St. Julianus Murdering His Parents.

St Julianus Murdering his Parents, Spinello Aretino (1350-1410). Source.

The other day, I was looking up a fresco by Spinello, and my eye was caught by the painting of St. Julianus murdering his parents. I decided to dig a bit further, it’s an odd tale. Julianus the Murderer morphs into Julian the Hospitaller. To me, the painting is jarring, depicting Julianus as a saint while busy hacking his parents up, but apparently these things don’t bother religious people. His parents must have been very sound sleepers, too, they don’t look a bit disturbed.

According to de Varazze, on the night Julian was born, his father, a man of noble blood, saw pagan witches secretly lay a curse on the boy that would make him kill both his parents. His father wanted to get rid of the child, but his mother did not let him do so. As the boy grew into a handsome young man, his mother would often burst into tears because of the sin her son was destined to commit. When he finally found out the reason for her tears, he swore he “would never commit such a sin” and “with great belief in Christ went off full of courage” as far away from his parents as he could. Some versions say that it was his mother who told him at the age of 10, while others say it was a stag he met in the forest while hunting (a situation used in depicting St. Julian in statues and pictures). [Julian was of noble birth and while hunting one day, was reproached by a hart for hunting him and told that he would one day kill his mother and father.]

Everyone loves a tall tale, and this one seems happily tangled. The story about the stag reproaching Julianus and predicting his future as a murderer strikes me as more than happily pagan in nature, and it probably should have stayed there, because as soon as you start twisting this about to be christian, it becomes a very ugly story indeed.

After fifty days of walking he finally reached Galicia where he married a “good woman”, said to be a wealthy widow.

There’s good luck for you, and a damn fast move, too. ETA: yet another hallmark of christian tales, the wealthy, good woman isn’t deserving of a recorded name. Just window-dressing. She’s the only one in the story who doesn’t do something evil, but the murderer gets to be a saint. Aaand, she doesn’t even get a face in the creepy painting.

Twenty years later, his parents decided to go look for their now thirty-year-old son. When they arrived, they visited the altar of St. James, and “as soon as they came out of the church they met a woman sitting on a chair outside, whom the pilgrims greeted and asked, for Jesus’ love, whether she would host them for the night as they were tired.” She let them in and told them that her husband, Julian, was out hunting. (This is why he is also known as the patron of hunters.) The mother and father were overjoyed to have found their son, as was Julian’s wife. “She took care of them well and had them rest in her and Julian’s bed.” But the enemy went off seeking Julian and told him: ‘I have sour news for you. While you are here, hunting, your wife is in bed embracing another man. There they are right now, still sleeping.'”

The enemy. Right. I guess we all get to assume this would be Lucifer. Or maybe a lesser demon. Might have been a nasty gossip at the local. Who the fuck knows? Now, if it had been me, I would have wanted to check things out for myself, but it seems Julianus was a rather gullible man, who simply swallowed whatever someone said, with little thought involved.

De Verazze continues: “And Julian felt deep sadness and his face drew into a frown. He rode back home, went to his bed and found a man and a woman sleeping in it. He drew his sword and killed them both. He was about to take off and never again set foot in that land, but as he was leaving he saw his wife sitting among the other women. She told him: ‘There are your mother and father resting in your room.’ And so Julian knew, and fell into a rage. ‘The shrewd enemy lied to me when he said my wife was betraying me’, and while kissing their wounds he cried ‘Better had I never been born, for I am cursed in soul and body.’ And his good wife comforted him and said ‘Have faith in Christ Almighty, a stream of life and mercy.’ They had no children… Gold and silver they had a lot… And after seeking redemption in Rome, Julian built seven hospitals and twenty-five houses. And the poor started flowing to him, to Jesus’ Almighty’s love.”

Apparently, Julianus didn’t even bother to use his eyes before he set to murdering, and was quite the coward, to boot, ready to run away. There was no sense of offense, or self-righteousness on Julianus’s part, no passion, he acted more like a simpleton carrying out instructions, and after the murders, a sense of shame and self-preservation landed. “The shrewd enemy”! Oh my.  Julianus wasn’t on the smart side at all, how long does it take to check out a couple of sleeping people, or to go find your spouse? Then this whole fucking thing goes south, with the ‘faith in Christ’ business.

