tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6716704807614669802024-03-13T00:49:16.806+00:00A man without God is like a fish without a bicycleThese are my random thoughts. You may find them interesting, amusing, quotable, irritating, infuriating or downright insulting. I don't care. But I do welcome your feedback, whatever.John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-24879239427501506242023-05-02T05:35:00.004+00:002023-05-02T05:35:43.147+00:00Given up<p> I gave up posting on this blog when Google started censoring my posts. What I posted should not have offended anyone with a brain but clearly Google does not believe in free speech. Sad.</p>John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-88423086002866477072016-05-14T13:04:00.000+00:002016-05-14T13:04:04.688+00:00Representing the peopleIt is a common misconception that senior clerics should be invited to conferences, symposiums, etc. because they "represent" the views of the people who attend their churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.<br />
<br />
Nothing could be further than the truth.<br />
<br />
These people are never elected by the ordinary faithful. They are appointed because they are seen by other senior clerics as being worthwhile to the interests of the particular organised religion. The Pope was not elected by the Catholic Churches 1.25 billion followers in some sort of democratic process - he was chosen by a bunch of other senior clerics within the church, from one of their number.<br />
<br />
The only sense in which any senior cleric can be said to represent the views of his church members is that he probably instructs those followers what their views must be. So if the Pope says 1.25 billion Catholics oppose contraception, what he is actually saying is that he opposes it, and then tells the 1.25 billion Catholics that they must oppose it too.<br />
<br />
Religious leaders should not be invited to forums to represent their followers. If they are invited at all it must be clearly on the understanding that the views they represent are those of the other senior clerics of their religion. For a truly elected-by-the-people representative you'd be better inviting the latest pop idol.John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-7694397992874823842016-02-11T11:56:00.000+00:002016-02-11T11:56:36.866+00:00How strong is your faith?I've been musing about how strongly people actually take their faith.<br />
<br />
Facebook is often bombarded by images, supposedly of Jesus (though looking nothing like what scientists believe would have been his appearance) with the caption "Do you love me?" or "Will you praise me?", etc.<br />
<br />
The idea seems to be that you show your faith by sharing the image. I'm not clear what the purpose of this is - do they believe their God monitors Facebook to see how many people share these images? Do you get priority in Heaven for more than 10,000 shares?<br />
<br />
They do it anyway, but isn't it all too easy? Anyone can Like or Share a Facebook posting, but that's not really a good test of anyone's faith. I have a better idea.<br />
<br />
The Romans used to throw Christians to The Lions. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9Ys3oO0Q7MxwuqNjhse4lzIqZMBLB2gxAToSgCHwTCRIL8Uqu_C24Bt9nhaNsaFa6ZrMQjwldEHtUEK2kP0Ti1ieu5dsZH_K3LUDS2f14E2OQMubm2Kncc_7Dvg_F5C2538ExLf81UoG/s1600/8325112922_58408e60c6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9Ys3oO0Q7MxwuqNjhse4lzIqZMBLB2gxAToSgCHwTCRIL8Uqu_C24Bt9nhaNsaFa6ZrMQjwldEHtUEK2kP0Ti1ieu5dsZH_K3LUDS2f14E2OQMubm2Kncc_7Dvg_F5C2538ExLf81UoG/s1600/8325112922_58408e60c6.jpg" /></a></div>
Anyone who recanted was freed - the rest had to face being torn to pieces. Now that's a <u>real </u>test of faith. How many of our Facebook God-squad would stick to their faith if the choice was between recanting or dying horribly? Very few, I'm sure.<br />
<br />
Catherine tells me that actually throwing Christians to The Lions would "raise certain Human Rights issues" so maybe we can't do it for real, but I challenge everyone who wants to Like or Share a Facebook Jesus meme to ask themselves this simple question - if Liking or Sharing this would get you eaten, would you still do it?John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-81353241844343883762016-01-27T09:05:00.002+00:002016-01-27T09:24:04.882+00:00Excellent BBC article explaining, in simple terms, how evolution works... and hence why creationists are talking rubbish!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150803-how-do-we-know-evolution-is-real">http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150803-how-do-we-know-evolution-is-real</a>
