This weekend we, in Englsnd & Wales, have two bank holidays or public holidays), and, in quick succession, there's both May Day and Whitsun. In all, on a normal non-Jubilee and non-Royal Wedding year, we get 8 days off in this manner.
We're actually quite low in the league table of days off for public holidays compared to other countries around the world, and there is what feels like a interminable campaign to make the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar into an extra day's holiday in the autumn (always good to celebrate historic military victories over what are now close political allies - NOT!).
People seem to like bank holidays; I guess people just like having a day off.
I find bsnk holidays both patronising and feudalist.
Yes, workers should have a number of days off each year and it is right that there is legislation to protect those days off from any unscrupulous employer, but, really, in the 21st century do we really want a government to dictate when we have to take those days off?
Isn't that a bit of an archaic approach to labour laws?
Surely we should be able, in negotiation with our employer, be able to choose when we have those days off?
As an atheist, I don't want days off to celebrate fictional events from 2,000 years ago, but I might want a couple of days off in September instead. And if I want to spend those days with my friends or family, is it beyong the wit of man for us to be able to organise our calendars in such a way that we are all off together?
Ok, some jobs have restrictions on when holidays can be taken. Teachers, for instance, can't take a couple of weeks off mid-term and that makes sense, but I don't see why any government has a right to choose my days off for me.
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 April 2012
"I bet you daren't criticise any religion that isn't Christianity..."
Yesterday evening, while I quietly watched some television, tweeted and wrote some blog posts about the UK's archaic Sunday trading laws and the fact that there is nothing about the Christian festival of Easter that holds up to any scrutiny, someone sent me a message:
"I bet you daren't criticise any religion that isn't Christianity..."
It struck me as a rather perverse observation on my frequent anti-faith and anti-religion comments, and all I can assume is that they only live those which are aimed directly at Christianity and haven't noticed, or choose not to notice,those which have a much broader target.
After all, there is just as little factual basis and archaelogical reord for Islam as there is for Christianity - i.e. there is none. There is absolutely nothing to support any of the stories in the Holy books of Seikhs or Hindus, in the same way that there is hardly a single word in the Bible that can be substantiated by cold, hard fact. Nd as for Buddhists, well, from what I understand, there may well have been a man who was known as the Buddha but his stories and teachings are fanciful and whimsical fairy stories in much the same way as anything about gods and heavens and an after life are.
Nobody today believes in the Norse gods of Thor and Odin, they are accepted as nothing more than an ancient mythology, and, of course, the same is true of the numerous gods worshipped in Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. And yet so many of those who are happy to see these ancient gods as just mythologies, hold that THEIR god is true - even when they share so many basic facts (if you have spare time, do google Horus, Mithras and Jesus and revel in the number of simarities shared by all three).
And my same criticism applies to the umpteen smaller religions that exist around the world. All have been invented by primitive societies to try to understand the world and their existence, and all should have been superseded by science and reason, if it were not for the manipulaters and controllers, the abuses of the vulnerable and ignorant, who readily take on the mantle of church leadership.
No, I am more than happy to criticise evil lies whenever or wherever they come from.
I guess, though, that the person passing judgement on me has a tiny point in that I do, probably, criticise Christianity slightly more than the other superstitions. The reasons for that are simple: the UK has an established church, the Head of state is also the Head of one sect of the Christian church and that religion still holds considerable sway and power over parliament, with more than 70 unelected bishops in the House of Lords, able to impose their will and their bigotry on the whole of society, whether the rest of society believes in the same god,a different god, or has worked out that no gods exist.
And, sadly, in the UK our calendar is still dominated by Christian festivals: Christmas, Easter, Whitsun - despite the fact that few people actively take part in regular church ceremonies and fewer and fewer people now accept the lies that the church puts out.
Yes, I criticise Christianity because it is divisive and evil, some of its core tenets are blatantly bigoted, and, historically, the church has done much more to harm others than any good it has achieved. How many wars have been fought in the name of atheism compared to those fought to defend an imaginary friend?
I criticise all faiths and all religions, because they are all untrue and we, as a society,should be educating people away from such dangerous nonsense.
"I bet you daren't criticise any religion that isn't Christianity..."
It struck me as a rather perverse observation on my frequent anti-faith and anti-religion comments, and all I can assume is that they only live those which are aimed directly at Christianity and haven't noticed, or choose not to notice,those which have a much broader target.
After all, there is just as little factual basis and archaelogical reord for Islam as there is for Christianity - i.e. there is none. There is absolutely nothing to support any of the stories in the Holy books of Seikhs or Hindus, in the same way that there is hardly a single word in the Bible that can be substantiated by cold, hard fact. Nd as for Buddhists, well, from what I understand, there may well have been a man who was known as the Buddha but his stories and teachings are fanciful and whimsical fairy stories in much the same way as anything about gods and heavens and an after life are.
