Hen Buddhism

Huh?

2011-03-13T12:47:00.003+11:00

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My mother talks to strangers. She should know better.

Yesterday she struck up a conversation with a shop assistant and talk got around to the Japanese earthquake.

"It proves that there is a God" says the shop assistant.

"Really? How's that?" asks my Mum.

"Well, only God could do something that big!"
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Misplaced Love

2011-02-09T20:41:00.005+11:00

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Him: Jesus loves you.

Me: OK.

Him: No, really Jesus loves you.

Me: Really, that's OK. I am comfortable with that.

Him: Do you love him?

Me: No.

Him: You should. He loves you.

Me: That's nice. What would happen if I don't love him.

Him: Then you wont be saved.

Me: Would that be a bad thing?

Him: You would go to Hell.

Me: Would that be bad?

Him: You would suffer for an eternity.

Me: Hang on, let me get this straight. Jesus loves me?

Him: Uh-huh.

Me: But if I don't love him in return, this person who loves me will make me suffer forever?

Him: Yes...

Me: And how is that different to a guy who lusts after a girl in the neighbourhood and, when she wont return his love, kills her so nobody else can have her?

Him: Well...

Me: Sounds a bit warped to me.

(Scene fades...)
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No kidding.

2011-01-11T20:28:00.001+11:00

Pope Benedict XVI has called for Pakistan to repeal its anti-blasphemy law and demanded that governments in predominantly Muslim countries do much more to protect minority Christians from violent attacks.

Speaking in his annual address to diplomats in the Vatican City, the pope said the law was a pretext for violence against religious minorities.

But isn't all religion a pretext for suppressing minorities?

Graffiti

2011-01-06T21:09:00.002+11:00

None of the fun of the fair.

2010-12-14T20:34:00.007+11:00

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Humans seem to have an innate need for the universe to be fair when quite clearly it isn't.

The good die young. The wicked prosper. Children get incurable diseases and the elderly lose their marbles and their dignity.

At least, as an atheist, I can reconcile this lack of fairness as being just a function of the lottery of life, the interplay of competing organisms and the general decay of a system in stress.

When enough stuff is happening, stuff happens.

The religious I know, and it is a dwindling group, have on occasions tried to tell me that a seemingly senseless death, such as the death of a grandson to influenza, is God's way of testing their faith.

Some God. Some test.

The whole nonsense that is the idea of Hell is build on the idea that if the bad seem to get away with their despotic life, they will get caught in the final net and be slow roasted for eternity as a balancing of the ledger. That way the religious flock are kept from rebellion against the despots in the smug but unlikely belief that 'they will get theirs' in the next life. The flaw in this is that someone who lead a blameless life but didn't join a religious tribe will suffer the same fate on the sulphurous spitroast of Satan.

Hardly seems fair, does it?

◊◊◊

And what prompted this reflection? The news that a young lass in our office, 30, engaged to be married next May, has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Now, that's not fair.
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Who's minding the shop?

2010-12-12T10:30:00.004+11:00

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So, let me get this straight: God, all-seeing, all-knowing, omnipotent God, decides to return to earth as a baby.

Really?

A baby. A small helpless, speechless, baby?

So who was minding the shop in the meantime?

If the celestial Public Service kept things ticking over during God's second childhood, perhaps we don't need him at all.
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The face of evil

2010-09-10T20:12:00.005+10:00

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This man, with the brain power of an un-evolved newt, thinks that performing a stunt where he denigrates another religion by burning their sacred book, the Koran, will bring peace love and harmony to this planet.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

I mean, you Christians out there, would you toe the Muslim line if some mullah burned the Bible?

Of course not.

If I was God I would rid the world of all religions but in the mean time I would settle for a decent bolt of lightning to turn Pastor Terry Jones into a bbq reject.
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Go!

2010-08-03T13:44:00.000+10:00

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This is Steve Fielding, the one and only Family First Senator.

He is up for re-election on August 21st.

I really hope he loses - the legislative chamber is no place for a creationist.
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Thor Point

2010-08-01T19:36:00.004+10:00

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I was recently asked how I could possibly not believe in God.

My response was "How do you feel about the existence of the Norse God, Thor?"

The answer was "Thor was just a mythical God!".

"Fine, capture that feeling. Now you can begin to understand how I feel about all Gods."
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Well, Bless my soul!

2010-05-12T20:56:00.002+10:00

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A computer game retailer revealed that it legally owns the souls of thousands of online shoppers, thanks to a clause in the terms and conditions agreed to by online shoppers.

The retailer, British firm GameStation, added the "immortal soul clause" to the contract signed before making any online purchases earlier this month. It states that customers grant the company the right to claim their soul.

"By placing an order via this Web site on the first day of the fourth month of the year 2010 Anno Domini, you agree to grant Us a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, your immortal soul. Should We wish to exercise this option, you agree to surrender your immortal soul, and any claim you may have on it, within 5 (five) working days of receiving written notification from gamesation.co.uk or one of its duly authorised minions."

GameStation's form also points out that

"we reserve the right to serve such notice in 6 (six) foot high letters of fire, however we can accept no liability for any loss or damage caused by such an act. If you a) do not believe you have an immortal soul, b) have already given it to another party, or c) do not wish to grant Us such a license, please click the link below to nullify this sub-clause and proceed with your transaction."

The terms of service were updated on April Fool's Day as a gag, but the retailer did so to make a very real point: No one reads the online terms and conditions of shopping, and companies are free to insert whatever language they want into the documents.

While all shoppers during the test were given a simple tick box option to opt out, very few did this, which would have also rewarded them with a £5 voucher, according to news:lite. Due to the number of people who ticked the box, GameStation claims believes as many as 88 percent of people do not read the terms and conditions of a Web site before they make a purchase.  The company noted that it would not be enforcing the ownership rights, and planned to e-mail customers nullifying any claim on their soul.
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Gone. If there was a God, he'd know where.

2010-03-12T06:12:00.002+11:00

The bus of reason comes to Melbourne.

2010-03-05T07:37:00.001+11:00

Sign on some buses around Melbourne.
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A miracle?

2010-02-22T20:22:00.002+11:00

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Simon was sitting in the front lounge room, reading (believe it or not) "Religion for Dummies".

When he stood up, he saw the above image on the couch.

True, he seems to have a broken nose, but surely a remarkable image of...who?

Jesus? Mother Teresa? Joe Bugner?
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Child Abuse

2010-02-20T17:06:00.001+11:00

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Is forcing a child to follow religion mental cruelty? Psychological child abuse?
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Well, it worked once...

