Very true. Most people forget the priests are always there when theres a tragedy or serious illness.

Really. Elaborate a little on exactly how
Much. You seem to know….

And Legacies!

He doesn’t need to elaborate . It’s a fact they get paid cash for weddings etc . I do have some level of sympathy for good men that for whatever reason were brainwashed into thinking working for an organisation that is based on a faith and so many lies, was a good idea . I’m sure like many they could just walk from its cult clutches .

The catholic religion is no different to any other cult , it’s just bigger and more powerful .

I feel within the next 20 years religion should be banned in all civilised society’s and that will stop the discrimination we see in the world . Discrimination I heard first hand last night on my show , when a religious nut told me that it’s ok to discriminate against gays or as he called them “fags “.

Catholics laugh at cults like Scientology and yet they have been brainwashed by the biggest illusion in the history of the planet !!!

Torrent no one is expecting you to stop believing in it. That is your right. That is another aspect of totalitarian mind control regiemes to induce paranoia. You are free to believe what you wish just as long as you realise that it is in societies interest to criticise cult like beliefs. Believing that a 2000 year old dead guy can hear your prayers and judge your actions is both delusional and dangerous but you are free to believe whatever you wish and I am free to criticise it and laugh at it too.

you can do all those good things without the banner of religion

@Paul. Absolutely, yes. And all these things can happen under the banner of religion too.
In fact that’s how most of Ireland’s health, education & social welfare systems came to be … started by small groups, often Christians, then taken over by the state or wider community cause these should not be dependent on the volunteerism of some, but are the responsibilities of the whole people.

Mean spirit of priests?????
I wonder is that the reason they don’t go to Mass or maybe it has something to do with laziness or lack of commitment or lack of discipline or indeed it could just be that the have some other difficulty with their faith.

What social class are you

Too scared to show your face with your comments?
I dont like any religious groups, But I take a particular hate toward the catholic church and what they have been covering up for years. Ill make as much fun of them as I want to :-)

You should stop being a prude!

Here here Mark. Very well said. Disgraceful, vulgarity. With his face beside the remark as if using that kind of language is acceptable and something to be proud of, regardless of circumstance.

Well said Jamie, those parasites (the catholic church or indeed any church) should soon be a thing of the past.

Which “certain social class” are you speaking of there Mark?

Methinks the faithful are a little touchy today…. No ambassador and now a wage cut – what next, communion made out of the UCC chewing gum?

have you got a sore bum or somethin Jamie???

Nope, just another night on the journal unfortunatly ..

I find your username and profile pic nauseating. How can anyone take your comments seriously with such a disgusting depiction of Christ?

Jesus – I love your balls!

Be honest here, how many priests have you ever seen driving around in a brand new car?

lots actually

They must be the ones up around D4.

Not supporter/member of catholic church, but have to say status may have been good at one time, but the salary never was!

Joan when the priests were the only one to go to college or drive a car or even have decent clothes to wear while the majority of Irish people were starved both materially and intellectually, they didnt have it bad for that time. Even now they arent exactly poor either but alot of the perks of the job are lost hence numbers are down. Of course the opening up of Irish society helped too.

When was the salary for priests good? I think that is a very generalised statement, Cyril. Surely you can’t operate if you have to wait around for evidence. People get ideas first and evidence then and there is lots of evidence for believing in God. Also, you can’t say what Jesus might have said or wanted on the one hand and dismiss other stuff he said.

How ridiculous Cyril. Very shortsighted statement. Election to the papacy for the first few hundred years was a guaranteed death sentence. Nothing to do with money. Dome things in life are higher than money. Pity you don’t seem to grasp that.

Sheelagh its a matter of historical fact that priests went to college at a time when only the very wealthy could afford to go. Very few were rich in Ireland when the Church was dominant here but again the priests of Ireland during the most part of the last century were well off relative to the average person. The priest and the doctor were professions of status and power back then. Finally selectively picking the good and bad points of what Jesus said is exactly what we should do. Following his words blindly is direct evidence of religious mind control. There is not a shred of reason to invent a god hypothesis either. It is using an infinately greater improbability to explain how things come into existance. Not knowing how the universe began is no reason to invent something incredibly more complex than the universe itself. That is religion at its most intelligent. However religion itself is provable to be false. All religious texts are both scientifically false and contradictory. They derive contradictory ethical standards.The idea of a judicial system of deities is bizarre in the extreme not least because the most irreligious societies are the most prosperous and less per capita Atheists are in prison. Religion doesnt answer questions it only stops people asking them.

I agree somethings in life are more important than money but religion is not one of them. I agree alot of people died for their religion but the same people would have killed for it and the priests at that time had absolute power which was another reason not to promote systems that brainwash people to become subservient to peddlers of superstition.

Faith is almost always with out evidence. I thought that was the gist of the word.

Yes that is not disputed Jedi. It is the fact that faith is destructive is what is being debated.

Faith without evidence? Evidence is the opposite of faith surely?

