tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22548586381586584332024-03-05T12:32:29.768-08:00Big Phil's BlogA blog about the meaning of life and conversations with god fearing people along the cyber highway with the odd video thrown in (some of which have nothing to do with religion).Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-49473705698598513142020-03-19T14:30:00.001-07:002020-03-19T14:30:14.934-07:00Hello Covid-19I am still here.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-1176993962733975262018-08-24T01:33:00.003-07:002018-08-24T01:33:47.337-07:00Time TravelMy blog is still here after all this time. How I wish I could go back to those days with the knowledge I have now.Time TravelPhilip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-70631851948968776882012-03-30T11:37:00.001-07:002012-03-30T11:38:43.640-07:00My nice letter to the Jehova's Witnesses.Kingdom Hall<br />31 Market Street<br />Sheffield S13 7PD<br /><br />18th March 2012<br /><br /><br />Dear Sir or Madam<br /><br />I have received an invitation today to attend your event on the 5th April, when I am invited to “listen to scriptural answers” and one on the 8th April when I am invited to a “discourse”. In fact your flyer asks me “How I view Jesus” and then invites me to hear “the answer”. Your flyer does not state who will be giving the talks or mention their qualification to do so. It does however mention that “Jesus is now reigning as an exalted king” which I feel I have to take issue with.<br /><br />I have read much on the subject of the New Testament including A.N. Wilson’s excellent book on the subject of Jesus and I doubt that you have reached the same conclusion as I have about how to view Jesus. I would particularly like to hear about evidence for Jesus’ existence outside of the Bible and what your cult makes of the many virgin birth and resurrection stories that preceded Jesus.<br /><br />Are you able to confirm that there will be a question and answer each talk? Otherwise it would seem a little pointless to turn-up if I am just going to be preached at.<br /><br />I look forward to receiving further information about this event so that I can make up my mind if it will be beneficial for me to attend. Alternatively I am happy to address your group separately regarding my understanding of Jesus from an atheist perspective. Do you have guest speakers of different persuasions?<br /><br />I look forward to hearing from you.<br /><br /><br />Yours faithfully<br /><br /><br />Philip Gilbert.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-85975629213148657242012-03-28T06:39:00.000-07:002012-03-28T06:40:55.332-07:00Love and Gods.Love is not about being obedient. It is about being true to what we are. We can only genuinely love if we do not deny the knowledge that is available to us or aspects of ourselves that we are not comfortable with.<br /><br />Why would we be expected to love someone who sets out to deprive us of loyalty to ourselves, as in the case of Adam and Eve? Only a sadistic pedagogue of a God would tell of the tree of knowledge and then forbid eating its fruit.<br /><br />Today we have access to almost limitless information and no-one can forbid those of us lucky enough to live in free society from trying to understand and make sense of our role in this World. Atheists can communicate like never before and we have shown time and again how we can come together to challenge religious absurdity. When God’s appointees at the highest mortal level begin to defend their position by attacking militant atheism, we know just how much the tree of knowledge is defeating their dogma. <br /><br />People now demand the freedom to access knowledge as a basic human right and it is that expectation that will undermine and topple theocracy.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-30929382378756434982011-08-28T06:00:00.000-07:002011-08-28T06:05:34.011-07:00MP leads group to clarify religious discrimination."Following a series of high-profile court cases, <a href="http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/story-13206468-detail/story.html">Gary Streeter</a>, MP for South West Devon, is to head the inquiry by Christians in Parliament, an all-party parliamentary group, to "clarify" the legal position for members of the faith, and examine whether their freedoms are being "eroded"."
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<br />He voted against the ban on hunting with dogs and against gay marriage. I must also enquire who is paying for this little shindig.
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<br />This is my email to him;
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<br /><strong>Re Inquiry on religious rights.</strong>
<br />About time. My rights are being eroded all the time. I want a return to biblical values and I want them enforced. Let's make Christianity the religion of the UK and stop trying to give other 'faiths' an equal voice. Mohammed was a paedophile and it's a disgrace that I can't wear my cross for fear of upsetting someone. Live and let live is what I say.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-51887865688503011482011-08-28T04:34:00.000-07:002011-08-28T04:44:43.158-07:00Ten things I would need to deny to begin to accept that the bible was written by God.That it is clearly written by people of that time.
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<br />That there is no corroborating evidence for the House of David.
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<br />That it contradicts itself frequently.
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<br />That it promotes murder, misogyny and slavery.
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<br />That it contains a virgin birth like so many other myths.
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<br />That the Adam and Eve thing is totally absurd and without Eve and the snake there is no reason for Jesus’ death.
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<br />That God is needy, demands my attention and if I don’t do things his way, he will torture me for eternity.
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<br />That God lets the devil do his work for him.
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<br />That according to the bible, heaven is a <a href="http://nobeliefs.com/heaven.htm">cube</a> where dragons live and where angels fight.
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<br />That the best way an all-powerful god (who had already drowned everything on earth to rectify a previous mistake) could redeem his creation was by impregnating a virgin so that his son could be tortured and killed to save my soul.
