The Diary Of John
What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy? - Gandhi
Friday, January 06, 2006

Excellent..

I stumbled onto a site today by clicking on that 'Next Blog' button at the top of the page and liked it so much I thopught I'd post the link here for you others to visit and see too. The link is to a site called Lady Black Rainbow Check it out..

posted at 2:24 PM by john |  

Choice..

Christian group upset by new TV drama

A leading American Christian group has slammed a new TV show, in which a priest character regularly chats to Jesus Christ.

Officials at the American Family Association are outraged by new show The Book Of Daniel, which stars Aidan Quinn as a troubled Episcopal priest.

Group leaders claim they generated more than 400,000 protest emails, which were sent to bosses at US TV network NBC over Christmas and now hopes advertisers will pull their support for the new drama.

The AFA is particularly disturbed by Quinn's new TV character, Rev Daniel Webster, who is addicted to painkillers, has an alcoholic wife, a drug-dealing daughter and a gay son.
AFA spokesman Ed Vitagliano says, "It seems they made every decision they could to alienate us."


But NBC officials, who have acknowledged protest emails, insist the show will go on, as planned.
In a statement NBC offers, "We're confident that once audiences view this quality drama themselves, they'll appreciate this thought-provoking examination of one American family."


I will ever understand religious people, they complain about everything and say that everything must be made with them in mind. What about their crappy evangelist stuff they splash all over the TV. Maybe they should think of the fact that people like me don't wanna watch such brain dribble. After all no one is making them watch program such as the one in the story above but they still complain about it. Signs of how pathetic some religious group are, all they think about is themselves and what they want regardless of the fact that more and more Europeans are fleeeing their religion and joining others such as Muslin religions, which are the fastest growing religions in all of Europe. I'm glad NBC decided to stick to their guns, we need to have people like them generating good programing for everyone and not cowing down to some two-faced child molesting priests who think that we should do as they say and not as they do. Three cheers for NBC!! Hip Hip Horaay..

PS.. I wanted to complain to this AFA group again but their website is down, or maybe they are just hiding from all the pissed-off people like me who are tired of them trying to tell us how we should live our lives when they should be looking at themselves and trying to put their own houses in order first..

posted at 2:01 PM by john |  

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Bullshit..

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fear

The Harry Potter sensation continues its march into cultural history with the latest of the now six volume series shattering sales records previously broken by earlier Potter books. That success is equally reflected in the four movies based on the story, the latest of which is premiered in the United States in mid November, 2005. Though read by children and adults alike, the Harry Potter books have been variously upheld for bringing a renewed interest in reading among young people while at the same time heavily criticized for elements of the occult which feature prominently in the saga of the boy wizard.


The criticism is renewed with the release of each of book or movie in the series and has even come from top Catholic officials, such as Pope Benedict XVI who, when he was still known as Cardinal Ratzinger, called the Harry Potter books a subtle seduction into witchcraft for young souls. The public reaction among even mainstream Christianity has been likened to the book burnings of Nazi Germany or the purging of Communist sympathizers by Senator Joseph McCarthy.


That comparison is not lost on Reverend Bryan Small, a priest at the St. Catherine of Siena parish in Kennesaw, Georgia. Holding a degree in psychology and a bookshelf of controversial books, such as Dan Brown’s
Angels & Demons, Rev. Small sees the larger issue surrounding Harry Potter to be one of parenting.

“I am 31 years old. I have traveled abroad and I have read extensively,” Small said, “I can tell the difference between reality and fantasy. A child is less likely to be able to do that and so that’s where the parents come in.”


Small has already encountered one vocal parent at the K-6 school that annexes his church. Upon discovering a copy of
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone in the school library, she complained heavily to every member of the staff. Small said he sympathizes with her concerns but sees no real difference between the Harry Potter sensation and other notable works of fantasy from the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis. The Lord of the Rings series of movies have already generated billions of dollars from worldwide sales of the books and films, and there are heavy expectations for Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series, set to open in December with the first volume, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

However, noted Christian author Richard Abanes draws a distinction between the writings of Tolkien and Lewis and that of J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter sagas. “Harry Potter contains elements of real magic, unlike the more fantasy-based powers employed in Lord of the Rings or Narnia,” Abanes explained. In fact, Abanes claims it is this difference that makes the Potter stories much more likely to induce impressionable children into seeking additional information about witchcraft and the world of the occult.