John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-43446240940425819512015-12-16T10:40:00.006+00:002015-12-16T10:40:55.236+00:00How Jesus really looked?If you read this: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/12/15/jesus-face-recreated-scientists-skulls_n_8809466.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/12/15/jesus-face-recreated-scientists-skulls_n_8809466.html</a> you will see that, if Jesus ever actually existed, he probably looked like this:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWZ0DHGZMvnx18xGmpxGi0UYjZK5Ox7onjB9HEQNu-31dyP27Z8pKSRlRqOUf5eI0t_7P3_Z0vhxjQW4WVDFUAUdks6yYDZOsvUl17LoDq2TKHLsri3JiT6l3bF4lapcLIQEhvn0Lxr92/s1600/o-JESUS-570.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWZ0DHGZMvnx18xGmpxGi0UYjZK5Ox7onjB9HEQNu-31dyP27Z8pKSRlRqOUf5eI0t_7P3_Z0vhxjQW4WVDFUAUdks6yYDZOsvUl17LoDq2TKHLsri3JiT6l3bF4lapcLIQEhvn0Lxr92/s1600/o-JESUS-570.jpg" /></a><br />
Not quite the picture on your Sunday School wall, is it? And can you imagine what would happen if a chap looking like this turned up in a US airport right now? He'd probably be arrested as a suspected terrorist!<br />
<br />
Not that it matters because Jesus probably never existed anyway:<br />
<div>
<span class="125555510-22012013"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/18/did-historical-jesus-exist-the-traditional-evidence-doesnt-hold-up/" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/18/did-historical-jesus-exist-the-traditional-evidence-doesnt-hold-up/</a></span></span></div>
John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-14387717740380149262015-11-01T13:03:00.002+00:002015-11-01T13:03:15.274+00:00Should I be put to death?It's Sunday, and I'm working.<br />
<br />
Now the Bible is entirely clear about the sabbath. In the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-12) we read:<br />
<i>Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work : but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates : for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day : wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.</i><br />
<br />
[American version, note: "shalt thou labor" not "shalt thou labour", even thought America didn't exist when King James authorised this Bible. Are you allowed to tamper with it like that? But I digress....]<br />
<br />
[Also note: how the f*#k do you stop cattle from doing work? Or, for that matter, how do you <u>start </u>them doing it? But I digress....again]<br />
<br />
In Exodus 32:14 we read:<br />
<i>Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore ; for it is holy unto you. Every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death : for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.</i><br />
<br />
Well I'm definitely working. Whether that defiles the sabbath or not I don't know, so whether I get put to death or just "cut off" (ostracised, I assume) I'm not clear.<br />
<br />
But, hold on a minute. All of this is in the Old Testament, written for the Jews. Their sabbath runs from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. So surely this rule only applies to that period?<br />
<br />
Or does the rule vary according to your religion. If I were a Musilm I couldn't work from sundown on Thurday to sundown on Friday. If I were a Christian I couldn't work on a Sunday (00:00h to 23:59h).<br />
<br />
But I'm not any of these. I'm not Jewish; I'm not a Christian; I'm not a Muslim; I'm an atheist. So obviously the rule doesn't apply to me and I can work 24/7 if I want.<br />
<br />
<b>In which case why I am I restricted in what I can do by St. Helena's Sunday Trading laws?</b>John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-87673316803095140852015-10-21T12:35:00.002+00:002015-10-21T12:35:43.705+00:00No further comment required<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCHWVC_oXiFWLMRpvKE4T8yaRlpRoUcNrjxRDyl7JncrzkEmn3659VqAxpXI_6Pr_IFkLMkmGT1qsxyiOKIp4t9jtBTRTM-T5nkbmsM8QKapn7CqcgQvEc3t0r6nCyGLQU-DJzP18b1yV/s1600/12039141_929653287121531_605867916197252395_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCHWVC_oXiFWLMRpvKE4T8yaRlpRoUcNrjxRDyl7JncrzkEmn3659VqAxpXI_6Pr_IFkLMkmGT1qsxyiOKIp4t9jtBTRTM-T5nkbmsM8QKapn7CqcgQvEc3t0r6nCyGLQU-DJzP18b1yV/s320/12039141_929653287121531_605867916197252395_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-91010250329365725792015-10-12T09:38:00.000+00:002015-10-12T09:38:00.746+00:00The Bible and Same-sex Marriage<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The Bible is often quoted by those that
oppose same-sex marriage, and indeed gay-ness in general. And they are entirely right – in Leviticus 18:22
is says “<i>No man is to have sexual
relations with another man; God hates that.</i>” (Note, by the way, that it doesn’t mention
women.)</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">But I often wonder why these people haven’t
noticed that it also says it's desirable to keep slaves, that unicorns exist,
