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laci said:
Evil likes to speak loudly via the media, as it makes its rounds of nurturing its anti-God agenda around the world with money and worldly power.

Money and worldly power...like the Vatican has, or well-financed fundamentalist lobbyists?

Why am I not scared about atheists taking over America? :?

Think about it.
 
I'd love to know why this guy is doing this. I bet his reasons are pretty damn weird.

Man Again Drinks Holy Water at Ga. Church

Thu Jul 14, 4:29 PM ET

ATHENS, Ga. - A man drinking holy water at St. Joseph's Catholic Church was removed from the church by police on Wednesday. The man, Stacy Lamar Bradford, has a history of trespassing at the church, said Tom Rocks, the church's office manager.

On Oct. 15, Bradford was arrested at St. Joe's after he assaulted the church's pastor, broke a processional crucifix and broke the window of a police cruiser, Rocks said.

He was barred from the church for five years, but he continues to come in the church about every two weeks to drink holy water, which is kept for use in baptisms and other sacraments.

"I've called 911 every two weeks for the last six months," said Rocks. "The big question is that we know he has a problem and we don't want to cause any more problems for him, but since he has attacked people before, we're concerned for people's safety."

Although Rocks has called police several times to have Bradford removed from the premises, the church has not pursued a warrant for his arrest.

___
Information from: Athens Banner-Herald, http://www.onlineathens.com

Source
 
When you go to lourdes or any other similar catholic holy shrine,there are always..."souvenirs" for sale.Like a jesus snow storm thingy or christ on a bike or flashing pictures of the sacred heart and so on......little pretend weeping statues of our lady etc...

I find them pretty funny,but I know people who would be :lol: quite offended if I bought them one.......................Now where did I leave my wallet?
 
:lol: Excellent! My friend bought a Jesus action figure for her Catholic mum last Christmas.
 
Astral Shores said:
:lol: Excellent! My friend bought a Jesus action figure for her Catholic mum last Christmas.

I know some one who has a wind up walking Jesus. A friend bought for him as a present, she has a wind up Mary and they used to have races! :)
 
Austen said:
I know some one who has a wind up walking Jesus.

Now if it would walk on water that would be really fantastisc... :)
 
ignatiusII said:
Had it been an advert ridiculing Buddah, Shiva or mohommed there would have been outrage, however, as they were insulting Christ, it was probably thought that no one would object...why is it that one is expected to have tolerance and respect for EVERYBODY'S religious beliefs - unless, of course, the religion in question is christianity?

On the whole people bastardise Buddhist symbols and imagery all the time.

We are treated pretty much the same as Christians on the whole - which is why you can buy bikinis with Siddartha plastered on the front.

Now imagine if they did THAT to Jesus.
 
Caviar Virgin Mary art taken down

A Russian modern art museum has taken down a work showing an outline of the Virgin Mary filled with caviar after complaints by a religious group.
Icon-caviar by Alexander Kosolapov was removed from the New Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow after a local Orthodox church said it incited religious hatred.

The collage of photographs was part of an exhibition of Russian Pop Art.

A museum spokeswoman said the group had threatened to "take their own measures" if the work stayed on show.

Icon-caviar is a collage of photographs of Kosolapov's 1989 work, showing an outline of the Virgin Mary holding a baby Jesus Christ that is filled in with caviar and surrounded by a gilded icon frame.

Artist angered

The spokeswoman said the museum had received a letter of complaint signed by 50 members of the church which said the work "incited religious hatred and violated their constitutional rights".

"The administration of the museum decided to take down the painting to prevent an escalation of the dispute," she said.

Mr Kosolapov, a Russian painter who emigrated to the United States in 1975, accused the museum administration of "defending the interests of those who threaten it".

"My work does not have any religious meaning: the icons and the caviar are just a metaphor for the Russian spirit," he said.

In March, a Moscow court found the organisers of an art exhibition at the Sakharov Museum guilty of inciting religious hatred and fined them 100,000 roubles (£2,000) each.

In April last year, the Russian Orthodox Church and local authorities forced organisers of a modern art festival in Arkhangelsk in north-western Russia, to take down works they considered "blasphemous".

BBC
 
Unholy row over SA 'Jesus' advert

Unholy row over SA 'Jesus' advert

South African fast food franchise Nando's has distanced itself from apparently blasphemous advertisements.
Nando's, known for its witty and often irreverent slogans, denied having anything to do with a campaign with the slogan "Jesus has had his chips".

