Why I Am Atheist

Bibles in the Classroom

2011-02-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

So, awhile back, I posted that the Canadian Civil Liberties Union had intervened in Waterloo, and had to stop Gideon's International from giving Bibles to Grade Five children. Of course, they have not backed off, because it is so IMPORTANT to push your religion on innocent and impressionable children. Now, the kids are coming home with consent forms for their parents to sign after claiming religious discrimination. Never mind that giving a child a Bible is an act of exclusion toward other religions, which is in itself a form of religious discrimination. Man, are they lucky no kids of mine are in this school district. So, the Civil Liberties Union is back on them, along with petitions. I smell the Supreme Court coming their way. Here it is, check it out;

http://ccla.org/2010/12/15/freedom-of-relgion-in-the-schools-distributing-the-gideon-bible/

I AM BACK....

2011-01-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

I went off the grid (as Tristan calls it) for the last little while. The last six months have been epically chaotic and busy; things have slowed down to a much more manageable pace now. I managed to finally complete my degree, started working on a research study while still going to work at my normal job. At the same time, stuff in my personal life kinda got unusual, which has since resolved. Interesting times these past six months.....

So, to come back, I found a great article that is near and dear to my heart. This comes straight to us from The Christian Post, and is about a nursing student who is suing her school because she feels that she should not have to provide care to women who are having or have had abortions. Interestingly, I do not trust the article because they indicate that the clinical placement is on a Labour and Delivery Unit. Traditionally, abortion procedures are not done on these types of units unless it is for an emergent problem during birth; the high acuity of these types of cases is not the same as what the article calls "The Abortion Pledge". I also have a hard time believing that an applicant who does not wish to participate in abortion has to apply to another program- way too easy for this agenda.

I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, I do not feel that people should be forced to engage in things that will disturb them. However, a good clinician is completely present for the people that they serve. They support people through good and bad decisions, you are not there to judge them, nor are you there to push any of your beliefs on them while they are experiencing difficult decisions. You are there to assist them... IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU. If you cannot put your beliefs aside and see people for their complexity with compassion, you should not be there. Period. Thoughts anyone?

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20110112/nursing-student-fights-school-policy-requiring-abortion-pledge/

A Milestone in Reproductive Heath- RU 486

2010-09-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been hearing alot of talk about reproductive health. Seems to always come from men who appear to be interested in protecting "life", or the destiny of a pregnancy. However, I find it very interesting that people who really want to protect the life of a cluster of cells always want to deny women the access to safe and effective technology. In turn, many women are forced to pursue unsafe options in choosing what they want to do. Again, being pro-choice supports the platform of choice; supporting a woman who decides to continue or terminate her pregnancy. Pro-lifers interpret this as being pro-abortion; it is not. Just because they are anti-abortion or anti- choice does not mean that pro-choice is the complete opposition to their position. A woman's individual needs decides her choice.

Nevertheless, due to the persistent work of many women, it is time to celebrate RU 486. A safe and effective drug that allows a woman the right to choose to terminate her pregnancy in the privacy of her own home. Administered in a pregnancy under 9 weeks, no more need for going to a clinic where people scream at you. No more need for anesthetic, no more need for invasive techniques. Like all drugs, it carries certain risks; however, so does childbirth. A true milestone in women's rights and reproductive health. http://www.ru486facts.org/

This Is Just So Sad

2010-09-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

More reports of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, this time from Belgium. This is just awful.... And, again, the Vatican had no comment. When are people gonna stop supporting this church? When are people gonna start demanding accountability from this institution? These people should be in jail.... And because they preach, they are above the law. Sick.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7194844.html

The Most Selfish Man in America- Rev Terry Jones- Part 2

2010-09-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

So, he has decided to not go ahead and burn the Quran. I totally disagree with this guy, but at least he got people talking, which is always constructive. Now, the holy rollers are going to feel vindicated. This is going to open up a whole other can of worms. Here is his official statement;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11255490

Quote of the Day

2010-09-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a comment on Rev Jones. Comes to us from Col. David Lapan, who is a Pentagon spokesperson. I think that this encapsulates how I feel about this whole issue. Ideally, I hope that this controversy makes people think more critically about how religion is harmful to the world. It is, in my opinion, counterproductive to the actualization of the human race, and this is a great example. This statement brings the issue to the core- innocent people will suffer.

“No one is questioning the right to do these things. We are questioning whether that's advisable considering the consequences that could occur,”

The Most Selfish Man in America- Rev Terry Jones

2010-09-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

I have been watching this one pretty carefully. To honor the anniversary of September 11, this genius has decided to burn the Quran in protest..... Part of the media bias and backlash over the WTC Mosque is starting, and pious, entitled, people like this are starting to crawl towards the surface. Despite the government and other religious leaders asking him not to do this, he is remaining steadfast in his determination. This has got to be, one of the most selfish acts that I have ever seen done in the name of Christianity in my life; he is basically making innocent American soldiers moving targets in the Middle East. I am all for civil disobedience, but this is just so thoughtless towards the soldiers over there. Principles over life- Principles always wins with the XTians- Screw all the rest.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hKWWJdTrfALpbYfWB6fM58p6u-pwD9I3NLQO1

Be Proud America... One in Four of Your Teenagers has an STD

2010-09-05T10:11:00.001-07:00

So, Ginx has been talking a bit about this stuff. And, I found this article today. It is official.... The American Academy of Pediatrics is revealing that abstinence education and media depictions of sexuality have created a situation where 1 in 4 American teenagers have a sexually transmitted disease. Nice, yet another disgrace added to the litany of abuse given to the population from George W Bush. The AAP wants informed sexual education programs to be given to the kids.... Will never happen. Of course, most Christians will easily omit the abstinence section of this study, and completely blame the media for these findings. Nevertheless, normal people forsee that abstinence breeds deviance, and I personally thought that all along. My own father encouraged me to be sexually responsible and open; he opened the door for me to access birth control free of judgment and restraint with his full support. That brilliant piece of reverse psychology kept me a virgin till I left his home around the age of 19 or 20. Had he made me take a pledge to remain a virgin till marriage, I would have been a dirty, dirty girl with many stories to tell. Thoughts?
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/72167

A Very Interesting Photo Essay on Ground Zero

2010-08-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a really interesting photo essay on Ground Zero. There has been much debate on this whole Mosque thing there.... I think that the discussion is difficult, and I have been having trouble formulating a solid opinion. Nevertheless, I know two things. When I went to Ground Zero, I was shocked and troubled by the Christian presence there. And, secondly, I feel that noone would be crying about it if the property was being used to erect a MegaChurch.... I digress, and this is the "beauty" of capitalism. This essay is a poignant summary of what should be discussed, and I really enjoyed it. Take a look for yourself. As always, all comments are welcome.

http://daryllang.com/blog/4421

Getting the Queers Outta the Hood

2010-08-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

So, I stumbled on this one on Facebook today. This video shows a group of people banding together to remove a group of Bible Thumpers praying in front of a same sex couple in a quiet neighbourhood. Makes me proud that they will not stand for this bigotry and hatred anymore. I love that ordinary citizens are removing them, not the authorities. Here it is:

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/informer/the-new-normal/2010/08/24/watch-leslieville-residents-chase-anti-gay-bible-thumpers-from-their-street/

Proposition 8- A Nice Hateful Summary of How Religious Institutions Feel About It.

2010-08-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was so happy to hear that Proposition 8 had been overturned. I never really understood why the gay community stood for it in the first place. Lobbyists and organizers should have suggested to them that they all move away from the state in protest. Then, watch the government retract when they began to see who was really paying for the state. Civil disobedience would have captured everyone's attention.

Nevertheless, I digress.

I initially wanted to post an article highlighting the homosexual perspective on this issue; the joy at being given a very basic legal and civil right in the "land of the free"; The United States of America, where even slaves were allowed to marry. Then, this article came up, completely illuminating the dark undertow of hate that religions feel entitled to share with the rest of us. This is a nice little summary of public statements made by various groups when it had been overturned. The hypocrisy is shameful, and a really great example of how "backwards" this type of brain works.

Check it out.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/undergod/2010/08/proposition_8_ruling_in_california_religion_roundup.html

Christian Horizons- Part 2

2010-08-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

Last year, I posted about a woman who was taking her employer to The Supreme Court for her dismissal. She had been working at Christian Horizons, and had signed an employment contract with a morality clause indicating that she would not engage in immoral behaviour while working for them. This including gay affairs, drinking, and adultery. (The Nerve). Anyway, she came out of the closet, and they fired her. Well, the courts have started weighing in, and here are the results. They are bipolar at best. The court has maintained that the agency is within their rights to dictate the choices of their employess, however, they wrong in dismissing her. Might I add, they are also receiving public money. Huh? Here is the link, check it out.

Not Sure Where I Sit On This One

2010-07-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

Found this article on ABC News... So, it is talking about how atheists are trying to subvert the lunacy of religious baptisms by performing debaptisms with a blow dryer. While I can appreciate the humor behind it, and I most certainly support legally restricting baptisms until children become adults, I am not sure how I feel about this one. It is sitting with me funny and I am not sure why. I am sure that talking about with you folks will help clarify this. Here is the article;

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/atheists-conduct-de-baptisms/story?id=11109379

Quote of The Day

2010-07-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

So, I got this message from one of my oldest friends. We have been friends since we were kids, and she is a mother of 3. I love her. She is also an atheist, and has been actively raising her beautiful children with no religious teaching. She sent me this. This is a conversation that she overheard between her four year old daughter and the kid from next door who was playing with her. It goes as follows:

"Miranda to Stacey, girl next door: "I'm the bestest girl in the whole wide world."
Stacey: "No, God is."
Miranda: "But God doesn't exist."

Love that kid.

Howdy

2010-07-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

I missed all of you. I am sorry that I have not been around. I am attempting to finish school right now so that I can start my book project. Not easy. Anyways, I have this to say. Taking a break has given me space. And, I have recently had to use my debating tactics on Facebook. You guys have helped me alot. So, I will start posting again very shortly. Love you bitches.

Apparently, "God" Is Not The Only Being Capable of Creating DNA

2010-05-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

So, scientists have managed to create DNA that has been generated by artificial means. Of course, the Vatican does not like this, but at the end of the day, they really do not count. Of course, this advancement will outrage all religious people. But, in due time, they will also fully use all of the medical and environmental advances that this type of technology will provide us. Because, at the end of the day, instead of just praying, they all see the doctor too when they are sick. While I am not negating that this type of technology does have a dark side to the power it can unleash, I feel that this will impact us in a positive manner. Here is an article from the Globe and Mail about it;

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/scientists-create-first-artificial-cell/article1576053/

Christianity goes Telemarketing!!!!!

2010-05-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

Today's posting is a little personal, something that I rarely do. However, I got a phone call two days ago that got me thinking. The Jehovah Witnesses left me a message detailing what fate lies for me in the afterlife if I do not accept JayCee as my savior. Now, I know that most mainstream Xtians deny the absurdity of this sect by implementing their favorite argument (IE- "Well, that version of Xtianity is wrong....), but here is the catch. You are all under the same umbrella. It is not our fault that you all decided to fragment the belief to suit your needs. All rhetorical rants aside, I get to the point.

At first, I was really bothered by them invading my personal space and calling my home phone number. But, that mellowed. Now, I hope that they call back. All conjecture aside, they got me thinking about the appropriate way to respond to such discussions.

When I go to work, I often use the technique of mirroring with people. What this means, is I reframe behavior and attitudes in a manner that allows a person to objectively (and safely) see how irrational they are. So, I have decided to do the same with these folks. When someone starts talking to me about JayCee in an evangelical tone, I have come up with the following response. Cause, really, one crazy wholeheartedly deserves another;

"I am sorry. You see, I sold my soul to the Devil when I was ten for ice cream. My position in the afterlife has been firmly secured at the side of the Dark Lord. Thanks anyways."

