File-Sharers Denied Official Religion Status

[CommanderFrank]

File this under the category of Nice Try. A group of internet pirates formed The Missionary Church of Kopimism and filed for a religious exemption in Sweden in an attempt to avoid prosecution from piracy laws. This is the second attempt this year, so far with no success. Pray a little harder guys

“One thing is certain though. We will continue meeting, believing in copying, deepen our faith and church, and fight politically for a world where copying is not only accepted but encouraged”.

 

[odysseus145]

As ridiculous as it sounds, I don't see how Sweden can deny them if they meet all the requirements, and it appears as though they do. Religious exemption is a dumb concept anyway. Scientology got religious exemption, and they've hurt more people than fire sharing ever will.

 

[BGK]

As ridiculous as it sounds, I don't see how Sweden can deny them if they meet all the requirements, and it appears as though they do. Religious exemption is a dumb concept anyway. Scientology got religious exemption, and they've hurt more people than fire sharing ever will.

So have most other religions and even nonreligious idiotic beliefs promoted by government.

 

[satsunada]

So have most other religions and nationalism.

Fixed it for you.

 

[Phoenix333]

Forming a so-called "religion" just to circumvent laws that apply to everyone else? What an insult.

 

[fattypants]

Forming a so-called "religion" just to circumvent laws that apply to everyone else? What an insult.

To be fair, it's not any different than any other religion. Just because they are older doesn't mean make them better. Many state-recognized religions were formed primarily to have a holy excuse to subjugate nations.

 

[Trackr]

Forming a so-called "religion" just to circumvent laws that apply to everyone else? What an insult.

And Christianity is any different? They take it billions of dollars every year, they pay no taxes, they have, even in this day and age, an unwavering effect on politics, society and inter-personal relations.

These guys just want to share something that can be reproduced for free an indefinite amount of times.

 

[Project_Nightmare]

Hope this religion spreads to the USA

 

[HOCP4ME]

No, you can't use "it's my religion" as an excuse to break whatever laws you want.

 

[450]

No, you can't use "it's my religion" as an excuse to break whatever laws you want.

So I can't make a super speeders religion?

 

[txaggies07]

So I can't make a super speeders religion?

Bloody shame

 

[Phoenix333]

And Christianity is any different?

Have you read the gospels? Christianity is not about copying software.

They take it billions of dollars every year, they pay no taxes, they have, even in this day and age, an unwavering effect on politics, society and inter-personal relations.

Individual citizens (speaking in the USA) that are Christians DO pay taxes, they have the same rights as non-religious citizens, and they have the same ability to influence politics and society as everyone else. It's written into the First Amendment of the US Constitution that Congress will not establish a religion nor prevent the free exercise of religious belief. That means every citizen, regardless of what they believe, is granted equal protection under the law. That is NOT carte blanche for breaking the law, which is all these pirates are wanting.

As for not paying taxes, churches are tax exempt because they are wholly funded by charitable donations, and are only tax exempt if they do not endorse political candidates or political parties. They ARE allowed to talk about how candidates vote and perform in relation to their religious convictions since that is relevant to the moral fiber of the church and its members. In addition, there are plenty of other tax exempt organizations that are non-religious in nature. If you're going to criticize churches for being tax exempt then please be fair about it.

These guys just want to share something that can be reproduced for free an indefinite amount of times.

Just like people pushing for legalization of marijuana just want to smoke their weed. You think I don't understand this? I know what they want, it's their methods that I take issue with. If they want piracy to be legal then they need to work to change the law instead of trying to weasel out of obeying what every other citizen in their nation has to.

 

[Phoenix333]

No, you can't use "it's my religion" as an excuse to break whatever laws you want.

^ This.

 

[entropy13]

Have you read the gospels? Christianity is not about copying software.

Jesus "multiplied" fish and bread during the Sermon at the Mount. By the reasoning of the copywrong sector, Jesus have just "hurt" the fishing and baking industries of the region.

 

[fattypants]

Just like people pushing for legalization of marijuana just want to smoke their weed. You think I don't understand this? I know what they want, it's their methods that I take issue with. If they want piracy to be legal then they need to work to change the law instead of trying to weasel out of obeying what every other citizen in their nation has to.