and that a rape victim should be stoned to death.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Don’t believe me? OK:</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListBullet">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: navy; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Deuteronomy 20: 10/11 “<i>When you go to attack a city, first give its
people a chance to surrender. If they open the gates and surrender, they are
all to become your slaves and do forced labour for you.</i>” (And , by the way, if they don’t surrender,
you slaughter them.) Exactly how anyone reconciles attacking cities with “Love
thy neighbour” is a mystery to me.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListBullet">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: navy; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Unicorns get nine mentions. How about Numbers 23:22 “<i>God brought them out of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>
; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn.</i>” Or Isaiah 34:7 “<i>And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the
bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with
fatness.</i>” Also note that later, in
Isaiah 34:13, we read “<i>And thorns shall
come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof : and it
shall be a habitation of <u>dragons</u>, and a court for owls.</i>”</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListBullet">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: navy; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Deuteronomy 22:23/24 says: “<i>Suppose a man is caught in a town having
intercourse with a young woman who is engaged to someone else. You are to take
them outside the town and stone them to death.</i>” And then helpfully explains
“<i>She is to die because she did not cry
out for help</i>”. And, by the way, in
verse 28/29 we read “<i>Suppose a man is
caught raping a young woman who is not engaged. He is to pay her father the bride
price of fifty pieces of silver, and she is to become his wife, because he
forced her to have intercourse with him.</i>”
Being forced to marry your rapist?</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Other things it says is that believers
should:</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListBullet">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: navy; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Not eat shellfish [Leviticus
11:12 “<i>Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales
in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.</i>”];</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListBullet">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: navy; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Not wear clothes made of more
than one material [Leviticus 19:19 “<i>Do
not crossbreed domestic animals. Do not plant two kinds of seed in the same
field. Do not wear clothes made of two kinds of material.</i>”]; and </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListBullet">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: navy; font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Not shave their beard
[Leviticus 19: 27 “<i>Do not cut the hair on
the sides of your head or trim your beard.</i>”]. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">And here’s one you should consider before
driving: Leviticus 24:19 “<i>If any of you
injure another person, whatever you have done shall be done to you.</i>”</span></div>
<div class="MsoListBullet">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-GB">But,
I hear you say, “<i>we don’t believe that
those rules still apply today</i>”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">OK, then, who decides what applies today
and what doesn’t? Who decides that “Love
thy neighbour” applies and stoning rape victims doesn’t? Did God send another prophet that nobody has
told me about?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">What if I decide that I like the “Love thy
neighbour” bit, but I want to ignore the whole believe-in-God bit? Why can I not call myself a Christian?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It’s all just nonsense. Either this is your Holy Book, in which case
you have to follow <b>ALL </b>of it, or it’s just a collection of stories. I’m quite happy with the latter, but if so
stop quoting it at me when I want to legalise same-sex marriage.</span></div>
John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-62724307188330845142015-10-07T09:07:00.002+00:002015-10-07T09:07:51.474+00:00God tells you how to dressIn our local Baptist Church hall a week or so ago a friend picked up a booklet which was clearly put there for visitors to read, entitled "What should I wear?" I've set out below some extracts from it:<br />
