OVO

Trevor Blake: Christianity in the News [LINK-ZUM]

To celebrate my one-thousandth post about Christianity, a round-up of Christianity in the news.

Killer dad said he had to 'get the demons' out 27-year-old grocery store worker who police say punched and kicked his 2-year-old son to death on a country road calmly told motorists who stopped at the scene that he had to "get the demons" out of the boy.

Boy 'skinned and eaten' by his cannibal cult family Boy 'skinned and eaten' by his cannibal cult family after being held captive in a cellar.

Autopsy: Easy treatment for teen who died in failed 'faith healing' A 16-year-old member of a faith healing church died of uremic heart failure caused by a stricture in his urinary tract.

Dozens blinded in India looking for Virgin Mary At least 50 people have lost their sight after staring at the sun hoping to see an image of the Virgin Mary.

"This is why I carry, even in church." Man kills two, injures 7 others, in church shooting. Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church had "just put out a sign this week which says it welcomes gays."

Man Watching Steeple Ceremony Killed When Crane Collapses One of dozens of churchgoers watching a steeple being mounted on top of a newly constructed building in southwest Oklahoma City was killed when a crane collapsed on top of his vehicle.

Cult Leader Says Lying Naked With Girls Is Religious Healing Practice In Ranton, New Mexico last Friday, Wayne Bent was indicted for inappropriately touching three minor girls while "lying naked" with them.

Catholic school principal caught in public gay threesome The principal of a New York Catholic school was arrested Sunday after being caught naked with two other men on a vacant property.

Registrar Who Won't Serve Gays Because of Religious Beliefs has Illegitimate Child Ladele is a single mother to a child born out of wedlock. So Ladele is so Christian that she can't possibly marry same-sex couples, but not so religious as to remain chaste until married.

Sex abuse scandal flares as pope prepares for celebrations Broken Rites, a support group for victims of church-related sexual abuse, says that 107 Catholic priests and religious brothers have been sentenced in Australian courts on sex charges.

Escaping the Amish The biggest negatives? -The rape, incest and other sexual abuse that run rampant in the community.

Pastor convicted in Ponzi scheme Robert Jennings, 58, of Perris, and Henry Jones, 53, formerly of Marina del Rey, were convicted on mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud charges

All of these articles were gathered by one person in his spare time over a short period of time using only English-language news sources. It is not unreasonable to suggest that there are many more articles to be found. Why does God sometimes allow / cause the death of those who worship Him? Why worship God if the reward is blindness or death? Is God good? What sort of moral authority do Christians have when they selectively ignore the dictates they would put on others? The abusive clergy listed here are mostly Protestant and appear to have acted in isolation. It is the Roman Catholic Church that has systematically protected abusive clergy from legal action under the guise of diplomatic immunity for decades. My means to lessen the number of those abused is to tear away the veil the abusers most successfully hide behind - religion. My means to lessen the number of those who make self-destructive choices based on fearful superstitions is to reason against and ridicule the root superstition - religion.

Labels: christianity, religion

Trevor Blake on Books: The Boy-Man by Tim Jeal [LINK-ZUM]

A biography of Lord Baden-Powell (22 February 1857 - 8 January 1941) and a history of his greatest achievement, the Boy Scouts.

In most of the world you can be a girl Boy Scout (see FAQ at Scouting for All). You can be in prison for robbery, rape, or murder and still be a Boy Scout. But heaven help you if you try to be an atheist Boy Scout. The Boy Scouts of America aren't vague about this ban either - they expressly state that no atheist can be a Boy Scout. The Boy Scouts is a private organization, and I think it is reasonable to allow them to exclude whoever they want. I think it is a private affair that the Boy Scouts - the British original - allows atheists to join while the Boy Scouts of America does not. But in doing so, the BSA should not have access to tax-funded schools or tax-funded public lands, as our taxes are not supposed to support private organizations that discriminate.

But is the Boy Scouts of America is a private organization or is it a recruiting arm of the Mormons? Nearly 10% of the members of the Boy Scouts Advisory Council live in Salt Lake City; Mormons are less than 2% of the U.S. population but make up 21% of the Boy Scouts. The Salt Lake Tribune reports: "If the Boy Scouts of America is forced to accept gays as scoutmasters, the LDS Church will withdraw from the organization and take more than 400,000 Scouts with it." As late as 1974, Mormon BSA troops reserved leadership positions for white men only.

