Don\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt get me wrong, I am not trying to cause offence or tarring all religious people with the same brush here. Plenty of religious people are lovely, I have no doubt. Hell, some of my best friends are religious.<\/p>\n
But when a rabid Christian lobbying organisation intimidates a cancer charity into refusing a \u00ef\u00bf\u00bd10,000 donation<\/a>, that\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds the point when I really start to wonder about the whole bloody thing. (This is, you\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdll be unsurprised to hear, the same maniacs who kicked up such a fuss over the broadcast of Jerry Springer: The Opera that BBC executives ended up receiving death threats, and who also have links to Robert Kilroy-Silk\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds Veritas party<\/a>.) Hat tip to Harry\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds Place<\/a>.<\/p>\n I really don\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt understand the attraction of religion. I mean, most of us have given up on the idea of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny by the time we\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdve hit double figures, right? As nice an idea as they no doubt are, they\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdre simply not very believable, when you get down to it.<\/p>\n \u00ef\u00bf\u00bdBehave yourself and Santa will give you pressies; be naughty, you won\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt get any.\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd After a few years, you start to think \u00ef\u00bf\u00bd hang on, I\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdve never actually SEEN this Santa chap, have I? This is all a scam, isn\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt it? Yet so many of us still maintain our faith in that other great scam: \u00ef\u00bf\u00bdbehave yourself and God will let you into Heaven; be naughty and you\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdll go to Hell.\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd Yeah. Riiiiight. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Etc.<\/p>\n Anyway, the point is, what\u00ef\u00bf\u00bds so wonderful about this God chap that so many people are prepared to cause so many other people so much grief and hassle in His name? And if He does exist, do they really think He\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdd approve of all their self-righteous bullshit? If the old beardy bloke is knocking around up there somewhere, I think it’s time for a few of those old thunderbolts we used to hear so much about. Time to get all Old Testament on their arses – they’re taking Thy name in vain, old son. (Oh, and while you’re at it, a cure to all diseases and a spot of World Peace wouldn’t go amiss – you are all-powerful, after all… It’s about bloody time, don’t you think? Cheers.)<\/p>\n Enter the Comments section, stage right, hoards of offended Christians utterly missing the point and asking me whether I seriously think this is worse than Islamic suicide bombers, no doubt\u00ef\u00bf\u00bd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Don\u00ef\u00bf\u00bdt get me wrong, I am not trying to cause offence or tarring all religious people with the same brush here. Plenty of religious people are lovely, I have no doubt. Hell, some of my best friends are religious. But … Continue reading