Freedom from Offence?

[Blog of Reason]

Discussion thread for the blog entry "Freedom from Offence?" by JRChadwick.

Permalink: http://blog.leagueofreason.org.uk/reason/freedom-from-offence/

 

[CosmicSpork]

That is absolutely shocking. I find it mind boggling that people who are supposed to provide what information they can about the world to better prepare you for it could be so short sighted. It's not like you were even referring to her in any manner. You were talking about something you had been taught in that very school... disgusting. I can only hope things have changed... What irritates me most is that the faculty may not have even agreed with the complaint, but if they had gone against it there would probably have been an uproar from the Christian community.

I didn't like school, I had a horrible time, but that was because of other kids. But I can't say I ever had to deal with that kind of thing, science was always respected for what it is... the only times certain things would have been opted out for, for religious reasons was when you had to slice something up in Biology...

 

[Gimble]

That's insane. It's sad how repressive religious beliefs/fantasys are.

But really people, we need to change things from the top down. Enough of the hand on the bible in court and enough of the top leaders of the world stating that their actions are what their god wants. Enough of the top athletes claiming that god wanted them to win their match. Enough of we the people electing delusional Presidents.

Time for the world to grow up.

 

[Anonymous]

JR - perhaps H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" was more prophetic than he intended (Thanks to Rhysz for reminding me of that particular story).

The anti-science elements of society want to carry on in their comfortable little fantasy; fine, let them.

If they want to stop other people from educating themselves, then they cross a line, a transgression that I do not think can be tolerated in any way.

In the same way that natural selection has given rise to the vast biodiversity (and thus speciation) that we see in the world today, cultural selection (on the basis of religious beliefs or whatever) will eventually give rise to a kind of speciation itself - much as was illustrated with the Eloi and Morlocks in the aforementioned classic tale.

In short, what I'm trying to say is that those of us who want to progress, shoudl get on and do so, understanding the cultural minefield that surrounds us. Eventually we will rise above it, whilst those who choose to remain will continue to pretend they live in the desert forever.

 

[monitoradiation]

As shocking as this might be, my provincial government just passed a Bill 44 which will allow this to occur with government consent, regardless of heavy protests from the teachers association and the general public. It mandates that teachers inform parents of having to teach subjects that "may" be religiously sensitive, so that the parents may pull their kids out of the class. Failure to do so might result in the teacher being sued and having to face a human rights panel. That is absurd.

I'm going to convert to the ancient Pythagorean cult where I believe all numbers are rational. Then I will pull my children out of mathematics class for learning that sqrt 2 or Pi are not rational number. Oh wait, I don't need to - I only have to cite Kings and say that Pi = 3.

I don't know what it is with politicians trying to enact freedoms of speech legislation without consulting the people whom the bill ultimately affects. It would appear that they think that they HAVE to do something while in office and they couldn't think of a better legislation to screw around with.

And since when is reality subject to change based on opinions? When are we going to get rid of THAT stupid idea?

 

[Gimble]

The only problem is, how much time do we have to bullshit ourselves? We need to advance more if the human race is going to survive not only our own stupidity mixed with power, but the potential for mass extinction (ELE) not due to our own choices.

We live on that Pale Blue Dot...

 

[Four-Thirteen]

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[Gimble]

I completely agree with Four-Thirteen.

In addition, I would predict that within 100-150 year from now, a huge majority of the planet's population would no longer be able to refuse the education of truth. By then, I'm sure 90%+ of the population would be atheist.

I've always thought that I live in the wrong time period, but like Four-Thirteen said, this is still the best time in history.

It's just a difficult battle to fight because atheists are the minority.

You get a creationist in a room with atheists and that person doesn't have a chance. He's a fool.

You get an atheist in a room full of creationists and the atheist is going to hell and is considered a horrible person.

 

[CosmicSpork]

It's not necessarily the battle for atheists, but rational thinking... People can believe in whatever they like but if it effects their ability to think rationally then it's dangerous for everyone.

Though like others, I consider atheism the default position, and the best way to ensure rational thought is to revert to that position.

I am probably talking shit but at least I tried