All of this nonsense is at a distance from what Lord Baden-Powell set out to do with his Boy Scouts. Read The Boy-Man and find out for yourself.

Labels: atheist, books, mormon, religion, sex, theocracy

Science Daily: Fortified Cassava Could Provide A Day's Nutrition In A Single Meal [LINK-ZUM]

Scientists have determined how to fortify the cassava plant, a staple root crop in many developing countries, with enough vitamins, minerals and protein to provide the poor and malnourished with a day's worth of nutrition in a single meal. The researchers have further engineered the cassava plant so it can resist the crop's most damaging viral threats and are refining methods to reduce cyanogens, substances that yield poisonous cyanide if they are not properly removed from the food before consumption. The reduction of cyanogens also can shorten the time it takes to process the plant into food, which typically requires three to six days to complete. Studies also are under way to extend the plant's shelf life so it can be stored or shipped.

[Article continues at link. When was the last time religion did something comparable? Who are held up as heroes of humanity, scientists or clergy? Here is science offering an actual solution to an actual problem. Religion offers imaginary solutions (salvation) to imaginary problems (sin). All praise to the scientists - practical moralists and hands-on philosophers - who are achieving this real-life miracle. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: religion, science

Trevor Blake: Marriage [LINK-ZUM]

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: " The LDS Church has joined with several California religious groups to file a friend-of-the-court brief in defense of Proposition 22, a law passed in 1999 that defined marriage as between a man and a woman."

The Church of Jesus Christ, Later-Day Saints (The Mormons) has tried for decades to play down the most obviously strange or cruel or foolish aspects of their superstition and build up a new reputation of being just like any other cult in town. The above is another example of this public image campaign. While the Mormons will forever be associated with polygamy, they are now also advocating traditional limit-one-per-customer marriage.

I do not think the increased number of men and women who want same-sex marriages has ever or will ever constitute a threat to marriage. What has caused harm to this institution (disclosure: I have presided over several marriages and will do so again next month) are easy access to divorce, easy access to safe and effective birth control and less social opprobrium for having children out of wedlock. Easier access to divorce and birth control were good changes, and if the institution of marriage suffered for them then individual human beings prospered for them. Having children out of wedlock seems to generally co-occur with poverty and crime, but of course any generalized claim breaks down for individual human beings.

The cause of changes to the institution of marriage are clear. Bt many would prefer to keep what has caused harm to marriage, shifting the blame for that harm to homosexuals and simultaneously keeping homosexuals from the rights and responsibilities found in marriage. Superstition is, of course, to be found in nearly every example of this hypocrisy.

Several times I have asked religionists what legal rights they specifically do not want same-sex couples to have. They have never been able to answer that question. Every legal right of marriage (inheritance, making medical decisions, etc.) that I mention to them, they think same-sex couples should have. Over time I realized that what they are imagining about same-sex marriage is that the sheriff will show up at their church and force their pastor to conduct a homo wedding at gunpoint. I think if we disabuse them of that fantasy then progress can be made. Disabusing the superstitious of fantasies (or, at least, mean spirited and stupid fantasies) is part of what OVO is all about.

Labels: christianity, mormon, ovo, religion, theocracy

Ian Demsky: McNeil Island prison chaplain struggles with new multiple-faith rule [LINK-ZUM]

Tom Suss loves his job. A chaplain at McNeil Island prison, he's been with the state Department of Corrections for more than 15 years. "It's really a privilege to work there," the 63-year-old Catholic priest said in a recent interview. "When there's the opportunity to facilitate someone's realization of living differently, of making better choices, there's just no better high than that."

But Suss took a voluntary leave of absence at the beginning of the year because a new Corrections Department policy allowing inmates to profess multiple religions has put his faith into conflict with his duties as a state employee. He can take up to six weeks off and after that he's not sure what's going to happen. Though his bosses and peers speak highly of his work, he feels he might have to leave his profession behind.

"I'm thinking my days as a state chaplain might be finished," he said. At issue is whether in the state's efforts to protect inmates' freedom to worship, Suss should have to compromise his own religious convictions.

Article continues at link. Thanks as always to the excellent Religion Clause blog for the initial link . Prison chaplains are employees of the State. Their wages, insurance, mileage compensation, etc. are paid for by tax dollars. Is this not a case of the establishment of religion by the State? Can any other corrections employee - janitors, therapists, guards, secretaries - refuse to serve a prisoner based on their perceived religion?

