartoonists. I don't know about you, but if somebody hurts my feelings or criticizes something I hold dear, I don't feel the need to charge through the streets shouting, throwing stones and waving placards that say 'behead those who insult x' and 'butcher those who mock x'. Maybe I just don't have a highly enough developed sense of outrage.
So as mobs of 'offended' young men threatening obscene acts of violence paraded through the streets of Europe, waving their disgusting banners, shouting insults, throwing stones, spitting bile and showing us just how much Islam truly is 'the religion of peace', our political and religious leaders lined up in condemnation - of the cartoonists and the newspapers that dared to print them. I know it's a couple of years ago now but this case is so indicative of how our culture and our freedoms are being steadily eroded as we are forced to bend over backwards by our spineless political leaders, to accommodate a tiny minority of - lets not beat around the bush - infantile, ignorant, disgusting, hate-obsessed, violent, bigoted, misogynistic pricks, whose only way of coping with 'hurt feelings' are to get truly mouth-foamingly angry and take to the streets shouting insults and waving banners of such eye-watering evil and cruelty that we simply have no choice but to wring our hands and apologise profusely for upsetting them so much. Well, I would say, grow up you sad bastards and take a peak at the real World. Are you offended by this? Good. You don't just deserve to have your feelings hurt, you poor deluded little lambs, you deserve to have that disgusting, anti-human, uncivilized excrement you call the immutable word of God shoved so far down your throat that is makes you at least as half as sick as it makes me.Now you may feel I've stepped way over the line, I've insulted you, your holy book, the very tenets by which you claim to live your life, and of course that it is me who is being bigoted and hate-filled. I strongly suspect that the word 'Islamaphobe' has flashed across your consciousness several times, closely followed perhaps, if not preceded by, 'infidel', 'fatwa' and 'death threat'. You may even now be chalking up your banner and sharpening your scimitar in preperation for a march to show just how offended you are. Well, I'll be honest with you, I do hate you. I hate what you beleieve, and I hate what you stand for, but crucially, I don't want to kill you for it, and however much I dislike it, I have to accept that you have a right to believe it - can you say the same about me? I hope you'll change your mind, you'll grow up and see the real world, you'll see that beliefs founded in reality do not need violence to succeed, unless they are threatened by it, but I suspect it is too late for you, that you are so corrupted by hate and medieval bullshit that any chance of you using the mind that (you say) God gave you to actually think about this is lost. For this reason, I feel deeply sorry for you.
But of course Blasphemy day isn't just about the Muslims, it's about everyone who thinks their 'beliefs' should be above criticism (its' just that the Muslims are the only ones insecure enough to feel the need to threaten doubters with death) so without being gratuitously offensive, well not too much, here is my attempt at a little light-hearted blasphemy for each of the major faiths.Judaism: Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look headbutting that silly wall? Do you really think God would make you his 'chosen people'? Why on Earth does God want you to have such ridiculously curly hair? Just what is God planning to do with that mountain of foreskins? Seems a bit daft that he would make you so perfectly in his image, then order you to cut off a bit of your knob.
Catholicism: Ah, a monotheism. With three Gods. Who are also one God. Mmm, you drink the blood of your God - if it really was blood and not just cheap plonk, do you have any idea how disgusting that would make you? Yes, a monotheism whose followers worship a pantheon of saints. Bit odd, eh? So hows that mile-high true cross coming along, have you collected all the splinters yet?
Greek and Russian Orthodox: - as above, just can't agree on the dates. Oh, and much nicer priestly outfits, those hats are great.
Protestantism - mainstream denominations: Catholics are wrong, of course, you got it right. So right that ther're literally thousands of different churches, all interpreting the 'word of God' differently. You'd think God would be a bit more careful when writing his truths, not to make them so ambiguous eh? Well who am I to judge, you're the experts...
Protestantism - evangelical denominations: Yes, thats right, the Bible is true, all true, ALL OF IT! Especially those bits that contradict each other, they're especially true. So, are you rapture ready? Its coming, you know, any day now. Any day. Any day now... Well, OK we're still waiting, but seriously, it is coming... any day...
Islam: I hardly need say anything, you're just a complete joke. A lethal joke, but funny none the less. Take a look at the images I've included to see just how incredibly funny you really are. So fucking funny that you make me puke.
Mormonism: Oh no thats offensive isn't it? I mean Church of Jesus Christ of The Latter Day Saints: Well, the mind boggles, just reading the history of your 'religion' had me rolling in the aisles. A holy book dictated to an illiterate con-man (keep up people, I've done Islam already) telling the story of the lost tribe of Israel who somehow made it to the Americas. Gold-tabletted commandments that could only be seen by a convicted fraudster and magically disappeared into heaven afterwards... truly beyond satire. Thanks for helping me out with my genealogy research, by the way, but you need to go back through it again as you put one of my Carsberg relatives in the wrong family. I'd hate it if, come judgement day, God got all confused when reading your records and left my great great great grandfather in limbo.
Hinduism: Well take your pick, we've got a God for all occasions, and one of our holiest Gods is the one we drink from, bathe in, wash our clothes in, drain our sewerage in and of course scatter our dead in. Yummy.
Buddhism: Ah the ultimate path to enlightenment, the only way by which our essences may leave this mundane plane and escape the endless cycle of reincarnation. All you need to do is sit very still and think about it until you stop thinking about anything. And shave your head, of course, one cannot achieve spiritual enlightment with the weight of hair pressing down on you.
Sikhism: - The only path to God is to never cut your hair. What??
I think thats enough for now, as tempting as it is to rain down insults on the faithful, I'd hate to sink to their level of peurility, so I will close now by simply quoting from the Blasphemy Day website:
"Blasphemy Day, because your god is a joke."
