FourPacketsOfPeanuts

Fundamentalists: "As it says in GOD'S WORD"

God's Word: "if a foetus is fully formed treat it like a person, if it's not, don't"

Fundamentalists: "wait.. what"

The whole thing seems incredible.

How is "oh it was epilepsy" a defence when you've never had an epileptic fit before? No history of it.

You've all seen a million YouTube videos of someone panicking and hitting the accelerator when they meant the brake. Unfortunately far far more likely than "invisible epilepsy".

I can't believe they didn't charge her (first time round).

She was probably haring it along Camp Road (as well-to-do Chelsea tractor types are known to do). And completely fails to take the right hand bend properly. This leads directly into the school playground.

Or, by some miracle, are we to believe that, of all the moments for it to happen, InViSiBlE ePiLePsY struck at the exact point where someone driving too fast might lose control?

Pls.. shame on the CPS..

Edit: if this is a defence that works then EVERY TRAFFIC DEATH where someone wasn't paying attention could be defended on exactly the same terms. "It was mysterious epilepsy". Crown prosecution: "well.... can't prove it wasn't. Guess there's nothing for us to do here". ffs... it's nonsense. Does she know someone influential or something..

The thinktank have since moved on to their next study: "The defecation habits of ursidae in arboreal contexts"

There are a great many films, songs, theatre productions and works of art over the decades that one could call "pointless antagonism". Especially against religion and claims of power.

I'm not saying burning a Qur'an is "art". I'm saying doing it is a health check on liberalism vs insipid religious privilege.

I don't think antagonism is useful for its own sake in general, but specifically in the face of an ideology that would seek totalitarian control? Yes very much so.

We routinely enjoy productions from Hollywood and the like where the megalomaniac bad guy's organisation is blown up and burned up the ground. Though no-one would ever get specifically offended by this. But it is what we like to do as a liberal society (the West as a whole). We burn and destroy pretenders to the throne and systems that want to enslave us. (Even capitalism see Fight Club etc etc)

That's why I didn't mean to single out Islam. I think religious fascism (or totalitarianism) in all its forms should be lampooned and figuratively (or literally) burned on a regular basis. I think being offensive to fascism is a vital part of speaking freely.

My caveat is that it should be easily avoidable by those who don't want to see it. Staging a blasphemous Christian play at an art festival? Go for it. Projecting it on the wall of a church? No thanks. Burning a Qur'an in your own yard with friends and videoing it? Go for it. Outside a mosque? No thanks.

Yes, it's a general feature though I've rarely come across evangelical groups that go as far as to make public proclamations of their predictions like Jehovah's witnesses did (some do, no doubt)

Amusingly it seems the JWs might have only survived because around 1886 it accidentally predicted 1914 would be the end of the world and the beginning of the favouring of the Jews (WWI and II culminated in the re-founding of Israel)

They re-engineered the text of the prophecy to better match the outbreak of world war (unsurprisingly). But that, together with the founding of Israel in 1948 are things they still point back to as "proofs"

If you look at my other comment, I'm not interested in destroying information, or preventing people from reading it. It's specifically doing something that other people think they have the right to stop me from doing. And as such it serves to highlight those who are hiding the fact that they have a fascist mindset towards me and others.

To make this clearer, maybe the day after "burn a Qur'an day" should be "read the Qur'an day".

I wouldn't see any contradiction in that

It is a point of controversy whether non-Muslims should be made to follow Islamic law

No controversy about it at all. The more that religious fascists insist on controlling others, the more it's essential that people are free to express ridicule towards them.

I suppose the equivalent might be performing a play in which Christ is a child abuser or some musical parody of Auschwitz?

Those expressions should be avoidable though. So that if someone didn't want to see it they are free to find something else to do. Harassing people (burning a Qur'an outside their home) would be wrong.

But saying I can't do something just because that's a rule for you? Fuck that. Get the matches.

Sounds like it's time to institute international Bible, Qur'an, Torah burning day..

Looks like they have two: "Awake" and "Watchtower": https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/

In London in recent years I've only seen Awake. Maybe Watchtower is American or only in Kingdom halls?

they clarified that it was 11 tribes and one "lost tribe"

As far as I'm aware there are 10 lost tribes. Only Judah and Benjamin were not regarded as lost. They might have a different view on that of course..

They agreed that it's the gospel and many people weren't good enough Christians

They don't see the "vast multitude" (who are believers besides the 144,000) as having a bad deal in any way. They get to live on the restored earth which is basically Eden paradise. That's why all their magazines / tracts have pictures of an idyllic life in a park / nature type setting

Fairly recent (in the scheme of things) non standard Christian group

• they don't believe in the trinity: God is god, Jesus was crafted by god - used to be an angel, the holy spirit is more like an impersonal force

• they don't believe in everlasting hell, they believe the soul of unbelievers is annihilated

• believe Armageddon is imminent and have repeatedly tried predicting it and failed

• they originated from a bible study group in the 1800s and some things they are into are actually a literal reading of the new testament rather than a more pop culture or traditional view of Christianity. for example:

• they believe the future of believers is on a restored earth, not heaven (based on Revelation). (This is why all their tracts have pictures of 'the good family life' in a park or nature type setting. That's the earth restored to be like Eden)

• they believe 144000 special believers are elevated to rule in heaven (Revelation again)

• they believe a letter written by the apostle in Acts telling believers to "abstain from blood" is still in force (to be fair there isn't anything saying it isn't) which they take to mean refusing all blood including blood transfusions

• they don't believe in Christmas, Easter or birthday celebrations because they're not in the bible. Christmas trees are pagan etc

• they practice 'shunning' family and church members who won't repent of sin which sees some parents totally rejecting their children, people acting like people don't exist if they see them on the street. (Again to be fair, this is what the new testament tells Christians to do). For this they (rightly) get flak for being cultish and overly controlling

• they believe it's every believers duty to give people opportunity to repent hence going door to door (I think they've stopped doing this now) or standing on the street offering their standard magazine "Awake"

• their central organisation is called the Watchtower, again a biblical reference to keeping watch for the end of the world

• various reports of child abuse scandals typical in any organisation where you can't question or scrutinised authority

Places I've consulted at have typically gone through noun lists unconnected to the work. Noun lists like i) greek gods (project Perseus) ii) Roman gods (project Janus) iii) literally random nouns (project Rainbow) iv) precious stones (project Sapphire) and so on..