Oh, it’s fine, so you murdered your parents, not to worry, let’s go build some hospitals. To end the tale, Jesus shows for the icing on the cake, and the reappearance of that oh so shrewd “enemy”:

De Verazze continues: “The enemy conspired again to ruin Julian—disguised as a weak pilgrim, he was let in by Julian with the others. At midnight he woke up and made a mess of the house.” The following morning Julian saw the damage and swore never to let in anyone else in his home. He was so furious he had everyone leave. “And Jesus went to him, again as a pilgrim, seeking rest. He asked humbly, in the name of God, for shelter. But Julian answered with contempt: ‘I shall not let you in. Go away, for the other night I had my home so vandalized that I shall never let you in.’ And Christ told him ‘Hold my walking-stick, please.’ Julian, embarrassed, went to take the stick, and it stuck to his hands. And Julian recognized him at once and said ‘He tricked me, the enemy who does not want me to be your faithful servant. But I shall embrace you, I do not care about him; and for your love I shall give shelter to whoever needs.’ He knelt and Jesus forgave him, and Julian asked, full of repentance, forgiveness for his wife and parents. Some versions skip the second mistake and tell of an angel visiting Julian and announcing to him that he is forgiven.

Some versions of the story have Julianus giving up his bed to a leper, and surprise, the leper is Jesus! I had no idea that a sticky walking stick was an easy way to recognise Jesus. Early christians never could be bothered to come up with their own stories, they built off much older stories, and generally failed to do any editing, so you end up with very sticky messes like this one. The one thing which always does stand out is the complete lack of morality on the part of the players. Personally, I could never have forgiven Julianus for being such a gullible dumbfuck. Let’s see, how does one avoid murdering their parents? Seems easy to me, you just don’t commit murder, especially sneaking into bedrooms and stabbing people in their sleep.

Most of this story is via Wiki, and of course, St. Julianus is revered to this day, all over the place. You can thank St. Agatha and her breasts for this saintly distraction.

Sexual Normalcy?

Stonewall.uk.

Bryan Fischer is just about orgasmic over the ouster of the House Chaplain. It seems most people think it was over a prayer by Patrick Conroy, that the tax bill be fair, so Ryan said he was too political.  Anyroad, Mr. Fischer is just so damn excited:

“Here is a good news item for the day,” Fischer declared. “He is an out gay man, he’s married to a man—quote, end quote—so it was a shameful move to the put this guy in charge of the chaplaincy of the House in the first place.”

“This is a great win,” Fischer continued. “He’s pro-gay, he’s a homosexual guy that’s married to a homosexual guy. Big win, because Paul Ryan is not going to replace him with somebody who is going to have that kind of a left-leaning tilt. This is good news for the agenda of morality, especially sexual normalcy in the United States.”

There’s no such thing as sexual normalcy, Mr. Fischer. Missionary “for the baybees” Only is not official in any, it’s boring as fuck, and not everyone is interested in breeding. Mr. Fischer is providing yet another grand example of christian stupidity and inability to fact check anything. Oh no, much better to start spewing lies. I would have though that even someone like Mr. Fischer would know about the celibacy issue in the catholic church. I have no idea whatsoever of Patrick Conroy’s sexual orientation, but if he’s managed to stay celibate all these years, what in the fuck does it matter? He’s certainly not married to anyone. That’s kind of a no-no in catholicism. It took me about 4, 5 minutes to check stuff out, and it turns out the Patrick Conroy is pro-gay. I guess that’s not bad enough, no, better make up a bunch of shit instead. Fucking christians. I imagine they are in such a froth because Patrick Conroy came out and said sex is much more than breeding, oh no!

New Civil Rights Movements has a good article up about this mess. Bryan Fischer’s screeth is at RWW.

Abstinence Only. Again.

Attribution: PittNews/CC.

Attribution: PittNews/CC.