2010-02-18T21:41:00.000+11:00

And it came from...?

2010-02-15T20:32:00.002+11:00

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These little tackers are the bacteria responsible for Gonorrhoea, Neisseria gonorrhoeae. (I spared you the more graphic pics you get if you venture into Google images. Pretty oozy and icky.)

The interesting thing about Gonorrhoea is that it only lives in humans and is only transmitted human to human.

Which means, of course, that either Adam or Eve must have had it.

Doesn't it?
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Voodoo aid brings death by a 1000 cuts to Haiti.

2010-02-03T20:25:00.005+11:00

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What is it about disasters that brings out the religious ratbags?

Example 1
A US religious group sends 600 solar powered bibles to Haiti.

Example 2
A US Baptist group tries to abscond the country with 33 supposed "orphans". What they planned to do with them is unclear but the future for the kids in a foreign country with no passports, no birth certificates and no other identifying paperwork would have been bleak at best.

Example 3
John Travolta flies in a plane load of supplies, doctors and Church of Scientology missionaries.

The stupidity and opportunism of it all just numbs the brain.
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Characature & stereotype

2010-01-10T09:40:00.004+11:00

New during the week that some ding-a-ling, but lethal ding-a-ling, was caught in Kurt Westergaard's house.

Apparently set to kill him because he drew the above cartoon.

Salaam, brother.

Right thinking people criticise the beat up indignation that the original cartoons caused. And it was a beat up. Unfortunately some followers, like the guy caught above, take it too much to heart. Religious opportunists offering $1,000,000 for the death of Westergaard don't help.

But then we get the following cartoon that was in the Indian press after an Indian national was killed in Australia and the police refused to come out straight away and say it was racially motivated:

The local media peed in their rompers in righteous indignation.

But is there any difference?

Cartoons are cartoons are cartoons. Get over it people.
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All powerful but not good with money.

2010-01-03T23:18:00.001+11:00

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“Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told.

Think about it.

Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time!

But He loves you.

He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money!

He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more."

- George Carlin, 1999
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Don't take credit away from the doctors.

2010-01-03T11:51:00.005+11:00

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A story from AP during the week:

Mr Hermanstorfer's wife, Tracy, went into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing during labor last Thursday, said Dr Stephanie Martin, a maternal foetal specialist at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, where the Hermanstorfers had gone for the birth of their son. Moments later Mr Hermanstorfer cradled his newborn son's limp body after a medical team delivered the baby by caesarean section.

In a few minutes his son would begin to breathe again under the feverish attention of doctors, and soon he learned his wife had also inexplicably come back to life after emergency surgery.

''We did a thorough evaluation and can't find anything that explains why this happened,'' Dr Martin said.

But Mr Hermanstorfer credits ''the hand of God''.

''We are both believers … but this right here, even a nonbeliever - you explain to me how this happened? There is no other explanation,'' he said.

It could be just luck, Mr Hermanstorfer. Luck and exceptionally talented doctors. What's wrong with that as an explanation?

Friends have asked Mrs Hermanstorfer if she saw a light or had experiences described by others who had survived near-death experiences. She didn't.

''I just felt like I was asleep,'' she said.

Yes! I firmly believe that death is like being in a dreamless sleep.

Just without the alarm clock at the end.
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As if you needed more proof...

2009-12-30T20:11:00.004+11:00

The Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei further upped the ante at home,
branding senior opposition members "enemies of God" who deserved to be executed.

- The Independent.

I have argued before that religion is nothing to do with God (or love, or peace, or justice).

Religion is a political tool, designed to keep the religious hierarchy in power through the use of fear and intimidation, carried out in God's name. Any God.

What's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei doing being God's executioner?

Surely God has the power to do his own dirty work?
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Work will not make you free, it seems.

2009-12-28T09:24:00.003+11:00

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If you don't do what God wants, you will go to Hell. Or so we are told.

Sinners of all types, will go to Hell.
Non-Christians will go to Hell.
People God doesn't like will go to Hell.
People who are different will go to Hell.
People who do not do what the 'church' wants will go to Hell.
There is no reprieve or rescue from Hell.
The pain and suffering will go on for an eternity.

Hell is God's way of getting rid of people that he doesn't like and inflicting sadistic and endless torture on them.

Not a lot different to the concentration camps of Adolf Hilter.

The only significant difference is that Hitler had the decency to stop torturing people once they were dead.
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Work of the devil?

2009-12-21T21:46:00.003+11:00

Cardinal George Pell

I have had a shot at Cardinal George Pell in the past, when he said that 'Jesus said nothing about global warming' and hence dismissed it as immaterial. There are lots of things JC didn't mention, George. Cardinals, for instance.

But today George confirmed my suspicion that he lacks the mental dexterity needed to be a piece of broccoli.

The good Cardinal tells us that praying will cure cancer.

Hey George! If intelligent design was so flash, how come we get cancer in the first place?

On the bright side, I suppose it gives homoeopathy an air of respectability.

And ups the chances of me getting a placebo beatified.

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St Placebo of Mirth.

2009-12-20T20:45:00.003+11:00

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Australia has its first saint! Woohoo!

Sister Mary Mackillop has been credited with 'curing' a couple of people who prayed to her long after her death.

Sounds a bit suss to me. Postmortem propaganda and reeks a bit of graft and corruption on the beatification panel.

As it is quite common for people to spontaneously recover from various illnesses regardless of their knowledge or prayerful supplication to the good sister, should we elevate happenstance to the sainthood?

And what of placebos?

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Own goaL

2009-12-18T20:05:00.003+11:00

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Above is a poster that was put up outside a church in New Zealand.

It got defaced at short notice and the church received hate mail.

What would Christ have felt?
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Now that's a religion I can relate to!

2009-12-18T19:48:00.003+11:00

When I do good, I feel good;
when I do bad, I feel bad,
and that is my religion.
- Abraham Lincoln.
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Don't give me that rubbish. It's not a religion.

2009-11-21T16:02:00.002+11:00

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Independent Australian Senator Nick Xenophon has used a speech in Parliament to raise allegations of widespread criminal conduct within the "Church" of Scientology.

It will be interesting to see how he goes.

Nothing I have seen makes me think Scientology is a religion. A cult maybe, but a religion? No.

I've seen football clubs with a better claim to religious status than a pack of wackos who, by all accounts, use blackmail and intimidation to rule their flock.

