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Religious Doctor Gave Woman Fear Of Owls (UK Legal Case)

Mikefule

Mikefule

Justified & Ancient
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2012, Stoke on Trent, England: a woman goes to her local doctors' surgery, is seen by a locum, and given a course of watching religious TV and going to religious services. In one such service, a preacher speaks about sacrificing an owl. The woman is traumatised. (The owl was disgruntled too: he let out an 'owl of dismay.)

The UK is one of the most secular societies in the world, one of richest economies in the world, and provides free education for all, yet this still happens.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-46402566
 
Bizarre!

I couldn't think of any scriptural references to owl sacrifice. A brief Google search brings it up in connection with the Hindu festival of Diwali.

Would be curious to hear more about what was said.
 
I can't think of any reason to "sacrifice", ie kill, an owl, unless your religion had driven you insane. I note from the article the doctor in question was struck off a few years ago and "his current whereabouts are unknown". Just as well, the RSPB will be out for him, and you don't want to mess with them.
 
Leviticus 14:12 to 18 lists unclean birds that can't be eaten and includes several types of owl. Presumably they can't therefore be sacrificed either; you don't offer an imperfect sacrifice.

The sacrificial system had no power to save, hence it's constant repetition. As a Christian I believe that Christ fulfilled the sacrificial system himself, sweeping away the ceremonial law. I aren't asking you to believe that but just to note it for what follows:-

Now, I suspect that the preacher in the news article was rightly warning his flock not to get unwittingly involved with another religion's festival. If I am right then what angers me is that the BBC give half a tale, allowing people to infer that the Pastor was some crank enthusing about sacrificing owls.

I'm off for a cup of tea.
 
Without reading the official report, it seems this "doctor" was pushing his religious agenda on a vulnerable woman like a fanatic, so there's no reason to believe the preacher they went to see was not similarly unbalanced. He may have been speaking in metaphor, but he certainly had her convinced. Get angry at those two, not the news report. You don't get this shite at my local church (I hope).
 
Hi.

Process of elimination points to Diwali.

No reason to think the pastor was unbalanced. He does however have the right to explain that a festival is not merely a twinkly event with the chance to enjoy some nice food.

The BBC is something I won't get started on as I've lost my soapbox.
 
Roger Nowell said:
Bizarre!

I couldn't think of any scriptural references to owl sacrifice. A brief Google search brings it up in connection with the Hindu festival of Diwali.

Would be curious to hear more about what was said.
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There is the apocryphal story of Herod Agrippa from Jospehus being spooked by an owl and then carking it immediately afterwards.

Owls also feature heavily in the shenanigins in Bohemian Grove, apparently but I think they sacrifice "dull care" and not owls.

Roger Nowell said:
Hi.

Process of elimination points to Diwali.

No reason to think the pastor was unbalanced. He does however have the right to explain that a festival is not merely a twinkly event with the chance to enjoy some nice food.

The BBC is something I won't get started on as I've lost my soapbox.
Click to expand...

But there is no widespread sacrifice of owls in Hindu culture (my husband is Hindu from birth). The Indian government has quite rightly banned the killing of wild species such as owls, and there are criminal penalties if caught. All the Hindus I know or are related to would be horrified at killing an owl for 'Lakshmi puja'.

More here from 2016: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...ivered-for-sacrifice/articleshow/55120503.cms

The standard animal killed at temples is a goat, occasionally birds such as pigeons (captive reared) for people who can't afford a goat, or on very odd occasions a bull. The main festival for animal sacrifice is at Dusshera/Dashain three weeks before Diwali and for most people from south Asia Diwali is just as you describe - a twinkly event with food.

The nearest analogy in our British Christian culture I could think of would be burning an effigy of the Pope on November the 5th; most people would be disgusted but it did commonly happen, and maybe still does in isolated cases. However this does not condemn the whole festival or Protestantism as a whole.
 
AnonyJoolz said:
The nearest analogy in our British Christian culture I could think of would be burning an effigy of the Pope on November the 5th; most people would be disgusted but it did commonly happen, and maybe still does in isolated cases. However this does not condemn the whole festival or Protestantism as a whole.
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I've never previously heard of burning the Pope in effigy on November 5th. The tradition is to burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes, the Catholic terrorist/freedom fighter (you decide) who tried to blow up parliament and kill the king.

Under current law, burning the Pope (or any other religious leader in effigy would probably count as a hate crime.
 
Surprisingly not. I know that down in Lewes they have a huge event including "no popery" signs and throwing fireworks at someone dressed as a pope. I think it is allowed as it is a specific pope. Can't recall who.
 
Mikefule said:
Under current law, burning the Pope (or any other religious leader in effigy would probably count as a hate crime.
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They do it in Lewes but it's all in good fun.

In NI the Pope is burned in many bonfires every year as part of religious sectarian hatred rituals. Unionist MPs, MLAs and Councillors attend these occasions.
 
ramonmercado said:
They do it in Lewes but it's all in good fun.

In NI the Pope is burned in many bonfires every year as part of religious sectarian hatred rituals. Unionist MPs, MLAs and Councillors attend these occasions.
Click to expand...

And the Lord said, "I shall send down my only son (for although am am omnipotent, I can apparently not have another son — there can only be one, a bit like Highlander) and he shall say unto my people love one another and live in peace in my name."

And the archangels looked at each other, and great was the rolling of eyes and the clearing of throats, and each muttered something privily about that bloody apple, or the great flood, then Gabriel took one for the team and spoke thus: "Yea, Lord, what can possibly go wrong?"

And the Lord smiled upon them, picketh up his phone saying, "Jesus, canst thou spare a moment? I have a job for you."
 
I read a book by Mike Clelland this year, called "The Messengers: owls, synchronisity, and the UFO abductee"

Apparently it's UFO folklore for aliens to give people who have encountered them 'screen memories', which usually turn aliens into owls in the person's memory.

I read this book after writing what I thought was a highly original short story about UFO abductions and owls o_O

Now when I think of owls I think of aliens. Maybe the pastor wasn't talking about sacrificing owls....
 
Mikefule said:
The UK is one of the most secular societies in the world, one of richest economies in the world, and provides free education for all, yet this still happens.
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It's a lot more common than anyone would think particularly in service areas like mental health and social work where there is often one to one unsupervised access to 'service users' who will not be believed anyway. The people doing this aren't going to put it in their notes, if any exist which often they don't, they do know that there are unlikely to be consequences for them.

There's also a very bizarre culture in these service areas that I'd say amounts to almost a shadow service which operates entirely differently from how it's suggested it should do or theraputic purposes.
 
So presumably, per this article, anyone who's ever read or heard or seen anything about 'Satanic sacrifices' now has a fear of babies?
 
catseye said:
Babies are actually terrifying, and this is a legitimate fear.
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stewie.jpg
 
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