Mocking Christianity

[Ihatepcos]

I am so sick of people thinking it's okay to ridicule Catholicism and Christianity. This is especially apparent on Mumsnet. Every time there's a thread about religion I can't even read the replies because they're so awful.

The same doesn't seem to apply to the Muslim, Jewish, Hindu faiths etc.

If you don't believe in God that is your choice. But purposely mocking someone's faith and calling it a load of bullshit (and worse) is just not acceptable. So many people turn to faith to help them through extremely tough times in life and you are mocking the only thing that is keeping them going.

Genuine question: why? Why is that worse than the posts saying Christians support pedophiles which are commonly left to stand?

I will take a punt and say that the church itself has admitted to moving paedophiles around rather than hand them over to the police? have admitted putting them in other parishes without so much as a vague warning to the new community? Lies would be zapped, i hope, but paedophile priests? are a sad fact of too many people's lives.

There are Rabbis and Imams in the HoL i think? but not in the way bishops are. That is one of the main reasons i think the HoL is a ridiculous institution that needs to go. And as for "we're a secular country" - meh. Individual people and organisations are secular. But there is an established church and the Head of State is the Head Of That too. We are very far from disestablished.

We're not criticising Stalin or Islam in this thread because it's about Christianity. And lots of people are pointing out how much it interferes with daily life in the UK. Lots of people would like that to stop but there doesn't seem to be a political party prepared to take that on. So it will continue.

And we will continue to point and laugh at the ridiculous things. Roll our eyes at the batshit things. And complain about the very real interference that some religious people want to have in our lives.

There are Rabbis and Imams

You know for a religion which claims to have no hierarchy, Islam does a very good job of having a hierarchy. And obviously the lack of women Imams or Rabbis means Islam and Judaism are no slouches in the hypocritical bollocks race that Christianity swept the board with.

but we're talking about Christianity here, not Judaism or Islam

Because you can bet your bottom dollar that i have in the past, and will continue in the future, to criticise both of those religions for the way they treat women in some respects.

@Xol I don't think the point is that it's ok, it's just that it's what people are capable of.

Recent history, from the 20th century (the bloodiest of all) is that when you take religion out of the question and instead focus on socialist values (which on paper sound wonderful - equality, harmony, justice etc).. things don't go so well (something like 100million deaths). Free will can only be stamped out through fear and intimidation.

To say that it is religion that has caused most evils, based on the recent past, is somewhat ignorant.

@OMG12 fascinating post! I am so interested in the myriad of connections which makes us and our societies what they are....!

You can add Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and indeed all religions to this list. They are all misogynist in some way or another.

You don't need to go back that far where Ireland is concerned! And the 'christian' attitudes of some of the clergy/staunch Chrostians were very much exposed during marref and Repeal the 8th campaigns. Quite a few of them didn't comport themselves in a very christian manner when discussing gay people and women with crisis pregnancies.

What I find interesting is that which ever religion is currently flavour of the month/century/millennium people often miss the point. It’s full of people insisting they have the answers. Those who move things forward are the ones asking whether we’re asking the right questions to begin with.

and I include science in religion. There was some idiot on here the other day who bravely prophesied that one day science would have answers to everything. I mean fucking hell not a hint of irony or sign of a tarot card/crystal ball/computer programme in sight - yet there they were standing in the pulpit of social media warning heretics about the follies of straying from the path of righteousness, the path of truth and the one true god of science and how alternative views and experiences should be ridiculed out of existence. No doubt they believe they are as just as those popes ordering crusades, as just as those playing God obliterating sodom and Gomarrah known in the the 21st century as London, Dresseden, Hiroshima

at this point I don’t really give a fuck whose eschatology is right (they’re prob the same anyway- all precipitated by man and his greed, whether that’s Nero or the shareholders of Shell. Quite frankly humans are so fucked in the head it would be better for the universe if mankind ceased to be, was no more as soon as fucking possible!

I really wish science wasn’t so concerned if the cat was dead of alive in the box and stopped to ask which fucked up cunt stuck a cat in a a box with a radio active substance in the first place! It’s almost like God sticking people in earth with free will. Interesting experiment unless you’re the subject of it

Ignorance is not the correct term. I was never closed off to the concept of religion and even explored Christianity when I was younger. Just couldn't understand how people could love a being who supposedly has the power to create so much fucking misery in the world. I couldn't care whether you turned the other cheek or not. What I said wasn't an insult. Many Christians prey to a higher power, many of them on their knees. This can and usually does involve some form of request (ie to help them through something, so heal someone etc) or some thanks (thanks for guiding me through this interview for eg). Logically, if you believed any of that had anything to do with a higher power, then you would also believe said higher power was overseeing world poverty, hunger, illness. So if he were real, he would have some explaining to do. Let's not even go into the second testament, which is where the floating man comment came from. If that were to happen now, either someone would end up in a MH hospital or a cult would be formed. Your comment was the unintelligent crap designed to offend. Mine was painfully true.

