"Religion is a hypothesis about the world: the hypothesis that things are the way they are, at least in part, because of supernatural entities or forces acting on the natural world. And there's no good reason to treat it any differently from any other hypothesis. Which includes pointing out its flaws and inconsistencies, asking its adherents to back it up with solid evidence, making jokes about it when it's just being silly, offering arguments and evidence for our own competing hypotheses...and trying to persuade people out of it if we think it's mistaken. It's persuasion. It's the marketplace of ideas. Why should religion get a free ride"

Greta Christina

Tuesday, 12 January 2010

Blackberry and Apple Pie in the Sky

So the Reverend Canon David Parrott adapted a service used for blessing ploughshares to bestow God's blessings on those icons of cities everywhere the iPhone and the Blackberry. The bit that creases me up is this.
"By Your blessing, may these phones and computers, symbols of all the technology and communication in our daily lives be a reminder to us that you are a God who communicatures with us and who speaks by your Word. Amen."

Yeah right! A God whose last "communication" was a garbled mish-mash of post hoc rationalisations cobbled together two millenia ago (unless you count the 7th century cameo spot co-starring Mohammed).. If the bible was an email it would have to come with the standard caveat "opinions expressed in this communication are not necessarily those of the management". Since then he never phones, he never writes. You would almost think he'd ceased to exist.
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4 comments:

  1. D15 January 2010 at 11:13

    My brother JD told me a couple years ago that God wants to have a relationship with me. I asked him why God never calls, never writes, never buys me flowers, never offers to buy me dinner or drive me to work, never gives me a back rub or even a hug, he never really makes his presence known for me. Far from me pining after my object of affection ("He doesn't even know I exist!"), this is just the other way 'round.

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  2. Steve Bowen18 January 2010 at 12:20

    So what do we have to do to get our "backs rubbed" do you think? People who believe in God manage to "see" and "hear" him everywhere. More interestingly, whenever God talks to them he always seems to agree with their opinions, no matter how bizarre or loathsome they may be... funny that.

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  3. Kiz3 February 2010 at 22:20

    I think it's just an excuse for grown ups to have and imaginary friend, maybe they are suffering childhood regression, or maybe they are just plain crazy. This is their way of hiding the fact that they secretly talk to a made up person or even themselves in order to have the will to live and feel they have to inflict their belief on others to make sure they are not the only ones that talk to invisible, supernatural beings.

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  4. Steve Bowen3 February 2010 at 22:41

    We all have internal dialogues (monologues? autologues?)with ourselves, a way of testing our opinions about the world. If you take your validation from authority (parents, teachers etc) deciding that the voice in your head is God, rather than just , well , you, is a way of vindicating youself by the highest authority.

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