Comments on: Iraq’s clampdown on smoking and drinking delights Muslim fundies

By: GNG

GNG — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:00:51 +0000

Spot on as usual remigius

By: barriejohn

barriejohn — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:49:47 +0000

They were not strictly being "persecuted", as the Established Church was now Protestant under King James. However, they were not allowed freedom of worship, and if they did not attend Church of England services they were fined. A couple of Puritans had indeed been executed earlier for conducting unofficial services, but then you have to remember that this was the time of the Gunpowder Plot, and the Spanish Armada was still fresh in the collective consciousness, so a degree of paranoia about this sort of activity was understandable! As I remarked above, others were able to live with the situation, but not the Separatists!!

By: Ashmead

Ashmead — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:22:15 +0000

You're right, Buffy, but although I do believe in freedom of worship of course, I also think that they brought some of their problems upon themselves. Other Protestants found it possible to worship the Anglican way, even if they did have to bite their tongues at times. After all, there were no real doctrinal differences, merely disagreements over church governance and the order of service. Burnings and executions were largely a thing of the past, and the Catholics had a much harder time of it. I actually consorted with a group with similar views to theirs, and they played the "victim" all the time, just as Stephen Green and others do in England to this day (and Carrie Prejean and her pals in the US, of course!). Many of my friends would refuse to attend a "place of worship", even when their own children married "outside the faith", and refused to take part in any prayers led by a "man of the cloth". They always referred, de rigeur, to Sunday as "The Lord's Day", and I have known some who referred to churches in the Puritan manner as "the large building with the spire"! …

By: barriejohn

barriejohn — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:26:33 +0000

The Founding Fathers were obviously aware of what kind of people the Puritans were, and what dangers religious fundamentalism might present to the fledgling nation. They would also have been aware of the virtual "Reign of Terror" inaugurated by John Calvin in Europe, and been determined to ensure that that was never possible under the American Constitution. My admiration for them grows the more I learn about them!

By: barriejohn

barriejohn — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:22:16 +0000

By: barriejohn

barriejohn — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:04:53 +0000

My comment has reappeared!!!

By: CybrgnX

CybrgnX — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:33:54 +0000

'The original Pilgrims did indeed come here to get away from the Church of England, because they no longer wanted to be told how to worship.' is not accurate as they left England because the others told them to piss off because they weren't going to put up with the pilgrims tell everyone else how to live. They went to Holland and got told the same thing there and went back to England to come here where able for some time to tell everyone around how to live.
Wow! that sound just like the damn Islamics moving in all over and trying to tell everyone else to change to accommodate them and use Sherri law . Sorry-but just as I like to tell Xtians – Piss off.
Because you eventually get the article above…No gays-no sex-no bad habits…..I'm sick to death of these religious assholes telling me what to do and trying to protect me from myself. I love how these 'tolerant' religions who deal in hate and fear of everything try to force all others to live their way which even they don't do.

By: Buffy

Buffy — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:07:49 +0000

The original Pilgrims did indeed come here to get away from the Church of England, because they no longer wanted to be told how to worship. But they then turned right around and became religious fascists themselves. It's wonderful that the Founding Fathers weren't cut from the same cloth as they, or we would actually be a theocracy. Sadly the RRRW here thinks the FF were the same as the Pilgrims/Puritans. That's where we get all that "Amurka is a Christian Nation" crap from.

By: remigius

remigius — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:23:24 +0000

Please, please promise us you won't be posting a link to a picture of you, as a sprog, in your mum's knitted bikini.

By: barriejohn

barriejohn — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:56:21 +0000

"Talking of posts disappearing", I had a riposte ready for your comment regarding my appearing in female attire, but THAT seems to have disappeared as well! Suffice to say it has been known – more details to follow!!