Nobody today believes in the Norse gods of Thor and Odin, they are accepted as nothing more than an ancient mythology, and, of course, the same is true of the numerous gods worshipped in Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. And yet so many of those who are happy to see these ancient gods as just mythologies, hold that THEIR god is true - even when they share so many basic facts (if you have spare time, do google Horus, Mithras and Jesus and revel in the number of simarities shared by all three).
And my same criticism applies to the umpteen smaller religions that exist around the world. All have been invented by primitive societies to try to understand the world and their existence, and all should have been superseded by science and reason, if it were not for the manipulaters and controllers, the abuses of the vulnerable and ignorant, who readily take on the mantle of church leadership.
No, I am more than happy to criticise evil lies whenever or wherever they come from.
I guess, though, that the person passing judgement on me has a tiny point in that I do, probably, criticise Christianity slightly more than the other superstitions. The reasons for that are simple: the UK has an established church, the Head of state is also the Head of one sect of the Christian church and that religion still holds considerable sway and power over parliament, with more than 70 unelected bishops in the House of Lords, able to impose their will and their bigotry on the whole of society, whether the rest of society believes in the same god,a different god, or has worked out that no gods exist.
And, sadly, in the UK our calendar is still dominated by Christian festivals: Christmas, Easter, Whitsun - despite the fact that few people actively take part in regular church ceremonies and fewer and fewer people now accept the lies that the church puts out.
Yes, I criticise Christianity because it is divisive and evil, some of its core tenets are blatantly bigoted, and, historically, the church has done much more to harm others than any good it has achieved. How many wars have been fought in the name of atheism compared to those fought to defend an imaginary friend?
I criticise all faiths and all religions, because they are all untrue and we, as a society,should be educating people away from such dangerous nonsense.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
OPINION: Sunday trading laws
It's bad enough that Christians impose restrictions on shops on a regular Sunday, but, of course, this weekend includes one of their "special days" and rather than the usual restriction if just 6 hours that shops can open, this Sunday they can't open at all.
This is a monstrous imposition on the rest if society - the majority of who don't believe the mumbo jumbo of a fictitious man coming back to life.
Sure, there are those who will say that shops are open often enough and people have ample opportunity to spend their earnings. Yes, to a point I agree.
But the problem I have is one group of people, in practising terms a fairly small minority, imposing their beliefs on others - particularly when their beliefs are nothing more than lies and indoctrination.
I think shops should be allowed to open when they want and for as long as they want. There is every chance that some shops might choose to restrict their trading hours on a Sunday. Similarly there's a chance some shops will choose to be completely shut on some days during the year.
The point is, it should be their choice. It shouldn't be dictated by a pushy church, legislated on by 70+ unelected bishops in the House of Lords. And it mustn't be dictated by people who talk to imaginary friends and live their lives in fear if going to a non-existent hell.
Sure, there might be a need for some localised laws do that shop openings don't disrupt the lives of people who live near them. And, absolutely, there must be laws that protect the rights of workers from exploitation by bad bosses.
But we live in a 24/7, 365 day a year world and if the Sunday trading laws can be relaxed in the build up to the Olympics they can, and should, be relaxed all year round - including Eastee Sunday.
How dare Christians force their faith on those of us with reason and knowledge on our side.
Let's hope that tomorrow is the last time the loony tunes from Lambeth Palace are able to dictate what the rest of society can do.
This is a monstrous imposition on the rest if society - the majority of who don't believe the mumbo jumbo of a fictitious man coming back to life.
Sure, there are those who will say that shops are open often enough and people have ample opportunity to spend their earnings. Yes, to a point I agree.
But the problem I have is one group of people, in practising terms a fairly small minority, imposing their beliefs on others - particularly when their beliefs are nothing more than lies and indoctrination.
I think shops should be allowed to open when they want and for as long as they want. There is every chance that some shops might choose to restrict their trading hours on a Sunday. Similarly there's a chance some shops will choose to be completely shut on some days during the year.
The point is, it should be their choice. It shouldn't be dictated by a pushy church, legislated on by 70+ unelected bishops in the House of Lords. And it mustn't be dictated by people who talk to imaginary friends and live their lives in fear if going to a non-existent hell.
Sure, there might be a need for some localised laws do that shop openings don't disrupt the lives of people who live near them. And, absolutely, there must be laws that protect the rights of workers from exploitation by bad bosses.
But we live in a 24/7, 365 day a year world and if the Sunday trading laws can be relaxed in the build up to the Olympics they can, and should, be relaxed all year round - including Eastee Sunday.
How dare Christians force their faith on those of us with reason and knowledge on our side.
Let's hope that tomorrow is the last time the loony tunes from Lambeth Palace are able to dictate what the rest of society can do.
