The Catholic Church is a political organisation

Sorry for the hiatus, I have been busy, lazy and lacking in writing inspiration. But enough excuses, now I am marking my return with a post on my favourite topic: Religion. Or is it politics? What's the difference?

Truth is, all organised religions are as much politics as they are religion. To hold power over the masses, politics is undeniably vital. And to say that they are not about power would be akin to saying Megan Fox is ugly. In other words, denial.

But here I point you to the sex abuse crisis the Catholic Church faces, and the Pope's avoidance of the issue. The Pope made no mention nor apology on the issue during the three hour Easter Mass. But what's worse is that some leaders of the Catholic Church called the sex abuse issue a "smear campaign aimed at the Pope." That is no different to what politicians say when their sex scandals were made public. Plus the fact that these were not allegations, these were cases where the clergies themselves have admitted to committing. What happen to the Church that preaches repentance? Clearly, politics is more important than God's forgiveness. Hypocrisy is a virtue in politics, remember?

To their credit, there were a few Archbishops who criticised the Church's handling of the issue. They deserve to be commended for that. I urge more Catholics to do the same.

Despite his silence towards the sex abuse crisis, the Pope did however, say that humanity faces a "profound crisis" and that it needs to undergo a "spiritual and moral conversion." I fully agree. However, I hope the Pope does not regard sex abuse and spreading HIV to others as morally acceptable. If he does not, then I think the Pope should tackle the problems in his own backyard first before trying to "fix the world." Like Michael Jackson said, look at the Man In the Mirror.

There are many other Catholic clergies more deserving to be the Pope than this idiot. The only way to make sense of his election is to draw parallels from how George Bush was elected: He played politics.

Blasphemy Law

Warning: This post is blasphemous. But thankfully, this account is not registered in Ireland. Oh, thank Darwin! Thank Science! Thank the Big Bang it's not!

If you still don't know what I'm talking about: Ireland enacted the Blasphemy law which came into effect on the 1st of January 2010. No, this is not an Onion piece, this is real. You wouldn't be the only one if you think you're back in Ancient Rome. Fundamentally, this poses two problems.

Firstly, the death of Freedom of Speech. Secularists have time and again criticised religions for the religious dogmas who do not respect human rights, and this just proves it once again. Freedom of Speech is one of the most basic elements of Human Rights, hence by suppressing it, religions have once again shown that Human Rights is less important than protecting their religion. Is this rational? Am I wrong when I claim religions are irrational?

Secondly, by requiring a law to protect religious ideas, wouldn't that be blasphemy in itself? Isn't God all powerful? So why is he not capable of taking a few criticisms? By requiring a law for this purpose, they are in fact claiming that God isn't all powerful after all. I don't know how they think, but to me, that is blasphemy. I think whoever enacted that law should be fined under that very same law. Paradox. Yes. I love it.

At the end of the day, I think religions should be more careful and stop doing stupid things to undermine themselves. Religions' popularity has already declined over recent decades. Flaunting their stupidity is not going to help their survival. Oh, and may I remind you, these are the same people who criticise Muslim fundamentalists in the Middle East. And the same people who condemn countries that lock up political prisoners.

What is the difference between political prisoners and religious prisoners? As far as I am concerned, they are both based on ideologies.

Food for thought: The Ancient Roman and Greek Gods and Goddesses have lost all their followers. So have many other religions. In fact, contemporary society seems to think it's funny people in those day believed in such absurd God as the God of Love (Cupid). Abrahamic religions are only about 2000 years old. Who is to say that they will not disappear one day in the future? And people then would think it funny that we, now, think God created humans in his image?

When your religion dies, will your heaven still be eternal? I say best forget your religion and make full use of your current life.

Won't Get to Heaven

So, you have probably heard about the Texas Military base shooting by now, or at least I hope so. And guess what is the latest development? That's right! Right-wing media respond to attack by demonizing Muslim.

What's better, you ask? Less than 24 hours later, Orlando office shooting occurred. Wait for it, oh, man is not Muslim. Theory debunked. The man is probably Catholic too.

These religious conservatives should really stop blinding themselves. They choose to see what they want, and close out the rest, even if it means not seeing the truth. It's ironic they'd claim atheists "can't see the light." (You know the joke? "How many atheist does it take to change a light bulb? None, because they can't see the light." Though they fail to realise, without science, there would be no light bulb for you to change, idiot!) They like to believe what they believe is true, even with overwhelming evidence against it. When your 14-year old gets pregnant, why blame her for being a slut? Blame parthenogenesis (virgin birth) or blame the Pope for stigmatising condoms. Makes more sense to me.


Jesus is cool. The Bible is cool. The Qur'an is cool. But if you need to take them all literally, you might as well believe my shit smells like roses. They do.


Your friendly atheist,
TY

What a Wonderful World

This sums it up.