I would encourage you all to do the same. I cannot wait to test it out.

Another Branch on the Family Tree of Humans Has Been Found.

2010-05-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

Scientists have found another human ancestor in Siberia. It is pretty amazing how rapidly we are discovering more and more information about our past. Here it is;

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/new-strain-of-humankind-identified/article1510841/

Uh Huh.... Us Canadians Have a Little More to be Proud of.

2010-05-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

So, a research team at the University of Toronto have developed an "Enigma Machine" that decodes genetic "messages". They will now be able to understand the language of our genes; especially in human tissue formation. Exciting, here is the link:

http://www.healthzone.ca/health/yourhealth/article/804883--u-of-t-team-decodes-secret-messages-of-our-genes

How Close to being a Neanderthal? Actually, about 1 to 4 %.

2010-05-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

So, researchers have discovered Neanderthal DNA within human DNA. They are estimating that people of non-African ancestry carries 1 to 4% of caveman DNA. Apparently, a group of homo sapiens left Africa and interbred with Neanderthals in the Middle East, where they moved to Europe and Asia. Interesting Stuff; Here it is;

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/humans-carry-neanderthal-dna-researchers-find/article1559142/

Quote of the Day

2010-05-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

"Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold."

— Howard Zinn

See... Sometimes Saying "The Bible Said" Really is no Defence

2010-05-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article from The National Post. Both Britain and Canada have strict laws making it hard for religious bigotry to flourish in the public sphere. Here is a great article about a pastor claiming that "The Bible Said" that it is okay to say that homosexuality is a sin, and his subsequent arrest in Britain. Had this incident occured in Canada, he would have been charged with a hate crime (which is what it is), because our Civil Liberties Association has fought very hard to make religious discrimination punishable by law. I really hope that Americans get tired of it too, and start becoming more proactive about the sanctity of the space that they collectively share.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/holy-post/default.aspx

Quote of the Day

2010-04-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

Wow.... I cannot believe that I just read this. Here is a quote that I just read from a Christian blogger. I am going to start a new series of these random statements that I find. Say what you will. Here is the full link so that you can properly contextualize what she said. But, below is the full quote:

http://abundantliving-tracy.blogspot.com/

A small incident that occurred recently, underscores what seems all wrong to me about Hell. I watched a 2010 rendition of the Diary of Anne Frank on TV. As is typical, I wept in the ending where it showed the Franks and their attic mates being found and taken by the Nazis. Following that scene, this rendition went on to print out how each of them died, accounting how Anne died in a concentration camp. Later when I was talking with my husband John the thought came to both he and myself that it was possible that both Anne and Hitler ended up in Hell. Boy does that seem totally unreasonable! Hitler in hell seems just, but one of his victims- my heart says that's not fair!

Now This is Some Interesting Stuff

2010-04-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Dr. Georg Northroff, has some controversial findings. He is the research director of the Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics faculty of the University of Ottawa's Institute of Mental Health Research. Here are his credentials;

http://www.imhr.ca/research/northofflab/index-e.cfm

Anyways, this will probably be the last that anyone hears of him because he is publicly going to denounce the reality of faith from a neurological perspective. In fact, he tends to cautiously allude that the more faithful of our population tend to be highly mentally unstable. Which, in my world, explains alot. Here is the link, it is some interesting stuff. I like where this could go. Many interesting doors could open if neurological research continues to actively pursue this line of thinking.

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Brain+unable+understand+existence+expert/2682486/story.html

Big News- The Vatican forgave the Beatles

2010-04-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

I guess in all of the recent publicity about the sex scandal and corruption in their church, this one must have went by the media. So, the Vatican forgave the Beatles for the Jesus comment. Check it out, its pretty funny. The hypocrisy is steep.

On March 4, 1966, this quote of John's was printed in an interview by reporter (and friend of John's) Maureen Cleave in the London Evening Standard:

"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

We all know what followed after. So, now they have released this;

http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/holy-post/archive/2010/04/12/vatican-forgives-the-beatles-for-bigger-than-jesus-comment.aspx

I think that Madonna will have to wait awhile before her apology comes.

Barbie Gets Some Jesus in her Plastic Life

2010-04-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

My friend just sent me this on Facebook. Priceless. Check it out. They have made a Barbie Doll for all the Christian little girls out there. To see it is to believe it.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/undergod/2010/04/reverend_barbie_the_plastic_episcopal_priest.html?hpid=talkbox1

Got A Great Joke For All of You.

2010-04-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!!! Maybe, someday, this holiday will no longer exist. I hope so.

So, here is my great joke.

You ask the person "What's this" and stretch your arms out as wide as they will go.

They say "I don't know".

You say "A shitty way to spend Easter." End of joke.

Not Even Free Gas Can Get Folks to Church

2010-03-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

No kidding. A church in Peterborough offered people free gas in an attempt to get people to come to their church. Six people came, despite the offer extending to the first 100. I am thinking that this is a good thing. Even in a recession, you cannot lure folks in with free gas. Love it. I am thinking that they really need to sweeten the offer. Check it out.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100328/national/oddity_church_free_gas

Things Are Heating Up in Quebec

2010-03-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

A coworker of mine told me about this. Quebec public daycares are banning all religion within their centres. Love it. Quite frankly, I am shocked that it is even on the table because they are feeding from the public taxpaying trough and it should not be there in the first place. Here it is;

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/03/10/mont-daycare-religion.html?ref=rss

A New One To Add To My Personal Lexicon

2010-03-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

Love this, and I feel that this reflects the religious mind very well. It is called Puffery. This is

"statements based on grandiose and exaggerated statements and opinions, not on fact."

Love it.

Further Abuse for the Victims of the Catholic Church

2010-03-06T11:04:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine just sent me this article on Facebook. It is shocking, and speaks for itself. In fact, I find it downright infuriating. Here it is;

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7048747.ece

I Just Learned About Tiktaalik

2010-03-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

This handsome gentlemen was found in the bowels of the Canadian Artic. His fossil confirmed what Darwin thought- that ocean animals adapted to find their way to the land. Here is a link if anyone is interested in taking a look at him;

http://tiktaalik.uchicago.edu/

Timeline With The Judas Cradle

2010-03-04T09:39:00.000-08:00

To do this series, I am going to present key findings in the history of the Inquisition followed by a torture device that they used against accused heretics.

To backtrack, before the atrocities began in Europe, this was a key happening in the history of the Inquisition. It begins with declaring all non Christian behaviour illegal.

Theodosius becomes the eastern emperor in AD 379 and rapidly settles the religious splits within the empire by declaring pagan worship and Christian heresies (such asArianism) to be illegal. A law of 380 orders all citizens to subscribe to the Catholic doctrines agreed under the chairmanship of Constantine the Great at the Council ofNicaeain 325.

Read more:http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?gtrack=pthc&ParagraphID=dfi#ixzz0hEMdF3ep

And, here is one of the instruments that the love of Jesus created- The Judas Cradle.

Judas Cradle (Torture)

The Judas Cradle, a terrible medieval torture where the victim would be placed on top of a pyramid-like seat. The victim's feet were tied to each other in a way that moving one leg would force the other to move as well - increasing pain.

The triangular-shaped end of the judas cradle was inserted in the victim's anus or vagina. This torture could last, depending on some factors discussed below, anywhere from a few hours to complete days.

Death Factors

The time it took someone to die varied enormously from individual to individual. Torturers would sometimes add weight to the victim's legs as to increase pain and hurry the victim's death. Other torturers would place oil on the device which increased pain considerably.

This device was rarely, if at all, washed. If the victim did not die quickly enough, or their painful execution was interrupted, they would invariantly die from an infection.

The victim was sometimes rocked or made fall repeatedly onto the "pyramid". This was done so torturers could acquire vital information from the victim. If he or she refused to talk, the torturer would either add more weight to the victim or make him or her fall repeatedly on the device.

Other information

The Judas cradle was called the culla di Giuda in Italian, the Judaswiege in German and The Wake in French.

The victim was usually naked when subject to the Judas Craddle. This was to increase humiliation.

To prolonge the victim's life and cause more pain, torturers would sometimes rise the victim with ropes for the night and continue the torture during the morning.

A common variant of the Judas Cradle was the Impalement Torture - equally painful.

http://www.medievality.com/judas-craddle.html

Quote Of The Day

2010-03-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking alot about a medieval history course I took when I was 19. It was one of the most shocking experiences of my youth, and it really propelled me towards my atheism. I have decided to revisit this, and I am going to post a series about the Inquisition. There are so many Christians out there who no knowledge of the depths of the Christian evil that proliferated during this time. Time to go back, and I will use this quote to begin the journey. More to follow.

"The Christian resolve to find the world evil and ugly, has made the world evil and ugly."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Quote Of The Day

2010-02-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

This week, I have really had to work to remind myself of the wisdom behind this quote..... I agree with it on one level, but on the other, I do not. I can definitely see how religion can be used to steer politics, just not in a civil liberty type of sense. Brought to us by Napoleon Bonaparte, here it is;

"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet”

Question For All of You

2010-02-23T10:15:00.000-08:00

I have a question because I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this concept- abstinence. Why would the Bush administration pump so much cash into what is clearly a bad idea? What is it a smokescreen for? Why would people encourage their kids to do this? I know that it is probably obvious, but I really do not get why people would so willingly "impair" the natural growth of their kids sexuality? Any feedback is appreciated.

Cry Me A River

2010-02-22T09:40:00.001-08:00

Love this

You can teach your child your own values at home. Public schools teach everyone about respecting diversity and valuing everyone.

Canadian Christianity is reporting, through a "leaked document" that the parents of children in Hamilton are not allowed to be omitted from a multicultural teaching that involves sensitivity to minorities. Most importantly, this includes teaching understanding toward the gay population. So, now these "poor Christian children" are going to be forced to hear that the hate of their freakshow homophobic parents is not acceptable to the larger society.

In addition, they stress that if you want to teach hate and anger to your kids, that is your right to do so in the privacy of your own home. However, you cannot not while you are feeding from the publicly funded trough that we all contribute too. I know that I certainly do not give my taxes away to create a curriculum that supports denying anyone their basic civil liberties and rights. And, if these parents are so mad, why do they not pool their money and start their own private school that can specialize in crafting all forms of prejudice and bigotry. Noone would have anything to say if they paid for it themselves. But, that would make too much sense. Nope, of course, they expect everyone else to pay and support their backwards ideology.

Another reason why being a Canadian is the best thing there is. Here it is;

http://www.christianity.ca/frame.asp?http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10021508.html

Clearly, This Abstinence Thing Is Not Working

2010-02-17T06:41:00.000-08:00

Here it is, barely a month old. What I had assumed was a bad idea, clearly is. While these crazy parents encourage their kids to save themselves for marriage, teenage pregnancy rates grow. And, this is blamed on the Abstinence propaganda of the Bush administration. So sad.

http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2010/01/26/index.html

Abstinence

2010-02-16T20:46:00.000-08:00

From what I understand, Christians are metaphorically speaking, putting chastity belts on their kids by guiding them into taking abstinence pledges until they are married. Why the hell would ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND want to marry a virgin? What if you are not compatible with the one person that you have chosen to copulate with? Wow, smells like a pretty sick joke to me.

Anyways, The American Academy of Pediatrics released this study confirming that this is pretty ineffective; It is good for a read. Thoughts, anyone?

http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/29/1/29

Reason #1- Christianity is Nothing More Than Recycled Mythology

2010-02-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

Christianity borrowed its central myths and ceremonies from other ancient religions.

