» Why will you burn in hell?

Don't worry peeps - here's why it's not real!
I have a very vivid memory of when the whole religion thing lost this sheep. Having been raised by irish catholics, sent to actholic schools from the age of 4, only really socialising with other catholics, hell was a terrifyingly real concept. As silly as it sounds I remember so many nights crying myself to sleep with thoughts of the concept of an eternity of pain (trying to visualised eternity is pretty overwhelming, especially when you're 7).

Fast forward to year 9 religious studies class (compulsory, and not the open minded sort of rs where you learn about other religions. This was memorising the bible and the catechism teachings about everything important - and everyone pissing off the teacher by declaring their support of abortion and euthanasia.)
So one sunny day we had to spend the whole fudging hour learning 3 words: Omnipotent, Omniscient, Benevolent. Half an hour repeating the words and their definitions, half an hour discussing the implication of that.
Basically it was:
1. God is all powerful. Everything happens because he/she makes it happen.
2. God knows everything. Everything that has ever happened or will ever happen.
3. God is all good. Will never do anything without good intentions.

And that's how a catholic religious studies teacher in a very catholic school accidently convinced me that all of religion is just logically wrong.

If God is all of those things then Hell makes f**k all sense!
For example, if you're going to say that gay people go to hell, then by this logic God made them gay. God created them that way, and knew in advance that they would be gay and would have lots of bum fun. But then why do that if God only wants good for people and is going to then send that person to an eternity of pain for doing what they were made to do and which they apparently had no part in - cos everything is by God so it's his choice for them to be gay. And you can apply that to everything.

Or a more recent example that made me want to vomit. (you may have seen this in the news) - basically a 12 yr old girl in Brazil was raped by her stepfather and got pregnant with twins. She had to have an abortion, because aside from anything else, 12yr old bodies can't handle a double pregnancy. So logically (and very morally) the catholic church excommunicated the girl's mother and all doctors involved. They said the stepfather had done somthing bad but was worthy of forgiveness. What the fudge sort of God would KNOW that would happen, MAKE it happen, and then agree with the decision that those trying to protect the girl were the evil ones?! If I needed a final push to renounce Catholicism that was it right there. Maybe I'll write to Pope Benedict and inform him of this...

I haven't got a problem with people being religious, but people threatening to send other people to hell bother me to a rather extreme extent. This logic doesn't prove there's not a God (I'm open to the concept of that) but it does make organised religion seem basically messed up.
(Tue 17th Jul 2012, 21:19, More)

» Terrified!

An alternative to ghostiness
Ok so I'm not disagreeing with posts about ghosts (not sure what I believe but I'd quite like to have some sort of encounter so that I could make up my own mind, and I do like the idea of there being weird stuff we don't know about, y'know just to keep life interesting) but this article is very interesting!
www.cracked.com/article_18828_the-creepy-scientific-explanation-behind-ghost-sightings.html
(Sat 7th Apr 2012, 15:33, More)

» Driven to Madness

tv presenters who don't deserve their jobs!
Apologies for sounding like a grump, I'm normally very laid back but this makes my blood boil.

Now many of us would quite fancy being tv presenters, something serious like grilling political leaders, or something lighthearted like chatting with minor celebs and getting paid and styled for it. Now obviously this has got to be a coveted role that only goes to the very best? Then someone please explain these things...

1. Richard Hammond presenting Total Wipeout. People falling over and getting injured can always be funny, it doesn't take much comedic talent to make it funny and yet he still manages to make it painful with his truly awful attempts at jokes. Why is there not a nationwide campaign to pressure the beeb to stop wasting money on him. Even if they were paying him minimum wage it would be far too much for his level of talent.

2. T4 presenters. Who at channel 4 decided that young people like/admire hipsters? For many students t4 is hangover tv and the last thing we need is to endure someone resembling the stuck up twat from our monday seminar making rubbish jokes. And now they're on e4 as well as channel 4?! Madness! Just put on the simpsons and let me eat some reheated takeaway in peace. And while you're at it stop showing supernanny - how does that gel with the e4 target audience?

Feel free to add more if there are any presenters you think are useless (obvious ones could include Kate garraway, adrian chiles, james corden, etc.)
(Sat 6th Oct 2012, 21:14, More)

» War

Northern Ireland, 1990s
The army check points that were everywhere back then seem so much more sinister to me now than when I was wee.

Anytime we were driving and came across one, my parents would spot it up ahead and sternly tell us kids in the back to make sure we were wearing our seatbelts. For years I genuinely believed that the checkpoints were set up with the sole purpose of ensuring children were belted up and obeying their parents. Pretty genius trick of the folks really, cos it
a) got us to do as we were told
b) stopped us freaking out
c)it made sure we wore our seat belts, and considering the way people drive (especially in Derry!) then it's pretty bloody important!

It was only years after they'd pretty much disappeared that I thought about it and was quite freaked out at the real meaning behind happy childhood memories travelling around.
(Tue 5th Jun 2012, 20:44, More)

» Tantrums

A scary scary tantrum
It’s not particularly amusing (and it’s not a rhyme – what’s going on?) but I survived a tantrum from an elderly woman with dementia. In her house. With the doors locked. And she liked knives.
I should’ve posted this in the ‘burning in hell question’ last week but it never occurred to me. Basically while working as a carer for old people I had to see one woman who lived on her own despite having alzheimers. Now my gran has it as do many people in my family, and us young uns have got plans ready (well, one plan and it involves one way tickets to Switzerland). But it’s a horrible disease I wouldn’t wish on anyone and I have so much sympathy for the sufferers. That said... (here’s why I’m going to be seen as a super bitch)... I hated going to visit this woman soooo much! It was always the worst part of the day.
Thanks to cuts the carers all had to work alone which, aside from being super lonely, is a little bit scary when the dementia woman locks you in her house at 8am, shouting at you for trying to break her door and stealing her keys. And she takes knives out the drawer (real ones, not butter knives).
I need a better paying job – I did slightly feel that particular session really deserved more than £3.20 wages. And when I rang the office to let them know there’d been an ‘incident’, the office bitch laughed and just said, yeah she does that.
(Tue 24th Jul 2012, 20:04, More)