You say that as if people haven't been bugging congress to legalize marijuana for over half a century, or trying to overhaul copyright law for two decades. You can't blame them for their peaceful, tongue-in-cheek creativity when legislators won't listen to reason.

 

[entropy13]

LOL actually, to add to that, there are probably fishermen and bakers during that sermon when he multiplied the fish and bread, so Jesus just "pirated" their own livelihood, by reasoning of the copywrong sector.

 

[Redhunt]

if every single game is free, and every single album is free, i can imagine a micro-transaction and ad-spammed hell.

if you such a miser, then only get stuff that's "intentioned" to be free.

 

[Weenis]

Jesus "multiplied" fish and bread during the Sermon at the Mount. By the reasoning of the copywrong sector, Jesus have just "hurt" the fishing and baking industries of the region.

Watch out man, using logic like that against religions and RIAA/MPAA is going to get you silently taken care of lmao

 

[TheCommander]

What did they expect? They formed a religion to break laws.

 

[dagas]

Jesus "multiplied" fish and bread during the Sermon at the Mount. By the reasoning of the copywrong sector, Jesus have just "hurt" the fishing and baking industries of the region.

That was a good one!

If Jesus came back today he would be seen as a commie, hippie, file sharer and put in prison. The establishment does not believe the poor deserve fish no entertainment less they can afford it.

 

[Lorien]

No, you can't use "it's my religion" as an excuse to break whatever laws you want.

Tell that to the victims of the Crusades, of the Inquisition, and of the rape and pillage of Africa and the Americas.

Besides, there is no god.

 

[[RIP]Zeus]

^ This +2000

There are no god(s).

 

[Gorankar]

Jesus "multiplied" fish and bread during the Sermon at the Mount. By the reasoning of the copywrong sector, Jesus have just "hurt" the fishing and baking industries of the region.

Watch out man, using logic like that against religions and RIAA/MPAA is going to get you silently taken care of lmao

On the off chance that the fish story was more than just BS along the same lines as the "chopping down the cherry tree" campaign BS:

Yeah, because fish are copyrighted. And because feeding hungry people is some how on par with not wanting to pay for that Xbox game you just pirated. Good luck with that reasoning.

Tell that to the victims of the Crusades, of the Inquisition, and of the rape and pillage of Africa and the Americas.

Besides, there is no god.

Funny how seem to zero in on Christianity's crimes from antiquity while ignoring the current and ongoing crimes and atrocities being committed as I type by other religions.

And you are wrong, there is a god. $$$$$$$$$$$$$....

 

[nalc]

Yeah, because fish are copyrighted. And because feeding hungry people is some how on par with not wanting to pay for that Xbox game you just pirated. Good luck with that reasoning.

the two acts certainly are on par. People will literally starve to death if they don't see a bootleg cam recording of the latest Harry Potter movie. We aren't just talking about some bullshit fish and bread appetizers that you get for free at Applebee's any more, free access to copyrighted works are a basic human need.

Pirate if you want (who on hardforum hasn't?) But don't take this saintly "I pirate because I want to stand up to the corporations, man" attitude. You probably read Playboy for the articles, too.

 

[Aix.]

Funny how seem to zero in on Christianity's crimes from antiquity while ignoring the current and ongoing crimes and atrocities being committed as I type by other religions.

Why is it funny?

Historical references are especially valid when discussing religion. Unless you'd prefer to avoid the phrase "forced religious indoctrination", that is.

 

[dandirk]

Funny how seem to zero in on Christianity's crimes from antiquity while ignoring the current and ongoing crimes and atrocities being committed as I type by other religions.

Yes religious beliefs cause all sorts of violence against fellow man... That is sort of the point, for pretty much all through history people have been fighting over land/religion. Religion granted was used more as a marketing tool, and land/resources was the goal.

Though the difference I might add is that the Christian Crusades were almost wholely organized by the chruch as a unified cause. Where as you can say some of the current terrorist etc are smaller sub-sect of crazies inside of larger religions (if all muslims went on jihad we would be in trouble).

Though I suppose you can say the same thing about the crusades, except virtually every able man in Christian Europe went to war for 3+ generations.

 

[Ualdayan]

Yeah, because fish are copyrighted.

