tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post5861721369517089640..comments2023-11-14T02:11:29.660-08:00Comments on A comfortable place: ChristianophobiaRob Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172127627370862611noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-21791268245094885582007-12-21T13:26:00.000-08:002007-12-21T13:26:00.000-08:00Thanks, I am glad you can now see my point. As you...Thanks, I am glad you can now see my point. As your conversations have shown, this IS something which is increasingly worrying Catholics. That your Catholic friends were thinking about it but didn't mention it to you illustrates the dilemma - we don't want to be like those big-mouths who are always shouting out about their religion, and we don't want to be accused of having a "martyr complex", Matthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-27984894729144980502007-12-20T06:54:00.000-08:002007-12-20T06:54:00.000-08:00I have to agree with you (though I might, when I'v...I have to agree with you (though I might, when I've caught up with today's postings, have something to say on the identity of the posters). In fact I feel a blog coming on on the topic. I also have to eat some humble pie. In the course of our exchange I have viewed your position as unnecessarily defensive. But I have asked Catholic friends who I have known for some years about this topic, and Rob Parsonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10172127627370862611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-36833519230298187502007-12-20T06:43:00.000-08:002007-12-20T06:43:00.000-08:00Just look at the sort of comments that are coming ...Just look at the sort of comments that are coming out from so-called "liberals" at Clegg's announcement that he is "bringing up his children as Catholics".<BR/><BR/>"Stream of bile" is quite an appropriate description.Matthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-74179396038032011492007-12-13T13:39:00.000-08:002007-12-13T13:39:00.000-08:00MH: “The stream of bile aimed at the Catholic Chur...MH: “The stream of bile aimed at the Catholic Church from liberal circles in the UK”<BR/><BR/>I just don't recognise that. The Catholic church gets its fair share of criticism – and it deserves it. So do the other Christian churches, which was my point of departure.<BR/><BR/>Anyway I think I need to move on from this. I'm still absorbing the impact of Dawkins being a cultural Christian and tryingRob Parsonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10172127627370862611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-78053352938287827702007-12-11T04:52:00.000-08:002007-12-11T04:52:00.000-08:00The stream of bile aimed at the Catholic Church fr...The stream of bile aimed at the Catholic Church from liberal circles in the UK means that conservatives within the Church can turn round to liberals and say "Hah, you try to make friends with these people, but look how they treat us".<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't say this has yet hit ordinary members in the pews, but it's a big thing amongst the opinion formers and those close to the leadership in the Matthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-87503323247218652202007-12-11T02:39:00.000-08:002007-12-11T02:39:00.000-08:00The stream of bile aimed at the Catholic Church fr...The stream of bile aimed at the Catholic Church from liberal circles in the UK means that conservatives within the Church can turn round to liberals and say "Hah, you try to make friends with these people, but look how they treat us".<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't say this has yet hit ordinary members in the pews, but it's a big thing amongst the opinion formers and those close to the leadership in the Matthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-34764545673738698042007-12-10T04:32:00.000-08:002007-12-10T04:32:00.000-08:00MH: "I am told that many Catholic priests now pref...MH: "I am told that many Catholic priests now prefer not to wear clerical outfit when travelling on public transport or walking the streets for fear of physical attack."<BR/><BR/>I had not heard that myself, and that is a very sad thing. I wonder if it is more true of Catholics than of other priests.<BR/><BR/>MH: "One consequence of this one-sided attack on us is that it seems to be encouraging aRob Parsonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10172127627370862611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-52401833125436889622007-12-10T01:27:00.000-08:002007-12-10T01:27:00.000-08:00I am told that many Catholic priests now prefer no...I am told that many Catholic priests now prefer not to wear clerical outfit when travelling on public transport or walking the streets for fear of physical attack. <BR/><BR/>My point is not that one can pick one published comment or one fictionalised portrayal and say "that's unfair, that should not be allowed", or that we are (yet) subject to gross physical bullying. It's the context of constantMatthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-3928872672149886262007-12-09T15:08:00.000-08:002007-12-09T15:08:00.000-08:00MH "What other group in our society gets treated l...MH "What other group in our society gets treated like this?"