There is no legal definition of religion. The benefit of this lack of a legal definition of religion is that it is made clear the State has no religious function. The State does not approve who is an is not clergy, who is and is not a member of any particular religion, and so on. These matters are left up to individuals. This also leaves the choice of being non-religious, even anti-religious, up to individuals.

The cost of this lack of a legal definition of religion is that at times religious individuals will overstep their domain of choice and attempt to make religious choices for others. Should an adult be able to decide the medical options available to their adult neighbor based on their religion? What if the medical option is abortion or euthanasia? Should an adult be able to decide the medical options available to their child based on their religion? The State is a poor judge in such matters, and that is why many of these choices are left up to individual states in the US and not decided at the Federal level.

In the case of prisoners, who cannot elect to move to a new state in the US if the state they are in does not accommodate their religion, the State has two choices. The first choice is to accommodate every expression of every religion by every prisoner. Prison clergy trained in every religion in human history must be available to anyone who summons them at any time, along with all the appropriate physical materials necessary to practice their religion. The second choice is to continue to consider religion a matter of individual choice, as is the case outside of prison, and not a service the State is obliged to provide.

Most religions include some influence from other religions. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all contain elements of earlier religions as well as shared elements. It is not the business of the State to define what is allowed within a single religion, and single religions contain elements of other religions. Just the same, it is not the business of the State to limit an individual to a single religion throughout their lifetime or concurrently.

Those who wish to offer religious services to prisoners should fund such services themselves. Prisoners should accept that the loss of some aspects of their religion are part of what is lost by being in prison. Prison clergy (if such a job should exist at all) must be prepared and willing to accommodate any religious expression from prisoners. The State should refrain from establishing religion. - Trevor Blake

Labels: christianity, magick, religion, theocracy

Trevor Blake: Two Maps [LINK-ZUM]

Map A: religious congregations and membership in the United States, 2000. Red = Baptist.

Map B: Classification of counties by rate of poverty and spatial situation. Red = Extremely High Poverty.

Labels: maps, religion

Science Daily: Dropping Religious Activities Linked To Increased Anxiety In Women [LINK-ZUM]

According to Temple University's Joanna Maselko, Sc.D., women who had stopped being religiously active were more than three times more likely to have suffered generalized anxiety and alcohol abuse/dependence than women who reported always having been active. "One's lifetime pattern of religious service attendance can be related to psychiatric illness," said Maselko, an assistant professor of public health and co-author of the study, which appears in the January issue of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Conversely, men who stopped being religiously active were less likely to suffer major depression when compared to men who had always been religiously active.

[Article continues at link.]

Labels: religion, science, sex

Trevor Blake: Three Theists and their E-Mail Decisions [LINK-ZUM]

Jihad Watch: "Allah Willing, thetime will come when flashes of fire will burn your belly to ash, your wife(your yahoodi whore) shall be a slave for the pleasure of the Al-Muslimoon. Inshallah, I will find yuo and killed you SOMEDAY YOU KUFFAR PIG, YOU SON OF THE APES AND THE SWINE ALLAH TA'ALLA SHALL ROAST YOUR ORGANS FOR THE PLEASURE OF THE MUSLIMS YOU SCUM FILTHEIR THNA THE COCKROACH, YOU K A F I R"

Dan Savage, Another Day, Another Dozen Stories Like This: "A day doesn't go by without an email arriving from some fundie douche expressing concern for my son's immortal soul."

Associated Press, Teen Held After Threat Sent to Satanists: "A teenager was arrested after a leader of the Church of Satan turned over to the FBI an e-mail the high school student had written to the sect in which he threatened to kill his grandparents, authorities said."

[All articles continue at links. A tip of the hat to Magus Peter H. Gilmore, High Priest of the Church of Satan, for making the unfortunately necessary and responsible choice. - Trevor]

Labels: fight, islam, religion, satanism, sex

Trevor Blake: The Transistor [LINK-ZUM]

Today (December 16th) is the anniversary of the invention of the transistor. The transistor is one of the most important invention of the 20th Century. Transistors are part of nearly all electronic devices, including computers, cell phones, radio and television. Most of humanity has been touched by the transistor.

What did religion (any religion) invent in the 20th Century? Or the 19th? Or the 18th... or ever? Religion is valued because it is the anti-invention. Religion has tradition. Religion comes from an eternal God. Sometimes religious people admit change, but only in the form of revelation - which comes from an eternal God, so it isn't really change at all. Nothing new comes from religion. Religion resists invention until it sees a means to profit from it, at which time a convenient revelation occurs and the invention is seen as part of God's eternal non-invented plan.