OPINION: This Easter, remember it's all just a lie
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. Christians see it as the higher of their religious year. It's the day they celebrate the resurrection of Jesus after he had been crucified, and is the main event in the teachings that have spread a religion to every corner of the globe.
The fact that there is absolutely no evidence for the events that they claim happened seems to pass Christians by and they say it is their faith that proves to them that they took place.
The fact that nobody wrote anything about those same events until two whole generations had passed, and that not a single person who did then eventually write about those events was an eye witness doesn't throw up any questions to them that maybe things weren't as "reported" in the Bible, their so-called Holy book.
The fact that the tales of a God born on December 25th, who then died and came back to life are clearly stolen from the earlier mythologies of Horus and Mithras doesn't cast even a shadow of doubt in their minds.
The undeniable truth that there is absolutely no contemporaneous evidence that Jesus actually existed is poo-pooed by their wealthy master in his opulent palace in the Vatican because it might show that the whole Christian faith is nothing more than a con is ignored by those too ignorant or stupid to realise they are being made fools of.
And those who believe these unproven fairy stories, based on nothing better than whimsy, then believe it is their right to push the same rubbish and indoctrination that has controlled them onto the rest of society, and they scream and shout Whenevr anyone points out that there is absolutely no substance to the nonsense they spout.
Why, in the modern world, do we tolerate these silly and idiotic superstitions? Most people laugh about horoscopes but they have as much validity as any of the major religions.
Why should people who have been brain washed by con men be afforded privelege and have their faith tolerated when, in fact, any other form of brain washing and undue influence would be outlawed?
This Easter Sunday, I hope all rational human beings take a few moments to think about all the evil that Christianity , and the other religions, have inflicted on the world, and then do seething to help minimise the influence these appalling institutions have on our modern society.
If we sit back and continue to allow the religions to prey on all the most vulnerable in society, if we tolerate their lies and don't stand up to the way they abuse the power that earlier generations stupidly gave to them, if we don't do all we can to bring to end the tax-evading, corruption of the churches that have conned the rest of society, then we are complicit in the way it continues to spread through our society like a deadly cancer, slowly destroying the fabric of everything of any true worth.
Christianity is founded on nothing more than fiction - Islam and Judaism too. The Easter Story is just that, a story, and unless someone can come up with something that shows the opposite, Jesus wasn't the Messiah, and he wasn't even a very naughty boy. Jesus never existed at all - he was nothing more than some old stories nicked so that some priests could start spreading their lies and manipulating others.
The fact that there is absolutely no evidence for the events that they claim happened seems to pass Christians by and they say it is their faith that proves to them that they took place.
The fact that nobody wrote anything about those same events until two whole generations had passed, and that not a single person who did then eventually write about those events was an eye witness doesn't throw up any questions to them that maybe things weren't as "reported" in the Bible, their so-called Holy book.
The fact that the tales of a God born on December 25th, who then died and came back to life are clearly stolen from the earlier mythologies of Horus and Mithras doesn't cast even a shadow of doubt in their minds.
The undeniable truth that there is absolutely no contemporaneous evidence that Jesus actually existed is poo-pooed by their wealthy master in his opulent palace in the Vatican because it might show that the whole Christian faith is nothing more than a con is ignored by those too ignorant or stupid to realise they are being made fools of.
And those who believe these unproven fairy stories, based on nothing better than whimsy, then believe it is their right to push the same rubbish and indoctrination that has controlled them onto the rest of society, and they scream and shout Whenevr anyone points out that there is absolutely no substance to the nonsense they spout.
Why, in the modern world, do we tolerate these silly and idiotic superstitions? Most people laugh about horoscopes but they have as much validity as any of the major religions.
Why should people who have been brain washed by con men be afforded privelege and have their faith tolerated when, in fact, any other form of brain washing and undue influence would be outlawed?
This Easter Sunday, I hope all rational human beings take a few moments to think about all the evil that Christianity , and the other religions, have inflicted on the world, and then do seething to help minimise the influence these appalling institutions have on our modern society.
If we sit back and continue to allow the religions to prey on all the most vulnerable in society, if we tolerate their lies and don't stand up to the way they abuse the power that earlier generations stupidly gave to them, if we don't do all we can to bring to end the tax-evading, corruption of the churches that have conned the rest of society, then we are complicit in the way it continues to spread through our society like a deadly cancer, slowly destroying the fabric of everything of any true worth.
Christianity is founded on nothing more than fiction - Islam and Judaism too. The Easter Story is just that, a story, and unless someone can come up with something that shows the opposite, Jesus wasn't the Messiah, and he wasn't even a very naughty boy. Jesus never existed at all - he was nothing more than some old stories nicked so that some priests could start spreading their lies and manipulating others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)