Most of the time I think we are fairly secular in Australia then a story like this pops up:
DARWIN City Council meetings would be led in prayer by a rotating roster of religious groups, under a plan being considered by council officers.
Apparently we are more progressive here in Alice as the article notes that my town council does rotate the prayer. I am unaware though whether or not this includes allowing an Atheist/ Humanist to address the Council.
I did however find that the local evangelical church has performed the ritual in the June and July meetings.
Back to the article – I was delighted to read this quote from Ald. John Bailey
Alderman John Bailey ridiculed the plan, saying democratic government and religion should be kept separate.
"It’s probably more correct to do a recognition of country than to do the Lord’s Prayer," he said.
"What about the prayer for the Flying Spaghetti Monster? We’d better include the prayer for that as well."
Ramen to that John.
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- Darwin City Council Rules the “Lord’s Prayer” non-religious Ben Langford reporting in the NT News writes: DARWIN...
- Prayer a waste of time, says atheist MP Picked up this little gem while surfing News.com.au, click on...
- The Genius of Darwin Part 1 Richard Dawkins presenting The Genius of Darwin. This has been...
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The only really upsetting thing to me is that it was in “DARWIN”!
But you got no worries compared to us here in the states. Read it, but watch the video.
Ka-Rist!
John,
That scares the hell out of me. See I told you Christianity (Pentecostal) is the greatest threat to American and world democracy.
I shudder to think what a theocratic America would be like.
“I’m careful about including groups that may be seen as having an agenda other than spirituality,” he said.
That’d be just about all of them wouldn’t it?
John:
I like the idea of a pipeline but now I’m confused as to exactly who needs/wants it, Palin or god.
I also like her idea of teaching abstinence. It seems to have worked well for her daughter.
Apparently we are more progressive here in Alice as the article notes that my town council does rotate the prayer. I am unaware though whether or not this includes allowing an Atheist/ Humanist to address the Council.
At least in Australia it is less likely that the non-Christian prayers would be “lovingly” shouted down by “loving” Christians.
Plonka,
Oh the irony of that statement.
Sean,
Which one?
I’m not digging how the Darwin City is evolving.
Plonka,
The one you quoted.
Philly,
I lived in Darwin for five years and came to the conclusion that except for a select portion of the populace humans were devolving.
Guys, I thought we were teetering on theocracy with Bush. But, believe me, his religious beliefs are nothing compared to Sarah Palin.
1. Abstinence only
2. No sex ed
3. No condoms for young
4. No abortion – ever
5. Humans not responsible for climate change.
6. Wants to drill for more oil.
7. Wants to teach creationism in science class.
8. Tried to ban books in a public library because they had “bad words”.
9. Would take polar bears off the endangered species list so that she could drill.
10. Will make all decisions based on prayer.
Enough said? If not, I have more. Just didn’t want to hog the blog!
John,
To think that some people still don’t think she’s an ideal Pentecostal.
See Tanya Levin’s post
Yeah, this whole election cycle – starting with Obama’s pastor, Hillary’s connections to “The Family”, McCain’s support from wingnuts Hagee and Parsley and now, worst of all, this – has just been one big religious joke. But I don’t hear anyone laughing. They take it seriously. Both sides.
You could always move to Australia where the only thing we take seriously is BBQ’s
Did I hear someone say bbq?
I think the Democrats & the leftwing media would be better served attacking Palin on her foreign policy credentials in news conferences & I think, the VP debate, that they have.
The line between criticism & shrill "hate" can get blurred pretty quickly, helping to nullify valid concerns. Trying to paint her as a religious loon, won't work. It didn't work against Reagan, GWB or to a lesser extent John Howard or Tony Blair.
It doesn't work because they aren't loons, they are rational political operators who sadly also believe in the sky fairy, just as most of their constituents do.
John:
You’re welcome to come and stay, should you ever grow weary. That’s one mighty scary agenda…
Sean:
Sorry, I was being smart, or maybe not as the case may be…
I disagree Orion77, they most certainly are loons, but sadly there are plenty of people in the US who either accept most of their loony religious beliefs or are sympathetic to them, and that’s why it’s perhaps not as advantageous to attack them as much as attacking the loony policies she and McCain are advocating.
All hail His Noodley Appendage! RAmen!