Godless Business

“Ratzinger Rules”

GRAFFITI featuring the words “Ratzinger Rules” and other slogans were sprayed on the Hyde Park War Memorial in central Sydney overnight, police say. Josef Ratzinger is the birth name of Pope Benedict XVI, who is visiting Sydney for World Youth Day.

read more | digg story

  • http://au.youtube.com/user/askegg askegg

    Now who do *I* complain to when “World Youth Day” supporters vandalise public property? 

    I find the whole events annoying, but there is no law protecting me from them (they are protected). How is this equality?
  • http://au.youtube.com/user/askegg askegg

    The ABC has just posted a follow up story in which the New South Wales Opposition Leader expresses concerns over the graffiti on one of our most treasured memorials.  In it the NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says

    “It’s not derogatory but it’s terribly offensive to diggers particularly when you start to deface some of those sacred sites like the war memorial,” he said.
    I agree it IS offensive, but where are the special laws to protect protect us from these marauding pilgrims?  Surely if the Catholics can have special laws enacted to protect them from “being offended”, then isn’t it only fair that we have laws going the other way?
    I know there already ARE laws against this kind of behaviour, and the perpetrators will be charged if caught, but don’t the pilgrims need to abide by those laws anyway?
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44 – An Atheist Temple

BBC News – Row over Indonesia atheist Facebook post Priority is to protect marriage | Herald Sun No Fetus Can Feed Us | Unreasonable Faith Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0 | Video on TED.com

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Further Reading

Dog Heads

The excellent British broadcaster BBC 4 recently aired a fascinating program called “The Medieval Mind” which explores the philosophy, theology, and predominate thinking of the dark ages.  The first episode deals with knowledge and revealed numerous intriguing insights into how the medieval mind determined epistemological truths. Monks, priests, and other godly people were in possession…
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Matt’s Human Morality

Matt Dillhunty (president of the Atheist Community of Austin, co-host of “Non-Prophets Radio“, and “The Atheist Experience”) recently debated Father Hans Jacobse (an Antiochian Orthodox Priest) at The University of Maryland on 16th November.  Full video of the event can be found here (although only 6 of the 9 videos have been posted online as…
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Aunt Matilda’s Cake

In the book “God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?” by John Lennox he puts forward the example of Aunt Matilda’s cake to illustrate the limited nature of science. The scenario has Aunt Matilda baking a cake and number of scientists are asked to describe it. A nutritionists might tell us about the carbohydrates, fats, sugars,…
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Atheism 2.0

“Atheism 2.0” is a 20 minute TED presentation by Alain de Botton in which he proposes a new approach to evangelising atheism. Alain suggests (apparently without evidence) that we have “secularised badly” and we should sift through the rituals, traditions, and behaviours of religion to identify and adopt their efficient mechanisms. “I have come here…
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The Bizarre Bible

Atheists are often told by believers to read the Bible and it will all become clear.  Trouble is, many of us have tried that and it doesn’t seem to have helped.  Take these verses for example: This does not sound like a great night out to me. “But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master…
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Vaccinations save lives!

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory system, whose symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a generalised skin rash. Typically the incubation period (from initial infection to the onset of symptoms) is around 4 days, after which the disease lasts approximately another 4 days. The patient will usually cough,…
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