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Category: Weirdness
Posted on: December 2, 2009 1:38 PM, by PZ Myers
An Irish doctor has had to go public with his recommendation: he's telling Catholic fanatics that they shouldn't stared directly at the sun to generate optical artifacts.
We clearly need a set of PSAs targeted specifically at religious audiences. Don't jump off of tall building because you can't fly, don't eat poop because it tastes yucky and is full of bacteria, don't poke yourself in the eye with a fork when you eat, that sort of thing. They clearly need help.
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Comments
Posted by: MaleficVTwin
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December 2, 2009 1:46 PM
I wouldn't really say we need those PSA's, sometimes you just gotta step back and let stupid people be stupid.
Posted by: PGPWNIT | December 2, 2009 1:48 PM
What's this fork thing? But Father O'malley told me the only way to God is to spite your forsaken eye with a fork.
Garrum Atheists.
Posted by: lose_the_woo
|
December 2, 2009 1:49 PM
Where once I could see, now I am blind.
Wait a minute...that's not right.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | December 2, 2009 1:54 PM
Here's some more advice.
Go to a doctor if you are sick or injured. Prayer will not work.
Posted by: Jean-François Bélisle | December 2, 2009 1:54 PM
PZ, you forgot a fee very important recommendations... they need to be reminded to:
1. Swallow their saliva.
2. Breathe in and out (that one's really tricky).
3. That the "any key" isn't really a key on the keyboard (not knowing this can cause stress that could adversely affect the health of an individual).
Posted by: Glen Davidson
|
December 2, 2009 1:55 PM
Faith healing doesn't work, but faith injury does.
Now I believe!
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p
Posted by: Ian | December 2, 2009 1:55 PM
These two cases in Ireland were on the BBC news the next night, and those who were stupid enough to have looked directly at the sun were proud of the fact that they had seen 'visions' and the 'sun dance'.
Posted by: Alyson Miers | December 2, 2009 1:56 PM
"Profoundly irresponsible" behavior in the service of Abrahamic religion? I am shocked--simply shocked, I tell you.
Good on Dr. O'Donoghue for being a voice of rationality and sense.
Posted by: Janine, She Wolf Of Pharyngula, OM | December 2, 2009 1:57 PM
Even as I am composing this, I am regretting it.
Doctor, my eyes, cannot see the sky
I cannot do it. I cannot link to that song!
Posted by: not a gator | December 2, 2009 1:57 PM
Don't use your executive powers to pardon an extremely disturbed and violent criminal just because he said some magic words.
Posted by: strangest brew | December 2, 2009 1:59 PM
Yep...
Thing is sometimes the only way the functionally challenged can learn is through bitter experience...a bit like children...but with a lot less common sense so they are!
Complete fuckwits are not half as disadvantaged as the common or garden catolik moron.
But the main problem with letting them 'experience' the real world is that they will end up draining the NHS of precious funds through their gross incompetant stupidity...cos ya can bet ya bottom dollar the church will walk away whistling all innocent like and dodge any responsibility...after encouraging the idiots in the first place.
Posted by: Alpinist | December 2, 2009 1:59 PM
Wow, PZ's fingers must really be cold. 2 typos in the last few posts are glaringly obvious.
(improper use of "there/their" in the "Obama's let us down" post, and improper tense on "stare" in this post)
Posted by: Naked Bunny with a Whip | December 2, 2009 2:00 PM
If you're going to stare directly into the sun, please only do so at night. Thank you.
Posted by: blf | December 2, 2009 2:01 PM
Everyone knows you get better optical effects if you stick your head in the garbage disposal and turn it on. They are accompanied by sound effects you can really feel, complete with a full array of smells. And you'll meet your beloved mythical carpenter sooner. A lot sooner.
Posted by: plumberbob | December 2, 2009 2:04 PM
This sounds like handling serpents and/or drinking poison. There's an old book that seems to approve of it. Would it all be considered skimming the scum from the gene pool?
Posted by: James Sweet | December 2, 2009 2:08 PM
Looking on the bright side (pun intended), the nice thing about Knock is that it is a handy natural experiment to lend evidence to the leading hypothesis about the Our Lady of Fatima "miracle". That's always been one that bothered me a bit, because even though "the sun actually moved" was still the most implausible answer, the other hypotheses never sounded particularly plausible either. But now we know that the "those idjuts stared at the sun too long and all had a similar hallucination" answer is not only plausible; it's being reliably replicated at Knock. Boo-yah.
