Congress Mass going ahead as planned

[The Iceman]

You know rightly what you're doing. Call it for what it is. None of this is random. It's all systematic.
You're a coward..... hiding behind pictures.....

[Maguire01]

If there is a God, this league campaign will have the ending I'd fervently pray for - Banty gone back up the road.

We'd welcome him back with open arms! Wanna do a swap?

[Eamonnca1]

I am actually indifferent to these types of practices but for them to be described as sectarian is an OTT interpretation and is coming from people who probably haven't experienced sectarianism in the same context as some of us in the occupied six.

Any other assumptions you'd like to make?

I once applied for a job in Crazy Prices in Craigavon. The boy picked up the phone, I told him I was interested in the job.  He asked "What' your name?"  I gave him my (good catholic) name. He said "Give me your number and we'll call you back."  If I told him my name was Campbell Crozier I'll bet he'd have asked when I could start.

I was once introduced to a fella from Limavady.  My mate told him my name.  He took one look at me and said "______?  Bad Irish name, that."

We once had a "Jesus saves" business studies tutor at the tech, she would get sidetracked in every lesson and turn it into a sermon about how your eternal salvation can only be found through Christ.  She openly said that she had "no time" for atheists or agnostics, and mocked the Jewish practice of rocking back and forward as they prayed, saying she felt sad that these learned men were all going to hell.  None of us dared object because she had the power to lower our grades (which she promptly did as soon as she found out that some of us didn't go to church).

I used to work around Belfast doing deliveries on the Falls, Shankill, and places like Ballybeen where the graffiti on the wall says "Irish out."  My assistant would address me by my real name in the catholic areas and a fake name in the other areas in case I were to be set upon and bate. 

I'm quite familiar with the old routine of asking "is he one of ours or one of theirs" whenever a new person gets hired.

I'm quite familiar with sectarianism thank you very much.  All the more reason for me to be concerned about religion being shoved down other peoples' throats in every part of daily life.  If you're "indifferent" to such practices it's because people have been conditioned into thinking that it's okay for GAA clubs and meetings to have a distinctly catholic identity and they have no concept of how off-putting it looks to non catholics.

[Maguire01]

f**king hell. Some boys will rare up over anything...

Only now am I having my eyes opened to the widespread sectarianism in the GAA.

The two clubs named after the Catholic parishes in my town, will surely have to rename themselves, blatant sectarianism there.

The pitch/clubhouse/changing rooms etc dedications and blessings, they need stopped, more official acts of sectarianism.

Honourary positions for clergymen, that also needs to stop.

Mass for deceased club members, more sectarianism.

Sure the Our Father at the start of the AGM every year, that'll go too.

Two of the biggest institutions in Ireland are obviously going to intertwine now and again and how something as insignificant as a frigging mass has got ten pages is beyond me. Not like we have the u8s doing decades of the rosary before training every  Sunday morning.

Those 2 for sure have no place in the GAA.

Agreed on those two.

If the priest has been an integral part of the club, then of course he is as entitled to an honorary position as any other club member... but not just because he is a priest.

As for the 'Our Father', well that's essentially the same issue as the mass at congress.

[Eamonnca1]

You know rightly what you're doing. Call it for what it is. None of this is random. It's all systematic.
You're a coward..... hiding behind pictures.....

We must pick up our crosses daily.

[muppet]

There seems to be a lot of non-random systematic posters here.

[The Iceman]

I am actually indifferent to these types of practices but for them to be described as sectarian is an OTT interpretation and is coming from people who probably haven't experienced sectarianism in the same context as some of us in the occupied six.

Any other assumptions you'd like to make?

I'm quite familiar with sectarianism thank you very much.  All the more reason for me to be concerned about religion being shoved down other peoples' throats in every part of daily life.  If you're "indifferent" to such practices it's because people have been conditioned into thinking that it's okay for GAA clubs and meetings to have a distinctly catholic identity and they have no concept of how off-putting it looks to non catholics.