I am still not convinced that L. Ron Hubbard didn't start it as a bet with some mate down at the pub. True the pub was in a distant galaxy, far far away, and the barman had four eyes and green body hair but, a joke on humanity none the less.
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Nipples & God

2009-11-07T17:17:00.004+11:00

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OK. So this is a brass nipple, not the human nipple I am about to write about. If you want nipple pics, hop over to the Curate after Dark. I hope I haven't unduly excited any plumbers with this picture. Now, onward!

If we take the literal Biblical story of creation as correct, and there are those who do, what was God thinking of when he gave men nipples? He hadn't even considered the possibility of children until Eve did the dirty of their agreement, so what was the point?

Just an ornament to break up the monotony?

And, once Eve was in the bad books and condemned to a life of conception and sorrow, did he have to re-engineer her to have lactating breasts?

If not, why was she given them in the first place?

Adam's pleasure? Maybe. But why lactating?

I really cannot get my head around how some people can believe the these stories are true.

I am eagerly awaiting the next visit of the door-to-door brigade, to quiz them.
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Don't go left, right?

2009-11-01T21:14:00.002+11:00

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Nasty things happen to you if you go left.
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The devil, she did!

2009-10-31T11:58:00.004+11:00

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Well, we have all heard of various people in institutions who believe that they are Christ. (Do Islamic countries have Mohammed pretenders, I wonder?)

Anyway, a new one for me is Cacodemonomania, having sex with the devil.

The experience of having had intercourse with the devil has in the past been regarded as evidence that the individual is a witch. Those investigating cases of witchcraft were advised to seek the judgment of doctors, and the verdict of physicians became a test for the presence or absence of witchcraft. The woman described in this case study might well have suffered the death penalty in former times. She is unusual because of her belief that she had had intercourse with the Devil, and because the belief was shared by her religious minister.

Psychiatry. 1987 Feb;50(1):50-4. Salmons PH, Clarke DJ.

Not her doctor, you notice, but her religious minister. (Disdainful sniff.) Tried to find the original article but couldn't.

I wonder: Does she shout "Oh God!" at the critical moment?

If not, what?

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Alternative Medicine

2009-10-10T16:33:00.005+11:00

Alternative Medicine

that works

is called...

MEDICINE.
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Hey boys, a fair fight please.

2009-10-04T11:37:00.002+11:00

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Of trousers and rich queue jumpers.

2009-09-20T19:42:00.004+10:00

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Lubna Hussein was arrested at a Khartoum party in July with 12 other women and had faced the possibility of 40 lashes for wearing trousers deemed indecent. Ten of the women were flogged in July.

Is this religion? Or is it just the political whims of an irrational Islamic Government?

I'm hoping the latter.

You see, if God was offended by women in trousers he has a whole armoury of things he could do about it. Smiting, for example. Pillars of salt, for another. He surely doesn't need a bunch of politicians to express his anger.

But maybe he does. Maybe they are acting as a conduit to God's displeasure.

But, if that is the case, why was Ms Hussein released after a $200 fine was paid?

Is God upset or is he not upset?

Can financial payments induce him to reduce the penalties on other 'crimes'?

Does he really need the money?

Can a rich man really get into Heaven now?
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The original Jerky.

2009-09-06T14:01:00.002+10:00

Selling Religion

2009-08-30T14:08:00.000+10:00

Religion & Politics

2009-08-23T10:20:00.004+10:00

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Yes, I know 1528 is a long time ago but it happens today, but in different guises.

What is it that possesses religious people to feel that they have to control the lives of people who do not belong to their religion? Why can't the religions be content to manage their flock and, at worst, expel people they feel do not reflect the values of their religion. Why the need to interfere in the lives of people who are not of their flock?

Politics and power.

The above cartoon says it all when it says that the 18 were burned by the Government because of their beliefs.

The politicians will use religion weapon to justify their particular agenda. If there was a God, he must be totally sick of both sides of a conflict invoking his name as a blessing before they go off to slaughter each other's young men and rape their women.

Religion is invoked in the debate on same sex marriage. What's it got to do with religion?

Some oddball Islamic states (religion & politics, no?) impose all manner of dress, dietary and behavioural restrictions on all member of the community, regardless of their own religion.

And 'God only knows' what their God thinks of Politicians saying the Lord's Prayer before each session of Parliament. Not in my name, springs to mind.

This would be a much happier planet if religion kept to itself.
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The bank and the witch.

2009-08-20T21:33:00.003+10:00

"THE Reserve Bank of Australia paid $500,000 to a self-styled ''white witch'' to oversee an ultimately disastrous workplace overhaul at its bank-note printing company.
The revelation of a highly scathing investigative report into Caroline Shahbaz's work at Note Printing Australia - fully owned by the RBA and operating under its charter - adds to concerns about the Reserve's oversight of its currency printing operations."

No, not the lady pictured above. She just looked a nice sort of "witch". I couldn't find a decent picture of the lady who advised the Reserve Bank of Australia.

How do seemingly sensible people fall for such rot? I really do not understand.

I know the purpose of economics is to make astrology look like a rational science but witchcraft?

(sits with head in hands, not knowing how to express his dismay...)
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Fails the test.

2009-08-02T20:14:00.004+10:00

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A young couple wanted to join the church. The pastor told them, 'We have a special
requirement for new member couples. You must abstain from sex for one whole month.'
The couple agreed, but after two-and-a-half weeks returned to the Church. When the
Pastor ushered them into his office, the wife was crying and the husband was obviously
very depressed. 'You are back so soon, is there a problem?' the pastor inquired.

'We are terribly ashamed to admit that we did not manage to abstain from sex for the
required month.' The young man replied sadly.

The pastor asked him what happened.

'Well, the first week was difficult, however, we managed to abstain through sheer
willpower. The second week was terrible, but with the use of prayer, we managed to
abstain. However, the third week was unbearable. We tried cold showers, Prayer,
reading from the Bible...anything to keep our minds off Carnal Thoughts. One afternoon
my wife reached for a can of paint and dropped it. When she bent over to pick it up, I
was overcome with lust and I just had my way with her right then and there. It was
lustful, loud, passionate sex. It lasted for over an hour and when we were done
we were both drenched in sweat,' admitted the man, shamefacedly.

The pastor lowered his head and said sternly, 'You understand this means you will not
be welcome in our church.'....

I know.' said the young man, hanging his head, 'we're not welcome at the hardware store either.'
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Irony

2009-07-24T20:00:00.003+10:00

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Shamelessly stolen from Boneman
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A viper in the nest

2009-06-21T18:19:00.003+10:00

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In my travels last year I met two people who took homeopathic sleep drops.

