The Church orders Wives to Submit to their Husbands

[denuseri]

No, I'm not. But there are limits to free speech, too. You can't shout "FIRE" in a crowded room, causing a panic. You can't incite others to riot. And you can't go bellowing through a bullhorn at 3 in the morning.

And I dont think the vicar is even getting close to approaching the inciting a riot cluase.

But religious leaders claim to speak with the authority of God, and for the most part their followers accept that authority.

They can be claiming to speak with the authority of tom cruise for all I care.

They only accept that authority blind and without question if they are mindless sheep. Which the vast majority of parishionors ar not, nor are they stupid, or blind at all, the vast majiority of them in that country make a conscious decision. Most adherants of any given faith are not zealots.

Last time I checked, the rank of vicar isnt even close to the top of the church hierarchy anyway now is it.

The authority of god position is severaly lacking any real wieght as an argument against religion in the 21st century, in a country with freedom of religion and free speach, back during the reformation mabey, but now days, its mayo in the wind.

But that doesnt matter if your against both free speach and freedom of religion, which the two imho are really one and the same.

[Thorne]

They can be claiming to speak with the authority of tom cruise for all I care.

Sorry, Tom's spoken for. The Scientologists have their hooks into him.

They only accept that authority blind and without question if they are mindless sheep. Which the vast majority of parishionors ar not, nor are they stupid, or blind at all, the vast majiority of them in that country make a conscious decision. Most adherants of any given faith are not zealots.

Jonestown. Waco. Heaven's Gate. All zealots who died because they believed their leaders spoke God's words. Every religion has their zealots. And there are those who get trapped into these situations. How many women, for example, get trapped into abusive relationships that they can't get out of? They haven't the resources or the willpower. They want out, but don't know how to get out. And how much more powerful are those relationships when God tells them they must endure it?

Last time I checked, the rank of vicar isnt even close to the top of the church hierarchy anyway now is it.

As near as I can tell, a vicar is the equivalent of a parish priest, which means he has quite a lot of authority. At least they did when I was growing up. In the RCC, at least, they administer the sacraments, say daily masses, hear confessions, basically act as a conduit between the people and God. That's quite a lot of authority, if you ask me.

The authority of god position is severaly lacking any real wieght as an argument against religion in the 21st century, in a country with freedom of religion and free speach, back during the reformation mabey, but now days, its mayo in the wind.

Are you kidding? In this country we give freaking movie stars and singers the authority of God! How many children will die of preventable diseases because their parents believe that Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy actually know anything about vaccinations? How many people spend more money on crap sold by Oprah Winfery than they would on real medicine? Believe me, you don't need the authority of God to turn people into mindless sheep. You only need a TV camera. Or a pulpit.

But that doesnt matter if your against both free speach and freedom of religion, which the two imho are really one and the same.

I'm not against either. I honestly do believe in freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I also believe in freedom FROM religion. And I believe that freedom comes with certain responsibilities. And one of those is to prevent charlatans and hucksters from destroying people's lives. One way to do that is to educate them, to let them know just what these hucksters are really doing. Whether they are pitching magical Chinese healing stones, or Aztec Acne treatments or magical sky fairies, they are all after the sheep's wool.

And for the record, I do place members of the clergy amongst those charlatans and hucksters. Just my opinion.