Posted by: fentwin | December 2, 2009 2:09 PM
We are missing an excellent marketing chance.
Lets sell sunlamps under the pretense that not everyone can get outside to stare at the sun.
We could call them "Son lamps".
Posted by: Michelle R | December 2, 2009 2:11 PM
It's fine. They were safe - Virgin Mary was protecting their cooking retinas.
Did anyone take binoculars?
Posted by: blf | December 2, 2009 2:12 PM
The Son Lamps should be solar-powered.
Posted by: Celtic_Evolution
|
December 2, 2009 2:16 PM
You left out...
... And you don't mess around with Jim...
Posted by: NoFear
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December 2, 2009 2:17 PM
If thine eyes offend thee, burn them out!
Posted by: plumberbob | December 2, 2009 2:17 PM
Would Pulpit-Wind power be as green a power source as solar?
Posted by: peptron | December 2, 2009 2:18 PM
We all know that to REALLY see the Virgin Mary you have to look at the sun through a telescope. The pain is normal, that's because you are a filthy being looking at a pure being. Your sight will become so pure that you will become completely unable to see any impure things.
Wow... this reminds me of a quote from the religious fanatics in Syndicate Wars. It's something along the lines of:
The disciple came to the master: "Master, master! Help me to stop seeing all the horrors of the world!"
And the master burned his eyes...
Posted by: Jim | December 2, 2009 2:20 PM
Don't take the cork off the fork, Ruprecht.
Posted by: rob | December 2, 2009 2:21 PM
well, if the optical effect they were going for was retinal burns and permanent blindness, then they did the right thing. however, i think the good doctor is right. staring at the sun is a baaaaaaaaaad idea. virgin mary or no.
Posted by: minimalist
|
December 2, 2009 2:28 PM
James Sweet:
There were other hypotheses? Man, I figured out the retinal burning the very first time I heard about this "miracle" in my Catholic high school.
That was probably my defining moment in coming to atheism. It got me to view my own Protestantism with a similarly critical eye, and found that it didn't hold up.
Posted by: DaveH_of_Lundun | December 2, 2009 2:29 PM
The ones who suffered retinopathy were not TrueTM believers.
Posted by: blf | December 2, 2009 2:30 PM
Would Pulpit-Wind power be as green a power source as solar?
What powers the pulpit gasbags?
Posted by: vanharris
|
December 2, 2009 2:30 PM
I don't believe this. No one in the British Isles has even seen the sun for the last couple of months.
Posted by: jolly | December 2, 2009 2:34 PM
You do realize that if this trend continues, they will start using telescopes and binoculars and then they will ban those because so many people are being harmed.
Posted by: blf | December 2, 2009 2:34 PM
Look harder.
Kids! Do not try this at home!
Posted by: Romeo Vitelli | December 2, 2009 2:35 PM
Why does this idiocy keep happening?
http://drvitelli.typepad.com/providentia/2008/03/blinded-by-the.html
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | December 2, 2009 2:40 PM
Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma!
Posted by: WMDKitty | December 2, 2009 2:41 PM
@MaleficVTwin (#1) -- this is why we have the Darwin Awards.
Posted by: fentwin | December 2, 2009 2:42 PM
blf (# 19)
Shouldn't that be "soular powered".
:P
Posted by: Frederik Rosenkjær | December 2, 2009 2:48 PM
Stupid apparently can also burn your eyes...
Posted by: jeffbell | December 2, 2009 2:51 PM
I blame all that eye poking on Isaac Newton.
Posted by: plumberbob | December 2, 2009 2:53 PM
@ blf (28),
What powers the pulpit gasbags?
Obviously it would be the collection plate, wouldn't it?
Posted by: Keenacat
|
December 2, 2009 2:55 PM
Butbutbut religion is safe as long as you do it right!
See, staring at the sun is safe as long as you have your head firmly stuck up the popes rear end. Those people were no True Catlicks(TM).
