So I'm sure we're all aware of the recent public relations fiasco the Catholic church has been suffering through recently. To deal with this they've updated canon law to make it slightly easier to fire a priest who gets caught doing things they shouldn't.
Not being one to kill just one bird with one stone, the Catholic church decided to make a few more updates to the canon law while they were at it. The other big thing they updated was the treatment of those who dare to ordain a woman.
Now of the two, guess which one of these is considered worse. The ordaining of women is now considered a "grave sin". And abusing children is a "grave sin". Now I'm sure there must be some sort of theological argument based on scripture and church doctrine but I don't see it, and I really don't think I'd see it if the pope himself visited to explain it to me. The church is over reacting on one issue and under reacting on the other
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, March 06, 2009
Come On Catholics
This case from Brazil seems a little bit of overkill. An archbishop has excommunicated a group of people who helped a nine year old girl who had been sexually abused by her stepfather get an abortion.
I think this is the sort of case almost everyone would agree on that the girl is in no way physically, mentally or emotionally ready to be a parent, and that to continue the pregnancy would be dangerous to the girl.
Frankly, if anyone should be excommunicated here, it's the stepfather who has acted in a despicable fashion
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I think this is the sort of case almost everyone would agree on that the girl is in no way physically, mentally or emotionally ready to be a parent, and that to continue the pregnancy would be dangerous to the girl.
Frankly, if anyone should be excommunicated here, it's the stepfather who has acted in a despicable fashion
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Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Any Fundamentalist is Bad
Today I read a story about a group of fundamentalists causing havoc in their city. People forcing women off buses because they weren't wearing sufficiently modest clothes. Preventing men and women from socializing, to the point where men and women walk on opposite sides of the street, self-proclaimed morality police who go so far as to prevent the sale of mp3 players, even assaulting women who had the audacity to divorce their husband.
The city in question is Jerusalem and the fundamentalists in question are Haredi Jews. I say this not to cast aspersions on Jews, but to point out that fundamentalists of all creeds tend towards the same means and ends. Violence and isolation aimed at preserving some idealized status quo.
Hopefully, such actions will be condemned as strongly as similar actions from those of other creeds have been, but I think further coverage will be minimal since Israel is on the nominal good side in the current scheme of things. This is a double standard which I don't foresee being dropped anytime soon.
Ideally it would be the forces of intolerance and fundamentalism would be the ones being put on notice regardless of which particular creed they followed. Unfortunately, that is not yet the world we live in.
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The city in question is Jerusalem and the fundamentalists in question are Haredi Jews. I say this not to cast aspersions on Jews, but to point out that fundamentalists of all creeds tend towards the same means and ends. Violence and isolation aimed at preserving some idealized status quo.
Hopefully, such actions will be condemned as strongly as similar actions from those of other creeds have been, but I think further coverage will be minimal since Israel is on the nominal good side in the current scheme of things. This is a double standard which I don't foresee being dropped anytime soon.
Ideally it would be the forces of intolerance and fundamentalism would be the ones being put on notice regardless of which particular creed they followed. Unfortunately, that is not yet the world we live in.
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Current media: Star Trek Voyager
Monday, August 11, 2008
Too Much of a Good Thing
In general I think the more of a good thing the better. I do however acknowledge that you do reach not just a point of diminishing returns (one pizza is good, two are better), but in some cases a negative impact from more of the good thing (21% oxygen in the air is pretty good, 100% is pretty deadly). This is the case for an unfortunate gentleman in Saudi Arabia lately.
So what was this chap overindulging in? Wives. He had not one, not two, not three, not the legally allowed maximum in Saudi Arabia of four, not five, but six wives. Apparently he was using a variant of an old trick to get away with this, since three of his wives live in Saudi Arabia and three live in nearby Yemen.
The particular bit which makes this go from just a bit odd to being a good dose of schadenfreude is the guys job. He was a member of the Saudi religious police, the bunch of wowsers who go around busting people for flirting. However, this is not an unprecedented act among those who police the sharia in Muslim countries.
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So what was this chap overindulging in? Wives. He had not one, not two, not three, not the legally allowed maximum in Saudi Arabia of four, not five, but six wives. Apparently he was using a variant of an old trick to get away with this, since three of his wives live in Saudi Arabia and three live in nearby Yemen.
The particular bit which makes this go from just a bit odd to being a good dose of schadenfreude is the guys job. He was a member of the Saudi religious police, the bunch of wowsers who go around busting people for flirting. However, this is not an unprecedented act among those who police the sharia in Muslim countries.
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Writing time: 12 minutes
Time since last post: ?
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Sunday, August 10, 2008
You see, it's not really that hard
A group of Islamic groups in the UK have just announced a new nikah, or marriage contract, for British Muslims. This new contract brings Islamic marriages in the UK more in line with a standard marriage in the UK in terms of rights of each partner, but does include features which a simple civil ceremony does not impose.