Again, this comes from Chaz Bufe. "The ancient world was rife with tales of virgin births, miracle-working saviors, tripartite gods, gods taking human form, gods arising from the dead, heavens and hells, and days of judgment. In addition to the myths, many of the ceremonies of ancient religions also match those of that syncretic latecomer, Christianity. To cite but one example (there are many others), consider Mithraism, a Persian religion predating Christianity by centuries. Mithra, the savior of the Mithraic religion and a god who took human form, was born of a virgin; he belonged to the holy trinity and was a link between heaven and Earth; and he ascended into heaven after his death. His followers believed in heaven and hell, looked forward to a day of judgment, and referred to Mithra as "the Light of the World." They also practiced baptism (for purification purposes) and ritual cannibalism—the eating of bread and the drinking of wine to symbolize the eating and drinking of the god’s body and blood. Given all this, Mithra’s birthday should come as no surprise: December 25th; this event was, of course, celebrated by Mithra’s followers at midnight.

Mithraism is but the most striking example of the appearance of these myths and ceremonies prior to the advent of Christianity. They appear—in more scattered form—in many other pre-Christian religions."

"The Pagan Christ" by Tom Harpur really eloquently draws the similarities between Christianity and Egyptian religion. But, if anyone needs anymore convincing, just pick up an art history textbook and follow the images. It really does not take a leap of "faith" to draw this conclusion.

Quote of The Day

2010-02-12T06:38:00.001-08:00

Here is a great little quote that I happened to find the other day. This was written to John Adams. It goes as follows;

"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."

Thomas Jefferson

A Great LIttle Video

2010-02-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

One of my friends just sent me this video on Facebook. It is a really simple little history of the relationship between science and religion. If you have five minutes to spare, a nice little refresher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4RyUa3OubY

Richard Dawkins takes on Pat Robertson in the New York Times

2010-02-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting article that I found online. It is Richard Dawkins "spin" on how Pat Robertson made his beliefs known about Haiti. What is even more interesting, to me, is the comments made by people beneath this article. Fascinating stuff, it is called "Hear the Rumble of Christian Hypocrisy". Here it is;

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7007065.ece

Reason #2- The Explanations of the World in the Bible Were Given to Us By Slave Holding Goat Herders

2010-02-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

I borrowed this passage, and I think that it explains it the best;

For over a millennium Christianity arrested the development of science and scientific thinking. In Christendom, from the time of Augustine until the Renaissance, systematic investigation of the natural world was restricted to theological investigation—the interpretation of biblical passages, the gleaning of clues from the lives of the saints, etc.; there was no direct observation and interpretation of natural processes, because that was considered a useless pursuit, as all knowledge resided in scripture. The results of this are well known: scientific knowledge advanced hardly an inch in the over 1000 years from the rise of orthodox Christianity in the fourth century to the 1500s, and the populace was mired in the deepest squalor and ignorance, living in dire fear of the supernatural—believing in paranormal explanations for the most ordinary natural events. This ignorance had tragic results: it made the populace more than ready to accept witchcraft as an explanation for everything from illness to thunderstorms, and hundreds of thousands of women paid for that ignorance with their lives. One of the commonest charges against witches was that they had raised hailstorms or other weather disturbances to cause misfortune to their neighbors. In an era when supernatural explanations were readily accepted, such charges held weight—and countless innocent people died horrible deaths as a result. Another result was that the fearful populace remained very dependent upon Christianity and its clerical wise men for protection against the supernatural evils which they believed surrounded and constantly menaced them. For men and women of the Middle Ages, the walls veritably crawled with demons and witches; and their only protection from those evils was the church.

When scientific investigation into the natural world resumed in the Renaissance—after a 1000-year-plus hiatus—organized Christianity did everything it could to stamp it out. The cases of Copernicus and Galileo are particularly relevant here, because when the Catholic Church banned the Copernican theory (that the Earth revolves around the sun) and banned Galileo from teaching it, it did not consider the evidence for that theory: it was enough that it contradicted scripture. Given that the Copernican theory directly contradicted the Word of God, the Catholic hierarchy reasoned that itmust be false. Protestants shared this view. John Calvin rhetorically asked, “Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit?”

More lately, the Catholic Church and the more liberal Protestant congregations have realized that fighting against science is a losing battle, and they’ve taken to claiming that there is no contradiction between science and religion. This is disingenuous at best. As long as Christian sects continue to claim as fact—without offering a shred of evidence beyond the anecdotal—that physically impossible events occurred (or are still occurring), the conflict between science and religion will remain. That many churchmen and many scientists seem content to let this conflict lie doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

Today, however, the conflict between religion and science is largely being played out in the area of public school biology education, with Christian fundamentalists demanding that their creation myth be taught in place of (or along with) the theory of evolution in the public schools. Their tactics rely heavily on public misunderstanding of science. They nitpick the fossil record for its gaps (hardly surprising given that we inhabit a geologically and meteorologically very active planet), while offering absurd interpretations of their own which we’re supposed to accept at face value—such as that dinosaur fossils were placed in the earth by Satan to confuse humankind, or that Noah took baby dinosaurs on the ark.

They also attempt to take advantage of public ignorance of the nature of scientific theories. In popular use, “theory” is employed as a synonym for “hypothesis,” “conjecture,” or even “wild guess,” that is, it signifies an idea with no special merit or backing. The use of the term in science is quite different. There, “theory” refers to a well-developed, logically consistent explanation of a phenomenon, and an explanation that is consistent with observed facts. This is very different than a wild guess. But fundamentalists deliberately confuse the two uses of the term in an attempt to make their religious myth appear as valid as a well-supported scientific theory.

They also attempt to confuse the issue by claiming that those nonspecialists who accept the theory of evolution have no more reason to do so than they have in accepting their religious creation myth, or even that those who accept evolution do so on “faith.” Again, this is more than a bit dishonest.

Thanks to scientific investigation, human knowledge has advanced to the point where no one can know more than a tiny fraction of the whole. Even the most knowledgeable scientists often know little beyond their specialty areas. But because of the structure of science, they (and everyone else) can feel reasonably secure in accepting the theories developed by scientists in other disciplines as the best possible current explanations of the areas of nature those disciplines cover. They (and we) can feel secure doing this because of the structure of science, and more particularly, because of the scientific method. That method basically consists of gathering as much information about a phenomenon (both in nature and in the laboratory) as possible, then developing explanations for it (hypotheses), and then testing the hypotheses to see how well they explain the observed facts, and whether or not any of those observed facts are inconsistent with the hypotheses. Those hypotheses that are inconsistent with observed facts are discarded or modified, while those that are consistent are retained, and those that survive repeated testing are often labeled “theories,” as in “the theory of relativity” and “the theory of evolution.”

This is the reason that nonspecialists are justified in accepting scientific theories outside their disciplines as the best current explanations of observed phenomena: those who developed the theories were following standard scientific practice and reasoning—and if they deviate from that, other scientists will quickly call them to task.

No matter how much fundamentalists might protest to the contrary, there is a world of difference between “faith” in scientific theories (produced using the scientific method, and subject to near-continual testing and scrutiny) and faith in the entirely unsupported myths recorded 3000 years ago by slave-holding goat herders.

Nearly 500 years ago Martin Luther, in his Table Talk, stated: “Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has.” The opposite is also true.

Chaz Bufe

Quote of the Day

2010-01-31T14:02:00.000-08:00

Today, I decided to post a quote in respect of Howard Zinn, who recently passed away. For what it is worth, I consider his book "A People's History of the United States" one of the most salient pieces of literature in the last century. In my most idealistic fantasy, that book would be a mandatory textbook in public schools. And, Fast Food Nation would be too, but that is a whole other blog.

Anyways, years ago, when I was reading his book and finally understanding what he was saying about the importance of conceptualizing history from many viewpoints, I loved this quote. Looking back, I see that it was one of the defining moments in accepting that I was an atheist. Here it is;

"And in such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners."

A girl can dream can't she? Anyways, thank you Mr. Zinn.

Reason #3- The Bible is Highly Inaccurate.

2010-01-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

The Bible is not a reliable guide to Christ’s teachings. Mark, the oldest of the Gospels, was written at least 30 years after Christ’s death, and the newest of them might have been written more than 200 years after his death. These texts have been amended, translated, and re-translated so often that it’s extremely difficult to gauge the accuracy of current editions—even aside from the matter of the accuracy of texts written decades or centuries after the death of their subject. This is such a problem that the Jesus Seminar, a colloquium of over 200 Protestant Gospel scholars mostly employed at religious colleges and seminaries, undertook in 1985 a multi-year investigation into the historicity of the statements and deeds attributed to Jesus in the New Testament. They concluded that only 18% of the statements and 16% of the deeds attributed to Jesus had a high likelihood of being historically accurate. So, in a very real sense fundamentalists—who claim to believe in the literal truth of the Bible—are not followers of Jesus Christ; rather, they are followers of those who, decades or centuries later, put words in his mouth.

If first hand eyewitness testimony is not credible within a court, why are people using a book that was written thirty years after the fact? You would think that if people, at the time, are deviating from Judaism because they believe that he was the Messiah that they would write everything down, neurotically, as it happened. Not so, which will tie into Reason #1 later on.

It Is Time to Discuss Lilith

2010-01-22T13:24:00.001-08:00

The best way to talk about Lilith is to quote an essay from Stephanie Erricson. Here, she provides a little insight into who she was:

"Omission

The cruelest lies are often told in silence. —R.L.Stevenson

Omission involves telling most of the truth minus one or two key facts whose absence changes the story completely. You break a pair of glasses that are guaranteed under normal use and get a new pair, without mentioning that the first pair broke during a rowdy game of basketball. Who hasn't tried something like that? But what about omission of information that could make a difference in how a person lives his or her life? For instance, one day I found out that rabbinical legends tell ofanother is woman in the Garden of Eden before Eve. I was stunned. The omission of the Sumerian goddess Lilith from Genesis—as well as her demonization by ancient misogynists as an embodiment of female evil—felt like spiritual robbery. I felt like I'd just found out my mother was really mystepmother. To take seriously the tradition that Adam was created out of the same mud as his equal counterpart, Lilith, redefines all of Judeo-Christian history. Some renegade Catholic feminists introduced me to a view of Lilith that had been suppressed during the many centuries when this strong goddess was seen only as a spirit of evil. Lilith was a proud goddess who defied Adam's need to control her, attempted negotiations, and when this failed, said adios and left the Garden of Eden. This omission of Lilith from the Bible was a patriarchal strategy to keep women weak. Omitting the strong-woman archetype of Lilith fromWestern religions and starting the story with Eve the Rib has helped keep Christian and Jewish women believing they were the lesser sex for thousands of years."

Is is true? Did Adam have a first wife who was omitted from the Bible during the Canonization process? I am sure that there are people out there who already know this. If you don't, search for yourself. Here is a start;

http://www.asphodel-long.com/html/lilith.html

Reason #4- Christians Come To My Door To Preach

2010-01-22T09:31:00.000-08:00

No Jew or Muslim has ever knocked on my door to tell me what is best for me. Enough said.

Reason #5- God Makes You Very Cruel

2010-01-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

While the torture and murder of heretics and "witches" is now largely a thing of the past, Christians can still be remarkably cruel. One current example is provided by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. Its members picket the funerals of victims of AIDS and gay bashings, brandishing signs reading, "God Hates Fags," "AIDS Cures Fags," and "Thank God for AIDS." The pastor of this church reportedly once sent a "condolence" card to the bereaved mother of an AIDS victim, reading "Another Dead Fag."They are also known to picket the funeral of soldiers. Christians are also at the forefront of those advocating vicious, life-destroying penalties for those who commit victimless "crimes," as well as being at the forefront of those who support the death penalty and those who want to make prison conditions even more barbaric than they are now.

