God Loves Space Aliens, Too

Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

  Yahoo

I should hope not, seeing as how God itself is alien.

In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.

And why not? We - and particularly the Vatican - don't mind deciding what God wants.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Ratzinger's Demon Squads

[T]he Vatican's chief exorcist has revealed that Pope Benedict XVI takes the problem [of demonic possession] very seriously and is "setting up exorcism squads to deal with the rampant growth of Satanism."

  Raw Story

Well, that will no doubt be very helpful.

Pope Benedict, who "is said to be a firm believer in the existence of evil," has called for hundreds of priests to be trained as exorcists and made available to every Bishop.

Well, you can’t say a Nazi Youth wouldn’t know evil.

Benedict Says

I didn’t realize there was “rampant growth of Satanism.” I’ve been snoozing again, haven’t I?

Protesting Funerals?

The Westboro Baptist Church has decided that God would appreciate it if they'd protest funerals of homosexuals. Not appreciating the divinity of that sentiment, however, the father of a young man killed in Iraq won a judgment against the church for protesting his son's service, to the tune of $10 million. The court reduced the penalty to $5 million due to the state of the church's finances. Maybe they could have struck a deal - $5 million in damages and 5 years in jail for each offender. I think that might be fair.

The righteous protesters don't seem to be too concerned about it, though. They turned right around and said they'd be protesting Heath Ledger's funeral. For the love of Pete. You'd think they'd be happy that God struck these sinners down. Why protest the funeral?

What do you think that kid will be like when (s)he becomes an adult? If there is a God, the answer is: homosexual.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Dear Lord

Raw Story headliners:

Catholic League president wants to take on Bill Maher in a fight because Maher says he could more easily believe in UFOs than in Jesus' divinity; thinks he "could take him," and complains that "guys like Maher want a brawl."

One-third of the 290 Methodist minister delegates to the United Methodist South Central Jurisdiction oppose building a Bush library on the campus of Southern Methodist University because it will promote his policies that conflict with church teachings.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

It’s Sunday, so….

Beam Me Up, Jesus [subtitled: A Heathen's Guide to the Rapture] isn't for believers of the Rapture. It's for you. You know who you are. Doubter. Unbeliever. Heathen. Satanist. French-kissing liberal democrat. AlterNet reader. (If you're a Christian and have never heard about the Rapture, well, shame on you, you didn't read the Bible all the way to the end.) If you're curious to find out what a hundred million people find so compelling about the Rapture, the nightmare that follows it called the Tribulation and what the evangelists call "the End Times," the book will do the trick.

If you're a secular humanist who believes in reason rather than magic fixers, this book will provide that warm feeling of smug superiority. If you're a fence-sitter who likes to cover all his bases, or even a closet Christian, this book will give you some practical tips on how to survive the Rapture ... in the unlikely event that it happens and you're Left Behind. And if that happens, well, good luck to you.

  Alternet

Jesus Christ, Part 2

[Brad] Stine's "GodMen" conferences aim to get men to "act like men": According to OneNewsNow, "Stine argues that many men are tired of what he calls a 'sugar-coated and watered-down' Christianity. To counter that, he says, the one-day 'GodMen' events challenge men to embrace the full character of Christ. He cites the example of what he describes as the 'table-tipping Jesus.'"

"[That's] the strong Jesus that really deals with masculinity, [an aspect] that men are oftentimes not taught," Stine explained. "We're taught one side of Jesus."

  Media Transparency

This guy's a comedian.

No, really. Well, that's how he's billed. And, seriously, I haven't noticed "Christian" men having any problem being aggressive, which Mr. Stine is trying to call "masculine".

Stine states, "The wussification of America is killing us by teaching us to censor ourselves from what we believe. That's why I want to see political correctness die in my lifetime, but first...I want to watch it suffer."

[...]

Paul Coughlin, the author of "No More Christian Nice Guy" and a keynote speaker at a GodMen event in Nashville, Tennessee last year said, "I believe that being a guy is a reason to be proud -- not a problem to be fixed. Unfortunately, most Christian men have been ordered to emulate 'Gentle Jesus Meek ands Mild,' a false caricature of Christ that has robbed the church of its vital masculine energy."

[...]

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary -- the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world -- wrote that "The Christian church is experiencing a crisis with men... The church has been feminized in style and the manly virtues are depreciated. Christianity -- a faith predicated on truths for which brave men were willing to die -- has been transformed into a spirituality of mere feeling."