The new nikah can be found here, and is an interesting read. The first few pages are preamble and then some general instructions on how to fill out the form. The most important page is the last one, where the rights and responsibilities of each partner are outlined. The responsibilities of both partners include: to not abuse their partner or children, to not be away from home for more than 60 days without prior permission, to not transmit diseases, to not have an affair and to not interfere with their partners property. I don't really think any of those should be too hard, particularly for a couple who care for each other. There are a few extra responsibilities for the husband including not withholding financial support to the family, not entering into a nikah with another woman, and the one I found most interesting, to procure a home away from his family and parents (not far away, but a place of their own).
These however are minor points. Probably the biggest change is that the nikah ceremony must be held by a registered marriage celebrant, or the couple must have had a civil ceremony beforehand, which makes the marriage official in a legal sense, and so the partners have a recourse to the British courts if things go pair shaped. While reading about this I learned that traditionally Islamic marriage is essentially a civil contract, and in some cases even just a verbal contract, which can make solving disputes tricky when there's no evidence of a marriage (although I wonder if such a marriage would count as a de facto relationship, which I think has some legal standing). This is a big step.
Another big change is that talaq al-tafwid is a standard clause. In the old contract, the husband could initiate divorce pretty much without cause, but if the wife did, she was liable to forfeit some of her property. Talaq al-tafwid is where the husband grants the wife the same right to divorce at will without loss.
The last big change is not an addition but a subtraction. The wife to be no longer needs the approval of her nearest male relative, or Wali, to get married. I have to admit, I do like the way they explain this one. The word is polite but firm.
The new nikah can be found here, and is an interesting read. The first few pages are preamble and then some general instructions on how to fill out the form. The most important page is the last one, where the rights and responsibilities of each partner are outlined. The responsibilities of both partners include: to not abuse their partner or children, to not be away from home for more than 60 days without prior permission, to not transmit diseases, to not have an affair and to not interfere with their partners property. I don't really think any of those should be too hard, particularly for a couple who care for each other. There are a few extra responsibilities for the husband including not withholding financial support to the family, not entering into a nikah with another woman, and the one I found most interesting, to procure a home away from his family and parents (not far away, but a place of their own).
These however are minor points. Probably the biggest change is that the nikah ceremony must be held by a registered marriage celebrant, or the couple must have had a civil ceremony beforehand, which makes the marriage official in a legal sense, and so the partners have a recourse to the British courts if things go pair shaped. While reading about this I learned that traditionally Islamic marriage is essentially a civil contract, and in some cases even just a verbal contract, which can make solving disputes tricky when there's no evidence of a marriage (although I wonder if such a marriage would count as a de facto relationship, which I think has some legal standing). This is a big step.
Another big change is that talaq al-tafwid is a standard clause. In the old contract, the husband could initiate divorce pretty much without cause, but if the wife did, she was liable to forfeit some of her property. Talaq al-tafwid is where the husband grants the wife the same right to divorce at will without loss.
The last big change is not an addition but a subtraction. The wife to be no longer needs the approval of her nearest male relative, or Wali, to get married. I have to admit, I do like the way they explain this one. The word is polite but firm.
Parents are responsible for the upbringing of their children. Out of respect and courtesy it is important that young people involve their parents or guardians throughout the process of marriage. However, parental or guardian’s legal role finishes when children reach adulthood. Thereafter their role is optional and complementary. Hence the Muslim Marriage Certificate does not require the approval of the parents.
This new marriage contract is, as the British like to say, a good thing. It shows that the ideals of Islam and the ideals of the West. Except for resolving disputes through a Sharia organization, for which I'd substitute something like a marriage counselor, and having an Imam sign the it, what this document outlines is almost the way I see the marriage relationship being. If I were to change anything it would be to make it so that the rights and responsibilities of both partners are exactly the same since the wife does get out of a few responsibilities the husband has to follow, and the bit about marriage being only between a man and a woman, but that would be it.
I hope that this new nikah gets widespread adoption within the Islamic community, and that the Muslims in other countries develop similar nikahs that show that Islamic ideals and Western ideals are not irrevocably different.
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A Christian Monopoly is Broken
I thought that the Christians had the monopoly on seeing religious icons in their food. It seems however that the Muslims are joining in on this bandwagon. In Nigeria people are swarming a restaurant where several pieces of meat have been found with the word "Allah" written in gristle. I can't really judge how good a depiction this is since I can't read Arabic.
It turns out the Muslims have been doing this for a while now, so it wasn't just the Christians who are crazy. It is interesting to note that while the Christians tend to find pictures of holy people, Muslims find holy words such as "Allah" or "Muhammad". I wonder what would happen if a Muslim found an object with a picture of Muhammad on it? Would it be considered a miracle or a blasphemy?
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It turns out the Muslims have been doing this for a while now, so it wasn't just the Christians who are crazy. It is interesting to note that while the Christians tend to find pictures of holy people, Muslims find holy words such as "Allah" or "Muhammad". I wonder what would happen if a Muslim found an object with a picture of Muhammad on it? Would it be considered a miracle or a blasphemy?
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Writing time: 19 minutes
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Current media: iTunes shuffle
Friday, July 11, 2008
You've just got to feel sorry for them.
