[300th Post] Make The Pope Pay

Do you think having a visit from the Pope is worth spending £20 million of your money? No? Well head over to the National Secular Society who have a petition to make the pope pay.

I don't care if the church pays, the pope pays or some rich person pays. It just shouldn't be the taxpayers - many of whom aren't Catholics.

Your equality laws are unjust, pope tells UK before visit

From Steve Bell at the Guardian: Your equality laws are unjust, pope tells UK before visit

Cure the Gays

"People are relieved to know the condition [of homosexuality] is both treatable and preventable."

Right. That makes sense. The Catholic church seems to be developing a more extreme response to homosexuality, encouraging people to remain chaste, or trying to convert them.

This does nothing for the church, and on top of that may cause severe damage to the people that it tries to change. Good move?

Sell The Vatican, Feed The World

Penn & Teller: Catholicism

"American Catholics have condemned comedians Penn & Teller for launching the most ‘defamatory, obscene and vicious’ attack on the church ever screened on TV." - Chortle

Thankful the Catholic League were kind enough to post the video on their website, from which the below is gratefully borrowed.

The Pope and AIDS

The Pope has suggested that condoms are not the key to preventing AIDS in Africa. In fact he has said they aggravate the crisis.

This is essentially a "do as I do, or die" philosophy. Yes, if people stuck to abstinence before marriage there would be no problem. But there are a large number of people who are not under the delusion that one of the most joyous activities is sinful. Distributing condoms does help, and we must keep doing it.

Opus Dei

Opus Dei received a bad press from Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, but in all fairness it is probably deserved. Especially so if what these film makers have to say is true. Perhaps Opus Dei does 'protest too much'?

On a more positive note the article suggests that the Spanish government, long a bastion of pro-Catholicism, may be succombing to secular ideals.

Anti-vaccination

The US anti-vaccination movement is something I've been keeping an eye on over the last few weeks and months. Immunisation against deadly diseases is something that I'm in favour of. It's something I'd be in favour of even if there was a small risk of a very small percentage of people getting autism (to draw on the MMR example). a handful of people with autism against a lot of people dying - I know what I'd favour.

I find it disgusting that people try to prevent it from taking place. May the loss of life be on their concious. The story of one Catholic school (St Monica's High School) preventing the new cervical cancer immunisation is pathetic. Metro this morning quoted the school as saying that the jab could 'encourage sexual promiscuity'. Well I do not know of anybody who is not being sexually promiscuous solely because of the risk of cervical cancer, and I doubt that you do either.

A little bit further in today's Metro is a story under the headline 'Measles alert as half of children miss MMR'. if you don't have the jab then you are at risk of a nasty disease, with a fatality rate of about 1 in 100. Worse, you are putting other people at risk by spreading the disease. These people need to grow up. Sadly it may take a number of people to suffer and die before people are willing to return to vaccination.

Opus Dei University?

It seems that Opus Dei (those of Da Vinci Code fame) have created a Biomedical university near Rome. Rather ironic really, given the Catholic antipathy toward progress in science, and progress in general.

Some discussions with a Roman Catholic

I quite often have 'chats' with people using the MeeboMe widget down there on the right. Quite often they are fellow atheists or reasonable human beings, sometimes they are fanatics telling me that I'm going to spend eternity in hell (which, if hell is relative, would be with them, meaning they're off to hell too or I've got a special pass upstairs). Anyway sometimes the misguided come and have a rather longer chat, as in this case.