<br />Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-60706461957013850622011-06-19T15:46:00.001-07:002011-06-19T15:51:39.880-07:00MeHello. Missed it.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-13703643695626240412011-04-30T03:13:00.000-07:002011-04-30T03:16:39.986-07:0010 hidden things God could do to make a better world1. Gradually raise the age at which women can become pregnant to 18<br />2. Correlate mens’ sperm count with their IQ and compassion levels<br />3. Phase out some of the nastier diseases<br />4. Cause a few dictators and despots to come to a violent and messy death<br />5. Reduce the climate extremes we are experiencing <br />6. Make a bit more water available in the places that really need it<br />7. Drop a viable concept or two for clean transport into the heads of a few<br /> scientists<br />8. Ensure said scientists have access to research funds<br />9. Gradually build an aversion in people to nicotine<br />10. Enable better logical reasoning skills in people<br /><br />He could do all of these things without having to ‘give himself away’ by demonstrating his existence. It seems he has a problem with publicity. He likes to be worshipped but doesn’t like to put in the personal appearances these days. It’s understandable. He is getting old. <br /><br />These simple measures would ensure a better quality of life for millions. Of course some of you may be looking at the list and thinking that God is already 'On the case'. What would you add to the list?Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-17445374937399851892011-04-24T13:45:00.000-07:002012-06-07T11:44:58.221-07:00My pitch for a Reality TV ShowOk, we have 'pastors' looking for noteriety by burning books held as holy doctrine by other faiths and the religious stupid keep banging on about how important the Bible is in telling us how to live our lives.<br />
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Even my locval Jehovanhs Witness Kingdom Hall is getting in on the act with a talk on; " Bible Principles, can they help us with todays problems?" I am willing to bet that they think they can.<br />
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I so want to turn up to that meeting (after all I am invited) with my male slave dressed in leather and on a lead. After all God doesn't have a problem with his people owning <a href="http://etori.tripod.com/slave-verses.html">slaves</a>. But he does have a problem with man-on-man love, namely anal sex. It is forbidden in Leviticus (twice) along with round haircuts, eating shellfish and the wearing of mixed fibres. <br />
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Perhaps I should turn up with a female slave, after all, womern are seen pretty much as property in the good book. Eve got us in to this mess in the first place and since then, women have had to know their place. They can be killed, raped and tortured under biblical law. If a woman is <a href="http://www.evilbible.com/Rape.htm">raped</a>, she has to marry her rapist;<br />
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<blockquote>
"If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her."</blockquote>
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I could go on but here's the pitch. Find a bible-belt nutjob religious community something like Westboro and give them amnesty from the law of the land. Let them take their holy book into their own 'gated' community and get on with it. The men will be on a power trip, the women even more abused, the children damaged for life. <br />
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Drop a few weirdos in there as well, perhaps some people wanting redemption and if you want it to get really interesting have some other faiths in the mix. If there is some conflict, put it out to a public vote as to who gets stoned to death or has their hand cut off. We could even have a panel of 'Scholars' on TV each week to provide spiritual guidance (God seems to have lost interest lately). Would <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anjem_Choudary">Anjam Choudray </a>be the new Simon Cowell?<br />
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Some good must come from it. Religious people will surely wake up to the contradictory, sadistic, nasty piece of work for what the Abrahamic holy books are. Or will they continue to live the lie so they can look forward to eternal life?<br />
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"Dancing on Ice" could become "Dicing with Death". What do you think?Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-59866743127544233282011-03-24T04:55:00.000-07:002011-03-24T05:08:17.386-07:00Jesus and the third temptation"Had Jesus been able to look into the future when he stood in the wilderness, might he also have been tempted to extend his influence over the 'kingdoms of the world' in a more than political sense? Might he have felt the temptation to 'convert' Paul, to send dissention into the synagogues of Ephesus, Athens, Corinth, Rome; to establish a new 'world religion' which would one day become the religion of the empire? Would he have been tempted to found a church, or several churches each accusing the other of heresy and denouncing their fellow believers by the means of councils, papal bulls, inquisitions and wars until the capital of the empire stood thick with temples devoted to the worship of Jesus and alters where gentile priests could, by repeating certain words, call down the very presence of Jesus into their midst?<br /><br />If he had forseen such a thing , it is actually hard to suppose that the Jesus of the New Testament would have found it tempting, since it would have seemed to him so obviously like the work of the devil."<br /><br />A.N. Wilson - from his book "Jesus"Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-70467905715351495822011-02-13T12:16:00.000-08:002011-02-13T13:00:10.332-08:00Does belief in God influence outcomes?I follow a few people on Twitter who have religious delusions. They praise the lord, tell him how wonderful he is and how they follow him and thank him for lighting their lives. You know the kind of thing.<br /><br />These people really do believe they have a deep and profound relationship with god. With some, like @MissRaissa @alexandrasmif the language is about feeling God inside her and being overwhelmed with his presence. It reads to me like they are really in love with Jesus and want him to fuck them. While they love Jesus and follow his doctrine, they aren't going to be getting any jiggy from any men. Let's hope the sex side is not a disappointment after they do get around to being married (for eternity).<br /><br />Anyway I got to thinking that the people walking with god 'shining a light' on their fortune could be compared to people of a different faith or people of no faith. A study of groups of similar demographics or however statisticians do this stuff.<br /><br />There could be information gathered on;<br /><ul><li>The number of people</li><li>becoming seriously ill and how many went on to a full recovery</li><li>having a relative, friend, pet die</li><li>experiencing promotion or a pay-rise if working.</li><li>getting good grades in an exam</li><li>able to give up smoking</li><li>being adversely affected by quakes, floods, tempests etc.</li></ul>I am sure you get the idea. I am trying to think of things that wouldn't be too subjective or be biased due to the person's perception of the situation. Now we know what the research would show, that good and bad things happen to people irrespective of what they do or don't believe in.<br /><br />So that kind of scuppers the prayer thing as well. No evidence there. In fact the only clinical study I know showed <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16569567">prayer made people worse</a>.<br /><br />So God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are present in peoples' lives but there is no measurable difference in significant events happening to to them that don't happen to godless people. Does that then mean that these poor deluded people are in it for the eternal life thing? Or do they really believe that God is giving them a better deal that every non-xtian?<br /><br />I really do wonder if they have a proper understanding of eternity. If someone was giving me the chance of eternal life without a body and in the company of a god that takes an unhealthy interest in my sex life, I would be bloody terrified.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-63960465768039249192011-01-27T09:17:00.000-08:002011-01-27T09:21:11.056-08:00The Imminent Return of Christ and the Logical Impossibility of a Mid or Post Tribulation Return<strong>Thanks to Kris Minefee for this article, lifted from his Facebook page.</strong><br /><br />I don't intend to do an extensive study of all the scripture involving the return of Christ or to rehash all the arguments for the pre, mid and post positions. My only goal in the article is to hopefully present a logical argument. Simply put this is the premise: If Christ's return is imminent then there can be no signs that would precede it, therefore His return must precede the tribulation since signs fill the tribulation. <br /><br />First does the Bible teach the imminent return of Christ? By imminent we don't mean immediate we mean that Christ could return at any time, therefore His coming would be imminent at any and all times. If Christ coming is not and always has been imminent then the apostles were mistaken in their beliefs and teachings that the church should always be ready for Christ return.