Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Put on the full armour of God

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  • Jeremy Eade,

    Nothing from Christ himself; of course, US 'Christians' don't have much use for that Commie faggy peacenik stuff he used to spout.

    That guy was un-American.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report

  • Roger,

    The way that some people use religious beliefs and religious language to justify immoral policies is just madness.

    Isn't that what organised religion is for?

    Hamilton • Since Jun 2007 • 179 posts Report

  • Tim McKenzie,

    the other was from from another letter by a notorious bullshitter and fast buck artiste who claimed to have seen Jesus in a vision years after he was dead.

    Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

    (NLT)
    Fast buck?

    Nothing from Christ himself; of course, US 'Christians' don't have much use for that Commie faggy peacenik stuff he used to spout.

    Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
    ‘I have come to set a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
    and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
    Your enemies will be right in your own household!’

    (NLT)

    Lower Hutt • Since Apr 2007 • 126 posts Report

  • Paul Williams,

    You don't want to get me started on Dora the Explorer. Or Thomas the Tank Engine. Actually, the pillow/shield is a work of art.

    Thomas is a stupidly compliant sycophant, Dora a tough Hillary-like explorer. Her oversight is acceptable.

    You've got a beef?

    Don't touch my shit -- and if you're going to drink my milk, replace it. xxxoxxx GOD

    Nice work.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report

  • Angus Robertson,

    But it doesn't seem that this is going away.

    Full disclosure is not on any serious agenda and anyways a commission of inquiry into a previous administration would set an unfortunate precedent circa 2017. The longer it takes for disclosure of Bush-stoopidness to precipitate the better for Obama who gets politically low cost/high benefit from little revelations like this - how Bush got cover photos and took biblical scripture with his intelligence briefings.

    Obama is handing out $trillions to rich corporate types (banks, car companies), running a couple of wars, imprisoning people without charge in Bagram and will do more of the same or similar for the next 8 years. Substantive change might not occur, but the briefings will not have pretty cover pages or biblical references.

    Auckland • Since May 2007 • 984 posts Report

  • Angus Robertson,

    Isn't that what organised religion is for?

    Amen to that.

    Auckland • Since May 2007 • 984 posts Report

  • andin,

    Fast buck?

    Or whatever that was in those days.
    A comfy bed, a roof over your head, a villa by the sea. Gore V ruminated that fine male flanks were a fast buck as well, perhaps some things never change.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report

  • Tim McKenzie,

    @andin: Did you read the quote?
    5 x 39 lashes +
    3 x beaten with rods +
    1 x stoned (with real stones)
    doesn't sound anything like a "fast buck" to me.

    Lower Hutt • Since Apr 2007 • 126 posts Report

  • Rich Lock,

    Why does god need armour? Being omnipotent you'd have thought she could just dodge?

    Interesting philosphical question.

    Can God, being all powerful an' that, make a bullet that will penetrate his/her own all-powerful armour?

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • David Hamilton,

    Does this remind anyone else of the Presidential briefings in the Simpsons movie?
    "Pick a number between one and five..."
    "Six"
    "There is no six."

    "I was elected to lead, not to read"

    Isn't that what organised religion is for?

    Sometimes it is, other times it isn't. I know what you're getting at but statements like this are a bit blanket for my tastes.

    Hamiltron • Since Nov 2006 • 111 posts Report

  • Kyle Matthews,

    http://www.armorofgodpjs.com/</quote>

    That would be the best costume at a Halloween Party, as long as you knew that no one there would take offence.

    Probably don't make it in my size however.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report

  • Julian Melville,

    Dora a tough Hillary-like explorer. Her oversight is acceptable.

    Her voice, however, could strip paint. There's the beef.

    Auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 200 posts Report

  • Blake Monkley,

    Isn't that what organised religion is for?

    When organised religion is used to target people, persecutes people, breed violence and suppresses intellectual thought I take issue.

    Auckland • Since Jul 2008 • 215 posts Report

  • Kim Sokolich,

    "Her voice, however, could strip paint. There's the beef."

    Agreed. I can appreciate all things Dora apart from the extremely irritating voice they've given her. The stage show personas voice wasn't nearly as bad.

