358 Comments

Don't want to play by the rules? Forget government support. Seems like a good idea we could use here in the US...

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If Norway wants to use public money to support religion, that's their call. It does not, however, qualify as a good idea. I'm adamantly opposed to religious organizations receiving a penny of public money for any reason. If humanity is going to survive, then religion has to be consigned to the dust bin of bad ideas.

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"For example, the Witnesses say members can't get involved in politics, which is why JWs never vote in elections."

I wish American evilgelicals had a similar rule.

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"We also believe that they violate children's rights by allowing them to exclude baptized minors"

But not the right of children to have appropriate healthcare like blood transfusions and organs transplants ?

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Why on earth should any religious organisation get a government subsidy? If you can't hold your own in the marketplace of ideas...............

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"If a religious or philosophical community, or individuals acting on behalf of the community, commits violence or coercion, makes threats, violates children's rights, violates statutory discrimination prohibitions or in other ways seriously violates the rights and freedoms of others, society may be denied grants or grants may be suspended." Jesus, they just want to take the fun out of religion. If I take all that out of the bible you don't even have enough pages left to roll a blunt.

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Agree with BHM and oraxx, but they openly don’t support governments or participate in voting but they want a government handout??????? Serious cult thinking.

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OT: Liberty University fined $14 million for not keeping campus safe.

https://wapo.st/432AgYO (gift link)

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O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

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So, it is possible to hold religious organizations to any sort of standards after all. Who knew?

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Disfellowshipping is more proof that religious conservatives invented cancel culture.

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OT - Good news

𝐒𝐞𝐧. 𝐊𝐲𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sen-kyrsten-sinema-announces-run-reelection/story?id=107819614

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OT but important: Holocaust denier Mark Robinson won the Republican primary for the North Carolina gubernatorial race. His Democratic opponent will be state AG Josh Stein, who, yes, is Jewish. Incredible.

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Something I have found to be particularly telling about modern-day Christians and their institutions is that for a group of people who claim to focus on order and everyone playing by the rules, every time money or power comes up, they're the first in line with their hands out. A person could be forgiven for thinking that they don't actually have some all-powerful deity on their side with how often they seek and find ways of getting more of both.

In short form, what's happened here is the Jehovah's Witnesses have refused to stop violating Norwegian law, and now they're receiving the outlined consequences of that refusal. Nobody should be surprised, there is nothing untoward going on, no persecution or bigotry of any kind to be seen. This decision was not made lightly by Norway's courts nor is it unconstitutional as the JWs seem to want to claim; Norway has EVERY right to insist that all those within its borders be treated equally under its laws. From everything I have seen here, Norway's courts are playing entirely fair, and the JW/Christian habit of screaming about persecution every time something doesn't go their way is little more than immature whining on the international scale.

Please, JWs, take your toys and go home. Everyone else wants to have a nice time and can't wait for you to leave so they can do that.

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