Comments on The Pensive Quill: Stoned for God

Fionnchú You make a good point, no government, no...

2010-01-07T23:44:31.553Z

Fionnchú

You make a good point, no government, no matter what its political position should be given the power to execute their own citizens, or anyone else come to that. Only a completely reckless idiot or complete knave gives them the power to do this.

it was interesting no one from the US government, or from an islamic state came to the defence of the poor soul from the UK who the Chinese State recently culled, as they were in no position to do so.

The organised left also tip toed round this retched deed for much the same reason.

'"Atheist Ireland" publlshes 25 blasphemous quotes'-- Speak of the devil? All the same, lots of rather puerile (and sub-literate) comments by the hundreds appended often reveal the lack of civility on the secular side as well as the religious, it must be admitted.

That being said, anticipating an old objection: in an atheistic society (if ever a pure one existed?), on moral grounds of punishing a dissenter, capital punishment for a "crime" has also been exacted. People were murdered for "deviancy" under Mao or Stalin. Taking god out of the picture, would people then evolve (or not choose to create) a system of not putting others to death, on "purely" rational grounds? Or, do we have embedded in us some Hobbesian drive to murder those who resist the party or a principle?

Mick, I think it is those who throw the stones tha...

2010-01-07T21:13:32.166Z

Mick, I think it is those who throw the stones that need to be got to grips with as well as the others you refer to. The Nuremberg defence is no defence in my view. As for the US and UK governments - not much changed there.

KateMcC, indeed they would throw stones. Those who think gays are an abomination would be at the front of the queue.

Rory, maybe they should just be disappeared rather than stoned.

Of course it is not those who actually throw the s...

2010-01-07T17:46:51.340Z

Of course it is not those who actually throw the stones we need to get to grips with, as reprehensible as their behaviour is, but those who poisons peoples minds from a young age into believing it is 'gods' will they go down to the local football stadium and lob bricks at some defenceless soul until they stop breathing.

it is easy to be smug about these things, but we should not over look the fact that only comparatively recently the US and UK government believed it was perfectly fine to give support to those who encourage others to stone women in the manner Anthony has mentioned and who are about to do so again in Yemen.

On the Robinson case, what makes a man invite the very organisations who have played a major role in bringing him to where he now is, into his home so that he can prostrate himself before them and how is this giving support to the wife he claims to still love.

Weird

Horrendous stories like this one are unfortunately...

2010-01-07T16:21:26.042Z

Horrendous stories like this one are unfortunately all too common. A Sunday Times magazine once carried pictures of five year old girls being 'genitally mutilated' in honour of Allah's birhtday. The image of distress on their faces is one that has never left me and the sense of injustice is hard to shake off.
I have no time for religion and agree that it is a tool of social control, unfortunately women and children are the focus of most of this control, particularly sexual control.
This brings me to the Robinson affair, as far as I'm concerned it is a purely private matter and the family would have been within their right to keep it so. However Peter chose to bare his soul on T.V. to the delight of the media.
Despite the human sympathy for their troubles the overbearing religious tones in Peter's statement depressed me.
What type of religion drives you to take your life because of a human flaw? The religious fundamentalist have to be appeased and the image of Iris in the depths of despair begging forgiveness from God and husband is laden with religious fervour.
So called fallen women being publicly humiliated is a tradition alive and well here, maybe just on a different level from Somalia.
I dare say there would a few in our society willing to throw a few stones.

Wow! Someone who is against women being stoned to ...

2010-01-07T15:10:21.776Z

Wow! Someone who is against women being stoned to death - that's real radical, man. Maybe you can now help convince everyone else in Ireland that it is really, really naughty and they should no longer support such naughtiness.

I'm sure that Iris Robinson for one will be pleased if your campaign is successful.

fucking Bastards nuke the fucking lot ,that is all...

2010-01-07T09:29:06.102Z

fucking Bastards nuke the fucking lot ,that is all and every fucker who calls him/herself a member of any clergy. Marty f