Coronavirus and faith - Page 3

Norman Alexander · 26th March 2020, 03:39 AM

Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto

Just to be clear. It wasn't me who said that!

Another data point:

Conservative Pastor Claims He 'Healed' Viewers of Coronavirus Through Their TV Screens
https://www.newsweek.com/conservativ...creens-1492044

Kenneth Copeland this time.

Same scam-artist who said Gawd wanted him to have two personal Learjets. But Gawd didn't pay, his hoodwinked sheep did. And here he goes again - can't help himself.

Resume · 26th March 2020, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by The Atheist

Aaand, in Michigan, the rules of no gatherings over 50 people won't be enforced for churches:

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/...people-gather/

I posted this in another thread, but it works here too.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a9424456.html

Quote:

In early March, before First Assembly of God church in Greers Ferry, Arkansas, called off all of its activities to prevent the spread of coronavirus, just like other churches across the country, dozens of participants gathered at the church for a children’s program.

Now, 34 people who attended that event have come down with the coronavirus, according to a deacon at this rural evangelical church 75 miles north of Little Rock, who spoke to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Two visiting evangelists who led the event tested positive. One child who visited the church for the program has the illness. Thirty-one church members and staff have all tested positive, with more still awaiting their test results.

The Atheist · 26th March 2020, 11:00 AM

And another genius running a church creates a Covid-19 cluster: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coron...b6e051e8dcd517

Trebuchet · 26th March 2020, 11:07 AM

I can't help feeling a bit of schadenfreude over the fact that the vast majority of people who are going to get sick by going to these churches are Trump supporters.

Steve · 26th March 2020, 11:14 AM

I am in favor of these churches staying open. "....... let their god sort then out." comes to mind.

dann · 26th March 2020, 11:24 AM

But much like with the spring breakers, it won't stay within the congregations of bible thumpers.
The fundamentalist Christians will help the coronavirus obey God's command:
Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it.

dann · 26th March 2020, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by The Atheist

And another genius running a church creates a Covid-19 cluster: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coron...b6e051e8dcd517

Originally Posted by Trebuchet

I can't help feeling a bit of schadenfreude over the fact that the vast majority of people who are going to get sick by going to these churches are Trump supporters.

Paula White was in this particular church on March 6, helping spread the word and the virus:

Trump's spiritual adviser coming to town to hold 'Evangelicals for Trump' rally next Friday (Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 28, 2020)
Trump is holding a campaign rally at a viciously anti-LGBTQ church (LGBTQ Nation, March 3, 2020)

Quote:

At the start of the rally, Solid Rock Church Pastor Lawrence Bishop II prayed reporters would give positive coverage of the event. If they didn't, he jokingly called for a mild plague on them.
Trump's minister rallies Cincinnati evangelicals: 'We put God right at the center of the White House' (Cincinnati Enquirer, March 8, 2020)

Thor 2 · 27th March 2020, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by The Atheist

And another genius running a church creates a Covid-19 cluster: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coron...b6e051e8dcd517

Was inspirational to hear the preacher giving God the credit, for beating TB so many years ago. Didn't mention who created the TB in the first place however. Oh! ...... that would have been the Devil I suppose. Now who created the devil?

The Atheist · 27th March 2020, 02:53 PM

Originally Posted by Thor 2

Now who created the devil?

I'd be happy to lay odds that 90% of christians could not answer that question with biblical accuracy.

zooterkin · 27th March 2020, 03:11 PM

Pastor who claimed COVID 19 was a hoax dies of it.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progre...ies-from-virus

Thor 2 · 27th March 2020, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by The Atheist

I'd be happy to lay odds that 90% of christians could not answer that question with biblical accuracy.

Yes it's one of those curly ones that Abrahamic God believers struggle with.

Me: If God created the Devil Perfect how come he turned into such a bastard.

Theist: God gave him free will so it was his own fault he turned out bad.

Me: If the Devil made such a bad decision then his judgement could not have been perfect.

Theist: Hum ............... do you have another question?

Ezekiel 28/15 (Addressing the Devil.)

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Now just who put that iniquity in there?

Mader Levap · 27th March 2020, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by zooterkin

Pastor who claimed COVID 19 was a hoax dies of it.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progre...ies-from-virus

I know I shouldn't have schadenfreude because someone mentally ill died ironic and karmic death, but I am just human.

alfaniner · 27th March 2020, 05:45 PM

I see a certain pastor with a very famous father is flooding the airwaves with Pray the Coronavirus Away ads. "Just say this prayer and you will be cured. Oh, and visit the website and send us money."