    Since Oct 2008 • 47 posts Report

  • Jeremy Eade,

    and suppresses intellectual thought I take issue.

    It's (organised religion) design is to supply answers fast. It's not a vehicle for intellectual rigour although it's possible to make a living pretending it is.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report

  • p forrester jarvie,

    boy oh boy. it takes but one reference to the former president & the bible, and the rampant thoughtlessness of the majority of obviously otherwise-intelligent people here comes rather fearfully to the fore... 'tis a most interesting state of affairs when, in the absence of George W, the very scripture itself now performs the crucial function of scapegoat, which it has been doing for a whole heap of time anyways...

    the fantasy of so many nz'ers that religion is 'used to suppress thought' is highly amusing, to say the least!

    Since Feb 2009 • 84 posts Report

  • Paul Williams,

    "Her voice, however, could strip paint. There's the beef."

    Agreed. I can appreciate all things Dora apart from the extremely irritating voice they've given her. The stage show personas voice wasn't nearly as bad.

    Fair enough. Dora's superior to most alternatives, however I thought the stage show surprisingly sparse - particuarly when compared with the Wiggles extravaganza!

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report

  • Angus Robertson,

    It's (organised religion) design is to supply answers fast. It's not a vehicle for intellectual rigour although it's possible to make a living pretending it is.

    Yes and no.

    All the big religions have a large body of sacred text to choose the answer from, but a lot of the text is contradictory. So yes a quick answer is available, but also any answer might theoretically be made the religiously correct answer.

    The design of religion is to provide spiritual validity to the correct answer that benefits the church/temple/mosque.

    This also explains Marxism.

    Auckland • Since May 2007 • 984 posts Report

  • ScottY,

    the fantasy of so many nz'ers that religion is 'used to suppress thought' is highly amusing, to say the least!

    Welcome back, pfj. I wondered when you'd show up.

    No, religion doesn't suppress all thought. The absolute unquestioning belief that a divine being rules our lives, despite the absence of any evidence to prove it, is a form of thought after all.

    West • Since Feb 2009 • 794 posts Report

  • p forrester jarvie,

    The design of religion is to provide spiritual validity to the correct answer that benefits the church/temple/mosque.

    i'm sorry but that's pure horsedog. You're as wrong as an owl in a treetop. the originary function of religion IS fundamental and and it is real: it is to distribute the appetitive object amongst the newly sign-bearing creatures persent around it in such a way that resentment is minimised...

    Since Feb 2009 • 84 posts Report

  • Jeremy Eade,

    <quote>The absolute unquestioning belief that a divine being rules our lives, despite the absence of any evidence to prove it, is a form of thought after all.</qoute>

    But did you make the thought up or was it placed in your head by numerous visits to vivid shocking statues of a man being tortured with nails.

    One thought to rule them all.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report

  • Jeremy Eade,

    The absolute unquestioning belief that a divine being rules our lives, despite the absence of any evidence to prove it, is a form of thought after all.

    But did you make the thought up or was it placed in your head by numerous visits to vivid shocking statues of a man being tortured with nails.

    One thought to rule them all.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report

  • p forrester jarvie,

    hey, thanks for the welcome! BUt what would you rather have, seriously, ultimately - a lottery win OR an "absolute unquestioning belief that a divine being rules our lives" - and i DO MEAN absolute and i do mean unquestioning...

    Since Feb 2009 • 84 posts Report

  • ScottY,

    The lottery analogy is a good one.

    I may be convinced that I hold the winning ticket for this Saturday's Powerball. I may have an unquestioning belief that I will win.

    Meanwhile someone who holds a different ticket holds an unquestioning belief that he/she will win.

    Someone has to be wrong. Suppose it's me? Or (more likely) both of us?

    West • Since Feb 2009 • 794 posts Report

  • p forrester jarvie,

    i do apologise if my sometimes compulsive capitalizations offend anybody - but i'm reading a biography right now of my fellow 'headstrong, obstinate & perverse aquarian' (gasp!) hero Don Rumsfeld and boy, is it hot! You must all remember the time DR "paid a surprise visit to his wife's vagina" in 2006

    Since Feb 2009 • 84 posts Report

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