Infinitely diluted caffeine, taken on the logic (!) that, if caffeine stops you sleeping then taking an infinitely diluted solution of it will make you sleep.

Sure.

If you dilute it another hundred fold. will you sleep even better?

Now, I have been drinking coffee for so long that it doesn't keep me awake. What will these drops do for me? Stop me sleeping?

Quackery. Absolute off the planet, away with the fairies, a sandwich short of a picnic, quackery.

Purveyors of infinitely diluted snake oil.

Now there are times when a placebo is a suitable thing to use, when it has a desirable effect. But there are times when it is not.

To the homeopaths out there: if your child was bitten by a snake, would you be comfortable in administering a few drops of infinitely diluted solution of the snake venom as a cure?

Or would you opt for a full strength dose of anti venom?
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Someone home

2009-06-14T13:49:00.003+10:00

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Well, I don't agree with the likelihood of having to sit the final exams at all but I have to admit it is nice that they have a sense of humour about the whole thing.
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It beats me...

2009-06-07T21:08:00.002+10:00

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I have calmed down a bit now but it beggared belief during the week to learn that a doctor in the US who performed abortions was shot and killed. In a church, to boot.

The so called 'pro-life' lobby seem seriously confused.

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Carl Sagan's Dragon

2009-04-20T09:50:00.001+10:00

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“A fire-breathing dragon lives in my garage”

Suppose (I’m following a group therapy approach by the psychologist Richard Franklin) I seriously make such an assertion to you. Surely you’d want to check it out, see for yourself. There have been innumerable stories of dragons over the centuries, but no real evidence. What an opportunity!

“Show me,” you say. I lead you to my garage. You look inside and see a ladder, empty paint cans, an old tricycle — but no dragon.

“Where’s the dragon?” you ask.

“Oh, she’s right here,” I reply, waving vaguely. “I neglected to mention that she’s an invisible dragon.”

You propose spreading flour on the floor of the garage to capture the dragon’s footprints.

“Good idea,” I say, “but this dragon floats in the air.”

Then you’ll use an infrared sensor to detect the invisible fire.

“Good idea, but the invisible fire is also heatless.”

You’ll spray-paint the dragon and make her visible.

“Good idea, but she’s an incorporeal dragon and the paint won’t stick.” And so on. I counter every physical test you propose with a special explanation of why it won’t work.

Now, what’s the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? If there’s no way to disprove my contention, no conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say that my dragon exists? Your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true. Claims that cannot be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value they may have in inspiring us or in exciting our sense of wonder. What I’m asking you to do comes down to believing, in the absence of evidence, on my say-so. The only thing you’ve really learned from my insistence that there’s a dragon in my garage is that something funny is going on inside my head. You’d wonder, if no physical tests apply, what convinced me. The possibility that it was a dream or a hallucination would certainly enter your mind. But then, why am I taking it so seriously? Maybe I need help. At the least, maybe I’ve seriously underestimated human fallibility. Imagine that, despite none of the tests being successful, you wish to be scrupulously open-minded. So you don’t outright reject the notion that there’s a fire-breathing dragon in my garage. You merely put it on hold. Present evidence is strongly against it, but if a new body of data emerge you’re prepared to examine it and see if it convinces you. Surely it’s unfair of me to be offended at not being believed; or to criticize you for being stodgy and unimaginative — merely because you rendered the Scottish verdict of “not proved.”

Imagine that things had gone otherwise. The dragon is invisible, all right, but footprints are being made in the flour as you watch. Your infrared detector reads off-scale. The spray paint reveals a jagged crest bobbing in the air before you. No matter how skeptical you might have been about the existence of dragons — to say nothing about invisible ones — you must now acknowledge that there’s something here, and that in a preliminary way it’s consistent with an invisible, fire-breathing dragon.

Now another scenario: Suppose it’s not just me. Suppose that several people of your acquaintance, including people who you’re pretty sure don’t know each other, all tell you that they have dragons in their garages — but in every case the evidence is maddeningly elusive. All of us admit we’re disturbed at being gripped by so odd a conviction so ill-supported by the physical evidence. None of us is a lunatic. We speculate about what it would mean if invisible dragons were really hiding out in garages all over the world, with us humans just catching on. I’d rather it not be true, I tell you. But maybe all those ancient European and Chinese myths about dragons weren’t myths at all.

Gratifyingly, some dragon-size footprints in the flour are now reported. But they’re never made when a skeptic is looking. An alternative explanation presents itself. On close examination it seems clear that the footprints could have been faked. Another dragon enthusiast shows up with a burnt finger and attributes it to a rare physical manifestation of the dragon’s fiery breath. But again, other possibilities exist. We understand that there are other ways to burn fingers besides the breath of invisible dragons. Such “evidence” — no matter how important the dragon advocates consider it — is far from compelling. Once again, the only sensible approach is tentatively to reject the dragon hypothesis, to be open to future physical data, and to wonder what the cause might be that so many apparently sane and sober people share the same strange delusion.

- Carl Sagan.
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Religious Playing Cards - Collect the set. (Part 3 of 4)

2009-04-19T19:46:00.001+10:00

Logic? You never said you wanted logic!

2009-04-18T15:48:00.000+10:00

The Vatican takes the piss.

2009-04-15T19:48:00.004+10:00

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It was reported on the news today that the Vatican has rejected three Ambassadors proposed by the US. All of them were Catholics but the Vatican felt that they were not sufficiently anti-abortion in their beliefs and refused to accredit them.

Must the Ambassador from communist China be a Catholic?

What of the Ambassadors from Israel and the Middle East states?

This is not a pro or anti abortion post. It is a finger pointing post, pointing at the Vatican's hypocrisy and double standards. What right does a State have to prescribe the personal beliefs of someone that has been chosen by their own country to represent them?

It is time to recognise the Holy See as what it is: interfering, irrelevant and out of touch.
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Religious Playing Cards - Collect the set. (Part 2 of 4)

2009-04-02T20:49:00.002+11:00

Confession time

2009-04-02T11:30:00.000+11:00

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Yes, all my posts yesterday were inspired by April Fools day.

A Curate's Egg - Eel skin wallets and their effect on credit cards.

The Curate After Dark - Clomipramine, the drug that makes you have an orgasm when you yawn.

Hen Buddhism - The Second Coming Project, aiming to clone Jesus from DNA in old Holy Relics.

The Odd Angry Squawk - The call sign, N166ER, on Air Force One.

The Chemist's Kitchen - Tha Celery has negative calories.

As it happens, all sounded suitably April Foolery, but two are true and three are false.
...

