P.Z. Myers in the news (the catholic church communion wafer incident)

Real hard. Without use of the brain, damn near impossible.

Only quite? Honestly, and without qualifications, I find you an obvious expert on lack of maturity.We'll discuss this in a few years' time, no doubt.Edited by bluegenes, : grammmaer

You mean, for example, claiming that people are immature or "sophomoric" because you dislike something they've said?Myers is ridiculing the ridiculous. Protecting ridiculous beliefs from the ridicule that they deserve is what religion depends on for its survival. One of the ways this is done in modern times is the "we are offended" cry. The other is threatening behaviour, right up to the point of death threats.Neither Myers nor his supporters are promoting or threatening violence, so far as I know, let alone issuing death threats. Well, you said it. Begin?

Claiming objectivity for your highly subjective viewpoint isn't immature? (Anyone remember "objective persons" Ray Martinez). Was that meant to be a parody of pomposity?Myers is attacking silly religious lunatics, their threats (including death threats), and their delusions about wafers. There's no reason why he shouldn't, and plenty of good reason to do so. No he hasn't. He's not embarrassed. His is the busiest science blog on the 'net, and he's having fun.pharyngula | ScienceBlogsEdited by bluegenes, : added link

That wafer's getting famous.Jesus and Mo

How tolerant of intolerance should he be?There's a modern trend for large, powerful and very political institutions which have long and distinguished histories of claiming a monopoly on truth and of showing murderous intolerance to those who disagree with them behaving as though they're being discriminated against when their (ridiculous) beliefs are criticized or satirized.We need to learn the difference between attacking Germans (something one either is or isn't which isn't a matter of choice, and carries no inevitable beliefs) and attacking Nazis (something controversial that people are or aren't by choice).Although the modern Catholic church, like the modern Anglican church, appears to have become a relatively tolerant institution, all sects of all the Abrahamic religions have their fanatic fundamentalists, and as soon as they rear their ugly heads, they should be made to realise that they're superstitious morons as quickly as possible.Crackers are just crackers, and religious nutters are religious nutters, and why shouldn't the truth about this be told loudly and regularly?

An example of another mess caused by the same ridiculous superstition. Bloody Hell!

What makes you think that large, aggressive, highly-political organizations should be exempt from satire and ridicule (and rudeness) merely because they're superstition based and have killed lots of people throughout their history? Why the special privilege?It's extremely rude, IMO, for anyone to suggest that anyone else will burn for eternity, yet these cracker loonies do it all the time. I think that you may be subconsciously backing up the special privilege of religions to be rude and bigoted, because we all grow up with them being like that, and take it for granted.What arrogance it is for any sect of any religion to claim that those who do not follow it are condemned to eternal damnation. The likes of Myers would never do that.

Do you live in a world in which every individual in every country thinks every law on their country's statute books is "fine"? Did Disney invent this world?Technically, we live in a protestant Christian theocracy here (because the Queen is official head of both church and state) yet in reality, we're less politically effected by protestant Christianity than you are in the land of the free! Weird world, eh, the real one. I agree about us being strange.

On this thread? It's probably not a good idea mixing a conversation across more than one thread (without explaining links). Who's called you an ignorant racist bigot, and on what thread?

I think Art is talking about the succession to the monarchy in this country being denied to Catholics 308 years ago. Describing this as bigoted does assume that not wanting to be ruled from Rome is a form of bigotry, of course, because that was sort of the question at that time.It's also odd, as the Brits that he's currently arguing with are not Christians, let alone Protestants, and almost definitely not monarchists either.Mormons (as you know) and Jehovah's witnesses are probably the least popular forms of Christianity in the U.S., and Islam the least popular religion of all kinds. Even less popular than Islam, presumably because they have yet to kill anyone, come the modern scientific liberal non-religious humanists, P. Z. Myers being an example.Catholic extremists threatening people who have no respect for their superstitions deserve no sympathy, and normal Catholics should worry at how quickly the old style death threats emerge from their brethren.It's weird how ex-communication for death threats wouldn't happen, but the (Catholic) kid who kidnapped a wafer is supposed to be not only ex-communication material, but a threat to the world's most powerful organized religion who requires the bullying attention of the Catholic defense league.I'm glad I'm not religious, I really am.

You are offering them special privilege. You're exempting ridiculous beliefs from being ridiculed. If Myers had done a similar rant about the flat earth society, no-one would be criticizing him for it.You're giving the magic cracker believers special privilege. For rudeness sake? Do you really think that Myers or anyone else cannot be genuinely angry at aggressive superstition? The kid in Florida was receiving death threats.

Once again, ridiculing ridiculous beliefs is not bad behaviour. It is a legitimate weapon in ridding the world of ignorance and superstition.No one needs a Pope who tells people in aids ridden Africa not to use condoms. Large, aggressive, organized superstitions are dangerous things. They kill. Edited by bluegenes, : spellingEdited by bluegenes, : No reason given.

A woman was sacked for sending P.Z. Myers a death threat from her work email address. Actually, it was her husband who used the address. Story here and here

Offensive? If someone is offended by anyone saying that they are going to torture a piece of food, then that someone needs treatment.That's what I mean by special privilege for religion. Obvious lunacy goes unremarked if it's part of a big established religion, when it would be accurately described as madness if it involved only one individual, or a small cult/sect.A cracker is a cracker, and only delusional mad people could possibly be offended by what anyone says about crackers on a blog.It is not rude to tell someone who thinks he is Napoleon that he is not Napoleon. It's honest.