OVO

Trevor Blake: What Can God Do with 32 Virgins? [LINK-ZUM]

In Numbers 31, we read that God directed Moses in war against the Midianites. God commanded that all the Midian men and boys were to be killed, as were the women and girls who were not virgins. The Midian cities were to be burned to the ground and certain offerings were made to God (more about those offerings later). Moses does all these things, and Numbers 31 includes a list of all the spoils of war he gained because he did as God commanded.

I will set aside for now the question of whether God or Moses ever existed, and the question of whether what they did was right or wrong, and the question what all this might mean for today's believer in God. I will instead try to answer the question of what Numbers 31:40 might mean. Check any edition of the Bible you prefer or which you feel is the most accurate. Numbers 31:40 states that God wanted thirty-two of the virgins reserved for Himself. What can God do with thirty-two virgins?

Does God want them offered up as human sacrifices (Genesis 38:24; Judges 11:29-39)?
Will God make them eat children (Deuteronomy 28:56-57; Lamentations 2:20-22, 4:10-11)?
Maybe God wants them to be raped in public (2 Samuel 12:11-12).
God might want to just lock them in a room for the rest of their lives (2 Samuel 20:3).
Feed them to dogs? Throw them off walls? Trample them with horses? Sometimes God does that to women (1 Kings 21:23, 25; 2 Kings 9:33-37).
Sometimes God makes women go bald, get stinking scabs on their heads and forcibly disrobes them (Isaiah 3:16-17, 32:6).
Here's an idea. Maybe God wants to parade the women naked in front of their family then kill them. Or cut off their nose and ears, make them pull off their own breasts, be raped and mutilated, then stoned to death. He's God, God can do that (Ezekiel 23:1-49).
God could have them sold into sex slavery (Hosea 4:13).
If God had a mind too, God could make these women barren, or get them pregnant then force a miscarriage, or kill their babies in the womb (Luke 1:31, Hosea 9:14).
God kills women by dashing them against children, if He wants (Hosea 10:14).
God might want to throw "abominable filth" at these women (Nahum 3:4-6).
God has these women where God wants them, but God might just abandon them (Mark 10:29-30; Luke 5:11, 18:29-30).

Please, check the Bible for yourself to see if what I have written here is true to what God does to women. So I will ask again - what can God do with thirty-two virgins? The Bible offers at least twelve possible answers. But maybe a better question to ask is this: why do people consider the Bible to be a worthy source for morality? If you have reason in your head and compassion in your heart, you have to admit the Bible is full of mean-spirited nonsense. Don't sacrifice yourself or your morals to an invisible monster that lives in the sky. You're worth much more than that.

Labels: christianity, sex

Trevor Blake: NOW and Sharia [LINK-ZUM]

In my post titled Where Are You NOW? I asked why the National Organization of Women has so far made no comment about a women sentenced to 200 lashes for the crime (under Muslim law) of being outdoors without a male relative as a chaperon. This after she was gang raped. My post has since been quoted in Technoccult.

Does NOW refrain from commenting when women are sentenced to lashings? If so, this is a change from 2001 when they spoke out against it. Does NOW refrain from commenting about Muslim law (also known as sharia law)? If so, this is a change from 2002 when they spoke out against it. In the past NOW has spoken out against lashings and against Muslim law. Is the difference cause by the passage of time, or the fact that NOW is willing to criticise some Muslim nations (Nigeria) and not others (Saudi Arabia), or is it for some other reason?

The Bush administration funded the Taliban to the tune of US$43 million (just a few months before 9/11 - read about that spinning to the left or to the right). The Bush administration has ignored years of evidence that the government and wealthy of Saudi Arabia are largely responsible for 9/11 and other acts of jihad. But the Bush administration did say something about this women's sentence. They said they the sentence was "discouraging and outrageous." Even that weak response is more than NOW has offered us.

Labels: fascism, islam, sex, theocracy

Trevor Blake: Mamie Manneh [LINK-ZUM]

August 20, New York Sun: "The woman, who says she imported the monkey parts for religious ceremonies, has attracted pro bono legal assistance from a top law firm, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. And a professor of African religious traditions at Harvard Divinity School, Jacob Olupona, may testify on her behalf. At a hearing earlier this month, Chief Judge Raymond Dearie of U.S. District Court in Brooklyn ruled that Mamie Manneh, 39, of Staten Island, has legal standing to argue that her religious beliefs should exempt her from criminal prosecution for smuggling the contraband bushmeat."