Posted by: The Tim Channel
|
December 2, 2009 3:01 PM
Something to make you feel all warm and fuzzy going into the holiday season.
Evidence of Bankster Evolution:
http://thetimchannel.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/evidence-of-bankster-evolution/
Enjoy.
Posted by: Sir Eccles
|
December 2, 2009 3:02 PM
If they were indeed looking at an image of the Virgin Mary in the sun, would the burn marks on their retinas be in the shape of the Virgin Mary? I demand to see the photos of their damaged retinas, they are clearly now religious icons that must be cut out and preserved in little golden jeweled boxes.
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 3:08 PM
I say let natural selection work it's magic.
Posted by: Richard Eis | December 2, 2009 3:13 PM
Its the opposite of miraculous healing, miraculous injury.
Hey, no one said miracles had to be nice. Kids these days, just don't appreciate what they are given.
Posted by: jimvj | December 2, 2009 3:14 PM
The most important PSA:
Do NOT deny your children proper medical care just because you believe in supernatural woo.
Posted by: chip | December 2, 2009 3:14 PM
Toast is just toast and oil stains are just oil stains
Posted by: Peter Ashby | December 2, 2009 3:22 PM
@Vanharris
Speak for yourself mate. Over here in Eastern Scotland we have seen plenty of sun. Yesterday we had a cloudless sky for much of the day. The sun comes out between the showers, sometimes, during the few daylight hours we have at this time of the year of course. Sunrise at 08:26 and Sunset at 15:38, man are we looking forward to the solstice this year.
Posted by: Michael Lonergan
|
December 2, 2009 3:23 PM
No, no, silly! They can just go and see Benny "The Hair-do" Hinn so he can blow on them and heal them! The way I see it, the more dangerous behaviour these nut jobs participate in, the better off the gene pool will be when they take themselves out of it. Although, then, I suppose we will have no one to flip our burgers at McDonalds...
Posted by: Screechy Monkey | December 2, 2009 3:23 PM
Karen Armstrong assures me that people were only metaphorically staring into the sun.
Posted by: Limulus | December 2, 2009 3:26 PM
Just updated Wikipedia; thanks for the article!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knock_Shrine#Purported_Solar_Phenomena
Posted by: steve | December 2, 2009 3:27 PM
Unfortunately, being good catlicks, most of them have probably bred, and then some.
Posted by: Qwerty
|
December 2, 2009 3:28 PM
Apparently the phrase "blinded by the light" isn't metaphorical anymore.
Posted by: tsg | December 2, 2009 3:33 PM
Would that it worked that way, but blindness doesn't prevent procreation, nor does it prevent inflicting stupidity on one's children.
Posted by: Quatguy | December 2, 2009 3:35 PM
"Pardon me but may I go to the bathroom....................... ......thank you"
Posted by: the pro from dover | December 2, 2009 3:39 PM
I'm pretty sure this was a popular fear tactic warning about the use of LSD in the late 60's as well. Someone like Art Linkletter would claim that many went blind from using LSD and staring at the sun, or masturbating or both.
Posted by: blah | December 2, 2009 3:40 PM
If anyone ever tells me to respect religion, I'll simply have one more reason to loathe it with all my being.
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 3:46 PM
" I say let natural selection work it's magic.
Would that it worked that way, but blindness doesn't prevent procreation, nor does it prevent inflicting stupidity on one's children."
@52
I beg to differ. Blind people are likelier to die before procreating. They're also less attractive to mates.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, Quel Dommage
|
December 2, 2009 3:53 PM
You know this how?
Posted by: Brownian, Most Vicious & Petty of Pharyngulites
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December 2, 2009 3:54 PM
"Now, we're more sensible than that; why do you atheists continually use examples of extremism to pick on religion?" asked the Moderate, after leaving a PTA meeting where he'd publicly congratulated members of his daughter's Catholic school board for sticking to their principles and refusing to offer the HPV vaccine for fear that it will give children the wrong ideas about sex. "Staring at the sun to see Mary? Well, faith is important, but some people are always going to take things too far. Now, if you don't mind, my daughter Sarah and I are going to Mass to light a candle for child victims of AIDs in Africa," he added, just before putting his arm around his child in an effort to spare her the sight of an empty condom wrapper the wind had pulled from a tipped garbage can.
