Australian lawyer smokes pages of Bible and Koran, asking 'Which is best?' - Polidicks

[quote] In a 12-minute clip entitled "Bible or Koran – which burns best?" Mr Stewart, who works for the Queensland University of Technology, holds up the two religious texts before ripping them apart and lighting the rolled up pages. At one stage he inhales deeply from one of the roll-ups before blowing out the smoke and commenting: "Holy". The video, which has since been deleted, was posted on the video-sharing site over the weekend, coinciding with the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Last week Terry Jones, a controversial Christian preacher who presides over a small church in Florida, drew international condemnation after announcing a plan to burn 200 copies of the Koran. "With respect to books like the Bible and the Koran, whatever, just get over it," Mr Stewart said in the footage. "The video was a joke video, of course," he added. "People do this stuff all the time and if people get really upset about this then they're taking it far too seriously." Mr Stewart, a member of an Atheist group in Brisbane, has begun a period of leave following a meeting with his employers today. He insists he wasn't smoking drugs in the video but had sprinkled grass cuttings into the rolled up pages. "The university is obviously extremely, extremely unhappy and disappointed that this sort of incident should occur," Queensland University of Technology vice-chancellor Peter Coaldrake said. Islamic groups urged Muslims not to react to the provocation "There is no need for this kind of thing, just to create disunity and disharmony among people living in Australia," said Sheik Muhammad Wahid, president of the Islamic Association of Australia. [/quote] Source: [url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7999250/Australian-lawyer-smokes-pages-of-Bible-and-Koran-asking-Which-is-best.html[/url]

What a dipshit. E: my point is this: "Seriously, what a nong thing to do. He'll probably lose his job, or suffer a major hit, and all for a petty little protest."

[QUOTE=Dr_Funk;24798005]What a dipshit.[/QUOTE] No, he's awesome

This is why I like Australia. Instead of avoiding the awkward issue and maintaining an unsteady peace, we bring it into the open and fuck everything up. I'd much rather we sorted the issues out in conflict rather than just pretend it's not there in peace.

Just saw this on tv news... Guys a complete dick.

[QUOTE=Mokkan13;24798039]Just saw this on tv news... Guys a complete dick.[/QUOTE] Nope, he's trying to show how stupid religious wars are

Oh god, He works where I study. He is an awesome guy.

Did in jest and not as an act of hate, so i'm fine with it. They're just symbols, books and nothing more. What they mean to certain people shouldn't change what they mean to others. Only time I have a problem with it is when it's done with a bad message behind it, "They're only books" is great, "Suck my dick muslims", er, not so much. EDIT: And it's incredibly stupid that he may lose his job for this.

Seriously, what a nong thing to do. He'll probably lose his job, or suffer a major hit, and all for a petty little protest.

[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;24798101]Did in jest and not as an act of hate, so i'm fine with it. They're just symbols, books and nothing more. What they mean to certain people shouldn't change what they mean to others. Only time I have a problem with it is when it's done with a bad message behind it, "They're only books" is great, "Suck my dick muslims", er, not so much.[/QUOTE] He smoked them with grass and did both the Bible and Qur'an. He repeatedly stated it was a comedy piece and posted it on youtube. Not really hateful at all and comparable to draw muhammad day more than anything else.

[QUOTE=Devodiere;24798137]He smoked them with grass and did both the Bible and Qur'an. He repeatedly stated it was a comedy piece and posted it on youtube. Not really hateful at all and comparable to draw muhammad day more than anything else.[/QUOTE] Exactly, it's "look, they're just books" the exact same as it was "look, they're just drawings"

Haha, sounds awesome. :sax:

[QUOTE=FreeThinker;24798045]Nope, he's trying to show how stupid religious wars are[/QUOTE] Just because you agree with what he did doesn't mean others will. Everybody has a different view on things. Me, being open to every and all religions, find the act ridiculous. That man is a COMPLETE idiot and doesn't know what sort of problem he could spark between both religions. Stupid stunts like this get people killed, and others harassed.