November 14, New York Times: "A lawyer for a Staten Island woman charged with importing meat without proper licenses and mislabeling a shipment argued in Federal District Court yesterday that the charges should be dismissed because they impinge on the importer's right to freedom of religion."

November 17, New York Times: "No law specifically bans their importation, but Mamie Manneh, 39, of Staten Island, an immigrant from Liberia, is accused of falsely labeling her delivery and failing to obtain proper permits, charges that could bring a maximum prison sentence of five years. Her lawyer has made a motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing that bushmeat has spiritual significance and Ms. Manneh's actions were protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act."

November 24, Associated Press: "From her baptism in Liberia to Christmas years later in her adopted New York City, Mamie Manneh never lost the longing to celebrate religious rituals by eating monkey meat. Now, the tribal customs of Manneh and other West African immigrants have become the focus of an unusual criminal case charging her with meat smuggling, and touching on issues of religious freedom, infectious diseases and wildlife preservation. The case 'appears to be the first of its kind relating to that uniquely African product,' defense attorney Jan Rostal wrote in a pending motion to dismiss. 'Unfortunately, it represents the sort of clash of cultural and religious values inherent in the melting pot that is America.' [...] A criminal complaint cited evidence that the illegal importation of bushmeat encourages the slaughter of protected wild animals. More ominously, the complaint warned of 'the potential health risks to humans linking bushmeat to diseases like Lassa fever, Ebola, HIV, SARS and monkeypox.' Defense attorney Rostal has countered by accusing the government of picking on a poorly educated immigrant. Her client's only offense, she said, was her inability to grasp Western attitudes and highly technical regulations regarding bushmeat."

[Articles continue at links. Mamie Manneh is an attempted murderer who illegally imported the remains of endangered species into the USA for the purpose of eating them. Handling and consuming this animal can lead to some of the most nightmarish diseases known to humanity. Only spongiform encephalopathy and religion can soften the mind enough to cause a person to hold Mamie's 'culture' or 'sincere beliefs' worthy of consideration in this regard. It's easy to look around and see that no one around you is eating monkey and that almost anyone you ask would be horrified at the idea. It's easy to not lie to customs. It's easy to not run over people in cars. It's easy to not have nine kids that you can't take care of because you're in prison for trying to kill a woman. I wish it was easy for judges to laugh and scowl and toss her superstitions out of the courtroom. But that would mean tossing out superstitions that are in better favor with the majority, such as Christianity and Judaism and Islam. How much better it would be if the Constitution of the United States were in effect, and there was no establishment of religion in America. - Trevor Blake.]

Labels: christianity, islam, judaism, magick, theocracy

Trevor Blake: The Get Out of Your Mind Free Card [LINK-ZUM]

When is a movie theater not a movie theater? When is a flea market not a flea market? When does Confederate slave-ownership law show up in contemporary United States law? When does a group get special protection against discrimination - that special protection being the right to discriminate? The answer is when superstition gets enfranchised into law. Rather than following the Constitution of the United States (or, perhaps, common sense), United States lawmakers sometimes make laws that establish a State religion. This superstition is honored, that superstition is not. It is better, far better, far easier, far more fair, that government keep out of the superstition business.

Labels: christianity, commerce, theocracy

Trevor Blake: Where Are You NOW? [LINK-ZUM]

Backstory: A woman in Saudi Arabia has been sentences to 200 lashes for being outside her house without the supervision of a male relative. This after she was gang raped.

27 May 2007:
Christina Hoff Sommers (quoted by OVO October 2007): "If you go to the websites of major women's groups, such as the National Organization for Women, the Ms. Foundation for Women, and the National Council for Research on Women, or to women's centers at our major colleges and universities, you'll find them caught up with entirely other issues, seldom mentioning women in Islam. [...] The condition of Muslim women may be the most pressing women's issue of our age, but for many contemporary American feminists it is not a high priority. Why not?"

October 2007:
OVO: "What -ism is it in the West that is addressing atrocities like this? At present, it isn't feminism. Feminism in the West currently devotes a great deal of effort critiquing body image in the mass media. This is a topic well worth addressing, but it is utterly insignificant in the face of what is happening to women (and men, particularly homosexual men) in Muslim nations. The -ism in the West that is addressing atrocities like this is atheism."

