Me too, Peter, but I don't want to discuss it anymore, because the voting public might hear it's so controversial.

Some who follow religious practices preach that God loves everyone, shame they can't as well

Me too Peter.
There is one not too far away from this series of BB who flies remarkably close to double standards.

 

I've heard that they wear knickers and get drunk on spirits too, but I won't judge.

BRING OUT THE LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol Petey - good to see you on here

Nicely put YellowR. Dave sickened me last night. What an utter idiot. Man of God my ar*e

What an arse. A bigot is a bigot, and using a deity as an excuse doesn't change that. Funny how these sorts always claim they're only following the word of god. Strange how that argument only applies to whatever fits their own prejudices. Don't be selective, guys - certain bits of the bible also advocate slavery, subjugation of women and the taking of underage brides.

don't forget shagging your own children and offering your daughter to be gang-raped by crowds ....it's all good clean fun in the Lord's land

Exactly, Dancey
Why do these 'devout believers' only choose the follow the bits that fit their own agenda?

more to the point, why do we let them?  All religions should be challenged as often as possible IMO

Im my experience I was taught all the nicey nicey bits in church and Sunday school as a child...what a shock when I really picked up the bible and gave it a good read as an adult

makes you think that these pious people don't actually read the holy books themselves, or at least not as much as atheists do 

They read the sanitised versions and then pick out the nice bits.  I challenged a Jehovahs Witness about why they didn't follow what the Old Testament said and he said but that's the oT, you know and I said oh so the ten commandments don't count then? He did not like me very much after that conversation.  They avoid me now.

But I may get some Richard Dawkins leaflets printed in case they knock on my door again.

I actually have more respect for christians like those at Westboro church who are more fundamentalist because they have less of a tendency to 'cherry pick' what is, in their view, supposed to be god's communication with his followers about how he wants them to live.  I don't understand why you should follow one bit and then say god wasn't right about another bit if he is supposed to be omnipotent and know how we're going to be living in the 21st century so it should still be relevant.  It's all ridiculous to me.

You can tell I've never read the bible, can't you?

Ooh, and for the record, I think it's awful that Dave gets preferential treatment and gets access to his bible for half an hour for each day.  He went into the house knowing that you were not allowed access to books and so it shouldn't be allowed.

tbh i don't think it really refects on Dave as a person it just part of his faith it might not necessarily be what he believes inside but of course he cant say that being a Christian.

He should come and have a chat with the former Rector of my Church. He's an out gay man who is the only religious man I have ever related to (he talks of bringing people in by 'inclusion' and Love). He officiated at my Baptism (along with the former Bishop of Woolwich) when I was 33, and has baptised all 4 of my children 

LOL the words Bishop and Woolwich should never be included in the same paragraph!!

I wasn't confirmed C of E until I was in my twenties. I never go to church now and don't really believe.
I was confirmed by the Bishop who was Tim (I'm dahn wiv der kidz) Westwood's dad!
Word

He was fabulous (just like a mad theatrical Bishop). I swear he was drunk when he sprinkled me 

Well that does sound very Woolwich!

I'm a Roman Catholic and I certainly don't have anything against gays, I accept everyone as they are. Its not a lifestyle choice I don't agree with that at all, as many of my gay friends have said its a tough life being gay and its not a lifestyle they would willingly choose with the barriers they come against.

Keeeewwwl Veggie  I got CofE baptised and confirmed all in one go. My Jewish dad and uncles sat there in skull caps grumbling all the way through it and at my party afterwards my dad made a lovely speech and joke....
2 Jews walk past a Church and see a sign that says 'If you convert to Christianity we'll give you £50' so one of them goes in for a service. He comes out later and says to the other 'it was brilliant, I learnt all about this great man called Jesus, and he did all these amazing things and miracles and stuff'....the other one says 'What about the £50?'....to which the other replied 'You Jews! It's all about the money!!!'....
Even the Bishop of Woolwich laughed at that

 Suzy
Did you tell them about Abela the whore?

Abena? Noooo, not yet 
Just want to add before I go out that, in my experience, it is sometimes harder to 'come out' as a Christian (or any religion for that matter) than it is to come out as Gay. I've seen it on the forum, and when ever I've mentioned it before on here or C4 I've been asked to justify some passage in Leviticus that really has no bearing to my life or views at all. I know my Moslem friends are always having to justify their faith too.
So, no disrepect to the OP, but I'm happy to live in a country where Dave can express his faith by wearing a monk's costume and having his 'Sloshfest', and where J. Witnesses can knock on doors in the relative certainty that they wont be shot, and where members of the LGBT community can express themselves freely too

I agree with you suzy
What bugs me is people like Dave using their religion to justify their prejudices, because 'god says so'. The god in the bible says a whole load of other things too, but Dave's cherry-picking what to believe, to suit his own agenda.
Not on..