<br /><br />Notice the following scriptures. <br /><br />1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.<br />Re 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.<br />Re 22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.<br />Php 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.<br />1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.<br />1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,<br /><br />In all these scriptures the sense is that the Lord's coming was imminent. The specific phrase is “The Lord or the time is at hand.” If the Lord's return was at hand it meant either shortly or it meant at any time. Obviously it wasn't shortly as it has been 2000 years since these words were written therefore it must mean at any time unless the scripture is wrong. The preparedness of the Christians is encouraged in either sense but only one means that the apostles and even Christ were not mistaken in their expectation of Christ's second coming. <br /><br />1Ti 6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:<br />1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:<br /><br />John McCarthur on this point states “All those texts suggest that in the early church expectation of Christ’s imminent return ran high. A solid conviction that Christ could return at any time permeates the whole NT.”<br /><br />We of course are to live our lives in the same readiness, believing that the Lord may return at any time. Now here is where the logic impossibility of the mid and post-tribulational positions exhibits itself. If we are to believe as the NT writers told us to be ready at all times because the coming of Christ is “at hand” then we can't instead be looking for signs to precede that coming. If that were the case then we should be waiting for signs that are the landmarks of the tribulation and then we would look for His parousia and apokalupsis. Unfortunately that is exactly what many Christians are doing because of the misunderstanding of the imminent return. The tribulation begins with the the sign of the creation of the covenant that give Israel universal peace, its midpoint is marked by the sign of the covenant's breaking. It is filled with wars, pestilence, disease, earthquakes and death all these we are told are signs but not for us as New Testament believers but for the nation of Israel to know that their Messiah will save them. For us the only sign given is that which was given, the sign of Jesus risen from the grave and promising us “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. - John 14:3” <br /><br />We are told to walk by faith not by sight until “...the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess 4:16-18<br /><br />To be logically consistent we either live in readiness of the Lord's imminent and therefore sign-less return or we live looking for signs and then make ourselves ready. One position walks in the principle of faith, the other looks for signs. You can't have both an imminent return and a return heralded by signs else it is not imminent, therefore any position that looks for the return of Christ for his church after the signs of the tribulation begin is logically flawed.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-38183001208547706272011-01-25T12:39:00.000-08:002011-01-25T12:44:56.503-08:00A letter to God from LovingdoubtA letter to god.<br /><br /><iframe class="youtube-player" title="YouTube video player" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vm6S0EFCNUY" frameborder="0" width="480" type="text/html"></iframe><br /><br />Thanks to <a href="http://www.godlessgirl.com/2010/02/an-atheists-letter-to-god/comment-page-1/#comment-13711">Godless Girl</a> for bringing this to my attention.<br /><br />What would I write?<br /><br />My god would have to be chance and randomness. It has no consciousness. It does not see what will happen next, but through a number of events to an almost infinite power, I sit here contemplating my place in the cosmos, because of my god.<br /><br />I can see why people need to believe in their own personal deity, if not for salvation, then to give order to the random mutations that gave birth to their ancestors and to believe that there are checks and balances in place to ensure that good and bad are noticed and acted upon at some higher level.<br /><br />The clinical randomness, the cause and effect is what gives my world its beauty and makes me feel so honoured to have walked this way for such a short time. It saddens me that many of my fellow humans do not realise what a special and unique place in the universe we inhabit. Perhaps then, they would do more to protect it and less to hasten its demise.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-22523406997542275562011-01-19T05:44:00.001-08:002011-01-19T05:53:38.115-08:00Scared of Heights?Don't watch this then.<br /><br /><object style="WIDTH: 512px; HEIGHT: 312px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vgBGXUED0lI?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vgBGXUED0lI?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="512" height="312"></embed></object>Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-34854907492958418742011-01-15T13:02:00.000-08:002011-01-15T13:06:42.457-08:00Why people will believe despite the evidence.The religious people I come across have certain traits.<br /><br />God is their friend. He makes their life better in some way. They are happy to worship and praise him because of this. They feel that by knowing him their life is better, that he looks out for them and even talks to them. They are special.<br /><br />God is on their side. His holy book sanctions their dislike of gays, commies, pinkos, muslims and pretty much anyone who isn’t like them. Few people seem to dislike god despite the many evil things he has done. I didn’t understand the term ‘Apologetic’ for a long time but I see no-one who ‘accepts the lord’ but really doesn’t like his policies. I expect they either stop having faith or find another faith that more suits their beliefs.<br /><br />God’s representatives on Earth can rape and pillage and still command respect from the faithful. Look at the Catholics. Science continues to close the gaps. We no longer need god to explain crop failure, lightening, earthquakes, so what do people need god for?<br /><br />He is their ticket to eternal life. Whatever happens in this life, we get another chance, we can meet up with loved ones cruelly taken from us and all of this will occur on a level playing field called Heaven. God won’t let the wool be pulled over his eyes by the evil man who fleeced you of your life savings and retired to the Bahamas, nor will he be so lenient on those bad (insert prejudice here) who will all be roasting in hell. Death is either meeting up with old friends or payback time for those who god saw fit not to punish on Earth. For many people, that is so comforting.<br /><br />He also provides people with hope, that there is some purpose to existence, that the bad things that happen, lead us to a better place through his guidance. We will have a better understanding if we just pray hard enough or ask the right question of him. Of course, if this doesn’t happen, it is we who are not doing it right and not god who doesn’t give a shit. He helps us manage pain and suffering because he loves us, even when no-one else will. All we have to do is accept him into our lives and ask for forgiveness and the ticket to eternal life is ours.<br /><br />No wonder that some people will lie to themselves to protect this hope and need to believe in something. Their faith is at the core of how they define themselves and to look objectively and rationalise would cause them to have to reboot, literally. I have seen it happen. If one belief is false, what else may be false? It is often easier to construct a defence to keep out reality rather than accept that we have been living a lie. Sometimes it is impossible to maintain the lie and I know of many people who arrived at atheism via this difficult and painful route.<br /><br />To have found god in the first place one of two things is likely to have happened. Someone will have been born into a ‘god fearing’, religious family and been brought up to believe (brainwashed) or they will have had some kind of personal crisis and come to god for some level of comfort or pain relief. I am sure there are others who are preachers, priests and predators who maintain a ‘belief’ in God because it suits them to do so and either pays the wages or allows access to feed on vulnerable people.<br /><br />And there are intelligent people out there who buy the whole bible, creationism, 6,000 year-old earth thing and will go to all lengths to defend their beliefs. What would they lose in accepting just a little bit of reality? They have to let it in to other parts of their lives. When they fill up their cars, do they think god created petrol on the 8th day but forgot to put it in his journal?Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-33033533813793680352011-01-09T10:06:00.000-08:002011-01-09T12:19:34.072-08:00Juror reflecting on difficult subject of teenage grooming victims.Dear<br /><br />I was a juror on the trial at Sheffield Crown Court, back in October last year of the eight men accused of a range of sexual crimes against four teenage girls. I am sure you will recall that five were found guilty of at least one charge against them. This and other cases have recently been reported in the press and several prominent politicians and others are now commenting on the wider picture that is emerging, predominantly that the vast majority of offenders are Pakistani men. <br /><br />Some background about why I feel the need to comment so fully: I was Director of Victim Support Sheffield ten years ago, having previously worked over ten years for Victim Support in North London. I am familiar with the facilities for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and how the video-link system works and have supported several victims through giving evidence in Court. I have also provided extensive training for people in how to support victims of serious crime and this has included several police officers.<br /><br />After a brief introduction by the prosecuting barrister, we were shown several video recordings detailing several hours of the victims’ interviews that had taken place between 20 and 24 months previously. Some of the audio quality was very poor and we strained to hear much of it. On several occasions Court was adjourned while transcripts of the interview (available to barristers already) were prepared for us. <br /><br />I am sure you are aware in such a case how vital the presentation of evidence is and this process of bad audio, malfunctioning equipment requiring frequent breaks (while the victims were in attendance) did a disservice to everyone and must have had a cost implication because of the amount of Court time wasted.<br /><br />We were trying to piece together which of the alleged crimes had been committed on these girls by which of the eight men on trial. All we had to start with was the indictment sheet which was a merely list of charges against names.<br /><br />The girls were questioned and the interviewers were clearly finding it difficult to get the information from the victims without adding their own words. We had no background, not even an outline of which allegation the interview was in response to. We struggled to make sense of the many interviews of two of the victims and which of the 23 offences they related to. <br /><br />I understand that there are procedures in place so that victims cannot be ‘led’ but some of these interviews sounded so clinical and disconnected for much of the time. I found myself questioning the ability of some of the interviewers who seemed to be floundering out of their depth. For example, asking multiple questions of the victim (and hence confusing them) or just saying, “right, right, right” in response to the victim was to the point where it became monotonous and annoying.<br /><br />Can I ask what kind of training and ongoing these interviewers receive and on what criteria they are selected, particularly as their job is perhaps the most important in the entire process?<br /><br />The cross-examinations after the week or so of video interviews didn’t do much help us to better understand the situation or the victims’ background and often resulted in ‘closing down’ the dialogue when it became uncomfortable or confrontational. It must have been so difficult for those girls to follow through after all the elapsed time and I feel that somehow they deserved better of everyone. I think it fair to say that it wasn’t until the victim impact statements were summarised after conviction, that the life changing impact of these crimes on the girls became clear.<br /><br />Over the ensuing weeks, we began to make sense of who was accused of having done what to whom and it began to make more sense. The prosecution finished their case and each of the defendants’ barristers took their turn in outlining their client’s case for the defence. Some chose not to testify and we were each able to build an impression of our understanding of the evidence presented.<br /><br />At the summing up, the prosecution barrister took a little over an hour to summarise the case for the Prosecution and then each of the barristers for the defence took a familiar amount of time on their client. It felt as if we were being brow-beaten by the defence at times as the same messages were presented in subtly different flavours. It was at this point we jurors were treated to some excellent speaking, references were made to Greek tragedies, the Boulevards of Paris and the Judge even seemed to endorse his favoured orators.<br /><br />I began to feel sorrow for the defendants having to sit through what I found to be some kind of game of ‘barristerial’ one-upmanship being played out in front of people who had their freedom riding on the outcome of the trial, and their friends and family in the gallery.<br /><br />After the Judge’s direction, it was our turn to deliberate. I think we took a whole week to decide all the charges. Some were easier than others and I felt lucky to have the expertise and considered viewpoints of my fellow jurors to help me. Not once did the race of the defendants or the victims become an issue. <br /><br />We were trying to recall evidence from the victims that we had heard in mid-September and it was now November. We only had our memories and the notes that some of us had taken during the trial to assist us. If we wanted to clarify anything, it meant going into Court to ask the Judge. Many of us felt that it would have been so useful and only fair, to redress the balance, by having had access to the victims’ video interviews or some form of summary once again, at the close of the evidence.<br /><br />In the end, I feel that justice was done despite the process which still favours the defendant (sometimes 8 to 1). With better interviewing and more dots being joined up for we jurors at the beginning of the process, I feel that better justice could have been done for everyone.<br /><br />YoursPhilip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-44947127571271828832010-12-19T10:05:00.000-08:002010-12-19T10:13:15.126-08:00The Qur'an incites religious hatred.I found this letter on a blog <a href="http://crispysea.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-islam-actually-illegal-in-uk.html">here</a>. I have edited it slightly and have asked permission to reproduce it. Wouldn't it be fun to send it out to a few chosen people!<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Dear<br /><br />I am atheist. The Qur'an calls me infidel and I am deeply disturbed by what I find in Islam and its rituals. It seems to me to that there are passages which clearly promote hatred of all who are not Muslim.<br /><br />Surah 9:5 states quite clearly that devotees of the faith should...<br />"fight and slay the pagans (or infidels or unbelievers) wherever you find them?"<br />As the Muslims are always stating, for them the Qur'an is the revealed word of 'god', so we must assume that they take this instruction seriously. I, as an Infidel, must therefore also take the instruction seriously.If even a single Muslim chose to follow the instruction to the letter, or simply misconstrue it, my life could be ended. And, when it takes more than 2700 words to explain why the 13 word instruction does not mean what it clearly states, I suggest the passage is permanently in danger of being misconstrued!<br />As we see devout believers carrying out the extreme instructions of the Qur'an almost on a daily basis, it would be the act of a fool to simply trust that the instruction will not ever be followed by any devout believer. I must therefore assume that when in the proximity of even a moderate Muslim my life is in danger merely because my path of rational freethinking conflicts with Islamic doctrine. I write this letter under an assumed identity because of that assumption.<br /><br />As a UK [Politician or Policeman], I feel you are doing me and the rest of the UK non-Muslim population (97.2% of general population) a serious disservice if you do not take the violent instructions in the book seriously. I wonder why no one in authority has. It seems quite clear to me that Islam, the Qur'an and Shariat, Imams and every Muslim from moderate to extremist, all, in some way or other, contravene the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006.<br /><br />How do the Qur'an's numerous hateful passages not contravene paragraph 29g?<br />How are the Qur'an's publishers and distributors not in contravention of paragraph 29c?<br />How are the Imams and preachers not in contravention of 29b and 29c?<br /><br />Every time a Muslim prays, Islam compels each to recite an affirmation of the denunciation of, at best, Jews and Christians, and at worst, ALL that is none Muslim.<br />Please note here, that even the 'at best' is deeply offensive to all who believe in the Declaration of Human Rights and the 'at worst' is deeply offensive to the rest on the Human race!!<br /><br />How is that not in contravention of paragraph 29b?