If a person or a society have all the answers, and if all the answers they have are the right answers, and if there are no other people or societies around to disrupt things in any way, and if there are no changes in the world uncontrolled by people, then there is no need for invention. But on my planet, we need invention to survive much less thrive. Religion is the enemy of invention. If you are reading this on a computer screen, some part of you must be in agreement with me.

Labels: religion, science

Trevor Blake: What Religion and Science Can Do for Us [LINK-ZUM]

Religion:
Tracy McVeigh, Children are targets of Nigerian witch hunt: Almost everyone goes to church here [the Niger Delta]. Driving through the town of Esit Eket, the rust-streaked signs, tarpaulins hung between trees and posters on boulders, advertise a church for every third or fourth house along the road. Such names as New Testament Assembly, Church of God Mission, Mount Zion Gospel, Glory of God, Brotherhood of the Cross, Redeemed, Apostalistic. Behind the smartly painted doors pastors make a living by 'deliverances' - exorcisms - for people beset by witchcraft, something seen to cause anything from divorce, disease, accidents or job losses. With so many churches it's a competitive market, but by local standards a lucrative one. But an exploitative situation has now grown into something much more sinister as preachers are turning their attentions to children - naming them as witches. In a maddened state of terror, parents and whole villages turn on the child. They are burnt, poisoned, slashed, chained to trees, buried alive or simply beaten and chased off into the bush. Some parents scrape together sums needed to pay for a deliverance - sometimes as much as three or four months' salary for the average working man - although the pastor will explain that the witch might return and a second deliverance will be needed. Even if the parent wants to keep the child, their neighbours may attack it in the street.

Science:
Robin Bal, Miracle Man Walks Again: He survived against all the odds; now Peng Shulin has astounded doctors by learning to walk again.When his body was cut in two by a lorry in 1995, it was little short of a Medical that he lived. It took a team of nearly 20 doctors to save his life. Skin was grafted from his head to seal his torso - but the legless Mr Peng was left only 78cm (2ft 6in) tall. Bedridden for years, doctors in China had little hope that he would ever be able to live anything like a normal life again. [...] But recently, he began exercising his arms, building up the strength to carry out everyday chores such as washing his face and brushing his teeth. Doctors at the China Rehabilitation Research Centre in Beijing found out about Mr Peng's plight late last year and devised a plan to get him up walking again. They came up with an ingenious way to allow him to walk on his own, creating a sophisticated egg cup-like casing to hold his body with two bionic legs attached to it. He has been taking his first steps around the center with the aid of his specially adapted legs and a resized walking frame. Mr Peng, who has to learn how to walk again, is said to be delighted with the device.

[Articles continue at links. Mr. Peng was cut in half and is today walking around, thanks to science. Those children murdered by superstitious monsters won't have a second chance. Sometimes theists talk about science and religion as seperate magistrate, each with its own contribution to the world. That seems supported by the facts, as science makes things better and religion makes things worse. Every day I ask myself what I can do to make religion less palatable to the average person. So far, the truth seems to be the most appropriate and effective tool. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, magick, religion, science, transhuman

Daily Rotten: December 10 [LINK-ZUM]

[The following is from Daily Rotten for December 10, 2007. Sometimes I imagine creating a calendar of 'this day in the history of religion.' Days like December 10 show that it would almost write itself. - Trevor Blake]

December 10, 1520: The heretic Martin Luther burnt the papal bull issued by Leo X, titled "Exsurge Domine", demanding an end to his heresies. Luther had published 95 points against the practice of granting indulgences, and the Catholic Church only had 94 points in favor of them. Although technically he was the winner, Luther was subsequently excommunicated.

December 10, 1792: "That if any do commit the detestable and abominable vice of Buggery, with man or beast, he or she so offending, shall be adjudged a felon, and shall suffer death, in the case of felony, without the benefit of Clergy." (Act of General Assembly of Virginia)

December 10, 1958: Ralph Muller and Peter Kamenoff, two ex-members of the Fountain of the World religious cult, accost guru Krishna Venta at the cult's hillside compound in Box Canyon, Ventura County, California. The men accuse Venta of having fucked their wives. For whatever reason Venta, the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and formerly known as Francis Pencovic, is unable to placate the men. So they detonate 20 sticks of dynamite they brought, 19 of which are strictly overkill. The three men are instantly blown to pieces along with 7 other cultees. Venta's remains are only ever identified through dental records.

