Huck And Molly Ziegler: But ... this is in CANADA? Unpossible! According to the Fair-And-Balanced American Media, the only God-fearing Christians in the world live in the United States and a few Third-World enclaves where their residents have bought into some missionary scam.

I say the dude should move to Florida or Texas, where he can pester people without fear of repercussion.

Uh, Canada is one of those "Third-World enclaves."

:-D

Christian Bale: Seriously, if someone wore a shirt "Christians are a waste of life" you don't think that would be insulting?

Doubt I'd give a shiat at all. I once saw a guy wearing a tshirt that simply said "Fark You". I thought it was funny, I didn't take it personally. I'm more worried by people who do take things like that personally, to be honest. So some kid thinks my life is wasted because I don't go to church. Whatever. He's entitled to that and I don't care what he thinks. He only wins if you give him the attention he wants.

But when you start telling people they're going to burn in hell? Then you're just being a dick.

Zealots. Giving all truly pious people a bad name since religion began.

I respect the genuinely pious even though I'm a filthy non-believer. Problem is they are an endangered species these days.

/don't let the door hit you where your sky wizard split you, kid.
/buh-bye, now. Buh-bye.

lisarenee3505: trappedspirit: GleeUnit: I'm really looking forward to the follow up story where this kid tells the wrong dude he's going to hell and gets his holy ass kicked. I know it's Canada and everything, but you still have to imagine it's only a matter of time.

You do realize that what you are wish for is an immediate court ruling in favor of the religious spouting kid? Is that what you want? Please think first.

======================================

Not if it happens in a dark alley with no witnesses. Just like in real estate, this kind of thing is all about location, location, location.

Ah, yes. Like the Zimmerman case.

KarmaSpork: Zealots. Giving all truly pious people a bad name since religion began.

I respect the genuinely pious even though I'm a filthy non-believer. Problem is they are an endangered species these days.

/don't let the door hit you where your sky wizard split you, kid.
/buh-bye, now. Buh-bye.

As religious people become more and more marginalized, and the older generations die off, I'd hazard a guess it will only get worse. We can only hope it's because religious belief is finally in it's death throes.

More young people are self identifying as non-religious if not outright atheists, and there are plenty of other people who are only afraid of coming out against religion because of offending their older family members, or because of other social repercussions. With any luck things will reach a tipping point and the Abrahamic god can join the thousands of other gods man has worshipped over the ages in the dustbin.

Huck And Molly Ziegler: But ... this is in CANADA? Unpossible! According to the Fair-And-Balanced American Media, the only God-fearing Christians in the world live in the United States and a few Third-World enclaves where their residents have bought into some missionary scam.

I say the dude should move to Florida or Texas, where he can pester people without fear of repercussion.

===========================================================

Not entirely true (CSB-time). When I lived in Texas, I had to put up with this group of religi-nuts coming to my door every Saturday, usually around 8:00AM... you know, when most sensible people are still farking asleep on a Saturday? I had a "No Soliciting" sign posted on my door, BTW. So after three weeks of this shiat, I got fed up. The fourth time they rang my bell before 9:00AM, I greeted them with shotgun in hand. I informed them that, as far as I was concerned, they were trying to sell me something, thus they were in violation of the "No Soliciting" sign, and that the next time they came on my property I would consider them trespassing and shoot one of them in the foot. Haven't seen them since.

Gosling:
This whole episode is going to end up costing him a diploma.

It would be wasted from the sounds of it. Hopefully this kid has a chance to deprogram someday, rather than go through life as an ignorant, wrathful asshole.

Veritas: But when you start telling people they're going to burn in hell? Then you're just being a dick.

If I may...

When you start thinking people are going to burn in hell... then you've become a dick.

Sorry... not trying to step on your toes here, just thought it could use a little refinement.

FunkOut: Most moderate religious people do good work; I'm thinking about food banks run by the United Church, the nun I met who was always promoting anti-poverty and pro-ecology community activities, etc. They wouldn't start screaming "You're going to hell!" at the Dalai Lama.

I like to distinguish between ordinary people who happen to have religious faith and the extremist bigoted wankers by referring to the latter as "Born-again fundamentalist cretins."

RatMaster999: Why not just nail this kid to a cross to help him get closer to Jesus?

It would be a good lesson for the others...

Seems wasteful. How about we use him as a streetlight for a few days. Worked well for the Romans.