After a meeting with Nando's on Monday, church leaders said they were satisfied the grilled chicken franchise had not issued the advertisements.

According to one report, the ads were in fact the work of a gambling company.

The adverts, sent by mobile phone multimedia message, featured a picture of Jesus's Last Supper, and the words "Jesus has had has chips".

Disrespect

Angry Christians assumed Nando's was involved, and responded by launching a text message and e-mail campaign against the grilled chicken company.

Nando's managing director Kevin Utian issued a statement saying that the advertising did not belong to Nando's.

"Nando's will not treat its customers with such disrespect," he said.

"Although we are known to push the boundaries with our irreverent tone and typically South African sense of humour, Nando's has never and will never condone advertising that attempts to belittle, undermine and discredit a religious belief."

On Monday, Nando's management put its case to church leaders including Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane and South African Council of Churches (SACC) secretary general Molefe Tsele, and convinced them that the "Last Supper" ad did not come from Nando's.

"The religious representatives present at the meeting are satisfied that Nando's has no connection with the advertisement," the SACC said in a statement after the meeting.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 459036.stm

Published: 2005/11/22 10:08:02 GMT

© BBC MMV
 
Mighty_Emperor said:
"the religious types get their panties in a bunch over something like this example of alleged abuse of the Wigwam"

I don't wear panties (really I don't), and I tend to save "blasphemy" for issues a LOT more important than transient newspaper or magazine or electronic media advertisements.

But I DO regard ads of this type as being in excruciatingly bad taste, with their tacit suggestion that "no Christians need purchase our products." In fact, we can omit the word "tacit."

Can you imagine the complaints which would have erupted had the ad featured the Star of David rather than the Cross? (And not from just Jews only, but from Christians, too.)

Or how about they had used the Star and Crescent outside a local mosque? THAT would have gone over big. Really, really, really big.
 
Boycott backfires: South Park gets record audience

23/02/2006 3:01:13 PM


An appeal from the Catholic Church for New Zealanders to boycott an episode of South Park has resulted in a record audience there for the controversial cartoon.

The "Bloody Mary" episode of South Park drew more than six times the normal audience, New Zealand broadcaster TV Works announced Thursday.

The episode, which aired Wednesday night, was seen by 210,000 viewers, according to Rick Friesen, the broadcaster's chief operating officer.

"I expected a bit of a rise, but not that much," he told the Associated Press.

In the past month, he said, an average South Park episode typically draws about 32,500 viewers to the network's C4 youth channel.

During Wednesday night's broadcast, however, more than 350 people protested outside the TV Works headquarters in Auckland.

The protest centred on a statue of the Virgin Mary, with participants - clutching Bibles and religious icons - singing hymns, reciting the rosary and offering other prayers.

A Catholic priest who led the protesters in prayer asked God to enlighten those responsible for the cartoon "and strengthen them to see how much harm they can do."

Last weekend, New Zealand's Roman Catholic bishops issued a letter urging parishioners to boycott the channel and its sponsors. The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand also protested the episode and said it was deeply offensive.

The South Park episode revolves around a nearby town's discovery that a statue of the Virgin Mary has begun bleeding. The event is dubbed a miracle and the people flock to see the statue, including Pope Benedict XVI, who ultimately pronounces that the statue is menstruating.

In December, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights condemned the episode's debut in the U.S.

The satirical, Emmy Award-winning South Park was created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who write, produce and provide voices for the show.

The provocative cartoon, about a group of foul-mouthed fourth graders living in the fictional small town of South Park, Colo., lampoons current events and famous figures, but Stone and Parker have said that many of the regular characters are based on people they knew while growing up in Colorado.

South Park airs on Comedy Central in the U.S. and the Comedy Network in Canada.

New Zealand's TV Works is a subsidiary of CanWest MediaWorks, which is majority owned by Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications.

Last summer, New Zealand's Catholic Church called for a boycott of the C4 youth channel for airing another cartoon series: the BBC-produced Popetown, a satire about life in the Vatican.

Source
 
Chesterton

I seem to recall that it was another Roman Catholic, G. K. Chesterton, who wrote that "The mark of the true religion is - are you allowed to make up jokes about it?"
 
Cartoon spurs anger

U of S student newspaper apologizes for 'mistake'


Janet French, The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, March 07, 2006

A newspaper cartoon targeting religion has once again sprung into the spotlight -- this time in a two-frame jab at Christianity in the University of Saskatchewan student newspaper, the Sheaf.

The newspaper is issuing a mea culpa after a cartoon depicting Jesus performing a sex act on a capitalist pig was published in Thursday's edition of the Sheaf.

