Past Episodes
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Monday, 10 June 2013
50 Years of Progress
It may seem awfully unfair to compare scientific and religious progress over the last 50 years. I suspect we all had an inkling of which methodology would have yielded the most progress and the most good for society.
Indeed when plotted side by side the comparison is pretty stark.
However, most of today’s established religions were, I imagine, fairly progressive at their outset. They emerged in more brutal times and mandated moral and liberal attitudes that represented great progress from the status quo of the time. However by attributing those laudable human ideals to an infallible divine origin, the limits of those ideologies were capped.
We thankfully live in a time when generic humanitarian values have, in most societies, overtaken those once progressive religious ideologies. As a result the progress achieved by religion in recent times looks rather pitiful when compared to the recent progress achieved by a methodology that actively embraces new ideas and contains a mechanism for evaluation, unbiased review and self-correction.
As a direct result of the inbuilt progress limitations inherent in religion, what religious progress we have seen over the last 50 years broadly falls into 2 camps.
Firstly there is the recognition that mainstream religion needs to catch up with modern views on items such as the equality of women and homosexuals. Despite lagging behind the rest of society, many progressive people within mainstream religious organisations recognise the need for equality beyond that originally foreseen by their religions’ founders and the need to upgrade their religion accordingly.
Alas, the second type of religious progress highlighted by the diagram above shows an ugly form of religious progress that is becoming more and more familiar. When modern society is seen at odds with religious teachings many look to progress their faith towards a more literal interpretation of their scripture. Many faiths have regrettably progressed over recent years by branching out at the fringes to a more fundamentalist stance. Hence the chart below is littered with progress in the form of new creation museums, opposition to life saving medical procedures and numerous landmark cases of bigotry and discrimination. Not the sort of progress to be proud of.
Indeed when plotted side by side the comparison is pretty stark.
However, most of today’s established religions were, I imagine, fairly progressive at their outset. They emerged in more brutal times and mandated moral and liberal attitudes that represented great progress from the status quo of the time. However by attributing those laudable human ideals to an infallible divine origin, the limits of those ideologies were capped.
We thankfully live in a time when generic humanitarian values have, in most societies, overtaken those once progressive religious ideologies. As a result the progress achieved by religion in recent times looks rather pitiful when compared to the recent progress achieved by a methodology that actively embraces new ideas and contains a mechanism for evaluation, unbiased review and self-correction.
As a direct result of the inbuilt progress limitations inherent in religion, what religious progress we have seen over the last 50 years broadly falls into 2 camps.
Firstly there is the recognition that mainstream religion needs to catch up with modern views on items such as the equality of women and homosexuals. Despite lagging behind the rest of society, many progressive people within mainstream religious organisations recognise the need for equality beyond that originally foreseen by their religions’ founders and the need to upgrade their religion accordingly.
Alas, the second type of religious progress highlighted by the diagram above shows an ugly form of religious progress that is becoming more and more familiar. When modern society is seen at odds with religious teachings many look to progress their faith towards a more literal interpretation of their scripture. Many faiths have regrettably progressed over recent years by branching out at the fringes to a more fundamentalist stance. Hence the chart below is littered with progress in the form of new creation museums, opposition to life saving medical procedures and numerous landmark cases of bigotry and discrimination. Not the sort of progress to be proud of.
Monday, 20 May 2013
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Today (20th May), is Everybody DrawMohammed Day – so here are my pathetic attempts:
Now then, now then
Moses, Christ and Mohammed on a bike
If you fear your faith, and the faith you wish to impose
on others, may not necessarily stand up to unpalatable criticism, then a
popular option is to censor any ideas that you suspect might challenge that
faith. Of course this doesn’t just apply to Islam.
When it could, and where it still can in some parts
of the world, faith happily propagated itself with unquestionable brutality.
Where the religious grip has loosened, it seeks alternative methods.
This may take on many forms. Religious parents may
stop their children reading certain books, or listening to certain music. They
may send notes to their children’s teachers to excuse them from eye-opening multicultural
school visits to places of worship alien to their own particular faith. In
short, religious fundamentalist desire to blind others to ideas, thoughts and
opinions that look at their faith from a different perspective.
Such censorship can be easily applied within the
family unit, but where it cannot be applied directly, faiths will resort to either
claiming offence and oppression or in extreme cases, use threats and violence
to try and impose their illegitimate censorships on the wide community.
Unreasonable faith survives under the protection of
ignorance and censorship. We should not kowtow to the whining false claims of
oppression or the heinous threats of violence.