Cyril, is faith destructive or do you mean organised religion? Atheism being a theism is in itself a form of faith, a belief that nothing really exists outside of what can be empirically proven. There are still many theories of physics, astrophysics, quantum physics etc that are acceptef without empirical proof. Could that acceptance not be labelled faith? I have no problems with faith, organised religion is a different matter. As for the teachings of Jesus though not a christian I would not judge them through the bible as it could be contended that it is dodgy heresay evidence at best compiled long after his death. But even at that if you restrict yourself to where he is quoted then he does give a pretty good basic plan for coexistence I think.

@ Mark if faith is such a good plan for coexistance why is the middle east one of the most war torn places in the world. I suggest you actually read the Bible instead of just thinking the only thing Jesus talked about was turning the other cheek. If it is such a good plan for living why did it send Europe into a 1000 years of ignorance that were the dark ages. If Jesus was more than just a person living in the Iron age and had a genuine prescription for human happiness then why is it that the Israeli defense force have to patrol the road he was supposed to have carried the cross in order to stop Muslim suicide bombers from killing credulous tourists at the site. Because that is what happens when humans abandon evidence. We form power structures based on myth. It happens with all faiths but the Abrahamic ones especially Islam are worse because the Bible and Koran are inherently violent and closed minded to those of other beliefs. While there are some good things in the Bible and the Koran the majority of it is primitive nonsense.

As for theoretical science, physicists dont declare M theory or string theory as dogma or any unprovable theory for that matter it is simply a theoretical model which science can hopefully either prove or disprove at sometime in the future. This is entirely different from primitive stories from the mouths of charismatic leaders in the infancy of humanity.

All of the thumbs down here are not because some of the religious have given genuine argument against what I am saying but that many people are simply addicted to comforting delusion. I cant think of one situation where critical thinking lead to societal dysfunction. Just about every war in history came about from the glorification of people or fictional gods. While it may be comforting to some, there is no denying that religion and faith are one of the greatest human challenges we face. Scientific advancement and human survival cannot coexist with tribal primitive superstition indefinately.

@ Mark if faith is such a good plan for coexistance why is the middle east one of the most war torn places in the world. I suggest you actually read the Bible instead of just thinking the only thing Jesus talked about was turning the other cheek. If it is such a good plan for living why did it send Europe into a 1000 years of ignorance that were the dark ages. If Jesus was more than just a person living in the Iron age and had a genuine prescription for human happiness then why is it that the Israeli defense force have to patrol the road he was supposed to have carried the cross in order to stop Muslim suicide bombers from killing credulous tourists at the site. Because that is what happens when humans abandon evidence. We form power structures based on myth. It happens with all faiths but the Abrahamic ones especially Islam are worse because the Bible and Koran are inherently violent and closed minded to those of other beliefs. While there are some good things in the Bible and the Koran the majority of it is primitive nonsense.

As for theoretical science, physicists dont declare M theory or string theory as dogma or any unprovable theory for that matter it is simply a theoretical model which science can hopefully either prove or disprove at sometime in the future. This is entirely different from primitive stories from the mouths of charismatic leaders in the infancy of humanity.

All of the thumbs down here are not because some of the religious have given genuine argument against what I am saying but that many people are simply addicted to comforting delusion. I cant think of one situation where critical thinking lead to societal dysfunction. Just about every war in history came about from the glorification of people or fictional gods. While it may be comforting to some there is no denying that religion and faith are one of the greatest human challenges we face. Scientific advancement and human survival cannot coexist with tribal primitive superstition indefinately.

It’s far from dead. In believe in what Jesus said and did and the faith he founded. I’ll never stop defending it, here on the net or in real life. You’d be surprised hoe many believers there are that feel scared to admit their faith.

I don’t think Jesus ever advocated taking 50 euro a week from old ladies in their nineties, like my Grandmother, for bringing the host to her, when she was unable to get to sunday mass.

organised religion is just another form if control. You don’t need some old book or some 2000 year old dude who got nailed to a cross to tell the difference between right and wrong, or how to live a good honest life. its common sense.

Jamie , your twitter profile speaks volumes about yourself .I really need comment no further

Couldn’t put it better myself Jamie

Yes

Sometimes they have no choice…poor priests
http://www.examiner.ie/business/priest-makes-euro433k-settlement-with-revenue-106902.html

Charming.

Perhaps instead you could add something to the conversation yourself?

I work for an IT company.
I make fun of all religions (you have to be fair after all, no picking on minorities)
Most of my neighbours would laugh, the old biddys might find it in bad taste.
My relations who was abused by nuns would also laugh
You should visit the country sometime, Might make you grow a sense of humour, Everything can be made fun of,
Isnt that one of the best things about being irish? being able to piss-take?

Not all things can be made fun of Jamie. Grow up a little.

@mark, what’s your point? If you are trying to insinuate something, why not have the courage to come out and say it. @torrentum could you please provide a list of the things we’re not supposed to make fun of? it would really help me to find some direction in my life. Can I make fun of you?