The Second Coming Project.

2009-04-01T18:29:00.000+11:00

The Second Coming Project is a not-for-profit organization devoted to bringing about the Second Coming of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, as prophesied in the Bible, in time for the 2,000th anniversary of his birth. Our intention is to clone Jesus, utilizing techniques pioneered at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, by taking an incorrupt cell from one of the many Holy Relics of Jesus' blood and body that are preserved in churches throughout the world, extracting its DNA, and inserting into an unfertilized human egg (oocyte), through the now-proven biological process called nuclear transfer. The fertilized egg, now the zygote of Jesus Christ, will be implanted into the womb of a young virginal woman (who has volunteered of her own accord), who will then bring the baby Jesus to term in a second Virgin Birth.

If all goes according to plan, the birth will take place on December 25, 2010, thus making Anno Domini 2010 into Anno Domini Novi 1, and all calendrical calculations will begin anew.

The mind boggles. Jurassic Park Mk 2. But there were no dinosaurs in the Bible...

What if the cloned JC is an atheist?
...

Religious Playing Cards - Collect the set. (Part 1 of 4)

2009-04-01T12:23:00.002+11:00

(click to enlarge)

I KNEW this would happen!

2009-03-29T15:44:00.007+11:00

.
I had advertisements on my blogs for a while. Once day there was an astrologer advertising. What harm would there be to answer the ad?

Here's part of what she said in a follow up email (I hadn't responded to her first email):

Today I want to tell you about a new and important element that has come to me:

Two days ago 22 March 2009 I felt something new and powerful about your situation Lee, a feeling which was the same as the one I received the first time you contacted me 3 weeks ago. My experience and my intuition mean that I am never wrong about this kind of sensation. (What? Never?) I know that if I have now received this feeling again it is because this event is now very close indeed. I would like to remind you that this is a period during which you will have the opportunity to rediscover a past love (uh-oh, I have recently been tracking down people I knew 30 years ago, could it be?) and reach a decisive turning point in your career (I AM looking for a job...!) and. (and? And what? You can't just stop like that!)

I took this moment of powerful intuition that I had a few days ago as an alert and as you have not yet asked me to begin this important reading for you and also because I know that it will soon be too late, I took the initiative yesterday to do a Tarot card reading for you Lee. (And how many people do you get these intuitions about Jenna? It must be noisy in that little brain of yours!) The aim of this Tarot card reading is to confirm what I felt about you during my initial astrological analyse. (All this for little ol' me? You are so good!)

Lee, as I have told you through my previous letters only a full reading can determine all of the information and the details which you will need to begin preparing yourself and to be sure that you have all the knowledge you will need during this period. (And the price?) It is certain that this event is now very close and unfortunately until you ask me for this reading I will not be able to begin it for you. (And the price??) In the meantime the most I can do is to warn you about what I can see about you and tell you that this event is coming soon.

The World Card

This card clearly represents the beginning of a new cycle and marks the start of something new and intense. (could you be more specific?) Something is being set firmly into place. (What?) This is one of the most beautiful cards of the deck. (So? What about me?) Firstly the number 21, which is of course 20 plus 1, represents a new cycle and 21 can also be considered to be 3 times 7 which is a very harmonious set of numbers representing harmony and satisfaction in all areas; sentimental, material and intellectual. The World in the sense of this card is formed by the Earth and all the other astral bodies and demonstrates the harmony, accomplishment and satisfaction which you will soon experience Lee because of this very intense Transit you will soon be living through. (Fantastic. Does that mean I don't have to contact you?) The central personality appears to be someone happy and fulfilled. The laurel leaf crown symbolises the prize awarded by all your efforts, your honor and sucess. This is a very satisfying card and it also symbolises travel. (Uh-oh. Could that be Malaysia? Or going to the shops tomorrow?) It seems that you will be required to move around during relatively short periods however you will get a great deal out of this travel. (Uh-oh. The job I'm going for will require short bursts of travel...!) This card clearly shows the sucess and acheivement which awaits you. (Why, thank you M'am)

The Pope Card

This card is a strong symbol. It quite clearly evokes the close presence of a person who you will encounter (of course someone I encounter is close!) and who will open up new opportunities during this Transit period which you will soon be living through. (Could be anyone really. Can you be more specific?) As a matter of fact this card is the symbol of the spiritual father, the guide and the counselor, the person who can help you by sharing wisdom and experience. (I've no idea who you can mean.) The number 5 on the card evokes action and it is under the subject represented by the 4 (it is also 4 plus 1). We can also consider 5 to be 2 plus 1 plus 2 and a active mediator (the 1) between two representations of the real world (the two 2) (What about 3+6-4? 1+1+12-9?) and I read this to mean that the person you are set to encounter will introduce you to someone or something extremely beneficial for you Lee. (Me Mum?) The Pope on the card appears to be generous, full of love and mercy. This is someone who wants to do good for you. (Me Mum!) It is important to note that this encounter is associated with notions of richness, this seems to be the ripe fruit of the encounter and this is suggested by the crown of precious jewels which he wears. This will be a very important encounter and you must not miss it as it is sure to be decisive for you both financially and professionally.

And then she neglected to cut and paste the Wheel of Fortune into my reading. Rats.

Wishy-washy mumbo jumbo.

She throws out all sots of half-nothings and relies on me to try and fit them to my life. Anyone could.

But I'm psychic: I knew that was going to happen.
...

Comparitive table.

2009-03-26T22:10:00.000+11:00

Why atheists make the best pilots.

2009-03-25T21:51:00.002+11:00

PALERMO (Reuters) - A Tunisian pilot who paused to pray instead of taking
emergency measures before crash-landing his plane, killing 16 people, has
been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court along with his co-pilot.
The 2005 crash at sea off Sicily left survivors swimming for their lives, some
clinging to a piece of the fuselage that remained floating after the ATR
turbo-prop aircraft splintered upon impact.

A fuel-gauge malfunction was partly to blame but prosecutors also said the
pilot succumbed to panic, praying out loud instead of following emergency
procedures and then opting to crash-land the plane instead trying to reach a
nearby airport.

At least an atheist would have realised that this was a serious issue and, if he wanted to continue with his one and only life, he should take serious measures to land the plane safely.
...

Numberplate

2009-03-23T20:57:00.002+11:00

Saw this number plate on a car today.

A 4WD (SUV) sort of vehicle belonging to a TV production crew.

I'm guessing it translates into "3 wise men".

Perhaps they go cross country a lot.

Perhaps they are looking for a star for their next production.
...

