Aye.

One of the founders of Oxfam was Emma's grandfather [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2005/oct/18/obituaries.mainsectionRobin Langdon-Davies[/url

Fook me, I wish I had a dad who would do something like ride me to The Spanish Civil War on the back of a motorbike

I find it quite amusing that many US citizens believe their country to be founded by people wanting to be free of religious persecution. Unfortunately they seem to confuse Quakers with Puritans. Those who sailed on The Mayflower were puritans and the reason they left these shores is precisely because we wouldn't allow them to continue persecuting those of other faiths.

The irony is lost on most North Americans

Yep. The additional irony also being that whilst many US citizens believe and proclaim their country was founded on "freedom from persecution" they then happily set about persecuting people who don't agree with their religious beliefs.

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22727808Lord Carey being as intelligent as usual[/url

Saw this earlier and thought: 'and they say that hysteria is a thing of the past'.

I actually find it difficult to believe that he really, really thinks like this (along with all his other idiotic pronouncements). The man is bonkers.

he believes in the sky pixie, 'nuff said!

I love the way he makes pronouncements about Christians being a 'persecuted minority' – you could be forgiven for thinking he was actually an agent provocateur.

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22740113FIFA are on it....not[/url

How the hell can homosexuality being illegal not be classed as racism/discrimination???

Blatter is stuck in the past in so many ways – his comments on and toward women illustrate this in the same way.

Pity we didn't propose [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2010/jun/06/observer-profile-karren-bradyKarren Brady[/url, that old dinosaur would soil his pants if he had to face her.

[iWhen she met the squad, one Birmingham player quipped: "I can see your tits in that shirt", to which Brady replied: "Well, don't worry, when I sell you to Crewe, you won't be able to see them from there, will you?" He was transferred soon after.[/i

Lord Black of Brentwood has encapsulated why the legislation should be passed in a single speech:

[url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-lords-on-trial-westminster-hit-by-attempt-to-wreck-gay-marriage-bill--and-by-fasttrack-plans-for-register-of-lobbyists-8642924.htmlThe Indy[/url

That is a very interesting point . How many of you will admit to taking the mickey out of a ginger person ? Apparently a similar sized minority to the gay population , and with them being 'different' surely they deserve the same rights and respect as the gay community and their friends campaign for . Will the day come when it is no longer acceptable to rip the mickey out of a ginner just because of the colour of their hair just as it is unacceptable to point and laugh at gays and people of 'ethnic' origin ?

I have a gay son , a spouse that has a birth certifcate that looks like a take-away menu , and a ginger daughter .
All get the mickey taken on occasion . Guessing that will all have to stop .

'

Persecuted on here ain't they ? What happened to Kirkstaller ? I used to rather enjoy reading his rants .

the House of Lords has approved gay marriage, and by a 2 to 1 majority

No.



He was warned about his behaviour and decided to ignore that.

Dally will be predicting that the sky will fall down now.

Some absolute stain on Twitter has started a 'StraightPrideUK' account. Their capacity for totally missing the point would suit Dally down to the ground.

Bless him. Clearly some skeletons in the closet there or perhaps a "methinks he doth protest too much" kind of thing.

I wonder sometimes whether the capacity for missing the point is actually deliberate.

The entire thing about (some) white, straight men now feeling put-upon seems to be based on an idea that, once upon a time, irrespective of talent or mediocrity, they would simply have been guaranteed a place at the top table. It has a certain logic, in that sense, to so spectacularly and consistently miss the point on such matters.

And then there's the nonsense that is spouted with increasing regularity (well, certainly over at the [iTelegraph[/i forums) that the country is going down the pan because people are not going to church and that's all because the clergy is too 'trendy'.

A century or so ago, people were fined if they didn't go to church – the idea that church attendance was indicative of genuine belief or commitment to that church is thus falsely inflated.

But one cannot help but wonder how many of the people genuinely believe all the central tenets of the Christian religion – virgin birth, the Trinity etc – let alone how many of [ithem[/i go to church regularly. The reality is that, in western Europe, rational thinking is what has removed many bums from pews – and arguably a wider choice of 'spiritual' experiences available in the marketplace of such things, plus a feeling among many that they do not need formal religion in their lives, even if they still have some conventional Christian beliefs.

Those complaining largely seem to see religion as a badge of national and cultural identity – not as a challenge about how they should live their lives and treat their fellow humans.

And I very much suspect that, in most cases, it's a matter of their believing that it's the 'others' who should go to church – not them.

Good. Shame it's taken so long.

I await the end of the world by wrath of god, should I cash in all my ISA's and enjoy what time we have left.

I hope they get the point when they read my tweet to them:

codhead99 ‏@codhead99

@StraightPrideUK I'm going straight tonight. Straight up me boyfriend's a[ir[/ise as soon as he comes home from work

Yep, I know a few clergy who are relatively high up in the CofE who openly admit to not believing the vast majority of the Bible, seeing them as metaphors or examples on how to lead a good life and seeing that the Bible was written at a time when morals and views were very different, slavery etc and so a good Christian is one who applies the general teachings of The Bible ie tolerance, compassion etc not one who rigidly sticks to divisive and out of date views expressed in the bible. I saw some of them just after the vote on women bishops and they were devastated by the result, thy felt it went against everything Christianity SHOULD stand for.
There are a few who will also admit in private to not believing in god.



Yep, I don't see it as a co-incidence that as the ordinary person began to be educated in Western Europe, that religious belief has declined.

I wonder sometimes just how much my father still really believes. It's not a conversation we're going to have, though. Even my parents seem to have concluded that discretion is the better part of valour on the subject of religion where I;m concerned. Or perhaps it's simply a case of what they eye doesn't see ...



It seems particularly ironic that those bewailing the demise of religion in western Europe as a sign of the decline of western Europe appear not to include within their definition of western Europe the Enlightenment and all that that gave rise to – arguably a far more genuinely western European culture than that of a Middle Eastern sandal cult.