Are you capable of understanding the difference between legal marriage (a specific and enduring LEGAL construct which confers SPECIFIC benefits "contracts not marriage" can not because they cannot include all the vast and varied legal statuses built into OTHER contracts and laws) and "Church ritual marriage"?
Your marriage license doesn't marrry you in the eyes of your Sky Fairie, your religious wedding does.
Your religious wedding doesn't marry you in the eyes of the State. Your marriage CONTRACT does.
Perhaps according to your Superstition, but your Imaginary Friend carries less and less weight every year.
Your post is an example of why ALL Superstition is toxic and unworthy of modern man.
Prove your Sky Fairie exists, NOW, and I'll recant and kiss his/her/its Noodly Appendage. Otherwise, fuck off.
To espouse Superstition is to espouse spiritual slavery. That makes all Superstionists enemies of humanity, and is why any of their protests otherwise should be considered delusions or deliberate lies.
Non-believers are SINNERS. Religion means fighting non-believers and taking power FROM them in Allah's/Yahweh's/FSM's name.
If you are not of a sect, it is your enemy (in a large or small way) like it or not and never forget that. If they had the power they would kill you or torture you into submission as they did before secular enlightment weakened the hold of superstition.
In some places where they roll Old School, denouncing religion can still get you murdered.
"scam, dangerous cult, organized crime -- but one thing it is not is a religion."
None of those singly or in combination exclude religion.
Cults are merely less-popular religions.
Stop defending religion. Superstition is indefensible in modern times. Either prove your Sky Fairie (if you have one) exists and I'll recant and grovel before his/her/its Noodly Appendage, or drop the nonsense.
"Scientology is not a religion by any reasonable definition of the term."
Have some Oxford English Dictionary definitions, many of which fit Scientology:
"it is important to separate the actions of state from the action of the church" because the church says so?
All superstition is politics. All superstitionists are political actors with imaginary friends. Religion requires power, and taking territory spreads it effectively.
"many skeptics are too superstitious about spiritual issues (or as hung up on high-profile crazy churches as many people are on sensational television) to think much about that."
What about the HIGHEST-profile "traditional" Church (the largest Christian sect in the world) which has paid out more than a BILLION dollars (and counting) worldwide in (ongoing) abuse hush money/settlements? That Church only investigates (some of) its own under extreme pressure.
The USSR and China were modern systems and as as such able to use modern killing methods and modern communications and modern organizational methods to slay their opponents.
Hand a "Pope Innocent III" machine guns and breechloading rifles, and "God" would know a lot more of "his own".
"Why did you choose to act like such an asshole and end your post with this?"
All religion is toxic and all defense of it merits relentless attack. Religions differ in some details, but they exist to make slaves of men.
Never defend them. At all. None deserve anything but relentless attack as all superstitions are inherent enemies of personal freedom and of the search for truth.
My deployment on a friendly basis to the most prosperous nations Muslims ever produced made me utterly despise Islam.
All religion is nonsense, but Islam is extremely oppressive nonsense. If it were a secular ideology, it would get zero respect. Only because fools respect fantasy is superstition not treated with the contempt it deserves.
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I support Freedom, and support the Support of Freedom wherever it comes from.
Google fights a good fight here.
A Superstitionist, I take it?
Your religious objection is duly noted, that we may appreciate raw religion unvarnished with political correctness.
Are you capable of understanding the difference between legal marriage (a specific and enduring LEGAL construct which confers SPECIFIC benefits "contracts not marriage" can not because they cannot include all the vast and varied legal statuses built into OTHER contracts and laws) and "Church ritual marriage"?
Your marriage license doesn't marrry you in the eyes of your Sky Fairie, your religious wedding does.
Your religious wedding doesn't marry you in the eyes of the State. Your marriage CONTRACT does.
Any questions?
"And what about those employees who (for whatever reason) are against same-sex marriage?"
They object to the private, personal freedom of choice of others. Fuck 'em.
If they can't mind their own business they deserve NO respect. Hatred as enemies of freedom, yes, but not respect.
The only good Superstitionists are dead Superstitionists. The only purpose of Superstition is spiritual enslavement.
Are you religious?
If those consuming and paying for corporate services wish it, why should the corporation not obey their preferences?
Perhaps according to your Superstition, but your Imaginary Friend carries less and less weight every year.