Atheists used to be content with live and let live..... now they have switched their tactics from simply sneering at believers to becoming more militant in their efforts to dissuade anyone who will listen from believing in God.  The new tactic is to shove their opinions down everyone's throat with books, videos, tv programmes, articles, lectures and urban billboard messages.Their goal isn't to just practice their own non-belief but to convince believers to stop believing and join them in the 'fold'.

[mylestheslasher]

I am actually indifferent to these types of practices but for them to be described as sectarian is an OTT interpretation and is coming from people who probably haven't experienced sectarianism in the same context as some of us in the occupied six.

Any other assumptions you'd like to make?

I'm quite familiar with sectarianism thank you very much.  All the more reason for me to be concerned about religion being shoved down other peoples' throats in every part of daily life.  If you're "indifferent" to such practices it's because people have been conditioned into thinking that it's okay for GAA clubs and meetings to have a distinctly catholic identity and they have no concept of how off-putting it looks to non catholics.

Atheists used to be content with live and let live..... now they have switched their tactics from simply sneering at believers to becoming more militant in their efforts to dissuade anyone who will listen from believing in God.  The new tactic is to shove their opinions down everyone's throat with books, videos, tv programmes, articles, lectures and urban billboard messages.Their goal isn't to just practice their own non-belief but to convince believers to stop believing and join them in the 'fold'.

You're losing the plot iceman. You have pretty much just described the catholic church in irelands "tactics" there and alleged the athiests have done the same! Are you as critical of the catholic church when they were doing the exact same?

[muppet]

I am actually indifferent to these types of practices but for them to be described as sectarian is an OTT interpretation and is coming from people who probably haven't experienced sectarianism in the same context as some of us in the occupied six.

Any other assumptions you'd like to make?

I'm quite familiar with sectarianism thank you very much.  All the more reason for me to be concerned about religion being shoved down other peoples' throats in every part of daily life.  If you're "indifferent" to such practices it's because people have been conditioned into thinking that it's okay for GAA clubs and meetings to have a distinctly catholic identity and they have no concept of how off-putting it looks to non catholics.

Atheists used to be content with live and let live..... now they have switched their tactics from simply sneering at believers to becoming more militant in their efforts to dissuade anyone who will listen from believing in God.  The new tactic is to shove their opinions down everyone's throat with books, videos, tv programmes, articles, lectures and urban billboard messages.Their goal isn't to just practice their own non-belief but to convince believers to stop believing and join them in the 'fold'.

You are misreading this in your paranoia.

The 'atheists' here are probably mainly lapsed Catholics and are not part of an atheist recruitment drive, more likely they want to see some serious changes in the Church before something like our national games can be associated so closely with them.

As for this: ' The new tactic is to shove their opinions down everyone's throat with books, videos, tv programmes, articles, lectures and urban billboard messages.Their goal isn't to just practice their own non-belief but to convince believers to stop believing and join them in the 'fold''. That is precisely what the Church has done for hundreds of years, you seem to be using it as an insult.

[J70]

I am actually indifferent to these types of practices but for them to be described as sectarian is an OTT interpretation and is coming from people who probably haven't experienced sectarianism in the same context as some of us in the occupied six.

Any other assumptions you'd like to make?

I'm quite familiar with sectarianism thank you very much.  All the more reason for me to be concerned about religion being shoved down other peoples' throats in every part of daily life.  If you're "indifferent" to such practices it's because people have been conditioned into thinking that it's okay for GAA clubs and meetings to have a distinctly catholic identity and they have no concept of how off-putting it looks to non catholics.

Atheists used to be content with live and let live..... now they have switched their tactics from simply sneering at believers to becoming more militant in their efforts to dissuade anyone who will listen from believing in God.  The new tactic is to shove their opinions down everyone's throat with books, videos, tv programmes, articles, lectures and urban billboard messages.Their goal isn't to just practice their own non-belief but to convince believers to stop believing and join them in the 'fold'.