After thoughts on 'is atheism a religion'.

2009-03-22T21:32:00.004+11:00

.

Chairman Bill says: " Atheism is a faith position. You cannot prove something does not exist, therefore there has to be a leap of faith."

No, I don't buy that. I don't have to prove or disprove existence. I do not believe that God exists.

I mean, is your lack of belief that Mars, the God of War, exists also a faith position?

Or do you just plain not believe that the God Mars exists?

How about the tooth fairy?

Do you believe he doesn't exist? Or do you not believe he exists?

A subtle but important distinction.

◊◊

If my atheism to the Christian God (well, all Gods actually) is a religion, then Christianity's atheism to Roman, Greek, Norse, and Hindu Gods is also a religion.
...

Is atheism a religion?

2009-03-21T11:30:00.004+11:00

.

Is Atheism a religion? This has caused a little comment since the last post so I thought I would leap in for my half-pint's worth.

The US internal revenue service has a list of 14 criteria that it uses to determine if an organisation can be considered tax exempt as a religion. Now, I will grant you that the IRS may be unduly severe, as it does not want to pass up revenue lightly, but it should give a good guideline:

To be a religion, as organisation must be

1. a distinct legal existence,
No. Fails this test. Stumbles at the first hurdle but let's press on:

2. a recognised creed and form of worship,
No, I don’t think so. There is no form to a belief that something isn't there.

3. a definite and distinct ecclesiastical government,
Definitely not.

4. a formal code of doctrine and discipline
The absence of a belief is not a doctrine.

5. a distinct religious history,
Possibly, in the negative sense.

6. a membership not associated with any other church or denomination,
Definitely.

7. an organisation of ordained ministers,
No. Richard Dawkins is a bit evangelical but definitely not ordained.

8. ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed studies,
No. Though, oddly, atheists have often read the Bible more deeply and critically than believers.

9. a literature of its own,
No. Plenty of books but no single text such as the Bible or the Koran. The God Delusion doesn't qualify.

10. established places of worship,
Pubs don’t count.

11. regular congregations,
Nope.

12. regular religious services,
Nope.

13. schools for religious instruction of the young,
No.

14. school for the preparation of its ministers.
Pubs still don’t count. Coffee shops might.

The most curious thing about this list is that it makes no direct mention of a religion worshipping a ‘higher being’ as being a pivotal aspect of religion. But I suppose some of the Eastern religions don't have such a being. Buddhism, for example.

Maybe that is why Scientology gets away with calling itself a religion.
…

Different views

2009-03-20T21:49:00.003+11:00

.

I would argue that atheism does not meet any of the criteria for being a religion...
...

Even gargoyles have a bad day.

2009-03-19T21:51:00.003+11:00

.

I'm assuming that it is not making a philosophical statement on the sermon of the day.
...

AIDS and his holiness.

2009-03-18T19:43:00.001+11:00

.

How odd. God's guy on the ground says condoms are not to be used for protection, that "friendship for those who suffer" should suffice, and yet travels around in a bullet-proof car.
..

A bit of a worry.

2009-03-17T21:05:00.002+11:00

(Click to enlarge)

"This chart depicts the public acceptance of evolution theory in 34 countries in 2005. Adults were asked to respond to the statement: "Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals." The percentage of respondents who believed this to be true is marked in blue; those who believed it to be false, in red; and those who were not sure, in yellow."
- National Geographic

On the surface, the US does not do too well, coming in second last, but there are about 160 more countries (including Australia!) who are not in the list.

Interestingly, the only country below the US is also the only Moslem country in the list.
...

Hopelessly lost, I fear.

2009-03-16T15:35:00.000+11:00

A reflection of the bigger picture.

2009-03-15T21:40:00.005+11:00

.

In a comments to the last post, Rob-bear issued an implied challenge for me to say something nice about religion.

And it is true enough that people 'fault find' as a default position.

And it is a parent's mantra to accentuate the positive and not the negative.

But (don't you just love that word?) it's not easy.

In many ways the church is a microcosm of the broader community where good work is done by individuals and local groups but the higher up the power pile you go the more removed and more impersonal the public face.

Undeniably, people in most churches and denominations do well and mean well. Regardless of their faith. Community aid, charity, meals on wheels, visiting the sick and the poor, running telephone help-lines and such like. They honestly and earnestly apply their faith's doctrine of good.

Undeniably churches provide a sense of community and belonging and acceptance that many people find missing in their lives in other spheres.

The trouble with this is it is dull. If I blogged about the thousands of selfless acts of care and charity performed every day I would lose all my readers. Both of them.

The other thing is the Church puts itself out there. There are hundreds of tennis clubs around the country, full of people fervently playing tennis, raising money, looking after members, rebuilding club houses, holding meetings and generally being tennis clubs. They do not try to tell people that they are wrong for playing cricket, basketball or football. And you hardly know that they are there.

Churches would be left alone if they left alone.
..

A response to Rob-bear

2009-03-14T09:50:00.004+11:00

.

Rob-bear makes a fair point in my earlier post, that ‘organised religion’ has done much good in the past.

As he states, it has been responsible for providing many medical services over the ages.

It has also been responsible for the creation of many schools. Initially the Church gained great power by being the only people who could read and write. In later years, it found value in running schools and teaching.

Not for just itself but because it then had control of the curriculum.

Rob-bear did not mention art – the Church has been responsible for some magnificent architecture, art and music.

I could now go into a long list of things that the Churches did over the years that were truly atrocious but that would be missing the main point I want to make.

My gripe is with the Church today. It’s actions now.

The Church and its supporters must take this view, too. Why else would they be chasing converts? The Bible is full of calls to repent; implying that you can leave your past ways, good or bad, and follow the new.

So, my gripe is with the new.

Irrespective of how they behaved in the past, good or bad, what are they doing now?

If what they do is good, I will praise it, but if what they do amounts to idiocy then I feel no compulsion to be a quiet observer.

◊◊◊

There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice,
but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.
- Elie Weisel.

The Perils of Creationism

2009-03-14T07:35:00.000+11:00

.
The trouble with taking an illogical stand on an issue is that there are often other consequences that flow logically from that illogical stand.

Click on the following image to enlarge it.

,,,

Jesus wept.

2009-03-13T12:22:00.004+11:00

.
A story that was on the go before I went a-wandering comes from Brazil. The time line is as follows.