17 November 2007:
Advice Goddess: "Meanwhile, the National Organization For Women has been bizzy, bizzy, bizzy protesting a bunch of rather benign ads they find 'offensive to women,' yet not a peep out of the ladies about Saudi Arabia's punishment for this Saudi rape victim (apparently increased because she complained about how little punishment her attackers got)."

19 November 2007:
Glenn Beck: "Before the break I promised you that I`d read the full statement of outrage from the National Organization of Women and organizations like that, about the case in Saudi Arabia where a rape victim was sentenced to 200 lashes and thrown in jail for being raped. So here they are. [... silence... ]"

20 November 2007:
This is Mission Critical: "Now, before I rage about how terrible this makes the country of Saudi Arabia look, please permit me one brief diversion. Reading the article, I went to the website of the National Organization of Women, expecting to find them up in arms over this absolutely ludicrous treatment of a fellow woman. Alas, not a single mention. Read that again as well. The leading feminist organization in the biggest democracy in the world cannot be bothered to care about a woman who is being punished for (1) being out on her own, and then (2) punished again for speaking out against gang rape. What else is so important to NOW that they don't have the time to once mention this unnamed Saudi woman? Let's look. At 8:34 P.M. on 20 November 2007, the leading news article on NOW is about holiday shopping."

21 November 2007:
Bloodthirsty Liberal: "Now I'm curious, what has NOW (National Organization of Women) said about this case? See for yourself. Hint: you have to go way past 'Easy Holiday Shopping That Supports Women's Rights' and 'No Reward for Imus'... and you still won't find it."

Labels: islam, sex, theocracy

Trevor Blake: CAIR [LINK-ZUM]

More than once I've asked rhetorically for examples of Muslims speaking out against terrorism, against honor killings, against FGM, against the suppression of women, etc. I am pleased to say that I have found examples of just that. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has called for an end to rights violations against women and volunteered support for House Resolution 32.

Note that CAIR is not without its critics. Perhaps some of that criticism is justified. But I will extend a hand in friendship to any effort to secularize Islam. CAIR may or may not consider themselves part of the secularization of Islam, but they are. Islam is clearly a monotheistic superstition that has no ability to accept other faiths except as tax-paying slaves. Where Islam accept worship of other invisible monsters that live in the sky other than their own, Islam grows more secular. Islam is clearly a woman-hating superstition. Where Islam treats women as individuals to be judged on their own merits, Islam grows more secular. Islam is clearly a superstition spread by the sword. Where Islam offers debate and accepts both triumphs and failures, Islam grows more secular. There is much to loathe in Islam. But I will gladly recommend the perpetuation of what might be good, or at least neutral, in Islam.

Labels: islam

Trevor Blake: Ulam's Spiral [LINK-ZUM]

Wikipedia: "Stanislaw Marcin Ulam (April 13, 1909 - May 13, 1984) was a Polish mathematician who participated in the Manhattan Project and proposed the Teller-Ulam design of thermonuclear weapons. He also invented nuclear pulse propulsion and developed a number of mathematical tools in number theory, set theory, ergodic theory, and algebraic topology."

For our purposes, we will concentrate on a single day of Ulam's life in 1963. To distract himself from a tedious meeting, Ulam began writing numbers on a piece of paper. He started with 1, then wrote 2 to the right of 1, then 3 above 2, then 4 to the left of 3 and above 1, then 5 to the left of one, then 6 below 5 and to the left of 1, and so on in a counter-clockwise spiral. He then idly circled the prime numbers. Ulam knew that primes are natural numbers which have exactly two distinct natural number divisors (1 and itself), and that an equation that explains the distribution of primes has evaded mathematicians for thousands of years. To his surprise, Ulam saw that the circled prime numbers formed diagonal lines. Where no pattern had been seen before, Ulam saw a pattern. This pattern of primes became known as The Ulam Spiral, or the Ulam Rose.

17 16 15 14 13 18 05 04 03 12 19 06 01 02 11 20 07 08 09 10 21 22 23 24 25

Ulam Spirals appear with as few as three coils of the Spiral and the apparent pattern holds even when the Spiral has hundreds of coils. But there is no 'proof' for Ulam Spirals. They may or may not be scientific. This story brings two thoughts to mind. The first thought is that it was an act of idleness, not labor, that brought this curiosity forth. I place this discovery in the realm of dreams and not wakefulness. The second thought is a renewed sense of wonder for a topic that is presented as the very model of what is without wonder: mathematics. Mathematics is far, far from resolved. The distribution of prime numbers is one example of a discovery yet to be made in mathematics. The Four-Color Theorem is another.