Athyrio · 27th March 2020, 09:06 PM

Originally Posted by zooterkin

Pastor who claimed COVID 19 was a hoax dies of it.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progre...ies-from-virus

Yes, god is in control, but when pissed off by the infidels, he tends to smite with a scatter gun.

dann · 29th March 2020, 09:49 AM

I don't think we have had any Sikhs yet:

Quote:

Religious leader dies of COVID-19 after preaching in over dozen villages in Punjab state, prompting strict restrictions.
(...)
The case has stunned India and a popular Punjabi singer based in Canada, Sidhu Moose Wala, released a song about Singh that has been viewed on YouTube more than 2.3 million times in less than two days.
"I passed on the disease ... roaming around the village like a shadow of death," say the lyrics to the song, which Punjab's police chief Dinkar Gupta has encouraged people to listen to as a warning.
India quarantines 15,000 after virus kills 'super-spreader' guru (Al Jazeera, March 28, 2020)

Trebuchet · 29th March 2020, 11:57 AM

Easter Sunday is two weeks away. It'll be interesting to see if the churches are packed like Trump wants. Probably some will be, the ones that attract his supporters.

dann · 29th March 2020, 12:54 PM

For some of them, in particular old people with comorbidities, that is an act of suicidal devotion akin to the final moment of rapture of the Heaven's Gaters.

dann · 30th March 2020, 06:08 AM

Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on religion (Wikipedia)

Delvo · 30th March 2020, 07:34 AM

I presume this must be something I have in common with most other former watchers of Babylon 5: I keep being reminded of the Markab.

Nakani · 30th March 2020, 11:48 AM

I just saw an ad on TV for the improved Ark encounter, "Opening Soon". They better make room in the bible for a new ironic chapter in the Ark saga.

dann · 31st March 2020, 04:59 PM

Another group of religious fundamentalists insist on doing it their own way:

Quote:

Israel's ultra-Orthodox, also known as the Haredim, make up just 14% of the country's total population but comprises a disproportionately large number of coronavirus patients. At Tel Hashomer hospital outside Tel Aviv, 60% of the coronavirus patients are ultra-Orthodox, spokesman Steve Walz tells CNN
Some ultra-Orthodox Jews are ignoring Israel's coronavirus rules, despite a warning to 'wake up!' (CNN, March 31, 2020)

Norman Alexander · 31st March 2020, 05:12 PM

Like Trump and all other belligerent self-destructive idiots, the more you repeatedly and heatedly tell these people they need to do something for their own good, they more they will pout, dig their heels in and be defiant and do the opposite.

If they are going to insist on putting themselves at risk then they can live...and die...with the consequences. It's not even a case of "I told you so". It's "be it on your own head". Let them do it. Be prepared to have to sweep up after the catastrophe.

Sometimes some lessons are VERY hard learned. And sometimes they are NEVER learned.

dann · 1st April 2020, 04:09 AM

Originally Posted by Norman Alexander

Like Trump and all other belligerent self-destructive idiots, the more you repeatedly and heatedly tell these people they need to do something for their own good, they more they will pout, dig their heels in and be defiant and do the opposite.

If they are going to insist on putting themselves at risk then they can live...and die...with the consequences. It's not even a case of "I told you so". It's "be it on your own head". Let them do it. Be prepared to have to sweep up after the catastrophe.

Sometimes some lessons are VERY hard learned. And sometimes they are NEVER learned.

But in this case there's one lesson that atheists tend to forget when they find joy in the idea of Christian fundamentalists exposing themselves to the contagion and dying from it: Even if you are cynical about it and tell them, 'Be it on your own head' or 'You've made your bed, now lie in it!,' it doesn't stay on their heads, and this is a bed that we are all lying in - unless you belong to the chosen 0.1%.

Norman Alexander · 1st April 2020, 05:12 AM

Originally Posted by dann

But in this case there's one lesson that atheists tend to forget when they find joy in the idea of Christian fundamentalists exposing themselves to the contagion and dying from it: Even if you are cynical about it and tell them, 'Be it on your own head' or 'You've made your bed, now lie in it!,' it doesn't stay on their heads, and this is a bed that we are all lying in - unless you belong to the chosen 0.1%.