[QUOTE=Trinholdt;24798196]Just because you agree with what he did doesn't mean others will. Everybody has a different view on things. Me, being open to every and all religions, find the act ridiculous.[B] That man is a COMPLETE idiot and doesn't know what sort of problem he could spark between both religions. Stupid stunts like this get people killed, and others harassed[/B].[/QUOTE] No I think he knows exactly what it could cause and that's why he's doing it. I don't support just torching books willy nilly, but I would much more readily call the reactionaries idiots than this man. To kill someone over the "desecration" of a mass produced book is unimaginably senseless. It's a book, a very important book to them, yes, but it's not to us, and we shouldn't be forced to think it's important just because they do. The bible is just a book to them (as it is to me as well), and that's how it should be. We should keep our hangups and reverences to ourselves and not force them on others, like the reactionaries do.

This man has a point. It's okay to burn one religious text to get back at on religion which people misguidedly believe are all responsible for the attacks. But burning and bible, which they fanatically follow, is wrong? How hypocritical of them.

[QUOTE=Trinholdt;24798196]Just because you agree with what he did doesn't mean others will. Everybody has a different view on things. Me, being open to every and all religions, find the act ridiculous. That man is a COMPLETE idiot and doesn't know what sort of problem he could spark between both religions. Stupid stunts like this get people killed, and others harassed.[/QUOTE] If everybody was allowed to have their own view on things freely humanity would perish.

[QUOTE=FreeThinker;24798265]If everybody was allowed to have their own view on things freely humanity would perish.[/QUOTE] I thought you were a liberal.

[QUOTE=FreeThinker;24798265]If everybody was allowed to have their own view on things freely humanity would perish.[/QUOTE] Heh, waddya know, a liberal whom believes in thought crime.

[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;24798308]Heh, waddya know, a liberal whom believes in thought crime.[/QUOTE] No, but I think that we should have a fundamental basis of agreement as Chris Langan said.

[QUOTE=FreeThinker;24798319]No, but I think that we should have a fundamental basis of agreement as Chris Langan said.[/QUOTE] There's nothing wrong with people thinking stupid things, as long as acting out on them is restricted. Think all the stupid things you want, it's not a crime (and shouldn't be) to do so. People should be judged on their actions and not their thoughts.

What a badass

People who follow the bible saw the comedy in this. Why can't people who follow the Koran? I don't follow either and still found it funny.

Holy.

[QUOTE=FreeThinker;24798265]If everybody was allowed to have their own view on things freely humanity would perish.[/QUOTE] your username contradicts your comment so much

[QUOTE=CivilProtection;24799705]your username contradicts your comment so much[/QUOTE] 'Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or any dogma.' No contradiction here [editline]12:22PM[/editline] [QUOTE=Devodiere;24798339]There's nothing wrong with people thinking stupid things, as long as acting out on them is restricted. Think all the stupid things you want, it's not a crime (and shouldn't be) to do so. People should be judged on their actions and not their thoughts.[/QUOTE] The more humanity becomes advanced the more dangerous fundamentally different view points and philosophies become, and the smartest man in the world (Chris Langan) would agree with me.

[QUOTE=FreeThinker;24799729] The more humanity becomes advanced the more dangerous fundamentally different view points and philosophies become, and the smartest man in the world (Chris Langan) would agree with me.[/QUOTE] You think that IQ is an indicator of intelligence? All it is is pattern recognition.

[QUOTE=CivilProtection;24799892]You think that IQ is an indicator of intelligence? All it is is pattern recognition.[/QUOTE] [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Wechsler_Adult_Intelligence_Scale_subscores_and_subtests.png[/img]

I've taken a proper IQ test before. Those categories do not encompass the wide range of intellectual abilities they sound like they do. IQ is really just a measure of the quickness of the brains recognition.

[QUOTE=CivilProtection;24799892]You think that IQ is an indicator of intelligence? [b]All it is is pattern recognition.[/b][/QUOTE] [QUOTE=CivilProtection;24799939]I've taken a proper IQ test before. Those categories do not encompass the wide range of intellectual abilities they sound like they do. [b]IQ is really just a measure of the quickness of the brains recognition.[/b][/QUOTE] What score did you get?

[QUOTE=FreeThinker;24799949]What score did you get?[/QUOTE] IQ is not a recognition of intelligence. If you think it is, you're in need of help. Even the people who make IQ tests understand it is not a proper intelligence test. It is a simple pattern recognition test which encompasses other areas with the use of patterns. That's it. It is not a fucking test of intelligence. For being a "Freethinker", you're so painfully locked into dumb ideas. Also, I took a Mensa test about 2 years ago, scored 138 or so. I'm bad at pattern recognition and managed to do very well, it's not a fucking concrete test.