Nobody really believes this is a valid religion, it's a technicality to bypass copyright law. With that said though - animals can in fact be copyrighted. See here for copyrighted chickens for example. If we had a way for the average person to easily and cheaply reproduce something, exactly, in a physical form (like a fish) you can bet our copyright laws would be changed to explicitly include such copyrights immediately. You can see this already starting to happen with DMCA takedown notices for Makerbot items that too closely resemble the physical form of other things.

 

[Derfman]

Nobody really believes this is a valid religion,

What? There is a such thing as a valid religion?

 

[Trackr]

Have you read the gospels? Christianity is not about copying software.


Individual citizens (speaking in the USA) that are Christians DO pay taxes, they have the same rights as non-religious citizens, and they have the same ability to influence politics and society as everyone else. It's written into the First Amendment of the US Constitution that Congress will not establish a religion nor prevent the free exercise of religious belief. That means every citizen, regardless of what they believe, is granted equal protection under the law. That is NOT carte blanche for breaking the law, which is all these pirates are wanting.

As for not paying taxes, churches are tax exempt because they are wholly funded by charitable donations, and are only tax exempt if they do not endorse political candidates or political parties. They ARE allowed to talk about how candidates vote and perform in relation to their religious convictions since that is relevant to the moral fiber of the church and its members. In addition, there are plenty of other tax exempt organizations that are non-religious in nature. If you're going to criticize churches for being tax exempt then please be fair about it.


Just like people pushing for legalization of marijuana just want to smoke their weed. You think I don't understand this? I know what they want, it's their methods that I take issue with. If they want piracy to be legal then they need to work to change the law instead of trying to weasel out of obeying what every other citizen in their nation has to.

I agree with everything you said except for the first part.

I don't care what the so-called gospels say. They are not superior in validity.

As for this, yes, it's a weasel tactic, but can you blame them? There is NO way they're going to be changing any laws. They're common educated people.. not greedy corporations with deep pockets and charismatic lobbyists.

 

[LightningCrash]

Why is it funny?

It shouldn't be funny. It does serve a useful purpose, however, in exposing the cognitive bias of the person stating it.

 

[Trackr]

What? There is a such thing as a valid religion?

Technically, no. Religion is the promotion of belief without proof - an opiate to the masses worse than Heroin.

But as such, you could claim that all religions are equally valid.

Unfortunately, unless religion is supported by the government or ruling class, it's still subject to laws.

The only way this will work is if they start their own country.

The Principality of Sealand sort of thing would work.

 

[entropy13]

Yeah, because fish are copyrighted.

Your point here is irrelevant. So unless you have forgotten, piracy have "hurt" countless artists; likewise, the multiplication of the fish and bread have deprived the fishermen and bakers of their source of income. Actually they may be "starving" (since they were there in some mountain for a long time, not that they never had anything to eat), but those who attended were by no means exclusively the poor.

Therefore,
multiplication of files (file-sharing) = deprives artists
multiplication of fish and bread ("food-sharing") = deprives fishermen and bakers

In other words, we're not even going into the "copywrong" segment, just into the "piracy hurts artists/actors/actresses" portion.

 

[LordCalin]

*** Anyone who is a believer in god skip this post, I don't wanna step on toes ***

Piracy has injured thousands of artists and businesses by taking away funds
Christianity has injured & killed millions over the years, both in the past and present.

Piracy is about getting something for nothing
Churches get money from parishioners for nothing. Probably the most profitable business in the world.

Some pirates will abuse the religion and give music/movies to non-followers
Some priests abuse the religion and the people who follow them, I'm not going to mention in what way.

Gee... I wonder which sounds worse to me.

 

[Decibel]

@LordCalin - I don't think your disclaimer is going to help much. People that get butthurt about religion are still going to get butthurt when you say anything that can possibly be construed as attacking their beliefs. Still, kinda right there with ya.

Religion produces nothing, religion profits no one, except the priestly and ruling classes. We would all be healthier if we stopped basing our actions on the oral history and mythology of a bunch of desert nomads. They were probably high on qat anyway. Burning bush? That's nothing, ever try salvia?

@dandirk: Wouldn't having all the Muslims jihadists make it easier to target the enemy?

Of course this brings up a deeper thought of mine. It is not Muslims that are the enemy, it is fundamentalists. Fundamentalism, in anything (Christianity, Nationalism, etc) is evil. Anytime you believe something so strongly that you are willing to kill for it, you're wrong.

