I already knew that religious people are avers to reason, philosophical focus and good intellectual taste. But Madonna Ciccone really takes the biscuit.
First, she uses the Malawi courts of law and presumably a lot of money, to make a Malawi father childless by – legally – taking his daughter out of the country. And then, as if things are not bad enough, she has the impertinence to take this child to a religious meeting right after a 10 hours plane flight! Apparently, Madonna was in a rush to have her new prize initiated in this horrible, delusional and very dangerous excuse for knowledge called Kabbalah. If I hadn’t already decided to not like Madonna because she comes across as a high-strung control freak, and because she is too skinny for a healthy woman, AND because her music sucks big time, then now the time has come for me to totally write her off.
Not that she cares of course. She embraced the Kabbalah. She also originates from a Catholic nest. The combination of these two implies her indifference to what others might think of her, including her poor Italian father. (I am a specialist when it comes to poor Italian fathers…) I don’t expect her to think twice about ridiculing herself, especially in the eyes of someone who has grown out of the imaginary friend phase (…god…) a long time ago. She’ll despise me and my kind anyway.
Kabbalah is the Jewish – thus religious – precursor of Scientology. Scientology avant-la-lettre, as it were. Very far avant, because Kabbalah is very old. And “very old”, when used in combination with “Knowledge”, is usually synonymous to “very bad and crappy, and why did we not get rid of this shit a long time ago“-knowledge. Both Kabbalah and Scientology are dangerous and based on imaginary “truths”. Another thing they have in common is the mystical hierarchy that can be scaled by anyone who is willing to put in the ritual effort (or in Scientology’s terms, the money). They both prey on the endless gullibility of innocent people, who know no better than to follow any guru with a believable story.
I understand that the Malawi girl who was adopted by Ciccone is only 4 years old. And already she was forced into a Kabbalah class by her new “mother”. Is there some institution around which can give this dreadful woman an effective knuckle rap for this gross child abuse?
I agree with Richard Dawkins. He makes the case for the protection of children against the religion of their parents very convincingly. That is: convincing to the mainstream middle of the road audience, who needs this more than a rabid sceptic like myself. Dawkins states that children should choose their own religion, if they HAVE to, at an age where they can gauge the ramifications of such a choice for themselves. This point would be when they reach 18 or so…?…which is the age of adulthood in my country. If we embed Dawkins’ highly appropriate idea into the existing regulations, then as of ones 18th birthday, one can start drinking alcohol, one can buy and smoke grass and one can legally have sex. And in addition to all these wonderful pastimes, one can become god-fearing if one REALLY wants. Somehow these attainments seem to fit very well together…
“Oh my sweet Jesus, I have knocked the girl up! But I was drunk! And we smoked a joint before we did the wild thing! …which was hard enough, unlike my unwilling potency. Please God, help me out of this mess…..!”
In times of misfortune, one turns to magic, superstition and faith. What could Ciccone’s misfortune be? It will for ever remain a mystery. But whatever it is; in her case, I’d start eating…