[...]

GodMen is "a place where men can discuss real issues such as passivity, isolation, and pornography 'in a safe environment.' The events, which include worship, have powerful sound systems and huge video screens showing he-man videos like martial arts displays and car chases."

Yes, what we really need is more tough-guys in this world.

Passivity, isolation and...pornography??? GodMen need a safe place to discuss pornography.

You know where all this anti-feminism, he-man shit goes. Violence against women. And, as I've said before, we're skating down the road to the dark ages.

Stine's new CD is, not surprisingly, called "Wussification". Should be a big hit in the Bible Belt.

Recorded live at The Clarion at Brazosport College in Lake Jackson, TX. [ed. next door to Galveston], his website describes the CD as "a no-holds-barred laugh riot that attacks political correctness at every turn. From lambasting witches for being over-sensitive to Brad's frustration with Christianity's own form of political correctness, Stine once again infuses his one of a kind style of comedy with equal inspiration for his Christian tribe in an album that is guaranteed to become a classic."

[...]

Stine has appeared on several stand-up comedy shows including A&E's "Evening at the Improv" and MTV's "Half Hour Comedy Hour," and has been a guest on a number of news programs including FOX News' "Hannity & Colmes," CNN's "Paula Zahn NOW" and "Glenn Beck," and the NBC Nightly News. He has also been interviewed on National Public Radio and has been featured on FOXNews.com and in Newsweek, the New Yorker, USA Today, and several other newspapers nationwide.

He was a featured performer for Promise Keepers in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007.

Oh, Lordy.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Jesus Christ

Robed Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests went at each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity on Thursday as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning.

[...]

[T]he cleanup turned ugly after some of the Orthodox faithful stepped inside the Armenian church's section, touching off a scuffle between about 50 Greek Orthodox and 30 Armenians.

[...]

Four people, some with blood running from their faces, were slightly wounded.

[...]

The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities. Any perceived encroachment on one group's turf can set off vicious feuds.

  IOL

A typical benefit of organized religion.

Often it does seem a pity that Noah and his party did not miss the boat. --Mark Twain

Appropo of nothing, but the pleasure of a chuckle (so many of the people who come in to the lab do their utmost to make life miserable for the staff - much of the clientele is on the skids - it's a free lab), a little boy trying to play a game on a computer at work today needed some help typing his birthday in the correct format. I asked for his birthday, and he told me May 25. When I asked him what year he was born, he went silent. So I asked how old he was.

"Nine," he said.

So I said, "1998. Does that sound right?"

"I don't remember," he replied; "I was a baby."

By Design

In 2005, a federal judge appointed by George Bush, John Jones III, slapped down a bid in Dover, Pennsylvania, to insert creationism into public school science. (He received death threats for his efforts.) Don’t expect the creationists to give up. Texas looks like friendly territory.

The Austin-American Statesman reported last week that science curriculum director Chris Comer's ouster followed her circulation of an email announcing an upcoming speech by Barbara Forrest, co-author of Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design and an expert witness in Kitzmiller v. Dover.

[...]

Hours after Comer used her work email account to forward the Forrest announcement to friends and a few online communities, Texas Education Agency adviser Lizzette Reynolds emailed Comer's bosses and called for her dismissal.

  Wired

Now, it appears that TEA employees can also jeopardize their jobs for not having a sufficiently sunny attitude about the current education scheme in Texas. In October, Lizzette Reynolds - the same person who called for Comer to be fired - found a “fire-able offense” in an email sent by Cami Jones, TEA’s director of early childhood development, according to copies of agency e-mails obtained by the Observer.

[...]

The offending line came at the end of a long e-mail Jones sent to Pam Schiller, a freelance early childhood consultant and author, answering a question about upcoming revisions to the Pre-K curriculum. “I long for the good ole’ days when we were making good things happen for young children. Those were the days….take care….”

  Texas Observer

Alas, Ms. Jones is the one who needed to “take care.”

Schiller said Jones has butted heads with the No Child Left Behind partisans who run the show at TEA. “I think Cami has a difficult time there,” Schiller said. “She is kind of Don Quixote. She fights for the rights of children in a sturdy way. She is firm in her philosophical foundation of what she thinks is appropriate for small children … I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t looking for a way to make her quiet.”

