hippiechick wrote: 
i hope he's getting a better interest rate than i am

 beamends wrote: 
Jesus Saves So You Don't Have To!

Got a flyer through the door today - "Jesus Takes Away The Sins Of The World". Great, I can do as I please then. Cheers!

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
 thou shalt not smoke.

 oldslabsides wrote: 
Link fixed.
 
By the way, I got roped into being Jesus *again* today. I told the priest I was going to read my part with a Yul Brynner accent. She said "Whatever." 

google is god

I PUNKED THEE! I PUNKED THEE SO HARD!

Druids recognized as religion for first time in UK

By SYLVIA HUI, Associated Press Writer

LONDON (AP) — Druids have been worshipping the sun and earth for thousands of years in Europe, but now they can say they're practicing an officially recognized religion.

The ancient pagan tradition best known for gatherings at Stonehenge every summer solstice has been formally classed as a religion under charity law for the first time in Britain, the national charity regulator said Saturday. That means Druids can receive exemptions from taxes on donations - and now have the same status as such mainstream religions as the Church of England.

The move gives an old practice new validity, said Phil Ryder, the chairman of the 350-member Druid Network.

"It will go a long way to make Druidry a lot more accessible," he said.

Druids have practiced for thousands of years in Britain and in Celtic societies elsewhere in Europe. They worship natural forces such as thunder and the sun, and spirits they believe arise from places such as mountains and rivers. They do not worship a single god or creator, but seek to cultivate a sacred relationship with the natural world.

Although many see them as robed, mysterious people who gather every summer solstice at Stonehenge - which predates the Druids - believers say modern Druidry is chiefly concerned with helping practitioners connect with nature and themselves through rituals, dancing and singing at stone circles and other sites throughout the country believed to be "sacred."

Ancient Druids were known to be religious leaders, judges and sages among the Celts during pre-Christian times, although little evidence about their lives survived. There are now various Druid orders and about 10,000 practitioners in Britain - and believers said the numbers are growing because more people are becoming aware of the importance to preserve the environment.

The Druid Network fought for nearly five years to be recognized under the semi-governmental Charity Commission, which requires proof of cohesive and serious belief in a supreme entity and a moral framework.

After initially rejecting the Druid Network's application, the Charity Commission decided this week that Druidry fit the bill.

"There is sufficient belief in a supreme being or entity to constitute a religion for the purposes of charity law," the commission said.

Adrian Rooke, a Druid who works as a counselor, said Druidry appeals to people who are turning away from monotheistic religions but still long for an aspect of spirituality in their lives.

"It uplifts the spirit," he said. "The world is running out of resources, and in that context it's more important to people now to formulate a relationship with nature."

 mzpro5 wrote: 

 mzpro5 wrote: 

Spot on ol' chap! Do expect some resistance to this hypothesis by the more religious types, but I think you are absolutely correct and is quite an enlightening survey!

Survey: Americans don't know much about religion

"Respondents to the survey were asked 32 questions with a range of difficulty, including whether they could name the Islamic holy book and the first book of the Bible, or say what century the Mormon religion was founded. On average, participants in the survey answered correctly overall for half of the survey questions.

Atheists and agnostics scored highest, with an average of 21 correct answers, while Jews and Mormons followed with about 20 accurate responses. Protestants overall averaged 16 correct answers, while Catholics followed with a score of about 15."

 

Not surprised.  The more you know organized religion the easier it is to be an atheist or agnostic.

Belgium: Amid sex scandals, de-baptism gains favor

Child sex abuse, and other church failings, lead Belgians to formally renounce religion.

By Paul Ames - GlobalPost

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Faced with ever-more harrowing revelations of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergymen, Belgians are turning in record numbers to apostasy — formally breaking with their religion through a process of “de-baptism.”

“It has increased enormously since the cases of child abuse. It keeps going up,” said Bjorn Siffer, deputy director of Flemish Humanist-Secular Society. “We know from the bishops' secretaries that they can’t cope with all the requests they are getting for de-baptism.”

Siffer says 80 people ditched Catholicism during a single “de-baptism day” in Antwerp in June and a similar number dropped out of the Church in an event earlier this year in the western city of Kortrijk.

A secular organization in Belgium’s French-speaking south says 869 people have used its help to sever links with the Church so far this year, compared to 380 for the whole of 2009, and just 66 two years ago.

"The pedophilia cases play a part, but it’s more that people have had enough of the positions which the Catholic Church has taken on issues like abortion, contraception and homosexuality," said Daniel Leclerq, a coordinator at the Federation of Friends of Secular Morality.

Leclerq said many people were also influenced to leave the church because of the decision by Pope Benedict XVI last year to lift the excommunication of Bishop Richard Williamson, who has described Jews as enemies of the Church and denied the existence of the Nazi gas chambers.

Belgium was shaken by the revelation in April that the Bishop of Bruges Roger Vanhegheluwe, one of the country’s best-known clergymen, had sexually abused his own nephew for 13 years, starting when the boy was just 5 years old.

The country was further shocked over the weekend when a Church inquiry commission published the often graphic testimony of hundreds of people who stepped forward to say they had been abused by priests in their youth.

(Full story)

 BillnDollarBaby wrote: 
Yea, prolly so!

 HazzeSwede wrote: 


I'm nt sure philosophy and economics are linked. The structured logic of philo does not really relate to the greed of large banks selling tainted mortgages to I'll informed investors. Caveat emptor perhaps. They put you out of a job and out of your house with their laisse faire dishonesty.
would John galt agree with them I doubt it.

 shampa1n wrote: 
Thanks..Objectivism..such a cool word !

 shampa1n wrote: 


Sorry.  Burning of books in protest, rather than burning of books out of necessity.

 BillnDollarBaby wrote: 
Well, except maybe for Rod McKuen books.

 BillnDollarBaby wrote: 


Even if you're cold?