Your post is an example of why ALL Superstition is toxic and unworthy of modern man.
Prove your Sky Fairie exists, NOW, and I'll recant and kiss his/her/its Noodly Appendage. Otherwise, fuck off.
To espouse Superstition is to espouse spiritual slavery. That makes all Superstionists enemies of humanity, and is why any of their protests otherwise should be considered delusions or deliberate lies.
Fight for a totally gender-neutral legal world rather than recognition of variety.
We don't segregate by earlobe size, so cunts and cocks and nullos shouldn't matter much either.
No, RELIGION reeks of evil.
Thanks for your post as an example thereof.
You obviously aren't from the US. Legal marriage and religious marriage are quite different.
Legal marriage requires a marriage license and is a binding legal contract.
Superstitious marriage is whatever the superstitionists say it is.
Cringely was just trolling for page hits, and got them.
"What are y'all smoking?"
A phat bowl of Vendor Lock.
Non-believers are SINNERS. Religion means fighting non-believers and taking power FROM them in Allah's/Yahweh's/FSM's name.
If you are not of a sect, it is your enemy (in a large or small way) like it or not and never forget that. If they had the power they would kill you or torture you into submission as they did before secular enlightment weakened the hold of superstition.
In some places where they roll Old School, denouncing religion can still get you murdered.
"Died a little"?
The proper reaction is instant scorn and contempt. So fucking what if they are entertainers? That just means they are good at entertaining.
If they are superstionists, that also means they are lunatics in at least one respect.
When you pay for entertainment you buy a product, not the actor.
"scam, dangerous cult, organized crime -- but one thing it is not is a religion."
None of those singly or in combination exclude religion.
Cults are merely less-popular religions.
Stop defending religion. Superstition is indefensible in modern times.
Either prove your Sky Fairie (if you have one) exists and I'll recant and grovel before his/her/its Noodly Appendage, or drop the nonsense.
"Scientology is not a religion by any reasonable definition of the term."
Have some Oxford English Dictionary definitions, many of which fit Scientology:
http://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/161944
"it is important to separate the actions of state from the action of the church" because the church says so?
All superstition is politics. All superstitionists are political actors with imaginary friends. Religion requires power, and taking territory spreads it effectively.
Nothing I said JUSTIFIED it. Read again, slowly...
I am pointing out that the main reason for their high body counts was that they had technology old-time superstitionists did not.
Religions got most of their mass murder done well before secular influences reduced their stabby habits.
"many skeptics are too superstitious about spiritual issues (or as hung up on high-profile crazy churches as many people are on sensational television) to think much about that."
What about the HIGHEST-profile "traditional" Church (the largest Christian sect in the world) which has paid out more than a BILLION dollars (and counting) worldwide in (ongoing) abuse hush money/settlements? That Church only investigates (some of) its own under extreme pressure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_sex_abuse_cases
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/catholic-church-sexual-abuse-scandal_n_1508668.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10407559
http://www.afrik-news.com/article17549.html
There are MANY more!
Charity buys power. Pablo Escobar understood that just as superstitonists understand that.
"my unreplaceable one-of-a-kind Nokia N900 becomes irreparable"
It's a tool. Buy spare(s)?
You aren't making a complete comparison.
The USSR and China were modern systems and as as such able to use modern killing methods and modern communications and modern organizational methods to slay their opponents.
Hand a "Pope Innocent III" machine guns and breechloading rifles, and "God" would know a lot more of "his own".
Superstition is ALWAYS important because it controls and utterly defines the Superstitionists life.
Superstition is not a hobby. Choose a mate who believes a similar Superstition, or who is free of that shit, but mismatch bodes no good.
"It really makes me lose hope for the human race."
The other superstitions didn't accomplish that long ago?
"Why did you choose to act like such an asshole and end your post with this?"
All religion is toxic and all defense of it merits relentless attack. Religions differ in some details, but they exist to make slaves of men.
Never defend them. At all. None deserve anything but relentless attack as all superstitions are inherent enemies of personal freedom and of the search for truth.
My deployment on a friendly basis to the most prosperous nations Muslims ever produced made me utterly despise Islam.
All religion is nonsense, but Islam is extremely oppressive nonsense. If it were a secular ideology, it would get zero respect. Only because fools respect fantasy is superstition not treated with the contempt it deserves.
See a contingency-fee lawyer.
Why should big corps have all the fun?