December 10, 1993: Adolf Hitler is baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in a ceremony performed inside their London temple. Mormons use this strange retroactive baptismal ritual to ensure ancestors or other relatives may join them in heaven.

[Also in the news on December 10, 2007..."Vigilantes kill 40 women in Iraq's south: Religious vigilantes have killed at least 40 women this year in the southern Iraqi city of Basra because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against 'violating Islamic teachings,' the police chief said Sunday." ... "Iran Executes 21-Year-Old Accused of Gay Sex as a Teen: Mouloodzadeh was a 21-year-old Iranian citizen who was accused of committing anal rape (ighab) with other young boys when he was 13. However, at Mouloodzadeh's trial, all the witnesses retracted their pre-trial testimonies, claiming to have lied to the authorities under duress. Mouloodzadeh also told the court that his confession was made under coercion and pleaded not guilty." ... and happy 60th birthday to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The advance of the secular is the advance of peace and prosperity. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, fascism, islam, mormon, religion, sex

Matthew Moore: Fighting the curse of the face-eating tumour [LINK-ZUM]

A Jehovah's Witness who for decades refused all surgery on his horrific facial disfigurement has been given hope by a British doctor and new medical technology. Unwilling to accept a blood transfusion, Jose Mestre has allowed the bloody tumour that first appeared on his lip in adolescence to obliterate almost all of his face. Now 15 inches long and weighing 12 pounds, it has blinded him in one eye and made eating a daily ordeal. As it begins to block his airways, doctors fear his life could be in danger. But now one of Britain's leading facial surgeons has proposed treating Jose, 51, by employing ultrasound waves to coagulate the blood before the operation. This should allow his growths to be removed without risk of heavy bleeding - satisfying his religious prohibition on blood transfusions that has so far hampered his search for treatment.

[Article with photographs continues at link. The Watchtower Society, also known as the Jehovah's Witnesses, have predicted the end of the world no less than five times. According to their founder Charles Taze Russell, their second President J.E. Rutherford, and their official magazines The Watchtower and Awake!, the world was to end in 1914. But 1914 came and went without the world ending. So the date changed to 1915. But 1915 came and went without the world ending. So the date changed to 1918. But 1918 came and went without the world ending. So the date changed to 1925. But 1925 came and went without the world ending. So the date changed to 1975. But 1975 came and went without the world ending. So they stopped making public predictions about the end of the world and purged members (nearly 30,000 in 1978 alone) who questioned these false prophecies. Making failed predictions is a sure way to look stupid, but looking stupid isn't so bad. Where the Watchtower Society really stands out is denying medical care for their children, based on fickle revelations from God to their leadership. Sometimes they ban medical procedures such as blood transfusions, sometimes they do not ban them - too bad for you if your was eaten away by a tumor while the ban was in effect. Blood transfusions were forbidden to members of the Watchtower Society, as described in The Watchtower on September 15 1961 (pp. 563-564) and February 15 1964 (pp. 127-8). Then again, Blood transfusions were not forbidden to members of the Watchtower Society, as described in The Watchtower on November 15 1964 (pp. 680-3) and June 15 2000 (p. 31). I am glad for advances in medical science, but it is upsetting that they are applied in the accommodation of superstition. Perhaps a God who would give you haemangioma isn't a God worth worshiping; perhaps a religion that convinces you to to do nothing about it isn't worth following. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, religion, science, watchtower

OVO blog at technoccult.com [LINK-ZUM]

"My 5 favorite blogs, right now: OVO blog - a new blog, from Trevor Blake. Trevor's been publishing the OVO zine for something like 2 decades, and has been blogging on American Samizdat for a few years as well. The OVO blog features extensive coverage of the damage done by religion, and the occasional old school fringe culture gem." - Klintron

Labels: blog, magick, ovo, periodical, religion, zine

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

KSAT: Student Loses Battle Over Long Locks [LINK-ZUM]

The Leakey [Texas] School Board on Monday night voted unanimously against allowing a high school senior to keep his long hair. Ben Jamin Daly, 18, says he is growing his long locks because his religion, Rastafarianism, prohibits him from cutting it. [...] "He was born here, raised here," said John Daly, the student's father. "He wants to graduate and enjoy his senior year. I mean, that's a big deal. It's not over." In the meantime, Daly will continue to be taught in isolation and will not be allowed to participate in school activities.