<br />
"<i>When Christians wear styles that expose, rather than cover the body, they dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ.</i>"<br />
<br />
"<i>Brief, tight, or otherwise revealing clothing is designed to accentuate those parts of the body which God intended to be hidden from sight.</i>"<br />
<br />
"<i>Enticing clothing, a product of our sexually permissive society, has been directly linked with the increase in rape, sexual abuse and other sex-related crimes.</i>"<br />
<br />
"<i>In today's permissive society where perversion is on the increase, men sometimes dress as women and vice versa.</i>"<br />
<br />
"<i>The trend towards sloppiness and carelessness in casual dress is an extreme which every Christian should avoid.</i>"<br />
<br />
"<i>T-Shirts [bearing] the names of rock groups or alcoholic drinks, and symbols depicting death, destruction and violence should be avoided.</i>"<br />
<br />
"<i>... excessive make-up can definitely associate us with the wrong element of society.</i>"<br />
<br />
"<i>A man should always be distinguishable as a man by his short hair, and a woman should always be distinguishable as a woman by her long hair.</i>"<br />
<br />
Now apart from asking why our Baptists are peddling this crap in 2015, I thought you might want to know when this leaflet was produced.<br />
<br />
1800's? 1950s? No, it was <u>first</u> printed in 1990! So in Danville, IL. 61832 USA the people of "Grace & Truth" apparently still believe this stuff and think it is their mission from God to foist it on others.<br />
<br />
I despair.John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-70828958849192311202015-10-05T09:08:00.002+00:002015-10-05T09:08:28.596+00:00Cr*p on FacebookMy Facebook friends (<i>though not usually the ones I actually know - I accept Friend requests from everyone, whether I actually know them or not. Who knows, they may be interesting! ... but I digress.</i>) keep sharing stuff like this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPP0fNz0EKdVq4ddr8wgrUxM9xDnJgVvIs2YRUxbf2itGw8pEHU54H3FxGaYB15xUZvxeT5HBBhRT7kQlRswWS73ZTYEl7Z-0baP5TAl2zqGThIKtv6L_VUpYtvMkRF8JxQ2mT1Tr04rR/s1600/12039186_10153053559425919_412508331940243964_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPP0fNz0EKdVq4ddr8wgrUxM9xDnJgVvIs2YRUxbf2itGw8pEHU54H3FxGaYB15xUZvxeT5HBBhRT7kQlRswWS73ZTYEl7Z-0baP5TAl2zqGThIKtv6L_VUpYtvMkRF8JxQ2mT1Tr04rR/s320/12039186_10153053559425919_412508331940243964_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
What am I supposed to do with it. I don't believe there is a God, ever was a God or ever will be, so the proposition is entirely meaningless to me.<br />
<br />
I've tried adding a witty Comment, but the result is usually that the perpetrator Unfriends me - which itself is interesting because it suggests that such people can only be friends with someone who shares their (to my mind, ridiculous) beliefs. What narrow lives they must lead!<br />
<br />
I've tried setting "Do not see posts from <<originator>>" (my 'friends' never generate these things themselves - they just recycle other people's stuff.) The problem is that there seem to be too many originators. There must be vast factories churning out this stuff, probably in the American Bible Belt.<br />
<br />
So why do people post stuff like this to others they don't even know? Are they trying to convert me? I suspect not - they don't even know me or what I believe. <br />
<br />
I think they re-post these messages to reassure themselves of their own beliefs. A bit like buying a Volvo and then reading all the Volvo ads.<br />
<br />
Or maybe they were too hung-over last Sunday to go to church and now feel guilty so re-post one of these messages to make up for it. <br />
<br />
Or maybe there is so little of value in their lives they can't find anything more interesting to post.<br />
<br />
Whatever the reason, I wish they wouldn't.<br />
<br />John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-49654832016034334262015-09-11T09:55:00.002+00:002015-09-11T09:55:25.642+00:00The puzzle of prayer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7T0FVkVc1D0kiGpUwdgMNX2b-tio9iR3p5tDx3v1fwWgFKla-Zjmm2oX96nqTzitmjn8k7CQkPa631u79Y70eYNtfBSExDFTVJRm3rFvFXQi6nzTMJ24znn4Cw5d8uUdYhyWljZ-owy0s/s1600/no+prayer%252C+no+help.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7T0FVkVc1D0kiGpUwdgMNX2b-tio9iR3p5tDx3v1fwWgFKla-Zjmm2oX96nqTzitmjn8k7CQkPa631u79Y70eYNtfBSExDFTVJRm3rFvFXQi6nzTMJ24znn4Cw5d8uUdYhyWljZ-owy0s/s320/no+prayer%252C+no+help.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Maybe someone can explain this to me.John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-3032747135266413882015-09-01T10:49:00.001+00:002015-09-01T10:49:20.578+00:00Damned if you do, ...The Christian Right must be in a quandary today.