And... there is my hypocrisy, after all, is it not just to use violence for the immediate prevention of violence?

* * *

This all got way too deep. What I really meant to come in here and post was, "LOL, silly pirates."

 

[michael.pa2]

Hell,if Scientology can qualify as a religion,anything can!

 

[Kaitian]

Tell that to the victims of the Crusades, of the Inquisition, and of the rape and pillage of Africa and the Americas.

Besides, there is no god.

I can understand Africa but America? Most of the Native Americans were wiped out due to a pandemic (90% of the population is due to death by diseases thanks to isolation from the rest of the world), not extermination. Cortes did go around killing alot of people in Mesoamerica but diseases far outpaced his spree.

 

[Krazypoloc]

Jesus "multiplied" fish and bread during the Sermon at the Mount. By the reasoning of the copywrong sector, Jesus have just "hurt" the fishing and baking industries of the region.

HAHAHAHA....best Piracy argument EVER! Excellent man!

 

[TwistedAegis]

Don't forget turning water to wine. Not only did he not have a liquor license, just think of all the poor vintner he deprived of business. No more beer runs when the J-man is in the hizzouse!

 

[Krazypoloc]

Don't forget turning water to wine. Not only did he not have a liquor license, just think of all the poor vintner he deprived of business. No more beer runs when the J-man is in the hizzouse!

That must have been some vintage stuff too if Jesus made it...circa 0 AD.

 

[jctusmc03]

^ This +2000

There are no god(s).

At least no proof besides hearsay and some old ass books some dudes that were probably high or crazy wrote.

What? There is a such thing as a valid religion?

I agree with this fully.

*** Anyone who is a believer in god skip this post, I don't wanna step on toes ***

Piracy has injured thousands of artists and businesses by taking away funds
Christianity has injured & killed millions over the years, both in the past and present.

Piracy is about getting something for nothing
Churches get money from parishioners for nothing. Probably the most profitable business in the world.

Some pirates will abuse the religion and give music/movies to non-followers
Some priests abuse the religion and the people who follow them, I'm not going to mention in what way.

Gee... I wonder which sounds worse to me.

This is a good comparison, I agree with it on all counts.

@LordCalin - I don't think your disclaimer is going to help much. People that get butthurt about religion are still going to get butthurt when you say anything that can possibly be construed as attacking their beliefs. Still, kinda right there with ya.

Religion produces nothing, religion profits no one, except the priestly and ruling classes. We would all be healthier if we stopped basing our actions on the oral history and mythology of a bunch of desert nomads. They were probably high on qat anyway. Burning bush? That's nothing, ever try salvia?

@dandirk: Wouldn't having all the Muslims jihadists make it easier to target the enemy?

Of course this brings up a deeper thought of mine. It is not Muslims that are the enemy, it is fundamentalists. Fundamentalism, in anything (Christianity, Nationalism, etc) is evil. Anytime you believe something so strongly that you are willing to kill for it, you're wrong.

And... there is my hypocrisy, after all, is it not just to use violence for the immediate prevention of violence?

* * *

This all got way too deep. What I really meant to come in here and post was, "LOL, silly pirates."

Religions, while they do good with some of the money they get, also hoard a lot of it. You can do a quick google search and see that the churches in the world are some of the richest organizations out there as well. However, Christians cannot see this truth and just get pissed about it when you bring it up.

I have conversations with Christians sometimes and it's inevitable that religion talk comes up, they ask me if I'm christian and I say no. They question me about it, and I question them about their belief's as well. The other day in fact I was having a conversation with my aunt and uncle and this exact topic came up and they asked me why I'm Agnostic. I explained to them that "I cannot believe in something that is unseen, unheard, and unfelt. Old story book's and hearsay don't cut it for me, until something happens to me directly I cannot believe it. However, I also cannot discount that something could exist.". My aunt said "The proof is all around you, trees, birds, dogs, cats, etc.". I said to her, "No that is proof of billions of years of evolution and genes mutating, and random chemicals and nutrients combining and genes mutating to me." My uncle then said to me "You cannot see him until you let him in, and believe in his word." I just said "Well, I've tried that and really tried to believe in him, and I have in fact read the bible cover to cover more than once. However, the way my mind works is based on proof, scientific or otherwise. A book and hearsay doesn't work for me." Then we just moved on to other subjects, haha.