So I feel like having some fun this Sunday

[Sam]

Sounds quite risky to me ...

I don't mean to be the wet blanket here, but meeting people at a church doesn't always mean meeting logical people, some may be easily offended / angered by questions about their faith ... In their eyes it's still an untouchable truth.

Also I know that in many places "Blasphemy" is still prescribed as "Insighting Hatred" might be a bit of a legal grey area ... wouldn't want you to get fined / warned after all.

Maybe it would be a good idea to write to them and arrange something more formal and mutually beneficial ... you may loose shock value but gain insight and rational discussion.

Regards

Sam

[Eilonnwy]

He has every right to ask people what they believe on public property and the person has every right to decline to answer. That's why I suggested waiting outside. Definitely if goes into the church he probably be asked to leave and could run into potential legal problems. Hell he'll probably be asked to leave anyway out front if he asks really hard questions, but as long as he is on public property he's not actually breaking a law. At least that's how it would be in the US.

[Darwinian]

I should just throw caution to the wind and do it!!

As long as you say you are doing a piece about religious belief and can I ask you a few questions then that should be fine.

You certainly shouldn't worry about upsetting anyone simply because the subject is religion. They wouldn't worry about Atheism would they?

As long as you are polite and mature about the whole thing then what's the problem?

[Sam]

Of course I mean politeness etc ... and the fact that you are on public property makes the scenario different, all I meant is that it may not be entirley easy ...

I know where I work there is a large proportion of the followers of Islam, I often intercede with my views in a polite and calm manner but once or twice I have been warned under company policy that "Blasphemy" is not tolerated, although when I asked if the insult to my belief was taken into account they declined to answer ...

We may not treat religion with the old levels of reverance and i applaud that and activley take part but on occasion restraint is called for in order to stand on the rational / logical and fair side of the argument.

Regards

Sam

[Demonaura]

Like stated, I'll be speaking with the pastor first, he'd be the one that gets to make the call anyways. I'd even say speaking to him in person is a better option than a letter, then he will know by my disposition as well as words that I am not trying to walk in and say "You're all morons for beleiving in god".

And like Sam was saying, on public property it's both mine and their choice to speak, if they have a problem with my questions they are free to ignore me or tell me they want no part in it. I won't make any effort to keep someone who wants nothing to do with me.

[bozo]

I don't recognise " blasphemy ". It is a totally undemocratic concept and should be challenged as such at every opportunity.

[Sam]

I don't recognise " blasphemy ". It is a totally undemocratic concept and should be challenged as such at every opportunity.

I completley agree, Whenever this is pointed out I try to retort it in kind but it often falls on deaf ears ... But still it needs to be pointed out.

On a sidenote I was once a little tired and angry when someone mentioned this idea of blasphemy with regards something I was saying ... I don't think snapping back "At least it's a victimless crime" was the best way to go.

Regards

Sam

[Demonaura]

For those who are interested the status report could be better.

So far the only church that answered my phone call was a lutherin church, and they wanted no part of a film. I am waiting for a reply from community churches and am going to visit the local catholic church in person in a few minutes (with or without my late partner in crime) in person because they have no website/phone number that I can find.

The idea behind the project has evolved a bit as well; my goal is that people who watch the video will be encouraged to think for themselves, whatever their faith or situation.

So while there are delays and you won't see this on a Youtube playlist for a little while I am still working on it little bits at a time. I'm just being careful because I've never done something like this before. Perhaps when I'm done the film will look as good as I picture it in my mind and I might even get some people thinking.

But the first step is to find some pastors that will talk to me I think, make appointments. Then I'd like to see how many people I can get to talk to me on public property (I'm actually gonna talk to my local police to make sure I'm up to date on our cities laws for that lol).

EDIT: I love public properly.

[CoxRox]

Good luck, and I look forward to the outcome.