To think that belief in Father Christmas is not comparable to religious belief.

[Throughthelongnight]

Just that really. I have noticed that the expectation is that we all go along with the pretence of FC for the sake of parent's children's sensibility, but the same is not afforded where religious belief is concerned.

But optimist you are dodging my questions again. I want to know if you think every single one of these verse about unbelievers (which are the word of God) do not mean what they say.

I want to know why you think you know who my allies are, and why a British person like you can assume your allies are different than Backonly's

And how you know what a non British person like me feels about race and American foreign policy.

Okay, I'm trying to get this all straight:

The Koran is the divine word of God, who is perfect, and he wrote it. Except for when what He wrote are incredibly offensive, immoral, disgusting, hateful, etc., and then this is all down to human interpretation.

The Koran is as meaningful and relevant and not needing of change as it was hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Except for all the bits that are mindbogglingly appalling and hateful, which, apparently is all down to interpretation.

The Koran is written so perfectly that no human could have created it, and its words and meanings are totally clear, except for when they are offensive, etc., etc., which is, yes, you guessed it, down to interpretation.

We non-believers are only being offended because we can't make our minds hold two utterly opposing things true at the same time: that a holy book is perfect, righteous and needs not the tiniest bit of change, as its words are absolute truths AND yet is simultaneously none of those and is purely a matter of subjective interpretation.

This would be the mental illness factors I have discussed previously. The correct term for this sort of thinking is called 'splitting', I believe.

Still, it's good to know that child rape is excusable if one looks hard enough for a context, AND that if it is culturally normal, it doesn't damage the victims as much as we'd think.

I wish someone had explained the cultural context to me before I signed all those anti-FGM petitions, because this line has made me realise that having your genitals cut off and sewn up so your husband can tear you open with a knife and rape the open wound, doesn't actually hurt the girls who it is done to because it is a cultural thing.

x 100000000000.

Surely you should realise there's something iffy about your religion when you find yourself justifying paedophilia on a parenting website, hmm?

And no-one answered my question yesterday about child rape: even if it was the cultural norm to rape your child bride, would it not still not make you a sick freak to enjoy, or even be capable of the act, considering how much incredibly obvious suffering, agony, fear and physical injury the act would cause?!

You can gussy it up all you want, but the man Muslims worship raped a child repeatedly and enjoyed it and encouraged other men to rape children. Culture can go fuck itself; paedophilia is paedophilia, no matter when or where it took place. Plenty of men at that time, and before repulsed by the very thought. Waffling on about his victim living to a good age and people naming their daughter after her is about as relevant as saying that the Holocaust wasn't that bad because you still get children called Miriam and Jacob in Germany.

Back, I didn't understand this bit:
Though generally the ridicule is brought to the party by those who make such ridiculous claims.

And this bit:
I know the comparison with other beliefs can also feel like ridicule, but you can hardly count that since to experience it as ridicule exposes the 'victim's' contempt for that other belief.

You have it right on all counts Anybags

Oh give over.
What a load of crap.
I am a green party member, not a fucking banker.
Any bags has got it spot on about the double think.

Btw, Muslims get around the usury thing with a bit of word play, don't they?

I repeat, what I have against Islam is the violence, bigotry and oppression of women.
And now the slippy slidy double think too.

i often wonder if the distrust of islam is because, really, the west wouldnt trust itself in the same position.

But you know full well crescent that mistrust of Islam is not just confined to the 'west'.

And not even everyone on this thread that disagrees with you is from the 'west'.

You are trying make out that disbelief in an imaginary god and distaste for the ideology and pholosophy of certain religions is due totally to being a 'westerner'. You realise your argument looks silly so you try to deflect the debate by saying if anyone disagrees with it, it is because of 'western' imperialism and history.

That does not work with me. I can vouch with myself that distrust of Islam is worlwide and encompasses all races and cultures.

Not to mention the barbaric muslim invasions of other lands and cultures in the past.

crescentmoon thanks for both of those links. Very interesting stuff.

Yes, they're rather quiet on their own history, aren't they?

Redshifter what do you think of the barbaric invasions of other lands and cultures by Britain?

I couldn't give a shit about Islam's stance on usury/interest.

I think it's stance on women's rights is rather more pressing.

Oxford could not possibly be more right if she* tried.

*Or he.

Redshifterwhat do you think of the barbaric invasions of other lands and cultures by Britain

I think very badly of them Dione, especially the barbaric invasion of my land my Britain.

I find it quite simple to be outraged both by the barbaric invasion other lands by western powers, and also by the iniquities of the Islamic regimes.........

Dione, what do you think of the barbaric invasions by Islam?

Curlew, quite.

That is why I find it so stupid when people try to tell me I dislike Islam because of being 'western'
And they tell me I am a racist. Well to me making an assumption about what race I am feels pretty racist in itself.

And I dislike Christianity too.

I blame everything on the Romans. The bastards.

Yeah! What did the Romans ever do for us?

Precisely.

Kittensoft, I can honestly say that I am opposed to barbaric invasions of any kind. I am opposed to the infliction of hurt on anyone.

How do you feel about hurting people?

Have you seen the life of brian, crescent? You should.

I think that hurting people's feelings can be the lesser of 2 evils.