Several years ago, David Wiley, a professor of health education at Texas State University, was discussing human papillomavirus in one of his classes. The virus, known as HPV, is the most common sexually-transmitted disease. Often it is harmless and infected individuals aren’t even aware they have it. But it can also cause cancer, including of the cervix.

Wiley was discussing all of this with his students — the different types of HPV, the connection between HPV and cervical cancer, and its prevalence; “you know, just an intro, lower-level course,” he recently recalled — when a male student raised his hand with an earnest question: What was his risk of contracting cervical cancer?

“And I don’t know what’s sadder,” Wiley told The Intercept, “that he asked that question or that really nobody in the classroom even laughed because they didn’t know either.”

[…]

The federal government began funding so-called Abstinence-Only Until Marriage programs in 1981 as a way to encourage “chastity” and “self-discipline.” Since then, the feds have poured more than $2 billion into this strategy — commonly known as “ab-only” — without any proven positive effects, like delaying sexual activity or avoiding unintended pregnancy. In recent years, that funding had been in decline, in part because research — and practical experiences like Wiley’s — shows that the programs do not work. But in an ironic twist, they’re now making a comeback. Trump, an alleged serial adulterer who has bragged about sexually assaulting women and has been accused of such behavior close to two dozen times, has asked that abstinence funding be increased. And in the budget deal he signed last month, he got his wish, enough to bring total spending on abstinence up to $100 million for 2018.

[…]

Under Obama, funding for ab-only programs decreased as new emphasis was placed on using science to develop evidence-based sexuality and reproductive education strategies. But the Trump administration is trying to reverse course. Along with the return to Bush-era funding levels to push the ab-only message, Trump has appointed anti-abortion, anti-birth control, and pro-ab-only advocates to positions within the Department of Health and Human Services and has yanked funding for a successful evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention strategy.

[…]

Among the biggest proponents of ab-only programs — and their rebranding — is Valerie Huber, a Trump appointee to HHS. Huber started her career promoting ab-only programs in her son’s school before moving on to manage the ab-only program at the Ohio Department of Health. She became the president of the National Abstinence Education Association in 2007. (The advocacy organization has also rebranded itself. It’s now known as Ascend.) Huber acknowledges that the term “sexual-risk avoidance” was taken from public health, but insists it was appropriately chosen. “I bristle at the terminology ‘abstinence only,’ because our programs are so holistic,” she told Focus on the Family’s magazine “Citizen,” and address “a whole battery of different topics that surround a young person’s decision whether to have sex or not.”

This is, of course, exceedingly bad news. If you’re a parent who prefers their child to be prepared and safe, best to tackle comprehensive sex-ed at home, or an outside of school class. This will affect some states much more than others, so it’s important to find out just what the sex-ed in your child’s school is like. Ab-only also cuts out all queer students, and teaches girls that being assaulted or raped is their fault, emphasising dress and behaviour.

The Intercept has an in-depth article about this mess, recommended reading.  As the Tiny Tyrant has a vested interest in giving the lunatic evangelicals whatever they want, and they want a whole lot, you might want to have a click over to Religious Dispatches to read about Project Blitz. That’s enough to scare anyone silly.

The Most Important Thing: Covering Up!

Wallnau's "diagram". Screen grab.

Wallnau’s “diagram”. Screen grab.

Oh, Lance is ranting again, and this time, had a “diagram” to illustrate his screeth.

During on online Bible study session on Friday, Wallnau drew an increasingly jumbled diagram in an effort to visually demonstrate how Trump is “under the authority of God” and protected by “the blood of Jesus Christ,” while Trump’s critics, who are “operating outside of the realm,” are being controlled by Satan.

“If you are outside of God’s authority,” Wallnau said, “you actually could be in the realm where Satan himself has access to your heart and to your mind, and that’s what I’m watching happen to millions of Americans now that despise what God has done.”

Personally, I don’t think most Americans despise anything Jehovah has done, because figments of the imagination don’t actually do anything. A whole lot of people are more than thoroughly disgusted by and with the Tiny Tyrant and his regime of money-sucking incompetents. It’s like watching the Keystone Mafia.