But this should not be surprising coming from Christians, members of a religion that teaches that eternal torture is not only justified, but that the "saved" will enjoy seeing the torture of others. As St. Thomas Aquinas put it:

In order that the happiness of the saints may be more delightful and that they may give to God more copious thanks for it, they are permitted perfectly to behold the sufferings of the damned . . . The saints will rejoice in the punishment of the damned.

Stupid JD Quote of the Day

2010-01-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

Here is another gem found from this doofus;

The Founding Fathers here in the US adhered to the "constrained" theory and put checks and balances in place in our system of government to help prevent tyranny.

Wow, sounds good. How did George W Bush slip through those "checks and balances" then? Let me guess, he does not think that he was a tyrant.

Stupid JD Quote of the Day

2010-01-20T06:59:00.000-08:00

Because a certain "Christian" blogger (JD) likes to call me out and places my arguments out of context, I have decided to use certain quotes of his to my advantage. Here is his thoughts on poor people voting. Spoken with true compassion and humility indicative of any true Christian. If you find it hard to believe, then here is the link so that you can look it up yourself. I will give him more than he gives anyone, and you can actually read the entire thread and place his ignorance into proper context;

http://feeno-ifibecameanatheist.blogspot.com/2010/01/outlaw-witch-burnings-not-matches-or.html

Where do we draw the line? Heck, let everyone vote. Unless you receive public assistance then throw your voter registration card out the window because all you're going to do is vote yourself a "raise" each and every time.

Reason #6- God Teaches us to Accept Tangible Evil, but Makes us Afraid of Fairytale Evil

2010-01-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

Christianity is masterful at making us accept the status quo and all of the social evils that accompany it. It diverts attention from real problems by focusing attention on sexual issues, and when confronted with social evils such as poverty glibly dismisses them with platitudes such as, "The poor ye have always with you." When confronted with the problems of militarism and war, most Christians shrug and say, "That’s human nature. It’s always been that way, and it always will." One suspects that 200 years ago their forebears would have said exactly the same thing about slavery.

This regressive, conservative tendency of Christianity has been present from its very start. The Bible is quite explicit in its instructions to accept the status quo: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." (Romans 13:1–2)

Is it no wonder then that many people fear the Devil, yet they continue to shop at Walmart? Or, they fear the Rapture, but are complacent about globalization? Nope, makes perfect sense to me.

Reason #7- Because God Hates The Gays

2010-01-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

Christianity is homophobic. Christianity from its beginnings has been markedly homophobic. The biblical basis for this homophobia lies in the story of Sodom in Genesis, and in Leviticus. Leviticus 18:22 reads: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination," and Leviticus 20:13 reads: "If a man lie with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." And, again, notwithstanding the historical context of homophobia in The Bible.

While the Greeks were openly homosexual, the Romans were not. While the world of the ancient Greeks seems to have tolerated homosexuality (as seen in the poems of Sappho and the dialogues of Plato), that of the Romans was more cautious. Romans in the period of the Roman Republic and early empire tended to perceive the Greek acceptance of male homosexuality as less than male and, thus, literally unvirtuous (Vir being the Latin word for man). Indeed, a Roman term for effeminacy was “Graeculus”—“a little Greek!” In 312, this father of the emperors Constantius II and Constans had reached out to Christianity as the basis for his authority. Throughout the next 25 years of his reign, Constantine supported Christianity and gave financial help to the Church and legal sanction to some of the bishops’ powers. As his sons came of age in an increasingly Christian society, they and many of their advisors would have grown up with Biblical strictures. Thus, the pronouncements of the Book of Leviticus (18. 22, 20. 13) against male homosexuality as an abomination punishable by death in God’s eyes would logically have influenced writers of imperial law. Such strictures were reinforced in the New Testament (Romans 1. 24-27). So, it would appear that the growing influence of the Bible in an increasingly Christian Roman empire led emperors to condemn homosexual unions.

Fast forward 2000 years, and homosexuals have to fight for their basic legal and civil rights in what we call a "civilized" era. Bullshit.

Here is an interesting article. It is about how the Quebec government is supporting writing laws to actively combat homophobia (which would legally make it much simpler to press hate law charges against any religious institution who uses their platform to preach hate), and how these idiots, 2000 years later, are still keeping these backward beliefs. Sad, and this is one of the biggest reasons why I am atheist.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=122113

Quote of the Day

2010-01-16T08:52:00.001-08:00

Here is a real gem from Pat Robertson.... This guy, along with Mike Seaver and Ray Comfort really need to head down to the local sperm bank and donate away. The world just needs more of this choice DNA to spread around.

Mr. Robertson is really feeling the need to empower people. And, instead of using positivity, he decides to make his followers feel helpless and victimized. And, he exploits one of the worst tragedies of the twentieth century to do so. Because Christianity is losing its grip on the mainstream, because people are tired of the "moral majority", he likens modern day Christians to this;

"Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, so liberal America is now doing to the evangelical Christians. It's no different. It is the same thing. It is happening all over again. It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-based media and the homosexuals who want to destroy the Christians. Wholesale abuse and discrimination and the worst bigotry directed toward any group in America today. More terrible than anything suffered by any minority in history." –Pat Robertson

Reason #8- God Makes You Incredibly Selfish and Self Centred.

2010-01-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

Christianity, in particular, projects the belief that God is involved with all lives of every individual on Earth.

Therefore, it is no great leap then that many Christians believe and imagine that God has a "master plan" only for them, and that God directly talks to, directs, or even does favors for them. Hmmmmm.... This egocentricity lends to making followers very selfish with an inflated sense of righteousness. How many people have tried to convert you? How many times have you went to a wedding and it has been assumed that you will pray? And, how many times have you heard people say that God will right wrongs for them? How many times have you had religion imposed on you through no fault of your own? How many people have assumed that you are a religious person?

The whole thing is absurd, and best summarized by Richard Dawkins:

"A God capable of continuously monitoring and controlling the individual status of every particle in the universe cannot be simple. His existence is going to need a mammoth explanation in its own right... Worse, from the point of view of simplicity, other corners of God's giant consciousness are simultaneously preoccupied with the doings and emotions and prayers of every single human being.... (which makes him have to) decide continuously not to intervene miraculously to save us when we get cancer."

I call this unhealthy and sick, that is why I am an atheist. I am really boring and uninteresting and feel quite comfortable being a face in the crowd. Besides, I am not interested in having a belief in something that knows everything that there ever is, ever was, and ever will be about me. That really creeps me out, like stalker following you after dark kind of creepy. Not for me. What is the point anyways? If I am not on his radar, he will not help me with cancer.

Here's to living well while I am here, thinking about other people, and random acts of kindness just for the hell of it.

Quote of the Day

2010-01-14T16:04:00.001-08:00

Another gem from Pat Robertson. And, in continuation with Reason #9-

"(T)he feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." –Pat Robertson

Reason #9- God Hates Me Because I Am A Girl

2010-01-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

Misogyny is fundamental to the basic writings of Christianity. In passage after passage, women are encouraged—no, commanded—to accept an inferior role, and to be ashamed of themselves for the simple fact that they are women. Misogynistic biblical passages are so common that it’s difficult to know which to cite. From the New Testament we find "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. . . ." (Ephesians 5:22–23) and "These [redeemed] are they which were not defiled with women; . . ." (Revelation 14:4); and from the Old Testament we find "How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?" (Job 25:4) Other relevant New Testament passages include Colossians 3:18; 1 Peter 3:7; 1 Corinthians 11:3, 11:9, and 14:34; and 1 Timothy 2:11–12 and 5:5–6. Other Old Testament passages include Numbers 5:20–22 and Leviticus 12:2–5 and 15:17–33.

And, it did not end here. These wonderful traditions started 2000 years ago continue to escape the critical filter of today, despite the fact that women predominately appear in all aspects of our society. And Reason #10 also fits here too. The misogyny when placed in proper context, makes sense. The Greeks were notoriously and openly homosexual, keeping women in their dwellings solely for reproductive purposes. When the Romans colonized the Greeks, they destroyed what parts of the culture they did not like, and appropriated what they liked. History shows us that they certainly favoured Greek art work, architecture, urban planning, sanitation systems, and cultural ideas such as misogyny, etc. The Romans created the First Christian Empire, and keeping women complacent fit the bill for what they were deciding to do.

Nevertheless, because the Bible mainstreamed hatred against women, we still feel the repercussions today. Perhaps if the Greeks had been a matriarchal society, things may have been different. Sadly, though, we have idiots today on the airwaves that we all share who see fit to interfere with reproductive rights and make wonderful comments such as this;

I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that’s the way it is, period.

PAT ROBERTSON, The 700 Club, Jan. 8, 1992

Top Ten Reasons As to Why I am an Atheist- 10

2010-01-13T14:57:00.000-08:00

I am going to a top ten list as to the reasons why I choose atheism. Here is reason number 10.

This is best summarized by a snide quote that I found from Mark Twain.

“It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.

And, this is what I have come to understand. The Bible is a historical document that was created to contain and support the historical, political, legal, educational, psychosocial, and sociocultural agendas of its time. These issues are not relevant to me, and they should not be to people in modern times. When placed in its proper context, the Bible is a good fairytale at best.

This is Interesting

2010-01-11T10:14:00.001-08:00

I found this article today in the National Post. The Canadian Jewish Congress is very critical about the "sainthood" of Pope Pius XII. They have concerns because he remained silent during the Holocaust, as did many Catholic officials. In fact, many Christian churches (with a few rare outliers) did not publicly denounce the actions of the Nazi Party. Nevertheless, they are not happy. Here it is, interesting stuff.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/holy-post/archive/2010/01/06/canadian-jewish-congress-questions-pope-pius-xii-s-move-toward-sainthood.aspx

And, for anyone interested in finding out more about how Christian churches enabled the Nazi's, here is a great article summarizing why they kept their silence;

http://www.adl.org/Braun/dim_14_1_role_church.asp

The Ontario Government Better Get On This Loophole

2010-01-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

I have not had a chance to post in awhile because I have been on vacation for the past week. But, I found this this morning.

The Ontario Government has launched a new educational program called the "Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy" which has been designed to create a broader spectrum of tolerance within the province. This also includes tackling homophobia within the classroom. Sounds good, however the government will not specify whether this agenda will extend to Catholic schools, nor does it specify whether they can teach their "version" of homosexuality, or the government's mandated curriculum. Smells like upcoming controversy to me. Here is the link, check it out, interesting stuff;

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10010807.html

This Proud Canadian Just Got Much Prouder.... More Good Stuff in Ontario

2009-12-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

So, I found this gem in the Canadian Civil Liberty Site. Apparently, the Gideon association was giving Bible's to children through the school with parental consent. Not anymore. Check it out. To actually view the documents, both the complaint and their response, here is the link;

http://ccla.org/?p=2960

CCLA objects to Gideons distributing Bible in public schools
December 15th, 2009
For years, the Waterloo Region District School Board has given the Gideons permission to offer free Bibles to fifth grade students in public schools. On December 4, 2009, CCLA wrote to the Board criticizing the governing policy and its historical and current application. Public schools should not be used as a vehicle for the promotion of one religion over another, or indeed the promotion of religious life over secular life.

New Addition to my own Personal Lexicon

2009-12-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

I am sorry that I have not been blogging so much. Been pretty busy. However, I am going to start again. So, today we are going to discuss a new term that I have learned brought to us by Richard Dawkins. Here it is;

History Denier-

used for those people who deny evolution; who believe that the world's age is measured in thousands of years rather than millions of years, and who believe that humans walked with dinosaurs.

Interesting Things Are Happening in Boring Old Ontario- Part 1

2009-12-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

So, I found an interesting article in Canadian Christianity today. Seems that a Christian organization in Ontario decided to fire a gay employee for being a homosexual. And, to make it worse, they had a code of conduct established within their employment standards that prohibited all employees for being various things- adulterers, gay, etc. So, this is the Christian spin on it. It is exactly what I expected it to be. It is not about being gay, blah blah blah. Anyways, Part 2 of this posting has the actual court finding on it, so you can see the actual truth in the issue. Turns out this woman was very Christian herself. Interesting stuff, here is the article.

