Ahh the Bible, that ultimate authority for so many Christians. The next time someone says they believe that the Bible is 100% God’s word, you can pull out these gems where the Bible says…
You should kill your child if he strikes you (Exod. 21:15)
And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death
If you work on the Sabbath, you should be put to death (Exod. 35:2)
Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death
If you curse, you should be stoned to death (Lev. 24:14)
Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
Happiness is smashing children upon the rocks (Psalms 137:9)
Happy shall he be,that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
Women should be subjugated by their husbands (1 Pet. 3:1)
Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
• Gays and lesbians convicted of having gay sex would be sentenced, at minimum, to life in prison
• People who test positive for HIV may be executed
• Homosexuals who have sex with a minor, or engage in homosexual sex more than once, may also receive the death penalty
• The bill forbids the “promotion of homosexuality,” which in effect bans organizations working in HIV and AIDS prevention
• Anyone who knows of homosexual activity taking place but does not report it would risk up to three years in prison
Wow. Yep, just kill them off those evil doers, that will stop it! But it doesn’t end there unfortunately.
It applies even to Ugandans participating in same-sex acts in countries where such behavior is legal.
“They are supposed to be brought back to Uganda and convicted here. The government is putting homosexuality on the level of treason,” Mugisha said.
Lawmakers have indicated that they will pass the bill before year’s end.
And how do those religious leaders react? You know, those people who are parts of religions that preach love and tolerance? Predictably.
It has the blessing of many religious leaders — Muslim and Christian — in a country where a July poll found 95 percent opposed to legalizing homosexuality.
The Rev. Esau Omara, a senior church leader, said over the weekend that any lawmaker opposing the bill will pay for it during the next election, according to local newspaper reports.
And a leading Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ramathan Shaban Mubajje, has called for gays to be rounded up and banished to an island until they die.
Put on by BBC World, the Question was “Is the Catholic church a force for good in the world?” The majority of the people at this debate decided that NO, it was not a force for good, and those people that were on the fence at the start (a poll was taken at the beginning and end of the debate) were swayed to the NO side.
Speaking for the motion, Archbishop John Onaiyekan and Ann Widdecombe MP. Speaking against the motion, Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry.
In a particular neighborhood, Israeli citizens, courts and cops decide that it’s okay to go into the homes of Palestinians and thrown all of their shit out onto the lawn, and then throw the home owners out and take the home by force. Apparently this is because God said that this land belongs to the Israelis. Nice system you have going there. This is why the separation of church and state is so important. We would all be better off if all politicans were agnostics.
An interesting idea has cropped up in California in response to the passing of Proposition 8, which banned Same-Sex Marriage in California by saying that marriage could only be between a male and female.
John Marcotte of Sacramento California has proposed an initiative that would protect “traditional” marriage by banning divorce.
John is hoping that the people that voted to protect traditional marriage by passing Prop 8 will continue to protect it by supporting his initiative to ban divorce, just the way Jesus would want it.
I am trying to extend the good work done with Proposition 8 last year. It could really happen. The United States has not always had divorce as an institution the way we do now. As a ballot initiative it bypasses the legislature and the governor. It’s the will of the people made law.
People who supported Prop 8 weren’t trying to take rights away from gays, they just wanted to protect traditional marriage. That’s why I’m confident that they will support this initiative, even though this time it will be their rights that are diminished. To not support it would be hypocritical.
The secular progressives, gays and MSNBC hosts — but we beat them once with Prop 8 and we’ll beat them again. If people are thinking about getting a divorce, just remember “Hell is eternal, just like your marriage was supposed to be.” Jesus still loves you if you get divorced, just not as much as before.
The surveillance video of an incident that took place a few weeks ago has just come out. 2 gay men were in Salt Lake City on an open-to-the-public plaza that is owned by the Church if Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The 2 men kissed and were then confronted by LDS Security guards. While this was on private property and the Church can set it’s own rules for that property, it goes to show the gay-hating attitude of the Church and some of it’s members. Would have these fellows been treated the same way if they were a male and female that had kissed and were asked to leave?
A new add from the folks over at the National Organization for Marriage shows confused kids that apparently weren’t taught by their parents about the different kids of folks in the world; you know, those people that happen to be attracted to the same-sex and want to consecrate their relationship in marriage like any other couple might.
Prepare to gag.
One of the kids say “God created Adam and Eve? That’s so old-fashioned.” Thank you little girl, for speaking the truth.
In North America, we have advanced from the days of demonizing gay people, to where they can live their lives how they choose without the threat of violence. Unfortunately there are still people out there that want to force gay people to adhere to their religious beliefs, we still have growing to do.
No one should be harmed, incarcerated, denied health care or necessary services, or otherwise deprived of liberty or basic needs because they have stupid ideas. No one should be presumed to have stupid ideas because of the colour of their skin.
The UN thinks differently. It believes the value of ideas shouldn’t be judged, that religion “makes a valuable contribution to modern society”, and that “defamation” of religion “could lead to social disharmony and violations of human rights” (unlike the practice of religion which hardly ever lops people’s heads off).
Defamation: “false or unjustified injury of the good reputation of another”.
Resolved 12/19/06, UN Resolution 62/154: Combating Defamations of Religions is the subject of much conversation in this, the week of its annual renewal. The focus of the resolution is the protection of religions, particularly and specifically Islam, from defamation, criticism or offence. You know, blasphemy.
