Sometimes religion doesn't just invite ridicule, it positively begs for it

Blimey, that’s a hell of a lot of money for something so trivial.

Trivial to you, obviously less so to the locals. Or do you think that the whole world should have same set of priorities as you?

I think they’d already learnt whatever lesson they were supposed to learn.

And maybe anyone else thinking about acting like a dick on a site of significance to the locals might think twice – it’s not just about teaching the offenders a lesson, it’s about discouraging other idiots.

You can hardly accuse all of religion, some 5-6b people, of being as ridiculous as some people in Malaysia because of this

No, not because of this… Just generally. People stop believing in tooth fairies and Santa by their teens, yet gods persist. It’s the ultimate demonstration of the power that peer pressure has over the rational mind.

You can hardly accuse all of religion, some 5-6b people, of being as ridiculous as some people in Malaysia because of this

Yeah because this is the only example of religious belief resulting in behaviour worthy of ridicule…

The outcome in the case does seem pretty fair, they did something they shouldn’t have and got punished for it. Blaming an earthquake on the girl though that is something worthy of ridicule.

Yeah because this is the only example of religious belief resulting in behaviour worthy of ridicule…

Personally, I think blaming religion for humanities stupidity is a lazy generalisation, as by implication you are implying that if there weren’t religions people wouldn’t do stupid things. Where in actual fact most religions try and give guidelines on how to act like a reasonable, decent human being.

Problem is when people take these guidelines to be literal truths or they twist the words, which is pretty easy with some religious texts as they are written in dead languages where the meaning of some words has been lost.

Where in actual fact most religions try and give guidelines on how to act like a reasonable, decent human being.

All the time, you know like hating gay people, oppressing women, making cows more important than people and a bunch of other really crazy stuff. It’s hard to take some people seriously.

That and the amount of crap that gets done in the name of one god or another helps put you off it a bit.

richc – Member

Personally, I think blaming religion for humanities stupidity is a lazy generalisation,

Seems to me it’s the other way round really.

Personally, I think blaming religion for humanities stupidity is a lazy generalisation, as by implication you are implying that if there weren’t religions people wouldn’t do stupid things. Where in actual fact most religions try and give guidelines on how to act like a reasonable, decent human being.

Oh I don’t think it’s all religions fault. I believe the saying goes something like

Good people will always do good things, bad people will always do bad things, but for good people to do bad things takes religion

A simplification yes but that doesn’t invalidate the point.

Yeah, it’s not like we don’t send people to prison for 16 months for swinging off the cenotaph. The cenotaph essentially being a superstitious monument.

The what now? And there was me thinking it was a monument to the dead.

as by implication you are implying that if there weren’t religions people wouldn’t do stupid things.

woah woah, that’s some extrapolation there. Humanity can be pretty damn stupid all by it’s own self. You’ve got to admit religion does bring out some stoaters tho.

Hmmmm, we get bent all out of whack if drivers don’t respect our beliefs, but it’s OK to mock beliefs held by other cultures to our own.

Some interesting reverse bigotry on this thread.

Though I had to chuckle as I rode past the school where she was head girl yesterday. Who would have a thought! 🙄

Hmmmm, we get bent all out of whack if drivers don’t respect our beliefs,

eh?! Don’t give a shit about drivers respecting my beliefs, I do get a bit testy if they don’t respect my safety. Bit of a difference.

The driver’s thing isn’t a belief, it’s a safety issue. If someone hits you with a car you will die.

If someone gets naked on a mountain no one will die.

(Although you could say if someone hits you with their religion you will die…)

Whilst the notion they caused an earthquake is ludicrous it is never wise to disrespects someones beliefs be it the cenotaph*, a picture of Mao or a sacred spot.

The outcome seems reasonable in that they have been punished and it will deter others .

* try wearing a white poppy around remembrance day or at an actual ceremony.

So you like sneering at other people’s cultures because you know better, nice…..

No, I’m sneering at a belief that someone taking their clothes off can cause an earthquake because an invisible spirit doesn’t like looking at naked people.

It’s a specific sneer, not a macro one. And it’s quite nice, yes. Thanks.

Is that you on this thread or an audio thread when folk are sneering at your “science”?

Oh, hi. You again. You’ll have to remind me. I don’t recall an “audio thread” where other people have sneered at my “science”? What would that be, then?

As honest as it was funny.

You do know the point being made as does everyone else.

Not really. Taken a poll, have you?

People stop believing in tooth fairies and Santa by their teens, yet gods persist.

Yeah, I wonder why? Might it be because religion might make people feel happy?

You lot really should keep quiet about stuff you obviously know absolutely bugger all about. It makes you look really stupid.

Yeah, I wonder why? Might it be because religion might make people feel happy?

Both Santa and The Tooth Fairy make my kids pretty happy whenever they visit

You lot really should keep quiet about stuff you obviously know absolutely bugger all about.

Do, do tell.

He will just get out his physics degree notes…they covered loads of this stuff. Heed your own advice here.
No offence Molly,as I do like you, but an atheist who has not studied the subject cannot really explain it.
Secondly you dont need to be a theological genius/expert to negate the central premise of the faith. I dont need to know all the details of their faith to debate the central one – ie : there is no god
Thirdly [abrahamic]religion is not about being happy its about the eternal salvation of your soul by following their rules.
Romans 6:23

By the way, the BBC coverage says:

Several local newspapers accused British tabloids of exaggerating reports that the tourists were arrested for causing the quake, rather than the actual charge of public indecency.
The Sabah-based Daily Express accused the papers of running “sensational” headlines, while the country’s most popular English-language paper, The Star, said reports (pictured) alleging Hawkins and the others were arrested for angering mountain gods “couldn’t be further from the truth”.
Tourism minister, Masidi Manjun, said their acts would have merited punishment for breaking local laws and norms whether or not the earthquake took place.
Mr Masidi, who comes from the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, was also quoted in the Malay Mail as saying there had been some “fact-twisting” by foreign media.
“I don’t know whether this is on purpose just to ridicule us, or their failure to appreciate our local traditions and customs,” he said.