Playing God

(Yes. Title from latest Paramore. Don't get why all the hype though. It's good but not great to me. Maybe it's a Twilight type thing. Speaking of which, a forty plus year old lady was reading Breaking Dawn on the train. Oh My! It is the end of literature!)

This is an embarrassing attempt by a believer to defend religion.

A plague of atheists has descended, and Catholics are the target

Seriously. How can something like that match up to the likes of Dawkins, Hitchens or Singer?
The article is written by Greg Cravens, Vice Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University.
I honestly feel sorry for Catholics and students of that university. His credibility is gone. I doubt any believers themselves would think that the article would do them justice.

Since you are unlikely to read the article, I'll show you some of the comedy.
He started off with:
"Attacking Christians is not really clever, witty or funny."

but apparently attacking atheists is.
Why would anyone start an essay with that but go out of your way to try to be funny in their essay? Oh, hypocrisy!

Now for my favourite part:
"This is not to say that believers - and perhaps especially Catholics - do not get seriously irritated by atheists. They do, but not because atheists are fearfully clever or Wildely funny."

So he thinks Wilde is funny. Oh my, wait, Oscar Wilde? The atheist? HAHAHA!
Hypocrisy or misinformed?
Not to mention that in itself is a lame attempt at trying to be funny.

Next, for the most disgusting part:
"In an average week of atheistic bigotry in the Melbourne media, we can expect to learn that Catholics endorse child molestation, hate all other religions, would re-introduce the crusades and the auto de fe at the slightest opportunity, despise women, wish to persecute homosexuals, greedily divert public moneys for their own religious purposes, subvert public health care, brainwash children, and are masterminding the spread of the cane toad across northern Australia."

He brushed those claims aside just like that. He rather devote his essay to unsuccessful attempt at wit, which he says isn't cool.
Let's see, Catholic sex abuse cases. Oh, not much, just an entire Wikipedia article about it. Let's not count the ones for each country. He offered no solution, no apology, nothing. As though it was not an important matter. Maybe he's part of it. Like wise for all the other "sins" he mentioned. No solution, just as though they weren't true. Only an idiot will think atheists made those facts up. Who's against Gay Rights? Who's against Feminist Rights?

Let me remind you, the upcoming atheists convention in Melbourne in 2010 (largest ever in Australia, which is what sparked the increased number of debate between atheists and believers lately) is funded entirely privately. World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney cost the government $185 million.

What's fair? You tell me.

If believers want to be taken seriously, they ought to come up with better arguments. So far, I have yet to witness a believer defeating a non-believer in one of these debates on religion. Either it's ignorance, or just not as intelligent. I think the former, they aren't stupid.

Believers, if you got this far, don't get me wrong. Most atheists don't hate you. We simply do not like you imposing your believes on to us. Public money in a secular country should be spent without the interference of religion. Islamic country can spend it on Islamic activity, it makes sense, but not secular country. If you want to practice your religion, do so, but don't impose it on others. You don't see atheists attacking Buddhism.


Your friendly atheist,
TY

21st Century Breakdown

Cyber attacks smite atheist websites

I bet you these same people hate Stalin and champion for the freedom of speech.
We all love hypocrisies.

I think, that these religious idiots just feel way too insecure about their own religion. And they say religion is based on faith. Oh the irony!

If your god is so powerful why are you afraid about some atheist undermining his authority?

So many unanswered questions. Religious idiots, please shed some light on these questions. Or else, I have no choice but to accept the theory that common sense is dead. Or soon to be. Sooner than punk.

Punk's not dead. Common sense is.


TY

No God Only Religion

This is a good piece on religion in Australia.

Editor, The Age: Sir, The spectre of religion has affected me from an early age.

AT SCHOOL: If you are not attending religious instruction, sit outside in the passage!
JOIN A GANG: Not a Protestant or Catholic? You're out!
IN HOSPITAL: No religion? You must have one! We will put you down as CoE.
IN COURT: (giving a character reference for a teenager). You must swear to tell the truth on the bible. There will be no affirmation in my court!
ADOPTING A CHILD: You must get two Ministers of Religion to recommend you!

And so it has gone on for over 70 years, as I witnessed in our secular country, governments going to war in the name of God, granting vast funds to religious schools (rich and poor) and church institutions, giving tax concessions and rate exemptions to large church holdings and investments and exemptions from equal opportunity legislation.

Under the misapprehension that religion is the sole foundation of ethics and morals, we open our Parliament sessions with prayers and - fearing opposition from religious groups - our representatives disregard popular demands for abortion, voluntary euthanasia and official recognition of same-sex relationships.
Now, while I continue to try to join with my religious and atheist friends in responding to the bells tolling for justice and equality, I look forward to the 2010 atheist conference in the hope that it will foster a greater understanding of atheistic thought.