JohnnyC: When you start thinking people are going to burn in hell... then you've become a dick.

Sorry... not trying to step on your toes here, just thought it could use a little refinement.

Yes, quite true. I'll take that :)

I've got no problem with religion, I generally find religious people to be nice people. But zealots who genuinely think they're somehow superior to people who don't share their beliefs? They can DIAF. Or Hell. Whatever. I don't care :P

"I don't believe in fairies but I love people who do." - Billy Connolly

lisarenee3505: Huck And Molly Ziegler: But ... this is in CANADA? Unpossible! According to the Fair-And-Balanced American Media, the only God-fearing Christians in the world live in the United States and a few Third-World enclaves where their residents have bought into some missionary scam.

I say the dude should move to Florida or Texas, where he can pester people without fear of repercussion.

===========================================================

Not entirely true (CSB-time). When I lived in Texas, I had to put up with this group of religi-nuts coming to my door every Saturday, usually around 8:00AM... you know, when most sensible people are still farking asleep on a Saturday? I had a "No Soliciting" sign posted on my door, BTW. So after three weeks of this shiat, I got fed up. The fourth time they rang my bell before 9:00AM, I greeted them with shotgun in hand. I informed them that, as far as I was concerned, they were trying to sell me something, thus they were in violation of the "No Soliciting" sign, and that the next time they came on my property I would consider them trespassing and shoot one of them in the foot. Haven't seen them since.

Yay, you. I stand corrected on your block. Second Amendment comes in handy sometimes ...

kidsizedcoffin: RatMaster999: Why not just nail this kid to a cross to help him get closer to Jesus?

It would be a good lesson for the others...

Seems wasteful. How about we use him as a streetlight for a few days. Worked well for the Romans.

Is there enough fat on his carcass to burn for that long? If this was an American kid, I would immediately assume so, but since he's Canadian...

"He will not attend this school unless they are having reading, writing and arithmetic -- good old-fashioned academics,"

A 12th grader should have learned those long ago.
12th grade is for Algebra, Geometry, Literature, Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Foreign Languages.

Methinks that dad is a moran.

For some reason this reminds me of how one of my religion teachers in high school (i went to a catholic high school) who would commonly talk about how he had wanted to become a priest when he was younger had his daughter become an unwed teenage mother.

No real correlation to the story here just something I thought of when i was reading it.

I have mixed feelings. I feel bad for the kid. I don't think most people are born on fire for Jesus.

And while it is unpleasant to be told you're going to Hell, I guess I feel like the whole thing depends on which culture is in the majority. I went to high school in the South in the 90s, and some of my teachers used the opportunity of holding class in front of a captive audience to espouse their religious/political beliefs, which for some reason disproportionately focused on the "grossness" of gay people. In that environment, I felt like the "victim."

I'm not sure how much times have changed and how things are in Canada. For all I know, this kid, unlike in the high school I went to where you couldn't help but breathe in second hand religion, might be an outlier. If the culture has changed to the point that someone blathering on about Hell sounds insane, then I feel more bad for him than the people who have to listen to him. It's a fine balance. You can be the one gay, non-religious kid in a school where the culture is such that Hell and Christianity are givens to everyone else, and then, well, obviously I feel for the gay kid (who I was).

I don't know enough to say this, but the idea of a forum, however generic it is painted, after there has been a specific incident has got to be embarrassing for the kid. It's like if you poop your pants, the whole schools knows, and the next day there's a forum on how to use the bathroom properly. They might say the forum is about the whole school pointing their finger at you, but you kind of know.

So, from that perspective, I think it's quite sensible he didn't go into what could have been a very traumatizing environment. The simple answer is to have one policy and to dispassionately enforce it. And honestly, the other kids could get over the shirt. You see all sorts of nuts in the world. I work at a large, otherwise non-religious company (they make well-known tech products and have a name that is a fruit) and I hear evangelical messages all the time from other employees and my boss. Sometimes not responding is the best thing to do. T-shirts are passive. They're pretty easy to ignore. I don't think the kids should roll over if they're told they're going to Hell, but they just need a good one line response, "I'm looking forward to it, it's got to be better than this conversation," and then walk away, etc.

BarkingUnicorn: farkityfarker: Extreme Christianity imposed on your children is a form of child abuse.

