Something about purity culture that doesn’t get talked about much...

My family does this too. We’re Irish/Northern Irish (on both sides of the border) but C of I. We also have the politics of who gets the honour of the “lift”, so the coffin changes hands a few times.

Same, I’ve done this at all family funerals and the shaking hands at the graveside (except the one that took place in Belfast, for some reason only the men went to the graveside there). The tradition might well be observed by the royal family, but given the age of the princes and the ridiculous media coverage, an…

Ok, who forgot to close the gateway to the far realm?

Also, swans. Surprisingly vicious. Cambridge (UK) is terrorised by a dynasty of evil swans called Mr. Asbo, Asboy, and Asbaby. (ASBO meaning antisocial behaviour order). It is kind of funny when unwitting tourists approach them though.

That’a an interesting idea about AI. I can’t possibly comment because I know nothing about the subject.

Actually, thinking about it - I’m not sure Solomon is considered a paradigm of virtue? Like, just because he’s in the Bible, doesn’t mean everything he does is good or holy. He’s just a man at the end of the day.

In response to your first question, the Christians I grew up with would say no, because they were “married”. How they reconcile this with current church teachings against bigamy, I have no idea. Probably “different times” as you say. What the practical difference is between having concubines and a very male centric…

Thanks for your response, I’m sorry I offended you. I realise now that my definition of adultery comes from what I was taught in church - which is “any sexual activity with someone you’re not married to”. The most liberal interpretation was “sexual activity with someone other than your spouse, when you are married”,…

I’m an atheist who grew up in an evangelical environment, but theology is interesting to me. I’m intrigued as to how you square polyamory with “thou shall not commit adultery”? No judgement, just interested in your interpretation.

I’m not aware of an over/under 40 cut off, but I’m not a GP. In my training, if the patient has symptoms consistent with cancer, they should be investigated for it. It’s easier for us hospital based folks though because we have easier access to investigations.

“Another doctor said he didn’t want to book me for a colonoscopy because he didn’t want to embarrass me”

As a doctor I always have a knee jerk reaction to defend the doctor in stories like this, but then I remember the time a male surgeon tried to dismiss a woman’s abdominal pain as “women’s troubles”, only to be slapped down by his female boss: “Women know what that feels like, don’t fob them off”. It’s like when I…

Seemed like there were a lot of people commenting who had cheated themselves and wanted to defend their credentials.

Yeah, I misread it. Not quite as bad as I thought but still skin crawlingly creepy.

Despite being from the border, I’m not very knowledgable about ROI politics. I think it would be very interesting if they allowed a referendum on marriage equality in NI like they did in the South (in which my 80-something great aunt enthusiastically voted yes). I think it’d probably pass, but there would be a big…

Exactly. The power dynamic between him and the women he cheated with is a big part of what makes this behaviour really gross. The “Greek god” comment is very telling.

Coming from a country where walking down the wrong street in your school uniform could land you in hospital, all I take from this is that the students showed remarkable restraint in the face of blatant provocation. True threat is utterly alien to these girls.

I grew up in Northern Ireland, you can think of it as the UK’s Bible Belt.

Interestingly the DUP don’t currently have enough MLAs to use the petition of concern, and completely coincidentally, some UUP MLAs have had a recent change of heart on the marriage equality issue. There are currently equal numbers of Unionist (DUP, UUP and TUV) and Nationalist/Republican (Sinn Fein and SDLP) MLAs and…