blasphemy is...

a victimless crime.... I'm confused did the churchies split into another cult? I was under the impression that smoking-posting-chating about pot was frowned upon, yet every day here you hipocrites are, and without fail one of you whining punks snivels about me bashing your god-religion-fairy tale as long as we do not try to deprive the churchies of their civil liberties, as long as we do not attempt to criminalize their behavior - like they wish to do to us - we are not subjecting them to persecution. The Catholic church, along with all the other self-proclaimed real estate brokers of heaven, must be publicly told that hiding behind a claim of speaking for god will not insulate them from criticism.

It is HIGH time to end the pointless debate about whether to "bash" or not "bash" religion in the process of promoting secular humanism. The opponents of religious dogma should be able to attack and ridicule religious beliefs the same as opponents of any other belief system can attack and ridicule that belief system.

"Religious doctrines that venture forth onto society's battlefield of ideas should not be entitled to armor that is thicker than that of any other combatant." a smarter guy than me

I agree. I recently read an interesting essay arguing that we should not hold our punches against the web of lies that is religion.
Should We Mock at Religion? by Tony Gibson

Quote:

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Many people, perhaps the majority, hold that although we should freely express our atheistical views, we should carefully avoid mocking at religion. Such mockery does, of course, gravely offend the sensibilities of religious people. It is held that in the presence of religious people we should speak in terms of respect about their beliefs, however ridiculous or indeed offensive we find them, especially when they are being taught to children who are too young to reason for themselves. I have not noticed that religious people show the least respect for the opinions of atheists, or refrain from speaking of them in the most derogatory terms; they seem to expect that their own views are the only ones worthy of respect.

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As long as there are Christians and members of other religious groups who try to convert me to their belief systems, I will continue to expose their religions as the worthless outdated systems of deceit that they are.

I've never whined, or sniveled to you Mike. I've given you the utmost respect. I smoke, yup,... Is that your business? Do I owe you an explanation? I don't believe so. I don't believe that I deserve to be mocked any more than you do. Guess maybe I'm just not your intellectual equal? C'mon if you like to be adressed with respect yourself, please take that into consideration with the rest of us. :cool:

BLASPHEMY IS..

FUN!

The image is purity is projected to us as an ideal beyond our grasp (hubris) and yet within our range (heavenly reward). No human however fits the machne-image advertising ideal we are expected to attain. Most of us don't really care, even if we live in neurotic pain for not being able to not care.

Distortion changes the fundamental nature of an object (context-meaning) by distorting the aesthetic of the object, revealing its origins or possibilities (potential). Once you have distorted something, it no longer fits into the memory-hole it was filed under and must be reinterpreted, often revealing its fundamental weaknesses.

Break the spell of Enslaver. Desecrate hIS work.

As Satan discovered, Jehovah controls through command and punishment but cannot control potential and creativity. Refinement breaks organic structures down into meaningless closed systems, but organism promotes chaotic growth that increases natural semantic and recombinant possibility of different kinds of success. Thus, it also leads to more advanced understandings; it naturally usurps closed orders.

Satan is the Lord of the Free Order, the Master of Entropy, the Legion of Might. His philosophy alone is relevant, as the age of industrial image wanes. mock Him productions and your local coven entreat you to broaden your understanding of chaos and vengeance at

http://www.anus.com/altar/.

I think it is fine to criticize certain aspects of person's religion if you believe that those aspects are interfering with your life or denying you certain liberties. But I think making fun of the basic tenets of a belief seems kind of immature to me, like taking a religious symbol and making a cartoon out of it, or taking a quote out of a religious book and making fun of how crazy it sounds. We wouldnt make fun of a person's culture, would we, even if we thought that certain aspects of the culture are sexist or mysogenistic? Likewise, I dont go up to a Christian or Buddhist and say "your religion is a joke". For one thing, I've realized that no matter how hard you try to convince someone their belief system is illogical, outdated, etc, they usually wont become an atheist. And because they're happy the way the are, what good would it do?

kuu, i got love for you, and you can mock my idiot beliefs in science and that which can be felt, call my plants small, do as you wish, I choose to try and stir the pot, get some thought happening, debate is not a bad thing no matter how I got you here, how small minded not to want to hear other opinions or learn from someones experience or vision, arve you really so sure you are right, you'd better hope so cause you and anyone you influenced has suffered from not experiencing reality(my reality) and if 1 more stoner makes fun of santa, I'll be back ready to rant.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mojavpa

We wouldnt make fun of a person's culture, would we, even if we thought that certain aspects of the culture are sexist or mysogenistic?

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Why not? I hate sexism just as passionately as I hate racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination, and I see no reason to refrain from condemning sexist aspects of a society in any way I find effective. But you're right, childishly making fun of such things is unlikely to be very effective. Such issues need to be approached in an intelligent manner with well thought out arguments, however I don't see why all critiques of them should lack an element of humor. Humor can be an effective way of making a point, if you use it correctly.

No mocking, a lot of your points are valid. I enjoy discussion. I do not try to influence others, I'm not an evangelist. I'm just Me, a simple woman. I happen to have had some life experiences and some education that lead me to where I am now. A lot of things I enjoy you might not. That's what makes us all special in our own way. Some people like the country, some the city. Rational discussion, and friendly conversation make a much more pleasant world, helps us to understand one another and to appreciate our diversity. Understanding and acceptance of others can bridge the gaps between people. I understand we have things in common, that's good enough for me. Great place to start freindships. ;)

do you think they would still liike the city if they had a choice?