- Keith McEwan, CLA member, Bendigo.Victoria

Secular country? Is this what you call a secular country?

Hey hypocrites, stop condemning Islamic countries. Look at the Man In the Mirror first. No difference to me.

TY

Kaleidoscope

Lost in life? Lost faith in your religion? Depressed? Don't know what to do in life anymore? Lost faith in your God? Facing an existential crisis?

Fear not! Google has the answer to life the universe and everything.

That's right! They have the answer you've been looking for! You don't have to start your own religion, nor jump off a bridge anymore!

If you think I doctored that link, feel free to search it yourself.

On a similar note, do you think I need to write a suicide note if I were to invite all my Facebook friends to an atheist convention?

On another similar note, I am interested in reading the bible. King James Bible to be specific. No, I am not considering converting. It is highly unlikely a radical atheist like me can be persuaded to convert, even by the scariest and most realistic dream, not to mention a book. I simply have an interest in philosophy and history, and the bible seems to fit somewhere in between. There seems to be quite a few interesting stories in there too. Noah and the ark, The Four Horsemen, David and Goliath, to name a few. While I'm there, I could perhaps pick up some "morals" the Christians so readily claim we atheist lack as well.

However (there is always a however), the book is huge and it is not exactly written in the simplest English either. I guess it just has to go on my "list." There, another book.


TY

A Day in the Life

Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America'

A movie about Charles Darwin!!! I just discovered it today! Oh, what a joy! I doubt it'll be historically accurate but I'm sure I'll enjoy it nonetheless. Plus it stars Jennifer Connelly. How can I not love it?

Poor Americans, ignorant enough as it is, will now have to suffer more! Ignorance brings ignorance, I guess. Just like how the rich get richer. This is my favourite part of that news article.
"The film has sparked fierce debate on US Christian websites, with a typical comment dismissing evolution as "a silly theory with a serious lack of evidence to support it despite over a century of trying"."

I love it when creationists argue that natural selection lacks evidence. I suppose there are millions alive today that saw God created the world in 6 days? Surely there must be! They can't all be hypocrites, can they?

Oh, I'm too lazy to find a Youtube trailer for you, but there's one in that article.

I'm looking forward to it!


Your dearest evolutionist,
TY

America

Do you think Americans are stupid? Or the smart Americans just don't give a rat's ass about polls?

I am of the idea that it is one or the other.

Here, have a look at this.

A healthcare system such as the American's cannot even be close to good, if you ask me. They spend the most money per capita on healthcare but their system has been ranked in the 30s by various studies. If that is good, my fart smells like roses. Not to mention the 50million who don't even have healthcare coverage.

Then again, Americans also have this remarkable belief.

"God created man in present form" - A whopping 44%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

44% of Americans still think we descended from Adam and Eve!!!
You tell me!!

The debate isn't even between Creationism and Evolution anymore. Most creationists have taken the side of Intelligent design since overwhelming evidence have shown WE ARE FROM APES!!!

Would you Americans please accept the fact that we are all once upon a time from Africa, and very probably had dark skin colour. Not some guy and girl with English names. Are you trying to believe in the contrary to show that your brain has not evolved, hence evolution does not exist?

Oh and your health system is fucked. Stop saying it's "excellent" just because you don't want higher tax. Don't kid yourself.


TY

Only God Knows Why

I can't hold my silence anymore. Inter religion war MUST STOP.

Religious fundamentalist thinks their religion is "morally superior" to every other religion. They kill and brutally bomb everyone of a different religion. Where is the morality in that?

Fascism must go. There are no difference between Bush, Osama and Hitler. Fascists.

If you can't tolerate other religious beliefs, I suggest atheism.

This is what religious fundamentalists has done.Iraq WarSeptember 11

I need not add various others.

Here is what atheist do.
Richard Dawkins

http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/news/file002.html

Leading researchers


So clearly, religious fundamentalist bomb and kill, while atheists have been debating in a civilised fashion, with formal attire and words, rather than guns and bombs, and doing research for the progress of human knowledge.

Inter-religion war has killed millions and counting. Science vs religion war has barely killed any since the days of Aristotle.

This is what sparked this blog post.
Noordin claims Jakarta bombings

Whether or not it is from the man himself, I find it funny.
This is the best part.
"previously conducting serious surveys and thorough observation."

And your bomb didn't explode? HAHAHAHAHA! Maybe Allah didn't want it to go off? Ever thought of that? Ay, Top? No? When it's for your cause it's Allah, when it's not it isn't Allah? What fuckin' hypocrite.

Well, my religious friends, may I ask that instead of trying to convert non-believers to your religion, try preaching tolerance and acceptance among your fellow believers. If the image your religion is portraying to the public is violence and stupidity, no one will ever believe your religion is "morally superior" to anyone else. (No atheist will believe that anyway but, you don't want to be seen as morally inferior do you?) No one will belief your religion will be good for the progress of humanity. Atheists are not undermining your religion. People from your own side of the fence are.