I take not one milligram of joy from letting these people self-destruct in a fit of pique. Because there will be among them many children die who should otherwise not. But it has reached the stage that only the results of a REAL biblical-style plague hurting THEM will get most of them to wake up. This will be no cute bible story in Sunday School which only has a moral to it. It's the real thing, it's not very nice, people will suffer, it brings mass dead...and they alone will be responsible.

You can also bet your bottom dollar/euro that the ringleaders responsible like Copeland and Graham will have long since hightailed it to their super-yachts, there to isolate in luxury. Torpedoes away!

dann · 1st April 2020, 05:52 AM

Originally Posted by Norman Alexander

I take not one milligram of joy from letting these people self-destruct in a fit of pique. Because there will be among them many children die who should otherwise not. But it has reached the stage that only the results of a REAL biblical-style plague hurting THEM will get most of them to wake up.

You put a lot of faith in the impact of real biblical-style plagues. They hardly ever make any of them "wake up", let alone "most of them." On the contrary, biblical-style plagues supply otherwise happy and content people with a need to believe.

Quote:

This will be no cute bible story in Sunday School which only has a moral to it. It's the real thing, it's not very nice, people will suffer, it brings mass dead...and they alone will be responsible.

No, not really. A minority won't survive it, which will permanently cure them of all beliefs, a larger minority will go through a very unpleasant time and they may come out of it with scarred lungs, and the rest will either experience it as a bout of flu or not even notice it at all. Except for the first group, they will have been spared, God will have shown mercy, and considering what he's demonstrably capable of doing when he gets pissed, their faith will be so much firmer than it ever was. Most people, believers in particular, aren't Voltaires.

Quote:

You can also bet your bottom dollar/euro that the ringleaders responsible like Copeland and Graham will have long since hightailed it to their super-yachts, there to isolate in luxury. Torpedoes away!

I don't doubt that part of it at all. However, we have already seen cases of captains of religion going down with their ships. The ships, however, usually stay afloat after the captains have drowned.

catsmate · 1st April 2020, 06:30 AM

Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto

Data point:

Louisiana pastor defies coronavirus order, draws over 1K people to services

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...eople-n1168501

"It’s not a concern," Spell told the outlet. "The virus, we believe, is politically motivated. We hold our religious rights dear and we are going to assemble no matter what someone says."

That happened in 1918 a few times too. Lock them up.

catsmate · 1st April 2020, 06:32 AM

Originally Posted by zooterkin

Pastor who claimed COVID 19 was a hoax dies of it.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progre...ies-from-virus

Oh dear. How unfortunate.

ETA: I note that right up until he collapsed he was spreading Covid-18 in New Orleans. Nor did he follow the example of Don Giuseppe Berardelli.

dann · 1st April 2020, 07:37 AM

Was he there for Mardi Gras?!

The Atheist · 1st April 2020, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by dann

But in this case there's one lesson that atheists tend to forget when they find joy in the idea of Christian fundamentalists exposing themselves to the contagion and dying from it...

Aside from the odd case like the pastor who died from it, I don't think anyone's expressing joy about congregations being infected, and for precisely the reason you note - they will spread it to believers and non-believers alike.

What I'm seeing is disgust, disappointment and anger, no joy.

Pixel42 · 1st April 2020, 12:08 PM

This can't be true, surely, not even in America:

Central Park Tent Hospital: Volunteers Must Agree To Anti-Gay Christian Dogma

Quote:

The new coronavirus field hospital in Central Park is being run by Samaritan’s Purse, a notoriously anti-gay Christian hate group run by the equally notorious Franklin Graham. Adding insult to injury, the anti-gay conservative Christian organization demands that all volunteers adhere to their “statement of faith” which entails an explicitly anti-gay agenda.

The Gothamist reports:

According to the group’s website, all volunteers, including health care workers, should read and adhere to a statement of faith, in which marriage is defined as “exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female” and the unrighteous are sentenced to “everlasting punishment in hell.”

Norman Alexander · 1st April 2020, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by Pixel42

This can't be true, surely, not even in America:

Central Park Tent Hospital: Volunteers Must Agree To Anti-Gay Christian Dogma

I'm going to be charitable and suggest that someone has run two things together that are not actually together. First, Samaritan's Purse are providing an emergency tent hospital in Central Park run by volunteers. Second, SP the entity USUALLY force their workers to sign such an agreement. The assumption has been that the first has actually led to the second in this case.

Honestly I would not be surprised if they have tried to do this. But in such a heterogeneous and belligerent city as New York, they would be instantly marmalised if they started asking patients on admittance if they were gay, and then denying them treatment. It would be global bad publicity. And right now that's not desirable.

dann · 1st April 2020, 12:32 PM

April 1st?