Posted by: tsg | December 2, 2009 4:03 PM
@56
Er, yeah, I'm not touching that except to say:
Not if they procreated before they went blind.
Not if they found a mate before they went blind.
Posted by: truthspeaker | December 2, 2009 4:09 PM
You win this thread.
Posted by: stogoe | December 2, 2009 4:18 PM
Because most of what we call taste actually comes from our sense of smell, and we've all smelt poo before, so it's easy to extrapolate.Or maybe you weren't looking for an actual answer, 'Tis Himself, One Cup?
Posted by: aharleygyrl
|
December 2, 2009 4:21 PM
"Thousands of people have been travelling to the County Mayo pilgrimage shrine of Knock after hearing that the Virgin Mary would appear there."
I am so ashamed to be humans sometimes.
"Don't jump off of tall building because you can't fly, don't eat poop because it tastes yucky and is full of bacteria, don't poke yourself in the eye with a fork when you eat, that sort of thing."
Bahahahaha!!!
Posted by: Draken
|
December 2, 2009 4:34 PM
While [Dr O'Donoghue] was unaware how the events were organised, he said, it would be "profoundly irresponsible" for anyone to encourage people to stare at the sun.
Leave it to the Mother Church to be 'profoundly irresponsible'.
And no Knock Knock jokes yet?
Posted by: NoAstronomer | December 2, 2009 4:47 PM
I've got a good PSA:
If you live in Minnesota don't have somebody take the doors off your house. In December. When it's snowing.
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 4:49 PM
#59
Sure, except that up until that point, they weren't blind. It's only *after* they went blind that their chances went down. Also, if they were dumb enough to stare at the sun, I'm willing to be they probably had other factors mitigating their chance for reproductive success.
Posted by: Thuktun | December 2, 2009 4:50 PM
@PGPWNIT "Garrum Athiests"
ITYM "Gorram"
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 4:51 PM
@59
P.S.
I can use the same reasoning. Lets say they went blind *before* they had a chance to mate. My argument wins in that case.
Posted by: tsg | December 2, 2009 5:00 PM
#67
Only if you can show that blind people are in fact a) more likely to die before they procreate and b) less likely to find a mate, which is an argument I don't want to be within 12 miles of.
Posted by: Jag | December 2, 2009 5:04 PM
My Mom taught me a lot of things when I was a young, stupid child, but she never had to tell not to stare at the sun for hours.
That should be a innate given...
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 5:09 PM
@68
*sigh*
a)
Sight wouldn't have evolved if it weren't useful. It's not just a matter of blind people being unable to mate, it's a matter of people with sight out-competing them. Humans are primarily visual creatures. We spot mates with our eyes. We find food, communicate, interact, interpret body language, and a host of other things through site. I'm not saying it's impossible for the blind to mate. I'm saying those who can see have an advantage. Also, blind people are likelier to be hit by buses, eaten by lions, picked as targets of muggers, wander into an unfriendly neighborhood, etc, etc. I have no hard data of course, but I dare you to call being blind a net advantage in the current world.
b)Fear of social repercussions doesn't change the facts. Don't cop out because you're afraid of what the blind and their friends might think. I don't know how many blind people get married or not. This is, of course, just off the top of my head. I was arguing that people dumb enough to stare at the sun in order to see God are likely to do other dumb, Darwin Award inducing things.
Posted by: tsg | December 2, 2009 5:13 PM
@70:
"which is an argument I don't want to be within 12 miles of."
Posted by: Richard Eis | December 2, 2009 5:20 PM
-I've got a good PSA:
If you live in Minnesota don't have somebody take the doors off your house. In December. When it's snowing.-
He has already mated successfully, so from an evolutionary standpoint he can quite happily freeze to death. Isn't that good to know!!!
I would say "on average" an inability to see would adversely affect your chances of mating. However the question is whether the religiosity needed to do something this dumb would offer more advantage (quiverfuls) than the loss of sight being a disadvantage.
