An Irish atheist group has published a series of quotations on religion in an attempt to challenge a blasphemy law that went into effect on New Year’s Day.
The 25 “blasphemous” quotations include the words of Jesus, Mohammed, Mark Twain, Salman Rushdie and Bjork.
A person breaks the law by saying or publishing anything “grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion.”
Those found guilty of breaking the blasphemy law may try to defend themselves by proving that a reasonable person would find literary, artistic, political, scientific or academic value in what they said or published, the law says.
• 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.
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.
Baptized Sikhs will be allowed to carry their ceremonial daggers, called kirpans, into venues at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the RCMP announced Thursday.
A kirpan is one of five symbols of faith that must be worn by baptized Sikhs according to their religion.
While religious freedom itself is a good thing, pandering or allowing special priveledges for one particalr sect is not. One of the comments on the linked to CBC story had this to say;
what is the difference between this and me stating my religion requires me to carry a gun at all times?
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.
Blasphemy is an act of challenging or offending a religious belief.
Liberty takes a step back for the folks in Ireland. Not only does this threaten atheists, agnostics and the non-religious, but also anyone who values freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of/from religion, and the separation of church and state.
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.
Historically, the percentage of Americans who said they had no religious affiliation (pollsters refer to this group as the “nones”) has been very small — hovering between 5 percent and 10 percent. However, Putnam says the percentage of “nones” has now skyrocketed to between 30 percent and 40 percent among younger Americans.
While this doesn’t necessarily mean that are becoming agnostic or atheist, it does reflect the trend in the last 20 years to the politicizing of religion, and the rejection of that movement by young people.
The less people blindly adhering to dogma the better.
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