Topics Started by cofty

14
Her Majesty's Government says sorry to papa
by cofty in
1. social
2. current
a junior civil servant has embarrassed the uk foreign office with his suggestions for the popes visit to the uk in september.

the foreign office has been forced to issue a public apology after an official document suggested britain should mark the pope's visit this year by asking him to open an abortion clinic, bless a gay marriage and launch a range of benedict-branded condoms.... .

i've got another idea; throw his papal arse in barlinnie prison with a load of rangers fans as a reward for years of covering up child abuse.
12
Dawkins Says Pope Ratzi Should NOT Resign
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. child-abuse
from the washington post.

a leering old villain in a frock, who spent decades conspiring behind closed doors for the position he now holds; a man who believes he is infallible and acts the part; a man whose preaching of scientific falsehood is responsible for the deaths of countless aids victims in africa; a man whose first instinct when his priests are caught with their pants down is to cover up the scandal and damn the young victims to silence: in short, exactly the right man for the job..... .
6
A Picture Paints a Thousand Words
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
many years ago i came across this painting in the national museum of scotland in edinburgh.

simply called "hagar" it was painted by andrew geddes in the early 19th c.. i was touched by the sadness of the subject.

at the time i was a loyal jw and my ability to read the bible through a filter that could justify anything was at its peak.. for the first time i was forced to face up to the scandal of how abraham and sarah treated their young slave girl.
3
The First Annual UpChucky Awards
by cofty in
1. social
2. current
the national center for science education has launched a new annual award.. this crown of cluelessness, this diadem of density, this badge of bullpucky isn't awarded to just any darwin doubter.

the upchucky is bestowed on that one creationist whose efforts in the preceding year would inspire darwin (or any rational person) to "drive the porcelain bus".. nominees for the inaugural award included..... don mcleroy, the former chair of the texas state board of education, for his longstanding efforts to undermine the teaching of evolution in the lone star state;.

ray comfort of living waters ministries, for his distribution of copies of the origin of species; disfigured with his own creationist introduction;.
1
"Spiritual Mapping" - Why god loves Wisconsin
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. bible
a new trend in the us evangelical and pentecostal movement known as "spiritual mapping" is gaining popularity.. its proponents claim to know which geographical locations have been favoured by god and which are the domain of demons.

of course the usa is viewed as being gods special territory but in particular wisconsin and alaska enjoy special favour.. it would be laughable if it wasn't so cruel.

it also lies behind the kind of comment made by pat robertson in the wake of the haitian earthquake which blamed demonic control of the land for its disaster.. a new phrase, the 10/40 window, describes the part of the globe stretching across north africa and asia which is believed to be a "demonic territorial stronghold" under the control of demons that made pacts with previous inhabitants of the territory.. it is the same kind of thinking, if it can be called thinking at all, that leads to christians trying to pray demons out of states, towns or neighborhoods where they believe demons to hold sway.
42
British Tories pledge to stop creationism in school
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
stick pins in my eyeballs or vote conservative?

its a difficult dilemma.

however with a general election on the horizon michael gove the shadow education secretary has just gone and added to my angst.
8
... like the fine print in a fraudulent contract
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. bible
daniel dennett has accused apologists of double-standards in a column in the washington post.. like all things that are worth saying it made me want to go away and really think it through for a while.

perhaps pat robinson was just being more honest about the real implications of faith?.

one of the striking differences between modern, "organized" religion and tribal or folk religions--religions without seminaries and theologians and official books--is that in tribal religions they have no double standard!
13
We were ALL conspiracy theorists once
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i have noticed an tendency towards conspiracy theories among the ex-jw community.

others, like myself are allergic to anything that hints of belief in a conspiracy.

then it occurred to me that this should not be surprising; the teachings of the borg amount to a conspiracy theory more fanciful than anything ever promoted by david ike and his ilk (see what i did there?).
7
untitled
by cofty in
1. jw
2. friends
do any of the brits here remember attending the convention at wembley stadium in 1969?

i was 6 (& 1/2) and i have a few vague recollections.. we traveled on a specially chartered train from glasgow central station that stopped along the way and by the time it arrived at london was full of jw's.

if that train had crashed there would not have been a dub left in scotland.
55
Another Scotsman reporting for duty :)
by cofty in
1. jw
2. friends
hi all, its time i stopped lurking around here.

i've been posting at jws for just over a year, i know a few names here and it looks like there is lots of good banter going on.. i am a second generation, born-in who grew up in west-central scotland.

i pioneered in edinburgh and later married and settled in berwick just south of the border.