In the same weeks that this resolution comes up for its annual renewal at the United Nations, its chief sponsor-government (Pakistan) makes an agreement with the local Taliban to close girls’ schools in the Swat Valley region (a mere 100 miles or so from the capital in Islamabad) and subject the inhabitants to Sharia law. This capitulation comes in direct response to a campaign of horrific violence and intimidation, including public beheadings. Yet the religion of those who carry out this campaign is not to be mentioned, lest it “associate” the faith with human rights violations or terrorism.
Why is the UN kowtowing to religious pressure? Perhaps they realize that the 80% or so of the world that claims to profess a belief in various unsubstatiated phenomena isn’t going to smarten up any time soon, and that we better tolerate each other’s fantasties or there will be blood. Fair enough; that 80% are by various degrees a fanatic bunch and we atheists don’t want any trouble.
10. Emphasizes that everyone has the right to hold opinions without
interference and the right to freedom of expression, and that the exercise of these
rights carries with it special duties and responsibilities and may therefore besubject
to limitations as are provided for by law and are necessary for respect of the rights
or reputations of others, protection of national security or of public order, public
health or morals and respect for religions and beliefs;
Freedom of expression is apparently a lesser human right than that of believing in primitive sky gods. The UN insists that the world “respect” belief in nonsense, to the point that your ability to question or criticize religion “may be subject to limitations”.
That’s terrifying. Contact the UN if you’re concerned about this precedent.
What is wrong with the Pope? Doesn’t he realize the influence he has over people?
In an idiotic statement made at the Vatican yesterday, el Inquistor Grande said that “saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behavior was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.”
Reverend Sharon Ferguson, chief executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, called the comments “totally irresponsible and unacceptable.”
“When you have religious leaders like that making that sort of statement, then followers feel they are justified in behaving in an aggressive and violent way because they feel that they are doing God’s work in ridding the world of these people,” she said.
No kidding. As we reported earlier this month, the Papacy refused to back a UN resolution to end the death penalty for homosexuality worldwide. Yes, Catholics are against killing people—you know, good ole’ Deuteronomy 5:17, the 6th commandment, for Pete’s sake, Thou shalt not kill—but it’s more important to prevent gay marriage. Pope Benedict picked “it’s still ok to kill gay people”.
Gay groups are pissed. And they should be. He basically equated being gay with being a scourge on the earth equal to deforestation.
Irresponsible hardly describes it. As if the church’s position isn’t going to be used to justify homophobia and discrimination. And why? Because the Bible predates science.
When Leviticus 20:13 was penned in the ancient desert, knowledge of human gestation was pretty spotty. Psalm 130 guesses that Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created, and that’s about all the Bible authors had on where babies came from. They certainly weren’t clear on the actions of androgen, the hormone that controls masculine characteristics in primates, too much of which science now implicates in the prenatal development of homosexuals.
Persecuting people for their very nature (sexuality, skin colour, you name it) is absurdly, hopelessly archaic. A world leader with influence over a billion people should be repudiated for canonizing hate and ignorance.
Jesus, Jesus mind you, said in Matthew 22:39 You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
And damnit, I know the editorial illustration for this post is childish, but I just wanted there to be something out there to find when people google “Benedict gay penises”.
There’s a reason religious folks try to keep their kids away from pop culture, whether it’s music, video games, the internet, movies, books or tv. Getting children to buy in to a religious worldview requires creating the illusion that a particular way of thinking is the right way. Repetition and authority help indoctrinate kids, and you don’t want anything that contradicts or interrupts your message getting through. The differing lifestyles and opinions presented by pop culture compete with the dogma you’re marketing.
Say you’re selling a Christian mythology and its proscribed moral code as the one true system. It doesn’t do you any good to have Harry Potter poking his wand in there and telling kids there’s magic and it’s fun. Neither do you want Hannah Montana jiggling her milkshakes and suggesting there’s sex and it’s fun. You certainly don’t need science being taught to your kids, with its sticky attachments to falsifiability, reasoning, and critical thinking.
Every piece of knowledge kids are exposed to is a little bit of evidence on the pile that says ‘Hey, my parent’s “truth” isn’t the only one out there’. The smarter kids will follow that up with ‘What does that mean?’
Everywhere in the nonbelieving universe, the religious worldview paint is cracking and peeling. Two to ponder:
1)New Scientist recently wrestled over whether 2009 - the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope, and the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth - should celebrate the original recanter or the original speciator? Who rocked the religious worldview the most? Galileo let us in on the fact that the earth isn’t the centre of, well, anything. Darwin shed light on the fact that we’re freakin’ animals, about which many of us conclude God’s image is a pretty confusing likeness in which to be made. Both of these contributions are wonderful examples of the fallout of science’s quest for truth melting the bomb shelters of religion.
2)Friendly Atheist hosted a passionate discussion about what to do if an in-law starts getting their Christianity all over your kids. A number of comments suggested exposing the kid in question to even more fables and mythologies from other religions, thereby showing this one worldview in the context of many other equally fantastic ones. It will occur that there is no more proof or reason to believe one idea over any other, and the effect of the attempted inculcation will be diminished, if not nullified.
In sociology, the accepted norms and ‘common sense’ that makes up your world is called the nomos.
In order to be at its most effective the nomos must be taken for granted. The structure of the world which has been created by human and social activity is treated, not as contingent, but as self-evident. ‘Whenever the socially established nomos attains the quality of being taken for granted, there occurs a merging of its meanings with what are considered to be the fundamental meanings inherent in the universe.’
You can only take your worldview for granted if you’re not exposed to anything else. That’s the methodology of religion: to keep you in the dark. You’re meant to think the Bible contains all you need to know.
Worldviews can be cracked. Knowledge is the little hammer that chips away at ignorance. Read, travel, and teach children how to reason. And if your worldview needs a little shaking up, blow your mind with this.
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