In the interview with the Statesman published today, Reynolds baldly asserted that she “doesn’t think there is a muzzle on anyone [at TEA]. Everyone can express their opinions — goodness knows I have many — but we are a state agency and must respect the beliefs of Catholics, atheists, Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone.”

But we won’t be listening to information that shows “intelligent design” is not science.

According to the [Institute for Creation], based in Dallas, “flexible blood vessels” discovered in dinosaur bones proves that dinos have only been around for centuries instead of millenia. Also, in the ICR’s December issue of Acts & Facts, the ICR’s director of research, Dr. Vardiman, discusses his scientific project called RATE (that’s radioisotopes and the age of earth for the uninitiated). His findings have led to the major conclusion that the Earth is thousands — not billions of years old. Dr. Vardiman admits he’s still struggling with some pesky scientific questions

  Texas Observer

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Committee tabled consideration until January of the Institute for Creation Research’s request to grant degrees in Texas.

[...]

When asked if the commissioners wanted the subject read out at the meeting, they mumbled “no thanks” and the subject was tabled until the next board meeting on January 24th.

“It would seem odd for a state agency to certify a science degree at an institution that doesn’t teach science,” says Dan Quinn, Communications director at Texas Freedom Network.

Odd indeed, but then again, this is Texas.

  Texas Observer

Nova has a 2-hour documentary (in several parts so you can watch it as you find the time) available on its website entitled: Judgment Day: Intelligent design on trial. I saw it on TV recently, and learned, as did Judge Jones, a lot more about research and new evidence for the theory of evolution since I was in school. It’s a very nicely put together program. I recommend you watch it if you haven’t seen it already or didn't follow the Dover case.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Wrap-Up

I want to post about some things, but I'm just not in the mood. So, quick wraps:

I thought NPR said Dan Rather was suing CBS for $17 million. Turns out it's $70 million. Over the Bush Air National Guard fiasco.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked for permission to lay a wreath at the WTC. Like that was every going to be granted. the U.S. ambassador said he wouldn't be allowed to use the site for a photo op. Only Bush and Giuliani are permitted to do that.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is suing the Pentagon on behalf of an atheist soldier in Iraq who says he was pressured to embrace Christianity and then retaliated against when he refused. MRFF plans to file a "galaxy" of lawsuits to force the U.S. military to respect the separation of church and state. (By the way, the founder of MRFF is an Air Force veteran and a former White House lawyer under Reagan.)

Speaking of soldiers....keep on keeping on, boys. You'll be getting no rest.

And, finally, I'm looking forward to Paul Krugman's new blog. He promises to focus on what I think is the major ill in our society: the enormous inequality of classes. We're determined to be a banana republic.

share of the richest 10 percent of the
American population in total income

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Send the Word! Over There!

That the Yanks Crusaders are coming!

[Screen actor Stephen] Baldwin [ed: the truly creepy Baldwin brother - you know the one I'm talking about] became a right-wing, born-again Christian after the 9/11 attacks, and now is the star of Operation Straight Up (OSU), an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military. As an official arm of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, OSU plans to mail copies of the controversial apocalyptic video game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces to soldiers serving in Iraq. OSU is also scheduled to embark on a "Military Crusade in Iraq" in the near future.

"We feel the forces of heaven have encouraged us to perform multiple crusades that will sweep through this war torn region," OSU declares on its website about its planned trip to Iraq. "We'll hold the only religious crusade of its size in the dangerous land of Iraq."

  Alternet

As much as I know you'd like it to be so, I am not making this up. Multiple crusades to sweep through Iraq, guided by the forces of heaven, officially sanctioned by the DoD.

"The constitution has been assaulted and brutalized," Mikey Weinstein, former Reagan Administration White House counsel, ex-Air Force judge advocate (JAG), and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told me. "Thanks to the influence of extreme Christian fundamentalism, the wall separating church and state is nothing but smoke and debris. And OSU is the IED that exploded the wall separating church and state in the Pentagon and throughout our military."

[...]

With the endorsement of the Defense Department, OSU is mailing "Freedom Packages" to soldiers serving in Iraq [that contain] the controversial Left Behind: Eternal Forces video game. The game is inspired by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' bestselling pulp fiction series about a blood-soaked Battle of Armageddon pitting born-again Christians against anybody who does not adhere to their particular theology. In LaHaye's and Jenkins' books, the non-believers are ultimately condemned to "everlasting punishment" while the evangelicals are "raptured" up to heaven.