Posted by: Lilo | December 2, 2009 5:21 PM
The things people do to themselves because of religion never fail to impress me with the sheer stupidity it requires to believe that they are good for you. Hair shirts, flagellation, cicatrices, staring at the sun, climbing up long flights of stairs on elderly knees are all abusive of the "temple" the body is supposed to be. And the things that people do to themselves pale in comparison to the things that organized religions have dome to them. Awful, stupid and examples of the expression of power, rather than the expression of kindness. It's not just the Catholics, either,
remember the joys of handling rattlesnakes after you have irritated them as an expression of faith. Teh stoopid.
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 5:22 PM
@71
Except that you started it, so you just contradicted yourself.
Posted by: tsg | December 2, 2009 6:01 PM
@venerant
This is precisely why I didn't want to get into this argument.
I'm not interested in why you *think* it's true. I'm interested in the facts, because this is a measurable claim. Either you have the facts, or you don't. If you don't, then you're talking out of your ass and I want no part of it. If you did then you lead with a weaker argument which makes you either stupid or disingenuous, and I want no part of it.
I certainly want no part of an argument with someone who starts it with "*sigh*".
And your comment at #74 screams "troll" and I'm not taking the bait.
Posted by: Procyon | December 2, 2009 6:22 PM
"Since the time of Galileo people have known that looking directly at the sun can do damage to your eyes," Dr O'Donoghue said.
I would think that since the first eye-spot evolved everything has known better than to stare at the sun.
Posted by: CailinBan | December 2, 2009 6:31 PM
Point of clarification to Strangest Brew's post (No 11):
The NHS won't have any costs incurred because of this because it happened in the Republic of Ireland, not the UK which is where the NHS operates, so you can rest easy about that.
And it wasn't the official Catholic Church which organised this, but some loony rebellious fringe Catholic. The official Church tried to stop people going.
The larger points of the blog post do, of course, remain.
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 6:39 PM
@75
Seeing as my initial comment was just supposed to be a joke, I guess I'll drop it. No facts needed. I generally pull one-liners out of my ass. To answer your accusation, if I am a troll, then you've already fallen for the bait. Or have I? Once the question of trolling comes into play, the whole thing is moot. For someone who wants no part of an argument, you seem quite keen on continuing. My whole rationale is hand-waiving, anyway. I'd like to see your hard facts. I'm going to continue to believe that having eye sight is an advantage over my visually impaired bretheren; no hard feelings to them. If being blind weren't a disadvantage, then why are there laws requiring additional accommodation for blind people? Why the beeps at traffic lights, why the extra tool in the form of walking cane, or the seeing eye-dogs? Those extra things are expensive; expenses that could be used elsewhere in survival. We can keep going if you like. I sigh because I didn't *really* want to get into it, yet here I am.
Posted by: tsg | December 2, 2009 6:46 PM
@venerant
If it was a joke, you should have said so and dropped it then instead of trying to defend it.
The only argument I am continuing is why I don't have any interest in arguing your claim that the blind are less likely to have children. You made up your mind without knowing the facts, and that's all I need to know, so I'm done with that.
I don't need hard facts, it's your claim.
As for the rest of your post it's just a miserable attempt at moving the goalposts so I'm done with that, too.
Anything else?
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 6:50 PM
@tsg
Yes, one last thing. Thanks for the flame war.
Posted by: Jadehawk, OM
|
December 2, 2009 6:51 PM
flame war? don't be pathetic. that wasn't even close to a flame war.
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 6:54 PM
@tsg
Wow, sorry that my methods don't meet your standards for two people insulting each other over the internet. Maybe you can find someone other person you've never met to insult. It shouldn't be hard.
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 6:55 PM
Correction. I got excited and thought tsg replied. It's not a flame war because I'm trying to be civil; and maybe tsg. As for pathetic, it's only pathetic if I let you stoke the fire.
Posted by: tsg | December 2, 2009 7:01 PM
Having your assertions challenged does not constitute a flame war.
Posted by: venerant | December 2, 2009 7:10 PM
I agree. Calling people pathetic and insinuating things about them based on things that don't really matter constitute half of a flame war. If the other person replies, then it becomes one. Oh, you're a dork :P Just kidding.
Posted by: K. Signal Eingang | December 2, 2009 9:50 PM
@76: I was thinking that was perhaps a subtle dig at Catholicism's, uh, complicated relationship with scientific knowledge.