“If He puts Donald Trump into the White House,” he continued, “and you’re one of those people that actually has a visceral hatred of this man, if you continue to operate in this weird spirit, then what happens is Satan begins to take over more and more of your mind and more and more of your heart and you become more and more deranged. That’s what I am watching happen.”

From my reading, it seems like the only people deep into hysterical derangement are evangelical christians. Look at the recent idiocy over boy scouts – not even close to coherent. I can’t say I hate the Tiny Tyrant, but I’d certainly like to boot his old ass a long, long way from the white house. He can go back to his scams, and we can get a government back.

Wallnau went on to attack those “big-mouth Christians who have a problem with this president,” insisting that the proper role of Christians is to serve as intercessors for Trump, working to cover up any of his faults in order to prevent Satan from being able to use them to attack the president.

“Our jobs as intercessors is to be applying intercession so that we can do what we have to do to try to clean up that hole,” he said. “What the Lord is saying to us is, ‘What I want you to do is I don’t want you to focus on the faults, I want you to just go ahead and put a patch over that, put a Band-Aid over there so that that hole is covered.’”

“When you see a flaw in a leader, your job is to cover it,” Wallnau declared, warning that anyone who attempts to “judge a man of God, a man who God has anointed” will wind up opening themselves up to spiritual warfare and eventually having their own flaws and secrets exposed to the world.

How interesting this is, I had no idea that the job of christians is to cover up faults and crimes. The Tiny Tyrant is an amazingly sleazy person, I don’t think it’s really possible to cover everything up, and it certainly does not speak well of christians that their job is to cover up a vast amount of immorality. I have absolutely no problem whatsoever in judging the Tiny Tyrant, and I don’t have any flaws and secrets to expose, because I’m already open about my flaws, which are many, and I can’t be arsed with keeping skeletons in a closet. And here I thought that christians were supposed to pray and work to be better people, but no, their job is to be part of Cover Up Squad!

Even if you did get christians to do this, it couldn’t possibly work. To all appearances, the Tiny Tyrant doesn’t have a conscience, and constantly leaks his rotten behaviour all over the place, because he has problems seeing anything he does or says as being wrong.

“You’re going to reap what you sow,” he said. “You’re going to let the devil into your house.”

We’re already reaping the consequence of not paying attention, and letting a sleazy psychopath into the white house, and then not having anyone with the spine to kick his ass out. It will take decades to repair all the damage, assuming we get the opportunity to do so.

RWW has the story and video.

Girls! Icky, Evil Girls!

Goodness me, the whole world is unraveling, everything is going to go to hell because girls. Not terribly surprising when it comes to christian thinking, females of any type are always the evil problem to blame.

The American Family Association released a video in which Tim Wildmon and Ed Vitaglino, the AFA’s president and executive vice president, respectively, railed against the news that thousands of girls have joined the Boy Scouts after the organization began admitting them earlier this year.

I went and read the small article about this, and yes, 3,000 girls have joined up. There was a mention of a brother and sister who excitedly joined up, they want to be the first siblings to achieve eagle scout. I don’t think much of boy scouts, but that’s kind of nice, for siblings to be able to be together in such a venture. I’m certainly not seeing the horrible evil which Tim & Ed have conjured up. Perhaps they’ll explain…

“This is, I think, a part of the ongoing war against the Judeo-Christian worldview, the way God has established mankind, male and female,” Vitaglino said, asserting that “the secular progressive … materialistic worldview based in evolution” is waging a “war against God and His divine order.”

Uh, nope. That’s not helping to clarify at all. All girls aren’t going to stop being girls because they joined a scouting organization. All boys aren’t going to stop being boys because they’re now in a co-ed scouting organization. I don’t get at all how this could possibly go against old Jehovah. I have no idea what evolution has to do with anything. It’s not like the scouts were a creationist thing. Let’s see, shall we?