A nine year old girl is raped by her step-father.
He had been abusing her since she was six.
BTW: He also abused her physically handicapped 14 year old sister.
The nine year old becomes pregnant to him, with twins.
It was considered by medical authorities that the girl, weighing less than 80lb, was at risk.
The pregnancy was terminated at 15 weeks.
The Catholic Church promptly excommunicated the mother and the doctor.
The Catholic Church felt no need to excommunicate the step-father.
Brazil's President and Health Minister both condemned the church's decision.
The Pope supported the church's decision.

What are they thinking?

"Jesus wept" (John 11:35) may be the shortest verse in the King James Bible but his followers certainly give him much to weep over.

One of the 'virtues' touted by believers is that religion is the source of human morality; clearly this idea needs some more work.

...

Damn that fine print!

2009-03-12T14:55:00.000+11:00

Evolution? Or just Darwinism?

2009-03-06T12:00:00.004+11:00

.

The weak and the scrawny are apparently taking over the animal kingdom due to the impact of man and his hunting habits.

As the number of elephants that have tusks are hunted, it increases the opportunity for those without tusks to breed. Traditionally the tuskers were the dominant animals but hunting has reduced their numbers to where the percentage of non-tusked animals being born is increasing.

Other species are shrinking, too. Australia's red kangaroo has become noticeably smaller as
poachers target the largest animals for leather. The phenomenon has been most apparent in
harvested fish: since fishing nets began capturing only fish of sufficient size in the 1980s, the
Atlantic cod and salmon, several flounders and the northern pike have all propagated in
miniature.

All part of God's great plan, I suppose.
...

Spirituality

2009-03-04T20:29:00.003+11:00

.

There is a belief in some circles that spirituality is an exclusive domain of religion.

I disagree.

I believe a sense of spirituality is intrinsic in the human make up. I do not believe that it is a requirement that it be underpinned with the concept of God.

I am firm in my belief that there is no God but can still feel a sublime escape with things such as the music of Mozart, sunsets, the embracing of forests, the wonder of the animal kingdom.

I can be fascinated watching a tap drip.

There is a beauty in the world that I equate with a spirituality.

And we can all share that.
...

God in a technological age.

2009-03-03T15:31:00.004+11:00

AMSTERDAM (Reuters Life!) - God is taking calls.

Dutch artist Johan van der Dong has set up a local telephone number in the Netherlands, where he urges people to leave messages for God on his answering machine.

Van der Dong said he set up the number to give people an opportunity to take pause and contemplate life.

"Like praying, leaving a voicemail message is a way to organize your thoughts," he said. "It's a perfect combination for some contemplation."

Callers dialing 06-4424-4901 (or +316-4424-4901 if calling from outside the Netherlands) from March 7 will hear.

"Hi, you are speaking to God. I'm not in right now so leave a message after the beep."

I'd prefer it said "I'm sorry the number you have dialled is no longer connected."
...

Why one but not the other?

2009-02-25T16:41:00.003+11:00

.

It's interesting.

Tell people that there is an old, white bearded guy who listens to all their requests, knows whether they have been good or bad and delivers presents to their bedside in the middle of the night and they say "Oh, he's just imaginary".

But tell them that there is an old, white bearded guy who listens to all their requests, knows whether they have been good or bad and delivers them to heaven or hell at the end of their life and they seem to think that it is quite believable.

...

No link, well not a missing one anyway.

2009-02-24T16:08:00.003+11:00

.

The creationist or, more specifically, the anti-evolutionists get excited about the "missing link" between apes and man.

The fact is there isn't one to go missing.

It's folly to say that on one hand man has evolved for 20 million years and then, on the other hand, to assume that the apes have stood still for the same period. Both species will have been evolving along separate paths.

Paths that will trace back to a common ancestor of both streams.
...

Science blocks

2009-02-21T14:29:00.003+11:00

.

What I don't understand in the whole evolution/creation debate is why the creationists don't just say that "God created evolution"?

Maybe the reasonable ones do.

It probably only causes grief to the literal 7-day creationists. But it does put them in the strange position of trying to defend a primitive society's myths and mumbo-jumbo in a modern, technological world.

I still shake my head at the folk who say that the Grand Canyon was the result of Noah's flood draining away. Draining to where?

Hello? I said Draining to where?....You've got your ear plugs in, haven't you?
...

Faith and Prudence.

2009-02-18T20:48:00.000+11:00

Happy Birthday, Charles!

2009-02-12T20:13:00.003+11:00

.

The 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth.
...

Stained glass, stained church.

2009-02-11T11:25:00.003+11:00

And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
- Exodus 4:2

..

Low life. Possibly lower.

2009-02-10T16:23:00.003+11:00

.
IN a press release today, the Catch the Fire Ministries said:

CTFM leader, Pastor Danny Nalliah said he would spearhead an effort to provide every assistance to devastated communities, although he was not surprised by the bush fires due to a dream he had last October relating to consequences of the abortion laws passed in Victoria.

He said these bushfires have come as a result of the incendiary abortion laws which decimate life in the womb.

Apart from having a most obnoxious God, this guy lacks the basic decency needed to qualify as a prick.
...

Bad timing.

2009-02-10T14:36:00.004+11:00

.

Today was not a good time for some door to door floggers of fringe religion to visit me.

"Hi, we're from the Church of God!"

"Of, course you are. Who else would have a Church?"

A Korean couple, they then proceeded to pull out Bible quotes to prove that North Korea was evil and would result in the end of life as we know it. That was different.

But I was not feeling particularly tolerant to God, or his legion of well-suited cheerleaders, today and sent them on their way.

◊◊◊

Odd that their symbol looks like a flame.
...

Don't hit me!

2009-02-09T21:05:00.003+11:00

.

I had a look in at an on-line condolences book just now. It is for the victims of the fires.

So many people say that the victims are "in their prayers".

To my mind this is like asking some guy who has just mugged you to behave himself and not hit you any more.

How bizarre.

...

God and fires

2009-02-09T13:10:00.002+11:00

.

J Cosmo talked today about a lady who 'thanked God' that she was spared in the fire.

You have to wonder at the stupidity of such people (and the malevolence of her God) when you look at whole towns wiped out by the bush fires.

He didn't even save his own:

.

Are you telling me there's not a pot of gold?

2009-02-04T20:38:00.002+11:00

Ah! Kids! They are just a nuisance!

2009-01-28T12:40:00.000+11:00

Ah! NOW I understand!

2009-01-26T12:40:00.001+11:00

.
..

A beat up?

2009-01-22T14:24:00.004+11:00

"The things you beat number three: your wife, your dog and your walnut tree". - Trad.

I have known this politically incorrect rhyme since who knows when.