I will likely never be as skilled as mathematics as Ulam was. I'm too old. But I can avoid work as he did, and I have open challenges before me. Chasing these mathematical non-physical mysteries seems so much more appealing than chasing any phantom of superstition. Atheists are said to be without wonder, and mathematicians doubly so. There's a lovely spiral in front of me now that says otherwise.

Labels: atheist, math

Eileen Flynn: Church rejects interfaith service on its property [LINK-ZUM]

Austin [Texas, USA] Area Interreligious Ministries, the city's largest interfaith organization, announced Thursday that its annual Thanksgiving celebration Sunday had to be moved because Hyde Park Baptist Church objected to non-Christians worshipping on its property. The group learned Wednesday that the rental space at the church-owned Quarries property in North Austin was no longer available because Hyde Park leaders had discovered that non-Christians, Muslims in particular, would be practicing their faith there. The event, now in its 23rd year, invites Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Bahais and others to worship together. [...]

Several Muslim groups were acting as this year's hosts for the event. Kent Jennings, associate pastor of administration at Hyde Park, released a statement Thursday that said church leaders received a postcard about the service Monday and only then realized that it "was not a Christian oriented event." The postcard also "promised space for Muslim Maghrib prayer and revealed that the event was co-hosted by the Central Texas Muslimaat, the Forum of Muslims for Unity, and the Institute of Interfaith Dialog," according to Hyde Park's statement. "Although individuals from all faiths are welcome to worship with us at Hyde Park Baptist Church, the church cannot provide space for the practice of these non-Christian religions on church property," the statement said. "Hyde Park Baptist Church hopes that the AAIM and the community of faith will understand and be tolerant of our church's beliefs that have resulted in this decision."

[Article continues at link. Hyde Park Baptist Church has a particularly religious application of the concept 'tolerance.' In religion, 'tolerance' means 'do what I say without asking questions.' It does not mean accepting that other viewpoints exist in their own right, that they do not exist merely a criticism of one's own viewpoints. Hyde Park Baptist Church seems to be claiming that other religions are welcome to an interfaith dialog as long as only one faith is allowed a speaking role in the dialog. This use of the concept of tolerance is found predominantly in religious groups. It betrays the Enlightenment and all of Western civilization, which was built on the claim that while one holds fast to what is right, one listens to other viewpoints which may reveal where one is wrong or holds incomplete information. My hope would be that religious groups willing to meet will learn from each other and grow ever more secular, while religious groups unwilling to meet will become more isolated and grow ever more irrelevant. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, hindu, islam, judaism, religion

Trevor Blake: Ten Thousand [LINK-ZUM]

Ten thousand people marched through Oaxaca City to protest the APPO. Ten thousand people celebrated those who have left the Communist Party in Taiwan. Ten thousand people spelled out words with their bodies to support Falun Gong. Ten thousand people met to appreciate wind power.

Many of these links have pictures, to help you get a better idea of what ten thousand people look like. Now take that mental image and replace all those people with dead bodies. Ten thousand people have been killed by Muslims in the past six years. These men, women and children were not killed in self-defence, nor were they killed in the heat of the moment, nor were they killed for money, nor were they killed in war. Ten thousand people have been killed by Muslims in the past six years as human sacrifices, as part of the religion of Islam, as Muslims submitting to the invisible monster that lives in the sky.

Well over ten thousand Muslims rioted in the streets when a newspaper published drawings of Muhammad. When will we see ten thousand Muslims stand up and say that the killings done in their name have no place in the Twenty-First Century? There are glimmers of hope that Islam can become secular, as have Christianity and Judaism. See Irshad Manji and The Institution for the Secularization of Islamic Society. Learn more about Islam than most Muslims know, by reading the Quran and keeping up on what the religion of peace is doing in the real world.

