Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Banned!
Mad fool that I am, I have ended up becoming a regular contributor to blog discussions which are diasmetrically opposed to everything I believe. The effect has been odd. Most notably in terms of religion. The last three years or so has seen me shift from being a fairly comfortable liberal catholic Anglican, to a position which is sort of post-Christian humanist. Participating in those blogs has undoubtedly had some influence on that shift, simply because of the sort of responses I get there.
Latest development has been a banning from one of those sites. It seems its because my presence shifted the discussions on to me! But that was hardly my doing, but those who always ended up making the discussions 'personal'. It does rather display my own feeling that there isn't very much space for dialogue on either side.
Contributing to a specialist blog like that is a bit strange too, in that all I ever talked about was religion. Correction. Nearly every discussion wound its way round to gay matters, even if it initially had no input from that direction from me. Its as if thats the only part of one's personality and as if one has no other interests or concerns...
Having said that, spending time elsewhere has meant that this blog has itself been sorely neglected, and I think its about time I started taking it a bit more seriously and gave the world the benefits of my musings rather more often (oh, the pomposity of this whole thing.....but I hope those of you who do visit and read enjoy what I have to say, even if you don't always agree!)
On the whole, those who ban tend not to like mavericks, and thats what I am, I shall never fit cosily into a round hole. All power to square pegs everywhere....
Latest development has been a banning from one of those sites. It seems its because my presence shifted the discussions on to me! But that was hardly my doing, but those who always ended up making the discussions 'personal'. It does rather display my own feeling that there isn't very much space for dialogue on either side.
Contributing to a specialist blog like that is a bit strange too, in that all I ever talked about was religion. Correction. Nearly every discussion wound its way round to gay matters, even if it initially had no input from that direction from me. Its as if thats the only part of one's personality and as if one has no other interests or concerns...
Having said that, spending time elsewhere has meant that this blog has itself been sorely neglected, and I think its about time I started taking it a bit more seriously and gave the world the benefits of my musings rather more often (oh, the pomposity of this whole thing.....but I hope those of you who do visit and read enjoy what I have to say, even if you don't always agree!)
On the whole, those who ban tend not to like mavericks, and thats what I am, I shall never fit cosily into a round hole. All power to square pegs everywhere....
Floods....
We had our own mini-flood last night. Our house is old (Victorian) and has a cellar - which I realised, on a visit there had started to amass water. It turned out to be a blockage in the drain outside.
Its all cleared now but it wasn't a pleasant thought, that the house could have been flooded, even if it was only the cellar
More broadly, it looks as if we are going to have to get our act together with regard to the erratic climate. I've never been totally sure about the whole global warming
/climate change thing, either way - but there does appear to be something going on.
Its all cleared now but it wasn't a pleasant thought, that the house could have been flooded, even if it was only the cellar
More broadly, it looks as if we are going to have to get our act together with regard to the erratic climate. I've never been totally sure about the whole global warming
/climate change thing, either way - but there does appear to be something going on.
Trophy wives
I've been doing a bit of research into the whole so-called 'ex-gay' phenomenon - self-hating or self-oppressed is probably a more accurate description, but still.....one thing I have noticed is that they like to festoon their blogs with pictures of Wifey, if indeed, their self-deception has reached those remarkable levels. I suppose its a way of convincing themselves and creating the necessarily heterosexual image! One of them even wrote 'isn't heterosexuality great' as a blog entry. he must really need to convince himself.
On one level I find these sort of people very dangerous. They can severely mess up people's lives, and having seen the effect they can have, I certainly think they need constant monitoring.
But, much more positively:
1. In the UK at least, there are very few of them. Even the largest of the groups, which takes a reasonably moderate position (carry your cross, not God will turn you straight) has a remarkably small number of members. And the throughput appears considerable given those who leave and then find partners, leaving that world far behind
2. It appears to me that with gay people now finding it easier to come out, most of those attracted to this sort of group are likely to be those who have been brought up within evangelical Christianity. The church has displayed so much homophobia over the past few years that it certainly hasn't gone unnoticed, and i think few young gay people are in the least interested in the institutional church
3. Their stance is ever more an anachronism. Gay people have become so much part of the mainstream these days: you realise this when you work with students who simply can't conceive that anyone would find being gay any sort of problem. They have gay friends and thats just one factor about them. I think thats good and demonstrates still further just how irrelevant the church has become
Of course, many in the church love this sort of martyrdom. it also fits into their theology of being 'counter-cultural' (in Christian speak - the real meaning is 'outdated and fearful of anything in contemporary society') and being a small, fringe group standing firm against the wicked, fallen world.
