A group that describes itself as Concerned Christians Canada wants the City of Calgary zoo to remove this sculpture from its Asian elephant exhibit because it represents: "selective religious partiality": http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2009/09/25/calgary-zoo-elephant-statue-christians-response.htmlIn other words, these bible thumpers wants the statue removed because a small segment of the visitors (i.e. Hindus who worship the elephant god Ganesh) consider the statue to be a religious icon and the Christidiots are offended because they prefer other mythic icons.
The CCC would counter my critique by suggesting that I would be offended if the Calgary zoo erected a statue of Jesus. Actually, I couldn't care less. My problem would be if people suggested that the statue had to be treated with special reverance. Ganesh, the Virgin Mary, Jesus, etc. - they're all just equally worthy targets for seagulls.
The full CCC statement can be found here and is today's example of why the world would be a better place without religion: http://www.concernedchristians.ca/chairmans-blog-mainmenu-66/143-regarding-idols-at-calgary-zoo
"I am a Canadian skeptic dedicated to the reasoned and peaceful eradication of religion."
ReplyDeleteThen you use the word "Christidiots"
I suppose everyone is a hypocrite of some kind. It's nice to know it isn't purely just the religious.
Agreed. You serve your argument poorly by using neologisms intended to insult. Let your arguments stand on their own strength without resorting to name-calling.
ReplyDeleteYou're saying that a statue of Jesus wouldn't offend you, then you call Christians "Christidiots" and refer to the Creator as a "sky fairy". I think you have some unresolved issues with religion that I think you need to critically examine before you can claim to be dedicated to the "reasoned and peaceful 'eradication' of religion."
ReplyDeletewow you guys are incredibly sensitive. obviously the guy is expressing his frustrations. youve never name called before? stop playing holier than thou.... pun intentded, obviously you are christians. lolllll
ReplyDeletefocus on his points and stop nit picking and acting like babies.
FTFY
ReplyDeleteWhat about the crosses displayed in public areas all over North America?
ReplyDeleteI'm not a theist, but I still think you're an idiot. Everyone with any sense, of any faith or lack thereof, should support secularism when it comes to use of public resources, venues and powers.
ReplyDeleteRead some of the history of secularism.
Chridiots has a much nicer ring.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how a dancing elephant could possibly offend anyone. I don't recall the mass Christian boycott of "Horton Hears a Who"
ReplyDeleteThe only reason a true Christian could be offended by this, is if they feel that this symbol has the potential to come between them and their god. Christians - Don't deify an inanimate object, and you will not be in any danger of violating the ten commandments. Speaking of the commandments...Why aren't Christians MORTIFIED with all the money circulating the world? Mammon is a god... If you truly think your god provides your daily bread, why bother having a bank account? Afraid that he might forget about you?
Wow, there's some serious hypersensitivity going on up in here.
ReplyDeleteChristidiots, indeed.
I prefer the term "religiots."
ReplyDelete'Theistards' is my term of choice. But I only reserve it for total absences of logic or reason.
ReplyDeleteSuch as the Theistards above, as it so happens.
Agreed that name-calling doesn't advance an argument much.
ReplyDeleteBut in this case, isn't it richly deserved?
It's intolerant idiocy to take offence at a cute statue of an elephant. And you're right to say it like it is.
Go, go, Ganesh!
"Christidiots" divides believers into the sensible ones and the ones it applies to.
ReplyDeleteThe second group would like us to believe they speak for all Christians, or rather "all *tue* Christians", but let's not play into their hands.
Plenty of believers manage to be perfectly reasonable people who do not fly off the handle in torrents of rage and/or offense at a moment's notice.
Of course there are believers who don't give two shits about this statue.
ReplyDeleteThen there are hypersensitive Christian idiots who obviously don't understand their religion or the teachings of Jesus etc. (as is usually the case).
In general, I fucking hate religious people for this reason. They don't follow their religion's teachings, yet they have the right to push it onto everyone else, constantly spouting it in the non-believers' faces.
That's like having someone who believes in the "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" rule smacking someone in the face and calling them names in order to tell them to "do unto othrs as you would have them do unto you".
Perhaps a poor analogy. But most people tend to skip over facts and just do what they are told, quite literally.
I sort of doubt this was actually comissioned and built by Hindus, more likely by people who just thought it was cute to have a statue of Ganesh by the elephants. Shouldn't the Hindu population of Canada be protesting this as sacriligious?
ReplyDeleteI like Christidiots. I'm going to use it.