ETA: Others have picked it up, so maybe not.
Controversy Swirls Around Central Park Field Hospital Regarding Group Building It (NBC New York, April 1, 2020)
Coronavirus Hospital In Central Park Sparks Backlash Over Anti-LGBTQ Ties (HuffPost, March 31, 2020)
De Blasio: Evangelical charity running Central Park hospital won’t discriminate (NYPost, March 31, 2020)

dann · 1st April 2020, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by The Atheist

Aside from the odd case like the pastor who died from it, I don't think anyone's expressing joy about congregations being infected, and for precisely the reason you note - they will spread it to believers and non-believers alike.

What I'm seeing is disgust, disappointment and anger, no joy.

I hope you're right.

Trebuchet · 1st April 2020, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by Pixel42

This can't be true, surely, not even in America:

Central Park Tent Hospital: Volunteers Must Agree To Anti-Gay Christian Dogma

You'll know them as Christians by their hate.

Thor 2 · 1st April 2020, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by Trebuchet

You'll know them as Christians by their hate.

Seem like a nice bunch of guys.

Has any Bible thumper suggested the coronavirus pandemic, is the result of God's wrath because of homosexuality yet? They are a bit slow off the mark if not.

Trebuchet · 1st April 2020, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by Thor 2

Seem like a nice bunch of guys.

Has any Bible thumper suggested the coronavirus pandemic, is the result of God's wrath because of homosexuality yet? They are a bit slow off the mark if not.

Probably. I'll have to check Right-Wing Watch.

And speaking of Teh Gay, the tent hospital in NYC's Central Park is being put up by a virulently anti-gay organization associated with Franklin Graham. There are concerns; they normally require employees and volunteers to sign some sort of anti-gay pledge.

Also, FL governor DeSantis has very belatedly issued a stay-at-home order but specifically exempted religious services.

ETA: Oops, I learned about the tent hospital thing just above.

Trebuchet · 1st April 2020, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by Thor 2

Has any Bible thumper suggested the coronavirus pandemic, is the result of God's wrath because of homosexuality yet? They are a bit slow off the mark if not.

Here ya go.
And of course, good 'ol Pat Robertson.

Lots more I'm sure.

The Atheist · 1st April 2020, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by Thor 2

Has any Bible thumper suggested the coronavirus pandemic, is the result of God's wrath because of homosexuality yet? They are a bit slow off the mark if not.

Lots of them.

It does show the god's sense of humour, though.

Punish fags by creating a disease that kills old christians.

That'll teach them!

Thor 2 · 1st April 2020, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by The Atheist

Lots of them.

It does show the god's sense of humour, though.

Punish fags by creating a disease that kills old christians.

That'll teach them!

Yes the Abrahamic God always struggled with the problem of who to punish for what, so I suppose it's understandable. I suspect the infection rate among the devout, is going to be higher than that of the heathen worldwide, because of their insistence to gather and pray.

Oh no ........ what did I say! Dann is going to jump on this and say I am gleeful about it.

The Atheist · 1st April 2020, 07:13 PM

Originally Posted by Thor 2

Yes the Abrahamic God always struggled with the problem of who to punish for what, so I suppose it's understandable. I suspect the infection rate among the devout, is going to be higher than that of the heathen worldwide, because of their insistence to gather and pray.

Add to that the fact that bleevers have a much older demographic than normal people and you might see a harvest of four times the average.

26th March 2020, 03:39 AM	#81
Norman Alexander Philosopher Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Gundungurra Posts: 8,782	Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto Just to be clear. It wasn't me who said that! Another data point: Conservative Pastor Claims He 'Healed' Viewers of Coronavirus Through Their TV Screens https://www.newsweek.com/conservativ...creens-1492044 Kenneth Copeland this time. Same scam-artist who said Gawd wanted him to have two personal Learjets. But Gawd didn't pay, his hoodwinked sheep did. And here he goes again - can't help himself.
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

26th March 2020, 11:00 AM	#83
The Atheist The Grammar Tyrant Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 28,306	And another genius running a church creates a Covid-19 cluster: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coron...b6e051e8dcd517
	__________________ The point of equilibrium has passed; satire and current events are now indistinguishable.