It is a common belief that the BSA does prohibit members who are atheist and agnostic based on its “duty to God” principle and that members (adult and youth) agree with the Declaration of Religious Principle in the bylaws. However, the BSA has had Buddhist troops since 1920 and many Buddhists are atheists or agnostics. The BSA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Unitarian Universalist Association in 2016 which specifically gives ultimate authority over a participant’s spiritual welfare to the individual Unitarian Universalist congregation. The MOU also specifically includes within Unitarian Universalist chartered troops Humanism as an acceptable form of spirituality as well as Earth-centered religions. [Wikipedia.]

Doesn’t look to me like it’s any sort of made-up war against your pathetic god, gentlemen. Of course, if there’s willful ignorance to be had, you’ll always find it in christians.

“So, you think this is basically satanic?” Wildmon asked.

“This is Romans 1,” Vitaglino responded. “When any individual or community or nation, any culture, ignores God or refuses to honor Him and give Him the glory He deserves, then the Bible makes clear in Romans 1 that they are then given over to a deepening darkness and depravity and, unfortunately, that’s what we’re seeing happen in America.”

Oh FFS, give the satanic panic a fucking rest already. How in the fuckety fuck is an organization going co-ed ignoring a god or refusing honour and glory? I imagine all the christian kids in the boy scouts do all that idiotic shit, and it’s really beyond the pale to consider this as depraved in any way. If anything, this might really help boys and young men to truly understand that girls and young women are people, not objects, and people with ideas and abilities of their own. If this helps in even the smallest of ways to reduce sexism, it will be a very good thing indeed. And christians really need to stop being so bloody hysterical over every little thing.

RWW has the story and the video.

Dear Jim Bakker, Go Fuck Yourself.

Jim Bakker, a fan of the fanatical Jan Porter and her ‘heartbeat’ bill, has somehow come to the conclusion that there were two scientists who would have cured cancer, but they were aborted by evil wenches who had the unthinkable, autonomy. Naturally, Jehovah was the one who decided to “send” these two scientists, rather than doing something straightforward, like simply eliminating all cancers, which would be rather amazing, as it would require our cells to behave differently across our various lifetimes. Or Jehovah could have simply dropped a bit of super-duper brilliance on any of the current scientists researching cancer. Lots of choice there, to say the least.

Jim Bakker claimed that God has sent two scientists to earth who would have found the cure for cancer, but they were both aborted before that ever happened.

Bakker was interviewing extremist Religious Right activist Janet Porter and former Rep. Tom DeLay about their efforts to get Congress to pass Porter’s “Heartbeat Bill,” a radical piece of legislation that Porter brags will outlaw abortion “before the mother even knows she’s pregnant” and will be “the foot in the door” to eventually completely outlawing abortion. Bakker declared that Porter’s bill is “the most important thing going on in the world right now.”

Janet Porter is a dangerous fanatic, whose life desire is to stomp on women, ensure they will never have bodily autonomy, and she has no problem with women dying, she considers that suitable punishment for any women who dares to think her life is her own, and that she has the right to make her own medical decisions in privacy. If we actually had a government, rather than a regime, she might not be so worrying, but considering the regime currently in power, there’s a great deal to dread.

“This program could be an important cog to stop abortion in this country,” he added. “The thing we have done in America, we have killed our babies. We have killed the future of America. I told you the other day about a story, someone said they asked God, ‘Why haven’t we had a cure for cancer?’ And He said back, ‘I gave you two scientists that had the cure and both of them were aborted.’”

Oh FFS, the effing helicopter story. This is the stupid christian’s answer to anything and everything. I have seen and read so many fucking versions of that idiocy over the years, I’d like to cheerfully strangle the idiot who started it. Most christians think that’s just brilliant, which tells you a lot about most christians. As for a “cure for cancer”, there’s no such thing, and it’s not likely there ever will be. That’s because cancer is not one disease, it’s hundreds of diseases. Even within a category of a specific cancer, there are different types of that specific cancer. Cancers are born of cell mutations, and there have to be a number of different mutations before anything turns into cancer. Cell mutations often happen which don’t turn into cancer. Some cancers are easier to treat than others, and have a high remission rate. Research into cancer is constant, and it’s a never-ending race against time. A great deal of progress has been made, and a great many people are able to live their lives out, rather than die an untimely death.