[...]

Each time a Left Behind player kills a UN soldier, their virtual character exclaims, "Praise the Lord!" To win the game, players must kill or convert all the non-believers left behind after the rapture.

From the website:

The mission of OSU Tour: Provide faith-based entertainment to our military creating a lasting impact while using celebrities, NASCAR, professional sports figures, musical artists, and Hollywood actors to share the message of Jesus Christ and the hope that only comes from God, resulting in changed lives. Join us today in addressing the issues of divorce, addictions, pornography, suicide and the fatherless within our military.

[...]

OSU Tour is proud to announce our affiliation with Crown Financial, Servant Christian Community, National Christian Foundation, and Great Commission Foundation (a Campus Crusade for Christ ministry), all of which are approved by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). OSU Tour will continue to explore creative ways to help you utilize your resources to support ministry and to build God’s Kingdom.

I don't see where they are foolish enough to claim outright to actually be going to convert Muslims; they say everything but.

Displayed prominently on the "What We Believe" section of OSU's website is a passage from the Book of Revelations (Revelation 19:20; 20:10-15) that has become the bedrock of the Christian right's End Times theology: "The devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, and whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, shall be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

  Alternet

And...

OSU's "Freedom Packages" include a copy of evangelical pastor Jonathan McDowell's More Than A Carpenter -- a book advertised as "one of the most powerful evangelism tools worldwide" -- that is double-published in Arabic.

Because there are so many of the U.S. soldiers who also speak Arabic.

This week, Pentagon employees and active duty service members are expected to enjoy a breakfast with [OSU founder kickboxer Jonathan] Spinks and Baldwin, followed by an OSU performance in which they will receive "spiritual encouragement via a Biblical message." The events will be held respectively in the Pentagon Executive Dining Room and the Pentagon Auditorium.

And then it's off to the crusades!

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

The Jesus Market

We are one2believe, designers of Bible-based toys for young children, called Tales of Glory. Beginning this August our Tales of Glory toys will become available at select Wal-Mart stores and other retailers across the country.

[...]

This program represents a huge opportunity for the faith community as it is the first time a worldwide retailer has opened-up shelf-space for a strong Bible-based toy product, like Tales of Glory! However, this is only a test-run. In fact, Wal-Mart will only have Tales of Glory in about 500 stores and only for a limited time (August through January).

So hurry!

By supporting this program we can send a message to other retailers and toy makers letting them know that we, as a Christian community, are truly concerned about the toys that our children play with!

This is the promotional picture on their website for toys they want our children to play with:

A couple of comments from other blogs:

Should consumers support a toy marketed in the name of “good morals” that is probably manufactured by an exploited labor force, is made of a material that harms the earth, is sold by a retailer who mistreats their workforce and puts millions of small local businesses under, and depicts hulking figures poised on the edge of violence?

  Waldorf Our Way

You get a storybook, too, so you can re-live that one time that Samson killed thirty guys (!) with his bare hands, just so he could get their clothes to pay off a bet! Re-enact when the bad guys found Samson when he was visiting that prostitute!

  letters from kamp krusty

And again, from the manufacturer:

We are aware of the influence that toys have on our young children’s impressionable minds, so we would like to see more God-honoring options available. It’s a “Battle for the Toy Box”!

Perhaps correctly gauging the average Wal-Mart customer, the God-honoring approach they are using to market their toys is one of battle violence. Just what other toys' influence are they concerned about?

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Pharmacists have sued Washington state over a new regulation that requires them to sell emergency contraception, also known as the "morning-after pill."

In a lawsuit filed in federal court Wednesday, a pharmacy owner and two pharmacists say the rule that took effect Thursday violates their civil rights by forcing them into choosing between "their livelihoods and their deeply held religious and moral beliefs."

  Yahoo

Violates what civil rights? Their license to fill prescriptions is issued by the state, which sets the rules for maintaining such a license.

And if their religious and moral beliefs are actually deeply held, there should be no contest and no hesitation which to choose, eh?

"The stakes really couldn't be much higher," plaintiffs' attorney Kristen Waggoner said.