<BR/><BR/>Jews get beaten up for being Jewish. Muslims get beaten up for being Muslims. When was the last time a Catholic got beaten up for being a Catholic (except in Northern Ireland - and there I concede you have a point)?Rob Parsonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10172127627370862611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-56366753130430781352007-12-09T14:53:00.000-08:002007-12-09T14:53:00.000-08:00Your comments about your own Church were mostly p...Your comments about your own Church were mostly positive, your comments about my Church were wholely negative. While your caricature of the Anglican Church was that it was nice and well-meaning but sometimes a bit daffy, and had a few bad types at the fringe, you chose to caricature the Catholic Church by three things, one of which is a standard piece of Protestant prejudice, and the others Matthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-87356825891019578262007-12-09T03:04:00.000-08:002007-12-09T03:04:00.000-08:00Once again, you're exaggerating my view in order t...Once again, you're exaggerating my view in order to oppose it. I did not say that the Catholic church does nothing about paedophile priests. I said it did nothing for several decades: that is a fact, provable, undeniable.<BR/><BR/>You have again ignored the fact, as I have pointed out now twice, that I did not criticise the Catholic church solely, but included in my critiques my own church and Rob Parsonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10172127627370862611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-77735125134127263102007-12-08T16:12:00.000-08:002007-12-08T16:12:00.000-08:00Your argument that "Christianity is in fact very p...Your argument that "Christianity is in fact very powerful in this country" seems to boil down to the blasphemy law. In practice one can only find one rather contrived prosecution under that law in recent years. Articles condemning Christianity and making fun of it can and are written freely. To suggest that a law which in practice seems to mean almost nothing somehow makes Christianity "very Matthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-19630882924664257892007-12-08T14:50:00.000-08:002007-12-08T14:50:00.000-08:00MH "an article a little earlier by James on Christ...MH "an article a little earlier by James on Christian Odone"<BR/><BR/>Ah. I see it now.<BR/><BR/>MH: "You suggest that Christianity is "very powerful" in this country, but I don't think it is. Very few people are active adherents to Christianity in this country, most people have only the haziest idea about what it is. I'm not complaining about this, it's just a fact."<BR/><BR/>I didn't actually Rob Parsonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10172127627370862611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-49827107251460486702007-12-08T13:01:00.000-08:002007-12-08T13:01:00.000-08:00My comments were attached to an article a little e...My comments were attached to an article a little earlier by James on Christian Odone, though I was prompted to write there by the Mr Pritchard article.<BR/><BR/>You suggest that Christianity is "very powerful" in this country, but I don't think it is. Very few people are active adherents to Christianity in this country, most people have only the haziest idea about what it is. I'm not complaining Matthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-9411075530500942222007-12-07T13:44:00.000-08:002007-12-07T13:44:00.000-08:00I'm a bit mystified because I've looked at James G...I'm a bit mystified because I've looked at James Graham's blog and the only person I can see there replying to him on the Pritchard post is Rob Knight. Are you the same person or amI missing something?<BR/><BR/>First of all, I respect your faith and your views. but I'm curious about where your feeling of being put upon comes from. The point I'm making in my post is that Christianity is in fact Rob Parsonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10172127627370862611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1317078132745855118.post-2396955785421349142007-12-05T13:06:00.000-08:002007-12-05T13:06:00.000-08:00I've been debating this with James Graham on his b...I've been debating this with James Graham on his blog, and, yes, I do feel put upon.<BR/><BR/>As someone with a background in your first mentioned "international brand" I do get fed up with the way it is generally portrayed in liberal circles almost exclusively in terms of the most negative interpretation of the most negative aspects of it. Your comments illustrate my point nicely. Actually in Matthew Huntbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255872047710686115noreply@blogger.com