“Religious Orientation” before the Ontario Courts
This case has nothing to do with sexual orientation, but rather the ability of a recognized religious community to define its own beliefs, practices and standards of membership.
by Don Hutchinson

landmark religious freedom case arrived before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Tuesday, December 15. The court is sitting as the Divisional Court, which is a panel of three Ontario Superior Court judges (as distinct from Ontario Court of Appeal judges) sitting in review of the decision of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in Heintz v. Christian Horizons.

The appeal features the main parties – Connie Heintz, the Ontario Human Rights Commission and Christian Horizons – along with a bevy of interveners – The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops and Egale Canada Inc. (formerly E.G.A.L.E., Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere).

Aside from the fact that the complainant in this case has expressed same gender attraction, the case has nothing to do with sexual orientation. The situation Ms. Heintz found herself in would have occurred if she had been involved in a heterosexual relationship outside of marriage, substance or resident abuse, or any other potential violations of the Christian Horizons community’s Lifestyle Policy. This case is about “religious orientation.”

Christian Horizons is an Evangelical Christian ministry serving people with exceptional needs. Originally established as the Ontario Christian Association for Exceptional Children in 1965, Christian Horizons has been successfully providing a Christian home environment as the foundation for an excellent quality of life for many of Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens. Christian Horizons’ residential care focuses on the spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional and social interaction needs of each person entrusted into their care. The success and quality of life established by this form of care became a driving force behind the Province of Ontario transitioning from institutional care of the developmentally disabled to the contemporary residential care model.

Christian Horizons was established, and expanded at government request, as a religious community. The staff is composed of individuals who have come together with a common belief and agreement on common expression of that belief as the unique foundation for ministry to their residents. Each resident is respected for his or her “intrinsic value as loved by God and bearing His image.”

At all times, Christian Horizons has identified itself as and remained a distinct and identifiable religious community, a fact that was affirmed by the OHRT in its decision.

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has recognized the right to religious freedom of a religious community as recently as this year’s decision in Alberta v Hutterian Brethren. In that decision the court affirmed the application of two key cases to the concept of collective religious freedom. In Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem the SCC decided that an individual had a legitimate right to practices that have a nexus with his or her religious beliefs. In Trinity Western University v B.C. College of Teachers the SCC decided a religious community (university) could require its students to sign agreement with a statement of faith and a code of conduct. In short, the religious community defines what it believes and how those beliefs translate into practice.

In another case concerning the Hutterian Brethren, Hofer v Hutterian Brethren, the SCC decided in 1970 that an individual is free to subscribe to the beliefs and practices of a religious community in acceptance of the “normative foundation” of that community. The individual could also be expelled from the community if no longer in agreement with that normative foundation.

In Connie Heintz’s situation, she found herself out of compliance with the normative foundation of her chosen religious community of over 2500 people, serving over 1400 residents. Ms. Heintz had recognized and accepted the normative foundation when she signed the Statement of Faith and the Lifestyle Policy of that community five years before. Connie Heintz resigned from her employment with Christian Horizons and subsequently filed a Human Rights complaint. The Ontario Human Rights Commission took up the cause of that complaint because of Ms. Heintz’ stated sexual orientation. The OHRT sided with the issue of sexual orientation, perhaps even moreso than any support offered to Ms. Heintz, over and above the religious freedom of the established self-identifying religious community Christian Horizons.

The Divisional Court will be asked to assess whether there is a hierarchy of rights with sexual orientation superseding the religious freedom of a community united in non-discriminatory service to people with exceptional needs, as the OHRT found, or whether a religious community continues to have the right to define membership as stated by the SCC prior to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Hofer case.

No one disagrees with Connie Heintz’s right to define her beliefs and practices in regard to her sexual orientation. Christian Horizons, by law and our constitution, has the equal right to define its beliefs and practices in regard to the organization’s religious orientation.

What this case comes down to has nothing to do with sexual orientation, but rather the ability of a recognized religious community, that’s doing good, not harm, to define its own beliefs, practices and standards of membership.

The above article may be republished with permission in print publications. For more information contact Gail Reid: reidg@efc-canada.com.

Don Hutchinson is Vice-President, General Legal Counsel with The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and Director of the Centre for Faith and Public Life.

Originally posted on Monday, December 14, 2009 at the EFC’s ActivateCFPL blog.

Interesting Things Are Happening in Boring Old Ontario- Part 2

2009-12-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

Anyways, here is the findings of the Court. Needless to say, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found Christian Horizons guilty of violating Human Rights. They have stepped in and said that when rights violate other rights, the law can interfere. And, that they did. Check out the link:

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onhrt/doc/2008/2008hrto22/2008hrto22.html

Picture of the Day

2009-12-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

Beautiful pic of a dinosaur.

R.I.P. Oral Roberts- One of America's Best Con Artists

2009-12-15T19:49:00.000-08:00

So, here it is straight from the L.A. Times- Oral Roberts died today at the age of 91. He was billed as the first "televangelist", and really got the ball rolling in North America. He clearly understood, and began to use media and the mail to bring the message of God to people, and in turn, receive absolutely incredible amounts of money for his "hard work". He blazed the trail for the likes of Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Bakker, and Benny Hinn. Thank you for teaching organized Christianity how to further exploit people for the sake of personal profit. I am sure that many of them will remember you as a great man.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-oral-roberts16-2009dec16,0,3407978.story

Scientists Have Discovered That Monkey Have Language Too....

2009-12-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

I found this great article in the New York Times. Scientists have found a group of monkeys that have their own type of language, and have managed to decipher meaning behind the sounds. So exciting, here it is.

Boom! Hok! A Monkey Language Is Deciphered

By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: December 7, 2009
Boom boom! (I’m here, come to me!)

Enlarge This Image
Krak krak! (Watch out, a leopard!)

Hok hok hok! (Hey, crowned eagle!)

Very good — you have already mastered half the basic vocabulary of the Campbell’s monkey, a fellow primate that lives in the forests of the Tai National Park in Ivory Coast. The adult males have six types of call, each with a specific meaning, but they can string two or more calls together into a message with a different meaning.

Having spent months recording the monkeys’ calls in response to both natural and artificial stimuli, a group led by Klaus Zuberbühler of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland argues that the Campbell’s monkeys have a primitive form of syntax.

This is likely to be a controversial claim because despite extensive efforts to teach chimpanzees language, the subjects showed little or no ability to combine the sounds they learned into a sentence with a larger meaning. Syntax, basic to the structure of language, seemed be a uniquely human faculty.

Still, species like gibbons and whales make complex vocalizations in which the order of the sounds seems to have some effect on their meaning, though it is hard to say what. Dr. Zuberbühler’s team reports deciphering some of the Campbell’s monkey’s communication system in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Krak” is a call that warns of leopards in the vicinity. The monkeys gave it in response to real leopards and to model leopards or leopard growls broadcast by the researchers. The monkeys can vary the call by adding the suffix “-oo”: “krak-oo” seems to be a general word for predator, but one given in a special context — when monkeys hear but do not see a predator, or when they hear the alarm calls of another species known as the Diana monkey.

The “boom-boom” call invites other monkeys to come toward the male making the sound. Two booms can be combined with a series of “krak-oos,” with a meaning entirely different to that of either of its components. “Boom boom krak-oo krak-oo krak-oo” is the monkey’s version of “Timber!” — it warns of falling trees.

There is yet another variation on this theme, Dr. Zuberbühler’s team reports. Into the “Timber!” call, the Campbell’s monkeys insert a series of up to seven “hok-oo” calls. The combined call indicates the presence of other monkey groups and is heard most often when the monkeys are on the edge of their home range.

The meaning of monkey calls was first worked out with vervet monkeys, which have distinct alarm calls for each of their three main predators: the martial eagle, leopards and snakes. But the vervets did not combine their alarm calls to generate new meanings, unlike human words that can be combined in an infinite number of different sentences.

If the Zuberbühler team’s observations are correct, the Campbell’s monkeys can both vary the meaning of specific calls by adding suffixes and combine calls to generate a different meaning. Their call system, the researchers write, “may be the most complex example of ‘proto-syntax’ in animal communication known to date.”

Dr. Zuberbühler said he planned to play back recordings of given calls to the Campbell’s monkeys and to test from their reactions whether he had correctly decoded their messaging system.

Dear Mike Seaver and Ray Comfort....

2009-12-12T07:31:00.000-08:00

You both have no problem publicly telling everyone that their belief in evolution is false, that the notion that we descended from primates is lies. Well, I have been watching Sons of Anarchy. And, here is exhibit #1- Mr. Ron Perlman. He is a talented actor, and carries with him a very distinctive presence, but how can you deny evolution when you look at his face? Wow. Here it is;

A Return to The Basics

2009-12-09T10:17:00.000-08:00

Here is a gem of an article from 2006. I pulled this from the New York Times. It is the results of the study that was done measuring the effects of prayer on cardiac patients. The findings- prayer is ineffective, which I already knew. I was a little surprised when this did come out, because I thought that the perception of God helping you would create a little bit of a placebo effect to the more faithful involved. Nevertheless, here it is;

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/health/31pray.html

Some More Glimpses Into The Depths of The Religious Mind

2009-12-07T14:53:00.001-08:00

Here is a lovely little article that I found in the National Post today. It is a nice little summary of all of the North American crackpots who have recently experienced religious imagery in everyday symbols. You cannot make this stuff up... Or maybe you can. Check out the pictures within the text- totally priceless. I cannot wait for the Rapture, bring it on. Here it is.

Going Postal: Jesus is everywhere edition

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2009/12/04/going-postal-jesus-is-everywhere-edition.aspx

So Not Surprised

2009-12-07T09:30:00.001-08:00

So, I found this on The Denver Post Online today. If anyone has seen Bruno, there is a great scene where he tries to get a Christian gay conversion done. It truly is shocking. It never occurred to me that Christians would even think that this is possible. Insane. Isn't God supposed to love all of its creatures? Guess not, especially if you are gay. Nevertheless, like many of them caught on camera, he expresses no remorse for how he behaves. However, he does express remorse that he was duped and placed in a position where he was laughed at. I remember when Jesus Camp came out. I thought that those folks should have been arrested. Initially, they were shocked by the reaction of the public, they saw nothing wrong with what they did. Anyhow, he is using his fame to run for mayor of Birmingham. If he wins, I will never, ever go there. It will be interesting to see if the city will openly support a Christian gay converter as their mayor. I really hope not.
Oh yeah, check out the last paragraph, total icing on the cake. Here it is;

'Bruno' pastor runs for mayor of Birmingham, Ala.
By JAY REEVES Associated Press Writer
POSTED: 12/04/2009 03:01:21 AM MST
UPDATED: 12/04/2009 03:52:19 AM MST

This undated campaign photograph shows Jody Trautwein, a pastor... ((AP Photo/Trautwein campaign))
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Moviegoers know Jody Trautwein as the smiling Alabama pastor who tries to talk Sacha Baron Cohen's character out of being gay in the hit movie "Bruno." Trautwein is now auditioning for another role: Mayor of Birmingham.
Trautwein is among 14 candidates in next week's election to replace Larry Langford, who was booted from office in October after being convicted on 60 felony counts in a bribery scheme.

While the minister's scene drew laughter in theaters, he's running a serious campaign. He has a Web site, fliers, volunteers and a platform that includes fighting crime, improving city schools, economic expansion and restoring integrity to City Hall.

But political discussions inevitably begin with Trautwein's part in "Bruno," a spoof released this summer in which Cohen portrayed a gay Austrian fashion journalist traveling the United States.