The latest group to be suffering due to the declining US dollar has just been revealed: the Catholic Church. Apparently, of all the countries in the world, America is the largest overall donor to the Catholic Church, and due to the fall in the value of the US dollar against the Euro, these donations aren't quite what they used to be (although America still donated almost ten times as much as number 2 Italy. Interestingly, South Korea is number 8). In fact, the church actually made a loss of about 9 million euros in 2007.
Now, I don't think the Catholic church is really going to suffer from this. They are indeed the masters of playing the long game (how many other organizations except for the Illuminati have such a long track record?), and I'm pretty sure they've got enough saved up to last them through this dip in income. They won't exactly be mortgaging the Sistine Chapel or anything to make ends meet.
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Now, I don't think the Catholic church is really going to suffer from this. They are indeed the masters of playing the long game (how many other organizations except for the Illuminati have such a long track record?), and I'm pretty sure they've got enough saved up to last them through this dip in income. They won't exactly be mortgaging the Sistine Chapel or anything to make ends meet.
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Writing time: 8 minutes
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Thursday, July 10, 2008
Cracking Up
Will someone please think of the crackers.
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Sunday, July 06, 2008
One Step Too Far
A rather worrying report from England today about a religious education class where the teacher pushed things a little too far.
The class was about Islam, and started out telling the year seven class about the history of Islam and then about the way Muslims pray. This is all good and sensible and in no way problematic. Indeed, there should be more education about all the important faiths of the world and what they believe.
Then the teacher said that they would all have to pray to Allah as Muslims do. This did not go down so well. In fact two of the students refused and were given detention.
I'm completely with the students on this one. Being forced to pray to something you don't believe in is wrong. I too would refuse to do this, regardless of if I was being made to pray to Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Krishna, Shiva, Zeus, Odin (although you have to respect a god who hung himself to gain knowledge), Gaia, Xenu or anything else.
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Current media: Stargate SG-1 1x02 The Enemy Within
The class was about Islam, and started out telling the year seven class about the history of Islam and then about the way Muslims pray. This is all good and sensible and in no way problematic. Indeed, there should be more education about all the important faiths of the world and what they believe.
Then the teacher said that they would all have to pray to Allah as Muslims do. This did not go down so well. In fact two of the students refused and were given detention.
I'm completely with the students on this one. Being forced to pray to something you don't believe in is wrong. I too would refuse to do this, regardless of if I was being made to pray to Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Krishna, Shiva, Zeus, Odin (although you have to respect a god who hung himself to gain knowledge), Gaia, Xenu or anything else.
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Writing time: 22 minutes
Time since last post: 21 hours?
Current media: Stargate SG-1 1x02 The Enemy Within
Friday, June 13, 2008
You Go Girl
I bring you news of the latest frontier in the fight for womens rights. Having mostly conquered the right to vote, the right to work, the right for equal pay, the right to not be objectified and others, women are turning to the fight for the right to jihad.
Surprising as it seems, fundamentalist Islamic terror groups like Al-Queda aren't exactly an equal opportunity group. When a leader of Al-Queda said that a woman's role in jihad is to look after the home and children of the male fighters, it caused a ruckus among female jihadis.
I have to say I kind of support them in this, mainly because I think everyone should be able to make their own mistakes. Of course, I'd rather they didn't want to blow me up for being an infidel, but it's their choice.
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Writing time: 9 minutes
Time since last post: Who knows what the future holds?
Current media: Scrubs season 2 episode 5
Surprising as it seems, fundamentalist Islamic terror groups like Al-Queda aren't exactly an equal opportunity group. When a leader of Al-Queda said that a woman's role in jihad is to look after the home and children of the male fighters, it caused a ruckus among female jihadis.
I have to say I kind of support them in this, mainly because I think everyone should be able to make their own mistakes. Of course, I'd rather they didn't want to blow me up for being an infidel, but it's their choice.
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Writing time: 9 minutes
Time since last post: Who knows what the future holds?
Current media: Scrubs season 2 episode 5
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Mecca Mean Time
Some Muslim scientists have suggested that we should replace Greenwich as the prime meridian with Mecca, because Mecca is the true center of the Earth (unless Mecca is about 6400 kilometers underground, I very much doubt that).
This is a pointless endeavour that just makes these people look small minded and petty. Yes, the reason Greenwich was picked as the prime meridian was due to British supremacy and imperialism in the 19th century. However, after a little over thirty years after England formally adopted the Greenwich as the prime meridian, an international conference approved it as the universal prime meridian by a vote of 22-1 with two abstains (France in a spat of cross channel rivalry continued to use Paris as the prime meridian for a few decades).
This is besides the point though. Nowadays there is no difference between any two locations as a choice of a prime meridian except in one case. The exception is the Greenwich meridian, because all the maps we use today, all our atlases, all our books, all our GPS systems are set up to use the Greenwich meridian as the prime meridian. Changing the prime meridian will serve no useful purpose, and will make millions, perhaps even billions of books outdated and force unnecessary upgrades to all the electronic devices that deal with locations.
There are a number of aspects of how we talk about the world which originated due to the cultural, military or other supremacy of one group out of many. The use of the Greenwich meridian. The birth of Christ as the basis for numbering years. The imperial system of measures. twenty-four hour days. New years day on January first.