Reminds me of R. Lee Ermey's mayor character in Mississippi Burning complaining about the civil rights movement in the US southern states, saying before the agitation began that "our nigras were happy". They basically knew their place and kept theor heads down, which of course ignored the fact that the facade of order had nothing to do with happiness and everything to do with their subserviant, helpless status. Not saying the lot of the atheist is equivalent to the lot of the poor southern African American under segregation, but that you seem to be longing for the time when atheists too knew their place and wouldn't dare to challenge the status quo. Given the still dominant role of religion in general and catholicism in particular on Irish society, I don't know what the hell you're so afraid of and insecure about. If your position is so defensible, why do you care that atheists are, not before time, staking a claim in the public arena?

[fitzroyalty]

I am actually indifferent to these types of practices but for them to be described as sectarian is an OTT interpretation and is coming from people who probably haven't experienced sectarianism in the same context as some of us in the occupied six.

Any other assumptions you'd like to make?

I once applied for a job in Crazy Prices in Craigavon. The boy picked up the phone, I told him I was interested in the job.  He asked "What' your name?"  I gave him my (good catholic) name. He said "Give me your number and we'll call you back."  If I told him my name was Campbell Crozier I'll bet he'd have asked when I could start.

I was once introduced to a fella from Limavady.  My mate told him my name.  He took one look at me and said "______?  Bad Irish name, that."

We once had a "Jesus saves" business studies tutor at the tech, she would get sidetracked in every lesson and turn it into a sermon about how your eternal salvation can only be found through Christ.  She openly said that she had "no time" for atheists or agnostics, and mocked the Jewish practice of rocking back and forward as they prayed, saying she felt sad that these learned men were all going to hell.  None of us dared object because she had the power to lower our grades (which she promptly did as soon as she found out that some of us didn't go to church).

I used to work around Belfast doing deliveries on the Falls, Shankill, and places like Ballybeen where the graffiti on the wall says "Irish out."  My assistant would address me by my real name in the catholic areas and a fake name in the other areas in case I were to be set upon and bate. 

I'm quite familiar with the old routine of asking "is he one of ours or one of theirs" whenever a new person gets hired.

I'm quite familiar with sectarianism thank you very much.  All the more reason for me to be concerned about religion being shoved down other peoples' throats in every part of daily life.  If you're "indifferent" to such practices it's because people have been conditioned into thinking that it's okay for GAA clubs and meetings to have a distinctly catholic identity and they have no concept of how off-putting it looks to non catholics.

I am indifferent because they mean f**k all to me either way. I'm not losing any sleep now and I'll not lose any sleep if they're discontinued - I'm sure the same applies for the vast majority of GAA members.

My whole point is/was that describing a mass at congress as sectarian is over the top.  I am not necessarily saying removing these type of practices would be a bad thing, just that some people are inaccurate in calling them sectarian - certainly in the context in which the GAA (in Ulster anyway) would be familiar with. 

You just went and listed a whole load of experiences in your little rant which are in no way similar to the GAA having mass at congress which kind of proved my point, so thanks for that.

[The Iceman]

In fairness Christ said go and make disciples of all..... In order to that evangelisation is required.
The new Atheist movement is to replace Christianity with Naturalism / Materialism (not in the Madonna sense of the word)

There is a big difference between a lapsed Catholic and a committed Atheist. The likes of Eamonn (correct me if I am wrong) appears strongly devoted to proselytising others and cast a broad net of doubt regarding belief in God.

It really has nothing to do with Paranoia. There has been a definite shift from live and let live by Atheists, to going on the offense against believers. The neutral posters on the board only have to look at the threads: Take religion out of State, Take religion out of Education, Take religion out of the GAA, take religion of St. Patrick's day.....

[The Iceman]

I am actually indifferent to these types of practices but for them to be described as sectarian is an OTT interpretation and is coming from people who probably haven't experienced sectarianism in the same context as some of us in the occupied six.

Any other assumptions you'd like to make?

I'm quite familiar with sectarianism thank you very much.  All the more reason for me to be concerned about religion being shoved down other peoples' throats in every part of daily life.  If you're "indifferent" to such practices it's because people have been conditioned into thinking that it's okay for GAA clubs and meetings to have a distinctly catholic identity and they have no concept of how off-putting it looks to non catholics.