Looks like they will have plenty of chance to carry on practising!
On one level I find these sort of people very dangerous. They can severely mess up people's lives, and having seen the effect they can have, I certainly think they need constant monitoring.
But, much more positively:
1. In the UK at least, there are very few of them. Even the largest of the groups, which takes a reasonably moderate position (carry your cross, not God will turn you straight) has a remarkably small number of members. And the throughput appears considerable given those who leave and then find partners, leaving that world far behind
2. It appears to me that with gay people now finding it easier to come out, most of those attracted to this sort of group are likely to be those who have been brought up within evangelical Christianity. The church has displayed so much homophobia over the past few years that it certainly hasn't gone unnoticed, and i think few young gay people are in the least interested in the institutional church
3. Their stance is ever more an anachronism. Gay people have become so much part of the mainstream these days: you realise this when you work with students who simply can't conceive that anyone would find being gay any sort of problem. They have gay friends and thats just one factor about them. I think thats good and demonstrates still further just how irrelevant the church has become
Of course, many in the church love this sort of martyrdom. it also fits into their theology of being 'counter-cultural' (in Christian speak - the real meaning is 'outdated and fearful of anything in contemporary society') and being a small, fringe group standing firm against the wicked, fallen world.
Looks like they will have plenty of chance to carry on practising!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Cash for peerages....and those by-elections
So, after a drawn out enquiry, dawn raids and the like, no charges are to be laid.
Talk about a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The fact is that all the large parties have been doing this sort of thing for years, and with the huge upsurge in spending at election time, the pressure has increased to make it more not less likely
What we need is a downsizing of political campaigning so that there are very clear limits on expenditure. But will the main parties agree to this? I doubt it somehow.
And what about those by-elections? The Tories did extremely badly. How can anyone say otherwise? If the main opposition party is falling from 2nd to 3rd in a safe Labour seat, and does noticeably badly in the sort of seat they have to up their game in (Southall) after a very high-profile campaign, then they are surely not about to win the next election?
Talk about a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The fact is that all the large parties have been doing this sort of thing for years, and with the huge upsurge in spending at election time, the pressure has increased to make it more not less likely
What we need is a downsizing of political campaigning so that there are very clear limits on expenditure. But will the main parties agree to this? I doubt it somehow.
And what about those by-elections? The Tories did extremely badly. How can anyone say otherwise? If the main opposition party is falling from 2nd to 3rd in a safe Labour seat, and does noticeably badly in the sort of seat they have to up their game in (Southall) after a very high-profile campaign, then they are surely not about to win the next election?
Thanks to MadPriest for this...
Following the story that by all accounts Priddis has congratulated a church organist on his forthcoming civil partnership (the celebratory party will be held in the church)
I do think there seems to be a little ...errr...confusion here
The fallout continues. The Church is clearly not happy, still spinning away, helped by its trusty band of conservative bloggers who hope that the issue of civil partnerships can be returned to, and what appears to be a misreading of the decision. I haven't read it, but if the conservatives are right, then Priddis would have won the case. The thing they appear to have overlooked is that its o nly because this case was deemed a probable lay post exempt from the regulations that all the other issues were taken into account at all. And they still lost - and the judgment stated that it would have been the case on indirect as well as direct discrimination
It really is about time they woke up and realised that their position is more akin to that of the racist - tolerated, even allowed in the private sphere, but certainly not approved of. Poor dears. Must be a terrible shock to them to realise that their brand of bigotry no longer holds sway
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Dope
No, not another post about church conservatives!
Its dope. Today, seven Ministers in the government have said they have smoked dope. No surprise there given their age group.
Personally, I don't do drugs. Other than coffee. And alcohol. So, I don't have an axe to grind here.
