You can’t leave, she won’t let you

This quote from the movie Event Horizon seems to typify my state of entrapment with the catholic church.

Ok, fair warning eh? This is going to be one of those anti-catholic rants of mine. If that’s liable to bother you, step away from the blog…now.

Still here?

Ok, just making sure.

Apparently, there once was a law concerning formal defection, complete with a form to fill out and turn in to the relevant diocese. And I found this form, but apparently too late. It seems the church chose to abolish this process in 2009. Their church documents cite minutiae about married couples, but this happens to match a point in time when a lot of catholics in Dublin were formally and publicly jumping ship. I don’t even have to wonder why.

Not that this formal act of defection meant all that much to the church, even then. Evidently, they feel that their baptism ritual has marked me forever. Figures, eh? Wouldn’t do for it to involve any measure of maturity, competence or choice on the part of the victim, er, recipient.

If the bishop or parish priest decided that the individual had indeed made a formal act of defection from the Catholic Church – making a decision on this matter would normally require a meeting with the person involved – the fact of this formal act was to be noted in the register of the person’s baptism. This annotation, like other annotations in the baptismal register, such as those of marriage or ordination, was unrelated to the fact of the baptism: it was not a “debaptism” (a term sometimes used journalistically): the fact of having been baptized remained a fact, and the Catholic Church holds that baptism marks a person with a seal or character that “is an ontological and permanent bond which is not lost by reason of any act or fact of defection”.

The news about proxy baptism of the dead in mormon churches reminds me of this, and why not? As bizarre as it sounds for some obsessed mormons to pretend-baptize dead family members (or Holocaust victims), the same kind of ritual was forced upon me in just the same fashion; the only difference being that I was an infant and not a corpse.

So while atheist groups may put pressure on the church, and on more liberal members of the church to leave it, the church continues to stubbornly hang onto its members, no matter how much of a heretic or apostate they may be. So when the RCC cites its billion or so adherents, know that they’re counting a few questionable entries. Just have a look at how ridiculous it’s become in the conversation between the church and the CountMeOut organization from Ireland.

The Act of Apostasy allows someone to declare themselves an apostate to the faith, i.e. one who rejects Christian teachings. Canon Law stipulates that an apostate to the faith automatically incurs a latae senteniae excommunication. In response to the 16 Acts of Apostasy which were sent to the Archdiocese of Dublin in June 2011, a spokesperson stated that they would not be accepted. Furthermore, it was stated that excommunication does not mean that somebody is no longer a member of the church.

I see on CountMeOut’s Twitter feed that last month, they sent a letter to a ‘pontifical council’ to clarify if there is any process of formal defection left, and if the church would record it. At this point, I have my doubts. I’m sure they will hem and haw, and obfuscate and stonewall, for as long as possible. Maybe I’ll live long enough to see the RCC own up to its behavior, and for skeptics to be able to rally against it.

But I’ll most likely die a (technical) catholic, even if I am a goddamned apostate, because of course I deny the doctrines of the church; its god is just a concept to me, and a nonsensical, nonexistent one at that. I think the only way I could possibly make more of a fuss about it would be to represent some state as a Representative or Senator in Congress, and support abortion rights.

Of course, to do that I’d have to overcome the religiously inspired, societal distrust of atheists in our country. Unlikely.

Can you tell I have more spare time?

I think this is two diaries/posts this week on Daily Kos. Today’s entry follows a theme I have run with before: state sponsorship of religion. Now, the last one was inexplicably popular, not expecting another stroke of lightning as I think that was a slow news day. But we’ll see.

In this case, a school board in Tennessee settled a lawsuit with the ACLU that evidently was not going their way. I can imagine! The news on the subject mentions the school allowing unsupervised youth ministers to preach to students in the lunchroom, rather a captive audience eh? Along with teachers leading prayers and bible studies with students. Agents of the state, couldn’t be much clearer.

And hardly anyone in the Sumner County school district thinks anything is wrong with that. Natch.

Quick edit: less than an hour later, my post hit the Rec List on DKos. It could be another coincidence (or slow news day). But the evidence suggests maybe some people actually like this particular topic. I’m wrong again. Well, I did copy my earlier title, thought it would be amusing. Maybe this will become a theme for me.

Impressive though, that I got some additional info from a source that wishes to remain anonymous. Speaks to how bad it can get there. And that’s all I have to say about it!