Labels: fight, islam, theocracy

Trevor Blake in Willamette Week, 14 November 2007 [LINK-ZUM]

Thank you for Adrian Chen's article "Shifting Fortunes." I am glad that Portland has no laws against fortune telling. Fortune telling and psychic powers may or may not exist, and they may or may not be accurate, but even if they don't exist or consistently fail it does no good to outlaw what is wrong. People must be free to try new things, including things that might fail at their cost.

The psychics in your paper might be happy to learn that an easy one million dollars is theirs for the taking if they can demonstrate their powers to the James Randi Educational Foundation (www.randi.org). There are any number of charitable organizations who are in need of this money should the psychics in question not be in it for the money.

- Trevor Blake

Labels: magick, periodical, portland, trevorblake

Associated Press: court hands jail term, doubles lashes for woman victim of gang rape [LINK-ZUM]

A Saudi court sentenced a 19-year-old woman victim of gang rape to six months in jail and 200 lashes - more than double than in her initial sentence for being in the car of a man who was not her relative, a newspaper reported Thursday. [...] According to Arab News, the court informed the rape victim that her sentence was made harsher because of "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media." Three judges from the Qatif court had initially sentenced the woman to 90 lashes, convicting her of violating Saudi's rigid laws on segregation of the sexes. [...] Women are not allowed in public in the company of men other than their male relatives. Also, women in Saudi Arabia are often sentenced to flogging for adultery and other crimes. [...] The court also banned the woman's lawyer from defending her, confiscated his license to practice law and summoned him to a disciplinary hearing later this month.

[Article continues at link. What -ism is it in the West that is addressing atrocities like this? At present, it isn't feminism. Feminism in the West currently devotes a great deal of effort critiquing body image in the mass media. This is a topic well worth addressing, but it is utterly insignificant in the face of what is happening to women (and men, particularly homosexual men) in Muslim nations. The -ism in the West that is addressing atrocities like this is atheism. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: atheist, islam, sex, theocracy

Trevor Blake: The War on (T)Error [LINK-ZUM]

Two members of the religion of peace who bombed London on July 7, 2005 were able to do so only because the US government let them walk.

Seattle Times: "The Justice Department blocked efforts by its prosecutors in Seattle in 2002 to bring criminal charges against Haroon Aswat, according to federal law-enforcement officials who were involved in the case. British authorities suspect Aswat of taking part in the July 7 London bombings, which killed 56 and prompted an intense worldwide manhunt for him."

Liberation, via Informed Comment: "Out of 'the 13 presumed terrorists identified by the British only 8 were arrested and 5 escaped. The arrests were part of an operation which recovered 600kg of explosives,' said the senior French police officer, who yesterday revealed to Liberation the fact that amongst the five who escaped from the operation was Mohammed Kahn, one of the alleged suicide bombers who struck on the London Underground. This Briton of Pakistani descent has been on the list of Scotland Yard's "targets" for the last 15 months, only with a different age and a different first name - Kayoun instead of Sidique, but "it's the same man" who gave the police the slip."

Labels: islam

Bill Estep: Snakebite victim's family sues [LINK-ZUM]

As a woman bitten by a rattlesnake during a church service in London struggled to breathe, hospital employees made derogatory comments about her religious beliefs rather than providing proper care, contributing to her death, a lawsuit charges. The case arises from the Nov. 5, 2006, death of Linda F. Long, 48, a London [Kentucky] homemaker. Police said at the time that Long was handling a yellow timber rattler during a service at East London Holiness Church when the snake bit her on the right cheek. People bitten by poisonous snakes during religious services sometimes refuse medical treatment. But others at that service quickly took Long to Marymount Medical Center in London. [...]

Long's heart stopped on the way. She was pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m. at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. The defendants named in the lawsuit are the hospital; Faith Howard, the registered nurse who allegedly met Long outside the emergency room; and Dr. Edward Wilson, who was on duty in the emergency room. Long's husband, Gary Wayne Long, and daughter Angela Shackleford, who was appointed to administer her estate, are the plaintiffs. The suit says Howard's failure to quickly and properly treat Long contributed to her death, and that Wilson's failure to give proper treatment contributed to the severity of her condition and "resulted in her ultimate demise." The hospital failed to adhere to proper standards of care, the lawsuit says. The complaint also says the unprofessional comments about Long's religious beliefs were discriminatory and caused her and her family emotional pain and humiliation.

