Punch on: Open thread 26/08/2010

TrueOz says:

08:14am | 26/08/10

I’m happy to criticise ignorance and stupidity in all its various forms - Christian, Muslim, Hindu, [INSERT ANY OTHER RELIGION HERE] - they’re all just variations of the same invisible friend nonsense.

Jon says:

08:33am | 26/08/10

TrueOz@ Sad, but true!

TheRealDave says:

09:06am | 26/08/10

We don’t hate Catholics Eric, we just want people who act on voices in their heads locked up and medicated like they should be whether it be Little Yeshua, Mohammed, Jehovah, Yahweh, Lucifer, Uncle Adolf, Mary Poppins or John Howards voice in their head.

What makes Catholics think they are special in our loathing?

AdamC says:

09:33am | 26/08/10

TrueOz, Jon and RealDave, I see you are equal opportunity intolerants. Perhaps, just to show that you aren’t simply Catholic-bashing with transparent deflection, you could go and preach your juvenile, imaginary friend rhetoric is Saudi Arabia?

TrueOz says:

10:16am | 26/08/10

@AdamC (I can imagine what the C stands for)

If you stretch your narrow mind back several hundred years you would find that preaching about invisible friends to a Christian audience might garner the same reaction as in Saudi Arabia today. Ignorance, stupidity and intolerance know absolutely no boundaries. We are just fortunate that the equal opportunity intolerants (such as - well - you) have diminished in number in Western society as literacy, education and real enlightenment have shone upon us. Think it trough mate - or am I right in my assumption that the thinking has already been done for you?

Reg says:

10:47am | 26/08/10

You’ve got some catching up to do Eric. It’s the Christians who hate Catholics. Really. Protestants don’t consider Catholics to be Christians. This from the ACL or Australian Christian Lobby.

Anyhow from what I’ve heard,( and who knows if it’s correct,) the old dear regarded suffering as cleansing, so starvation and exposure were nothing to be sneezed at.

AdamC says:

11:18am | 26/08/10

TrueOz, as a non-believer (who doesn’t have a barrow to push either way on this issue) I can assure you I find intolerance, stupidity and ignorance in absolute abundance among both the religious and the unreligious. You are sadly mistaken if you believe, as you seem to, that simply denying the existance of a deity makes you immune to those vices.

In fact, your little dogmatic rant about how dumb religious people are would suggest you fail your own test in terms of tolerance and enlightenment.

TrueOz says:

12:28pm | 26/08/10

@AdamC

You are living proof that non-believers can be ignorant. I don’t know you, so I cannot really comment on stupid, although the fact that you would even suggest preaching “...juvenile, imaginary friend rhetoric in Saudi Arabia?” is a pretty compelling argument for stupid.

I can assure you that I am tolerant of religious beliefs (or any other beliefs for that matter). What I am intolerant of is the behaviour that sometimes goes hand in hand with those beliefs - in other words - the actions that people take a result of their delusional belief in an imaginary friend.

Denying the existence of a deity does not make anyone immune to superstition or stupidity. Accepting the existence of an imaginary friend and taking action based upon that delusional belief guarantees both.

Acceptance of others beliefs does not necessarily equal respect for the actions that they take as a result of those beliefs Adam. I hate no-one - Christian, Jew, Muslim or otherwise. I despise the actions that some of the people who believe in an imaginary friend take as a result of their superstition, ignorance and stupidity.

I hope I’ve made my point a little clearer now. Have a good day!

Peter says:

12:40pm | 26/08/10

@ TrueOz, similar to those athiest types who still believe that out of nothing appeared this universe. The last time I checked, you can’t make nothing out nothing, you need something to make something, and you need a cause to create it….

TrueOz says:

12:59pm | 26/08/10

@Peter

Geez mate - that’s REALLY profound! Someone really oughta write a book explaining…

Oh - hang on - someone did that…

and someone else…

and someone else…

and - Oh! - the hell with it all…

I reckon my imaginary friend who created the world is better than yours. Let’s have a war to decide it!