I don’t always agree with the FFRF, but…

…sometimes, I do. Today I wrote about one such case on Daily Kos. It’s a clear-cut problem of a school superintendent that didn’t care about the niceties of separation of church and state, and instead chose to continue a years-old tradition of having a preacher say prayers before their school’s football games.

I expect that the kids will get pressured into doing their own school prayers, and perhaps more often too, just to tweak the handful of skeptics who live in that blinkered community in Kentucky. I feel bad for the skeptics. They did the right thing, speaking up, and anonymously so, for their own protection. I suspect things will get worse before they get better.

Although I thought about just writing here about it, I went with DKos because I think the ‘street prophets’ crowd needs a lesson in precisely who is the problem. Their little cadre of liberal believers allows them to think that religion is no big deal and skeptics shouldn’t be so bent out of shape about it. The issue is not them, really, although they share in the delusion (and normalization of same). The issue is the more crazed sorts who so dominate a community, that they violate the rights of others, and actually take offense when busted on it.

Afternoon edit: Surprisingly, this diary/post on DKos may be my most popular one yet. I don’t think any of my offerings have hit the rec list before. Kentucky must be a good focus for liberal ire. 

In which the Daily Show and I slightly disagree

Today I had time to explore the topic of discrimination against atheists, in the context of a recent Daily Show segment. The resultant exploration is up on DKos now. I expect people will tell me not to take it too seriously, which is why I made a point to mention that I already don’t…I doubt it will help, though. Jon Stewart is Gawd!

It was still a funny show, though. I just wish I could treat hatred against skeptics as only a joke. It is all too real. And I laugh anyway, because it’s either laugh or cry sometimes.

Poking fun at Jon Kyl’s misery

Today I was inspired to write on DKos, about politics this time, thankfully. It always seems a bit odd when other topics come up. Anyway, today it was reported how Jon Kyl lamented the trigger to cut defense spending, which was part of the debt-ceiling deal he voted on the other day. Kyl naturally whined about cuts to defense, and utterly fails to see the irony of his situation, after Republicans held the whole damn world’s economy hostage for their purposes. I can see it, and I’m amused. The Democrats better not give up their hostage too easily.

More violent rhetoric!

My latest offering on Daily Kos, concerning the appearance of violent rhetoric amongst the vicious crowd of hippies and schoolteachers and (cue dramatic sting) union members in Wisconsin.

Apologies for the quality. It is literally a selection off a print screen formatted with MS Paint. But when the New York Times cites a ‘Death to Tyrants’ sign, with video accompaniment, and this is the sign from the video, well…I have to call out the NYT for being foolish.

Astounding narcissism

Boring Friday here, so I have been reading the local paper of my former hometown. As expected, I could send them another letter…but having done so recently, I may as well give them a break till next year.

It was an amusing letter that caught my eye, though.

For almost 2,000 years, most of the world had kept and separated time by events that happened before and after the birth of Jesus Christ.

B.C. means “before Christ,” while A.D. stands for “anno domini,” which is Latin for “in the year of the Lord,” and the time since his birth.

Now, those who are fighting against Christianity and God in general are trying to keep Jesus off the calendar by changing to B.C.E. and A.C.E. (before and after the common era).

This concept is ridiculous.

For example, Alexander the Great was born in 356 B.C. If you said he was born in 356 B.C.E., it would still mean that he was born 356 years before Christ.

This is nothing but another attempt by a very small minority of people who want to shove Jesus and God out of society.

The letter ends with a bit of extra snark that doesn’t add to the argument (as if it adds up to much), so I’ll skip the ending and get on with the show.

For almost 2,000 years, most of the world had kept and separated time by events that happened before and after the birth of Jesus Christ.

If this is meant as anything more than exposition — and probably false exposition at that, how much of the world never heard of BC/AD? — it represents an appeal to tradition, a useless piece of fallacious rhetoric. Fortunately, the BCE/CE premise is not based on an appeal to novelty.

More amusing in this picking of a fight is that the supposed birth of Jesus, if he ever existed at all, can show a mistake in the BC/AD system. Further, the idea that it wasn’t even devised until 500 years after the Jesus story came and went, was devised for political reasons, didn’t catch on for another couple of centuries, and began in western Europe while the rest of the world went on with its own calendars…

Well. Clearly, the writer, with his notion of 2000 years of calendar tradition, is quite mistaken and could use a history lesson.