<br /><br />Further, by placing itself as the 'superior way to live' a doctrine simultaneously infers all other paths are inferior. This is derogatory, discriminatory and disparaging of all other paths; paths that the rest of the human race (more than 80% of the world's population) find equally, or more, valid. In my view this instruction for all Muslims to consider themselves superior is, at best, elitist and separatist, just like the Nazism, and, at worst, keeping in mind the well known phrase "If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.", it should be assumed that a doctrine which does not promote integration, is not conducive with unity and peace and thereby is promoting the opposite of those states.<br /><br />And all that's without even getting started on the instruction to Jihad or Qur'an 4:34, which appears to permit domestic violence! I would like the offending passages of the Qur'an removed. How can I feel safe while they exist?<br /><br />If Islam is truly a religion of peace, the Muslims must also surely be in favour of the removal of a few passages which directly threaten innocent life simply for being free of thought. As it stands Surah 1:7 is an affirmation and promotion of religious bigotry, a direct statement of hate which is recited multiple times each day by even moderate Muslims. I would like Surah 1:7 modified to remove the hatred and include 'all paths', not just the prejudicial Muslim one. All recitations of this Surah should be modified accordingly.<br /><br />Now, I'm not unrealistic, I know it's going to take a bit of time for the Muslim brothers and sisters to gather an opinion on the form of the necessary rewrite for the Qur'an. And I realize that proper scrutiny of any 'new' version of the Qur'an by the authorities could take years, so, in the mean time, I'd like all currently circulating Qur'an to be collected and suitably disposed of. After the hate speech has been edited out, the old Qur'ans would be of no use anyway. Also, so that prayers would not have to be suspended, until the rewrite is published and circulated, all prayers should be modified to at least remove the hateful recitations.<br /><br />If there are any Muslims who are not in favour of the suggested changes, they should be seen as wishing to continue the hate, a clear infraction of 29b and could be encouraged to find accommodation in a country more conducive with their hateful stance.<br /><br />As a side question here...<br />If a book were produced in 2010 which clearly stated death to a culture because of its beliefs or non belief, do you think it would be allowed to be published? Would its publication not be restricted under the Public Order Act?<br /><br />There is a further issue of equality here.<br />When we are about to have an increase of faith schools, why should Muslims be allowed to preach and teach such blatantly hateful intolerance? As I see it, with an eye to equality, should it not ALSO be lawful to teach kids in other faith schools that it's their duty to...<br />"Slay Muslims wherever you find them"?<br />Perhaps a pamphlet could be issued?<br /><br />In France a lawsuit against publishers of the Bible and Qur'an is currently under way. The lawsuit is privately funded (they are seeking donations) and cites the scriptures as the origin of death threats which various members of the atheists in action group have received from the religious. I hope it will have some success.<br />I am unfortunately penniless but I hope someone will take up the baton for the UK's freedom.<br /><br />I would hope that the Police, Members of Parliament, Home Secretary, Prime minister would act to protect myself and my fellow non-Muslims from the very real threat of violence from followers and purveyors of the Qur'an. Failing that, I'd hope the Secular Society or Humanist Society or the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, or a collective of the free thinking organisations could mount some legal challenge.<br /><br /><br />Yours .... </span>Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-36137314919950604952010-12-19T06:29:00.000-08:002010-12-19T06:32:39.644-08:00Dear Christians at Christmas timeYour 'all powerful', 'all knowing' god created humankind a few thousand years ago, didn't like how they turned out so drowned most of them, men, women, children, babies and animals. <br /><br />Human Race Version Two gets under way but there is still too much wickedness so God (Who seems to have mellowed a little by this time) has to send himself to earth as his 'only son' so that he can be sacrificed to atone for the sin of all mankind. To do this he needs to impregnate a woman (who may have been as young as fourteen) so that she will give birth to the 'son of god'. Interesting how this is a theme in so many religions preceeding xtianity. A deity really couldn't be born from somewhere that was 'unclesn' now could it?<br /><br />After being nailed to the cross in a bit of torture porn, Jesus is 'dead' for a couple of days and then rises up to heaven to be with his father (himself) and some dude called the 'holy spirit'. If you are catholic, you get to eat the flesh of christ as often as you choose.<br /><br />I will be celebrating christmas by watching the George A. Romero back catalogue. Seems quite apt really.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-23719209743975965412010-10-13T10:25:00.000-07:002010-10-13T10:31:19.935-07:00Discussions re God on Sheffield Forum<strong>"I know there has been lots of "discussions" on here about God and I saw this interesting tweet on Twitter tonight, which I thought summed it up nicely.<br /><br />For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible."</strong><br /><br />But that's just not true as there are lots of things which could convince me to believe in a god and so far as I can tell the same applies to most other atheists.<br /><br />In fact some atheists (in this case the excellent Ebon) even go to the trouble of drawing up lists of the kinds of things which would convince them in the hope that it will improve the quality of the emails theists send them:<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/theistguide.html">The Theist's Guide to Converting Atheists </a><br />What would convince an atheist that a religion is true?<br /><br />In several years of debating atheism and theism, I have made an observation. Ask any believer what would convince him he was mistaken and persuade him to leave his religion and become an atheist, and if you get a response, it will almost invariably be, "Nothing - I have faith in my god." Although such people may well exist, I personally have yet to meet a theist who would acknowledge even the possibility that his belief was in error. Many theists, by their own admission, structure their beliefs so that no evidence could possibly disprove them. In short, they are closed-minded, and have been taught to be closed-minded. (For more on this, see "Thoughts in Captivity".)<br /><br />In light of this, it is ironic that atheists are often accused of being the closed-minded ones. Fundamentalist proselytizers very frequently claim that we are hard-hearted, that we are dogmatic and irrational, that we reject God based on preconceived bias, and so on. Such claims result from psychological projection. Incapable of coping with the fact that there are some people who genuinely do not believe in their god, these theists simply deny that such people exist, and instead insist that everyone thinks the same way they do. Therefore, people who reach different conclusions than them must have some secret ulterior motive for not believing. This is truly ridiculous, but unfortunately, some people really believe it.<br /><br />Thus, in the spirit of proving that atheists' minds are not closed, I've assembled below a list of everything I can think of that I would accept as proof that a given religion is true. Also included are things that I would accept as circumstantial evidence of a particular religion's truth and things that would not be acceptable to me as proof of anything. While I do not claim to speak for all atheists, I would confidently say that any religion that could produce one of the things from the first list would probably gain a great number of converts.<br /><br />The first category deals with things that would absolutely convince me of the truth of a particular religion. If shown any of these, I would convert on the spot.<br /><br />Verified, specific prophecies that couldn't have been contrived.