[Article continues at link. All sympathy to the family and friends of Linda Long. Linda Long appears to have followed Mark 16:17-18, which states: "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Unfortunately she was hurt by the snake she picked up, and no laying on of hands made her get well. Her death is one the outcomes of belief in invisible monsters that live in the sky. Those around her did well to suspend pretend-time and take her to a secular medical hospital. It is sad that some of them are now attacking those who might have helped her instead of the men and women who actually killed her - those who encouraged her to place faith in a two-thousand-year-old book of mean spirited and boring fairy tales above simple common sense. Nothing will ever bring Linda Long back from the dead, but if her death convinces even one person to not do as she did then her death will not be in vain. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, magick

Trevor Blake: Sen. Charles Grassley [LINK-ZUM]

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has asked six non-profit agencies to account for their earnings. These six agencies are led by Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn. Sen. Grassley has no legal means to compel these six to account for their earnings. That is because these agencies serve an invisible monster that lives in the sky.

Secular non-profit agencies are accountable for how much money they take in and what they used that money for. By providing social services in the private sector they lessen the burden of the government to provide those services. By reducing the burden of the government to provide those services they reduce the amount of tax the government can justify taking in. By reducing the amount of tax the government can justify taking in the secular non-profit agencies are awarded with tax exempt status. Secular non-profit agencies are accountable for how much money they take in (to determine how much tax they can be exempt from) and what they used that money for (to demonstrate they relieved the burden of the state).

Superstitious non-profit agencies are also tax exempt, but they are not accountable for how much money they take in nor are they accountable for what they spend the money on. Some superstitious non-profit agencies must surely do good work with every penny they can find. But others surely do not.

The ideal and simple solution would be to get the government out of the superstition business (as suggested by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America). Hold superstitious non-profit agencies accountable to the same standards as secular non-profit agencies. Require superstitious non-profit agencies to account for how much money they take in and what they spend it on. Where they do good work, let them be rewarded. Leave magic spells offered to an invisible monster that lives in the sky up to individuals and families.

I welcome Sen. Grassley's inquiry. He and those like him might benefit from my January 2006 essay The Case Against Tax Exemption for Religious Organizations in Oregon in OVO 16 Anti-Christ. "At every turn in its thought, society will find us - waiting."

Labels: christianity, ovo, theocracy

Ashbel Green: State justices hear arguments about custody, circumcision [LINK-ZUM]

A man who converted to Judaism told the Oregon Supreme Court on Tuesday that he has the right as the custodial parent to circumcise his 12-year-old son against the wishes of his Russian Orthodox ex-wife. "It's the classic kind of decision a custodial parent would make," said James Boldt, an attorney and former southern Oregon man who argued his own case. But a lawyer for Lia Boldt argued that she should get a court hearing to try and prove that circumcising a 12-year-old boy poses serious health risks. Their son is afraid to tell his father he doesn't want to go through with it, the mother's attorney said. [...]

Daniel Isaac, a Portland rabbi who supports James Boldt's desire to raise his son in his faith, attended Tuesday arguments out of concern that the justices might place some limits on circumcision that would interfere with an ancient religious tradition. Isaac said he was relieved that the issue of religion didn't get much attention in the hearing. "That didn't seem to be the interest of the justices," he said.

[Article continues at link. Why might Rabbi Isaac be relieved that the issue of religion didn't get much attention in the hearing? I suggest it is because everyone, including Rabbi Isaac, know that the involuntary unnecessary genital mutilation of children to appease an invisible monster that lives in the sky is insane and immoral. Religion, and religion alone, is what makes the insane and immoral into a practice that is honored by otherwise good people. If James Boldt had part of his boy's penis non-surgically removed for any reason other than religion he would be sent to prison immediately. Rabbi Isaac was relieved because he didn't want to have to explain why circumcision is okay in the service of G_d but not okay in the service of, say, Zeus or Mr. Ed or leprechauns or Gardulla the Hutt or other imaginary creatures. Why is religion forgiven for what in every other circumstance is obviously child abuse? I can no more honor the sacred, ancient Jewish tradition of circumcision than I can the sacred, ancient Jewish tradition of slavery. The courts should forbid this circumcision and let the boy decide for himself what he wants to do when he is a grown man. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: judaism, theocracy

Trevor Blake: What Prevents Sexual Predation? [LINK-ZUM]

What is it that prevents sexual predation? Some people say Christianity prevents rape and sexual molestation of children. But that's not the case regarding Marshal Seymoure or Larry Joe Crocker or Chris Austin or Henry Edgington or Gilbert Gauthe or James Brzyski or Eleuterio Ramos or any number of other Christian clergymen. Some of these men acted alone, some acted with diplomatic immunity under the supervision of a foreign government. But Christianity prevented none of these men from being sexual predators. Prisons in the United States are full of Christian men (and almost entirely lacking in atheist men). It could be that these men acted on the urge to be sexual predators because their religion condones and celebrates sexual predation. Christianity does not seem to prevent sexual predation.