These things should not be replaced just because someone feels that they are being discriminated because they're not part of the group that is the origin of those terms. For this reason I don't like the use of CE and BCE instead of AD and BC. In some cases, such as which year is zero, there is no obvious choice of which alternative to pick, so again we should just stick with the one we use now.
The only time we should make the change is when the new is objectively better than the old. Thus we now use the metric system instead of the imperial system. The metric system is much simpler than the imperial system and so is easier to learn and use. It is much better than the imperial system and so we made the change.
Anyway, back to the original topic, with all due respect to the Muslims suggesting this, this is posturing. This is chest beating. It is roaring so that you're heard above the crowd. It's not going to change things. Your arguments are flimsy. For example, the suggestion that Mecca is a better meridian because true north and magnetic north align is not unique to Mecca. The Alaska-Canada border can make the same claim. And the magnetic north pole is not a fixed point. It's motion can be detected and measured. Over the history of the Earth it has moved all over the place, even so far as being at what is now the south pole.
Sure, good on you for being proud of your religion, but don't go suggesting changes that don't actually make things better and just are a lot of trouble to implement. Your preferred sites are no more special than ours, and everyone, not just us, is used to using ours.
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Writing time: 43 minutes
Time since last post: about an hour and a bit
Current media: The Office
This is a pointless endeavour that just makes these people look small minded and petty. Yes, the reason Greenwich was picked as the prime meridian was due to British supremacy and imperialism in the 19th century. However, after a little over thirty years after England formally adopted the Greenwich as the prime meridian, an international conference approved it as the universal prime meridian by a vote of 22-1 with two abstains (France in a spat of cross channel rivalry continued to use Paris as the prime meridian for a few decades).
This is besides the point though. Nowadays there is no difference between any two locations as a choice of a prime meridian except in one case. The exception is the Greenwich meridian, because all the maps we use today, all our atlases, all our books, all our GPS systems are set up to use the Greenwich meridian as the prime meridian. Changing the prime meridian will serve no useful purpose, and will make millions, perhaps even billions of books outdated and force unnecessary upgrades to all the electronic devices that deal with locations.
There are a number of aspects of how we talk about the world which originated due to the cultural, military or other supremacy of one group out of many. The use of the Greenwich meridian. The birth of Christ as the basis for numbering years. The imperial system of measures. twenty-four hour days. New years day on January first.
These things should not be replaced just because someone feels that they are being discriminated because they're not part of the group that is the origin of those terms. For this reason I don't like the use of CE and BCE instead of AD and BC. In some cases, such as which year is zero, there is no obvious choice of which alternative to pick, so again we should just stick with the one we use now.
The only time we should make the change is when the new is objectively better than the old. Thus we now use the metric system instead of the imperial system. The metric system is much simpler than the imperial system and so is easier to learn and use. It is much better than the imperial system and so we made the change.
Anyway, back to the original topic, with all due respect to the Muslims suggesting this, this is posturing. This is chest beating. It is roaring so that you're heard above the crowd. It's not going to change things. Your arguments are flimsy. For example, the suggestion that Mecca is a better meridian because true north and magnetic north align is not unique to Mecca. The Alaska-Canada border can make the same claim. And the magnetic north pole is not a fixed point. It's motion can be detected and measured. Over the history of the Earth it has moved all over the place, even so far as being at what is now the south pole.
Sure, good on you for being proud of your religion, but don't go suggesting changes that don't actually make things better and just are a lot of trouble to implement. Your preferred sites are no more special than ours, and everyone, not just us, is used to using ours.
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Writing time: 43 minutes
Time since last post: about an hour and a bit
Current media: The Office
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
A Dangerous Idea
I present to you the following statement from Illinois Representative Monique Davis.
What you have to spew and spread is extremely dangerous . . . it's dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists!
So what is this terrible philosophy that is dangerous for our children to even know of? If you said atheism you'd be right. Atheist activist Rob Sherman was testifying to the Illinois State Government regarding a botched grant of one million dollars that seems to have been for a church to rebuild after a fire but ended up going to a school that rents space from the church which got some extraordinary government assistance in getting the grant approved (Governor pardons the school director off the cuff, it very quickly becomes a registered non-profit, no questions are asked about significant owed taxes, etc).
The representatives diatribe went on a bit longer. You can read it or listen to it.
Why do believers think atheism is so dangerous? Why do they feel that those who don't believe are a threat to them and their beliefs?
It's nice to know something I do is dangerous to children. Although I have told a few students about explosive devices made from easily obtainable household items.
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Writing time: 21 minutes
Time since last post: 2 days
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Saturday, March 22, 2008
A Fun(damentalist) Read
I had this site pointed out to me today. Fundies Say The Darndest Things. It's a collection of quotes from Christian fundamentalists presented in a bash.org format. To whet your appetite I'll quote one of the quotes that created the most violent reaction.
One of the most basic laws in the universe is the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This states that as time goes by, entropy in an environment will increase. Evolution argues differently against a law that is accepted EVERYWHERE BY EVERYONE. Evolution says that we started out simple, and over time became more complex. That just isn't possible: UNLESS there is a giant outside source of energy supplying the Earth with huge amounts of energy. If there were such a source, scientists would certainly know about it.