That is perfectly fine with teenage witch Kathryn Elliott, a self-described “non-denominational Wiccan.” She welcomes the inclusion of mystical elements and witchcraft in Harry Potter as a positive portrayal of a belief largely condemned as evil by clergy and pop culture alike. Yet, she shakes her head at the alleged reality of the magic used in Potter. According to her, real spells and divinations take long periods of preparation and meditation and even then do not always work as intended. She tells of a time when a spell backfired on her, producing a dark spirit that haunted her home for several days, until she found another spell to banish it. These spells did not come from a fantasy book such as Harry Potter, nor did she find them in an arcane set of texts. “I found them on the Internet,” she said.


Reverend Small thinks that Kathryn most likely did call up an evil spirit, though notes that her use of the Internet to discover how to cast a spell as another example of where parents should have been more actively involved in what the children under their care are viewing online. When pressed for further thoughts on the invisible world of spirits being accessed by witches through magical spells, Small became more cautious in assigning labels. While the official church doctrine still includes procedures for the exorcism of evil demons, he said it is used rarely, if at all, outside of underdeveloped nations.

Both Christian clergy and Wiccan witches share the belief that spirits and magic are real phenomenon. The parent of a young Harry Potter fan must contend with a deluge of new reports of criticisms of the book for its witchcraft, even as witches endorse it for the positive examples of good magic. Priests like Reverend Small, however, would move the debate from the world of magic and into the realm of good parenting. His final opinion is that there is no more harm in Hogwarts School than there is in the land of Narnia or the kingdom of Gondor. Harry Potter presents an opportunity for parents and children to share in the story and open a dialogue on the larger story elements of good versus evil.


“The essence of Harry Potter, as I read it, is that love leaves a mark,” Small concluded, referring to the lighting bolt scar that the main character bears as a symbol of his mother’s love. “This is a story of ultimate love and the eternal struggle such power has against that of destruction.” Small calls former Cardinal Ratzinger’s highly publicized remarks “the opinion of just one guy.” However, Small acknowledges that “one guy” is now the spiritual leader of millions and his opinion will factor heavily in both the reaction to the newest movie, Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, and in future installments of the series.


Skeptics can only sit back and watch the tug-of-war for these “young souls” rage on between the forces of Christianity and what Reverend Small calls “the other side.” Meanwhile, our task is to remain solidly on “this side” of the divide when it comes to reality, even while we willing suspend disbelief while we enjoy the fantasy of Hogwarts, Narnia, and Gondor, no less than that of Star Wars and Star Trek.


I get amazed that people actually believe that there is really magic in Harry Potter. What sort of sad individual would believe that a book created from someones mind would have spells that can turn someone into a weasel or make you fly around on a broomstick? I think these people are just attention seekers, c'mon guys, are your lives so sad that all you can think of to do with yourselves is complain about books that people read in the hope that someone will give you five minutes worth of attention? Fuck me, how sad can a person get? hahaha! Even the wonderful Pope is trying his luck but lets face it, we all know him for the sick fucking child molester that he is. He expects us to believe that an invisible person created a universe in 7 days and that he watches over us also invisibly and controls all aspects of our lives, this isnt magic or witchcraft in itself? I think religion should stay where it belongs, in it's churches and just there and not try to intrude on peoples lives, lives that the churches are sorely out of touch with. Personally i like Harry Potter, maybe it's because I'm british but mainly because it impresses me that one persons imagination created a story thats touched so many people. I wonder how many children didn't even bother to read a book until young Harry was created? Judging from the reports in the news I Guess many children now read instead of hanging around on street corners or doing something else. Lets give three cheers to J.K. Rowling for inspiring children to read a few books and broaden their minds and not condemn them with this religio-political bullshit..

posted at 10:12 AM by john |  

Monday, January 02, 2006

Xmas..

Well wasn't xmas fun?? Yeah watching the pope giving his speech while he was putting his hands on all those kids, you could see him shaking with excitement. I guess the thought of putting his pedo hands on all those kids in full view of everyone all over the world must have rated as one of the biggest thrills of his life. Lets hope someone tries to do away with him like the last one, we can but hope, right?

Luckily for us we have sky TV, so no having to put up with all that religious crap they spew all oever the TV channels here. It's not as if people here are actually religious, they are born religious but to be honest I would say very few people here actually follow any of the churches teachings. I guess so long as they pay their 10% they feel they will go to a better place. I wonder if they realise that its their intentions that count, not how much gold is in the coffers. Sky always has loads of good stuff on it, the local TV here isnt any good at all, man you wouldnt belive how many fucking soap operas people watch here. I always feel so sad to know that some of my students lives revolve around the church and novelas. Sad init??


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