Sim-O

Heresy Corner:

Creationism doesn’t come on its own. In that respect at least Michael Reiss was right: it’s part of an entire world view. It is merely one part of a much larger structure of fundamentalist belief. Belief in the literal truth of the Bible underpins it, of course: but so, too, does the whole scheme of salvation. Jesus died for the sins of mankind, goes the theory. This belief entails others: for example, that mankind is in a state of sin. Sin exists because of the Fall: Adam and Eve sinned, and that Original Sin has been transmitted to all succeeding generations. No Adam and Eve, no Garden of Eden, no Original Sin: no need for Jesus. Similarly with the “young earth”. Given that the creation, fall and redemption of man is (according to traditional doctrine) the whole point of the universe, then the idea that it is around 15 billion years old, whereas modern human beings have been around for about one hundred and fifty thousandth of that time, leads to problems of scale. Of course God, who can do all things, could have spent those billions of years twiddling his divine thumbs waiting for man to arrive; but contemplating the immensities of time and space tends to make the traditional religious narrative seem rather parochial.

Flat Earthers.

Believers that the Earth is flat. Not round, sorry spherical, but flat. Most don’t believe the bit about it being carried on the back of four elephants, on a turtle. That would be ridiculous.

What’s prompted this post was this article on the BBC site:

Mr Davis [a flat earther] now believes “the Earth is flat and horizontally infinite – it stretches horizontally forever”.

“And it is at least 9,000 kilometres deep”, he adds.

James McIntyre, a British-based moderator of a discussion website theflatearthsociety.org, has a slightly different take. “The Earth is, more or less, a disc,” he states. “Obviously it isn’t perfectly flat thanks to geological phenomena like hills and valleys. It is around 24,900 miles in diameter.

Mr Davis, is a 25 year old computer scientist, originally from Canada. Not that that has anything to do with it. But being a scientist Mr Davis is in the position to know good science when he sees it.
One Question Mr Davis: Does the Earth stretch to infinity (And Beyond!) in all directions or just left to right? Either way, how come one can go in a straight line and then end up where one started from, as apposed to never being seen again? If the Earth stretches too infinity (And Beyond!) in all horizontal directions, you do realize that it would create a barrier in the universe? Nothing would be able to get past us without making an almighty thump. Sorry that was more than one question.

Mr McIntyre. We’re not told what he does for a living. I have a picture of a gent that makes his own bitter, I don’t know why.
James McIntyre is what I would call a ‘moderate’ Flat Earther, compared to Mr Davis’ ‘radical’ flatness, thanks to the view that the Earth is round in one aspect, but flat in the other. The North pole is in the middle of the disc and the southern pole is aaaalll the way round the outside. Not so much a pole, more a ring.
Mr McIntyre: If the Earth is a flat disc, you should be able to see the edge and fly off the edge and take pictures and everything. It ain’t going to be hard in this day and age to get proof yerself without relying on the whispering government paid liars that are pretty much the whole of the worlds respectable scientific community.
Charter an aircraft and fly to the outer edges of the planet and have a peek, take some pictures, maybe even some video. Maybe then, maybe you might be taken seriously.
BTW: Make sure you take more than your poxy mobile phone to take the pictures and video with. You don’t want to be laughed at like them weird UFO people, do you?

Look at this, classic conspiracy theory logic

Q: “What is the motive behind this conspiracy?”

A: The motive is unknown although it is probably money

Q: “If you’re not sure about the motive, why do you say there is a conspiracy?”

A: Well it’s quite simple really; if the earth is in fact flat, then the governments must be lying when they say it isn’t.

That makes sense. If something is, and someone knowing what is is, says it isn’t, they are lying.
But why do these people say the Earth is flat?

Q: “The government could not pull off the conspiracy successfully”

A: Actually, they could.

The answer links to this post on the same forum where the poster reckons (by the accurate method of plucking figures out of his arse) it would take about $47,000,000 a year to keep the 45 key members of the conspiracy and a few ‘Ice Wall’ guards happy to keep the secret.

Q: “How are the world governments organized enough to carry out this conspiracy?”

A: They only appear to be disorganized to make the conspiracy seem implausible.

The US government couldn’t sort out Hurricane Katrina, never mind work with their nemesis, The Soviets, to keep everyone thinking we live on a ball, not a frisbee.

Q: Why hasn’t this site been shut down by the government?

A: Doing so would prove that the government is hiding something.

So they’re probably being watched though, to make sure they’re not gonna hurt themselves or others.

It’s great this place, have a look and a laugh.

[[image:jesusandmo-reply.jpg:Jesus and Mo:center:0]]

New York Times:

After asserting their right to annoy in defiance of a government ban, Australian protesters received Federal Court backing today. The court, in rejecting a recently adopted regulation against any acts of “annoyance” at an event headlined by Pope Benedict XVI, made this key ruling, according to The Sydney Morning Herald:

There was “no intelligible boundary” on what “causes annoyance”.

So one man’s irritant, as the saying goes, is another man’s principled opposition to Vatican policies on sex and women’s rights.

[[image:wedding_rings.png:Wedding rings:left:0]]BBC:

A marriage registrar was harassed for refusing to conduct same-sex ceremonies, a tribunal has ruled.

Lillian Ladele, who said the civil partnership ceremonies went against her Christian faith, hailed the decision as a “victory for religious liberty”.

The tribunal ruled that Miss Ladele was discriminated against on grounds of religious beliefs and was harassed.

Islington council said it was “disappointed” and was considering an appeal against the ruling

So, someone who doesn’t want to be discriminated against for her religious beliefs discriminates against a couple for their sexual orientation.
Bit of a quandry this one.

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Google News[[image:women_bishops_vatican.jpg:Smug Vatican:center:0]]

Regret? My arse! Rattys’ rubbing his hands together with glee at the thought of all those traditional [bigotted] Christians running back to the ‘one true faith’.

An evangelical chap on the Today programme on Radio 4 explains why it would be “intolerant and unjust” to bring him under the authority of a woman bishop.

Hmm. “Intolerant and unjust” to allow a woman to become a bishop. There’s a flaw in his argument somewhere.

He did also say that it isn’t a sexist issue but a theological one. Which to my mind, makes his religion sexist.

Nice , eh?

BBC:

Lord Phillips, the most senior judge in England and Wales, said there was no reason sharia law’s principles could not be used in mediation

Lord Phillips has given a speech to a Muslim centre in Whitechapel that has reaffirmed what Dr Rowan Williams said in February.

What I said then was:

I cannot see any law being enacted in this day and age that would exempt certain groups of people from receiving various human rights…

Although, with hindsight I may still be wrong…

The Guardian:

Australians have been warned they face hefty fines if they annoy the crowds gathering to see the Pope during his visit later this month, under new regulations that critics say represent a blow to free speech.

Areas around Sydney’s landmark opera house, train stations and city parks are being set aside for the World Youth Day festival, a six-day Catholic evangelical event in July at which the Pope will conduct mass and lead prayer meetings.

Police and emergency services will have the power to order people to cease behaviour that “causes annoyance or inconvenience to participants in a World Youth Day event” under the regulations. Anyone who fails to comply could be fined A$5,500 (£2,630).

Do you reckon it works both ways? Could some one file a complaint about the noise the event will create or the lies it will perpetuate? Do you think the police will have to arrest someone for the inconvenience caused to passersby for disruption to travel services or not being able not being able to use the parks or visit the opera house?

Will they bugger.

Update 15-07-08: They get the go ahead to annoy the old bastard

(source)