Moving on — to why the BCE/CE system was proposed and put into service. Of course, the letter writer does not pick up on the accurate reason, but instead makes up his own, war on xmas style. ‘Tis the season for the war on baby Jesus, as per Bill O’Reilly, I suppose. I would not be surprised if the letter was inspired by the Factor.

Now, those who are fighting against Christianity and God in general are trying to keep Jesus off the calendar by changing to B.C.E. and A.C.E. (before and after the common era).

And then there is reality — what do the people actually using it now use it for? Why do they do it? Do they hate xianity? God in general?I go back to Wikipedia for the answer.

Common Era notation has been adopted in several non-Christian cultures and by many scholars in religious studies and other academic fields^[10][11] wishing to be sensitive to non-Christians,^[12] because Common Era does not explicitly make use of religious titles for Jesus, such as Christ and Lord, which are used in the BC/AD notation.^{[10][13][14][15][16]}

The writer, of course, has no idea what it would be like to live in a ‘non-Christian culture’. Lucky him. Or any notions of sensibility, beyond the attack on his own delicate sensibilities, that is. I wonder if he understands that Jews have been using CE instead of AD for about a century…or that Jesus is a footnote in their history? Would he care that the rest of the world uses our calendar year because it’s convenient? No, it’s all about our society…the rest of the world doesn’t exist. Parochialism at its finest.

This is nothing but another attempt by a very small minority of people who want to shove Jesus and God out of society.

Not so small these days, pal — 16% unaffiliated and climbing! Not that all of even most of these would give a damn whether we put ‘AD’ or ‘CE’ after the year, when we do, which isn’t often. Most Americans are probably challenged enough counting the Roman numerals for the Super Bowl.

But sure, let’s indulge the believer’s persecution complex for a moment and assume this is all some evil plot to excise his religion’s pernicious influence from our society. Just pretend. How likely is it that we’ll call off Christmas? I like distributing gifts for the holidays, and I’m an atheist. Raw, unbridled commercialism has taken over your precious holiday. Shove Jesus and God out of society? What, when they can be abused as marketing ploys, advertising schemes? Perish the thought!

(skip to the minute mark for the relevant punchline.)

The sin eater

Been a curious weekend, thanks in part to my last WoW post I guess. Curiouser still that my conclusion was a bit off. Well, let’s say more than a bit. Rather more.

Ah well. When it’s this bad, they had better be good friends. Fortunately, they are! And this summer of discontent will pass.

So instead of a predictable, temporary doldrum because of summer or the economy or pre-Cataclysm blahs, the summer of discontent turned inside out and exploded. The guild-of-friends has shown itself to be a more typical species, the guild-of-internet-acquaintances. It was an interesting experiment while it lasted, but perhaps there’s some quality to friendship that can’t be captured by a single interest, even if we seem to spend so much time together at that single interest, or occasionally meet up IRL and hang out and talk about…our mutual interest.

It must be a strange sensation for the more social types, to see a group grow from friends to friends-of-friends to friends-of-friends-of-friends and etc. until you’re in this cliquish organization you don’t know anymore and then…it’s become what you set out to avoid. A few years ago, I can recall back when the guild was young or in pre-planning, reading some papers the social studies majors have written on guild interaction. Ours has become a statistic. I wonder how much of it was predictable.

I was treated to a variety of insults and detachment has served me well. It was interesting to see what personal data of mine they dredged up, how it made them claim they understood me or how they tried to use it to hurt me. It was interesting to see the misunderstood remarks, and to ponder how deliberate that misreading may have been. Detachment allows me to choose freely between feeling offended or hurt by a cheap shot, or taking amusement from it. An insult presents a choice: we choose to be offended. Society has rules, manners, of course. But such systems of propriety are based on values, which are, in turn, choices.

Friendship was of course the running theme. I thought you were my friend. You don’t know what friendship is. You can’t lecture me. I’d be the first to admit…well, maybe the only one to admit that no, I don’t know for sure. After the weekend, though, I have some new data on what it is not. Time to revise the theory. Perhaps it’s a sliding scale from acquaintance to friend. It seems ironic that as one has less invested in an acquaintance(friend?)ship, things like propriety — being nice — seem to matter more.

