Category: Christianity

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Crossing St. Vinnies off our shopping list

No religion here

Any publicity is good publicity, so maybe the faithful will rally to the cause and fill the gap after fallout from the St. Vincent de Paul court loss to ex-volunteer Linda Walsh spreads. Moreover, perhaps they will look askance at a hypocrital organisation which invested a truckload of money and a barrage of lawyers with a shocking, medieval defence against one of its volunteers.

Those of us who thought the shop up the road was all about helping the poor stand corrected. “The primary function of the society,” said St Vincent de Paul’s lawyers, “is to inculcate the Catholic faith in its members.”

From the St Vinnie’s web site:

We follow the teachings of the Scriptures:

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, protect the rights of those who are helpless.

Speak out and pronounce a sentence of justice, defend the cause of the wretched and the poor.”
(Proverbs 31:8-9)

Yeah, right. Unbelievable hypocrisy.

There’s few things as repulsive as powerful religious organisations with their hand in the public till who sanctimoniously harass and belittle charitable people for not adherring to their irrational belief systems.

The case also highlights the importance of maintaining freedom from religion as well as freedom of religion in any Bill of Rights heading our way. God save us from those who want to save us!

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Boot Bush

Christmas is an annoying time of year, what with cards to write, the yearly screed of trivia to interest others to be emailed or posted to the last few remaining computer illiterates, stuffing and cooking turkeys in the heat, enduring folks’ screaming, spoilt offspring, sniping rellies in your face, receiving presents one doesn’t want to be recycled months later for others’ birthdays, and after Boxing Day, all those dishes and floor mess to clean up.

Every year we say, never again, next year we’re going overseas to somewhere not nauseatingly Christian – perhaps the Celestial Mountains in China or Mozambique or even Bali – risking rabies and religious fanatics of other ilks would be worth the escape from the parochial, consumerist Sunshine Coast.

Here’s an early Christmas prezzie to the Fringe from the twitterverse – chuck a shoe at Bush. That Dubya will be history in January is the best prezzie of all.

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Prevent the Victoriana epidemic

ConroydomsThe drift of the ALP to the right during Howard’s reign was palpable and now, nearly a year after the ALP winning the last federal election, Christian fundamentalism has inserted its cloying puritanical payload firmly into the Oz body politic. With the Family Fist joyously inserted into its nether regions, whilst ignoring the admonishments of savvy internet doctors and pleas of free speech advocates, the ALP Government is exposing Australia to the risk of serious infection by the sinister Victoriana bacillus. Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, exhibiting the most florid symptoms of technological denial and prudery, is refusing to backtrack on his seriously flawed bleatings that other western democracies employ internet condoms similar to the pricked sheath he proposes. In fact, Conroy’s proposed internet censorship regime is shared only by such human rights champions as China, North Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Conroy is avoiding the question of exactly what ‘unwanted material’ he’s hoping to block from dainty Australians’ minds, whilst attacking and attempting to gag learned critics of his plans. Is this the thin edge of a totalitarian wedge which Conroy, along with the sexually repressed, intolerant religious right, is pushing?

Paws off, ConroyThe Government needs the support of the Greens and Opposition to ram net censorship legislation through, so they are unlikely at present to succeed. However, Conroy is still signalling the commencement of censorship trials from December 24 and has called for expressions of interest from ISPs. Quite possibly the Government has another agenda – their attack on the internet, being pre-doomed to technological failure, may still prove a successful tactic in obtaining the support of Senators Xenophon and Fielding for other Government bills.

What to do? prevention of a nauseating epidemic of Victoriana is better and less costly than cure. There’s an online petition at Computer World worth signing. Folks can also contact Conroy direct here.

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Fantastic Catho kitsch

turn_jesus_on.jpg

Scavenged from Pharangula, this delightfully symbolic piece from the planet’s premier throwback fertility cult stimulated gales of laughter in the Fringe residence. We do try always to look on the brighter side of life 🙂

Some of the hysterical captions proposed thus far:

“Jesus is the way, the wang, and the light.”

“Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.”

“Flip my switch and be enlightened.”

“Jesus loves the little children….”

“Suffer the little children to come unto me.”

“Children turn me on.”

“Jesus was hung so that we may see the light.”

For more delectable examples of primitive Catholic folk art and wonderful satire knifing credulous Catho devotees visit the seminal Madonna of the Toast site. The most recent post, examining the divine significance of peculiarly shaped pretzels is funny! There’s easy eBay bucks to be found in your local supermarket.