It's a human thing Deman...WE all do it, be it in politics, religion or matters of taste and style. The trick is to recognise your prejudices and agendas and then try and see it from someone else's view. It's not easy but it can be done..people like Mandela, Gandhi and Martin Luther King managed it, so it's possible for everyone . Now I really have to go 

See now I think that Dave (or whoever) is perfectly entitled to believe what they like as long as they don't try to impose their beliefs on others.

I like it. That gave me a chuckle.

ps. I've just come out of a meeting with someone who happens to be Gay, and we discussed this. He says that he knows lots of Gay men (in particular) who are against the whole idea of Civil Partnership because it plays up to some heterosexual hegemony. Are they also Bigots?
And thanks sooozy, I find it funny too

If your wife is barren take her sister.... that's my favourite 

We all pick and chose what bits we like. I have read the passages on Homosexuality and, there is no mention of lesbianism, (SO would be marry Ellen and Porcha??)  and as far as I could see it was that it's wrong to use Rape as a wepon of war and terror and not about loving sex. But I am sure some one will correct me if I am wrong. Or perhaps I to am just cherry picking my fav bits 

"
Ooh, and for the record, I think it's awful that Dave gets preferential treatment and gets access to his bible for half an hour for each day.  He went into the house knowing that you were not allowed access to books and so it shouldn't be allowed. "

Totally agree with you about this LLF .

Lot's house was surrounded by rampant men wanting a bit of hanky panky with the two angels who were visiting him. He offered to send out his two virgin daughters to satisfy them (nice! ).

Later on, having escaped the house, while God was destroying the whole area, his wife was turned into a pillar of salt, because she looked back. Lot and his daughters managed to get to the safetly of a hill, but his daughters were worried that there were no men left for them to take as husbands, so they got their dad drunk and got him to have the naughties with them, so that they could bear children.

There are so many things wrong in this story, that I find it hard to believe it is still used to justify the belief that homosexuality is wrong!

As for rape, there are many, many passages where God is said to have ordered the Israelites to attack other tribes, kill all the men and 'take' any unmarried women as their 'wives'. And women who are raped withing the city walls are deemed to be guilty, as their cries for help should have been heard, so they get stoned to death, the same as the rapist.

Bugger me ( pun intended    Its like a badly written soap opera....

Its almost like it's a story written and re written over hundreds of years each time to the orders of the despot in charge and saying what he wanted said. Cherry picking the best/worst bits to suit him (perhaps even the odd her) so he could control the population and distract them from other things and occasionally getting them to massacre people who were not the same as them .... or where the same as them but a weeeee bit not quite ... Oh I could go on for hours 

If God exists it seems to me that he/she is terrifyingly Sadistic.

Or at the very least extremely uncaring.

The Bible is allegedly the word of god, but really  it's a book written by men to prop up whatever was in vogue at the time and to justify their actions.Even today, you hear that *god told me to do,,,,,* and *I had a vision of....*.
There are good moral codes in the bible, but there's an awful lot of very questionable stuff as well...and it often contradicts itself.

I appreciate that that must be very wearing for you Suzy, however, as nice and broad minded a christian/Muslim/other you or others might be, if you belong to/ support/fund/propagate the values of an organisation that tries to force their bigotted viewpoints on millions with sometimes horrific results....you should bloody well expect to be challenged and asked to justify your opinions. I think tht's only fair.

Also, as a woman, no-one is going to get away with joining a group that thinks i'm a second class citizen without me having a few words to say about it

I do appreciate that it can be annoying for those who don't want to hear it but far from trying to force their views most Christians at any rate are just trying to share Good News.  I have heard it described as like having a cure for cancer and keeping it to yourself if you don't tell others.  Having said that the worst thing you can do is blunder in without a tacit indication that someone is wanting to hear.  Also in his defence Dave did say that God loves everyone.

then he obviously one of the ones that  is just skimming the Bible

It doesn't take much reading to find out that God hates quite a few people.....my favourite being the poor man who was blasted to death just for slipping when he was carrying the Ark of the covenant