Atheists used to be content with live and let live..... now they have switched their tactics from simply sneering at believers to becoming more militant in their efforts to dissuade anyone who will listen from believing in God.  The new tactic is to shove their opinions down everyone's throat with books, videos, tv programmes, articles, lectures and urban billboard messages.Their goal isn't to just practice their own non-belief but to convince believers to stop believing and join them in the 'fold'.

Reminds me of R. Lee Ermey's mayor character in Mississippi Burning complaining about the civil rights movement in the US southern states, saying before the agitation began that "our nigras were happy". They basically knew their place and kept theor heads down, which of course ignored the fact that the facade of order had nothing to do with happiness and everything to do with their subserviant, helpless status. Not saying the lot of the atheist is equivalent to the lot of the poor southern African American under segregation, but that you seem to be longing for the time when atheists too knew their place and wouldn't dare to challenge the status quo. Given the still dominant role of religion in general and catholicism in particular on Irish society, I don't know what the hell you're so afraid of and insecure about. If your position is so defensible, why do you care that atheists are, not before time, staking a claim in the public arena?

Now you're just being foolish trying to paint pictures and conjure up emotions....
I don't think you fully grasp Atheism and what it really means. Perhaps Eamonn could start and thread and enlighten us all......... and maybe put forward some great examples of real Atheism in action.....

[J70]

I am actually indifferent to these types of practices but for them to be described as sectarian is an OTT interpretation and is coming from people who probably haven't experienced sectarianism in the same context as some of us in the occupied six.

Any other assumptions you'd like to make?

I'm quite familiar with sectarianism thank you very much.  All the more reason for me to be concerned about religion being shoved down other peoples' throats in every part of daily life.  If you're "indifferent" to such practices it's because people have been conditioned into thinking that it's okay for GAA clubs and meetings to have a distinctly catholic identity and they have no concept of how off-putting it looks to non catholics.

Atheists used to be content with live and let live..... now they have switched their tactics from simply sneering at believers to becoming more militant in their efforts to dissuade anyone who will listen from believing in God.  The new tactic is to shove their opinions down everyone's throat with books, videos, tv programmes, articles, lectures and urban billboard messages.Their goal isn't to just practice their own non-belief but to convince believers to stop believing and join them in the 'fold'.

Reminds me of R. Lee Ermey's mayor character in Mississippi Burning complaining about the civil rights movement in the US southern states, saying before the agitation began that "our nigras were happy". They basically knew their place and kept theor heads down, which of course ignored the fact that the facade of order had nothing to do with happiness and everything to do with their subserviant, helpless status. Not saying the lot of the atheist is equivalent to the lot of the poor southern African American under segregation, but that you seem to be longing for the time when atheists too knew their place and wouldn't dare to challenge the status quo. Given the still dominant role of religion in general and catholicism in particular on Irish society, I don't know what the hell you're so afraid of and insecure about. If your position is so defensible, why do you care that atheists are, not before time, staking a claim in the public arena?

Now you're just being foolish trying to paint pictures and conjure up emotions....
I don't think you fully grasp Atheism and what it really means. Perhaps Eamonn could start and thread and enlighten us all......... and maybe put forward some great examples of real Atheism in action.....

What a worthless post. If my points are so foolish, then please explain why. Should be easy enough.
Same for my apparent lack of understanding of atheism.

[Maguire01]

Atheists used to be content with live and let live..... now they have switched their tactics from simply sneering at believers to becoming more militant in their efforts to dissuade anyone who will listen from believing in God.  The new tactic is to shove their opinions down everyone's throat with books, videos, tv programmes, articles, lectures and urban billboard messages.Their goal isn't to just practice their own non-belief but to convince believers to stop believing and join them in the 'fold'.

I really can't believe you posted that as your argument. So basically, these atheists are no better than those missionaries!

But anyway, most of these arguments aren't about getting others to 'not believe', they're challenging the elevated status that religion has in many aspects of life.