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“Conference to look at curing fundamentalism”

Fantastic, Brilliant, Genius . . .

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The problem these people have is their religion, and it is that they need to give up.

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Same model worked for the gulf war/oil control thing didn't it?

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Saturday 25 April 2009
13:00 – 15:00
at "The Emmanuel Centre", 9-23 Marsham Street, London, UK.

For further details of this protest see:
facebook.com/event.php?eid=71287658602

For background see:
pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12074.html#
pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12110.html#
guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2004/apr/03/weekend.deccaaitkenhead

Joseph Nicolosi, the main speaker at the above Conference, claims that academic research has verified that his "Reparative Therapy" works and works well, but it has since been found that the "academic research" was flawed: people whose homosexuality was treated were simply approached and asked if the therapy had worked, yes or no. Of course, the vast majority of the self-hating gay men and women who had put themselves under Nicolosi's therapy simply said "Yes" to their interviewer . . . but many have subsequently been found continuing to exercise their true gay or lesbian identities on the quiet. However, devout Catholic fundamentalist Joseph Nicolosi and his associates continue to ply their trade, "Reparative Therapy". They are charlatans and frauds.

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And skinner is right, the bible is a weapon of attack. The same book that celebrates the murder of LGBT people, and genocide, xenophobia, killing of children, anti-semitism, slavery – endorsed by the supposed Jesus and St Paul, rape and oppression of women. and it's been used throughout 2000 years to justify strifeand misery, from the inquisition, to pogroms against the jews, burning witches, and supressing Science.

The Holocaust was not purely the result of 15 years' Nazi violence (3rd Reich was not atheist, but based on Aryan / Nordic mythology) – more like 2000 years of incitements to hatred, in the Book of St John and 1st Thessalonians.

At least in the old testament once the mideanites and amalekites had been slaughtered, they were out of their misery. The concept of eternal torment was only introduced by gentle jesus, meek and mild (matt 25:41), 'believe in me or depart into the eternal flames'. Like I said, it's the same evil ultimatum made by the 9/11 hijackers, the suicide bombers, the taliban.

No moral action can come from this. What you have is servility,to please a tyrant who could even convict you of thought crime. Yes, people living in such fear would do absolutely anything to avoid the prospect of eternal torment. Even plunge a knife into your own son. You have a moral code of the excuses used at Nuremberg trials, or by the Orthodox murderers of muslims in Bosnia: "I was just following orders".

Who but a slave wants this to be true? Take comfort in the fact that no event in the first 5 books of the bible ever happened. There was no evidence for an Exodus – imagine, an organisation named after a myth. No evidence for daniel, Solomon and his massive kingdom, no historical records of Jesus apart from the screeds of St Paul and his followers.

david skinner and the taliban, al Qaeda share the same goal: to eliminate the pursuit of happiness, to anihilate reason, the right to self determination. And which all gleefully look forward to the destruction of all we see around us, gleefully wish for this life to end: 'we love life more than you love death' – to quote the announcement one of the hijackers said to the passengers shortly before ramming into the Twin Towers.

The danger religion poses to civilisation can be summed up like this: non compatible moral codes, messianic prophecy, plus 21st century apocalyptic weaponry – that's why we have to keep these fanatics at bay.

Take inspiration from Matt 5:11, 10:22, where Jesus reportedly warns his followers to expect mockery, hatred, or worse. It is a moral obligation to do so – people like david skinner belong in the street, screaming, screeching, and hollering with a placard at the top of their voices, being ignored and feeding the pigeons. To ridicule these people, is the only way to ensure such people stay there and go no further. because I would hate to imagine what britain would be like if david skinner, and the cranks at christian concern for our nation, had their way.

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So, I now know what I'm doing on Saturday, see you there guys x

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Critical thinking and reasoning cannot happen in the kneeling position. It's how, not what you think, that's important; if you need to be told what to believe, then that is the source of credulity and totalitarianism flourishes.

Anyone who claims to know god exists, and not only that, but to know the mind of god intimately, so much so that they can tell you his opinion on who you should sleep with, in what position, and what kind of sexual activity you might be able to engage in – these people need to be left out of the argument at the very first instance.

The fact is – religion was our first attempt at morality; first attempt at meteorology, understanding diseases, astronomy, medicine, natural history. In all of these areas we have better explanations, better morality.

We are the only species aware of its own death, we're afraid to die, afraid of the dark, poorly evolved, credulous species, with over evolved adrenaline glands. that's why we have religion, and so much misery caused by religion. If someone said, make the right sacraments and you will have eternal life, well, it's a very tempting offer.

And societies that realise we have better answers, than a 1st century collection of manuscripts, are better off, have lower crime rates, more educated, less violence, less sexually transmitted diseases, than ones which are religious. (cf Economist's annual studies).

Name a good/ moral action or statement made by a religious person, that could not be made by a non religious person.
Name a wicked or evil statement or action that could only be made by a religious person. I can think of something before you even say the words 'Waco massacre'.

Every attempt to improve human rights has been opposed bitterly by the parties of god: freedom of conscience, of enquiry, of expression; right to fair representation; emancipation of slaves, of women, desegregation, and emancipation of LGBT people – every step has been a battle with the dark forces of religion.

And we have better morality – thanks to Epicurus, Democritus, Thomas paine, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Jefferson, mary Wollstonecraft, to today – AC Grayling for example.

Without belief in god there is still solidarity, humour, irony, love, the wonder of science, literature, kindness, art, in fact all the things that make life worth living every minute to the fullest. To wish for anything more is wish thinking.

the road to damascus is a 2-way street – I invite you to do the right thing, not what makes you feel happy, and walk away from your religion here, tonight. And you will only begin to realise your full potential.

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