"I haven't seen the movie," Trautwein, 39, said in an interview. "From what I understand it's about an hour and a half of darkness and perversion with about three minutes of light."

Trautwein said he was duped into appearing in the movie through phone calls from a producer and fake Internet sites set up by Cohen's cohorts. Trautwein believed he was helping a German TV crew telling the story of a man who wanted to give up homosexuality.

In the movie, Trautwein counsels "Bruno" to convert to heterosexuality by believing in Jesus.

"He wants to come into your heart right now," Trautwein says earnestly.

"Are you hitting on me?" Cohen deadpans.

No, Trautwein wasn't. But the segment helped the administrator and youth pastor at Point of Grace Church build a campaign profile.

Trautwein caught the attention of movie producers because of his former position as director of the Alabama Coalition Against Same-Sex Marriage. He's a conservative who describes himself as neither a Republican nor a Democrat.

Trautwein may be a longshot, but he said he's in the mayoral race to win even though he lacks the name recognition of candidates like Carole Smitherman, who served as interim mayor after Langford's ouster; William Bell, a member of the Jefferson County Commission; or Patrick Cooper, a lawyer who finished a distant second to Langford in 2007.

"We're going to run strong," said Trautwein, a Birmingham native who has worked in ministry for 14 years. "I believe we are going to surprise a lot of people."

The nonpartisan election is Tuesday, and a runoff will be held Jan. 19 if no candidate wins a majority of votes in the city, with an estimated population of about 210,000.

Langford is awaiting sentencing for taking some $236,000 in bribes in his former role as commission president in Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous region.

Evidence showed Langford—himself a professing Christian who leads a weekly Bible study—took checks and expensive gifts from an investment banker who received lucrative bond business from the county, which is now trying to avoid filing the largest municipal bankruptcy ever.

———

On the Net: http://jodyformayor.org

One Sad, and Very Sick Article

2009-12-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a very sad article. This is another article about how victims of abuse from the Catholic church want leaders accused of abuse brought to our justice system. This is just so sick, sad, and awful. Coming back to Darwin's quote- religion is disease. These criminals stay shrouded in the church. If these poor folks had been abused by police officers, teachers, doctors, nurses, etc, there would be no problem seeking justice and retribution. What is interesting, though, is that within the text of this article is a link to a website inciting accountability for bishops. Might not hurt to provide victims with some support.

Here is the link if you would like to see for yourself.

http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Priest-abuse-victims-want-criminal-investigation-275072.php

A Glimpse Into A Religious Mind

2009-12-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

My friend, another one from highschool (I have many atheist enablers out there) sent me this. This is the latest "stigmata" of Christ, another Shroud of Turin. People really do see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear. Sometimes, I think about it. This "special interest group" wants their voice heard in all types of civil liberties. So scary. Check this out;

Massachusetts Mother Mary Joe Coady Sees Jesus On Her Iron

November 28, 2009 | Posted by Shannon Bell

I guess it just depends on how you look at it; Mary Joe Coady sees Jesus. I think I see gunk. A Massachusetts woman sees Jesus on her iron, she’s taking it as a sign that everything’s going to be alright. The 44 year old isn’t going to try and cash in on the iron, she’s planning on keeping it.

Not to make light of her situation, but people have seen the image of Christ on other objects before, even food. Sometimes they see the Virgin Mary; a lot of times it’s an attempt to cash in, other times I think they genuinely see the savior.

This story of Mary Joe Coady seeing Jesus on her iron seems pretty genuine. If you look at the photo you see something that could be interpreted as Jesus, but I really think she sees Jesus on the iron because she’s going through a rough patch and needs to be comforted.

There’s no greater comfort than Jesus Christ, so I take heart in the fact that she sees the one who can actually give her comfort when she needs it. At least she doesn’t see Obama on the iron. Sure she’ll be made fun of, sure she’ll probably be pressured to sell the Jesus iron, but the bottom line is she’ll be comforted during a tough time; that’s really all that matters, right?

According to some reports she posted the photo on Facebook and got a lot of confirmation that it did indeed look like Jesus on her iron. Even her teenage daughters told her it looked like a Jesus iron. If your kids don’t think you’re nuts then who cares what anybody else thinks.

H/T JammieWearingFool

Quote of The Day

2009-12-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

Comes from my best friend from highschool again. She sent me this great link, and I found this gem on there. This is taken from a Roman Tombstone. Wow, this person was soooooooo ahead of the rest of us: Check it out.

ROMAN TOMBSTONE:

Do not pass by my epitaph, traveler.
But having stopped, listen and learn, then go your way.
There is no boat in Hades, no ferryman Charon,
No caretaker Aiakos, no dog Cerberus.
All we who are dead below
Have become bones and ashes, but nothing else.
I have spoken to you honestly, go on, traveler,
Lest even while dead I seem loquacious to you.

Quote of the Day

2009-11-30T09:39:00.000-08:00

I love this. So correct. I know that I tend to use Richard Dawkins alot on this blog, but he is one of the most outspoken people out there. And he is so dead on. Here it is;

It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, "mad cow" disease, and many others, but I think a case can be made that faith is one of the world's great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate.

-- Richard Dawkins, The Humanist, Vol. 57, No. 1

One of the Best Articles on Evolution that I Have Read in a Long Time

2009-11-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

My best friend from highschool just gave me this great article. It is from National Geographic, and it is discussing how futile it is to argue evolution. This article is suggesting that evolution has accumulated enough evidence to begin transitioning from scientific theory to fact. It is a compelling, but lengthy read. Here is the link:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2004/11/darwin-wrong/quammen-text

The Catholic Church Will Never Do This

2009-11-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

I found this great article today. It is from the Associated Press, and is actually reporting that a Protestant Church is publicly apologizing for the manner in which it has treated Native Americans. What is this? One of the signs of the Apocalypse. The fundamentals better start praying cause this is a miracle. However, I will reserve my optimism that utopia is coming with the Rapture, and they will all be taken away, because it is only one church. Check this out;

Christian church, Native American tribe reconcile

By VERENA DOBNIK (AP) – 1 day ago

NEW YORK — Members of one of America's oldest Protestant churches officially apologized Friday — for the first time — for massacring and displacing Native Americans 400 years ago.

"We consumed your resources, dehumanized your people and disregarded your culture, along with your dreams, hopes and great love for this land," the Rev. Robert Chase told descendants from both sides. "With pain, we the Collegiate Church, remember our part in these events."

The minister spoke on Native American Heritage Day at a reconciliation ceremony of the Lenape tribe with the Collegiate Church, started in 1628 in then-New Amsterdam as the Reformed Dutch Church.

The rite was held in front of the Museum of the American Indian in lower Manhattan, where Dutch colonizers had built their fort near an Indian trail now called Broadway, just steps away from Wall Street.

The Collegiate Church was considered the "conscience" of the new colony, whose merchants quickly developed commerce with the world in fur and grains — till then the turf of the natives.

Surrounded by Lenape Indians, the Dutch colonists "were hacking men, women and children to death," said Ronald Holloway, the chairman of the Sand Hill band of Lenapes, who lived here before Henry Hudson landed 400 years ago.

The Indians dispersed across the country, eventually ending up on government-formed reservations. On Friday, some came from as far away as Oklahoma.

During the ceremony, Chase embraced Holloway and, as symbolic gestures of healing, the two sides exchanged wampum — strings of beads used by North American Indians as money or ornament. A boy representing the Lenapes and a girl from the Collegiate Church put necklaces on each other.

While Friday's ceremony exuded warmth and openness, accompanied by an Indian drumming circle and the haunting sound of a wooden flute, the feelings leading up to the reconciliation were mixed.

"After 400 years, when someone says 'I'm sorry,' you say, 'Really?' " Holloway said before the ritual. "There was some kind of uneasiness. But then you've got to accept someone's sincere apology; they said, 'We did it.' We ran you off, we killed you.' "

In New York City, the Collegiate churches are composed of four congregations including the landmark Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue led by the late Rev. Norman Vincent Peale.

The church plans to sponsor educational activities and exhibits to teach children history — including the Indian reverence for preserving the purity of the land taken over by the Dutch colonists.

___

Christian Side Hugs from That Happened! - Video

2009-11-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

Christian Side Hugs from That Happened! - Video

This is sooooo funny. Abstinence rules!!!! A nice way to wake up this morning.

Let Us Consult the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

2009-11-26T22:05:00.000-08:00

Today, I was struggling with this whole Christmas thing. While I was wrestling with the whole basic materialism, way too much consumerism type of argument, I felt unable to come to any conclusion about limiting the Christian expression of this holiday. Perhaps, we are too hard on them. Maybe we are actively discriminating against their symbols of religious freedom. So, I thought that the best approach would be too consult our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to settle this conflict. Here is what I found, interesting stuff. First;

Sections 2(a) and 15 of the Charter lay out the right to freedom of religion and equal treatment in Canada. 2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: a) freedom of conscience and religion; … 15(1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

Basic stuff. But here is where it got interesting.

Freedom of religion in Canada has also been interpreted as necessitating the reasonable accommodation of minorities. This means that laws must be adjusted if they have even an indirect discriminatory effect on a person or group based on their particular characteristics. In this sense, Canada’s form of religious neutrality is quite different from the stricter version of laïcité adopted in countries such as France. The Canadian approach attempts to make laws receptive to the particular needs of minorities, rather than espousing a more uniform conception of equality. The policy of reasonable accommodation attempts to break from the trend promulgating the norms of the majority as the dominating values in Canadian society.(18 ) However, unlike the interpretation of freedom of religion under the United States Constitution, freedom of religion under the Charter’s section 2(a) is not absolute. Rather, it is a relative concept, with which courts have the power to balance certain countervailing claims. Clearly offensive conduct or symbols that harm or constrain the freedoms or human dignity of others are not tolerated. These limitations are emphasized within the Charter itself. Section 15 highlights the fact that each religion is one of many vying for equality. Section 27 suggests that religion falls under the rubric of culture, and that the Charter seeks to preserve and protect all cultures. Finally, section 1 gives courts the discretion to qualify the fundamental freedom of religion by such reasonable limits as are prescribed by law and can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.(19)

Interesting... So, the next time they cry about taking away Christmas, remind them that it is part of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that others have the right to not be exposed to Christmas. It is legal now. I love it.

Here is the link if you are up for the read

http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb0441-e.htm#bthecanadian

Another One of the Many Beautiful Parts about Life Free of God

2009-11-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of a beautiful rainbow I just took. I love life. As quick as it was here, it was gone. Seeing how beautiful life is, I almost do not fault people for misconstruing natural events in the Bible when they did not know better. Life really is wondrous. Today is a good day.

Interesting Little Gem

2009-11-25T10:41:00.000-08:00

I posted earlier about certain retail outlets banning the Christian messages associated with Christmas for their holiday campaigns. Of course, there has been a reaction, there always is. You know, instead of understanding that they can keep it within the confines of their homes, they will always fight the need to keep it public. So boring. I have included email addresses at the bottom in case anyone out there wants to email them their thoughts. I plan on doing so, and will post my email later for all to see. Here it is, came from the Christian wire.

