1001. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #207482 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 11:44 pm

Clodhopper, before I assent to your proposal. What exactly is a quiff? Is it his hair? Or is that a Coiff?

1002. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #207477 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 11:29 pm

Consecrating the wafers - saying the right words over them - is supposed to bring down some kind of spiritual energy (think of electricity) into them.

1003. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #207451 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 8:59 pm

Clearmind, You know that a house has a designer because you've seen houses designed. You say you know that the universe has a designer. Therefore you must have seen this designer. Correct?

1004. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #207444 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 8:36 pm

35bluejacket.

In my opinion, ignorance is evil. :)

1005. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #207440 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 8:15 pm

Why do some people on this site consider ignorance as just another point of view. That knowledge is just on the other hand. That one man's opinion is just as good as another. You seem to suggest that Mr. Zara. :)

1006. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #207405 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 5:16 pm

You guys get all the fun. Al, I read yesterday that Mohammed thought that Allah put a barrier between the river and sea to stop the rivers becoming salty. This is understandable that a guy from a desert region would know nothing about why rivers are fresh and not salty, but you'd think Allah would've known it.....

1007. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206976 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 3:33 am

Logicel, everybody drinks from the same 'chalice' of wine in certain ceremonies. But because it's Jeebus' body and blood, it's safe. ;)

1008. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206975 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 3:31 am

Mordacious1, I'm not sure if your read the God delusion, but Richard retells the story of a young Italian lad who had Jewish parents, but a Catholic nanny. For some reason the nanny baptised the lad. This meant he was a christian according to that superstition. So, the church took the lad away from the parents because they were doing a good thing for him according to the church. The parents only had to walk into church and receive a baptism to get the child back, they could've said the words but not meant it. But they didn't because that would be going against their Judaism. So, you end up with people not doing things for superstitious reasons.

I would think that going into a church and pretending to go along with the superstition, then doing your own thing, like stealing the cracker would be the antithesis of conformity. Most people sing Christmas carols without thinking they're conforming as well.

1009. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206971 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 3:24 am

Cardinal in damage
control

1010. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206969 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 3:17 am

It's probably just a twisted torus. I thought at first that you were a fan of the ABC here in Aus.

but you need an extra twist.....

Or you were just infatuated with infinity....

According to Wikipedia
It's from Latin for pendant ribbon. But a lot of Latin words are of Greek origin.

EDIT. According to wiki again, it's Greek for ribbon....

1011. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206962 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 3:05 am

Clodhopper, I remember one day I was so bored at mass, that I let out a brusk sigh, that sounded like a Mr. Ed talking. The whole congregation turned and looked at me like I was Satan. And this was when I was a shy lad. My mum was livid. Personally, I only found it mildly embarrassing. I didn't see the problem. Catholic Mass is fucking boring with all the seat gymnastics, and chants...... If I had of known that running out with the host was a bad thing, I probably would've tried it. As it was, there was more than a few times that I received communion, then immediately bolted* to the toilet to chuck it up because I'd been binge drinking the night before. Ahh the joys of being a teenager in country Victoria....

How's that for anthropological studies?

*bolted being a relative turn, meaning as fast as one can stagger to the nearest exit, whilst appearing to not vomit into one's mouth and still pretending to maintain some decorum. (Pretending in the older sense.)

1012. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206961 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 3:02 am

Lemnishate or Lemniskhate or Lemniscate?
The X (chi) sound isn't like English C. It's a harsh H sound, like German CH or Scottish CH or Spanish J, Or Arabic KH....

1013. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #206956 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 2:53 am

Clearmind, you know that people design houses because you see designers. You know that people design machines because you see machine designers. You claim the universe was designed. When did you see the designer of the universe?

I'll stop asking the same question when you answer it. That's how debate works. You have to answer a reasonable question. You brought design into the argument, I'm asking how you know there was design.

1014. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206929 by Brian English on July 9, 2008 at 1:45 am

Why only catholic closet-atheists? It's not like they ask for proof of belief when you enter a church. Just wait for communion, and follow the sheep up to receive your cracker.....

1015. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206871 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 11:07 pm

Well, if an ordinary cracker is the blood and body of Jeebus. What's the extra ingredient of a Jeebus cream cracker? The coming of the Lord?

