Postcards to say something: 006

Real estate, motorcycles, flash cars, Lear jets: use of the church’s this or that (even the this or that which was especially purchased for your use). The anointing greases the palm.

God wants you to have more money. (Actually, Bob McGuire can keep the poor people as long as the archbishop gets the Money!)

It’s a great lurk. The blokes in Acts, who used to serve in distributing to the needy, have been replaced by those who are ready to see their own wants as “needs”, and see to them pretty swiftly.

Government slaves to work on your house? No problem!

And if you’re the shepherd, who gets to say how you spend the wool-cheque, or tell you off for taking a ewe or little lamb to keep you warm at night?

No wonder the campaign points away from the churches, while trying to get people to connect with those churches. You’d be mad to point out the truth.

Religious bigotry in Victoria being made legal

THE Victorian government is expected to announce today that religious groups will be allowed to discriminate against gays and single mothers in a controversial compromise reached on workers’ rights.

Poor Christians!

Would these religious groups think it fair that it was enshrined in law, that one was able to discriminate against those with faith, based on the fact it undermines lack of belief?

I think not!

This is just plain bigotry.

Postcards to say something: 003

Chalk One Up For Jeebus The Graffitist, or “Postcards From The Dull Edge”

So, what’s new in the game of promoting Jeebus without mentioning bibles, churches, and all the other cultural and literary baggage that would normally be associated with this figure (who is, after all, a product of bibles and churches)?

There’s postcards… in which people express their gratitude for hot chips, termite mounds, poorly-cropped photos of people making faces, Ferraris, and dogs. Lots of dogs. I’m fairly sure the chips were made by Spiros Papathanassiou, from spuds grown by Bert Fernackerpan. As for the Ferrari… does one of them fit through the eye of a needle?

Top marks, anyway, to the team who are still trying to draw the fire away from the bad bits about Jeebus’s followers by making him all that much more nebulous.  The control over at that site is more rigid than we practice here: after all, we do let the occasional gripe or pretending-to-be-atheism-curious post in here from christians. But on the site of the Farceur, the (six-figure) Sum, and the Holy Post(card), there’s no chance of thanking anybody for herpes, genocide, deformed babies or jock itch.

We reserve the right, at any time, to refuse or remove any material from the Site for any reason in our absolute discretion, including without limitation where the material is considered obscene, offensive, inappropriate, blasphemous, or infringing upon the rights of any third party.

And of course, you don’t own it any more once it’s up there. Somewhere an ad agency creative is laughing, while Jeebus’s zealous people do his or her work, in their own intent-but-often-inept way. I loved the one that had still managed to maintain its “insert your text here” template.

But, just in case you’re wondering why our toothy little friend is grinning, he’s seen that postcards are not the bottom of the barrel…

In the spirit of Mr Eternity, Arthur Stace who wrote the word Eternity in chalk on the streets of Sydney for many years, the Eternity Chalk Challenge wants church youth groups across NSW to write ‘Eternity’ on as many streets as they can.

The Challenge will run from 1-7 October 2009 in conjunction with the Jesus. All about life campaign running on TV and other media. The Challenge is a unique, fun opportunity for young people across NSW to do something special in the holidays, for a great purpose.

The youth group that scores the most points in the Eternity Chalk Challenge will win an amazing weekend away at the stunning Youthworks Port Hacking camp complex in Sydney.

A fantastic prize will be awarded to the most creative expression of ‘Eternity’ chalked on the pavement.

The prize for the most creative expression of ‘Eternity’ in chalk is a free overseas Mission Immersion trip sponsored by Jesus. All about life.

The individual prize is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a member of a youth group registered for the Challenge.

I hope the minions of Jeebus keep it legal. It would also be a shame if they inspired others to edit, add, erase or parody the chalkings…

Meanwhile, there are plenty of things christians could be up to, quietly. And some of them are, probably. Shame about the guys with the bullhorn and the billboard.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

There. Some of you thought I couldn’t spell it. But I have it.

In particular, big props to Bob McGuire.  Bob is so christlike, the establishment (as personified by one Archbishop, ironically surnamed “Hart”) apparently want him gone.

Now, there is no “caritas” in the Archbishopric(sp?): none of your “The poor and street kids of St Kilda need not fear, as here’s what we’re doing to carry on this vital work.” Priorities don’t seem to take the poor and oppressed into account when there’s turbulent priests to be ridded of..

Just, out of the blue…

“It’s the archbishop. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” I didn’t have time to think or call for help.

Luckily, Judy, the office manager, was present to take notes.

By the time he left, I was feeling 90 years of age, not 75, the age of statutory senility.

He gave me two dates for compliance. One was my birthday. He expects a letter of resignation. The other is a month later. He expects me to vacate the premises.

No good whingeing about lack of courtesy or respect for a senior field officer.

Power makes some people less restrained than they naturally are. Jesus warned about power, especially among his disciples.

I hope Bob’s Foundation can carry on: from what I have been able to see, it’s not church-controlled.

You know, if there were more Bob McGuires and less Denis Harts, Benny Hinns and Jim Wallaces, christianity itself might have a fighting chance of being respected.

Can you tell the management of most major christian organisations from the Pharisees without a field guide?

As another little, old, bald guy once put it:

LATE ADD: It’s apparently about Bob spending money on the poor. Well, that is just so un-Catholic: what was he thinking?

McJeebus – the Sappy Meal pick ‘n’ choose menu

Ever tried to stand on a stair that wasn’t there? Swiped at an optical illusion and (of course) missed?