To which I want to say: It's the fucking Sun you retard. What do you think that giant ball of light up in the sky is doing?
So if you like to laugh and be outraged, check it out
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Writing time: 11 minutes
Time since last post: 23 hours
Current media: The Daily Show
One of the most basic laws in the universe is the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This states that as time goes by, entropy in an environment will increase. Evolution argues differently against a law that is accepted EVERYWHERE BY EVERYONE. Evolution says that we started out simple, and over time became more complex. That just isn't possible: UNLESS there is a giant outside source of energy supplying the Earth with huge amounts of energy. If there were such a source, scientists would certainly know about it.
To which I want to say: It's the fucking Sun you retard. What do you think that giant ball of light up in the sky is doing?
So if you like to laugh and be outraged, check it out
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Writing time: 11 minutes
Time since last post: 23 hours
Current media: The Daily Show
Friday, March 21, 2008
Those Wacky Jews
To round out my trifecta of crazy adherents of Abrahamic religions I now present "Those Wacky Jews". A high ranking Rabbi has come out and said that Jewish law forbids employing or renting homes to Arabs (I'm not sure if this is meant to be Arabs or Muslims. The article say Arabs but I wonder what would happen in the case of an Arabic Jew.).
This sort of thing does not help Israel. It's bound to piss off all the Arab countries that surround Israel, and they're already angry as it is. It's going to incite more hatred among the Israelis who follow this wack-job, and make life harder for those trying to sort out some sort of peace deal.
This isn't the first time this Rabbi has spouted dangerous nonsense. He supported calls from some of his fellow rabbis back in 2005 for soldiers to ignore orders to withdraw from the Gaza strip. Inciting mutiny in the armed forces is bad. Inciting mutiny to keep the fighting going is very bad.
He has also said that Jewish law requires the shooting of civilians in areas from which attacks on Israel come from. This is not just bad or stupid, it is suicidal. The only way forward for Israel is to claim the moral high ground. That means they should be generous and conciliatory at the negotiation, ruthless on defense, but under no circumstances should they ever engage someone who is not immediately engaged in hostilities against them. They should under no circumstances attack civilians. In fact, no one in any military should attack civilians.
Just like the christians need to tell people like those at Jesus Camp and muslims need to tell Al Qaeda to "shut the fuck up and stop ruining things for the rest of us" the jews need to shut this guy up. He's just making things worse for everyone.
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Writing time: 17 minutes
Time since last post: 14 hours
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This sort of thing does not help Israel. It's bound to piss off all the Arab countries that surround Israel, and they're already angry as it is. It's going to incite more hatred among the Israelis who follow this wack-job, and make life harder for those trying to sort out some sort of peace deal.
This isn't the first time this Rabbi has spouted dangerous nonsense. He supported calls from some of his fellow rabbis back in 2005 for soldiers to ignore orders to withdraw from the Gaza strip. Inciting mutiny in the armed forces is bad. Inciting mutiny to keep the fighting going is very bad.
He has also said that Jewish law requires the shooting of civilians in areas from which attacks on Israel come from. This is not just bad or stupid, it is suicidal. The only way forward for Israel is to claim the moral high ground. That means they should be generous and conciliatory at the negotiation, ruthless on defense, but under no circumstances should they ever engage someone who is not immediately engaged in hostilities against them. They should under no circumstances attack civilians. In fact, no one in any military should attack civilians.
Just like the christians need to tell people like those at Jesus Camp and muslims need to tell Al Qaeda to "shut the fuck up and stop ruining things for the rest of us" the jews need to shut this guy up. He's just making things worse for everyone.
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Writing time: 17 minutes
Time since last post: 14 hours
Current media: None
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Those Wacky Muslims
So, after The Satanic Verses, the Danish Muhammad,PBUH1, cartoons2, and others I can't quite recall at this moment, you might be wondering what will be next to rile up those who follow follow the prophet Muhammad, PBUH3.
Shoes.
Some smart person decided it might be a good idea to make a shoe with the word "Allah" written on the bottom. Perhaps he was trying to make a holy shoe. And much like it's illegal to step on Thai money because it has a picture of the king upon it, it is not done to walk upon the name of God. Well, it's not really the name of God, it's just the word "the god". It's not his actual name. I mean if it had Zeus written on it, then it's the name of a god, but just writing "the god" doesn't seem that specific.
Anyway, the authorities in the UAE didn't wast any time. The shoes have been destroyed, the shoe seller fined, and made to promise not to "display products that hurt the sentiments of Muslims".
This is one4 of the rather frustrating aspects of Muslims as a group.5 They are extraordinarily thin-skinned. Take the Danish cartoons. There have been many worse cartoons involving Jesus. I can't find any off the top of my head, but I'm sure they're out there.6 The worst a christian group might do is picket the paper or put out a press release or two. The don't burn flags of the country the paper is in, attack embassies, people from completely different countries and generally carry on like a mob.
