Rowenberries

There is a bumper crop of rowenberries in my area of South Dublin this year. I was puzzled why birds don't eat them so did a bit of poking around.
It appears the uncooked berries are slightly poisonous and a small nibble proves they taste awful (perhaps the reason the birds avoid them). The sharpness is not too bad, but it is the bitter aftertaste and high pip density that spoils this tempting looking fruit. Certainly rowan berries have found little use in the kitchen, rowan jelly being its main defence against foraging oblivion.

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Dark ages ?

Those who take pride in Western civilisation, or even those like myself who don't necessarily, but who simply acknowledge its various achievements alongside its various shortcomings, recognize a series of factors that led to those achievements. Some of those factors, such as colonialism, are horrific. Some, like the growth of secular thought, are more admirable. 

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civilization, or even those like myself who don't necessarily, but who simply acknowledge its various achievements alongside its various shortcomings, recognize a series of factors that led to those achievements.  Some of those factors, such as colonialism, are horrific.  Some, like the growth of secular thought, are more admirable.   - See more at: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2013/09/the-new-dark-ages-part-i-from-religion-to-ethnic-nationalism-and-back-again.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+3quarksdaily+%283quarksdaily%29#sthash.VLttoVVx.dpuf

Was Jesus God?

One of the more remarkable discussions on religion I have seen in recent times was broadcast on TV 3 on Sunday night last - September 1st. See it here
In this, one of the better of a disappointing series of programmes presented as a discussion in studio between Vincent Browne and a panel and dealing with a number of religious topics the question of whether Jesus was God was asked. On the panel were Fr. Peter McVerry, a jesuit well known for his work with disadvantaged youth in Dublin, Seán Freyne, retired Trinity Professor of Theology - now deceased and Michael Nugent, Atheist Ireland.. Vincent opened the discussion by posing the question that if Jesus was God and thus all knowing why did he never claim to be God. A trite answer delivered by Freyne was that Jesus was a jew which is a monotheistic religion and thus could not declare himself to be God without incurring the wrath of the Temple authorities. As the discussion progressed it emerged as desribed by both McVerry and Freyne that the idea that Jesus was (is?) God developed over time within the Christian community. Thus it seems that the divinity of Jesus is no more than a human construct and has no basis in scripture or anything that Jesus himself said.
This is certainly a million miles from the religious instruction I and my contemporaries had in our youth. Judge for yourself if the arguments are convincing