When has religion irked you personally and why?

An' smitin' people hip and thigh . . . what sort of idiocy is that ? ! ? ! ?

I mean, you go whackin' at some dude's legs when he's got a sword in his hand, he's as like to decapitate ya as spit . . .

Pure nonsense, you can tell the guys who wrote that was never in the army . . .

Cav,

For a while yesterday I didn't post because of your comments about this thread being hijacked.

But IMOSVHO, this thread has been a perfect example.

Of what irks people about religion?

Yes! Lol!

Thankee, I really wish you'd debate more. The times I've seen you do so were flawless.

Well, whatever. It started off okay, with some interesting content, but when maliagar started behaving like Jesus at a Friar's Club roast, I felt it was a bit over the top, despite how funny he thought it was. You just need to read this thread to see the animosity that brought on. No matter...

Well, Craven, you and maliagar seem to agree on that.

With any luck, maliager will return, and take up cav's suggestion that he start his own thread. We can talk to him about bible stories there. I know I'd miss the fun without him.




Now, can I talk about how Anglicans irk me?

I like Maliagar a lot. I used to be a theist and I used to share most of his arguments.

One of these days I'll try to get maliagar to switch sides with me in debate.

Setanta - are you implying that we more experienced women do not have potential?


Nuclear harrumph!!!!!!!


What Craven said about Monger - I love it when you join a debate, Monger.

I'm gonna shed on you, Setanta!

That would be way fun to see, Craven - you and Maliagar switching! We'd prolly have to get him drunk first, though...

Craven, however, when a thread like this turns from a discussion about personal experiences with one's religious upbringing into a 'will maliagar shut up already' endless diversion, the original point is lost. Not all of us are Catholics here, and we have all had different experiences with our own religions, and others, that irked us. What I meant by hijacking was that maliagar made this about Catholicism vs. the secular world, and that was not the intent of the thread. That just alienates people of other religions from posting, IMO. The irk factor of the continuing debate with maliagar, as a believer in a one true church has already been documented ad nauseum all over A2K, not just here. It just seemed time to get back on topic, and perhaps hear from some other people. You know, give the other kids a chance to play with the trains.

I fear not a little fur . . .

An' that whole virgin birth crap . . . oh come on ! ! !

I can just hear the real conversation:

"You throw up every morning, you can't fit into your prom dress, you eat everything in sight--even my matzohs, and after the nasty remarks you made about my cooking at the last Passover feast--don't you lie to me young lady!"

"What, filled with the Holy Spirit ? ! ? ! ? Oy, are you meshugenah? Maybe you think i am? It's that greasy carpenter from Bethlehem you've been running with, isn't it? Don't lie to me. Yahweh knows, you give your life's blood, you do everything for your children, and they stab you to the heart !"

Also, I would love to see maliagar and Craven in a debate together as well, just in a unique thread.

I wanted to open the debate room that way. I will if Mal's game.

Interestingly, I felt Maliagar had a real point when he arrived, Cav - that we (or I at least) were ignoring positive contributions of religion - but then, it WAS an "irked" thread! But 'twas squirming bait to any theist, no?

Heh heh, I suppose so, and if you go back, you will see that I originally felt he had a good point as well, for the same reasons. It was the smugness that crept in and the cheap shots that started bothering a lot of people. I would love to see a debate with maliagar on a specific point of biblical theory, that is where I think his strengths would be better served. The debate room would be perfect, and I would read with interest.

But back to what irks me about religion then:

I have seen religion used to deny me education, to justify the rape of the girls I knew as a child, to deny myself or my peers medical attention (one of my caretakers as a kid died this way), to justify any sexual perversion ("done in love").

I have seen religion used to justify illegal behavior ("tehy are persecuting us Christians"), to separate children from parents ("Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?") and to justify prostitution.

I really could go on forever. Religion has had an irksome history for me.

I wonder, does religion, at its worst, lend itself to irksomeness any more than other belief systems, like political ones - or psychological ones, for instance?

I tend to think not- it all depends on how much power a belief system is able to gain for itself - (if this question is not a digression...oops)

Craven, I am going to requote something here that maliagar wrote in another thread which I suggested a couple of pages ago would be a great thesis for debate, should he accept the challenge of posting it for debate:

maliagar wrote:

"Evidently, for some people, religion doesn't exist anymore. They fail to see to what extent they are also BELIEVERS, and to what extent their own personal hopes and passions hide deep (and in most cases, unconscious) acts of FAITH."

This pretty much sums up his theories with way less words than he tends to use. It is also an interesting statement.