If you have, you’ll be part-way to identifying with somebody I know. As a good, skeptical atheist person, my friend has been known to reply with questions and doubt, when buzzed by the whiny mosquitoes of constant evangelising. Indeed, my friend decided to put in some serious work on deprogramming…

…my younger sister. The irony is that she has the information. To her credit she has watched almost all of my atheist DVDs including ‘How the earth began’ and still chooses to believe in her god. Her faith seems impenetrable.

… Her attraction to Christianity is that she feels it provides answers to the randomness of life; it provides consolation and hope. She enjoys the warm of fuzzy of a sky daddy looking out for her. It helps her deal with death and believes it gives her moral guidance.

… Any anomaly I raise with her she may concede but ultimately puts it down to unquestionable faith. “I don’t have the answers but that doesn’t stop me from believing.”

Her church is youth based, Hillsong in its style, lots of singing and praise. It fills her needs to be loved and to extend love to others. It seems details are unimportant. Trying to discuss religion with her is like shadow boxing; an exercise in frustration. So I don’t bother. As long as the idea of god serves a purpose, she’ll hold onto the delusion.

At McJeebus™, the Church Of All Spirit, No Substance, we don’t mind if you ditch the pickle: bins are provided. Straight to the sundae every Sunday? No wucking Mc Jeebus™ Flurries!

It doesn’t really matter what the young footsoldier of Corporate Jesus believes. They don’t have to do more than the old Kenneth Hagin Cop-Out -  ‘The Bible says it, I believe it and that settles it!’ – for that matter, they don’t need to know more Bible than a couple of soundbites such as you might find in a Darlene Zschech song. Certainly contextual reading is out of style. In the age of Twitter, it seems Jesus’s frontliners only need to be twits.

As long as the collections keep coming in, the recruiting happens (come on, how many kids/young adults go to Youth Alight or Plastic Shakers or any of the Jesus Lite™ MoshPits for the noise and proximity of potential jigginess? Lots, I bet!) and the Merch keeps selling, things are good.

Need footsoldiers for a demonstration of numbers, signatures for a development application (sign twice, it’s extra nice!), “volunteers” for those lucrative symposium/conference/rally/merch opportunity occasions? Just keep the excitement flowing, and hordes of young’uns will stack your chairs, stuff your envelopes, carry your (notes and cheques only, please) holey-bottomed collection buckets.

There’s a certain comfort for the management when questions aren’t asked. The members who are just there for the “Ooh! Ponies!” feeling don’t have a foundation to rock. By the time the Holy Spirit Of Endorphins™ has stopped stimulating them, they’re either settled-in as regular tithers (and breeders of NextGen McJeebus™ Consumers) and will sit quietly, or used-up, and should be swept aside for fresh meat. You don’t get to sit too long in Mickey Dee’s if you’re not buying, and woe betide the blow-ins who just want to use the dunnies.

If you’ve gotten this far down the page and haven’t blown an artery, you’re probably an atheist or agnostic. Good. Here’s some advice: don’t bother with the McJeebus Happy-Mealers. You won’t convince ‘em of anything while they’re too busy chasing the sugar rush. Don’t waste your time: you can come back when they’re older and knackered from a constant diet of rubbish. They’ll eventually be out of the drive-thru: as Tanya Levin says of one of these churches: “There is a 50 per cent turnover every five years. Hillsong is renowned for having a very big back door.”

After pap like that, a diet of stone-ground skepticism will probably be very welcome.

Hurry, 15% off Jesus! Best deal in 2009 years!

Jesus All About Life 15% off!

Yep, Jesus All about Life has got something for you the consumer!! Roll up roll up! buy your salvation here! We sell it cheap!

The commercialisation of religion just permeates the whole business that is jesus.
Whoa, and guess what! They are able to peddle their ‘facts’ STATE TAX EXEMPT

Why should non-believers be made to pay for the churches of believers?

To the extent that religious organisations fulfill genuine charitable or educational activities, they should be entitled to the same tax regime as secular non-profit organisations which are doing similar work, but in particular with regards tax concessions, purely religious activities should not have rights above and beyond secular non-profits. We also don’t know the amount of the concessions given to religious groups, as this is kept hidden. The Jesus All About Life campaign, as it is run by a church, is entitled to tax exemptions or concessions. We want this made public. As Australian citizens, we ought to be entitled to know exactly how much concession is given and where the money is going.

Federal exemptions or concessions apply to religions for income tax, fringe benefits tax and the GST. In state government, concessions apply to payroll tax, land tax, stamp duties and car registration fees. Local government bodies give exemptions from municipal rates to religious bodies. Concessions apply to some water and power charges, as well.

Section 57 of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 gives total exemption to fringe benefits given to employees who are religious practitioners. Exemption from the Goods and Services Tax means weddings and funerals which are conducted by priests, even if they are not held in a church, do not attract GST- yet when those same ceremonies are conducted by secular marriage celebrants, they do attract GST.

There appears to be one rule for believers and another for non-believers. Non-believers are forced to pay the way for religionists.

Section 116 of the Australian Constitution states that “The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion or for imposing any religious observation …”
Well, we are being imposed upon, Australia. The tax-exempt status of religious practitioners establishes direct support of a religion by the state. You don’t get tax-exempt status for believing in Santa Claus or the Tooth Faerie, indicating the government’s bias toward particular religions, not the mere act of believing in something unprovable.

The Catholic Church alone turns over $15 billion a year from insurance companies through to funeral services. Sanitarium Health Foods, as it is owned and operated by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, pays no company tax, unlike its competitors.

Some claim we’re ‘attacking’ religions if these points are raised. However, we raise these points with reason and absent malice. It is a simple matter of fairness to treat all citizens equally, regardless of what they claim to believe.

I’m sure our readers can come up with plenty more examples!