I know it's been covered in a few placs1 since the hazing ceremony but I felt I had to say something.
Were Murphy-O’Connor, and to a lesser extent the incoming Archbishop Nichols, as the Times correspondent states in both her article and blog3 guilty of an attack on atheism? Or were Murphy-O'connor's words not addressed specifically to the happy band of nontheists who think their 'own' thoughts, but rather to a generalised lack of piety amongst his particular flock or merely to do with faithlessness in general?
I've watched the hazing on BBC iPlayer4. The section in his speech that we are talking about is about 2 hrs 14 mins into the proceedings (So you don't have to sit through the whole pompous nonsense) but here's a transcript
Blaming us lot for war and destruction? - A little harsh that!
Atheism? - 'The greatest of evils'?
Greater than fascism, murder, rape, pillage, plunder, paedophilia or child abuse?
Worse than waterboarding? - Atheism? More evil than waterboarding?
We the freethinkers, those whom you consider the faithless are collectively offended and want an apology.
(On the waterboarding issue, George W. Bush should be made to have a go - see how long it takes him to say 'Sorry I've been a dickhead.')
This is one of the Too many questions
Archbishop of Westminster attacks atheism but says nothing on child abuseWhat? - At globally televised event, two of the highest ranking 'purveyors of goodness' choose to attack a minority group!
At the installation of the Most Rev Vincent Nichols at Westminster Cathedral, his predecessor, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, described a lack of faith as "the greatest of evils" and blamed atheism for war and destruction, implying that it was a greater evil even than sin itself. After receiving the crozier marking the office, Archbishop Nichols, glitteringly vested in newly minted gold mitre and chasuble, also defended faith against the secular agenda.
In his homily he said: "Faith in God is not, as some would portray it today, a narrowing of the human mind or spirit. It is precisely the opposite. "Faith in God is the gift that takes us beyond our limited self, with all its incessant demands . . . Some today propose that faith and reason are crudely opposed, with the fervour of faith replacing good reason. This reduction of both faith and reason inhibits not only our search for truth but also the possibility of real dialogue."
Were Murphy-O’Connor, and to a lesser extent the incoming Archbishop Nichols, as the Times correspondent states in both her article and blog3 guilty of an attack on atheism? Or were Murphy-O'connor's words not addressed specifically to the happy band of nontheists who think their 'own' thoughts, but rather to a generalised lack of piety amongst his particular flock or merely to do with faithlessness in general?
I've watched the hazing on BBC iPlayer4. The section in his speech that we are talking about is about 2 hrs 14 mins into the proceedings (So you don't have to sit through the whole pompous nonsense) but here's a transcript
"...two things I wish to say.Loss of Peace - Peace meaning 'the opposite of War'?
The first is that there are a great many challenges that face the catholic church and indeed our fellow christians as well in our society in England and Wales, I don't need to mention them all.
Battles will be fought, and won and lost, to sustain the Christian presences in the midst of our secular society, but what is most crucial is the prayer that we express everyday in the our father when we pray that we may be delivered from all evil.
The evil we ask to be delivered from, is not essentially the evil of sin, though that is clear, but in the mind of Jesus, it is more importantly the loss of faith.
For Jesus, the inability to believe in God, and to live by faith is the greatest of evils.
You see, the things that result from this are an afront to human dignity, destruction of trust between peoples, the rule of egoism and the loss of peace.
One can never have true Justice, true peace, if god becomes as 'meaningless' to our people.
So the task of the church is essentially to be alive, to nourish Christian communities, men and women filled with the presence of god and in communion with him through faith, through prayer, through the witness of their lives..."
Blaming us lot for war and destruction? - A little harsh that!
Atheism? - 'The greatest of evils'?
Greater than fascism, murder, rape, pillage, plunder, paedophilia or child abuse?
Worse than waterboarding? - Atheism? More evil than waterboarding?
How very fuckin' dare you!!
To accuse those whom have never been guided by a belief in the supernatural, to go to war or slaughter, of being the worst of humanity, especially given your own priest's current rep!We the freethinkers, those whom you consider the faithless are collectively offended and want an apology.
(On the waterboarding issue, George W. Bush should be made to have a go - see how long it takes him to say 'Sorry I've been a dickhead.')
PEACE
Crispy
Crispy
Please leave a comment - Anything will do
The best communications are often,
THREE WORDS OR LESS
OR ONE OR MORE FINGERS!
The best communications are often,
THREE WORDS OR LESS
OR ONE OR MORE FINGERS!