Yet no efforts are being made to stop it.

Right, because all efforts are being wasted on stopping the burning, beating, starving, buggering and other REAL horrors that are being inflicted upon children. We simply must hire a million more case workers to protect kids from their parents' religions.

Why don't you just be grateful to parents who raise their kids this way? After all, they're giving YOUR offspring a significant advantage in society.

Funny how a lot of those other problems you mention are commonly justified using religious beliefs, and in many cases religion is directly causative. Also, I don't have or want kids of my own, nor do I want to live in a society that is poisoned by these jackwits and monsters for another generation, most of which I personally will be alive for.

swingerofbirches: I have mixed feelings. I feel bad for the kid. I don't think most people are born on fire for Jesus.


No one is born on fire for any god. It is a byproduct of childhood conditioning.

ladyfortuna: jingks: ladyfortuna: GleeUnit:

That could be the worst web comic I have ever seen.

Clearly you haven't seen a lot of web comics.

Also for the un-initiated, ABSOLUTELY NSFW. Or families, spouses, etc. Pretty much read it in the dark of night behind a locked door, and rejoice at the depravity.

Uchiha_Cycliste - I'd 'fist bump' but I'm pretty sure we'd both go to hell for it considering our affiliation as Flem fans.

Maybe I should have clarified, that wasn't a judgement of the web comic on the whole, which I've never read, just of the posted slide.

Yet Christians say they're the ones being persecuted.



"Me not sorry, they not from my home planet!"

How has this little bastard managed to avoid getting his ass beat on a daily basis? Man, bullies just aren't what they used to be.

Though I suspect like most fundies, he's got a persecution complex and would get off on it.

Expected and typical.

People are insane.

Is there a gesture beyond 'facepalm'? Because if there is, that is how I feel when I read stuff like this. Any type of religious militancy, regardless of faith, feels like a big step backwards in how we get along with each other. And I find that really sad.

Rincewind53: "It started with him preaching his religion to kids and then telling them to go to hell. A lot of kids don't want to deal with this anymore," said Katelyn Hiltz, the student council vice president. The students said the T-shirt was the last straw that led to their complaints, but it was not how the issue started. "He's told kids they'll burn in hell if they don't confess themselves to Jesus," student Riley Gibb-Smith said."

Gee, that's somehow totally different from the original story this kid and his family were trying to push of a kid who was suspended for doing nothing other than wearing a pro-Christian T-shirt. I wonder why?

"nothing other than wearing a pro-christian t-shirt"
That's bad enough. Christianity teaches that every other belief system on the planet is inherent false and evil; and that the followers of those belief systems deserve to be tortured for all eternity. They believe that it is their mission from God to eradicate every culture and religion other than their own. That's not "freedom of expression." That's being a galactic scale shiathead. They're the ones declaring war, they don't get to biatch when people speak up and fight back.

fusillade762: "He will not attend this school unless they are having reading, writing and arithmetic -- good old-fashioned academics," John Swinimer said. "When they're having forums, when they're having other extracurricular activity, he will not attend that school."

So no music, PE, history, etc? I didn't know parents got to choose the curriculum their snowflakes took.

Notice how he left out science?

• I believe that Jesus was a real person.

• I think his teachings are an outstanding guild-line for moral living. (You know, hanging out with those different than you and being cool with it).

• I consider myself a Christian but I don't care for many fellow Christians, nor do I care for what "the church" has to say most of the time.

• Evolution is a fact and the planet has been around for some 14 billion years.

Where does this leave me in most Christian's book I wonder?

Lots of christians are persecuted...just not in North America.

Gosling: Nightmaretony: Cue home schooled snowflake in 3...2...1...

Again: he's in 12th grade and this is May. Canada's school year runs to the end of June. It's a little late in the game to home-school him now.

Actually it's the best time. "my child was home schooled and he is just fine! "

All the hard work is already done.

ein727: • I believe that Jesus was a real person.

• I think his teachings are an outstanding guild-line for moral living. (You know, hanging out with those different than you and being cool with it).

• I consider myself a Christian but I don't care for many fellow Christians, nor do I care for what "the church" has to say most of the time.

• Evolution is a fact and the planet has been around for some 14 billion years.

Where does this leave me in most Christian's book I wonder?

You are right on track, as far as I'm concerned.

