Originally Posted by placebo

...Any regrets for editing my "Good News and Bad News" post?

Originally Posted by Jack the Bodiless

...Uh, most of those (or equivalents) apply, or have applied, to to the UK.

Efforts to teach Creationism/ID as Science: Emmanuel College etc.

Blue Laws: Sunday-trading laws.

Resistance to Gay Rights: Civil Partnerships only recently introduced, homosexuality once illegal (imprisonment of Oscar Wilde etc).

Laws Against Prostitution: Prostitution is indeed illegal (sort of: technically it isn't, but everthing related to it is, such as soliciting or keeping a brothel).

Support of Slavery Laws: not anymore, but the slave trade was big once. Offhand I'm not sure if the Bible was used to justify it in the UK (as it was in the US).

I could also add: constitutional difficulties for atheist MP's (particularly those who won't swear a religious oath to the Queen: also affects Republicans).

ETA: How could I forget compulsory Christianity in various private and state-funded schools?

Originally Posted by placebo

I have trouble understanding how people with an IQ above 80 can believe in the fairy tale known as Christianity. This is not to single out Christians, it's just that they are predominant in the world I live. I've read and participated in most of the arguments such as God as First Cause, Argument From Design, Moral Arguments, and Pascal's Wager. Arguing these topics can be frustrating, and I think they give unwarranted credibility to Christianity and disguise the fact that it is just plain silly. Instead, I would like to focus on the absurdity of Christianity. Things that no sane person has experienced in their earthly lives. Who has ever come across a talking snake? Or seen anyone but a magician turn water into wine? In this regard I would like the board's help in compiling an extensive list of non-sensical Christian beliefs and events that even a Caveman can see are silly. If such a list already exists I would appreciate directions to it. If not I'll get it started (with sources):

(1) Talking snake in Garden of Eden (Genesis 3)
(2) Jesus turns water into wine (John 2)
(3) Jonah survives 3 days in the belly of a whale (Jonah 1-2)

Originally Posted by Cheerful Charlie

The blasting of the fig tree. If Jesus, who is God remember, wanted figs, why not make it bear figs out of season?

Originally Posted by Julian

To briefly touch upon a prior section of this thread. While there is a demonstrated inverse relationship between IQ/education and religiousity, there are obviously many christians who are quite clever in many other ways.

Originally Posted by Clouseau

That's a remarkably bigoted remark until and unless one can prove that religion is folly. As that has never been achieved, it's unlikely to happen now.

Originally Posted by Julian

To briefly touch upon a prior section of this thread. While there is a demonstrated inverse relationship between IQ/education and religiousity, there are obviously many christians who are quite clever in many other ways. I think that Michael Shermer said it best when he said, "Smart people are very good at rationalizing things that they came to believe from non-smart reasons."

Julian

Originally Posted by Clouseau

The fig tree incident was an acted parable of hypocrites and their fate.

Originally Posted by spin

God by definition is outside your means of comprehension. You have no objective means of perceiving god. There is no way that you can make objective your belief in god. If you cannot show objective reasons for your view of reality, you are no different from the schizophrenic whose reality is not objective. We normally consider what schizophrenics believe to be folly. Shouldn't we consider religions with their non-objective world structures to be folly as well?spin