"The comic was actually laid out and went to print as a result of an editorial oversight and a mistake," production manager Liam Richards said Monday. "It was not our intention to have a (public) reaction to it."

The cartoon ran a week after the student-funded newspaper ran a four-page spread discussing the controversial Danish cartoons picturing the Prophet Muhammad, which have incited rioting and violence by Muslim extremists around the globe. Then-editor-in-chief Will Robbins wrote an editorial telling readers the Sheaf would not publish the cartoons, which have offended so many.

Robbins tendered his resignation to the paper's board Sunday.

"In order for us to rectify this foul-up, accidental though it may be, especially given the egregious nature of the offence given to a large section of our campus community . . . someone needed to fall on their sword," Robbins wrote in his resignation letter, obtained by The StarPhoenix.

A columnist has also resigned because of the cartoon and the news editor previously resigned because the paper refused to print the Danish cartoons.

The anti-Christian cartoon has raised the ire of many on campus.

University president Peter MacKinnon has demanded an apology from the newspaper.

"This is a cartoon that is certain to cause distress to members of our community," MacKinnon wrote in an e-mail distributed Friday to all faculty, students and staff. "It has divisive shock value only and does nothing to advance the understanding or debate for which universities should be distinguished."

The Saskatoon Christian Centre issued a news release Monday asking MacKinnon to close the Sheaf and withdraw all public funding until the current editorial staff are dismissed.

MacKinnon wasn't available for comment Monday.

Rev. Renita Falkenstern, a university chaplain with the Lutheran Campus Ministry, said the publication of the cartoon demonstrates a "colossal lack of judgment" by Sheaf editors.

"Usually freedom of speech has to do with publishing the truth," she said. "I think (the cartoon is) a violation of our hate laws. They are actually pretty efficient at offending pretty much everyone. Specifically gays, Christians, Jews, even Muslims."

Tim Austin, student president of Campus Crusade for Christ, said he found the cartoon disgusting and felt the paper published it for shock value rather than to express a point of view.

"Being able to speak your mind is not necessarily the right to bash others without reason," Austin said. "If you have something to say, put it into a constructive format. If you have something against Christians and capitalism, I don't think that was the way to go about it."

Gavin Gardiner, outgoing president of the University of Saskatchewan Students' Union, said his office has received two dozen e-mails complaining about the cartoon.

Source
 
Once again I wonder whether the reaction would have been greater or smaller, louder or softer, had the cartoon featured Moses rather than Jesus Christ. Or Mohammed.

Scratch that last. We already know the answer.

The internal debate I'm having right now is whether the right to free speech and the right to strike a match in a gas-filled cavern are exactly the same right.

Justice Brandeis, that magnificent liberal of the United States Suprme Court, saw differences.
 
Quote: "Being able to speak your mind is not necessarily the right to bash others without reason," Austin said. "If you have something to say, put it into a constructive format. If you have something against Christians and capitalism, I don't think that was the way to go about it."



Strange that for how many hundreds of years, the bible and the koran and I don't know what other scriptures have been allowed to write really bad stuff about "infidels" or satanists or just unbelievers. That could theoretically offend quite a few people {I'm all three of the above :twisted: for example} But is it because these people [infidels etc] are more balanced or maybe more in tune with reality that they can just shrug that kind of nonsense off [ until someone decides to actually act on it and blows people up or burns them on the stake of course]?
Its reverse blasphemy in my eyes, you can happily make fun or insult or wish dead anyone who doesn't believe but then cause a stink if someone from "the other side" takes the piss out of YOUR saviour!
Blasphemy is great, I have as much respect for religion as religion has for me [i.e zilch].
 
Dingo667 said:
Quote: "Being able to speak your mind is not necessarily the right to bash others without reason," Austin said. "If you have something to say, put it into a constructive format. If you have something against Christians and capitalism, I don't think that was the way to go about it."



Strange that for how many hundreds of years, the bible and the koran and I don't know what other scriptures have been allowed to write really bad stuff about "infidels" or satanists or just unbelievers. That could theoretically offend quite a few people {I'm all three of the above :twisted: for example} But is it because these people [infidels etc] are more balanced or maybe more in tune with reality that they can just shrug that kind of nonsense off [ until someone decides to actually act on it and blows people up or burns them on the stake of course]?
Its reverse blasphemy in my eyes, you can happily make fun or insult or wish dead anyone who doesn't believe but then cause a stink if someone from "the other side" takes the piss out of YOUR saviour!
Blasphemy is great, I have as much respect for religion as religion has for me [i.e zilch].

