Holy Office

Jesus vs Dr Who

2011-06-05T07:47:00.000+02:00

Fictional Cosmos

2011-05-09T21:57:00.005+02:00

Oops! Apparently embedding is disabled for this video. Sorry for that.
You can find it at: youtu.be/2Nmov86o-6k

It's All Because (The Gays Are Getting Married)

2011-05-07T12:33:00.000+02:00

Double Standard

2011-05-03T23:55:00.000+02:00

The True Story of Easter

2011-04-23T15:21:00.000+02:00

Well... one of them, anyway:

Atheist Cartoons - Easter collection

2011-04-18T04:15:00.000+02:00

dog’s lovin’ it

the other meaning of easter

the new t-shirt

if jesus had died 20 years ago...

picky, picky, picky

the compassionate kid

the primitive

The Wealth of the Romanian Orthodox Church

2011-04-14T04:18:00.003+02:00

Original Romanian title: Averea bisericii

An inquiry into the wealth and privileges of the Romanian Orthodox Church, aired March 30, 2011, by TVR1, the first channel of the Romanian national television, presented by Cornel Mihalache.

The show consisted of a filmed report and commentaries made by the presenter and his four guests:

Remus Cernea, president of the Romanian Humanist Association;
Mirela Corlățan, journalist, writing for the Evenimentul Zilei daily newspaper;
Father Alexandru Moțoc, General Church Inspector at the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchy;
Sorin Frunză, director of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs.

NOTE: Subtitles are available in both English and Romanian. Just click the "CC" button if they don't show automatically or if they show in the wrong language.

The material is, as far as I know, one of the very few filmed in Romania during the last decade or so, where the Romanian Orthodox Church is treated anything but great reverence and depicted as anything but the savior of our whole society. Even more notably, it was aired on the national television, which is notoriously subservient to the Church.

The church, on the other hand, even though it enjoys victimizing itself, is nowhere near being a victim of circumstances or church-haters or whatever, as it so often claims. On the contrary, not only is there no clear separation of Church and State in Romania, but the Church is being funded by the state, as well as given numerous privileges — some by law and in plain sight, some not quite. What’s shown in the 70 minutes, the total duration of all five parts, is only the tip of the iceberg.

I have created a playlist with all five parts of the show, as follows, which you can access at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B9A316F9BC929581 or http://bit.ly/church-wealth-playlist

Also, here are the five individual parts:

If you need the subtitles files, you can download them in .SRT format on my blog, CaveatLector.eu
(Of course, you're welcome to visit the blog even if you're not looking for the subtitling.)

Last but not least, many thanks to the Youtube user EkemTV, who recorded and initially uploaded the show, and to Lucian a.k.a. Vilo13 who brought it to my attention.

Greaua moștenire a Maicii Tereza (Das schwierige Erbe der Mutter Teresa)

2011-04-04T00:27:00.000+02:00

„Greaua moștenire a Maicii Tereza"

Playlist Youtube cu toate cele 3 părți: http://bit.ly/mt-playlist

Reportaj-documentar difuzat de canalul german ARD pe 25 august 2010.

Realizatori: Michael Busse și Maria-Rosa Bobbi.
Pagina emisiunii: http://bit.ly/mt-daserste (în germană)
Sursa: http://bit.ly/mt-mediathek (în germană)

Religion by Danny Mendlow (FunnyOrDie)

2011-04-01T14:22:00.002+02:00

Scientology on RTL SternTV

2011-04-01T09:54:00.002+02:00

Tide goes in, tide goes out

2011-03-27T08:46:00.000+02:00

Don't Mind the Gaps from American Atheists on Vimeo.

Hitchslaps

2011-03-08T21:10:00.000+01:00

Christianity Debate

2011-02-09T02:17:00.001+01:00

Apostolic Nuncio letter to Ireland Bishops - 1997

2011-01-19T22:25:00.003+01:00

Transcript follows after the jump.

Apostolic Nunciature in Ireland
N. 808/97

Dublin, 31 January 1997
Strictly Confidential

Your Excellency,

The Congregation for the Clergy has attentively studied the complex question of sexual abuse of minors by clerics and the document entitled "Child Sexual Abuse: Framework for a Church Response", published by the Irish Catholic Bishops' Advisory Committee.

The Congregation wishes to emphasize the need for this document to conform to the canonical norms presently in force.

The text, however, contains procedures and dispositions which appear contrary to the canonical discipline and which, if applied, could invalidate the acts of the same Bishops who are attempting to put a stop to these problems. If such procedures were to be followed by the Bishops and there were cases of eventual hierarchical recourse lodged at the Holy See, the results could be highly embarrassing and detrimental to those same Diocesan authorities.