<br />If the Bible, for example, said, "On the first day of the first month in the year two thousand and ten, the pillars of the earth will shake and a great part of the New World will be lost to the sea," and then January 1, 2010 comes and a tremendous earthquake sends California to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, I would become a believer. No points are awarded under any of the following conditions:<br /><br />If the prophecy is vague, unclear or garbled (like Nostradamus' ramblings, for example). It must be detailed, specific and unambiguous in its prediction and wording. <br /><br />If the prophecy is trivial. Anyone could predict that it will be cold next winter, or that this drought/plague/flood will eventually subside. The prophecy must predict something surprising, unlikely or unique. <br /><br />If the prophecy is obviously contrived for other reasons. No official seer or court astrologer ever predicted that the king he worked for would be a brutal, evil tyrant who would ruin the country. <br /><br />If the prophecy is self-fulfilling; i.e., if the mere fact of the prophecy's existence could cause people to make it come true. The Jewish people returned to their homeland in Israel just as the Bible said they would, but this isn't a genuine prediction - they did it because the Bible said they would. The predicted event can't be one that people could stage. <br /><br />If the prophecy predicts an event that already happened and the writing of the prophecy itself can't be shown to have preceded the event. <br /><br />If the prophecy predicts an event that already happened and the happening of that event can't be verified by independent evidence. For example, Christian apologists claim that Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies, but the authors of the New Testament obviously had access to those prophecies also; what would have prevented them from writing their story to conform to them? The extra-biblical evidence for the existence of Jesus is so scanty that it is impossible to disprove such a proposal. <br /><br />And finally, if the prophecy is the lone success among a thousand failures. Anyone can throw prophecies against the wall until one sticks. The book or other source from which it comes must have at least a decently good record on other predictions. <br />These conditions, I think, are eminently reasonable, and are only what would be expected of a true prophet with a genuine gift. <br /><br /><br />Scientific knowledge in holy books that wasn't available at the time.<br />If the Bible (or any other religious text) contained some piece of knowledge that the people of the time couldn't possibly have known but that is now known to be true, that would be highly convincing to me. A passage about the atomic theory of matter or the heliocentric solar system would be interesting, but not conclusive, since the Greeks, for example, proposed those ideas long ago independent of any claim to divine revelation. <br /><br />A mention of the theory of evolution would have been impressive. A reference to the germ theory of disease, or the laws of electromagnetics, would have been compelling. But what would be indisputable proof would be an elucidation of a truly modern theory of physics, such as relativity or quantum mechanics - not just something that the people of the time couldn't possibly have known of, but something so counter-intuitive that the odds against guessing at it correctly would be staggering. Just think: What if Jesus had said something like this?<br />"Verily, verily, I say unto thee that thine energy is as thine mass times the speed of light multiplied unto itself."<br /><br />Of course people of the time would have been baffled, but just imagine how many souls it would have saved today. As with the prophecy item, there must be independent verification that the piece of knowledge was written in texts that existed well before it was actually discovered by science.<br /><br /><br />Miraculous occurrences, especially if brought about through prayer.<br />If cities condemned as sinful by preachers tended to explode in flames for no apparent reason, if glowing auras of holy light sometimes appeared around believers to protect them from harm, or if atheists and only atheists were regularly struck by lightning, this would be compelling proof. But it wouldn't have to be so dramatic; even minor but objectively verifiable miracles would do, especially if they could be invoked by prayer. If a hospital did a double-blind study to determine if intercessory prayer helps the sick, and it was discovered that only the patients prayed for by members of a certain religion experienced a dramatic, statistically significant increase in recovery rate, and this result could be repeated and confirmed, I would convert. This one shouldn't be so hard, especially for the Christians - after all, Jesus told them that they would be able to work miracles through prayer!<br /><br /><br />Any direct manifestation of the divine.<br />I'm not that hard to convert; I'll be happy to believe in God if he tells me to in person, as long as he does it in such a way that I could be sure that it was not a hallucination (for example, in the presence of multiple reliable witnesses, none of which are in a highly emotional or otherwise altered state). Where are the voices speaking out of burning bushes, or out of thin air when people get baptized? In Old Testament times, Moses saw God so often that he knew him on a first-name basis. Why doesn't this happen any more today?<br /><br /><br />Aliens who believed in the exact same religion.<br />And one more, though this one is just a bit off the wall. If humanity was to contact an extraterrestrial civilization, and if said extraterrestrials had a religion that was exactly like some religion on Earth, I would become a believer. (Though it would raise some interesting theological problems for Christians. Does Jesus have to travel to every planet in the universe individually, dying and being resurrected on each one?) <br /><br />The second category deals with things that would not be conclusive, but that would count as circumstantial evidence. Show me one of these and I might not convert right away, but your religion will look a lot better to me.<br /><br />A genuinely flawless and consistent holy book.<br />True inerrancy is, so to speak, the holy grail of theism. Almost every religion claims their scripture is perfect, but none that I know of have actually met this exacting standard; I have yet to read a holy text entirely without error or self-contradiction. A book that was free of such problems would be circumstantial evidence in favor of the religion that possessed it, but not compelling, since this is still explicable as the result of purely human forces.<br /><br /><br />A religion without internal disputes or factions.<br />It seems reasonable to expect that, if there existed a god that was interested in revealing itself to humanity and desired that we follow its commands, that god would write down whatever instructions it had to give us in a way that was only amenable to one interpretation. Thus, if a religion was true, we might expect that no factions or sects would form within it and all members of that religion would speak with one voice regarding ethical and theological issues. Why the alternative scenario should ever hold for an inspired religion is not clear. Did God intend to communicate his message clearly but failed to do so? However, since this could still be the result of human influence, it would only be circumstantial, not conclusive, evidence in favor of a given religion's truth.<br /><br /><br />A religion whose followers have never committed or taken part in atrocities.<br />If a given religion's sacred text consistently promotes peace, compassion and nonviolence, and if that religion's history reflects that fact, that religion would look much more attractive to me. Historically, almost every religion that has ever had the power to do so has persecuted those who believed differently, and I do not think it likely that a morally good deity would allow his chosen faith's good name to be smeared by evil and fallible humans.<br /><br />A religion that had a consistent record of winning its jihads and holy wars.<br />Strangely, none do. One can only wonder why. <br /><br />The final category deals with things that would not convince me; none of the following would persuade me to rethink my position. To date, all the evidence I have ever seen presented for any religion falls into this category.<br /><br />Speaking in tongues or other pseudo-miracles.<br />To convince me, a miracle would have to be genuine, verifiable, and represent a real and inexplicable divergence from the ordinary. Anything that can be explained by peer pressure, the power of suggestion or the placebo effect does not count. Favorable coincidences or kind or courageous acts performed by human beings also do not meet this standard. (This post clearly illuminates the difference: "Biblical miracles aren't about accidents and people saying 'Whew, that was close.' Biblical miracles are people raising their hands and telling something impossible to happen, and it happens.") Seeing the Virgin Mary in a water stain or Mother Teresa in a piece of pastry is not impressive. Nor is glossolalia, not even if it really sounds like a language. And faith healing, or people being "slain in the Spirit" and toppling over, owes more to showmanship and the placebo effect used on eager-to-please individuals that have been worked up into highly excitable, suggestible states. (Now, if faith healers could restore severed limbs...)<br /><br />People's conversion stories.<br />I'm not interested in the testimonials of people who converted to a religion, not even if they used to be atheists. Everyone has moments of weakness in which emotion overrides logic. Instead of telling me how fast a religion is growing, how much of a difference it's made in people's lives, or how devoted its converts are, let those converts explain what logic and evidence persuaded them to join in the first place. If they can't do this, their stories will not affect me. After all, for obvious reasons, atheists are almost never the sort of people who go along with the crowd.