My views on the topic are:
1. Classification itself is meaningless. Change it back to a class B, but don't waste police time tracking down users.
2. Its undoubtedly stronger than it used to be. ultimately, though, prohibition doesn't work, and the links between drugs are more down to the dealer contact than anything else
3. Once the drugs are on the streets control is an impossibility
4. 'Wars on drugs' don't work, and simply end up glamourising it more
5. Most drug users grow out of it.
6. Some cannabis users will be badly affected, just like some smokers die and some alcoholics suffer those consequences. I don't think thats enough on its own to prohibit. There's only so much you can do to save people from themselves.
Of the above, 5 is the most relevant - lets stop panicking.
And if we are serious about the question, then its the big boys who need catching and sorting.
Its dope. Today, seven Ministers in the government have said they have smoked dope. No surprise there given their age group.
Personally, I don't do drugs. Other than coffee. And alcohol. So, I don't have an axe to grind here.
My views on the topic are:
1. Classification itself is meaningless. Change it back to a class B, but don't waste police time tracking down users.
2. Its undoubtedly stronger than it used to be. ultimately, though, prohibition doesn't work, and the links between drugs are more down to the dealer contact than anything else
3. Once the drugs are on the streets control is an impossibility
4. 'Wars on drugs' don't work, and simply end up glamourising it more
5. Most drug users grow out of it.
6. Some cannabis users will be badly affected, just like some smokers die and some alcoholics suffer those consequences. I don't think thats enough on its own to prohibit. There's only so much you can do to save people from themselves.
Of the above, 5 is the most relevant - lets stop panicking.
And if we are serious about the question, then its the big boys who need catching and sorting.
Yet more church homophobia
And it is amusing to see people try and spin what is an embarassing defeat in an Industrial tribunal into some sort of victory.
So, wooden spoon to Chief Homophobe Anthony Priddis, Bishop of Hereford. Nasty bit of work, like most of the slimeballs
I can't imagine me ever wanting to return to church now. The longer you remain outside the institution, the more you come to see that it is essentially damaged to the core. For me, its gone further. Christianity itself and its bible are equaally problematic.
The time has come, I think, that gay people should no mlonger accept this sort of homophobia. if they don't speak out against it, and remain in a homophobic institution, I find it hard to have respect for them.
All priests should leave all denominations which do not fully accept their ministry. Otherwise, they are acting as their own oppressors and allowing themselves to be treated as second class citizens
All lay members of the church should refuse to fund the institution and refuse to take on any role of responsibility. if they feel they must, turn up on Sunday and leave it at that. Best of all, stop going. Its really rather liberating to be free of such a dead and stifling institution!
The good thing about this is that gay people are already clearing out of the churches. Young gay men don't need the gin-and-lace anglo-catholic closet any longer. This sort of publicity will only make it clearer that there is no place for us in the church and it will become, ever more, a laager for the bigoted who wish things were like they used to be.....whilst the rest of us get on with our lives, protected in the civil law, leaving them to wallow in their own sad, deluded nostalgic fantasy.
So, wooden spoon to Chief Homophobe Anthony Priddis, Bishop of Hereford. Nasty bit of work, like most of the slimeballs
I can't imagine me ever wanting to return to church now. The longer you remain outside the institution, the more you come to see that it is essentially damaged to the core. For me, its gone further. Christianity itself and its bible are equaally problematic.
The time has come, I think, that gay people should no mlonger accept this sort of homophobia. if they don't speak out against it, and remain in a homophobic institution, I find it hard to have respect for them.
All priests should leave all denominations which do not fully accept their ministry. Otherwise, they are acting as their own oppressors and allowing themselves to be treated as second class citizens
All lay members of the church should refuse to fund the institution and refuse to take on any role of responsibility. if they feel they must, turn up on Sunday and leave it at that. Best of all, stop going. Its really rather liberating to be free of such a dead and stifling institution!
The good thing about this is that gay people are already clearing out of the churches. Young gay men don't need the gin-and-lace anglo-catholic closet any longer. This sort of publicity will only make it clearer that there is no place for us in the church and it will become, ever more, a laager for the bigoted who wish things were like they used to be.....whilst the rest of us get on with our lives, protected in the civil law, leaving them to wallow in their own sad, deluded nostalgic fantasy.
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