In particular, the situation of 'mandatory reporting' gives rise to serious reservations of both moral and canonical nature.

Since the policies on sexual abuse in the English speaking world exhibit many o[f] the same characteristics and procedures, the Congregation is involved in a global study of them. At the appropriate time, with the collaboration of the interested Episcopal Conferences and in dialogue with them, the Congregation will not be remiss in establishing some concrete directions with regard to these Policies.

For these reasons and because the abovementioned text is not an official document of the Episcopal Conference but merely a study document, I am directed to inform the individual Bishops of Ireland of the preoccupations of the Congregation in its regard, underlining that in the sad cases of accusations of sexual abuse by clerics, the procedures established by the Code of Canon Law must be meticulously followed under pain of invalidity of the acts involved if the priest so punished were to make hierarchical recourse against his Bishop.

Asking you to kindly let me know of the safe receipt of this letter and with the assurance of my cordial regard, I am

Yours sincerely in Christ,

+ Luciano Storero
Apostolic Nuncio

Your faith is a joke

2010-12-17T09:04:00.006+01:00

Pat Condell about respect for religion:

Transcription follows after the jump.

If you criticize religion then every so often someone will say to you, quite disapprovingly: “You may not have faith in God, but you could show a bit of respect for those people who do.” And you might find yourself thinking, “Well, actually maybe they’re right. It wouldn’t hurt to show a bit more respect. After all, nobody likes to be told point blank that their religion is a crock of delusional garbage and a force for evil in the world. That what they call ‘faith’ is merely fear dressed up as virtue, and their pure-heart beliefs are a straightjacket on the whole of humanity. That’s bound to put anybody’s nose out of joint.” So, yes, maybe I could show a bit more respect.

The only fly in the ointment is—I don’t actually feel any respect. I have tried, I really have, and I feel terrible about it, but it just isn’t there. I suppose I could lie to myself and pretend, for the sake of people’s feelings—because we all know how delicate and tender they can be these days—but the bald truth is I don’t actually care about their feelings—at all. Not even slightly. And, of course, I realize that should weigh heavily on my conscience—but, luckily, my conscience knows when it’s being bullied and manipulated, so it doesn’t care, either.

My conscience knows that there is no earthly reason for anybody on this planet to respect religion in any way. Indeed, purely on the evidence religion itself provides in such regular abundance, is every reason to actively disrespect it to the point of outright abuse. And quite frankly, the fact that religion gets so little abuse, compared to what it really deserves, I can only attribute to the unbelievable tolerance, restraint, and plain good manners of atheists and secularists everywhere.

So, if you are a religious person, and if you’re thinking of demanding more respect for your beliefs, please try to bear in mind that you and your religion are already getting way more respect that you’ve ever deserved.

Your faith is a joke. God is a joke. He’s so absurd he’s an embarrassment even to people who don’t believe in him. And he and you, still have it all to prove. So far, no proof has been forthcoming, nor is it likely to be—as we all well know. So, respect, I’m afraid, is out of the question. The best you can hope for is amused incredulity; and that in a good day.

People say, “Well, you can only truly understand faith when you have faith.” Which I take to mean, “When you’ve suspended your critical faculties and hypnotised yourself into believing a lot of fascist nonsense about your eternal soul, then you’ll understand faith.” Well, I certainly believe that.

Faith-peddlers like to put themselves beyond question by claiming that their faith ‘transcends reason’, the very thing that calls it to account—how convenient! Yes, faith ‘transcends’ reason—the way a criminal ‘transcends’ the law. The word ‘transcendent’ is very popular with religious hustlers because they never have to explain precisely what they mean by it, other than some vague ‘superior’ state of understanding more profound than mere reason, which is crude and simplistic next to the subtleties and profoundities of belief without evidence.

If you hear a senior clergyman—and you will—using the word ‘transcendence’ to explain the nonsense he claims to believe, then you know two things. One, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about; and two, he doesn’t want you to know what he’s talking about, either. Faith doesn’t ‘transcend’ reason at all. Faith sidesteps reason. It runs away from reason because reason threatens its cosy bubble of delusion, so faith disqualifies reason the way a Dutch criminal court disqualifies truth and witnesses—and for much the same reason.

If you’re a believer, your faith allows you to adopt a set of beliefs that make absolutely no sense, knowing that you won’t be measured by whether they make sense but by the level of piety you exhibit in believing them. In other words, your willingness to deny reality becomes a measure of your virtue. (No wonder religion is so popular.)