Unfortunate, I suppose, that the concept of ‘friend’ has become so squishy, been appropriated by social networking and made to do things it shouldn’t, stand for things it’s not. Likewise the paired concepts of loneliness and solitude; there is a difference. Some more irony for me as I find a relevant quote from a theologian I’m sure I disagree with when it comes to god-concepts.

Language… has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone. — Paul Tillich

And yet, how to explain the masses of immature jerks that populate the realms of Warcraft? Oh, they can’t all be overweight, pasty basement dwellers. They’re not all cloistered monks or Blizzard wouldn’t be busy foisting social networking onto its gamers. Someone has to want that crap.

Real misanthropes are not found in solitude, but in the world; since it is experience of life, and not philosophy, which produces real hatred of mankind. — Giacomo Leopardi

One my brother might sympathize with, at any rate. Sheesh, not much WoW to this one eh? Well, sometimes WoW becomes philosophy. If loneliness is pain, and this social ‘pain’ is a choice, then I am glad I do not care. Instead, it is a joke, and so I smile.

On mockery

Since the ‘new atheists’ are all into the mockery, it may be why I get along with them. I may not engage in creative insults, but I can appreciate that style of humor.

OTOH, sometimes the subject material just speaks for itself.

I have to hand it to the users at Amazon for attending to this particular selection with such loving care. There is seemingly no outlet for mockery that went unexplored.

I also found that she has a YouTube channel, and that she’s tried to run for mayor here.

Prescott, WTF?

Another episode of It Came from Pharyngula; I am pretty disgusted with part of my home state today. Well, to narrow it down, with some of the people there. Hey, and it’s not even Jan Brewer’s fault! FYI I am being subtle with my language, but some of the links are not.

Prescott, AZ is a nice enough place north of Phoenix, but not as far as Flagstaff. Judging from weather searches it’s far enough north for the distance and the altitude to make a difference, may not get as chilly as Flag though. Not the kind of place I’d be averse to living in, really. A little cooler wouldn’t be bad.

But judging from this article, the conservatism that dominates the northern part of the state, like Phoenix, has exerted some unwholesome effect upon Prescott.

A group of artists has been asked to lighten the faces of children depicted in a giant public mural at a Prescott school.

The project’s leader says he was ordered to lighten the skin tone after complaints about the children’s ethnicity. But the school’s principal says the request was only to fix shading and had nothing to do with political pressure.

Let’s have a look at this, shall we?

(Taken from here)

What’s wrong with the shading, eh? Does it look bad, somehow? I wanted to get a shot of the entire thing. Shading. For what could that be a euphemism, I wonder. Let’s get closer…

I dunno…let’s have some boneheaded city councilman with a right-wing talk radio show spell it out. If I wasn’t being obvious enough.

City Councilman Steve Blair spearheaded a public campaign on his talk show at Prescott radio station KYCA-AM (1490) to remove the mural.

In a broadcast last month, according to the Daily Courier in Prescott, Blair mistakenly complained that the most prominent child in the painting is African-American, saying: “To depict the biggest picture on the building as a Black person, I would have to ask the question: Why?”

Oh wait. …boneheaded city councilman who used to have a right-wing radio talk show. Ha!

Delving into more interesting, but less well sourced claims, one of the artists mentions a few comments from the peanut gallery as he and the kids worked on it. To think, those kids’ faces in the mural are taken from photographs of students. Out there in Prescott, there’s some kid whose face just isn’t up to snuff for some townsfolk. Poor guy. If this is true, I wouldn’t blame him if he gives up art entirely and studies mathematics. Key to the universe!

R.E. Wall, director of Prescott’s Downtown Mural Project, said he and other artists were subjected to slurs from motorists as they worked on the painting at one of the town’s most prominent intersections.

“We consistently, for two months, had people shouting racial slander from their cars,” Wall said. “We had children painting with us, and here come these yells of (epithet for Blacks) and (epithet for Hispanics).”

Evidently somebody (please!) didn’t think of the children.

The Daily Courier, the local paper, had an editorial on the subject, where I found a slideshow of pictures. It seems to adequately sum up the situation. It’s nice to see such a response from their paper and evidently some of the comments recorded there from people in town. So I don’t share quite as much vitriol as PZ Myers, but I bet the citizens are facepalming over the notoriety this will engender.

As the saying goes, in a democracy, people get the government they deserve. Reap what you sow, and all that rot. In this case, infamy!