200,000 Christian Shoppers Wear Buttons That Tell Retailers 'It's OK Wish Me A Merry Christmas(tm)'

Contact: Ashley Tarter, Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign, 800-487-7137 ext 709, atarter@wmamc.com

MEDIA ADVISORY, Nov. 25 /Christian Newswire/ -- Over 200,000 shoppers are wearing buttons this Christmas season that proclaim a straightforward message to retailers: "It's OK, Wish Me A Merry Christmas(tm)." Individuals and churches around the country are partnering with the Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign mobilizing advocates energized for a return to the traditional, convivial greeting, bearing buttons that make a clear statement - "It's OK, Wish Me A Merry Christmas(tm) (www.wmamc.com)". Over 200,000 of these buttons have been distributed nationally. With over 200,000 buttons on the streets and in stores this year, local store associates are likely to be presented with the opportunity to deviate from the corporate holiday wishing policy of top retailers like the Gap and Best Buy, and stealthily wish their customer "Merry Christmas" instead of the generic "Happy Holidays". But since 96% of Americans celebrate Christmas (Gallup Poll, 2004), it's likely that the store cashiers would prefer to wish their customers "Merry Christmas" as well. In fact 88% of Americans state that "It's okay to wish 'Merry Christmas'." (Gallup Poll). Pastors across the North America have lined up to support the Campaign. "Our nation needs to return to our Christian roots and values. Trying to remove the name of Jesus Christ from Christmas and from our society must be stopped," says Reverend John Mains of Fountain of Life in Johnstown, PA. In Ontario, Canada Pastor Troy Dingwell says, "I believe it is great that there are still people in North America who still hold to our Christian beliefs and traditions." Even Santa himself humbly gives credit where credit is due, "Christmas is not just about Santa and presents. Christmas is about the baby Jesus." Sue Fairchild and Reverend James Ritter of the Watsontown Baptist Church in Watsontown, PA sees the spirit of the Campaign, "We are using these buttons to encourage our congregation to step out in their faith this holiday season. We are coming together to put Christ back in Christmas." Said Campaign Manager, Ashley Tarter, "National retailers will hearken the public's message that it is okay to wish, 'Merry Christmas,' once again. In the meanwhile local communities are being impacted by the message of the Campaign." The national Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign is appealing to retailers to "put Christmas back in the holidays" with two straightforward petitions: * To actively retract adverse corporate holiday wishing policies, by returning to the traditional and explicit "Merry Christmas" phrase; and

* To restore use of the symbols, language and sounds of Christmas in in-store displays, signage and music, as well as in November and December advertising. From Florida to Alaska and into Canada individuals and churches have purchased hundreds of thousands of the red and green, "It's OK, Wish Me A Merry Christmas," ornament-like buttons to wear and share. For more information, visit www.wmamc.com - the first letters in Wish Me A Merry Christmas, or contact Media Relations at 800-487-7137, option 4. Merry Christmas!

* Gallup Poll 2004, PDFs available athttp://wmamc.com/millionbuttongoal/media.html PHOTOS:http://wmamc.com/millionbuttongoal/media.html#images

CONTACTS: Ashley Tarter Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign PO Box 5398 Williamsburg, VA 23188 PHONE. 800-487-7137 ext. 709 E-mail: atarter@wmamc.com

How Can You Deny Evolution When You Look at the Primordial Features of This Beauty

2009-11-24T09:47:00.001-08:00

Look at this beauty. He is A Chinese Water Salamander. If this is not a visual throwback to ancient times, I do not know what is. Another interesting specimen in the beautiful diversity of life. Here is some basic info about him;

"The Chinese Giant Salamander is the largest salamander in the world, with specimens of up to six feet (two meters) in length being recorded. Unfortunately for this unusual animal, it is viewed as a delicacy in China, which has led to heavy hunting both in China and Taiwan, where the giant salamander was introduced at some point in history. This in combination with habitat depletion has landed the Chinese Giant Salamander on the critically endangered list, with biologists indicating that immediate action must be taken to save these gentle creatures if we want future generations to enjoy them. Several zoos have Chinese Giant Salamanders in captivity, but a successful breeding program has not yet been established."

Another Look at How Diverse and Wonderful Life Is- A Roar from the Past.

2009-11-23T13:42:00.000-08:00

Here is another pic I took of King Shit himself- The T Rex from Montana. I love him. This shot looks at his tail, and how long he was. Beautiful. We owe much to the scientists who worked so hard to recover him and piece him back together. I am going to start posting the pics that I take are relevant to this blog.

Wow.... London is so Progressive.

2009-11-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

This comes from the Times Online. Evolution is going to be taught as a compulsory subject in public schools. A feel a sense of pride that we part of the Commonwealth... Well, at least in a symbolic kinda way. Let's hope that some of this progressive thinking trickles to us in the Great White North. Here it is;

Evolution to be compulsory subject in primary schools

Campaigners are delighted that Darwin will be on the curriculum

Greg Hurst, Education Editor

Evolution is to become a compulsory subject for study in all state primary schools. The Government announced yesterday that Darwin’s theory of how life evolved through natural selection would be a legal requirement in science teaching from September 2011, although it will be left to schools to decide how this is done.

The move, which was welcomed by scientists, comes despite a drive to slim down the national curriculum for primary schools and leave teachers greater discretion over what to teach.

British history will also become, for the first time, an explicit part of the curriculum that primary schools must teach, although it makes no reference to which kings, battles, periods or events should be taught.

Church and other faith schools within the state system will have to educate their pupils about the theory of evolution, although officials said it could be taught in a context that reflected a school’s ethos, in a similar way to compulsory sex education for children aged under 15.

“You could do that within the ethos of the school. If as a school, in consultation with governors and parents, you have a particular take on that, you would still be able to do that,” said a spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The change, included in legislation introduced in the Commons yesterday, follows a review of the curriculum for primary schools published earlier this year by Sir Jim Rose.

A consultation on his proposals to loosen the number of formal topics taught in primary schools prompted calls for the curriculum explicitly to include evolution. More than 500 scientists and supporters signed an e-petition to Downing Street.

The new curriculum is to include a requirement “to investigate and explain how plants and animals are ‘interdependent’ and are diverse and adapted to their environment by natural selection”.

The age at which children must be taught about evolution is not specified; it must be included in science lessons “in the later stage of the primary education”.

The Royal Society applauded the decision and said that it would send booklets to all teacher-training colleges with information and advice.

Professor Sir Martin Taylor, its vice-president, said: “We are delighted to see evolution explicitly included in the primary curriculum. One of the most remarkable achievements of science over the past 200 years has been to show how humans and organisms on the Earth arose through evolution.”

This is Kind of Fun

2009-11-22T21:49:00.000-08:00

I found this on a website. It is kinda fun. It is the Atheists Ten Commandments. Sounds good to me, I really do not need to be told not to kill, cheat or steal.

1. Thou SHALT NOT believe all thou art told.

2. Thou SHALT seek knowledge and truth constantly.

3. Thou SHALT educate thy fellow man in the Laws of Science.

4. Thou SHALT NOT forget the atrocities committed in the name of god.

5. Thou SHALT leave valuable contributions for future generations.

6. Thou SHALT live in peace with thy fellow man.

7. Thou SHALT live this one life thou hast to its fullest.

8. Thou SHALT follow a Personal Code of Ethics.

9. Thou SHALT maintain a strict separation between Church and State.

10. Thou SHALT support those who follow these commandments.

One of the Many Wonders of Life

2009-11-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

Look how beautiful this is...... I took this yesterday. Le sigh. Oh T Rex from Montana, you are the shit.

Thank Science For This

2009-11-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

A friend told me to check this out today, and I did. The Globe and Mail had this great article today reporting that they have had a breakthrough in the treatment of MS. This is exciting....The study of evolution is the gift that keeps on giving. Here is the link to check out yourself.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/researchers-labour-of-love-leads-to-breakthrough-in-treating-ms/article1372414/

In Honor of the First Atheist I Knew

2009-11-18T21:25:00.001-08:00

My dad. My father was well ahead of his time, and openly disbelieved in God. When I was 17, it used to disturb me. I felt fearful for him because I was scared that he would not go to heaven. I would say to him "Dad, what do you think happens when you die?" and he would point to the ground and say "Food for worms." I love him, and I have most certainly become his daughter.

In honor of his favorite band and the atheism we share. Here it is;

"I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door and must have it painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black..."

Quote of the Day

2009-11-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

This quote comes to me straight from Tom Harpur, in The Pagan Christ. He describes the writing of the Bible as:

"The earliest Church fathers themselves admit that they took the high, symbolic, esoteric (or secret) wisdom that the Christian movement had inherited from Paganism- from Platonic philosophy and the Mystery Religions- and explained it, or rather downgraded it, by means of vulgar fables for the illiterate mob.... They were soon spreading these inner teachings abroad to the general public, and "in the process reducing the rich and sumptuous feast of wisdom to such a hash and porridge to the ignorant masses could find in some way digestible. Thus came Christianism which was the wreckage of Christianity."

Book Recommendation of the Day

2009-11-17T21:25:00.000-08:00

For anyone out there who is interested in expanding their reading collection, here is a nod out to Tom Harpur. For my birthday, a close friend of mine gave me this book. While I would not say that I am learning anything new, I am really enjoying returning to the basics of my liberal university education. I love being brought back to the basic mythology that created the Bible. Here is a basic description of the book;

This is Harpur's most radical and groundbreaking work to date, in which he digs deep into the origins of Christianity and how the early Christian church covered up all attempts to reveal the Bible as myth.

What began as a universal belief system has become a ritualistic institution headed by ultraconservative literalists. As he reconsiders a lifetime of worship and study, Harpur reveals a cosmic faith built on these truths that the modern church has renounced. His message is clear: our blind faith in literalism is killing Christianity. Only with a return to an inclusive religion where Christ lives within each of us will we gain a true understanding of who we are and who we are intended to become.

Another Interesting Genetic Discovery Due to Evolution

2009-11-17T16:01:00.001-08:00

Here is a great article posted on Science Daily today. They have discovered a gene that determines a person's ability to respond to stress and to practice empathy towards others. I believe, the more that I research about our genetic discoveries, that they are managing to unlock all of the mysteries of life. Awesome stuff, see for yourself;

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116163212.htm

Another Great Quote of the Day

2009-11-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

This quote comes from Alvin Boyd Kuhn, who has studied religion in modern times. This is poignant, and this is why it deserves distinction today.

"Christianity only gained favour and held the allegiance of the masses of the populations of the West for centuries because it succeeded in accommodating its message to the prevalent levels of general unintelligence. In doing so it inevitably distorted its truths into ludicrous caricature and baneful forms of error and falsehood"

Awesomeness Quote of the Day

2009-11-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

This one comes to us from Northrop Frye, another reason why us Canadians are so great. I love this. Here it is: In describing the state of modern day Christianity, he likened it to

"a ghost with with the chains of a foul historical record of cruelty clanking behind it...."

I Really Hate that I Owe My Sight to my Primal Fear of My Biggest Phobia

2009-11-14T22:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a rather interesting article from the Toronto Star about Snakes. I LOATHE snakes... I am terrified of them. However, putting all of my fear aside, this article is an interview with a scientist who believes that primates may have developed sight due to fear of snakes. It also suggests that at one time, humans and primates were food for them, and this is why our eyes evolved. Interesting stuff, and may very well answer that evolutionary enigma about why our sight evolved the way that it did.

Here is the link:

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/714569--how-snakes-on-the-brain-sharpened-our-eyes

Case In Point

2009-11-12T17:16:00.001-08:00

In less than 24 hours, I found this article. My last posting talked about the dissemination of Christian "information" to young people, and how the religious agenda could serve to make them more vulnerable towards making less informed decisions towards their sexual health. And, then this unfortunate article shows up on World Net Daily. Sadly, I could not have called it better.

Teen fights vaccination for sexually transmitted virus

Lawyers say forcing treatment violates her religious rights

Posted: November 12, 2009

12:30 am Eastern

By Bob Unruh

A teenager is entitled to an exemption from a federal requirement that she be given a vaccine against a sexually transmitted disease, because she is a Christian and holds the religious conviction that she must abstain from sex until marriage, according to a brief filed in support of her decision.

The arguments come in a brief filed in support of Simone Davis in her fight with the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service by the Alliance Defense Fund.

"Christians shouldn't be forced to violate their faith in order to gain U.S. citizenship," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. "Requiring a young girl to choose between her beliefs and legal citizenship is a clear violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which prevents the government from putting a substantial burden on a person's religious beliefs except under extreme circumstances.