So yeah.

No but when I was working there I did see a number of people shit on the patch of waste ground outside the office.

Were they shitting in a sexy way? 8)

Were they shitting in a sexy way?

No but they were discreet. Squat down, robes covering any indecency. It was quite normal – the cultural norm you might say. Whereas prancing around naked on a sacred spot in, ooh let’s say Malaysia just for example, isn’t. In fact it’s likely to get peoples’ backs up.

The what now? And there was me thinking it was a monument to the dead.

You mean like that mountain in Malaysia?
Anyway, moving on..

You mean like that mountain in Malaysia?

The first derivation of the word Kinabalu is extracted from the short form for the Kadazan Dusun word ‘Aki Nabalu’, meaning “the revered place of the dead”.

So apparently we are worse than some polytheist Malaysians.

Who knew.

They should have sent them down for 16 months based on our own standards.

Do, do tell.

I keep trying, you keep not getting it.

No offence Molly,as I do like you, but an atheist who has not studied the subject cannot really explain it.

No, I cannot explain religion, I don’t know much about any of it myself. However I do know a lot of intelligent religious people, and I’ve taken the time to ask them why they are religious.

It’s perfectly possible to accept religion alongside science – it all depends on how you interpret scripture and how you define God. However, many people choose the simplest possible interpretation which they then mock.

It would appear that some people who do this are either a) too stupid to comprehend anything beyond the simplest interpretation, or b) just love taking the piss to make themselves feel superior.

‘Clever people are religious’ does not equal ‘religion is a clever thing to be’. Some of the cleverest people I know are shockingly taken in by marketing claptrap, and that’s just on the telly, or the interwebz, written by strangers, as adults. Just imagine how powerfully indoctrination works when the indoctrinators are the parents of (even bright) children. That stuff really sticks. No human is truly, 100%, rational.

For what it’s worth, I’m fairly sure that I’m not stupid (although happy to accept I’m nowt special) and nor am I taking he piss to make myself feel superior. I think I was just lucky that I had open minded parents, mainly.

Look at me! Look at me! I am shy! 😆

However when people comment on their bush or their camel toe nope you cannot say that coz you are sexist and a dirty old man. 😯

They should go to Lesbos island … ya … Lesbos … 😆

chewkw – Member
Look at me! Look at me! I am shy!

However when people comment on their bush or their camel toe nope you cannot say that coz you are sexist and a dirty old man.

They should go to Lesbos island … ya … Lesbos …

Sometimes, or in fact often, you can be an utter ****t, chewkw

I think that wherever you go you should observe and respect the local customs and beliefs whether you share them or not. End of.

JulianA – Member
I think that wherever you go you should observe and respect the local customs and beliefs whether you share them or not. End of.

2 very different things, yes respect local customs to an extent* but I am perfectly entitled to ridicule the idea of religion and what it stands for on anything from creating a world in 7 days to boobies cause eathquakes.

*Not long ago respecting local customs in places like the US would mean being a racist bigot.

I think I was just lucky that I had open minded parents, mainly.

Did they pass it on to you?

You have to understand that wanting the truth about the origin of the universe may not be the reason people believe.

It’s perfectly possible to accept religion alongside science – it all depends on how you interpret scripture and how you define God

Its possible to maintain any contradictory position but this does not make it credible and basically you have to ignore the bits of the bible that contradict known facts whilst still arguing the bible is true.
IMHO you cannot credibly square the scientific consensus of evolution and the biblical notion of being made as man in gods image. They contradict each other and its either one or the other.
IME what tends to happen is they accept that Genesis is not true [ myth etc] but then still argue the Bible/god is true which , frankly, just makes me chuckle and I refer to the credible point above.

Clearly whether you believe in god or not is not an intelligence test.

Did they pass it on to you?
You have to understand that wanting the truth about the origin of the universe may not be the reason people believe.

I would describe myself as open minded, but not at the expense of rationality. I’m fortunate to not have been brainwashed at an early age, that’s all. My rational conclusion is that when it comes to religion and politics, humans have an inate ability to believe what they want to believe, despite an overwhelming lack of evidence to support their position. See; superstition, fairy stories, cults, Santa Claus, people who think Audi>VW>Skoda, that clothes with ‘labels’ on are worth double or more than clothes without, and of course religion. Some of them we get over, some we carry for our entire life and fervently instil in our children. It’s a tragic flaw in the makeup of humanity.

Just checking can we ridicule this sort of religion?

No need, Mikewsmith. That sort of religion ridicules itself…

Personally, I think blaming religion for humanities stupidity is a lazy generalisation

Very true, but nothing new (here)

I think that wherever you go you should observe and respect the local customs and beliefs whether you share them or not. End of.

Exactly.

Yeah because this is the only example of religious belief resulting in behaviour worthy of ridicule…

Personally, I think blaming religion for humanities stupidity is a lazy generalisation, as by implication you are implying that if there weren’t religions people wouldn’t do stupid things. Where in actual fact most religions try and give guidelines on how to act like a reasonable, decent human being.[/quote]
Or in context nobody blamed the worlds problems on religion but pointed out that there is a lot of failings in the world, some of them are due to religion and the use of religion as a reason for doing things.