1016. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206867 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 11:01 pm

Luther had a few points, that the church was a bunch of idolatrous crap. However, he wasn't exactly a shining example of enlightenment and brotherly lover either.....

1017. IT'S A GODDAMNED CRACKER!

Comment #206864 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 10:58 pm

The doctrine of transubstantiation is bizzare.
It comes, I think, from the old Aristotelean idea that the substance of a thing is different from the accidents (external properties). So, the cracker may have the accidental properties of being a yeast free cracker, but because the priest has cast his spell, its substance is now the body and blood (which are inseparable after resurrection and if you don't like it, you're a heretic and the Pope will persecute you!) of Christ.
Basically, it can be tested in a lab, and will seem to have all the properties of a cracker, but really, it's Jesus' body and blood. So, eating it will be an act of cannibalism. Which shows how weird some of the doctrines of the Catholic church are, and also how philosophy can really get weird when misused in the name of dogma, instead of being applied to find truth. If a thing isn't defined by its properties, then how can you know what it is anyway? If the cracker really was Jeebus' body and blood how would you know when it has the physical properties of a cracker?
Madness.

1018. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206855 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 10:27 pm

Tallredhead:
Jesus was a communist.....

1019. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #206846 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 9:48 pm

Txpiper, any logical arguments for the existence of God yet?

1020. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206837 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 9:29 pm

Something you said struck a chord with me mordacious1. Of all the troubles I've had with my family and my wife's family, it's been put on me to turn the other cheek because they don't understand, they're too old to change, that I have to be more tolerant, etc. That pissed me off a lot, you get punished for not being a dick. If you're a dick, then that's OK, you can't be expected to act like a civilized person.....

1021. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206832 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 9:26 pm

You know, I generally think society has advanced for the better over the years, but if we could go back to the days of kidnapping the missus from another tribe and never having to see her family or tribe again, I think things would be easier......

/sarcasm

1022. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206826 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 9:17 pm

That seems a very reasonable analysis Bonzai.

1023. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206823 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 9:09 pm

mordacious1 treats intractable problems the way I do: Don't be there.....

1024. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206816 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:51 pm

It is vile and disgusting. I think I remember it from your essay. Some of my stuff from above is probably paraphrasing you. :)

1025. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206813 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:46 pm

Good point Radesq. Goes back to what Bonzai was saying, that some people hold their beliefs as part of who they are and rejecting the familiar belief is rejecting the family or its members perhaps....

1026. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206811 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:43 pm

Lettuce is the devil's plant mordacious1

1027. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206809 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:42 pm

don't know whether to cry, puke or kick something - those seem all perfectly appropriate.

1028. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206807 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:38 pm

Try again:
http://wiki.ironchariots.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

1029. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206806 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:37 pm

Wow, that's emotional blackmail on a grand scale.
Those questions are so aggressive and loaded.

1030. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #206803 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:35 pm

Classic Dr. B! :)

1031. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206801 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:31 pm

Mike, I'm sure you know what's best for yourself and your girlfriend. Any advice I give is really only applicable to me anyway. I'm not arrogant enough to think I can plop myself in your shoes and cure your ills. :)

1032. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206800 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:28 pm

The OT god was defeated by men with iron chariots...

http://wiki.ironchariots.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

1033. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206795 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:21 pm

That's why dogmatic thought is so bloody inhuman. That's really sad to hear Mike. I guess all you can do is support her. She has to learn to live with the fact that her family puts dogma before love.

For me, being treated pretty poorly by some of my family members was hard (not because of religion, but because the wanted me to do whatever they wanted), but I rationalize and can think my way through it. My wife, who has been rejected by her family because they want her to stay at home and care for her ungrateful parents, still struggles with the idea that a family can mistreat members. She understands that it's not her fault that her family can't respect her wishes, but finds it hard to get past the emotional side of not being accepted. I'm probably a bit autistic or something. I just think that whenever somebody does not respect me how I want to be respected, then no matter how much it hurts, it's better not to have anything more to do with them.....And I don't crave acceptance that much...

1034. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206791 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:15 pm

Gnosticism inherited the idea of a light and dark God from Zoroastrianism. This influenced Christianity, the dark god became the devil. However, the dark god wasn't balanced equally with the light god. Which leads to the point that God could easily remove the devil from wherever he is. He could remove almost all evil, save a small amount, so that we know what evil is (if you think evil is necessary to understand good). But God chooses not to. Who's the devil then?