And the whole Salman Rushdie thing. He wrote a book that's kind of based on the life of Muhammed, PBUH7, and he got threatened with death from the outraged Muslims. Compare this to the reaction to The Da Vinci Code, which while not featuring Jesus himself, is based on a rather novel interpretation of the Jesus story.
My advice to Muslims is don't take things so seriously. Take a chill pill, relax, and don't let things get to them so much.
1 Peanut Butter Underneath Helicopters
2 I now present my smiley art picture of Muhammed smiling :-)
3 Pretty Butterflies Unite Homewreckers
4 There are a number of them.
5 Like most groups, any individual I've met is nice and rational and easy to get along with, but as a group they do the most ridiculous things.
6 Please let me know where they are. I want to see them and laugh.
7 Please Buy Unferth Hay
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Writing time: 35 minutes
Time since last post: 56 minutes
Current media: Jpod
Shoes.
Some smart person decided it might be a good idea to make a shoe with the word "Allah" written on the bottom. Perhaps he was trying to make a holy shoe. And much like it's illegal to step on Thai money because it has a picture of the king upon it, it is not done to walk upon the name of God. Well, it's not really the name of God, it's just the word "the god". It's not his actual name. I mean if it had Zeus written on it, then it's the name of a god, but just writing "the god" doesn't seem that specific.
Anyway, the authorities in the UAE didn't wast any time. The shoes have been destroyed, the shoe seller fined, and made to promise not to "display products that hurt the sentiments of Muslims".
This is one4 of the rather frustrating aspects of Muslims as a group.5 They are extraordinarily thin-skinned. Take the Danish cartoons. There have been many worse cartoons involving Jesus. I can't find any off the top of my head, but I'm sure they're out there.6 The worst a christian group might do is picket the paper or put out a press release or two. The don't burn flags of the country the paper is in, attack embassies, people from completely different countries and generally carry on like a mob.
And the whole Salman Rushdie thing. He wrote a book that's kind of based on the life of Muhammed, PBUH7, and he got threatened with death from the outraged Muslims. Compare this to the reaction to The Da Vinci Code, which while not featuring Jesus himself, is based on a rather novel interpretation of the Jesus story.
My advice to Muslims is don't take things so seriously. Take a chill pill, relax, and don't let things get to them so much.
1 Peanut Butter Underneath Helicopters
2 I now present my smiley art picture of Muhammed smiling :-)
3 Pretty Butterflies Unite Homewreckers
4 There are a number of them.
5 Like most groups, any individual I've met is nice and rational and easy to get along with, but as a group they do the most ridiculous things.
6 Please let me know where they are. I want to see them and laugh.
7 Please Buy Unferth Hay
End Post
Writing time: 35 minutes
Time since last post: 56 minutes
Current media: Jpod
Those Wacky Christians
As has recently been brought to my attention, it seems that Easter is this weekend.1 And hot off the presses is a safety note from Phillipine health officials. Apparently, if you plan to take part in the ritual re-enaction of the crucifixion then you should get a tetanus shot beforehand and sterilise the nails.
Well, of course you should. Because after hours of pain and agony hanging from some pieces of wood which you are attached to by nails, tetanus is a little too much too bear. What next, a clean spear?
And for those who are only into a little flagellation instead of the full crucifixion, then make sure your whip is clean. You don't want to get an infection.
I am also amazed that people are actually willing to do this. The only way I'd end up attached to a cross with nails through my hands and feet is if a rather large unhappy mob put me there.2 You'd have to be a serious nut job to consider doing this. Surely if Jesus3 were to look down at these people preparing for this he'd say to them "Look, you really don't want to do that. It's not good for you. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."
Can any one give me an example of an atheist doing this sort of messed up shit. I'm willing to accept as a counter that sometimes atheists kill other people, but I don't know of any atheists willingly torturing themselves in such a way.4
1 Assuming, of course, that you follow the western tradition. Orthodox Christians have to wait another month.
2 Please don't take this as an invitation to do this.
3 Hypothetically speaking of course.
4 We usually make our self-inflicted torture mental5
5 sed s/We/I/ 4 > sed s/our/my/ > 46
6 I think this footnote is superfluous and the footnote it is a footnote to is intentionally obtuse and the footnote that the footnote this is a footnote to is a footnote to is really just an excuse to get in some emotional wallowing into an otherwise easy anti-religious tract and it was also a footnote to the main text so I can do no more convoluted footnote to footnote type phrases7 that may or may not be difficult to parse.
7 Or can I?8
8 I won't since this is now getting old and the footnotes are approaching the size of the main text.
End Post
Writing time: 27 minutes (damn footnotes)
Time since last post: 5 days
Current media: None
Well, of course you should. Because after hours of pain and agony hanging from some pieces of wood which you are attached to by nails, tetanus is a little too much too bear. What next, a clean spear?
And for those who are only into a little flagellation instead of the full crucifixion, then make sure your whip is clean. You don't want to get an infection.
I am also amazed that people are actually willing to do this. The only way I'd end up attached to a cross with nails through my hands and feet is if a rather large unhappy mob put me there.2 You'd have to be a serious nut job to consider doing this. Surely if Jesus3 were to look down at these people preparing for this he'd say to them "Look, you really don't want to do that. It's not good for you. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."
