Even for a heathen like me (especially for a heathen like me), he is an absolute joy. He is peaceful, champions equality, has spoken out about gay rights, and overall is so liberal that Catholics themselves are questioning him; which can only be a good thing.
Having said that, I must disagree with some of what the man in the pointy hat said recently in the wake of the attacks in Paris on Charlie Hebdo.
The pontiff has stated, that while he does not condone killing other human beings, people who insult the beliefs and religions of others should "expect a punch", in the same way they would if they had insulted his own mother.
So in a nutshell, he has said that belief should never be mocked. If we do mock it, we should expect physical violence. He is trying to put it on a pedestal.
First of all- and I feel like I trot out this phrase all the time but- ideas do not have rights. Much as they would have you believe, there is not a belief system on earth that is above and beyond scrutiny and criticism. Everything can, and should, be examined for both morality and validity- and more often than not, religions fail in both these categories. When our ideas are scrutinised or challenged- that is when their worth is proven. A sound idea will stand up to attack because of the evidence backing it up.
Comedy is part of our culture as much- if not more so- than religions are. I've stated before my feeling on this and will not repeat myself at length- suffice to say nothing should be immune from a joke. Comedy serves only to entertain and make people laugh. The moment you start saying what people can and can't make a joke of, is when serious problems start, and escalate.
Above and beyond anything else, ideas and beliefs proven to be true do not need defending. They are true whether you believe it or not, and whether you like it or not. Indeed, we don't call them ideas or beliefs anymore at that point; they are known as facts.
However, ideas proven to be ridiculous; which are still clung to regardless of evidence to the contrary; are laughable. Such things hardly need mocking? And are definitely not deserving of any respect. For instance, organisations such as The Flat Earth Society, claim exactly that; the earth is a flat plane, with an edge. We know this to be false. We also know that the previously held belief that the earth is the centre of the universe has also been proven false. Did you know however, that the Catholic Church only acknowledged this fact at the eve of the 21st century? It wasn't until 1999 that they actually conceded that Gallileo was correct; despite their persecution of him at the time he made his theories.
If we are to take the myths of Christianity at face value; the bible states that the earth (and by extension, the universe and existence itself) is between 6000 and 10,000 years old. This is nonsense- and not even close. The earth is around 4.6 Billion years old (4,600,000,000). Human beings as we know them haven't been around that long, comparatively- but we still beat Christianity's best guess by a long shot, at around 200,000 years. Indeed, by the time the bible-thumpers reckon the universe began, we had already managed to invent glue and domesticate dogs. If we are not to take it at face value, then how are we to understand the Old Testament? As metaphor? Allegory? Figuratively? Do we disregard the entire Old Testament or only certain parts? By what criteria do we decide? I think there would have to be a companion handbook. If someone has one- please lend it to me.
Beliefs such as this deserve to be placed on the same level as Scientology and The Flat Earth Society. If you believe something you cannot prove, because you haven't bothered to investigate the facts, then you are simply ignorant. Remember, "I can't think of anything to explain it, God must have done it" is not a superior answer to "I don't know". It's okay to admit you don't know; but go and find out. It's all out there- this is the Internet age after all. If you believe something you cannot prove in any way, despite there being evidence to the contrary, then quite frankly you are an idiot. If you are wilfully ignorant- then you are beyond help.
Unless you have genuine mental issues in regard to this- you deserve to be mocked. I can mock you, and I will. I will mock you in the same way I would mock a member of The Flat Earth Society, someone who believes in the supernatural powers of astrology, or someone who believes the moon is made of Camembert and inhabited by Clangers.
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