1035. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206787 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:10 pm

Mike, if God sentences you to an eternity of suffering, not because you're bad, but because he condemned you to hell unless you worship him, then God is worse than any tyrant the world has known. Eternal punishment for being born? A more unjust idea I can't think of.

1036. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206786 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:09 pm

One version I heard is that since the purpose of the law has been accomplished, it becomes obsolete.

1037. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206784 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:08 pm

So, does my attempt at categorizing Christianity as a synonym for inconsistency get the OK from you guys?

1038. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206780 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 8:01 pm

I stand corrected. Jesus was the nasty god who ordered genocide. :)

1039. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206777 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 7:43 pm

Bonzai, what a Christian can't dance around, if that Christian is a trinitarian, is that Jesus is the same nasty god of the old testament. Jesus is the god that condemned all to hell. So, when Jesus' so called sacrifice (how does an immortal god die? and if he died, then God was dead) was just a farce by a nasty god to try and get some more suckers to be his sycophants....

1040. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206773 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 7:36 pm

Bonzai if you look in the dictionary you'll see something like this:

Christianity (n) see inconsistency, contradiction.

1041. A trip to the Creation Museum

Comment #206771 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 7:32 pm

Yedgy, don't write that stuff while I'm having a drink! Classic.

1042. McDonald's Makes Jesus Cry

Comment #206770 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 7:31 pm

Mike, not only did Jesus come to uphold the OT laws. He's God, as in indivisible trinity. So he's come to uphold his own bastardy laws.

1043. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #206767 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 7:24 pm

It is fun. It's sort of a challenge to see if you can get them to see the inconsistency of their position. But the fun is to return the favor of being an a bothersome prick. :)

I hope this hasn't become a situation where others feel they can't post, or it's my 'thing' to harangue the dogmatists. Everybody do what they feel is appropriate I say!

1044. Sir John M. Templeton, Philanthropist, Dies at 95

Comment #206755 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 6:35 pm

I think we should be honest about the dead. It would be ridiculous to paint Saddam Hussein, or dare I Godwin the thread, Hitler, as being basically nice if misunderstood. It would be silly to paint a fundamentalist as a liberal. However, there's probably no need to get all personal, unless one was personally affected. So, you could say, for example, that Templeton helped fund research into woo, and tried to suborn scientists into painting a favorable picture of religion and science frollicking in the meadow. For that he should be criticized. But it's probably pointless to call him all sorts of names and grin over the corpse. He's dead, it won't affect him......

I really don't know what I'm saying do I?

1045. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #206738 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 5:53 pm

I thought he was in a Turkish prison. I'd imagined him getting all friendly like with an American drug mule called Billy.....

EDIT: I typed American mule dealer. The mind boggles. Imagine a rapist/creationist in jail with an American mule dealer. How much for his ass?

1046. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #206735 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 5:52 pm

Laurie, I did get him to post that we only know something is designed because we've seen the designer at work. When I pointed out the inconsistency he hit the reset button. But maybe, and this is probably just wishful thinking, his dormant reasoning skills might have stirred a fraction.
Oh well, tis fun to turn the tables on the trolls and be as persistent as they...

1047. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #206732 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 5:48 pm

It appears ertu has been consigned to the alternate comment thread. He's in the dungeon. Oh well... :)

1048. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #206730 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 5:43 pm

Ertu, please respond. According to you, one knows something is designed when one has seen the designer at work. This is logical and I agree.
You claim the universe and life are designed. Therefore by your logic, you must have seen the designer at work. If you have not done this, you cannot claim design.

Have you seen the designer at work?

1049. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #206724 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 5:37 pm

Ertu, you said that you know a painting has a painter because you've seen the painter. You know a book has an author because you've seen the author. Therefore to claim that the universe is designed you must have seen this designer at work. Have you seen the designer designing the universe?

1050. [UPDATED] Venomous Snakes, Slippery Eels and Harun Yahya

Comment #206721 by Brian English on July 8, 2008 at 5:30 pm

Ertu, as you have clearly stated, one knows a painting is created by a painter because one has seen the painter at work. One knows a book is written by an author because one sees a writer at work.
So, for you to claim the universe is designed, by your own arguments, you must have seen the designer at work. Have you seen this?