Uh-oh.

[Taxloss]

Watch the religion apologists swoop in as though the batsignal had been beamed into the night sky ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1553203

[onager]

1. I'm there, d00d!

I'll be surprised if my message isn't alerted and removed. But it was fun anyway. Thanks!

No original thoughts, so I just said what I usually say on these threads.

[Book Lover]

9. You took the words out of my mouth!

I was going to post about how Islam was already in the continent's culture when the Christians finally showed up. That is one hella thread (yes, I'm back to saying, "hella," just when you all thought it was safe... :-)

[beam me up scottie]

2. My head just exploded.

"The influence of Christian beliefs has been a tremendous blessing to the women and children of Africa, lifting up their well-being in a way that billions of aid dollars can't."

:banghead:

[fshrink]

3. This "influence"

has ruined entire civizations, actually exterminated millions and accomplished this through lies, manipulations of all kinds, and with a disgusting saccharine smile. These beliefs are worst than plague, a tremendous curse that we haven't been able to cure.

[beam me up scottie]

4. I didn't know where to begin.

Luckily, Manic Expression showed up and set the record straight.
What a despicable insult to African culture.

[onager]

6. When the Xian missionaries invaded Africa...

Some of them were surprised to discover that they were preaching to people who already believed in one god and lived according to a written moral code. They were Muslims.

I've never gotten over reading the book "King Leopold's Ghost," about how the Belgians "civilized" the Congo. Families were destroyed, innocent people were beaten and mutilated to make them submissive to their bosses, and even children were literally worked to death. But as compensation, here came the missionaries with that fairy tale about Jesus and Pie In The Sky When You Die.

[beam me up scottie]

7. That's what really got to me

on that other thread.
Hearing how much the pope loves Africans and how if they had followed his teachings, none of them would have gotten aids.
I got so angry I was shaking when I was told to "mind my own business" and let the pope "play in his backyard"...

[Taxloss]

10. Truly, it is a God of Love.

Apart from the 2000 years of slaughter and torture, of course.

But suggest that this incident in my home city is anything but a grotesque aberrations, then you're either inventing the story or are an "ugly bigot".

[beam me up scottie]

11. I noticed that.

Same here in buybullville, we excel at revisionist history.

Man, did you ever call that one.

[Warpy]

18. Very plucky of you for trying

I had to walk away from antivaccination hysterics tonight who kept repeating some junk science article repeated from some blog by Salon, a magazine that generally knows better. OOOOEEEEEOOOOOEEE It's a conspiracy, the mean old drug companies have bought off every journal of pediatric psychiatry, psychology and medicine and only Salon knows the truth.

I didn't have the energy left to take on a bunch of facile true believers.

[beam me up scottie]

19. sigh...

I know, we have to pick our battles.
I cannot believe he is still here, you should see some of his other posts. (oh, I forgot-you're a girl too, don't look, bad for the blood pressure, really bad)

The vaccination conspiracy blows my mind.
And chiropractors will save the child...

Why isn't everyone skeptical ?
Sheeple.

The greatest gift my parents gave me was to teach me to think for myself and to always question.
Always.

And I've learned to distrust that which cannot be questioned.

[Warpy]

20. Skepticism came with being a nurse for over 20 years

Any nurse who's been around longer than 2 years disbelieves 50% of what s/he sees and 90% of what s/he's told.

People really do seem to pick and choose the oddest belief systems for themselves.

The best I could do today was when a SYT approached me outside the super market and asked if I'd been SAVED. I said, "No, dear, I've been recycled."

I have no idea how long it took to penetrate the cement, but I was able to hop onto my scooter and get away before it did.

[beam me up scottie]

21. I want to hang out with you.

You are a nurse, you are a smart ass AND you drive a scooter.

You should wear a cape, they might leave you alone.

[YankeyMCC]

5. A milestone

Appears I'm the originator of a thread that earned the little "flame" icon. :evilgrin:

First time I did that, and I didn't even post in the thread myself after the original post.

[beam me up scottie]

8. Flamer !

Hate monger!
Evil atheist with an agenda!

Let's hear it for Yankee !
:applause:

[trotsky]

13. What a doozy, Yankey!

Earlier this afternoon I thought it was dying out. Then I log in tonight to find it as intense as ever!

[YankeyMCC]

14. heh

Looks like you and I just made similar points about religion being an enabler. You did it much more succinctly though, very nice.

[BiggJawn]

12. "Hilter wasn't a REAL Christian because I SAY so!"

I get SO tired of that argument. The woo-woos need to face it that the biggest monster in history was their Brother in Christ.

And while the one finally allowed that MAYBE it wasn't Mao and Little Joe's Atheism that made them so mean, he still ignored the assertion that religion, and particularly christianity, has had MOUNTAINS of genocide committed IN THE NAME OF THEIR GODS.

Or are we to believe that Torquemada or the Jesuits who oppressed the American Aboriginals were just sadistic guys regardless of their position in the Church?

[beam me up scottie]

15. We need to create our own batsignal.

Any ideas?

[Taxloss]

16. We certainly do.

An A&A alert ring, because this crap crops up endlessly in multiple forums and we're playing whack-a-mole, people.

But we don't want to be seen to be organising against people of faith.

[beam me up scottie]

17. That reminds me of what Zhade

posted the first time I met him on DU.
He was told that he didn't need to respond to the posts in that particular thread because they weren't directed at him.
He responded with

"What, and let you continue to malign my fellow atheists?"

It was great. I felt like the calvary had arrived.

[Gelliebeans]

22. sheesh

you were about to be strung up by your toenails eh? :evilgrin:

I just wish they would spend half as much time nailing the religious right for taking over their beloved religion as they do screaming persecution from atheists :eyes:

[YankeyMCC]

23. I just gotta say

I honestly had no idea that thread would get so ... lively 230 odd posts, usually my LBN posts sink right off the first page in a matter of hours. lol

[Taxloss]

24. Partly my malign influence.

This is a rare case of something that happened in my hometown being discussed in LBN, and I got passionate. The actions of charismatic churches in north London make your American chainstore fundamentalism look as innocuous as a frickin' frapuccino.

And the fact that these charismatic consider themselves very much "real Christians" is probably what summoned the God squad (who operate a bit like Jesus' lawyer in a police interrogation).

Anyway, good catch Yankey, you even beat emad to the plate.

[Taxloss]

25. Look, I used a baseball reference!

Maybe I'm spending too much time on an American board ...

[beam me up scottie]

26. Did you guys see

this post ?:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1553203&mesg_id=1556669

"That would be mean":spray:
:rofl:

[Taxloss]

27. Christ is a Hollywood happy ending tacked onto a bad movie.

If he ever saw what was being done in his name he either wouldn't understand it - "I was only taking to those guys back then, what does this have to do with anything?" - or would be horrified beyond words. "The son of WHO?"