/let's hear an AMEN!! lol.
//appreciate the churches and theologians willing to embrace a 'progressive Christianity' that is devout, yet recognizes and respects the faiths of others.

ein727: • I believe that Jesus was a real person.

• I think his teachings are an outstanding guild-line for moral living. (You know, hanging out with those different than you and being cool with it).

• I consider myself a Christian but I don't care for many fellow Christians, nor do I care for what "the church" has to say most of the time.

• Evolution is a fact and the planet has been around for some 14 billion years.

Where does this leave me in most Christian's book I wonder?

Heretic?

Joking. It makes you like most of the religious people I know.

ladyfortuna: GleeUnit: I don't even know where to start with the highly-concentrated douchery between the student and his father, but I do know one thing:

I'm really looking forward to the follow up story where this kid tells the wrong dude he's going to hell and gets his holy ass kicked. I know it's Canada and everything, but you still have to imagine it's only a matter of time.

I feel like J. Grant really has a place in this thread:

[i391.photobucket.com image 586x1050]

Credit to J. Grant & FLEM comic, may it never leave the internet.

Ah man, I was going to post about the article, but this comic strip was horrible enough for me to forget why I was even here.

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."

-Matthew 6:5

/ And that, folks, was in red text

JohnnyC: Veritas: But when you start telling people they're going to burn in hell? Then you're just being a dick.

If I may...

When you start thinking people are going to burn in hell... then you've become a dick.

Sorry... not trying to step on your toes here, just thought it could use a little refinement.

What if I think that people are going to burn in hell because God is a jackass?

/Note: Not actually my beliefs.

FTFA - "He will not attend this school unless they are having reading, writing and arithmetic -- good old-fashioned academics," John Swinimer said. "When they're having forums, when they're having other extracurricular activity, he will not attend that school."

Excuse me sir, but what your son is doing in that school is certainly not 'good old fashioned academics', so explain this to me again?

/christian zealots.... Gods help them

JohnnyC: When you start thinking people are going to burn in hell... then you've become a dick.

Not really. The thing about a "dick" is that it is obvious and evident. At its least obnoxious it's just hanging there, but it is still front and center. In full raging turgidity it sticks out like an angry purple penetrator, straining to get in your face.

People that think dickly thoughts but keep them to themselves are too considerate to be dicks. The proof is in the pudding. Or off-putting, really.

If the fundies want to get their panties in a bunch about persecution, how about focusing less on self-created spectacles for wearing a t-shirt and being a jackass, and more on real persecution.

Well, the intolerant farkers were the Weeners.

Gotta realize that some people are different than you, and there is nothing wrong with that. Well, this kid happens to be a Jesusfreak.

This kid could think all of us are going to hell, or whatever, and none of us would care. Its his method of expression that bothers people. Thats not a religious issue, its an issue of being a farknut.

"It started with him preaching his religion to kids and then telling them to go to hell. A lot of kids don't want to deal with this anymore," said Katelyn Hiltz, the student council vice president. The students said the T-shirt was the last straw that led to their complaints, but it was not how the issue started. "He's told kids they'll burn in hell if they don't confess themselves to Jesus," student Riley Gibb-Smith said."

Ummm, isn't Canada less tolerant on hate speech, or is he claiming "my religious freedom trumps all"?

Moonlightfox: That's bad enough. Christianity teaches that every other belief system on the planet is inherent false and evil; and that the followers of those belief systems deserve to be tortured for all eternity. They believe that it is their mission from God to eradicate every culture and religion other than their own. That's not "freedom of expression." That's being a galactic scale shiathead. They're the ones declaring war, they don't get to biatch when people speak up and fight back.

That's what the fundamentalists believe but there are a LOT of Christians who do not feel that way. Please do not make all Christians out to be fundamentalists. That's being as bigoted, hateful, and wrong as the fundamentalists are.

FTFA:"He will not attend this school unless they are having reading, writing and arithmetic -- good old-fashioned academics," John Swinimer said. "When they're having forums, when they're having other extracurricular activity, he will not attend that school."

Well that problem just solved itself. Just schedule a forum or meeting everyday and he won't come back. The school doesn't want him there and now they have an easy way to make sure he doesn't show up. When he fails school and needs to repeat the grade maybe he'll be less of a jerkface.

He needs to be exposed to Islam. Once he discovers the true religion, Inshallah, he will no longer believe the Christian lies.