26th March 2020, 11:07 AM	#84
Trebuchet Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Port Townsend, Washington Posts: 31,047	I can't help feeling a bit of schadenfreude over the fact that the vast majority of people who are going to get sick by going to these churches are Trump supporters.
	__________________ Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant.

26th March 2020, 11:14 AM	#85
Steve Philosopher Join Date: May 2005 Location: Sydney Nova Scotia Posts: 8,417	I am in favor of these churches staying open. "....... let their god sort then out." comes to mind.
	__________________ Caption from and old New Yorker cartoon - Why am I shouting? Because I'm wrong!"

26th March 2020, 11:24 AM	#86
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	But much like with the spring breakers, it won't stay within the congregations of bible thumpers. The fundamentalist Christians will help the coronavirus obey God's command: Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it.
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

26th March 2020, 10:46 AM	#82
Resume Troublesome Passenger Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 18,838	Originally Posted by The Atheist Aaand, in Michigan, the rules of no gatherings over 50 people won't be enforced for churches: https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/...people-gather/ I posted this in another thread, but it works here too. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a9424456.html Quote: In early March, before First Assembly of God church in Greers Ferry, Arkansas, called off all of its activities to prevent the spread of coronavirus, just like other churches across the country, dozens of participants gathered at the church for a children’s program. Now, 34 people who attended that event have come down with the coronavirus, according to a deacon at this rural evangelical church 75 miles north of Little Rock, who spoke to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Two visiting evangelists who led the event tested positive. One child who visited the church for the program has the illness. Thirty-one church members and staff have all tested positive, with more still awaiting their test results.

26th March 2020, 09:45 PM	#87
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	Originally Posted by The Atheist And another genius running a church creates a Covid-19 cluster: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coron...b6e051e8dcd517 Originally Posted by Trebuchet I can't help feeling a bit of schadenfreude over the fact that the vast majority of people who are going to get sick by going to these churches are Trump supporters. Paula White was in this particular church on March 6, helping spread the word and the virus: Trump's spiritual adviser coming to town to hold 'Evangelicals for Trump' rally next Friday (Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 28, 2020) Trump is holding a campaign rally at a viciously anti-LGBTQ church (LGBTQ Nation, March 3, 2020) Quote: At the start of the rally, Solid Rock Church Pastor Lawrence Bishop II prayed reporters would give positive coverage of the event. If they didn't, he jokingly called for a mild plague on them. Trump's minister rallies Cincinnati evangelicals: 'We put God right at the center of the White House' (Cincinnati Enquirer, March 8, 2020)
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

27th March 2020, 02:26 PM	#88
Thor 2 Philosopher Join Date: May 2016 Location: Brisbane, Aust. Posts: 6,608	Originally Posted by The Atheist And another genius running a church creates a Covid-19 cluster: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coron...b6e051e8dcd517 Was inspirational to hear the preacher giving God the credit, for beating TB so many years ago. Didn't mention who created the TB in the first place however. Oh! ...... that would have been the Devil I suppose. Now who created the devil?
	__________________ Thinking is a faith hazard.

27th March 2020, 02:53 PM	#89
The Atheist The Grammar Tyrant Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 28,306	Originally Posted by Thor 2 Now who created the devil? I'd be happy to lay odds that 90% of christians could not answer that question with biblical accuracy.
	__________________ The point of equilibrium has passed; satire and current events are now indistinguishable.

27th March 2020, 03:11 PM	#90
zooterkin Nitpicking dilettante Administrator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Berkshire, mostly Posts: 48,446	Pastor who claimed COVID 19 was a hoax dies of it. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progre...ies-from-virus
	__________________ The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.Bertrand Russell Zooterkin is correct Darat Nerd! Hokulele Join the JREF Folders ! Team 13232 Ezekiel 23:20

27th March 2020, 05:14 PM	#91
Thor 2 Philosopher Join Date: May 2016 Location: Brisbane, Aust. Posts: 6,608	Originally Posted by The Atheist I'd be happy to lay odds that 90% of christians could not answer that question with biblical accuracy. Yes it's one of those curly ones that Abrahamic God believers struggle with. Me: If God created the Devil Perfect how come he turned into such a bastard. Theist: God gave him free will so it was his own fault he turned out bad. Me: If the Devil made such a bad decision then his judgement could not have been perfect. Theist: Hum ............... do you have another question? Ezekiel 28/15 (Addressing the Devil.) Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Now just who put that iniquity in there?
	__________________ Thinking is a faith hazard.