Can any one give me an example of an atheist doing this sort of messed up shit. I'm willing to accept as a counter that sometimes atheists kill other people, but I don't know of any atheists willingly torturing themselves in such a way.4
1 Assuming, of course, that you follow the western tradition. Orthodox Christians have to wait another month.
2 Please don't take this as an invitation to do this.
3 Hypothetically speaking of course.
4 We usually make our self-inflicted torture mental5
5 sed s/We/I/ 4 > sed s/our/my/ > 46
6 I think this footnote is superfluous and the footnote it is a footnote to is intentionally obtuse and the footnote that the footnote this is a footnote to is a footnote to is really just an excuse to get in some emotional wallowing into an otherwise easy anti-religious tract and it was also a footnote to the main text so I can do no more convoluted footnote to footnote type phrases7 that may or may not be difficult to parse.
7 Or can I?8
8 I won't since this is now getting old and the footnotes are approaching the size of the main text.
End Post
Writing time: 27 minutes (damn footnotes)
Time since last post: 5 days
Current media: None
Friday, February 29, 2008
Three Strikes Against Sharia
These are all a little bit old, but I would like to point these out. The following are a few items of Sharia law being applied in ways that should strike most people as being ridiculous. They are by no means the worst applications of sharia law, but still, the best way to get people to stop taking something seriously is to make them laugh at it (it's all well and good to say something is terrible, but when is the last time you took a clown seriously?).
The first item is about the unfortunate plight of a woman locked up in a Saudi jail. Her crime? Witchcraft. That's right. Witchcraft. Let's hope Emma Watson never goes to Saudi Arabia. And what vile act of witchcraft did she perform? Her accuser says she made him impotent.
Human rights groups have declaimed this conviction because of the undefined nature of the crime, the lack of representation for the woman in legal hearings, beatings by the police, forced confession and the extreme unfairness of a death sentence. It is a good point, and I thank them for making it. I wish to declaim this situation for the sheer stupidity of it. I mean really, witchcraft? This is the twenty-first century guys. This is the sort of thing that makes people look on the sharia as a backwards, middle ages code of laws. And rightly so in this case. Witchcraft is a backwards, middle ages idea. Witchcraft these days is for goths who want a bit of a ritual that may involve killing an animal and seeing real blood. It's for pagan wannabes. No one seriously thinks that there are women who make deals with the devil for power and go about bringing havoc on mankind (please tell me there is no one who seriously thinks this). Executing a woman for such a thing is ridiculous.
Next on our tour, Nigeria. Land of the scammer. Home of the 419-ers. The country full of people who die with no next of kin leaving behind only a pile of money and a less than scrupulous lawyer. And now, to top all of that, 18 cross dressing men. This group of men went out on the town in ladies clothes, and they were arrested. Originally they were going to be charged with sodomy, but the charges were dropped to indecent dressing and vagrancy. Much to the relief of the 18 men as sodomy is a capital offense in Nigeria (why can't they make fraud a capital offense? That would make the internet a much nicer place). Again, this is something most of the world has accepted is really no one's business but those involved, and so long as they do it in private, whatever floats their boat is OK (a few of the more conservative parts of America haven't got the memo yet, but it's in the post).
Lastly, we return to Saudi Arabia. In this case 57 men have been arrested for that most despicable crime of flirting. The men are accused of wearing indecent clothes, playing loud music and dancing in order to attract the attention of girls. Now honestly, you have to admire their audacity. I mean this is right up there with trying to move an immovable object. Trying to stop men trying to get women to be interested in them. Hell, even I've tried (and failed) to do that on occasion, and I am by no means the king of the lewd. If the music is ridiculously loud get them to turn it down. Arresting people for flirting is not so much out of date as just plain stupid. It will happen. No power on heaven or earth has a chance of stopping it.
So that's a look at the lighter side of the bad joke that is sharia law. It makes crimes out of that which is not a crime. It makes crimes out of that which is a natural part of being human. It imposes punishments that are severe out of proportion with the supposed crimes. It is old, it is out of date, and it needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century.
End Post
Writing time: 40 minutes
Time since last post: 3 days
Current media: None
The first item is about the unfortunate plight of a woman locked up in a Saudi jail. Her crime? Witchcraft. That's right. Witchcraft. Let's hope Emma Watson never goes to Saudi Arabia. And what vile act of witchcraft did she perform? Her accuser says she made him impotent.
Human rights groups have declaimed this conviction because of the undefined nature of the crime, the lack of representation for the woman in legal hearings, beatings by the police, forced confession and the extreme unfairness of a death sentence. It is a good point, and I thank them for making it. I wish to declaim this situation for the sheer stupidity of it. I mean really, witchcraft? This is the twenty-first century guys. This is the sort of thing that makes people look on the sharia as a backwards, middle ages code of laws. And rightly so in this case. Witchcraft is a backwards, middle ages idea. Witchcraft these days is for goths who want a bit of a ritual that may involve killing an animal and seeing real blood. It's for pagan wannabes. No one seriously thinks that there are women who make deals with the devil for power and go about bringing havoc on mankind (please tell me there is no one who seriously thinks this). Executing a woman for such a thing is ridiculous.
