That Religious Studies Website

There's  been a  lot of  discussion about crime in my house these last few days. For a start, someone decided to rumage around our car yesterday morning, trying to find god knows what amongst the sweet papers and petrol receipts. It also appears that someone we know has had their email address book hacked, for we are now the unwitting recipients of numerous emails telling us daily that we have won lotteries, or are due some money, or have bought something on Ebay etc. The funny thing is that the people sending us these emails think that we are actually stupid enough to send some form of payment (or our bank details) to access these so-called funds - amazing!

These emails are never opened by me, but are simply directed straight to my junk mail folder and deleted - oh, that is before I have forwarded them to the FBI or Scotland Yard for their attention.

Internet crime and internet criminals are a menace! Why only yesterday someone tried to use our family IP address to do something... Good grief! That's like having someone else trying on your knickers for god's sake.

There is a great line in the film Batman Begins - "Criminals  feed on society's compassion". I for one am tired of living in a world where people continue to show compassion to criminals. Look, the bottom line is that some people are just pure scum-bags and as such the world would be better off without them. I am tired of people pussy-footing around these public nuisances.

Listen, if someone seeks to cause mischief and harm to others then why not have them lose the privilage of having an opposable thumb (for example). If you want to live like an animal - you should go back to living like an animal!

We might claim humans rights for all, but that does not incude the 'right' to treat others in any way you see it fit too. It's time for all of us to get tough on crime, and (I believe) it is time to get the social do-gooders out of positions of power, where they have gradually destroyed society's around the world  in the name of human and civil rights... Yes, human rights are important, vital and good but - as someone once said long ago - "Spare the rod; spoil the child". 

Three weeks ago today our first kid was born, and life changed forever. Last week I also went to the UK to attend a wedding! I guess it is understandable then that my website and blog has been sort of been neglected a little bit - but as I said earlier, I am still here and still working on stuff!

 

You know, having a new-born presents all sorts of challenges, but none more so than how (and when) to educate them about religious and moral issues. Of course, one of the first questions I have been faced with as a new parent is whether I am going to get my child baptised? Well, the answer is no, and this for the simple reason that we do not have any belief in God, and also do not believe in the value and wholesomeness of organised religion. Someone compared baptising your child to that of signing them up from birth to a political party (an analogy I find helpful). I guess it is also like getting your kid circumcised - there are some things you can do as a parent which leave your kids very little choice in the future.

 

Of course, the decision not to baptise our kid went down like a turd pudding with the more religious members of our families, but we believe that you have to be true to your own beliefs (not those of others) and not be a hypocrite about such things. I know too many people who have gone down the baptism road due to family pressure, and I for one think it is a wicked thing for people to force new parents to do (especially when they are spiritually/emotionally manipulated into doing so).

 

One thing I am vehemently against is getting your child baptised 'just in case' - i.e. just in case the kid dies. I mean, who on earth would want to baptise their kid in the name of a God who would send them to 'hell', just because they had not had some water spinkled over their head - give me a break people!

 

However, there is more than just baptism to consider here. I mean, we live in a world where religious belief is still rife (and seemingly growing despite what Marx argued), and as such I believe it is important to educate your kids about this phenomena (just as you would want to edcaute them about all other aspects of life). One cannot simply just ignore religion, but where do you start, and at what age do you start telling your kid about these things? I have taught kids of all ages about religion in schools, but it is quite a different thing to have to think about doing when it is your own kid, and when you realise that whatever you say to them will largely form the basis of their entire outlook and attitude to life - oh, and that you only really get one chance to do this!

 

Changing diapers and sleepless nights... that's simple! For me, educating my own child about religion - and in a way which encourages them to think critically yet repectfully about all matters to do with faith - is probably the greatest challenge I have faced so far!