27th March 2020, 05:16 PM	#92
Mader Levap Graduate Poster Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 1,576	Originally Posted by zooterkin Pastor who claimed COVID 19 was a hoax dies of it. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progre...ies-from-virus I know I shouldn't have schadenfreude because someone mentally ill died ironic and karmic death, but I am just human.
	__________________ Sanity is overrated. / Voting for Republicans is morally equivalent to voting for Nazis in early 30's.

27th March 2020, 05:45 PM	#93
alfaniner Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Sorth Dakonsin Posts: 24,881	I see a certain pastor with a very famous father is flooding the airwaves with Pray the Coronavirus Away ads. "Just say this prayer and you will be cured. Oh, and visit the website and send us money."
	__________________ Science is self-correcting. Woo is self-contradicting.

27th March 2020, 09:06 PM	#94
Athyrio Hipster Doofus Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Nutsack, FL Posts: 2,171	Originally Posted by zooterkin Pastor who claimed COVID 19 was a hoax dies of it. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progre...ies-from-virus Yes, god is in control, but when pissed off by the infidels, he tends to smite with a scatter gun.

29th March 2020, 09:49 AM	#95
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	I don't think we have had any Sikhs yet: Quote: Religious leader dies of COVID-19 after preaching in over dozen villages in Punjab state, prompting strict restrictions. (...) The case has stunned India and a popular Punjabi singer based in Canada, Sidhu Moose Wala, released a song about Singh that has been viewed on YouTube more than 2.3 million times in less than two days. "I passed on the disease ... roaming around the village like a shadow of death," say the lyrics to the song, which Punjab's police chief Dinkar Gupta has encouraged people to listen to as a warning. India quarantines 15,000 after virus kills 'super-spreader' guru (Al Jazeera, March 28, 2020)
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx Last edited by dann; 29th March 2020 at 09:51 AM.

29th March 2020, 11:57 AM	#96
Trebuchet Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Port Townsend, Washington Posts: 31,047	Easter Sunday is two weeks away. It'll be interesting to see if the churches are packed like Trump wants. Probably some will be, the ones that attract his supporters.
	__________________ Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant.

29th March 2020, 12:54 PM	#97
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	For some of them, in particular old people with comorbidities, that is an act of suicidal devotion akin to the final moment of rapture of the Heaven's Gaters.
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

30th March 2020, 06:08 AM	#98
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on religion (Wikipedia)
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

30th March 2020, 07:34 AM	#99
Delvo Дэлво Δελϝο דֶלְבֹֿ देल्वो Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: North Tonawanda, NY Posts: 9,296	I presume this must be something I have in common with most other former watchers of Babylon 5: I keep being reminded of the Markab.

30th March 2020, 11:48 AM	#100
Nakani Muse Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Acho Dene Koe Posts: 958	I just saw an ad on TV for the improved Ark encounter, "Opening Soon". They better make room in the bible for a new ironic chapter in the Ark saga.

31st March 2020, 04:59 PM	#101
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	Another group of religious fundamentalists insist on doing it their own way: Quote: Israel's ultra-Orthodox, also known as the Haredim, make up just 14% of the country's total population but comprises a disproportionately large number of coronavirus patients. At Tel Hashomer hospital outside Tel Aviv, 60% of the coronavirus patients are ultra-Orthodox, spokesman Steve Walz tells CNN Some ultra-Orthodox Jews are ignoring Israel's coronavirus rules, despite a warning to 'wake up!' (CNN, March 31, 2020)
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

31st March 2020, 05:12 PM	#102
Norman Alexander Philosopher Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Gundungurra Posts: 8,782	Like Trump and all other belligerent self-destructive idiots, the more you repeatedly and heatedly tell these people they need to do something for their own good, they more they will pout, dig their heels in and be defiant and do the opposite. If they are going to insist on putting themselves at risk then they can live...and die...with the consequences. It's not even a case of "I told you so". It's "be it on your own head". Let them do it. Be prepared to have to sweep up after the catastrophe. Sometimes some lessons are VERY hard learned. And sometimes they are NEVER learned.
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

1st April 2020, 04:09 AM	#103
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	Originally Posted by Norman Alexander Like Trump and all other belligerent self-destructive idiots, the more you repeatedly and heatedly tell these people they need to do something for their own good, they more they will pout, dig their heels in and be defiant and do the opposite. If they are going to insist on putting themselves at risk then they can live...and die...with the consequences. It's not even a case of "I told you so". It's "be it on your own head". Let them do it. Be prepared to have to sweep up after the catastrophe. Sometimes some lessons are VERY hard learned. And sometimes they are NEVER learned. But in this case there's one lesson that atheists tend to forget when they find joy in the idea of Christian fundamentalists exposing themselves to the contagion and dying from it: Even if you are cynical about it and tell them, 'Be it on your own head' or 'You've made your bed, now lie in it!,' it doesn't stay on their heads, and this is a bed that we are all lying in - unless you belong to the chosen 0.1%.
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