"She has met all of the other legal requirements for permanent resident status and has a loving home already in place, but the federal government would apparently prefer to return this girl to abandonment," he said.

(Story continues below)

WND reported earlier when the federal government threatened that if the teen did not give up her religious beliefs against a vaccine that targets only a sexually transmitted disease, she could not become a U.S. citizen.

Davis, born in 1992 in Britain, was abandoned by her parents and adopted at age 3 by Jean Davis, her paternal grandmother, who then married and moved to Florida.

However, her adoption in Britain wasn't recognized in the U.S., so the process was begun again. The 17-year-old was on track for citizenship, attendance at Pensacola Christian College and a career as a teacher until she ran into Gardasil, the vaccine produced by Merck & Co.

The drug was added to the list of vaccinations required for female immigrants in 2008, but the teen has refused it because its purpose is to protect against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus only. Simone has taken a virginity pledge and doesn't see she why she should be forced to take it.

"I am only 17 years old and planning to go to college and not have sex anytime soon," she said. "There is no chance of getting cervical cancer [thought to result from the papillomavirus], so there's no point in getting the shot."

The teen sought a waiver on religious grounds, but the government turned her down.

The ADF brief noted the law permits a waiver of the vaccine requirement based on moral or religious objections, but Davis was denied because her beliefs do not include an objection to all vaccines. Officials also claim her opposition is based more on medical reasons than religious ones.

"Because HPV is passed through sexual activity, receiving the HPV vaccine for protection in case Simone has sex would be the same thing as giving her a condom to put in her purse 'just in case,'" the brief argues.

"It violates her commitment to remain pure until marriage, a commitment she made as part of her Christian faith."

Her pastor, Mike Dunn, who submitted an affidavit, said, "If Simone received the vaccination she would violate her own conscience which is being led by the Holy Spirit, thus becoming sin against God."

"To me, Jesus is a major part of my life. I live my life for Him, and according to His will and His plan," the teen said. "I talk to God about everything that happens to me. I ask for His guidance in what to do every day. I read the Bible to grow in knowing God better."

She said when she was confronted with the government's demand that she subject herself to the vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease, she prayed.

As a result, she became convicted that she should not accept it, citing 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, which says, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?"

Dunn said the teen's interpretation is consistent with the Southern Baptist Church's teachings.

"There is no doubt that Simone's beliefs are religious," the brief said. "Simone is a religious person, and has been since she was seven years old. … [Her] beliefs are rooted in God's commands, as recorded in the Bible. Consequently, taking [this] vaccination would be sinning against God."

The ADF noted in 2008 its lawyers successfully represented a U.S. Coast Guard officer who refused to be injected with a vaccine derived from an aborted baby after the Coast Guard initially refused to grant a religious exemption.

Meanwhile, the ramifications of the vaccinations are being reported. WND has reported recipients have suffered side effects, including "anaphylactic shock," "foaming at mouth," "grand mal convulsion," "coma" and "paralysis."

The results were confirmed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a report obtained by Judicial Watch, a Washington group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.

Deaths also have been reported.

"Given all the questions about Gardasil, the best public health policy would be to re-evaluate its safety and to prohibit its distribution to minors. In the least, governments should rethink any efforts to mandate or promote this vaccine for children,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

The document reveals the case of an 18-year-old woman who received the Gardasil vaccine, was found unconscious that evening and died. Another woman, age 19, got the drug and the next morning was found dead in her bed.

Thousands of "Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System" cases have been documented.

WND also reported on the aggressive push by Merck to lobby state legislatures to make the vaccination mandatory for schoolgirls across the nation.

In 2007 alone, Merck's aggressive lobbying campaign and contributions to the Women in Government organization for women state legislators resulted in proposals in at least 39 states to institutionalize such vaccinations.

"I am most definitely surprised [by the immigration requirement], and I would love to know how it ever became policy," Dr. Jacques Moritz, director of gynecology at St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, told ABC. "I wonder if the drug company could have had any influence."

A company official told the network it wasn't involved in making the vaccination required.

Quote of the Day- More Christian Based Misinformation

2009-11-12T07:50:00.000-08:00

This is a little more complicated than I usually post. I am also going to do something new with this, which is why this is filed under the "Christian Based Gross Misinformation" Quote of the Day category.

I found this interview with an "MD", by the name of Miriam Grossman at Christianity.Ca. She has written a book criticizing current the "myths of sexual education" in Canada. I do not know if she actually said this, or if the author misquoted her to get their own agenda across. Nevertheless, this research apparently comes to us from a "Family Research Health Centre", which could just be a front to have a pro Christian agenda display a credible appearance to mainstream readers. Here is the exact link if you are interested in reading the entire interview.

http://www.christianity.ca/frame.asp?http://www.imfcanada.org/article_files/eReview_Sept_9_2009.pdf

So, here is her pearl of wisdom;

"A third point is kids aren’t told that oral sex is associated with cancers of the throat. Needless to say this is important, and indeed life-saving, information yet it is withheld from kids, and that is the height of irresponsibility."

So, I had to go see this for myself. I consider myself a fairly informed person, and I wanted to see if this was some new research or something like that. Actually, researchers have managed to discover a link between untreated HPV infection and oral cancer. In fact, the more I researched I found that this doctor had actually said this, and was very misquoted by this publication. So, this Christian publication has this information. Instead of being responsible for the proper dissemination of this knowledge and using it to its full potential- like maybe using it to reinforce the need for an HPV vaccination, they spin it through the religious bullshit cycle, and further scare their youth from a sexual practice that is safer than many others. Perhaps Kirk Cameron was the author. Smells like his stench to me.

This is Exciting- More News from the Study of Genomes

2009-11-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

This article was in today's Globe and Mail. Scientists believe that they have found the gene that has caused speech in humans. Or, specifically, the mutated gene that may have triggered speech in humans. I have to say, I get excited when I hear of more of the discoveries that they are finding in genetic research. Here it is:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/why-cant-chimps-speak/article1359436/

I Think That Most People Can Expect Gift Certificates from the Gap this Year

2009-11-11T21:37:00.000-08:00

So, the Christian Post is encouraging Christians to boycott The Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic because they are removing the Christian part of Christmas. Good, so on board.... Is Christmas really all about JC? Not anymore. Seems like the epitome of our shallow materialistic culture to me. Anyways, here is the article if anyone is interested. It is a good read.

Christians Urged to Boycott Gap Inc. Over 'Christmas' Censor

By Jennifer Riley|Christian Post Reporter

E-mail
Print
RSS
Share
Text

A conservative pro-family group is urging Christians to boycott Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic from now until December 25 for “censoring” the word Christmas in its ad commercials and promotions.

“Christmas is special because of Jesus,” maintains AFA in its e-mail newsletter. “It’s not just a ‘winter holiday.’ For millions of Americans the giving and receiving of gifts is in honor of the One who gave Himself.The American Family Association said that despite “tens of thousands of consumer requests to recognize Christmas” and requests by the organization, San Francisco-based Gap Inc. has refused to use the word.

“For the Gap to pretend that isn’t the foundation of the Christmas season is political correctness at best and religious bigotry at worst.”

AFA joins Christian legal group Liberty Counsel in defending the use of the word Christmas for the celebrations that take place at the end of each year.

Earlier this month, Liberty Counsel launched its annual “Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign” that pledges to be a “Friend” to those who recognize Christmas and a “Foe” to those who censor it. The campaign offers free legal assistance to anyone who faces criticism for celebrating Christmas.

“Over the past few years the 'Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign' has successfully put the 'grinches' on the run,” commented Mathew D. Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law.

“This year millions of Americans will join us to help save Christmas," he said. "If a government entity censors Christmas in violation of the Constitution, then we will first seek to educate but, if necessary, we will litigate. If retailers choose to profit from Christmas while pretending it does not exist, then we will patronize their competitors."

Liberty Counsel also publishes a “Naughty or Nice” list, which categorizes retailers who either censor (“Naughty”) or recognize (“Nice”) Christmas.

The Christian legal group has handled numerous cases concerning Christmas, including those that involved nativity scenes on public property, school officials who censored religious words from Christmas carols, and companies that renamed Christmas trees “holiday trees.”

The “Naughty & Nice List” can be found on the Liberty Counsel Web site: www.lc.org

I Guess that It Is Time to Discuss the Elephant in the Room

2009-11-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

Here is an article from Christianity Today. It is talking about the appeals that will ensue because the Italian government is going to have to remove Crucifixes from their walls... BOOHOO. Is faith not supposed to be in your heart? Why does it have to be attached to inanimate objects and symbols invading public space? If you believe, why do you care what is on the wall? Why do people have to insist that everyone visually understands what is tangible to only them? It is insane. Crazy, here it is.

WORLD

Italy government to appeal ruling on classroom crucifixes

by Aaron J Leichman, Christian Post

Posted: Sunday, November 8, 2009, 8:11 (GMT)

Font Scale:A A A

Enlarge this picture

A crucifix towers over Corleone, Sicily, Italy, Monday, April 24, 2006. (AP)

The Italian government is to appeal a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights last week determining that the hanging of crucifixes in school classrooms violates religious and education freedoms.

Italy's Minister of Public Instruction Mariastella Gelmini and Minister of the Interior Claudio Scajola told media that the state would appeal Tuesday’s decision, arguing that the cross in Italy has become more than a symbol of the Church. They say it has also become a symbol of Italian and European history and tradition.

“The crucifix is a global symbol of love, docility and peace,” Scajola said in an e-mailed statement.

Crosses in Italy are "a symbol of Italian tradition" and their exposure does not necessarily signify affiliation to the Catholic Church, Gelmini added.

According to the European Court of Human Rights, however, the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools is in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly when it comes to the right to education and the freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

The Strasbourg-based court said the presence of the crucifix "could easily be interpreted by pupils of all ages as a religious sign and they would feel that they were being educated in a school environment bearing the stamp of a given religion".

“This could be encouraging for religious pupils, but also disturbing for pupils who practiced other religions or were atheists, particularly if they belonged to religious minorities,” it added.

Though the court stopped short of ordering Italy to remove the crucifixes, which are common in Italian public schools, the seven-judge panel’s decision to rule their display as a “violation” has upset many in the predominantly Catholic country. Though Catholicism is not the official religion of Italy, around 90 per cent of the population claims to be Roman Catholic.

For Italy's conservative Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, Tuesday's ruling was "disrespectful" and one that has no legal weight and cannot be enforced.

"Our country can only be described as Christian," he said Friday, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos International. "Even an atheist has to agree with this."

Berlusconi further noted that eight European countries have the cross on their national flags.

"Should this be changed because there are foreigners of other faiths who have taken citizenship?" he asked.

To appeal the ruling, the Italian government must take their case to the European Court of Human Rights' Grand Chamber of 17 judges, whose decisions are binding.

The government, in the meantime, has been ordered by the court to pay a 5,000 euro fine to Soile Lautsi, the mother of two children who wanted crucifixes removed from her children's classrooms. Lautsi, who is of Finnish origin, filed her case with the European Court of Human Rights in July 2006, after Italy's Constitutional Court dismissed her complaint.

Quote of the Day

2009-11-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

I know, I have a bias toward Richard Dawkins. The man just has the ability to say the right things. He also enrages most religious people, which is alright by me. If they really want him to go away, they would pay no attention to him. Christians should just leave him in his corner, and they stay in their churches. Their opposition and fear of him has made him more infamous and accessible to the public. Here is one great quote:

You cannot be both sane and well educated and disbelieve in evolution. The evidence is so strong that any sane, educated person has got to believe in evolution.
-- Richard Dawkins, in Lanny Swerdlow, "My Sort Interview with Richard Dawkins" (Portland, Oregon, 1996)