oldie but goodie

The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura which was also posted on the Internet:-

Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I need some advice from you, however, regarding other specific laws and how to follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev.15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself ?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight.
I admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there room for compromise?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread, like a cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16) or couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging, from your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

are we really turning into a crusading army?

Scary:

Religious Freedom in Military Questioned
by Huffington Post

TOPEKA, Kan. — A foundation that has sued the military alleging widespread violations of religious freedom said Tuesday that it has evidence showing that soldiers are pressured to adopt fundamentalist Christian beliefs.

The photos and videos of religious materials and activities are part of a lawsuit filed by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Army Spc. Jeremy Hall, an atheist, against Maj. Freddy J. Welborn and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The material was gathered from Fort Riley in Kansas, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Fort Jackson, S.C.

Examples at Fort Riley, where Hall is stationed, included a display outside his military police battalion's office with a quote from conservative writer Ann Coulter saying, "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

Another photo from Fort Riley shows the book "A Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" for sale at the post exchange.

"These astonishing and saddening evidence which our foundation is making public today only further buttress our lawsuit," said Mike Weinstein, an attorney in Albuquerque, N.M., and president of the foundation, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1977.

Fort Riley spokesman Maj. Nathan Bond said the matter was being referred to post commanders for investigation. He said it is the Army's policy to accommodate all religious beliefs to the extent that they don't conflict with military missions.

"We do take this seriously," he said. If they are true, he added, they "do not seem in line with the Army values of respect."

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., in September alleges that Welborn threatened to file military charges against Hall and to block his re-enlistment for trying to hold a meeting of atheists and non-Christians in Iraq.

Hall is with the 97th Military Police Battalion out of Fort Riley. He was serving his second tour in Iraq and has since returned to the U.S.

Weinstein said materials for a Bible studies course from Military Ministry, part of Campus Crusade for Christ International, teach soldiers that the U.S. military and government are instruments to spread the word of God. The material was found at Fort Jackson, S.C., he said.

A spokeswoman for Campus Crusade for Christ said ministry officials hadn't had a chance to review the evidence and declined to comment.

The lawsuit also alleges that Gates permits a military culture in which officers are encouraged to pressure soldiers to adopt and espouse fundamentalist Christian beliefs, and allows a culture that sanctions activities by Christian organizations.

It also says the military permits proselytizing by soldiers, tolerates anti-Semitism and the placing of religious symbols on military equipment, and allows the use of military e-mail accounts to send religious rhetoric.

The Pentagon has said that the military values and respects religious freedoms but that accommodating religious practices should not interfere with unit cohesion, readiness, standards or discipline.

Weinstein has previously sued the Air Force for acts he said illegally imposed Christianity on its students at the academy. A federal judge threw out that lawsuit in 2006.

On the Net:

Military Religious Freedom Foundation: http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org

full of pictures today

so much for the separation of church and state

I almost missed this one, heh. Sponsored by a Republican from Iowa, naturally. Time to call your fucking Representative and tell them what you really think about such blatant unconstitutional garbage. This is truly and utterly fucked up:

H. Res. 847: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.

Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world;

Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population;

Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population;

Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible;

Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;

Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity;

Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ;

Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace; and

Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

beautiful

Go Connecticut!

Today

The Golden Compass opens today. You may wonder why I am squawking about this movie so much. Well, for starters, it is one of my favourite fantasies (of the epic sort) ever. Much better than the thin, silly Christian propaganda of C.S. Lewis and, let's admit it, derivative and just-as-religious and authoritarian dream of J.R.R. Tolkien (although Tolkien holds a special dear place in my heart for his linguistic prowess and consequent palpably real sense of place and time). But Pullman is smarter, more interesting and certainly more original and iconoclastic than either of them. And I would rather have my child be exposed to fantasy fiction via Pullman than Lewis, or even "The Hobbit". There; I've said it. The above sentence is precisely the reason why all the totalitarian-in-disguise religionists are foaming at the mouth in their trembling lust to denounce this movie. Yeah, check out some of these (and that's just this morning's crop of articles; some more balanced than others, and some quotes more idiotic than others, but that's the way the world is, after all):

PREACHING ATHEISM. I love the quote from Father Michael Okere, whoever he is: ""The motive of this movie, it has been noted, is to sway innocent children to derail from their faith.". Probalby not quite true (the original message of the book has, reputedly, been diluted to the point of inoffensiveness), but of course even if it were so, I'd say more power to them! That kind of innocence needs to be derailed. Is it OK to brainwash children? It is, however, OK to teach them how to think for themselves, which is what Pullman's books, and, hopefully, the movie, are doing. And one of the final quotes in this article is telling: ""Christians need to be careful about what they let their families see." Isn't that lovely? I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

The Golden Compass raises Some Eyebrows.