1st April 2020, 05:12 AM	#104
Norman Alexander Philosopher Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Gundungurra Posts: 8,782	Originally Posted by dann But in this case there's one lesson that atheists tend to forget when they find joy in the idea of Christian fundamentalists exposing themselves to the contagion and dying from it: Even if you are cynical about it and tell them, 'Be it on your own head' or 'You've made your bed, now lie in it!,' it doesn't stay on their heads, and this is a bed that we are all lying in - unless you belong to the chosen 0.1%. I take not one milligram of joy from letting these people self-destruct in a fit of pique. Because there will be among them many children die who should otherwise not. But it has reached the stage that only the results of a REAL biblical-style plague hurting THEM will get most of them to wake up. This will be no cute bible story in Sunday School which only has a moral to it. It's the real thing, it's not very nice, people will suffer, it brings mass dead...and they alone will be responsible. You can also bet your bottom dollar/euro that the ringleaders responsible like Copeland and Graham will have long since hightailed it to their super-yachts, there to isolate in luxury. Torpedoes away!
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015} Last edited by Norman Alexander; 1st April 2020 at 05:13 AM.

1st April 2020, 05:52 AM	#105
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	Originally Posted by Norman Alexander I take not one milligram of joy from letting these people self-destruct in a fit of pique. Because there will be among them many children die who should otherwise not. But it has reached the stage that only the results of a REAL biblical-style plague hurting THEM will get most of them to wake up. You put a lot of faith in the impact of real biblical-style plagues. They hardly ever make any of them "wake up", let alone "most of them." On the contrary, biblical-style plagues supply otherwise happy and content people with a need to believe. Quote: This will be no cute bible story in Sunday School which only has a moral to it. It's the real thing, it's not very nice, people will suffer, it brings mass dead...and they alone will be responsible. No, not really. A minority won't survive it, which will permanently cure them of all beliefs, a larger minority will go through a very unpleasant time and they may come out of it with scarred lungs, and the rest will either experience it as a bout of flu or not even notice it at all. Except for the first group, they will have been spared, God will have shown mercy, and considering what he's demonstrably capable of doing when he gets pissed, their faith will be so much firmer than it ever was. Most people, believers in particular, aren't Voltaires. Quote: You can also bet your bottom dollar/euro that the ringleaders responsible like Copeland and Graham will have long since hightailed it to their super-yachts, there to isolate in luxury. Torpedoes away! I don't doubt that part of it at all. However, we have already seen cases of captains of religion going down with their ships. The ships, however, usually stay afloat after the captains have drowned.
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

1st April 2020, 06:30 AM	#106
catsmate No longer the 1 Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 23,864	Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto Data point: Louisiana pastor defies coronavirus order, draws over 1K people to services https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...eople-n1168501 "It’s not a concern," Spell told the outlet. "The virus, we believe, is politically motivated. We hold our religious rights dear and we are going to assemble no matter what someone says." That happened in 1918 a few times too. Lock them up.
	__________________ As human right is always something given, it always in reality reduces to the right which men give, "concede," to each other. If the right to existence is conceded to new-born children, then they have the right; if it is not conceded to them, as was the case among the Spartans and ancient Romans, then they do not have it. For only society can give or concede it to them; they themselves cannot take it, or give it to themselves.

1st April 2020, 06:32 AM	#107
catsmate No longer the 1 Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 23,864	Originally Posted by zooterkin Pastor who claimed COVID 19 was a hoax dies of it. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progre...ies-from-virus Oh dear. How unfortunate. ETA: I note that right up until he collapsed he was spreading Covid-18 in New Orleans. Nor did he follow the example of Don Giuseppe Berardelli.
	__________________ As human right is always something given, it always in reality reduces to the right which men give, "concede," to each other. If the right to existence is conceded to new-born children, then they have the right; if it is not conceded to them, as was the case among the Spartans and ancient Romans, then they do not have it. For only society can give or concede it to them; they themselves cannot take it, or give it to themselves. Last edited by catsmate; 1st April 2020 at 06:35 AM.

