The mystery entry turned out to be a copy of The God Delusion. Excerpt follows:
The post on Pharyngula is only 1/2 hour old, but there are already 150+ comments. If PZ was looking to send a message, I'd say he succeeded.
I know some of you have proposed intricate plans for how to do horrible things to these crackers, but I repeat…it's just a cracker. I wasn't going to make any major investment of time, money, or effort in treating these dabs of unpleasantness as they deserve, because all they deserve is casual disposal. However, inspired by an old woodcut of Jews stabbing the host, I thought of a simple, quick thing to do: I pierced it with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus's tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash, followed by the classic, decorative items of trash cans everywhere, old coffeegrounds and a banana peel. My apologies to those who hoped for more, but the worst I can do is show my unconcerned contempt.
By the way, I didn't want to single out just the cracker, so I nailed it to a few ripped-out pages from the Qur'an and The God Delusion. They are just paper. Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your lord, you are not disciples of any charismatic prophet. You are all human beings who must make your way through your life by thinking and learning, and you have the job of advancing humanities' knowledge by winnowing out the errors of past generations and finding deeper understanding of reality. You will not find wisdom in rituals and sacraments and dogma, which build only self-satisfied ignorance, but you can find truth by looking at your world with fresh eyes and a questioning mind.
Posts
Oh yes, he has.
ReplyDeleteWow...this latest act of religious disobedience by PZ is really bringing out the best in the Fundies. Here's a great post from "TG", in the comments section:
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to see the titles of the books, but where is the proof that is a consecrated host? I think it is nothing more than an attention-getting stunt for noteriety. Weak.
Here's my response to him:
Tell you what, TG. If you can pick a consecrated host out of a lineup of unconsecrated ones, I'll concede that your question is relevant, and I'll ask PZ to provide proof of consecration. Sound fair?
c^_^ɔ
Pure genius.
ReplyDeletetripmaster,
He's bound to pull out the ol' thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god (faux-Chaucerian spelling and all) bullshit on that one; no way he'll admit to not being able to tell the difference.
I wonder how much of a shitstorm this is actually going to cause; the Catholics were already insane about the whole thing but I can see some Muslims getting pretty peeved at the Koran being nailed to 'the body of Christ'. Not to mention the irate Dawkinists vehemently demanding that PZ continue to think freely and provoke honest discourse; those guys are nuts!
Well, that didn't take long...
ReplyDeleteOver at Pharyngula, a troll by the name of "John" is posting Pope John Paul II's "Ecclesia de Eucharistia" over and over and over. Each post takes up approximately 45 screens.
When you can't debate, troll.
expatmatt sez:
ReplyDeleteHe's bound to pull out the ol' thou shalt not tempt the lord thy god (faux-Chaucerian spelling and all) bullshit on that one; no way he'll admit to not being able to tell the difference.
Well, if he can't tell the difference, how is PZ supposed to provide proof that the cracker...er...host is consecrated?
This just in: the official response from Bill Donahue, head blowhard of the Catholic League:
ReplyDelete"A formal complaint against Myers has already been made. What he did--in both word and deed--constitutes a bias incident, as defined by the University of Minnesota. The policy says that 'Expressions of disrespectful bias, hate, harassment or hostility against an individual, group or their property because of the individual or group's actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion...can be forms of discrimination. Expressions vary, and can be in the form of language, words, signs, symbols, threats, or actions that could potentially cause alarm, anger, fear, or resentment in others...even when presented as a joke.'
"The University must now take action and apply the appropriate sanction. We are contacting the president, Board of Regents and the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office at the school, as well as Minnesota's governor and both houses of the state legislature; the Catholic community in Minnesota is also being contacted. Moreover, we are also contacting Muslim groups nationwide.
"It is important for Catholics to know that the University of Minnesota will not tolerate the deliberate destruction of the Eucharist by one of its faculty. Just as African Americans would not tolerate the burning of a cross, and Jews would not tolerate the display of swastikas, Catholics will not tolerate the desecration of the Eucharist."
Hang tough, PZ. We're not praying for you.
Tripmaster,
ReplyDeleteIt really seems as though Donohue is missing the fact that this is done OUTSIDE OF WORK. I, for one, hope, that the university says "In the interests of free speech, we canno take action against one of our tenured professors for what he does on his own time, online or otherwise."
Either that or "suck it."
Anyhow... RISE UP, CATHOLICS, RISE UP AND VIOLENTLY AND SWIFTLY DEFEND YOUR LOVING GOD FROM THOSE WHO WOULD BESMIRCH HIS GRACEFUL FORGIVENESS! DESTROY MYERS IN THE NAME OF CHRIST ("Mister Christi, you are goooood cookies.") WHO HUNG WITH HOOKERS AND LEPERS AND THE POOR, AND ALSO IN THE NAME OF THE SINLESS VIRGIN MARY!
... not only that, but get the Religion of Peace in on it, too, because you guys have ALWAYS gotten along.
"Just as African Americans would not tolerate the burning of a cross, and Jews would not tolerate the display of swastikas, Catholics will not tolerate the desecration of the Eucharist."
ReplyDeleteThe hilarious thing is, the former two groups would not like it, but under US law, there's nothing they can do about it; they may not tolerate it, but in any practical sense they do. The CL sets itself above that standard by once again claiming special privileges for their own brand of nonsense. What they're actually saying is 'our beliefs are more important than those of blacks and Jews, and what they accept as the rule of Law has less validity for us'. I'd really love to see Donohue formally challenge the Constitution on this, because that's the only way he'll get those privileges. Bottom line, accept the Constitution or get out of the country. I hear Uganda likes Catholics.
Someone seems to be forgetting that the only objection to the burning cross or the swastika is that are associated with physical threats. I do not believe that throwing a cracker into the trash is so associated.
ReplyDeleteThe Catholic commenters have shown their colors. They have lied, trolled, falsely equivocated, accused, threatened, posted PZ's children's school addresses, called for expulsion, misrepresented history, copypasted their own posts, dodged arguments, evaded questions, contacted muslims to help...
ReplyDeleteAnd one or two of them have even been so nice as to grant atheists the right to state their opinion.
Atheists need to step up a lot of notches, because we're just not reaching the level of hatred they display, or that which they accuse us of.