The Romans knew it too:

"nux, asinus, mulier verbere opus habent", a nut tree, an ass, and a woman need a beating.

Actually many nations have their own versions:

“Women and chops – the more you beat them the better they’ll be” (German)
“Clubbing produces virtuous wives” (Chinese.)
“Women, like gongs, should be beaten regularly,” (England and the United States, apparently)
“A woman who is beaten is going to be a better wife.” (Korea)
“Do not spare a bullock or a wife” (Myanmar).
“The nails of a cart and the head of a woman, they work only when they are hit hard” (India).
“For the man who beats his wife, God improves the food” (Russia).

But you like to think that this is an archaic and medieval practice, not longer in vogue.

And then we have a Melbourne Islamic Cleric, Samir Abu Hamza, who today questioned whether it is possible for a husband to rape his wife and expressed the opinion that it is permissable in some circumstances for a husband to beat his wife.

No, Samir, it is not permissible. And rape is rape.

I hope the wider community, Islamic and other, will come out and condemn this statement.
...

God on Speed Dial

2009-01-21T13:49:00.005+11:00

The Muslim Cell Phone
The Ilkone i800 generates five automated reminders a day at prayer time, points Muslims in the direction of Mecca and contains a complete, authorized version of the Islamic holy book, the Quran, in Arabic and English.

◊◊◊

The Buddhist Cell Phone
Like other religious cell phones, the Buddhist phone has Buddhist ring tones, software and other trappings. What sets this phone apart from the pack is the sheer beauty and detail of the customization.

The phone is reportedly gold-plated and contains a piece of jade called the "Buddha video button." When you press it, you can watch a Buddhist video. Another embedded jade piece lies on the back in the middle of the speaker and is just for decoration. The back has an embossed image of the Buddha. It plays classic Buddhist music and 12 sutras.

◊◊◊

The Jewish Cell Phone (No Photo).
The phone is inaccurately referred to in the Israeli press as the "kosher phone." A gadget can't actually be kosher, but it does come with the approval of what is, essentially, a censorship board called the Rabbinical Committee for Communications.

While most religious cell phones start out as regular cell phones, and are augmented with additional religious "stuff," the so-called kosher phone has less, not more. It has been stripped of functionality and simply makes and receives calls. It can't send or receive text messages or access the Internet. There's no camera. And more than 10,000 phone numbers for dating services and sex hotlines have been blocked.

Here's the best part. The phone offers steeply discounted per-minute charges when calling another kosher phone. But it will cost you a whopping $2.44 a minute for calls placed on the Sabbath. To the best of my knowledge, Mirs is the only wireless carrier in the world that uses its pricing structure to punish deviation from one of the Ten Commandments.

Mostly taken from a ComputerWorld article.

OK, Christians, Hindus and Satanists: time to get your act together and create your own phone.

◊◊◊

Oh yes, the atheists threw their phone away when they couldn't get a line.
...

Bye George!

2009-01-20T07:04:00.000+11:00

.
...

Ho Ho Ho. (Modified)

2009-01-19T13:42:00.002+11:00

.

The original picture said "Santa Clause for grown ups".

I have just Photoshopped out the "e".

Modified rapture.
.
...

Mary's busted.

2009-01-18T14:41:00.005+11:00

SANTIAGO - A prominent fashion designer has sparked outrage in Chile by dressing up models like the Virgin Mary -- in some cases with ample, near-naked breasts.

The Roman Catholic Church condemned Ricardo Oyarzun's plans for a show featuring the models, and a conservative group tried unsuccessfully to block it in court.

Oyarzun said he had received telephone threats and had excrement smeared on his doorstep.

- Reuters.

Good Christian response we see here.

And speaking purely as a man, the modern Mary (above) has a lot more appeal than some of the more traditional depictions which, presumably, have the sanction of the shit-spreaders.

...

What a Lot of...

2009-01-16T14:49:00.004+11:00

.

As I understand it Lot and his family left town while God expressed his displeasure on the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah for their wicked practices.

After this little social engineering, Lot's daughters got their father drunk enough to have sex with them and get them both pregnant.

So which was worse, what was going on in S&G or what went on in Chez Lot?
...

A few leaps of logic!

2009-01-13T23:06:00.001+11:00

A big call!

...

The Bible & Noah

2009-01-12T14:54:00.001+11:00

Is that rape?

2009-01-11T16:15:00.001+11:00

The Atheist Bus

2009-01-08T07:14:00.000+11:00

"You wait ages for an atheist bus, then 800 come along at once"
- Ariane Sherine, the woman behind the atheist bus adverts

The campaign to raise funds to put adverts on buses bearing the legend "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" was launched in October. Now 200 buses will be taking to the streets in London, with 600 more around the rest of the country.
...

Reality

2009-01-07T07:21:00.000+11:00

Like, once every Sunday?

2009-01-06T06:45:00.000+11:00

Today, each of my four blogs has a relevant photo from
Will Lion's set that displays quotes and research in cognitive psychology.
View the complete set here.

Caveat emptor!

2009-01-05T07:23:00.000+11:00

(Click to enlarge and read consumer warning.)
...

JC and the Pita Bread

2009-01-02T14:59:00.006+11:00

.
A New Zealander is auctioning off a piece of toasted pita bread which looks like Jesus Christ.

"I was tempted to eat it but for some reason I didn't," the seller says in their auction listing.

"I guess what you all want to know is whether it's a coincidence or real apparition. I'm not really sure."

At the time of publication, there were ten bids with leading bid now standing at $NZ21.

The seller turned down an offer from one interested party to swap the pita bread for "a sack of onions that looks like Madonna". (Lady Jicky - take note!)

Of course, my eternal question is : how do they know what Jesus looked like in the first place?
...

Don't get cross!

2009-01-02T11:05:00.001+11:00

First Law of Sales: Know your market.

2009-01-01T12:00:00.000+11:00

.
...

A New Year Hope..

2008-12-31T16:29:00.001+11:00

.

For me it's a hope.

If only the World's religions would make it a resolution.
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The Jesus Pizza Project

2008-12-29T21:50:00.003+11:00

No, not Jesus, Che Guevara. But you get the idea.

The face of Jesus appears all over the place, from chapatis to condensation, bringing succour to the faithful and faith to suckers.

But what if he materialised in someone's pizza and they never noticed? The Jesuspizza project exists to avert that disaster. It gives you software that downloads images from pizzacams around the world, and compares them digitally to the face of Christ.

Join the search for a cheese feast with anchovies and our Lord now.

- The Ship of Fools.

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