Very well said!

Having lived in England and in the USA (Dallas, TX), I have yet to meet a follower of any organized religion who has not become aggressive when they discover my occult interests.

This is my experience of course, I'm sure that there are many followers of offically sanctioned religions who can live and let live, it's just I've never met them.

Is this a good time to tell a joke about the Muslim, the Jew & the Christian on holiday? ;)
 
Please tell... [clapping my hands in excitement] :madeyes:
 
Four or five years back a joke circulated through the various discussion groups which featured an old woman in a wheelchair who had an guard/attack dog named Jesus.

Christian members, who regard Jesus Christ as divine, found the joke either funny or flat (I fell into the latter group), but absolutely none of us found it blasphemous.

But Muslims members were absolutely outraged at this "blasphemy."

P. S. Jesus said: "Let them who have ears, hear. And for those of you who don't may I recommend the Little Mighty Moses Hearing Aid?"
 
I shall tell the version as offically endorsed by Tony Blair and his Government, so not to cause offence.


The Muslim, Jew and Christian are on holiday in Britian, where it is a wonderful, free society where all cultures, races and religious creeds live side by side in a joyful manner, pleased to live under the rulership of Tony.

Everything here is great and free not like Iraq, which wasn't free but is very free now - so any extremists thinking of causing a stink in Britian you won't get any luck here you know -

" oh who do you think you're kidding Mr Bin Laden if you think old England's done...."

Oh dear, I think it's time for the Lithium salts, quick nurse, the screens..the screens :madeyes:
 
Let me point out that Blasphemy has to be INTENTIONAL. There has to be clear premeditation involved. True Blasphemy is never "accidental."

As an example of a blasphemous utterance with a lot of THOUGHT behind it, I'd pick Aleister Crowley's statement that "Before Hitler was, I AM." This has in fact been described by a Christian theologian as a "most studied blasphemy," and I'd agree.
 
Rotten have the cartoon for those who are interested:

Warning: Will probably offend some (including people who hate crappy cartoons):

http://rotten.com/news/jesus-giving-head.jpg

Some day someone (other than the South Park guys) will come up with a blasphemous cartoon that's actually well drawn and funny/makes a good point.
 
OldTimeRadio said:
Four or five years back a joke circulated through the various discussion groups which featured an old woman in a wheelchair who had an guard/attack dog named Jesus.

Christian members, who regard Jesus Christ as divine, found the joke either funny or flat (I fell into the latter group), but absolutely none of us found it blasphemous.

But Muslims members were absolutely outraged at this "blasphemy."

P. S. Jesus said: "Let them who have ears, hear. And for those of you who don't may I recommend the Little Mighty Moses Hearing Aid?"
Ah, Mighty Moses, I used to love that cartoon.

Sing along everybody:

" Mr. trouble never hangs around,

when he hears this Mighty sound,

Here I come to save the day!
That means that Mighty Moses is on the way!

Yes sir, when there is a wrong to right,

Mighty Moses will join the fight!

On the sea or on the land,

He's got the situation well in hand!"
 
'South Park' Creators Skewer Own Network


Thu Apr 13, 5:14 PM ET

Banned by Comedy Central from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the creators of "South Park" skewered their own network for hypocrisy in the cartoon's most recent episode.

The comedy in an episode aired during Holy Week for Christians instead featured an image of Jesus Christ defecating on President Bush and the American flag.

In an elaborately constructed two-part episode of their Peabody Award-winning cartoon, "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker intended to comment on the controversy created by a Danish newspaper's publishing of caricatures of Muhammad. Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous.

When the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers worldwide in January and February, it sparked a wave of protests primarily in Islamic countries.

Parker and Stone were angered when told by Comedy Central several weeks ago that they could not run an image of Muhammad, according to a person close to the show who didn't want to be identified because of the issue's sensitivity.

The network's decision was made over concerns for public safety, the person said.

Comedy Central said in a statement issued Thursday: "In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision." Its executives would not comment further.

As is often the case with Parker and Stone, they built "South Park" around the incident. In Wednesday's episode, the character Kyle is shown trying to persuade a Fox network executive to air an uncensored "Family Guy" even though it had an image of Muhammad.

"Either it's all OK, or none of it is," Kyle said. "Do the right thing."

The executive decides to strike a blow for free speech and agrees to show it. But at the point where Muhammad is to be seen, the screen is filled with the message: "Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Muhammad on their network."

