What Are Skeptics Afraid Of? [Spirituality & Religion]

@Sharon even children of non Christian immigrants?

@JBird Yes. Parents do have the right to remove their children from the religious assembly and religious education lessons but that right is not widely known. I've even heard of christian headteachers denying it exists.

@Sharon that's totally unfair. At least school should ask consent from the parents.

@JBird I agree. As the head of the Church of England is our overall Head of State and the church is able to appoint its own, unelected, representatives to parliament, I doubt things will change anytime soon.

@Sharon Personally, I see religion as child abuse. These terrified control freaks ASSIGN religion and their own twisted beliefs onto a child, threatening them with a torturous existence in some made up place called hell if they resist assimilation.... they tell them how to think, what to think, eat, wear, say,believe and who to love...pure mind control

@Fernie I tend to agree, certainly in the case of religions such as christianity.

@Sharon
You're right but Yahweh doesn't go in for any religious BS nonsense.

@GodSpeed63 So you don’t believe in churches or the Bible, just direct experience of the divine? Sounds great.

@LeopoldBloom
Those are your words not mine.

@GodSpeed63 Of course not, it can't go in for anything because it doesn't exist. However, those who think it does exist spread their religious nonsense all over the place.

@Sharon
Your 'it' can't go in for anything because it doesn't exist. I'm talking about the one true God, Yahweh, who lives forever. Please, separate Him from your phony gods.

@GodSpeed63 Don't play dumb, you know very well "it" refers to that thing. I'm just treating it with the same (lack of) respect you show for the One True God, The Flying Spaghetti Monster. r'Amen.

@Sharon
The only 'it' that comes to my mind is your lying Spaghetti Monster. Don't tell me you still believe in that thing.

@GodSpeed63 Nobody believes in the FSM. It's a joke to illustrate the absurdity of the belief in an invisible, omnicient, omnipotent deity. Belief in the God of the Bible is just as ludicrous as belief in the FSM.

@LeopoldBloom
Then let them leave 'it' out of the conversations.

@GodSpeed63 The correct spelling is "BUYBULL"

@GodSpeed63 I presume you follow the doctrine of Matthew 7:12. Accordingly, I treat your beliefs with the same (lack of) respect you treat others'. As you refer to The Flying Spaghetti Monster as "that thing" so I refer to your yahweh thing in the same contemptuous way. In so doing, I'm actually showing you respect by doing as you wish.

@LeopoldBloom Nevertheless, it's a recognized religion in some jurisdictions. :)

@Sharon Is it tax exempt like Scientology? If the IRS says it's a religion, that's significant.

@LeopoldBloom I don't know but I expect it depends on the jurisdiction.

@Sharon I'd be surprised if anyone from the FSM even asked for tax exemption.

The Scientologists had a long-standing beef with the IRS; gaining tax exempt status was a huge victory for them. I used to live with a Scientologist, and his opinion of the IRS was similar to how Billy Graham felt about Satan.

@LeopoldBloom I've just tried to check Pastafarianism's tax status. It's recognized as a religion in Poland, The Netherlands and New Zealand. It appears it could be eligible for tax benefits in Poland. I don't see why it would be treated differently from other recognized religions in the other countries. Even in countries where Pastafarianism is not formally recognized, some grant Pastafarians the same freedoms to practice as followers of other religions.

@Sharon Interesting. I know Scientology is not recognized as a religion in all countries. I don't know how easy it is to apply for formal recognition, it probably varies.