<br /><br />Any subjective experience.<br />Saying "I know God exists because I can feel him in my heart" or something similar will not affect me. Most arguments of this sort rest on the assumption that a person cannot have a completely convincing subjective experience and be mistaken regarding its cause, but a look at the diversity of world religions easily disproves this. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists - members of all faiths claim to have had convincing subjective experiences of the truth of that faith. Obviously, they cannot all be right. Why should an atheist accept any one of these testimonies as more valid than any other?<br /><br />The Bible Code or similar numerological feats.<br />Using the same algorithms employed by the Bible Code numerologists, skeptics have been able to find assassinations and other historical events "predicted" in Moby Dick, War and Peace and other works of fiction that don't claim divine inspiration, so don't expect it to impress me.<br /><br />Creationism of any sort.<br />I'm thoroughly familiar with the pseudoscience practiced by advocates of "scientific creationism" or "intelligent design". If you attempt to prove God's existence to me by listing the evidence for a young earth, more likely than not you'll be disappointed. (Though I'm always happy to debate the merits of evolution.) <br /><br />See it all <a href="http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=656676">here</a>. Thanks PlekanhovPhilip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-2320386231541291342010-10-10T11:06:00.001-07:002010-10-10T11:18:28.737-07:00A little bit about me.I lost my faith before I was a teen despite the Old Testament being told to me at infant school as if it were fact and my Mother telling me the stories about Samson and Daniel. My Father told me about George and the Dragon too, only in his version, the dragon wasn’t there at the first time of calling so George retired to the pub. Years later, I understood why the student teacher had insisted I tell my story once more when the class teacher returned. It is fascinating how we order our world as young children, perhaps even more fascinating when we invoke invisible magic friends to give it order when we are adults.<br /><br />I wasn’t brought up in a faith other than at school. My parents were Christians in the loosest sense of the word. My Father, a scrap metal dealer, had more fiddles going than you would find in Dublin on St Patrick’s Night. Indeed, he was arrested on bonfire night back in 1974 and charged with fraud. He made the front page of the local paper. The case collapsed.<br /><br />I had a ‘vision’ one night during my sleep that pushed me back towards faith for a few months but by my teens, it really was all finished. At 15 I wrote to the local paper to complain about the legislation that required a ‘collective act of worship’ in schools, every day. They dispatched a photographer to take my picture and I was published for the first time. That put paid to my under-age drinking for a time. A week later and the replies were printed. I was slated. One comment that is etched into my mind is’ “One only has to look at the beautiful trees and birds to know there is a god”. Another is, “I blame all the shameful sex and violence we see and hear on TV”.<br /><br />Aged 17, I was given a book to read, ‘Another Roadside Attraction’ by Tom Robbins. He did theology and the book was about finding The Source, via the Vatican catacombs and the body of Jesus which was found there. Soon after this I had dated a student of Politics, Philosophy and Economics who was at Oxford. Scary as it was, it broke my ‘Large City’ mentality and I ended up moving to an even larger city and mixing with some extraordinary people, not afraid to speak their minds.<br /><br />So at 19, I was having regular sex, had a brilliant social life and knew that there was no purpose or meaning to our lives other than what we chose to give it. There was no deity, no reward in heaven, no nothing just an awareness of this amazing opportunity that had been given to me to ‘walk this way but once’ despite astounding odds against. Bill Bryson says it so well in his book ‘The Brief History of Time’.<br /><br />Fast forward several bad relationship choices, a wife, three children, a further wife and two additional step children and we have arrived at the present. Just for the record, I let my oldest two girls be taken to church by their Grandma and didn’t make my views known until I was asked directly. Their mother was agnostic at best, a believer of ‘something’ at worst. Both girls (now 19 and 17) are atheists and both are lesbians. I doubt there is any correlation there but I know they don’t feel any guilt about their sexuality.<br /><br />My son is quite gifted at maths. He is too logical to believe in macic. His teachers told him that he had to sing hymns in ‘religious assembly’. I told him he didn’t as it was an infringement on his human rights. Don’t you just love the Human Rights Act?<br /><br />Anyway, since the internet put me in touch with like-minded people and I could watch videos and hone my thoughts, I have become an anti-theist. I now see religion as a disease. <br /><br />The main Abrahamic faiths are convinced that theirs is the ‘one true faith’ and with that assumed territory comes at best, the teaching of creationist stupidity on schools and at worst, the mass slaughter of innocents. That is why I and many others get angry. We don’t want people who are incapable of understanding the process of scientific theory, but are willing to cherry pick the ‘scientific facts’ that support their crazy assertions, being able to force their views on others, particularly if those ‘others’ are children expecting to be educated.<br /><br />The English Defence League was protesting in the Midlands yesterday. They don’t like Islam very much and they have racist affiliations. People were out in force to demonstrate their loathing for such tactics. However when a bishop, priest, pastor, preacher or whatever tells their followers that gays are abhorrent to society, women are second class citizens and contraception will not be tolerated, people seem to accept this as the norm rather than getting out there to take them on.<br /><br />This may be changing with the ‘Protest the Pope’ demonstrations despite the media colluding to present the protector of rapists in a good light. The more we anti-theists become organised, the more we will take-head on the messages of condemnation, the bullying and the discrimiation that emanates from the pulpits of our green and not so pleasant land. How can people take them seriously when they are dressed in their finery and dictating morals to us? What gross act would the church have to do for people to finally turn their backs on it? <br /><br />I think the idea of randomness and no meaning are so scary to so many people that they will cling on to their faith at any cost. A friend of my wife admitted as much when we were discussing the mass genocides that the god of the Old Testament had sanctioned. She said that even if God had been directly responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, she would still believe in him as she could not imagine an alternative.<br /><br />Go to church. Ask questions, challenge, heckle if needs be. We do it to politicians and some of them actually talk sense.<br /><br />As PZ Myres said this week; <br />“We need to address the disease. And if you're one of those people trying to defend superstition and quivering in fear at the idea of taking on a majority that believes in foolishness, urging us to continue slapping bandages on the blight of faith, well then, you're part of the problem and we'll probably do something utterly dreadful, like be rude to you or write some cutting sarcastic essay to mock your position. That is our métier, after all. <br /><br />There is another motive for our confrontational ways, and it has to do with values. We talk a lot about values in this country, so I kind of hate to use the word -- it's been tainted by the religious right, which howls about "Christian values" every time the subject of civil rights for gays or equal rights for women or universal health care or improving the plight of the poor come up -- True Christian values are agin' those things, after all. But the Gnu Atheists have values, too, and premiere among them is truth. And that makes us uncivil and rude, because we challenge the truth of religion.“<br /><br />Like him, I am unable to compromise on reality.<br /><br />“It's all about the truth, people. And all the evidence is crystal clear right now: the earth is far older than 6,000 years. Evolution is a real, and it is a process built on raw chance driven by the brutal engines of selection, and there is no sign of a loving, personal god, but only billions of years of pitiless winnowing without any direction other than short-term survival and reproduction. It's not pretty, it's not consoling, it doesn't sanctify virginity, or tell you that god really loves your foreskin, but it's got one soaring virtue that trumps all the others: it's true.”<br /><br />I’m pleased I got that little lot off my chest.