Potholer54 on GMO

Child pornography uncovered in Vatican last year

Merry Christmas, from Dr. Richard Dawkins

Jibbers Crabst

Drop Dead Gorgeous is on and I came in at the best part

The Pope is a Tourist

I keep hearing about how great the Pope is because he drives a reasonably priced car and lives in a modest apartment. To me, and many others, this behavior is more insulting than comforting (although to many others it's ok because the pope is the one doing it) At the end of the day he still has no financial worries, his car is, I'm sure, in perfect working order, he will never be stranded on the side of the road, he'll never have to worry about his breaks wearing out, or even if the oil has to be changed. He will never face an eviction notice, or have to choose between getting to work, or keeping the heat on, or food on the table.

He's not "living like the people" he's a tourist putting on the stereotypical trappings of a poor person to make the Vatican look better, and it does more harm than good. When someone in power does things to "act poor" like drive a crappy car, or trim down their belongings to what they can carry, they are a) diminishing the struggles of people who are forced to live that way b) enforcing the stereotype of the poor c) they are doing it for themselves, to make them look better. These actions further the FoxNews narrative that poor people have to be absolutely destitute to be poor, and that they have other means to live their life because hey, the Pope can do it, why can't everyone else? as well as the line that poor people aren't allowed to have nice things, because to be like the poor you have to give up most of your possessions and forms of entertainment until you fit the narrative of poverty.

This isn't exclusive to the Pope by far, I know several well off people who do this stuff, and all those shows about people living off the grid gloss over privileged you have to be to be able to do that sort of thing. , It's a tool used by those in power to diminish the struggle of those they persecute while simultaneously making those they keep down like them better.

Religious Privilege

We all know what it is, and we've all encountered it, both here at DU, and in the real world, but there seems to be a big argument about it here, and in the real world.

What is your personal definition of the privilege? What are some examples of of it you have encountered here and irl?

The burden of proof is on believers

There's been a lot of focus, and reframing the debate to focus on what atheists have to do, and what they believe, and what they have to prove. I just wanted to remind everyone where the burden lies, where it has always lain and where it always will. There has never been any proof put forward that has withstood a minimal amount of scrutiny.

Atheism is a rejection of the claim there is a divine being, not a declaration that there is none. All the favorite atheist boogymen have publicly stated that if there were one shred of evidence they would believe, but guess what?

So please, before we keep on with this trend of reframing debates, and resorting to personal attacks and tone policing, accept the burden of proof and either put up or shut up.

Jewish extremists vandalize Jerusalem church

Can the mentally ill hold religious beliefs?

Just a discussion here,every time someone commits a crime in which God told them to kill, or they were possessed, or something like that, their reasoning gets discarded and they get labeled "mentally ill" which takes precedence over any beliefs they might have.

Which leads to my question: Can the mentally ill have religious beliefs? If they bad things they do are a result of their mental illness, then aren't the good things? Is: "well, she did it for god, but she's mentally ill, so doesn't count" a neutral statement whether it's a good or bad act? Can religions claim the good acts of the mentally ill, but disown them when it might make them look bad?