Is 'Compass' fantasy adventure or atheism for kids? (I like that title; I hope it's both! ;))

Parents decry reading of controversial book to Shallowater third-graders. Some real side-splitting idiocy there; but this piece of news is from Texas, after all, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised...;)

Compass points: Catholic and atheist (That's BBC for you, huh!)

'Compass' author's atheism stirs debate on film's message Some interesting stuff here; apparently many people miss the point of the books, which is a bad thing, I suppose. Or is it? There are some great quotes from Pullman himself towards the end of the article.

Oh, fuck it: too much shite to wade through, and I must go to work now. Too bad. I think I'll go see it tonight, after work; i am also organizing a group outing Sunday or Monday for several shots of whiskey, a matinee and a chance to laugh at christian protesters, should there be any.

Golden Compass

...had its world premiere (a press showing) last night in the UK (I wish I were in London right now; I'd have finagled my way in somehow). The reviews are good, and I am going to watch it tonight, and tomorrow. will report when I am done.

Naturally, it's all done with torrents; I will still go to the theater on the 5th when it opens here and, of course, am likely to get the DVD when it comes out. But I cannot fucking wait!!! Since Pullman's trilogy is one of my favourite all-tome fantasies and certainly the best one in the recent years I must see it NOW...;)

Of course, the Catholic Defense League and other comparable wankers are pissing in the wind with their complaints (oh my golly! these scary free-thinkers are again going to oppress 85% of god-fearing Americans! Oh woe!). Fuck them. The message of the book has already been slightly diluted by the script, and it shouldn't really offend anyone but a few rabid morons. Also, what this world needs right now (as always, but now more than at some other points in history) is a good dose of public atheism and provocative free-thought. We have been taking things like freedom a bit too much for granted, especially here in these United States.

Go Golden Compass!!!

My vote for the atheist of the week

...goes to Kelly O'Connor (of RRS), of course.;)

for this piece thoroughly thrashing Dinesh D'Souza (the one of the brick-filled head, possible possessor of the shallowest mind on the planet).

Go, go, go, kick some theist shite, Kelly!

Dates and places

I am now a proud member of the Atheist Blogroll (see to the right and below). Shall we overcome? I should hope so...

And, just ion case you were not aware, this year marks the 50 anniversary of the International Geophysical Year as well as of Space Age. We get to party all year long, celebrating that damn tiny Sputnik 1, and then, on Oct 4th, we're going to have fireworks!

we aren't angry enough

A fascinating dialogue between Sam Harris and Dennis Prager starts here. Of course, I root for Harris, and, unsurprisingly, Prager, while making some interesting (but completely predictable) points, comes off looking much worse for the wear. Certainly a win for atheism. I am not really sure what the purpose of discussing such subjects is; after all, a true believer would remain unconvinced by anything we could tell them.

A few years back several friends and I were in Santa Cruz, helping keep Operation Rescue people from the Planned Parenthood clinic. It was a rather mellow day, and we had an opportunity to talk to the opposing side quite a bit. I remember arguing against theistic conception of a deity and for individual freedom of conscience with some middle-aged, suitably intelligent-looking protester on the other side. I made what I thought to be a beautiful, logical, watertight case. He listened, seemingly with some appreciation and comprehension. I almost considered giving him a beer. When I was finished, he dispelled my confused hopes with a simple statement:

"Yeah," he said, "You make a great logical argument here. But, you know, LOGIC IS THE TOOL OF SATAN!!!"

Of course, rather than giving him a bottle of Sierra Nevada I instantly reached the conclusion that the only thing to be done in response to such a blatantly idiotic statement would be to bash him over the head with it, and it took all of my considerable reserves of willpower not to do so. I am sure he would have enjoyed his martyrdom, anyway, and I would not give a brainless dickhead of such kind the pleasure.

Back then, we thought that the religious right would be a minor, passing thing; we hadn't connected it with, narrowly, Republican party, and, wider, with some deep and troubling changes in our society. Of course we are angry. We are shat upon, denied our rights by sitting presidents of this country, vilified as not even Muslims are in this country (actually, to quote one fundie dimwit, "new research demonstrates that Atheists are just a sect of Moslems"). I have friends that have lost their jobs when they came out of the atheistic "closet". Born-again fuckwads are openly calling for our death (only one example of a widespread phenomenon). Not even I, with my admittedly drastic ideas and solutions want to destroy all of them. See: tolerance and kindness will always lose to bigotry and self-righteousness. I am not that kind, but I make a great effort to be tolerant, and so do all of my atheist friends (some of whom are much kinder than me). Maybe we shouldn't.

Fuck it. At least I can listen to Purcell and Dowland. The bloody fundies probably have no idea who they were.;)

GraveJorg, the milk of human kindness, over and out.