It is followed shortly by the images of Christ, Bush and the flag.

A frequent "South Park" critic, William Donohue of the anti-defamation group Catholic League, called on Parker and Stone to resign out of principle for being censored.

"The ultimate hypocrite is not Comedy Central that's their decision not to show the image of Muhammad or not it's Parker and Stone," he said. "Like little whores, they'll sit there and grab the bucks. They'll sit there and they'll whine and they'll take their shot at Jesus. That's their stock in trade."


Parker and Stone did not immediately respond to a request through a spokesman for comment.

It's the second run-in over religion in a few months for the satirists. Comedy Central pulled a March rerun of a "South Park" episode that mocked Scientologists. Isaac Hayes, a Scientologist who voiced the Chef character on the show, resigned in protest over the episode.

"South Park" again got the last word last month with an episode where Chef was seemingly killed and mourned as a jolly guy whose brains were scrambled by the "Super Adventure Club," which turns its members into pedophiles.

Only last week, "South Park" won broadcasting's prestigious Peabody. Awards director Horace Newcomb said at the time that by its offensiveness, the show "reminds us of the need for being tolerant."

http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entne ... 64000.html
 
Catholics fail to block "Popetown" in Germany
Thu May 4, 2006 4:14 AM ET



By Scott Roxborough

COLOGNE, Germany (Hollywood Reporter) - The Catholic Church has failed to block MTV Germany from airing the controversial BBC cartoon series "Popetown," which features a squat, obnoxious, gun-toting pontiff.

In an 11th-hour move Wednesday, the bishops from Pope Benedict XVI's home state of Bavaria filed an injunction to prevent the channel from broadcasting a single episode of the animated show, which features the good-hearted Father Nicholas and his trials with his papal boss.

In its motion, the archdiocese of Munich and Freising also called on German authorities to force MTV to pull print ads for the series, which featuring an empty cross and a laughing Jesus sitting in front of a TV with the slogan: "Instead of just hanging around, have a laugh."

"In this way the Catholic faith and the Catholic church are exposed to ridicule, which is justified neither by the freedom of opinion, of art, of the press nor of broadcasting," the archdiocese said in a statement.

But, just hours before the episode was scheduled to air, a court rejected the injunction, allowing MTV to go forward as planned.

"Popetown" has drawn attacks from the Catholic church wherever it has aired, from Canada to New Zealand. In the U.K., BBC 3 pulled the series after receiving more than 6,000 viewer complaints.

MTV Germany stoked the fire by starting its provocative Jesus print campaign just before the Easter holiday. The result was a storm of protest from the local Catholic Church as well as some Catholic grassroots organizations.

MTV plans to show a single episode of "Popetown" and gauge viewers' reactions. The airing will be followed by a live discussion which will include members of Germany's Catholic Youth Assn., media analysts, politicians, German pop stars and MTV viewers.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Popetown
 
I'm afraid that a very large percentage of my fellow Christians seem utterly determined to take 'blasphemy' a LOT more seriously than God does. And they likewise seem to be absolutely unaware that there's an entire universe of difference between 'playful irreverence' and blasphemy.
 
Madonna's giant cross 'offensive'

Madonna's giant cross 'offensive'



Concert footage
The Church of England has criticised Madonna's appearance on a cross to kick off her latest tour in Los Angeles. "Why would someone with so much talent seem to feel the need to promote herself by offending so many people?" said the Church in a statement.

Madonna performed the ballad Live To Tell while suspended from a giant mirrored cross on the opening night.

David Muir of the Evangelical Alliance also accused the singer of "blatant insensitivity".

"Madonna's use of Christian imagery is an abuse and it is dangerous," he said.

"She should drop it from the tour and people need to find their own means of expressing their disapproval."

Madonna's spokesperson was not available for comment at the time of publication.

This is not the first time the pop star's concerts have upset the Church.

In 1990, the Pope called for a boycott of the Blond Ambition tour, in which Madonna simulated masturbation during Like A Virgin.

The video for Like A Prayer also brought condemnation from the Vatican, which claimed it was blasphemous.

It contained burning crosses and depicted a black Jesus.

The 51-date Confessions world tour kicked off in Los Angeles on Sunday. It will reach Britain in July.




http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5006008.stm
 
Some of these arseholes put up an effergy of Christ being crucified on a cross in their churches, with a crown of thorns or sometimes a crown of gold.

Then they pray before it.

But lo!

It is blasphemy and idol worship.

They contradict themselves much to my chagrain!

Idiots !!!

:headbutt:
 
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