1st April 2020, 07:37 AM	#108
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	Was he there for Mardi Gras?!
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

1st April 2020, 11:41 AM	#109
The Atheist The Grammar Tyrant Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 28,306	Originally Posted by dann But in this case there's one lesson that atheists tend to forget when they find joy in the idea of Christian fundamentalists exposing themselves to the contagion and dying from it... Aside from the odd case like the pastor who died from it, I don't think anyone's expressing joy about congregations being infected, and for precisely the reason you note - they will spread it to believers and non-believers alike. What I'm seeing is disgust, disappointment and anger, no joy.
	__________________ The point of equilibrium has passed; satire and current events are now indistinguishable.

1st April 2020, 12:08 PM	#110
Pixel42 Schrödinger's cat Join Date: May 2004 Location: Malmesbury, UK Posts: 13,010	This can't be true, surely, not even in America: Central Park Tent Hospital: Volunteers Must Agree To Anti-Gay Christian Dogma Quote: The new coronavirus field hospital in Central Park is being run by Samaritan’s Purse, a notoriously anti-gay Christian hate group run by the equally notorious Franklin Graham. Adding insult to injury, the anti-gay conservative Christian organization demands that all volunteers adhere to their “statement of faith” which entails an explicitly anti-gay agenda. The Gothamist reports: According to the group’s website, all volunteers, including health care workers, should read and adhere to a statement of faith, in which marriage is defined as “exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female” and the unrighteous are sentenced to “everlasting punishment in hell.”
	__________________ "If you trust in yourself ... and believe in your dreams ... and follow your star ... you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things" - Terry Pratchett

1st April 2020, 12:32 PM	#111
Norman Alexander Philosopher Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Gundungurra Posts: 8,782	Originally Posted by Pixel42 This can't be true, surely, not even in America: Central Park Tent Hospital: Volunteers Must Agree To Anti-Gay Christian Dogma I'm going to be charitable and suggest that someone has run two things together that are not actually together. First, Samaritan's Purse are providing an emergency tent hospital in Central Park run by volunteers. Second, SP the entity USUALLY force their workers to sign such an agreement. The assumption has been that the first has actually led to the second in this case. Honestly I would not be surprised if they have tried to do this. But in such a heterogeneous and belligerent city as New York, they would be instantly marmalised if they started asking patients on admittance if they were gay, and then denying them treatment. It would be global bad publicity. And right now that's not desirable.
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

1st April 2020, 12:32 PM	#112
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	April 1st? ETA: Others have picked it up, so maybe not. Controversy Swirls Around Central Park Field Hospital Regarding Group Building It (NBC New York, April 1, 2020) Coronavirus Hospital In Central Park Sparks Backlash Over Anti-LGBTQ Ties (HuffPost, March 31, 2020) De Blasio: Evangelical charity running Central Park hospital won’t discriminate (NYPost, March 31, 2020)
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx Last edited by dann; 1st April 2020 at 12:40 PM.

1st April 2020, 12:34 PM	#113
dann Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 13,596	Originally Posted by The Atheist Aside from the odd case like the pastor who died from it, I don't think anyone's expressing joy about congregations being infected, and for precisely the reason you note - they will spread it to believers and non-believers alike. What I'm seeing is disgust, disappointment and anger, no joy. I hope you're right.
	__________________ /dann "Stupidity renders itself invisible by assuming very large proportions. Completely unreasonable claims are irrefutable. Ni-en-leh pointed out that a philosopher might get into trouble by claiming that two times two makes five, but he does not risk much by claiming that two times two makes shoe polish." B. Brecht "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions." K. Marx

1st April 2020, 01:20 PM	#114
Trebuchet Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Port Townsend, Washington Posts: 31,047	Originally Posted by Pixel42 This can't be true, surely, not even in America: Central Park Tent Hospital: Volunteers Must Agree To Anti-Gay Christian Dogma You'll know them as Christians by their hate.
	__________________ Cum catapultae proscribeantur tum soli proscripti catapultas habeant.

1st April 2020, 01:45 PM	#115
Thor 2 Philosopher Join Date: May 2016 Location: Brisbane, Aust. Posts: 6,608	Originally Posted by Trebuchet You'll know them as Christians by their hate. Seem like a nice bunch of guys. Has any Bible thumper suggested the coronavirus pandemic, is the result of God's wrath because of homosexuality yet? They are a bit slow off the mark if not.
	__________________ Thinking is a faith hazard.