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-23068194033799282232010-09-06T14:29:00.000-07:002010-09-06T14:30:59.522-07:00My request to indoctrinate in Rotherham Town CentreFrom: Bloom1 <br />Sent: 21 August 2010 16:40<br />To: info@rotherhamtowncentre.co.uk<br />Subject: Event on Saturday 21 August in Town Centre<br /><br />Hi Rotherham Town Centre<br /><br />I am writing to enquire about hiring a spot in Rotherham town centre. I see you had a full blown gospel outfit there today making lots of noise and preaching about they found Jesus. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to hang around for too long as it was a bit on the loud side and hearing is not good at the best of times.<br /><br />Are any religious groups allowed book a slot to do this? I feel that the issue of religion is not being addressed in the way that it should and would love to put on a similar event so that my congregation can become more proactive in putting the important messages to people who may not have read or fully understood the Bible. As you may be aware, this holy book on which our Country’s faith was built, condemns homosexuality as a sin and has clear messages about how women should behave what should happen to people who worship false idols. We feel that there is not enough contemplation given to these issues in the modern age. We also have t-shirts and balloons and our own public address system and are ready to roll.<br /><br />Would you please let me know how I can secure a booking and what paperwork I need to fill in. Can it be done online? I appreciate that you may have to give equal space to the different denominations of Christianity, the other Abrahamic faiths and various other ‘groups’ that have a different god but I hope we will be able to arrange something before the end of the Summer.<br /><br />Yours hopefully<br /><br />Mr Bloom.<br /><br /><br />Dear Mr. Bloom<br /><br />Thank you for your email and interest in holding an event in Rotherham town centre. May I suggest for us to arrange a meeting to discuss the type of event you wish to hold and whether it would be feasible. The Events & Promotions team who would deal with the event are currently organising the Rotherham Show so will be unavailable until afterwards. Therefore could you confirm your availability for w/c 13th September. I realise this is a few weeks away but the team need a reasonable lead-in period and the show is a priority at the moment. In the meantime please complete the attached application form and email, fax to 01709 837953 or post to: Retail Investment Team, 5th Floor, Phoenix Business Centre, 18 High Street, Rotherham, S60 1PP.<br /><br />If you need any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.<br /><br />Kind regards<br /><br />Catherine <br /><br />________________________________________Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-69364659069751551982010-08-21T08:41:00.000-07:002010-08-21T08:53:57.194-07:00Celebrating Faith in open spaces in built-up areasI knew as I approached the town centre that the sound snaking its way through the streets could only mean one thing. Someone had let a gospel choir loose in the centre of town. I was not wrong. There were lots of them dancing around, some dressed up and some in T-shirts proclaiming god. The PA system was unbearably loud and I felt sorry for the poor people working in shops that had to endure this.<br /><br />It was too loud even for me to try and shout back. I wish I could have asked for the microphome so that I caould have asked them a few questions about their saviour. I am really annoyed that Rotherham metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) would allow minority groupd to preach like this. Having a few stalls that people can wander over to is one thing but very loud "In your face" gospel salvation?<br /><br />There were plenty of people about who I made an informed guess were muslim and there were a few people sat around in the square taking it in but most people were going on their way getting on with whatever people do in Rotherham town centre. <br /><br />I wish I could have done a little delving by asking what their views were on homosexuality and other choice nuggets from their holy book but I had my kid and his friend with me and I just wasn't prepared. <br /><br />Anyway, here is the hasty prepared email that I sent off to RMBC Town Centre Team. I am connected through my work. Should be interesting to see what I get back.<br /><br /><br />Hi Rotherham Town Centre<br /><br />I am writing to enquire about hiring a spot in Rotherham town centre. I see you had a full blown gospel outfit there today making lots of noise and preaching about they found Jesus. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to hang around for too long as it was a bit on the loud side and hearing is not good at the best of times.<br /><br />Are any religious groups allowed book a slot to do this? I feel that the issue of religion is not being addressed in the way that it should and would love to put on a similar event so that my congregation can become more proactive in putting the important messages to people who may not have read or fully understood the Bible. As you may be aware, this holy book on which our Country’s faith was built, condemns homosexuality as a sin and has clear messages about how women should behave what should happen to people who worship false idols. We feel that there is not enough contemplation given to these issues in the modern age. We also have t-shirts and balloons and our own public address system and are ready to roll.<br /><br />Would you please let me know how I can secure a booking and what paperwork I need to fill in. Can it be done online? I appreciate that you may have to give equal space to the different denominations of Christianity, the other Abrahamic faiths and various other ‘groups’ that have a different god but I hope we will be able to arrange something before the end of the Summer.<br /><br />Yours hopefully<br /><br />Mr Bloom.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-57858276566455957482010-07-25T11:37:00.001-07:002010-07-25T11:39:19.210-07:00Muslim gorefest of women murdered in allah's name.<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rACj2_7_orY&hl=en_GB&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rACj2_7_orY&hl=en_GB&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />Sickening barbarity. How can it happen in a civilised world?Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-53549863928908399802010-07-25T06:23:00.000-07:002010-07-25T06:45:13.413-07:00Protest the PopeSo the police are gearing up to monitor any threats to Benny's visit in September. Story <a href="http://protectthepope.com/?p=199">here</a>. I was thinking of a few things that I could arrange.<br /><br />How about a few of us taking a <a href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Motorway-protest-plan-over-rising.6218836.jp">slow drive </a>down the M6 when he is in Coventry?<br /><br />Or we could buy a job lot of shop mannequins like these <a href="http://www.displaycentre.co.uk/Mannequins-Busts-and-Body-Forms/Child-Teen/Child-9-11-Mannequin-White-Gloss">9-11 year olds </a>and wander round town with them dressed as chiorboys.<br /><br />We could get dressed up in the full bishop regalia, although the staff may be construed as an offensive weapon, or we could all be pope benny look-alikes for the day. I think dressing as hitler youth may be a bit in bad taste. What about being a Swiss Guard for the day?<br /><br />As the main threat appears to be perceived as coming from Islam, perhaps we should dress up in flowing robes and burkas and mingle with the crowds. We could keep our usual clothes in a backpack for easy access.<br /><br />Anyone got any other ideas? I will drop the police a line just to check that we aren't doing anything illegal, after all it is 'me old mucker' Meredydd, speed <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article584507.ece">king extrordinaire</a>, who is running the show.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254858638158658433.post-22591571301004302472010-07-05T14:05:00.000-07:002010-07-05T14:06:28.254-07:00Beatifying John HenryI thought they were going to 'Beautify' John Henry Newman when the Pope pops over in September, like give him vouchers to get a spray tan, a facial, remove his nose and ear hair and get a good haircut that won't scare young children, then have a picture taken and hung in a cathedral somewhere.<br /><br />However, I notice on the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10509127.stm">BBC News </a>that the word is 'Beatify'. What does that involve then? I have never heard of anyone being beatified before. Will it hurt? Does it involve a rythm?<br /><br />Personally, I would have gone for John Henry Bonham to receive the accolade. He was from around the West Midlands as well and did a lot more than write a few books and convet from anglicism to catholicism. Just listen to the riff he lays down in 'Kashmir' and the bass pedal triplets in 'Good Times, Bad Times' and tell me he doesn't deserve to be beatified. No-one could play just behind the beat like Mr Bonham.Philip Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01396688548591376313noreply@blogger.com0