There's a news item (The London Times has it) that British scientists have found a very old copy of the Koran and carbon dated it. Apparently it was written before the prophet Mohammed founded Islam. That would be an interesting discovery, but that's not what I find amusing.
The Christian Right would no doubt love to promote this story. They could use it to claim that Islam is a sham. BUT they also hate Carbon Dating, because it proves that the world was not created by God waving his hand in 4004 BC, as they all want to believe.
So accept Carbon Dating, damn Islam, but have to row back from Creationism?
Or bury the whole story?
I wonder what they will decide?
PS: Fox News, known to be somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan, is carrying it.....John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-14270622731717477422015-05-15T12:38:00.002+00:002015-05-15T12:38:57.026+00:00God says ...I am God and I created you.<br />
<br />
I created you with original sin.<br />
<br />
Because you sinned, I decided that you had to be put to death.<br />
<br />
To save you from death, I impregnated a woman and was born as myself so that I could die and atone to myself for the sins I gave you.<br />
<br />
I am God and I am infallible.<br />
<br />
<i>Just not very sensible.</i><br />
<br />John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-84169409442425316022015-03-31T09:37:00.000+00:002015-03-31T09:37:02.277+00:00Religious bigotry backfires!<div>
The "Good People" (for which read, religious zealots) of Indiana, USA, have just passed something called the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ". Their objective was to allow businesses and individuals to deny services to gays on religious grounds - a classic piece of legal bigotry that could only have been allowed in the USA.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But their hastily constructed legislation has a flaw. And that flaw has been exploited. By the "First Church of Cannabis Inc." - an organisation which 'believes' that smoking pot is part of its religion. Smoking pot is illegal in Indiana, but under the new law that can be overridden in the case of a religious observance.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
So while attempting to legalise discrimination against gays, the zealots have actually opened the door to legal pot smoking.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Cool!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Read the full story here: <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/whoops-indianas-anti-gay-religious-freedom-act-opens-the-door-for-the-first-church-of-cannabis/#.VRilUGzjKdI.reddit">http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/whoops-indianas-anti-gay-religious-freedom-act-opens-the-door-for-the-first-church-of-cannabis/#.VRilUGzjKdI.reddit</a></div>
John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-16387178643843661582015-03-25T08:58:00.003+00:002015-03-25T08:58:28.840+00:00Religion gets in the wayOn Friday 3rd April a cruise ship is visiting St. Helena. Normally all the shops would be open to meet the tourists' demand for souvenirs. <a href="http://moonbeamsforall.com/" target="_blank">Moonbeams Shop</a> certainly would have been. But not this time, because Friday 3rd April is Good Friday, and therefore a Public Holiday, and the Public Holidays Ordinance says that all "shops, offices, workshops and factories" must be closed.<br />
<br />
The Governor could, under the Public Holidays Ordinance, have moved the date on which Good Friday was celebrated. The Ordinance explicitly mentions him doing so for "ship visits". But he decided not to, presumably because of the outcry from the Church that would have resulted.<br />
<br />
So once again, religion is standing in the way of ordinary people going about their ordinary lives. <br />
<br />
I hope the tourists enjoy their souvenir-free day. Those who are Christians may understand - the Muslims, Jews, Atheists, etc. may feel somewhat hard done by, being forced to observe a religious rite that is not their own. No wonder Christianity is held with such suspicion by all non-Christians.John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-34890299455657444822015-03-21T13:31:00.001+00:002015-03-21T13:36:56.466+00:00Presbyterian Church (USA) changes its constitution to include gay marriageThe Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest body of Presbyterians in the country, approved a change in the wording of its constitution to allow gay and lesbian weddings within the church.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.standard.net/Faith/2015/03/21/Presbyterian-Church-USA-changes-its-constitution-to-include-gay-marriage">http://www.standard.net/Faith/2015/03/21/Presbyterian-Church-USA-changes-its-constitution-to-include-gay-marriage</a><br />
<br />
<i>A small gleam of intelligence in an otherwise dim religious world?</i><br />
<br />