ReplyDeleteThere recently was an excellent article in the San Francisco Chronicle about how to talk to stupid people (religious). Basically the third option, not to talk to them, is the best way. I'll see if I can find the article and post it here.
Oh, I guess I can't post html here...so google this title: "How to talk to complete idiots"
The problem with the term Christidiot is that it is difficult to generalize what Christians believe. If all a Christian did was try to pattern their life after the Jesus described in the Bible, I agree that the term is too harsh. However, if you believe the story of Noah's ark, you are not only a Christidiot - you're a cretard.
ReplyDeleteAs far as sensible Christians are concerned, I am reminded of the following quote by English philosopher Simon Blackburn:
I think that intuitively we understand that beliefs are contagious. So if someone goes along with the herd and follows one of the major surrounding religions of their culture, this need not demonstrate much of a defect. But if someone gets taken in by a minority cult, there is less excuse. It might seem more or less wilful, or the result of an unfortunate stage of life at which they were especially at sea. Other things being equal,someone who believes that Jesus walked on water is not, in our culture, so many bricks short of a load as someone who believed that the Hale-Bopp comet was his vehicle to heaven. Holding the first belief is excusable, given that so many people have been repeating it to you since childhood, whereas you have to go out of your way to pick up the second. You have to acquiesce in your own deception, or want to be deluded. It is said that religions are just cults with armies, but they are also cults with a greater number of practitioners and louder voices, and those greater numbers exert more pressure on children and even adults to join in. So joining in is less of a measure of cognitive vice. Quite sensible people get taken in. But it remains true that we cannot both hold that they believe a lot of things that it is perfectly irrational to believe, and respect them on that account.
Ok, secularists probably would make a big deal if they put up a statue of Jesus. The difference is that this is an elephant statue at the elephant exhibit at a zoo. the point of the statue is to highlight the importance of the animal being exhibited to the cultures in the part of the world where it comes from. It isn't a shrine. where as say, erecting a statue of jesus in front of a court or school, those are two things that should be kept separate. idiot christians indeed.
ReplyDeleteIf the zoo is a publicly funded park, then they should remove the statue. It's state endorsement and sponsorship of a Hindu idol.
ReplyDeleteI would say the same thing if they put a statue of Jesus outside the water-walking Basiliscus lizard exibit or a statue of Mary outside the parthenogenetic Cnemidophorus lizard exhibit.
"The problem with the term Christidiot is that it is difficult to generalize what Christians believe. If all a Christian did was try to pattern their life after the Jesus described in the Bible, I agree that the term is too harsh. However, if you believe the story of Noah's ark, you are not only a Christidiot - you're a cretard."
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing about trying to find a peacful resolution, you can't say, "you guys are okay, but these guys are idiots"
Well you can't make a case by case assumption and ever expect things to get better.
You see, I would rather educate you on the finer points of my arguement and break it down for you instead of write you off as a person that is only an athiest because it is currently the "rebel" thing to do.
But I mean I really do understand the want to sit at the cool kid's table. That's why I wouldn't make a perceptually "witty" play on the word "Athiest"
So nice try, but no dice. Then again, if you wanted to really honest with yourself, you'd be agnostic.
This reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Homer goes into the Kwik-e-Mart and grabs some shelled peanuts and offers one to the Ganesh statue that Apu keeps in the back of the store, to which Apu replies: "Mister Simpson! Stop offering peanuts to my god!"
ReplyDeleteImg: Christians are adults who claim to have an imaginary friend.
ReplyDeleteWhat, pray tell, are we supposed to call them? How does "nutcases" grab you?
If the zoo is a publicly funded park, then they should remove the statue. It's state endorsement and sponsorship of a Hindu idol.
ReplyDeleteGiven the tiny, minuscule, Hindu population of Canada, I don't think it's meant as an endorsement, more as art. I doubt that Canadians will be lining up to convert to Hinduism after seeing this exhibit.
"Oh my gods honey, look at this Elephant statue! We need to convert!"
Again, if a political fundraiser dinner serves spaghetti, wouldn't that be an endorsement of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
Wow! TAM hits the big-time in posts over a photo of an exotic elephant and a reference to Christidiots. And I thought that the strippers would be pissed off.
ReplyDeleteIronically, I spent the day at another metropolitan zoo with wife, my son and his grandparents. I never saw any statue like this one. But I did overhear someone say that Zoo attacks are part of God's plan. I leaned over and whispered that the bearded-one mailed me the script last week. I then pushed him into the hippo pond to avoid waiting another 10 minutes in silence.