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Should children be allowed to read the Bible? |
Yes |
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41% |
[ 5 ] |
No |
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58% |
[ 7 ] |
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Total Votes : 12 |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda
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Post subject: Should the Bible carry an age restriction? | |
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As anyone who's familiar with the Old Testament will know, the Bible contains some pretty adult content. Just off the top of my head, there are (sometimes quite graphic) descriptions of murder, rape, incest, dismemberings, war crimes and infanticide, and that's before we even get to the passages stating that homosexuals should be put to death or featuring kings being punished by God for not slaughtering civilians.
If you told an average person about a hypothetical book containing this contentwithout mentioning that it was the Bibleand then asked them whether they thought children should be allowed to read it, I suspect that most people would say no.
There is precedent for this kind of thinking, of course: when it comes to films, we have a classification system that aims to prevent children from seeing graphic violence or sex.
Yet, we've never really had anything of the sort for books. As far as I know, there's nothing stopping a child from picking up a HP Lovecraft novel or Mein Kampf or Lolita in a shop or library and reading it from cover to cover. Essentially, it seems like we have a different standard for words and images.
Do you think that distinction is reasonable? If so, why? And if not, and we need to be more careful about what kinds of books are available to children, should the Bible carry, say, a 13+ rating? What do you think?
(For Stui's sake, I've added a super-straightforward poll that even he can't complain about. ) _________________ All watched over by machines of loving grace
Last edited by David on Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:00 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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1061
Joined: 06 Sep 2013
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Oh for crying out loud I thought you had a job to keep you occupied. |
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think positive
Side By Side
Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Location: somewhere
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seriously David, are you just trying to pick fights? maybe give yourself some stuff to moderate? do you get badges for moderations or something? _________________ You cant fix stupid, turns out you cant quarantine it either! |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda
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think positive wrote: | seriously David, are you just trying to pick fights? |
No, what makes you think that? You don't think it's an interesting topic? _________________ All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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think positive
Side By Side
Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Location: somewhere
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no
besides: WHO READS THESE DAYS!! _________________ You cant fix stupid, turns out you cant quarantine it either! |
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Morrigu
Joined: 11 Aug 2001
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Yes all religious material should be 85+ cause by that age picking up an AK47 or the like and firing in anger cause someone disagrees with your choice should be beyond the physical capacity of most _________________ “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” |
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Pies4shaw
pies4shaw
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
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I don't think it should be regulated, Morrigu - that tends to create a market for things that people otherwise wouldn't think especially interesting. If you ban the bible, some folk might think they should read it. |
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Morrigu
Joined: 11 Aug 2001
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Pies4shaw wrote: | I don't think it should be regulated, Morrigu - that tends to create a market for things that people otherwise wouldn't think especially interesting. If you ban the bible, some folk might think they should read it. |
^ Excellent point! _________________ “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” |
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Mugwump
Joined: 28 Jul 2007 Location: Between London and Melbourne
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When I was a kid, I'm sure I had a "children's pictorial bible". All I can say is that I was clearly robbed, or I missed the sealed section, alas. _________________ Two more flags before I die! |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda
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Ha, I think I had a series of those as well. Most of the nasty bits left out, naturally!
Wish this had been around when I was a kid:
http://www.thebricktestament.com/home.html _________________ All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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Morrigu
Joined: 11 Aug 2001
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Mugwump wrote: | When I was a kid, I'm sure I had a "children's pictorial bible". All I can say is that I was clearly robbed, or I missed the sealed section, alas. |
Half your luck I had an Irish Mic family who were always blithering on about hell and purgatory and sin and blah blah blah blah!
( I always have this over whelming urge to launch into Monty Python whenever someone says when I was young etc - I shall resist the temptation)
Anyway thankfully most that came to these fair shores including ma got over it
Mind you they might have been right - for my sins ( whatever the hell that means) I have been sent to work in purg no sorry public health _________________ “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” |
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stui magpie
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005 Location: In flagrante delicto
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This Poll should be moved to general feedback. _________________ Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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David
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda
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Looking at the poll results, I was getting more of an "English Premier and A-League Soccer" forum vibe. _________________ All watched over by machines of loving grace |
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Mugwump
Joined: 28 Jul 2007 Location: Between London and Melbourne
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Morrigu wrote: | Mugwump wrote: | When I was a kid, I'm sure I had a "children's pictorial bible". All I can say is that I was clearly robbed, or I missed the sealed section, alas. |
Half your luck I had an Irish Mic family who were always blithering on about hell and purgatory and sin and blah blah blah blah!
( I always have this over whelming urge to launch into Monty Python whenever someone says when I was young etc - I shall resist the temptation)
Anyway thankfully most that came to these fair shores including ma got over it
Mind you they might have been right - for my sins ( whatever the hell that means) I have been sent to work in purg no sorry public health |
Same background here, Morrigu, including catholic school, the lot. Interestingly, I saw no evidence of child molestation despite the high number of priests, though I suspect, on the evidence, I was lucky.
It seems to me that the major issues with child abuse in the Catholic Church have deeply Irish sources - twisted roots coming from the incredible privations of the Irish over centuries, and the brutality that this kind of privation and oppression fosters. As I've come to know many Italians and Latin Americans, I realise that their Catholicism is much more grounded in earthy realities, and sin is simply sin, not a filthy secret. I suppose that is why the sex abuse scandals have been concentrated in countries where the Irish Catholic Diaspora mainly migrated - The US, Australia, the Uk, and (separate case) in Ireland itself on a monumental scale. _________________ Two more flags before I die! |
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KenH
Joined: 24 Jan 2010
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think positive wrote: | no
besides: WHO READS THESE DAYS!! |
I read every night even if I go to bed at 3am and have to be up at 6am I will still read for a bit! (but not the bible). Most nights I would read for about 45 minutes before I go to sleep. _________________ Cheers big ears |
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