But what a price you pay for this virtue! You’ve been persuaded that believing the impossible is your only hope. (How did that happen?) And that your purpose is to worship something beyond your understanding, defined by and only accessible through self-appointed intermediaries. Your thoughts, your words, and your identity are no longer solely your to decide but are subject to the approval of those who have assumed authority over you through your faith. The people who’ve told you that you were born with something wrong with you—come on!—in a state of sin, no less. A condition that can only be cured by complete submission and obedience to them—surprise, surprise!— from the moment you’re born to the moment you die. And if all this doesn’t exactly flatter your ego—and why should it?—don’t worry, you can give it a special name to make you feel better and persuade you that you’ve still got some dignity. Let’s call it ‘faith’, and let’s deem it to be the highest and most noble and profound of all virtues; and let’s pretend that it comes from within, when we all know that nothing about your religion is allowed to come from within because that would give you strength and freedom—the two things your religion wants as far away from you as possible.

Faith is the grip that clergy have over you. [It] is the invisible rope around your neck that pulls you along the road they want you to travel—for their benefit, not yours. It’s a dead-end word. It’s a word of bondage. It’s a word that lets you believe what you’ve been told to believe without feeling that you’ve been told what to believe—but you have, and you can stop pretending any time you like. It’s not a virtue—that’s the last thing it is. It’s an abdication from reality. It’s a dumb act of self-hypnosis. It’s a cowardly cop-out. It’s gullibility with a halo, and hiding beyond it is like pretending to be an [invalid?].

So I don’t really understand exactly what it is that I’m supposed to respect. It seems to me I’d need to be some kind of moral contortionist to respect something that noxious, something that depends for it existence on a closed mind and is clearly dragging humanity in the wrong direction, giving us false ideas about ourselves and about the nature of reality. I feel if I respected that, I’d be needlessly contributing to the stupidity and ignorance of the human race. And that is one thing I don’t want on my conscience, no offence.

Peace.

Richard Dawkins' Speech at "Protest the Pope" March

2010-09-19T13:06:00.002+02:00

This is the full speech by Richard Dawkins at the "Protest The Pope" rally, 18th September 2010.
Thanks to TheNewsauce for uploading it on Youtube.

The Trouble with the Pope by Peter Tatchell

2010-09-18T07:29:00.003+02:00

From the programme's synopsis:

Human Rights campaigner Peter Tatchell scrutinises the beliefs and policies of Pope Benedict XVI, airing shortly before the Pontiff's state visit to Britain.
Tatchell looks at how many of his proclamations and decisions are in conflict with the values of modern day Britain and western societies. Tatchell examines the impact that Benedict XVI's pronouncements have had on both the developing and western world, with filming in the Philippines, Italy, Germany and the UK.
He questions the Pope's policies on a range of issues including his opposition to contraception, condom use and embryonic stem cell research as well as the Pontiff's handling of the child sex abuse scandal.
The film examines the Pope's plans for the beatification of Cardinal Newman, a 19th-century theologian and writer who lived for nearly 30 years with a fellow priest, and the controversial readmission to the church of Holocaust denier Bishop Richard Williamson.
Interviewing both critics and supporters of the Pope, many of them Catholics, Tatchell explores Benedict's personal, religious and political journey since the 1930s, from liberal to conservative theologian.

The programme's page on the Channel four website: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-trouble-with-the-pope
The programme can of course be watched on its Channel 4 webpage, but it's accessible only from certain locations (the UK, I presume).

Part 1 -- Intro

Part 2 -- Child Rape Cover-Up

Part 3 -- Holocaust Denial

Part 4 -- Stem Cell Research

Part 5 -- Contraceptives, Poverty, Women

Penn & Teller Bullshit - Holier than Thou

2010-09-13T02:14:00.001+02:00

Hell's Angel - Mother Teresa by Christopher Hitchens

2010-09-12T04:03:00.000+02:00

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

RDF TV - The Baloney Detection Kit - Michael Shermer

2009-09-10T00:16:00.001+02:00

Excellent synthesis of how to quick-check the credibility of various claims. Or: what affirmations should raise a red flag?

Why Don't Scientists Fear Hell?

2009-08-07T05:04:00.000+02:00

Homeopathic Emergency Room...

2009-07-14T09:10:00.000+02:00

Bill Maher - " I'm Swiss " Part 2

2009-07-10T13:15:00.000+02:00

Bill Maher - " I'm Swiss " Part 1

2009-07-10T12:21:00.000+02:00