The nation’s largest denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church and most evangelical churches, recognize marriage only as between a man and a woman. The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ allow same-sex marriage. The debate has roiled the United Methodist Church, another mainline denomination. Property disputes and litigation that have occupied the Episcopal Church in the past decade are now taking place among some Presbyterian churches.John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-89352650858305494242015-02-23T08:45:00.002+00:002015-02-23T08:45:14.913+00:00"The Christmas story is a fact"<div class="MsoNormal">
This weekend I spent some time working with
a recording taken of the last five hours of Radio St. Helena. I was editing it down for use on
<a href="http://sainthelenaisland.info/radiosthelena.htm">http://sainthelenaisland.info/radiosthelena.htm</a> if it matters, which it doesn't
really, except that it meant I ended up listening to an address by the
"Lord Bishop" <i>{stupid title - Bishops don't get to sit in the House
of Lords, or at least, ours doesn't, I'm sure - but I digress.}</i> Specifically I
was listening to Bishop Fenwick's 2012 Christmas Address.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It's not something I would normally bother
with. I try to avoid all official messages from any type of church leaders
because they usually make me cross. But
this one made me laugh. Out loud. I woke up my son, Harry - he was not best
pleased. And what was the reason for
this early morning hilarity? It was the
sentence "the Christmas story is a fact".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Yes, he really did say that - I rewound it
and checked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Now if he'd said "The Christmas story
is a beautiful tale" I would not have batted an eyelid. It is, after all, a fairly charming bit of
nonsense. But a fact? Literally true. All of it?
What, I found myself thinking, is this guy on?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">So I listened a bit more and discovered
that our Bishop professes to believe - and therefore probably does - that the
events told in the Christmas story actually happened, exactly as described in the New Testament. Incredible!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I should say immediately that I have
nothing against Bishop Fenwick as a person.
He seems to be a charming man. It’s
his beliefs I’m questioning. And they wouldn't
bother me if it wasn't for the fact [NB the verifiable fact] that the church
here is allowed special privileges and is involved in the running of
Government. One of the vicars is, for
example, on the Board that runs the 'Extractor', our Government-funded fishing
boat which hasn't actually done any fishing for about six months because of a
dispute between said Board and the fishermen who were supposed to crew it. I'm
not sure why a churchman should be on this board. He has never, to my
knowledge, been a fisherman, or maybe never even been fishing. Maybe it's because Jesus is claimed to have
said "I will make you fishers of men"?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">My point is: do we really need people who
believe the Christmas myth to be literal fact involved in running the
island? What next - mediums and
astrologers? Didn't do the Romans much good, that didn't!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Still I suppose maybe it explains, at least
partially, why our Government is in the mess it's in.</span></div>
John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-37296994896920817572015-01-03T11:22:00.001+00:002015-01-03T11:22:46.033+00:00Newtonmass<br />
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg/220px-GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Isaac Newton" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg/220px-GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689.jpg" title="Isaac Newton" /></a>Did you celebrate Christmas? I didn't. I celebrated Newtonmass. </div>
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton" target="_blank">Isaac Newton</a>, whose work on mechanics is still in use nearly 300 years after his death, was born on 25th December 1642. He is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica ("Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"), first published in 1687, laid the foundations for classical mechanics. Newton made seminal contributions to optics, and he shares credit with Gottfried Leibniz for the development of calculus.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
And the best thing is - he really WAS born on 25th December, unlike the other chap whose birth date is not truly known and whose birth is celebrated on 25th December simply because the early church took over an existing Pagan festival on the same(ish) date.<br />
<br />John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-34429208789591543652014-11-28T11:08:00.001+00:002014-11-28T11:08:34.265+00:00If you talk to God...... then you're Religious, and there's nothing particularly wrong with that.<br />
<br />
But if you believe God talks back to you, you probably have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis" target="_blank">Psychosis</a> and you need to see a doctor.<br />
<br />
<i>Just trying to be helpful ... !</i><br />