What does seem to prevent sexual predation is access to the Internet and the pornography it provides. This according to Professor Todd Kendall in his report Pornography, Rape and the Internet. From the report: "The arrival of the internet caused a large decline in both the pecuniary and non-pecuniary costs of accessing pornography. Using state-level panel data from 1998-2003, I find that the arrival of the internet was associated with a reduction in rape incidence. However, growth in internet usage had no apparent effect on other crimes. Moreover, when I disaggregate the rape data by offender age, I find that the effect of the internet on rape is concentrated among those for whom the internet-induced fall in the non-pecuniary price of pornography was the largest - men ages 15-19, who typically live with their parents."

Professor Kendall's report may not say much that is flattering of men. But if there are two claimed ways to reduce sexual predation, one that seems to work and one that seems to not work, we can at least do some good with that real world information.

Labels: christianity

Qaiser Felix: An 18-year-old Christian woman raped and forced to convert to Islam [LINK-ZUM]

A young Christian woman from Faisalabad is abducted by a Muslim man after visiting an aunt. She was held for ten days and forcibly converted to Islam. Despite a complaint from the victim's father, the police have not yet taken any steps fearing the religious repercussions they may have. [...] "The girl's father went to the police to file a complaint on the evening of Razia's return, but they were reluctant to register the case fearing that it might get out of proportion because of its religious element."

[Article continues at link. Here is the theocracy that some want so badly to bring to the United States. This is what happens when religion controls the state. In Islam it is permissible to rape a slave [1] [2]. In comparison Christianity claims it is permissible to rape a slave only if in certain circumstances. These include having purchased her from her father [1], or if done in public [2], or if she's your sister [3], or if she deserved it [4], or, well, she's a slave so just go for it [5]. As Islam spreads in Europe, so do 'honor killings.'

I support the right to be wrong, because it is through learning that we have made a mistake that knowledge and ethics progress. The right to be wrong must include superstitions such as Islam and Christianity. These superstitions have changed over time by the mysterious process of 'revelation' - revelations that chase after the advances of secular morals and which invalidate the 'divine command' they claim to be a part of. Nonetheless, the fact that these superstitions change demonstrates that they too make mistakes and learn from them. Secular morals begin with the recognition we are alive, that there is no 'afterlife,' and life is to be valued. Where superstition opposes the secular right to be alive, superstition must be defeated and never enfranchised into law. It doesn't matter whether socially-condoned rape originates in superstition or is merely approved by superstition. If it is to be lessened or ended, superstitions that facilitate it must be attacked. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, islam, theocracy

Tom Breen: Pagan Holidays Added to Excused Absences [LINK-ZUM]

When George Fain visits a grave to mark a pagan holiday, she won't have to worry about the work she's missing in her classes at Marshall University. That's because her absence Thursday on the Samhain holiday has been approved by the Huntington school, which for the first time is recognizing pagan students' desire to be excused from class for religious holidays and festivals. [...] "I think we may have opened a door," she said. "Now that we know we can be protected, that the government will stand behind us and we feel safe, it's going to be more prevalent."

[Article continues at link. A door has indeed been opened. There's no way to shut that door if Fain later switches to another superstition, such as Christianity. Fain gets Samhain off as a pagan and would have every right to expect Christmas off as a Christian. Or Ramadan off as a Muslim, or Passover off as a Jew. Huntington school must soon initiate a policy of not allowing people to change superstitions if it wants to keep students in class at all. Between all the superstitions I'm sure that most if not every day is some sort of Holy Day. That door just opens more and more wide once it gets started. Except there doesn't seem to be a provision for atheists. Could I get a day off from Huntington school because I sincerely don't believe in God? That door doesn't open much, if at all. A more reasonable policy might be for schools and employers to offer a set number of 'no questions asked' days off. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: atheist, christianity, education, islam, magick