It may just be an issue with politicians then. The law and the NHS has a special opt out so that doctors, nurses etc whether of any regligion or none who are against abortion are allowed not to perform abortions. That sounds fair enough to me. We don't sack a nurse because she does not think abortion is right. So I don't see why there seems to be so much intolerance because a Scottish politician might worship at a certain church. It does not mean they will make laws to favour their own personal position. It is the same with judges in the UK - they can be muslim or atheist - we don't see you cannot preside over a case because it might involve something where your religion has a stance.

A politician does not stand up saying I believe in XYZ and therefore this is the whole party's policy. The two are very separate. We have lost tolerance of difference in the UK. Obviously I have no problem at all with anyone stating any views they like online or otherwise, I would certainly not shut down debate.

Ignorant twats spouting unpleasant, unintelligent crap designed to offend.

There is a brief joy in life in quoting the Bible to a Christian who doesn't realise it. Not all offence comes from ignorance. Some of it comes from knowing the subject only too well.

@Xenia of course it is fair enough that people are allowed their religious views. But choices have consequences. Saying outright that you would have voted to oppose marriage equality is going to lose you the political support of people who feel strongly about this - because if you feel like that, what else are you going to oppose in terms of social justice? That isn't being cancelled, that's natural consequences.

Mocking Islam

I really wish science wasn’t so concerned if the cat was dead of alive in the box and stopped to ask which fucked up cunt stuck a cat in a a box with a radio active substance in the first place! It’s almost like God sticking people in earth with free will. Interesting experiment unless you’re the subject of it

misunderstanding a thought experiment is a bit - meh. But the point that some people treat science in the same way others treat religion is always an interesting point.

Most people misunderstand the thought experiment that is religion too😂😂😂that’s the point. Not sure you understood it. No cat was ever put in a box😀

I know about the cat. I know about religions.
Your statement was neither here nor there

@OMG12 but cats are supposed to love boxes! <misses point spectacularly>.

Mine hate boxes, they're weird.

O0 I couldn't agree more. Every single thread about religion and particularly the Catholic Church turns into and attack on the church.

I think politicians can have any views they like, but I'm not going to vote for people with certain views, regardless of their religion. If an atheist said they were against gay marriage or abortion, I wouldn't vote for them. Politics is about views. Yes they may not be their party's policy, but if I'm voting for someone to represent me, I'll take those publicly state views into account.

Well the way society is structured atm people love boxes (or are conditioned to do so) - you’ve prob got the gist of it more than you acknowledge 😀

I like your cat

Christian values are great until organised religion gets involved. The church as it's definition is just a broad range of people following a way of life and a set of shared values and beliefs.
Then along comes an institution to create heirarchys, power structures and entitlement and it all goes the same way as every other institution created to do this. Corrupt, paranoid and focused on protecting self interests and status. Losing the fundamental reason of its existence along the way.

Maybe the Catholic Church should do a whole lot more soul searching and make serious reparations for the crimes committed by its people? (And yes, the same applies to any organised religion).

@pointythings

it is, though. Look at what the Jesuits have started with in South America.

but I suspect you don’t know about the good things that are happening now and instead focus on historic negative things.

I just don’t see the same criteria applied to other faiths or other civic institutions

Of course there are good things, but there are also still many bad things. Religious persecution of LGBT people continues to this day - Christianity in African countries and in Russia is complicit every day in this. The RC church excommunicated a 9 year old not that long ago for having an abortion after she had been raped by a relative. Religion still denies women autonomy over their own fertility, and pushes for laws to be enacted accordingly - look at abortion rights in the US - and this is happening right now. You can't say 'look, religion is all good and nice now, so stop going on about the bad stuff'.

And I can't speak for everyone, but I'm totally here for criticising all but Liberal Judaism for its stance on male genital mutilation, ditto Islam, and I'm happy to talk to Buddhists from Myanmar about their oppression of Muslims.

Let's also not forget that secular organisations also do many good things.

Also, at an individual level, what about all the people who live depressed, crime-filled or desperate lives, who then 'find god' and are born again, often go on to do good things, charity, make amends, and find peace and happiness?

You can question whether they are delusional or not.. but if it makes their lives infinitely better, there is value in religion from a practical and personal point of view.

And if they die and there is no heaven or god, is it not still better that through thinking god is real they improved their lives immeasurably? If this life is all we have, and if in some cases religious faith can make this life better, then religion cannot just be sneered and laughed at as ridiculous.

Because that means everything we do, to make our lives better and find happiness, is ridiculous