Cinema ban on the Lord's Prayer

[Leafitout]

Surely if anyone finds this advert offensive they can choose not to watch it. I can't see the problem with showing it.

I enjoy time off for Christmas & Easter yes, as my ancestors did before Christians hijacked their festivals. I don't celebrate Christmas & Easter, I celebrate the midwinter festival when the days are at their darkest & summer seems a long time away & I celebrate the festival of new life & warmer days in the spring. It has nothing to do with gods. I don't celebrate Ra making the sun rise every morning & I don't make offerings to Freyja on Fridays so why would I celebrate parts of other religions that are equally nonsensical for me. If you ever see me burning a pagan at the stake because they have a pet cat then feel free to step in!

I had a Christian friend who insisted on praying for my soul & her answer to my atheism was 'well God believes in you Midnight'. When confronted with people like this is it any wonder that sometimes atheists lose patience when their views are not respected.

Anyone can pray for me because it makes no difference. You could pray that my legs fall off but I assure you they wouldn't & for those of us who do not recognise the power of prayer, being prayed for is just irritating. Pray for what you like but don't involve me.

"Bertrand you're being a big childish. It's the general theme on most threads. Do you want me to be copying and pasting all day? "

Nope. 3 minutes should do it.

Redstrawberry so you recognise there is hostility then?.....and all because we take time off for Christmas and Easter? I would have thought this was the least of reasons to be hostile to Christianity.

No, as reading the thread would demonstrate. Try the right to discriminate against children of non-Christians in school admissions, Christianity being presented as the default and fact through the requirement for collective worship in schools, seats reserved in the legislature, state funding for Christian chaplains in hospitals...

That's before you get into the privileges and protections afforded to all regions that don't exist for those who don't believe in any deities.

I am grateful to live in a Christian country, without Christianity we wouldn't enjoy the liberties and freedom of speech that so many of us take for granted.

I don't think having a state religion promotes liberty. The state mandates Christian worship in the schools. How does that promote liberty and freedom of speech? Quite the opposite, I would think.

"Yes Christmas, Easter, church weddings its all fine and lovely, but someone praying from someone, how dare they!! confused"

Wel, time of work is lovely.
And the point is people praying for someone despite having been specifically asked not to how dare they. And I stick to that.

"Christianity is singled out when we talk about the role of faith in our society because it is th only religion that has inbuilt legally sanctioned privilege.

When we are talking at a broader, philosophical level, the all religions are treated equally. There are more Christians and ex Christians posting though, so Christianity is bound to come up more."

you're being a big childish. It's the general theme on most threads. Do you want me to be copying and pasting all day?

It should be pretty easy to find one example then, no?

so you recognise there is hostility then?

Sure. And it's a different hostility towards other religions. The claim earlier was that people wouldn't dare criticize islam, but it happens all the time.

and all because we take time off for Christmas and Easter?

ummm, no. It's because of the lords spiritual, collective worship and faith schools mainly. But keep in mind that I couldn't care less about christmas, and I would much prefer to take that day off at some other time of the year (assuming I get a fixed number of days off).

What would you have us do? abandon our faith?

No. How about just saying that we (christians) have privileges other groups don't, which is unjust, and they should be rescinded? That's it. That's all I want. I am asking for equality.

without Christianity

oh come now. Christianity just offered the least resistance to modernity. it didn't help it.

C of e privelige' has been quoted over and over again.I haven't read other religions being mentioned. Hence it seems, Christianity is being singled out.

Given it's a thread about CofE advertising, I'm not terribly surprised that it might have focused on Christianity. But when examples that talk about 'religion' are cited as attacks on Christianity specifically (and even that they're leaving Islam alone!), then people are either lazy, disingenuous or a bit blinkered about their own religion.

Here's a thought. I'll say CofE when I mean CofE, Christianity when I mean Christianity, and religion when I mean religion.

I'm racking my brains for an example from the last century where the Church of England, or any other major Christian church, was at the forefront of fighting for reforms that would increase freedom or equality (as opposed to individual Christians who were advocates for change despite the stance of their religious institutions).

Women's suffrage? No, opposed it and supported the Cat and Mouse Act.

Gay rights? Still fighting equality there.

Education reforms? Only where there was a chance to get some cash and influence.