Posted by: Kevin | December 2, 2009 9:53 PM
Always suspected the same thing for the Fatima "miracle". I've seen ridiculous attempts to explain it scientifically (fog plus light refraction...), but honestly, anyone whose stared at the sun for even half a second could tell you right away the trick to those miracles. "The sun was dancing"...no dumbass, you just burnt your retina.
Posted by: Tim | December 3, 2009 12:26 AM
"Since the time of Galileo people have known that looking directly at the sun can do damage to your eyes," Dr O'Donoghue said.
Yeah, Catholics have a great track record of listening to Galileo.
Posted by: ChicagoMolly | December 3, 2009 1:55 AM
James Sweet:
My own hypothesis goes back to my childhood days weeding the back yard. I was stuck in one place for hours, moving very little, doing a mindless task, and forgetting to drink enough water. After several hours out there I fainted. And just before I fell over my visual field went all shimmery and wavy and O Wow look at the colors!!!!
Now look at Fatima. A lot of unsophisticated, devout rural people have gone out to a field because they've convinced themselves that Something Wonderful will happen. They're probably after going to Mass and Communion too, and back then (1917?) you had to abstain from food and drink from the previous evening. Good bet more than a few went straight from church to the field without eating, then spent several hours standing or kneeling in one spot praying the Rosary (Christian thought-stopping mantra) until inevitably some of them keeled over. Now imagine you're on the verge of fainting yourself and you see people around you already dropping. Are you more likely to think, "O crap, I knew I should have had breakfast before I came up here!", or "It's true!! The miracle is happening!! The sun is dancing, and all the colors ... " PLOP
Posted by: Joel
|
December 3, 2009 2:00 AM
Dear Catholics:
Your doctor also recommends the proper use of birth control and barrier prophylactics in order to reduce the chance of unwanted pregnancies and sexually-transmitted diseases.
This is another case where your Doctor is more well-informed than your Pope.
Thanks for listening.
Posted by: strangest brew | December 3, 2009 3:30 AM
#77
"The NHS won't have any costs incurred because of this because it happened in the Republic of Ireland, not the UK which is where the NHS operates, so you can rest easy about that."
Actually it seems that it has a service that operates on the same lines a the NHS.
'The Health Service Executive (HSE)(Irish: Feidhmeannacht na Serbhíse Sláinte, FSS) is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds.'
According to wikki!
So the drain would be to counselling services to the victims of good catolik educational norms in Ireland.
Whatever the resource it seems the catloliks like to drain it, god will sort out the non-believers after all!
"And it wasn't the official Catholic Church which organised this, but some loony rebellious fringe Catholic. The official Church tried to stop people going."
Well they did not try that hard then obviously.
Anyone that listens to a some loony rebellious fringe Catholic death cult has abandoned mummy church for lunacy anyway.
And besides the catolik pragmatism regards as 'near catolik' good enough for jazz in the spirit of jeebus woo!.
If a catolik based ideology was as dangerous as this outfit were/are one would expect round copious and fulsome condemnation in press and pulpit because the good RC name(sic) is being dragged through the metaphorical shit again, but not a murmur, not a whimper, maybe a one line after thought at the bottom of a pamphlet extolling the virtues of celibacy or the martyrdom of pedo priests caught in flagrante.
But there was and is no such proclamation that this sub cult was not backed by not upheld the tenets of 'moderate' Roman Catolik inanity.
Which is par for the course in religio terms...the get all squeamish when they are confronted by the more colourful if not insane interpretations based on their own dogma perpetrated by delusional fuckwits masquerading as of their ilk but fundamentally moved to fundamental tomfuckery.
Posted by: strangest brew | December 3, 2009 3:56 AM
While ranting it would be appropriate to mention that Opus Dei love the Hair shirts, flagellation, cicatrices and they are a powerful sub sect of catolik nonsense, so it is not a precedent that looney tune sub sects are tolerated by mummy church, in fact they are adored and recieve special dispensation.
Fucking lunatics talking to Total fucking lunatics use the same language.
Posted by: Douglas Watts | December 3, 2009 5:22 AM
Given the extreme reveration for self-mutilation and self punishment in the early Irish church, this just continues a long tradition of personal stupidity disguised as religious stupidity.
Posted by: NotExactly
|
December 3, 2009 6:34 AM
Why do people laugh at Christians?