[Article continues at link. Google cache here. Ben Jamin Daly has the Constitution of the United States on his side, but that apparently doesn't apply in the Republic of Texas. In Thomas vs. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division, the Supreme Court determined that "religious beliefs need not be acceptable, logical, consistent, or comprehensible to others in order to merit First Amendment protection." There is no definition of what a religion is in United States law. There is no way for the government to identify what is a religious practice and what it not. And for goodness' sake, it's just a bad hair style. Spending tax revenue on prosecuting Daly or on educating him in isolation is a waste at a time when Texas is already experiencing a shortfall in education funding. If Ben Daly wants to grow out his hair to appease an invisible monster that lives in the sky, that's foolishness but he didn't threaten anyone in doing so. Tax dollars are collected at gunpoint, either directly or indirectly, so spending them to narrow our options of fashion and of superstition is all the more intolerable. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: religion, theocracy

Trevor Blake: "For Religious Purposes" [LINK-ZUM]

WSOC: Shannon Whisnant found a human foot inside a cooker he bought at an auction. Police say Mini Warehouse Rentals held the auction because the man renting the storage unit didn't pay. Police discovered that man had his foot amputated in 2004 after a plane crash, and he kept it in the cooker that was sold on Tuesday. Whisnant said he hasn't decided what to do with the cooker. Police say you can legally keep amputated body parts as long as it's for religious purposes.

Hickory Daily Record: It is legal to keep amputated body parts as long as it's for religious reasons, police say.

WYFF: Officials said that it is not illegal to keep body parts as long as it is for religious purposes.

49 ABC News: Police say it is legal to keep amputated body parts if it is for religious purposes.

[Articles continue at link. If keeping an amputated body part is legal as long as it is for religious purposes, would a court forbid an atheist from owning his or her amputated body parts? What about someone keeping their amputated body part for aesthetic reasons? Why does superstition get a free ride when reason and art do not? - Trevor Blake]

Labels: art, religion, theocracy

Diana B. Henriques: As Exemptions Grow, Religion Outweighs Regulation [LINK-ZUM]

At any moment, state inspectors can step uninvited into one of the three child care centers that Ethel White runs in Auburn, Ala., to make sure they meet state requirements intended to ensure that the children are safe. There must be continuing training for the staff. Her nurseries must have two sinks, one exclusively for food preparation. All cabinets must have safety locks. Medications for the children must be kept under lock and key, and refrigerated. The Rev. Ray Fuson of the Harvest Temple Church of God in Montgomery, Ala., does not have to worry about unannounced state inspections at the day care center his church runs. Alabama exempts church day care programs from state licensing requirements, which were tightened after almost a dozen children died in licensed and unlicensed day care centers in the state in two years.

The differences do not end there. As an employer, Ms. White must comply with the civil rights laws; if employees feel mistreated, they can take the center to court. Religious organizations, including Pastor Fuson's, are protected by the courts from almost all lawsuits filed by their ministers or other religious staff members, no matter how unfairly those employees think they have been treated. And if you are curious about how Ms. White's nonprofit center uses its public grants and donations, read the financial statements she is required to file each year with the Internal Revenue Service. There are no I.R.S. reports from Harvest Temple. Federal law does not require churches to file them.

Far more than an hourlong stretch of highway separates these two busy, cheerful day care centers. Ms. White's center operates in the world occupied by most American organizations. As a religious ministry, Pastor Fuson's center does not.

[Article continues at link. It's like this: there's no standard for what is and is not religious organization in the USA beyond saying you are or are not a religious organization. Once you say you are, you are exempt from the law in significant and profitable ways. So if you are in need of being above the law and getting money for nothing, you can't pick a better way to do it than start a 'religious' organization. Meanwhile, are secular social services that do a quantifiable social good being funded well enough in your neck of the woods? American Samizdat, October 11, 2006. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: religion

Overcoming Bias: Mysterious Answers to Mysterious Questions [LINK-ZUM]

"It is a failure of human psychology that, faced with a mysterious phenomenon, we more readily postulate mysterious inherent substances than complex underlying processes. If a phenomenon feels mysterious, that is a fact about our state of knowledge, not a fact about the phenomenon itself."

Labels: religion

atheist tags [LINK-ZUM]

9/11 atheist buddhism christianity hindu islam judaism magick mormon philosophy religion satanism scientology subgenius subud theocracy watchtower

Labels: 9/11, atheist, buddhism, christianity, hindu, islam, judaism, magick, mormon, philosophy, religion, satanism, scientology, subgenius, subud, theocracy, watchtower

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