AdamC says:

01:40pm | 26/08/10

TrueOz, it seems like you are falling back onto that tired old fallacy about religion causing war. Surely you’ve got something better to throw at me than that?

PS, about my Saudi Arabia comments. Obviously, I am concerned about the welfare of a country so enamoured with its ‘imaginary friend’. Clearly, what Saudis need is the wisdom of a TrueOz to ridicule away their beliefs.

Peter says:

01:46pm | 26/08/10

@ True OZ. No worries, i will instead believe that i have a common ancestry to cashew nuts, bananas and fish. If that makes more sense to you, i will not put you down for believing it…

MarK says:

09:07am | 26/08/10

No.

They have been costed by a independent accounting firm. Ring them up and accuse them of bias.

T.Chong says:

09:23am | 26/08/10

Rabbott and pals dont want his promises costed. so every pathetic excuse is brought out.
As Costello said , Rabbott is not one for economics.
A private accounting firm with Liberal party links is the LNPs idea of independant evaluation ?
You sur yur not blushing with that one MarK?

TheRealDave says:

04:26pm | 26/08/10

Yes, because Independent accounting firms are only trustworthy with an entire Liberal national budget, costings on Liberal electoral promises and planned Liberal cuts etc and canot be trusted when they say the Labor NBN will be $43 billion or less and will make money for us all over the long run.

MarK says:

08:52pm | 26/08/10

Please T Chong name “every pathetic excuse he used”.

All of them .... go on

Peter says:

02:58pm | 26/08/10

Mother Teresa, a fraud? a fake? an extremist? Was Hitchen’s drinking again? Hitchens is a lucky man because god looks after drunks and fools…

Tedd says:

11:28am | 26/08/10

Yes, and when she got sick, her hospitals were so substandard she went overseas for treatment.

Jesus says:

11:59am | 26/08/10

She was very good at self promotion, not everyone is as easily manipulated to worship false gods as are catholics

JAX says:

02:38pm | 26/08/10

@Jesus - consume less of what?

Tedd says:

02:51pm | 26/08/10

Jax, consume less wine in church - He gets anaemic; and also consume less wafers in church, He needs his strength to deal with the various church franchise managers (especially those harbouring those bad priests)

Judas says:

04:28pm | 26/08/10

Just need to find my ‘Dob in a Messiah’ fridge magnet…...

....What’s 30 pieces of silver worth nowadays?

Jesus says:

02:17pm | 26/08/10

My pleasure Lucy - I recently returned with my second coming but found I had to keep a low profile. The various church franchise managers would have me locked up immediately, they don’t take kindly to Head Office parachuting someone in over their heads pointing out their failures.
Bless you all and consume less.

JAX says:

12:43pm | 26/08/10

how did she assist? she raised money for these people and then used them to help out fellow nuns and priests as mentioned above, that money was meant to go and ease the suffereing, how did she do that?

I help out others by going on holiday and using local guides and services as the money I spend on my holiday in Vietnam, China, Africa actually go back to the village the people come from.

What do you do?

TheRealDave says:

04:33pm | 26/08/10

I don’t give to any charity except Legacy.

I’ll buy local footy club raffle tickets, scouts, girl guides, school chocolate drives etc because I know they will get full use of the money they get. I am not paying for some arsehole in a ‘non-profit’ organisation getting a new 4wd or fund his lifestyle at 100k+ a year whilst the actual people in need at the other end get bugger all.

Sorry…actually - no I’m not.

Peter says:

04:44pm | 26/08/10

@ JAX, ive been to Bali too but that doesn’t qualify me as a philanthropist.. That’s hiliarious.. If i knew that i would have gone on more of those famous Bali Pub Crawls. I should mention that after 4 heats I did make it to the final of the skulling competition. I only lost because my last drink spilled over hair instead of in my mouth…