Only Christians don't know why.
Posted by: Michael Dickens | December 3, 2009 8:07 AM
Honestly, scientists could use some help too. Newton stared into the sun all the time. And how many countless scientists have gotten cancer from messing around with radioactive chemicals?
Posted by: Richard Eis | December 3, 2009 8:37 AM
Him being christian only further proves our point methinks. Science is dangerous work sometimes. Its not like they were shoving it up their noses on the off-chance of seeing JesusPosted by: AJ Milne OM
|
December 3, 2009 8:53 AM
And oooo, the labeling possibilities:
'... and here we have our premium model, the 'One-Thousand Watt Jesus'...
See also:
Yep. We at Son Lamps Inc. like to think of it as a sorta 'inverse miracle'...
Yeah. We're miraculously curing the sighted.
(/TV spot idea: Guy dressed in beggar's robes staggering around blindly, veering dangerously close the curb on a busy street with rushing traffic, proclaiming excitedly: 'I can't see! I can't see! It's a miracle...')
Posted by: Richard Eis | December 3, 2009 9:02 AM
son-lamps : Its the Marvelous Mary home-kit. Miracles in your own home, at a fraction of the price of regular miracles. (results may vary, you may not go blind using our product. If sight returns or miracles cease, seek religious attention)
Posted by: Keenacat
|
December 3, 2009 12:15 PM
Son-lamp Noah - the flood version! Just plug it into the power outlet, fill your bathtub and jump right in! You will feel touched by the holy ghost himself! Meet your creator today!
(Sorry, no installment possible.)
Posted by: Richard Eis | December 3, 2009 1:13 PM
Keenacat, you forgot the
"Money Back Guarantee!!!!" hehehe
Posted by: Theophania | December 4, 2009 4:21 AM
I'm reminded of the South Park episode with the Island of Misfit Mascots. The Don't Stare Directly at the Sun Worm doesn't seem like such a misfit now, does he?
Posted by: Daniel | December 5, 2009 10:35 PM
Never put salt in your eyes, never put salt in your eyes, never put salt in your eyes...ALWAYS PUT SALT IN YOUR EYES
Posted by: JC | December 7, 2009 4:27 AM
And yet tens of thousands of people saw the Sun Dance at Fatima: it was photographed. It was reported by secular newspapers. It had been raining, everyone was soaking wet, and after the miracle, the ground and clothes were bone-dry.
In the 1960s, tens of thousands of people, Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim, saw the blessed mother on the roof of a church in Zeitun, Egypt.
Accepted as a miracle by investigations from the Orthodox and Catholic authorities *and the Egyptian government itself*.
That said, just staring at the sun to see if it happens again is stupid.
Who is really closed-minded and ignorant?
Posted by: Occam's Machete | December 8, 2009 10:13 AM
If that's good enough for you then fill your boots mate - that constitutes a 100% authentic miracle. It does however also mean that that miracle occurs all over the planet every single day.
A bunch of very gullible, primed people gathered (by the law of averages some of them also very stupid, some of them very dishonest), then it rained, the light looked different, it got dry. Whoop-dee-fucking-do!
And saying it was reported by secular newspapers does not validate a damn thing. The newspapers reported the event and the stories it generated. They didn't validate anything. And you know it.
Why would those 'honourable' churches validate patent nonsense? It's not like they have anything to benefit or as if that's what they've built their entire existence on? [/Snark}* Also, I can find no confirmation of any Egyptian authorities authenticating the story - but tourism is profitable, so you never know.
Apart from your use of the word "again" I can't fault your logic.
Faith-heads. It's very well documented.
I have a question for you JC. How do these miracles even confirm that your story about the Invisible Space Magician is The Truth™? Wouldn't the creator of the universe have better party tricks than these? If he can do absolutely anything how can these be the the best he can manage? He casts a bit of shadow here, makes the light a bit funny there, makes the rain dry up over there? It's pathetic.
* Somebody really needs to invent Sarcastica as a font. It would be very useful online.
Posted by: Occam's Machete | December 8, 2009 10:16 AM
Sorry about the layout mayhem above. It looked neat in preview. :(
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | December 8, 2009 10:24 AM
That would be you JC.