Next on our tour, Nigeria. Land of the scammer. Home of the 419-ers. The country full of people who die with no next of kin leaving behind only a pile of money and a less than scrupulous lawyer. And now, to top all of that, 18 cross dressing men. This group of men went out on the town in ladies clothes, and they were arrested. Originally they were going to be charged with sodomy, but the charges were dropped to indecent dressing and vagrancy. Much to the relief of the 18 men as sodomy is a capital offense in Nigeria (why can't they make fraud a capital offense? That would make the internet a much nicer place). Again, this is something most of the world has accepted is really no one's business but those involved, and so long as they do it in private, whatever floats their boat is OK (a few of the more conservative parts of America haven't got the memo yet, but it's in the post).
Lastly, we return to Saudi Arabia. In this case 57 men have been arrested for that most despicable crime of flirting. The men are accused of wearing indecent clothes, playing loud music and dancing in order to attract the attention of girls. Now honestly, you have to admire their audacity. I mean this is right up there with trying to move an immovable object. Trying to stop men trying to get women to be interested in them. Hell, even I've tried (and failed) to do that on occasion, and I am by no means the king of the lewd. If the music is ridiculously loud get them to turn it down. Arresting people for flirting is not so much out of date as just plain stupid. It will happen. No power on heaven or earth has a chance of stopping it.
So that's a look at the lighter side of the bad joke that is sharia law. It makes crimes out of that which is not a crime. It makes crimes out of that which is a natural part of being human. It imposes punishments that are severe out of proportion with the supposed crimes. It is old, it is out of date, and it needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century.
End Post
Writing time: 40 minutes
Time since last post: 3 days
Current media: None
Monday, January 28, 2008
The End is Nigh
Don't go making any plans for beyond two weeks from now. Apparently the Rapture is imminent.
The Rapture is of course that event in Christian Armageddon where all the virtuous and pious individuals are physically taken up into heaven leaving all the unbelievers here on Earth to deal with the forces of Satan. Of course the people preaching about the Rapture all say that it will be the true believers who are taken up into Heaven to be with God. And they always include themselves in the group who will be Raptured away.
Actually, this could be a good deal for us. All the die hard fundamentalist Christians go away, leaving the rest of the world a better place.
In fact, it looks like God might be jumping the gun a little on his rapture plans. The head of the Greek Orthodox and Mormon churches died today, and Heath Ledger predeceased them by less than a week.
February 11. Keep the calendar clear. Or not.
End Post
Writing time: 12 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: None
The Rapture is of course that event in Christian Armageddon where all the virtuous and pious individuals are physically taken up into heaven leaving all the unbelievers here on Earth to deal with the forces of Satan. Of course the people preaching about the Rapture all say that it will be the true believers who are taken up into Heaven to be with God. And they always include themselves in the group who will be Raptured away.
Actually, this could be a good deal for us. All the die hard fundamentalist Christians go away, leaving the rest of the world a better place.
In fact, it looks like God might be jumping the gun a little on his rapture plans. The head of the Greek Orthodox and Mormon churches died today, and Heath Ledger predeceased them by less than a week.
February 11. Keep the calendar clear. Or not.
End Post
Writing time: 12 minutes
Time since last post: 1 day
Current media: None
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Oh, this is going to work
Problem: A global faith based organisation has had, and faces concerns that it still has a worrying large number of officials who have, on occasion, got their jollies from young children.
Solution: Perpetual prayer to cleanse the clergy by every diocese, parish, convent, monastery, and seminary.
That's right. The Roman Catholic Church's latest weapon to clean up its act after numerous allegations of paedophilia by priests is to have everyone pray for it to stop.
Because, as we all know, prayer works. It can cure the sick. It's been tested. Oh, wait. No, it didn't work. Actually those prayed for ended up getting worse. Perhaps we should pray for priests to become paedophiles (note: I'm not actually suggesting this), because apparently God digs reverse psychology.
I get the Church has a vested interest in promoting prayer. But on this matter, they really should be doing something a little bit more concrete.
End Post
Writing time: 12 minutes
Time since last post: 3 days
Current media: None (I'm waiting for season 4 of Deep Space 9 to arrive)
Solution: Perpetual prayer to cleanse the clergy by every diocese, parish, convent, monastery, and seminary.
That's right. The Roman Catholic Church's latest weapon to clean up its act after numerous allegations of paedophilia by priests is to have everyone pray for it to stop.
Because, as we all know, prayer works. It can cure the sick. It's been tested. Oh, wait. No, it didn't work. Actually those prayed for ended up getting worse. Perhaps we should pray for priests to become paedophiles (note: I'm not actually suggesting this), because apparently God digs reverse psychology.
I get the Church has a vested interest in promoting prayer. But on this matter, they really should be doing something a little bit more concrete.
End Post
Writing time: 12 minutes
Time since last post: 3 days
Current media: None (I'm waiting for season 4 of Deep Space 9 to arrive)
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