Yes they could. According to the scripture these guys are pretending to follow, somebody went to the cross for his deeply held beliefs, and many were the followers and practitioners of those beliefs who died brutal deaths because of them. There are other ways to make a living if their morals won't permit them to sell the contraception. People have to make these choices every day. What are you willing to do for money? We all have to decide. What are convictions if they aren't challenged?

If your license to sell a particular commodity is provided by the state, then you have to abide by state regulations on the sale of that commodity. Or go into some other business.

....but hey, sue if you want....you will anyway.

They Used to Kill the Messenger

An anti-evolutionary Christian extremist suspected of sending threatening letters to biology professors at the University of Colorado has gone on the lam, according to a staff member familiar with a police investigation into the matter.

Police at the University of Colorado say they know the identity of the individual who sent threatening letters to several biology professors who taught evolution. However, the police won't name the individual until they make an arrest, said detective lieutenant commander John Kish.

Staff at the biology department have been issued a picture of Michael Korn, a messianic Jew, who has said he is the "messenger of God" [...]

  Wired

They won't name the individual, but they'll pass around his picture. I just don't get it.

Besides, I thought Tony Snow was the messenger of God.

Religion

After all, it's Sunday.

The Pope at least is dealing with the really important things in this world right now.

[T]he Vatican released a statement Tuesday claiming that the Catholic Church is the only Christian organization eligible to use the term church to describe itself.

  Ear to the Ground

Don't tell that to the Baptists.

As Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy report in this week's TIME cover story, the three Democratic frontrunners are leading a fundamental shift in how their party thinks about religious Americans, which includes the first party-wide effort to target and court Catholic and evangelical voters. Republicans, meanwhile, have been lining up to receive the seal of approval from Pat Robertson and James Dobson. But at the same time, Mitt Romney has gone to great lengths to avoid talking about his Mormonism, John McCain's religious advisors quit his campaign in disgust, and when the AP inquired as to what church Rudy Giuliani attended, the former mayor essentially told them to mind their own business. [Ed: Maybe Rudy's only sensible stance.]

[...]

Senator Clinton, the lifelong Methodist and one-time Sunday school teacher, is in a bind: So many voters think they "know" she can't possibly be religious that when she speaks about her faith, they interpret it as pure political posturing.

[...]

[A]ccording to the new TIME poll, only 15% of registered voters believe that Hillary Clinton is "strongly religious," compared to 22% for John Edwards and 24% for Barack Obama. Perhaps more problematic for Clinton is the fact that nearly one-quarter of respondents (24%) say they know she is "not religious".

[...]

[A]s the results of a new TIME poll show, the conventional wisdom about the two political parties and religion may be so ingrained that no amount of evidence to the contrary can change perceptions.

  Time

Why would we expect otherwise from a body of people who still believe WMD were found in Iraq?

....but hey, believe what you want....you will anyway.

The Lord Giveth, and the Lord Taketh Away

I understand that the two most taboo topics of conversation are politics and religion. I keep YWA pretty well lopsided toward politics, so in an attempt to achieve a little balance, I'll hereby give a sermonette of my own, inspired by a bit of this weekend's news. (I was going to save it for Sunday, being the usual day of sermonizing, but that would be inappropriate for me in so many ways, and more to the point, I need it in place for the next post I'm going to make.)

(That should be fair enough warning.)

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Church has effectively buried the concept of limbo, the place where centuries of tradition and teaching held that babies who die without baptism went.

Pope Benedict, himself a top theologian who before his election in 2005 expressed doubts about limbo, authorized the publication of the document, called "The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptised."

  Yahoo article

One option removed at the stroke of a pen. I guess Jesus wasn't the only one who could perform miracles, eh? Poof! Limbo gone!

And I was just talking about the Pope, was I not?

It said the study was made all the more pressing because "the number of nonbaptised infants has grown considerably, and therefore the reflection on the possibility of salvation for these infants has become urgent."

The possibility of salvation for the infants who've been stuck in limbo for the past several centuries before it started getting crowded was of no pressing concern to anyone but the infants stuck there, I suppose.

To be fair, the Church now says that those babies didn't need to be baptised. (Is the Church getting rational in its old age? Or is this like the old comedian who used to pretend to train his dog, when in fact he just gave orders according to whatever the dog happened to be doing on its own?)