[08:03] meeboguest924815: hello
[08:03] edwbaker: hi
[08:04] meeboguest924815: i am from the philippines how are u
[08:04] edwbaker: good thanks
[08:04] edwbaker: how are you?
[08:05] meeboguest924815: im fine...whats ur web all about?
[08:05] edwbaker: in what sense?
[08:06] meeboguest924815: are u an anglican?
[08:06] edwbaker: no
[08:06] meeboguest924815: i just want to know what ur web is...are u atheist?
[08:07] edwbaker: yes
[08:07] edwbaker: the website is about atheism
[08:08] meeboguest924815: thanks and ur from england?
[08:08] edwbaker: yes
[08:09] meeboguest924815: what do you think today atheism becomes the choice of the world people
[08:10] edwbaker: it's not based on old and inaccurate beliefs
[08:10] edwbaker: and it is consistent with the science
[08:11] edwbaker: and all religions disagree with each other, at the very most one can be right, but there are hundreds of them
[08:13] meeboguest924815: the champions of reason unsurpassed in history is thomas aquinas,,,he explained the congruence f reason and faith
[08:13] edwbaker: yes, you are very misguided
[08:14] meeboguest924815: einstein give in to the fact that the universe has beginning and sun will end..the scientific fact in which is trying to refute
[08:16] edwbaker: we know the uiniverse has a beginning and the sun will end, einstein accepted that
[08:16] edwbaker: but he accepted it because it was scientifically accurate
[08:17] meeboguest924815: hes scientist in physical law...he spend his time disproving god through science but he discover god in science
[08:17] edwbaker: He didn't spend time disproving god, he spent time studying physics
[08:18] meeboguest924815: if the universe has beginiing..then it has beginner...this is solid reason itself
[08:18] edwbaker: no, that's very very poor reason
[08:19] edwbaker: why is the 'beginner' there in the first place?
[08:19] meeboguest924815: the margin of error is improbable to create a universe...the basic force
[08:19] edwbaker: explain that to me....
[08:19] edwbaker: i don't understand your argument
[08:20] meeboguest924815: how complex accuracy in nuclear force...we need time...can i have your email?l
[08:21] meeboguest924815: i mean to create a universe the margin of error is 1 is to miilion something...thanks ill get in touch with you...anyway how young are you
[08:22] edwbaker: i'm 22
[08:23] meeboguest924815: im 30,,i spend my time disproving god...but im at great lost everytime i intensely resrearch
[08:23] edwbaker: why do you try to disprove god?
[08:25] meeboguest924815: because i rational being should fing meaning of existence...i know something y english people loose confidence in theistic ideology
[08:25] edwbaker: is there a meaning to existence?
[08:25] edwbaker: there doesn't have to be
[08:26] edwbaker: perhaps the meaning is what you make of it
[08:26] meeboguest924815: there is at least in me...and to people who think that way...look,the stones in israel scream to the history there is a living god
[08:27] meeboguest924815: history itself is a story betwwen god and the people
[08:28] meeboguest924815: if thre isnt...try to study how meaningful anglo saxons turn into race of reason from a senseless barbarians
[08:29] edwbaker: i think you may misunderstand some human history
[08:29] edwbaker: what do you belive?
[08:29] meeboguest924815: ifever i misunderstood based on ur perception...it was meaning
[08:30] meeboguest924815: i beleive in god and nothing else..if u dont beleive in god..u beleive in everything
[08:30] edwbaker: are you a Christian?
[08:31] meeboguest924815: my firend im not just a christian,,im a roman catholic christian,,,reasercher...advocates science,reason, knowledge,history,evolution etc.
[08:32] edwbaker: when was the world created?
[08:32] meeboguest924815: i study objectively atheism,,,everything about atheism,,,
[08:32] edwbaker: there's very little to study - it's the absence of belief
[08:33] meeboguest924815: universe was created around 20 to 30 billion yeras ago by god intricate design using all physical law...
[08:33] edwbaker: where did you get that age from?
[08:34] meeboguest924815: so where did you came from>thats a belief system science would tell you,,that will pave way to theistic disposition
[08:35] meeboguest924815: based on astronomers dating..they have such technical prowess we coulnt knew exactly,,but its so close to reality...thats all science is all about
[08:35] meeboguest924815: athesim is loosing folowers since scientist turn to god
[08:36] edwbaker: the age of the universe is about 13.7 billion years according to astronomers
[08:36] edwbaker: which scientists turn to god?
[08:36] meeboguest924815: ed,,theres someting wrong which accumulate in ur society so englishmen are in dispair of reality of god
[08:37] meeboguest924815: the history would tell you...scientist who turn to explain god as author of all unfathomable knowlege such as genteics
[08:38] meeboguest924815: genetics...a single cell may composedof 30 volumes of book...there are trillion cells in ur body times it to the volumes of books
[08:39] edwbaker: it's not literal books though, thats just an analogy
[08:39] meeboguest924815: if a library of book has an author,,a cellular being more intricate,more complex in its chemical composition and functioning has also author
[08:40] edwbaker: and that's taking the analogy too far
[08:40] meeboguest924815: we christian has used a lot of analogy to simplify what things could be understood by all I.Q. level
[08:41] meeboguest924815: i know the ground where we stand...
[08:42] meeboguest924815: we have roughly 4000 years of story between god and us
[08:43] meeboguest924815: vatican now is working to melt down all atheictic view
[08:44] meeboguest924815: since not all astronomers agree on dating....its all estemate
[08:45] edwbaker: they agree to within quite a small range
[08:47] meeboguest248740: how long haveu been atheist?
[08:48] edwbaker: always
[08:48] meeboguest248740: quantifiably what?
[08:49] edwbaker: since i knew about religion and science
[08:50] meeboguest248740: that was around back when your 7 years old ?
[08:51] edwbaker: if not before
[08:51] meeboguest248740: you know,,theres one explanation in christendom the appetite for atheism
[08:52] edwbaker: which is?
[08:54] meeboguest248740: Satan,the ancient deciver the father of lies...unseen yet his machineries like a whirlwind is conquring the world...though not all in history but snatching those who are not favored by our god
[08:56] edwbaker: yes, god is omnipotent apart from when it comes to the devil
[08:56] meeboguest248740: ed,,,i beleive england has life expectancy of 70 or more god give you time to think even crispily...you will hear him when your church began to call you
[08:56] Meebo Message: meeboguest24874

Damn... was just about to ask whether it would be ok to become a Muslim, or Hindu.