Help breakdown the acceptance of this illiberal
censorship by refusing to comply with nonsensical religious dogmas. Blaspheme, lie
in on a Sunday morning, eat a bacon sandwich and draw a picture of Mohammed and
stick it on your Facebook wall..
NB. If you would like a weekly fix of only slightly
better drawn, but far more profound, Mohammed cartoons, I highly recommend a
visit to Jesus & Mo. (on which I have shamelessly based my attempts).
Here's the other Mohammed's I have been sent so far today...
Here's the other Mohammed's I have been sent so far today...
@BadgerB
My attempt via.me/-c9gru3k #everybodydrawmohammed QT @Crispian_Jago: Everybody Draw Mohammed Day crispian-jago.blogspot.com/2013/05/everyb…
@Calalaera
Am I doing #EverybodyDrawMohammed right? (cc @Crispian_Jago) pic.twitter.com/Hc2RDFJyaP
@rossbalham
@Crispian_Jago I really cannot draw so this is the best I can do. Sorry! pic.twitter.com/QuWCuDy9jC
@DutchyMDHC
@Crispian_Jago yfrog.com/obtjcftj
@sean_t_ellis
.@Crispian_Jago Here we go - moteprime.org/images/mohamme… - I have made him all smiley and nice so that no-one could possibly take offence.
@WondieBee
@Crispian_Jago DMD day! pic.twitter.com/qo7YoviQDB
@adam_ashford
@Crispian_Jago As I can only draw one thing, here's my attempt. pic.twitter.com/gtBE2ZxTWM
@neonbubble
I've decided to join in with Everybody Draw Mohammed Day as @Crispian_Jago has mentioned it once or twice. pic.twitter.com/AqUBJgmQqm
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Where's Bigfoot: A Beginners Guide to Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology is a tricky old skill to master. Formal training in taxonomy, biology, natural history and even zoology is of no use whatsoever to the budding young cryptozoologist. Indeed, even watching a complete box set of David Attenborough DVD's will not help hone the more peculiar talents needed for this fascinating discipline.
In order to discover creatures hitherto rejected by pedantic conventional science, a whole new skill-set is required. Key aptitudes include the amateur misidentification of dead animals in an unfamiliar state of decay and the uncanny ability to be easily be hoaxed by enterprising moron baiters.
Therefore for any younger readers wishing to embark on a credulous career in cryptid spotting I would highly recommend scanning the the following images I have prepared to help you get your eye in.
Where's Bigfoot?
Where's Nessie?
Where's Chupacabra?
Where's Montauk Monster?
Well done if you managed to spot them all, you're well on your way to becoming a leading cryptozoologist.
And of course, remember the cryptozoologist primary maxim: "If it looks like a man in a monkey suit, and walks like a man in a monkey suit, it probably is a new species of hominid previously unknown to science."
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Heaven & Hell: The Board Game
Heaven and Hell is a fun board game for all the family.
To play Heaven & Hell, you will need:
• The Heaven & Hell Game Board (Supplied)
• Game counters or tiddlywinks (one for each player)
• Dice (There might be some in your monopoly set you can borrow)
• An ability to follow ridiculous rules without questioning
• Nothing better to do
Each player places his counter on the first square. The youngest player roles the die first and moves his counter along the resulting number of squares. Blindly follow the instructions on the squares you land on and and move heavenward or hellhound accordingly along the red or yellow lines.
In fact, come to think of it, not entirely unlike snakes and ladders.
Saturday, 20 April 2013
The Conspiracy Theory Flowchart "THEY" Don't Want You To See
Had enough government rhetoric? Tired of following the sheeple? Fed up with believing what THEY want you to believe? Maybe it's time to branch out and discover THE TRUTH.
If you're new to the exciting world of conspiracy theories and just can't decide which paranoid delusion best suits you, then why not use this handy flowchart to find your ideal conspiracy theory. Then you too can go and stick it to THE MAN.
"You know, this explains a lot. Because all my life, I've had this unaccountable feeling in my bones that something sinister was happening in the universe and that no one would tell me what it was." Arthur Dent
NB This is not intended to be a complete list, but please don't let that stop you commenting to let me know what I've missed off :)
Monday, 15 April 2013
The Church of England General Synod Cool Wall
The Church of England's General Synod may be regarded by many as a traditional, slow, bureaucratic and outdated vehicle that habitually fails to move the Church of England forward into the modern era and reflect current thinking, morals and values.
To this end I propose they take some lessons learnt from Jeremy Clarkson and install a Cool Wall in the General Synod.
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