Equal rights for women? Erm...

Slavery?...... No.

People will say that many Christians were great social reformers. And that is true. But the Church, as an institution, was most definitely not -it stood shoulder to shoulder with other institutions to maintain the status quo.

without Christianity we wouldn't enjoy the liberties and freedom of speech that so many of us take for granted.
like the liberty to have an abortion in NI and therefore be treated equally with women in the rest of the UK?
Or do you mean the liberty to protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy and STD's if you live in a "Catholic country" ...... no can't mean that either.

" It is fair game apparently. Use the same comments about other Religions and I think you'd be accused of being a bigot."

Did you miss the fact that this point has been made several times already on this thread and disproved?

Use the same comments about other Religions and I think you'd be accused of being a bigot.

Perhaps. Perhaps if I said belief in Allah is like belief in Santa, I would be called a bigot. But they would be wrong to call me one.

People of other faiths don't usually have a problem with Christianity. So many of them would actually prefer their kids to go to a faith school rather than a secular school, where God plays no part in the core values.
The Christian story is at the centre of our moral, spiritual and political life . Our wealth of history, arts, culture, schools, colleges, museums, entertainment......all are deeply rooted in Christianity. The country would have been a far far poorer place without it.

The US Episcopal Church, which is part of the Anglican communion, has had women priests and women bishops for a long time and has had a woman presiding bishop. The church recently amended its rules to allow celebration of same sex marriage. As I recall, the CofE at various times has had issues with the US church taking progressive actions because of implications for the Anglican Communion as a whole.

Lovelyfriend who said it was perfect, thats Northern Ireland. The rest of the UK allows it. But it's so easy to look for the negatives. Every religion has them don't they.

Well, I have made identical comments about other religions. On this thread and on other threads. Which is what led me to wonder if you're one of those who conflate 'religion' and 'Christianity'.

Or are you just one of those who ignore what a thread actually says in favour of what you'd like it to say to fit your argument? Take your pick.

You seemed confused about why a thread originally about the CofE might have tended to focus on Christianity, particularly in discussions of structural privilege and expectations of same where the CofE has the market cornered. No need for the eye roll, I too thought it was obvious and couldn't figure out why you were struggling with the idea.

"People of other faiths don't usually have a problem with Christianity. So many of them would actually prefer their kids to go to a faith school rather than a secular school, where God plays no part in the core values"

1. Well, unless it was an undersubscribed faith school (which are, up interestingly, no better than Ny other undersubscribed school) they wouldn't get the chance.

1. There is no such thing as a secular school in the UK.

"If a church wedding was only available to people who were regular church attendees who had to prove they lived their life according to a faith in God, I bet that would reduce the number of church weddings."

It is interesting that the C of E cannot do this as they are legally obliged to marry people living in their parish. People of all faiths and none. They are a state marriage facility really. I suppose this makes sense as they are the official religion of the state. Other Christian denominations and religions can tell those they regard as the heathen hoards to take a hike. They can pick and choose whose lolly they take. But the C o E cannot. Mind you, many premises that they use were Catholic ones the state just 'commandeered', so the initial capital outlay was zilch. State given. The upkeep was no burden either when people had to pay tithes. State given privilege again. So one could argue it is only right they have to marry everyone as the state gave them and still gives them their position.

I'm not talking about particular incidences, just the general vocal hostility and intolerance. No other religion on here is spoke about in such an insulting way. I find it a bit strange.

Oh, come on, haven't you seen the references to scientology?

People of other faiths don't usually have a problem with Christianity. So many of them would actually prefer their kids to go to a faith school rather than a secular school, where God plays no part in the core values.

translation: I like it, my friends like it, so YOU should like it.

Our wealth of history, arts, culture, schools, colleges, museums, entertainment......all are deeply rooted in Christianity

an excellent case for teaching ABOUT christianity in school. A poor case for collective worship.

C of e privelige' has been quoted over and over again.I haven't read other religions being mentioned. Hence it seems, Christianity is being singled out.

It would be a trifle difficult to single out, say, Islam for having automatic places for its higher officials in Parliament, or the statutory right to a daily act of Islamic worship. Due to the fact that that it has neither privilege. And the same goes for every other religion but Christianity.