<br />John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-88943429359609461892014-11-03T12:05:00.000+00:002014-11-03T12:05:19.434+00:00A Lesbian PopeAs you may have gathered, the Church on St. Helena is making a fuss about the possible legalisation of same-sex marriage here. I came across this picture, from the American campaign, which I like:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8a5PTGF__gbV3vtq6rl1mYzPqGehb3xG5cAvZdp5tRklJ1KmbxBiHCxqWCg2GLo7C3x-QXwmlFpJRXvZvYY_APKTw3ZgYk7Fgx7VOSzZj5vixVEmKpyBYBC8dtnq_M7BOuH60p9SAVOp/s1600/liberty-justice-talking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8a5PTGF__gbV3vtq6rl1mYzPqGehb3xG5cAvZdp5tRklJ1KmbxBiHCxqWCg2GLo7C3x-QXwmlFpJRXvZvYY_APKTw3ZgYk7Fgx7VOSzZj5vixVEmKpyBYBC8dtnq_M7BOuH60p9SAVOp/s1600/liberty-justice-talking.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
But the best comment was from my son, Andrew, who said the other day:<br />
"<i>I won't take the Catholics seriously until they elect a lesbian Pope.</i>"<br />
<br />
Says it all, really ...John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-18019094805048077772014-10-28T11:03:00.002+00:002014-10-28T11:03:37.117+00:00Is the Bible still useful in the 21st Century?I don't know. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But if you consider that it refers to Unicorns four times and Dragons thirty-six times it may be difficult to argue!</div>
John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-29846253328530135162014-10-23T14:01:00.001+00:002014-10-23T14:01:22.968+00:00The Bible seems to promote killingJust out of curiosity I got a .pdf copy of the entire King James Bible and did some scanning.<div>
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<div>
The phrase "thou shalt not kill" appears in four different places.</div>
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The instruction that someone should "be put to death" appears a total of 57 times.</div>
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So please don't try to tell me that Christianity is all peace and love!</div>
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John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-12319591052312557012014-10-18T10:30:00.001+00:002014-10-18T10:30:45.671+00:00The Bible a definitive source - I think not!In this week's Sentinel, Pastor Graham Beckett writes in the Faith Matters page:<br />
"<i>I am only interested in what the Bible has to say on the subject, anything else is 'suspect'.</i>"<br />
<br />
This amused me because I can't imagine a more unreliable source! Let me explain why.<br />
(I'm going to quote extensively here <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible#Apocryphal_or_deuterocanonical_books" target="_blank">from the Wikipedia</a>.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>There is no single "Bible" and many Bibles with varying contents exist. Ever heard of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible#Apocryphal_or_deuterocanonical_books" target="_blank">the Apocrapha</a>? These are the books that were rejected by the Council of Trent in 1545–1563 as being "not correct". But there is no universal agreement among Christians worldwide as to which of these should be 'in' and which 'out'. So, depending on which Christian church you belong to, you get a different Bible.</li>
<li>There is precious little original text in the Bible. What we have in the Bible that most Christians on St. Helena would recognize is an English translation from a collection of documents written in a variety of other languages, not one of which is demonstrably attributable to its original author. Take, for example, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Matthew" target="_blank">Gospel of Matthew</a>. Supposedly written by one of Jesus' disciples, but apparently not! "Most scholars believe the Gospel of Matthew was composed between 80 and 90. The anonymous author was probably a highly educated Jew, intimately familiar with the technical aspects of Jewish law, and the disciple Matthew was probably honored within his circle. According to the majority of modern scholars, the author drew on three main sources to compose his gospel: the Gospel of Mark; the hypothetical collection of sayings known as the Q source; and material unique to his own community, called "Special Matthew", or the M source." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Mark" target="_blank">The Gospel of Mark</a> is no better. "Most modern scholars reject the tradition which ascribes it to Mark the Evangelist, the companion of Peter, and regard it as the work of an unknown author working with various sources including collections of miracle stories, controversy stories, parables, and a passion narrative." <b>NOTHING </b>was written by anyone who actually knew Jesus, let alone interacted with him!</li>
<li>The old testament is no better. Most of the events it portrays happened many centuries before they were written down. What we have is based on hearsay - not one word of it would be accepted in court as evidence!</li>