Peace. That's all I ask for. Is it so much to ask for?

Apparently so.


TY

The Scientist

If you believe in Intelligent Design, you were most probably made by Stupid Design.
- Me


Sometimes it is quite difficult to believe that so many people believe in things that are so difficult to believe in.


TY

I'm So Sorry

Firstly, to the guy/girl that voted on my pathetic poll, thank you. I have since decided that I will start writing about 2 of those issues, War and Global Health, since I have been reading a lot on these 2 topics lately anyway. And I believe many issues within them require a little "putting into perspective", as the media has been wrongly portraying these issues.

As you should know already, even if you are more ignorant than I am, these are extremely broad topics. You could do a degree on each. So each of the 2 topics will be covered over several posts and even then I'll be choosing specific topics to write on. For war, I'll be focusing on the more recent wars such as the Gulf War, Rwandan Genocide and maybe Iraq War, Afghan War and the latest Congo conflict. It will be unlikely that I will cover much of WW II. For Global Health, my main focus would be on Healthcare systems around the world, as well as maybe, depending on how much I can read, epidemics and health in developing countries.

Oh and I will start in a couple of days(bout 4), when I am done reading about evolution, for exam sake. It's a wonder how little I know about my ancestors.

Now for the main part of this post. I would like to talk about religious beliefs. You might or might not know that I am an Atheist, and have no intention whatsoever to convert to any religion. But here's the thing, I try my best to respect every religion, from Islam to Scientology. I generally do not like to discuss religion, as people get way too sensitive about it, and as you can see I rarely, if ever, crack a joke about religion, even if people around me do. Many racial jokes, all with no bad intentions, but none on religion. This, in fact, is the first post on this blog that I chose to discuss religion.

Just so you know, I do not mean to offend anyone with my views here, or to convert you with my thinking, but I believe I have a strong point to make. My particular qualm here is with "forcing your beliefs on to others". You see I respect your religion, and I hope you respect mine(or the lack thereof). I'd just like to add that, I am very grateful that the majority of my friends thus far have been very respectful of my beliefs, or perhaps I dissociate myself from those who do not. Hence, this is not a generalisation, but is only directed to the minority who are so narrow-minded they do not deserve that brain size of theirs that evolution has gifted Homo Sapiens(from my textbook, we have a larger brain than our ancestors).

In particular, I cannot accept the statement "If you do not believe in God/convert to Christianity, you will go to Hell," or its other variants.

I hope this isn't from the Bible(I don't read it, so I don't know), or from other religious books(New/Old Testament). And I believe it isn't. It is simply a misinterpretation of it.

This phrase is flawed on so many levels that if you use it, you will only demonstrate your stupidity to all those around you at that point of time(refer to brain size comment above).

I will not need to list out all those flaws, you wouldn't like to read it either. I'll just ask those who do use the phrase one simple question.

If I do not believe in God/Christianity, what makes you think I believe in the existence of heaven and hell in the first place?

If that does not justify not using the phrase, Darwin says you should "Jump".

Lastly, I'd like to say that, religious beliefs are not required for a person to be "good". Intentions are what matters. Spiritual beings are only there to guide us, not move us. Forcing your beliefs on to others will only make you a hypocrite, as I believe many religions stand for freedom. Freedom of belief, includes the word freedom. If you do not believe in Freedom of belief, may I please ask you not to complain when your government limits your freedom of speech in whatever country you may be in.

Now, this is not meant to disrespect Holy figures, as there are many that I highly respect and have done the world more good than I ever would be able to, even if given 9 lives, but as before, only to the minority who I consider "misled". It is to those who think that their sole purpose on this earth is to "force their beliefs on to others", to spread the faith. What good will it bring, may I ask? Do they think by doing so, they will bring more good to this world than a poor guy/girl that risk their life trying to find a solution to starvation, trying to reduce child mortality, trying to bring an end to poverty? I hope they do know that even a scientist who has a minor breakthrough, or an environmentalist is saving more lives than them.

I recommend the movie The Cider House Rules. Have a look at the Doctor that works at the orphanage, and his stance on abortion(or the lack thereof).

Oscar Wilde(hehe, again), got it all right.
"We are not sent into the world to air our moral prejudices."
If God sent you on to this earth to "force your beliefs onto others", he wouldv'e just as easily made the whole world believe in Him.

Of cause, by agreeing with Wilde I am being a hypocrite, but that is one thing no one is free from, right?

As to why I am an Atheist and wish to remain so, it would take another post of similar length to explain, and I do not see the need for it. After all, MY beliefs are MY beliefs.

Thank you. Looking forward to more important and more intellectually stimulating issues. Back to spider catching.