Of Trolling Christians, wherein I suggest a method to discomfit people who try to save your soul.

I know, its basically shooting fish in a barrel in this country, we're damned lucky. But I came across the full text of Luke 6:27-30 in a blog I was reading (Alethian Worldview) and it made me think. So I checked to see that it was indeed the whole section, and found a link to it as well so you can see for yourself. It reads:

  ²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.


I draw your attention specifically to section 30. 

The Independence of Scotland, a more serious look at it.

So, Scotland is to be having a referendum amongst the population to decide if the general population is favourable to splitting with the rest of the UK and being a separate, entirely independent country in our own right. The rumouring that I have been hearing is that most people are generally against it - nobody really believes that it will go ahead. An article from the Scotsman claims that 39% of the population are for Independance and the rest against

I will say this - As of now, I hope that we don't achieve full independence. (See below for details)

On Cynicism, Credulity, Scepticism and Self-Examination

I have been reading a little earlier about a spectrum of scepticism, ranging from an uncritical, unchallenging belief in authority (credulism) to an all-doubting, nothing-believing nihilistic rejection of all trust in anything (cynicism). I have been doing so in this blog post in Almost Diamonds, a blog about scepticism and various other things. I call myself a sceptic, but I am forced by intellectual honesty to ask myself: Am I really?
That post, which contains some interesting links (this one was my favourite, because of the video), made me think about where I might fall on this topic, analysed and laid bare for your interest.

The Representatives of God and Cartoons

On the way to the train station that I go to to get to work, there is a church nearby. It's a baptist church (which seems invariably to mean that it's a depressing-looking broken-down cowshed) and it's tucked away down a side street. Every now and then there is a little old lady who stands on the confluence of the main street that leads to the station and that side street, and she seems to have taken it into her head to convert passers-by with dreary pamphlets about religion.

Today was one of those days.

Normally when this happens, I ignore her. I don't want what she's selling. But today, she stopped me, and not being in much of a rush, I let her. She seemed flustered, poor thing, that someone actually ceased to perambulate. She tried to save my soul.

She presented me with a badly-thought-out, badly-rehearsed, utterly predictable speech about how modern life was drawing me to Satan, and that that was a bad thing because I would surely burn in hell as a result unless I admitted Christ into my heart on the spot.

I'm not used to being proselytised at, nor preached to: it's rare in Glasgow for someone to harangue you in the street. I didn't have a snappy answer, or anything snarky or clever to say. I listened to her.

Some Links for your amusement.

One for the brain: We Are SkeptiXX, a newly started sceptical blog, inspired by the great tradition of proving that scepticals and rationalists aren't only bearded middle-aged men. Considering the peers of this valuable addition to the Blogoblogz, I personally am expecting great things.


One for the eyes: An artist in mechanical items and found objects makes things that are...so very fascination.