<li>When King James I in 1611 set out to create his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorized_King_James_Version" target="_blank">Authorized Version</a> England was in religious turmoil. Henry VIII had abandoned Catholicism and set up the Church of England, then his heirs kept switching the country back and forwards between Protestantism (Edward VI), then back to Catholicism (Mary I) and then back to Protestantism (Elizabeth I). The country was, to say the least, divided. So what James 'authorized' was based far more on political expediency than it was on any sincere religious belief. And yet all our modern translations of the bible are based on it.</li>
</ul>
<br />
I could go on but I think I've proved my point. You could probably argue that <a href="http://www.sthelenabahai.org/" target="_blank">the Bahai's</a> are the only ones with demonstrably valid holy texts - their prophet was around in the middle 19th Century so what he said and did was documented at the time and even appeared in newspapers. <br />
<br />
Pastor Beckett would probably say that the bible is inspired by God so it must be prefect, but that seems to be a circular argument:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I know of God through the bible</li>
<li>God created the bible so I could know about him</li>
</ul>
<br />
As Luke 1 puts it: "<i>Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order <b><u>a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us</u></b>, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, <b><u>that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed</u></b>.</i>"[my emphasis]<br />
<br />
The bible isn't an objective document. It was written by people who believed, to convince others to believe also. It cannot possibly be considered a definitive source.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-78749991579012733162014-10-17T08:43:00.001+00:002014-10-17T08:45:12.424+00:00Church gets its knickers in a twist over gay marriage<div class="MsoNormal">
The Anglican Church in St. Helena (or, at least, prominent members of it - I don't know if there have been any official announcements) seems to be getting its knickers in a
twist over gay marriage. More specifically it is apparently opposing the creation of our new Human Rights and Equalities Commission because it believes this will promote gay marriage, same-sex adoption and other sinful practices.</div>
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<br /></div>
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For anyone who spends their Sunday morning on their knees, I've got news for you:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="color: red;">Our Constitution, implemented in 2009, already legalises gay marriage, same-sex adoption, etc.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part 2 (5) says "<i>every person in St Helena is entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, that is to say, has the right, without distinction of any kind, such as sex, <b><span style="color: red;">sexual orientation</span></b>, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, age, disability, birth or other status...</i>" [my emphasis]</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p>So if you offer marriage, adoption, etc. to 'straight' couples, you have to offer it to gay ones as well.</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p>And the Constitution is our 'super-law'. If any Ordinance does not agree with the Constitution, that Ordinance must be changed. So gay marriage and same-sex adoption <b><i><span style="color: red;">are already legal in St. Helena</span></i></b>.</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p>The only way in which the </o:p></span>Human Rights and Equalities Commission would get involved was if our Government denied a gay couple their rights under the Constitution.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So is that a reason o oppose the setting up of the Human Rights and Equalities Commission? It damn well shouldn't be!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe our Church has other motives? Maybe they oppose anyone having any rights other than those set out in their bible - a 1,500 year-old document of dubious origins. Or maybe they're just mad. Who knows?</div>
John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-671670480761466980.post-64539171209499468522014-10-15T14:00:00.003+00:002014-10-15T14:01:37.076+00:00Sh*t happensPeople's reasoning sometimes amazes me. Take this simple piece of logic. A person believes in God. The God he believes in is caring and omnipotent (can do anything). But if so, how come there is evil in the world (defined as "bad things that happen"). Bit of a problem, that one. If this God is really caring and omnipotent, wouldn't he banish evil? So is he not caring, or is he not omnipotent?<br />
<br />
If you find that hard to follow, try this: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodicy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodicy</a>! (Now far did you get? I gave up in the 3rd paragraph.)<br />
<br />
To me it's all very simple:<br />
1) there is no God<br />
2) sh*t happens<br />
The end<br />
<br />
Why complicate things?<br />
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John Turnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00585789836924455074noreply@blogger.com0