Don't get too excited, though, because the Church says it disappeared Limbo only because God will surely not condemn the babies who didn't have a chance to be baptised, but that doesn't excuse any baby who lives long enough to get to a priest. I wonder, where are the babies going who live long enough, but whose parents don't get them to a priest before they die? How long does babyhood last in that case? Can you be five years old? Ten? Until you get your driver's license?

"People find it increasingly difficult to accept that God is just and merciful if he excludes infants, who have no personal sins, from eternal happiness, whether they are Christian or non-Christian," the document said.

Therefore, we must change God's mind for Him. We proclaim Him now able to realize that Limbo isn't such a good idea if He wants people to accept his justness and mercy.

Please don't ask how he could have been perfect if he didn't understand that to begin with, okay?

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. This is God talking.

In the Divine Comedy, Dante placed virtuous pagans and great classical philosophers, including Plato and Socrates, in limbo.

[...]

In writings before his election as Pope in 2005, the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger made it clear he believed the concept of limbo should be abandoned because it was "only a theological hypothesis" and "never a defined truth of faith."

Oh, well. That's okay then. God never said it in the first place. You were only fooled into believing it existed by centuries of .....oh never mind. It's gone. Okay?

Divine Comedy, indeed.

I wonder how many people just got a light-bulb going off over their heads and realized that this is how you can tell if somebody actually does talk to God or know God's will - the ones that make stuff up as they go along, aka theological hypotheses, don't.

P.S. to the Catholics out there: don't feel special. I'll get around to the rest of the religions sooner or later. It all depends on the news.

My personal preference is that we all just try to think for ourselves. And if we can't do that, then at least try to talk to God for ourselves, which makes a whole lot more sense than asking somebody else to do it for us.

....but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

No Exodus?

No, I'm not talking about Iraq.

“Really, it’s a myth,” Dr. Hawass said of the story of the Exodus, as he stood at the foot of a wall built during what is called the New Kingdom.

[...]

Egypt is also a spiritual center, where for centuries men have searched for the meaning of life. Sometimes the two converge, and sometimes the archaeological record confirms the history of the faithful. Often it does not, however, as Dr. Hawass said with detached certainty.

“If they get upset, I don’t care,” Dr. Hawass said. “This is my career as an archaeologist. I should tell them the truth. If the people are upset, that is not my problem.”

  NY Times article

Weeeeeeell, you may be in Egypt, but King George, God's representative on Earth, could make it your problem, Bub.

So just watch it.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Oh, Lord

Well, I was going to comment on the chocolate Jesus, but Maru did it better. So, I'll just limit my remarks to this quote:

“This is one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever,” said Bill Donohue, head of the watchdog Catholic League.

No. I take it back. You can probably just imagine for yourself what my remarks might be about "Christian sensibilities."

I will, as a bonus, tell you that once upon a time when I worked for a law firm in San Francisco, one of the attorneys came out of his office, stood behind me at my desk and announced to everyone, "I just got off the phone with a woman from Georgia. Southern accents offend my sensibilities."

Right. Obviously he had none.

And speaking of other websites, Project for the OLD American Century always has lots of good information, and its headlines are nicely organized. Check it out. Also, visit the websites linked in YWA's sidebar. Good stuff all.

And speaking of Jesus - or, more accurately, JEEEEEEEZUS...

It has all the ingredients of a wedding. The proud tuxedo-clad father, the frosted white cake, the limousines and an exchange of vows.

But there is no groom and the girl in the long gown is no bride. She's daddy's little girl, there to take a vow of chastity.

In what is becoming a trend among conservative Christians in the United States, girls as young as nine are pledging to their fathers to remain virgins until they wed, in elaborate ceremonies dubbed "Purity Balls."

The gala affairs are intended to celebrate the father-daughter relationship.

  Raw Story article

uh-huh.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Church fires

A small fire and anti-gay graffiti were found Saturday at a church belonging to the United Church of Christ, a denomination that endorsed same-sex marriage last week.

The exterior of St. John's Reformed United Church of Christ also included a message that United Church of Christ members were sinners.

  Yahoo article

Gee, what good Christians performed those acts of love?

The fire came a day after two black churches were heavily damaged by seven arson fires in Sparta, Tenn. Authorities said there was no evidence that it was a hate crime, but they were not ruling anything out.

A love crime.

Someone also tried to set fire to a mosque early Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., and the FBI was investigating it as a hate crime.