For there to be ‘a cure’ for all cancers, that would qualify as a miracle, because no one treatment is effective against all cancers, that’s why current cancer treatments are targeted. So, Jehovah’s “two scientists” wouldn’t have been able to do shit where cancer is concerned. Once again, the sheer weakness and ineffectiveness of the christian god is what stands out. What’s the fucking point of being a god, if you go to the trouble to imbue a couple of blastocysts with miracle performance, but you couldn’t choose people who not only truly wanted a child, but had the necessary circumstances to have that child, and see that it gets a good education to boot? Or you know, wiggle a godly pinky finger and take care of the cancer business yourself?

To a christian, it doesn’t matter what the fuck happens in any given situation, their nasty, pointless god always gets the credit, especially when credit belongs to the people who make a life and death difference to someone.

As someone struggling with cancer treatment, this fucking attitude is infuriating, to say the least. A great many people over the years have helped to make brilliant leaps in treatment, and if I make it through treatment and come out clean on the other end, any gratitude I may have will belong to them, not the ugly ass god of christians. It is very christian to decide to use something like cancer to try to force the regressive oppression of women though, because cancer is still the big fucking scary, and too many christians are stupid and gullible enough to buy such awful dreck as some sort of skillful reasoning.

RWW has the story.

Sunday Facepalm: Deep State, Witches & Warlocks, Oh My!

Frank Amedia and his Potus Shield clown circus are back at it, just praying their little red noses off. If you aren’t familiar with Mr. Amedia, you can pretty much find out all you care to know in his recounting a miracle he performed: the resurrection of an ant. Today, they are all trembling over the “deep state”, witches, warlocks, and the antichrist.

“I think we need to be wise to understand that this presidency is going to be taken to the edge of destruction by evil forces, by deep state forces, by a conspiracy that has already been named,” Amedia warned. “We know it’s coming. We need to withstand against that. We need to be the watchmen that say, ‘Don’t take your eyes off, the storm is coming.’”

“We prayed for the Lord to just stir up that storm,” he continued. “Stir up that storm of that president. We declare right now, in Jesus’ name, stir it up. Stir him up like a tornado, don’t let him stop. Let everything fly out that needs to fly out, let everything be exposed, don’t let anything be put back into a place that could come back and linger again.”

That’s a veritable treasure chest of filthy jokes, just waiting to be made. Speaking for myself, I don’t want to see anything flying out of the Tiny Tyrant, and I most emphatically don’t want to see anything exposed. :shudder: Okay, now that my mind has jumped out of the gutter, as far as exposure goes, the Tiny Tyrant and his crew of incompetent cronies are doing a fine job of that themselves. No assistance is required.

Amedia, Mark Gonzales of the U.S. Hispanic Action Network, and Bishop Harry Jackson then initiated a spiritual warfare prayer against Trump’s enemies and critics, with Jackson taking specific aim at the “witches and warlocks” who have cursed the president.

“We lift up witches and warlocks who have been a part of this assignment,” Jackson said, “as they have gathered in numbers almost immeasurable to curse this specific president. We cancel, we bind their authority, we bind their curses, we lift up your word that says you shall not revile the gods and neither shall you bring a curse upon the rule of God’s people. We declare those assignments null and void and we claim the souls of many of the witches and warlocks.”

The Gods? Hmmm. Anyroad, I think we need a serious rule here. This is the 21st century, and people with views that are the same as those prevalent during the inquisition and witch trials? They have no place in a modern society. What they do need is a nice re-created 13th century village, lots of land surrounding, where they could play at witch hunting all they liked, and they could leave the rest of us in the current century alone.

The whole regressive mess is at RWW.

The Inquisition Tentacles Are Spreading.

I’ve written about Ralph Drollinger before. He’s one scary lunatic christian, and he wields way too much influence in the current regime. He’s crowing again, over all the “progress” he’s making. It’s as well to remember that Drollinger’s idea of progress is to bring back the inquisition or something like.

Ralph Drollinger, who runs fundamentalist Bible studies for dozens of members of Congress and President Trump’s Cabinet every week, said in a fundraising letter this month that his group “has been blessed by God with extraordinary growth beyond our wildest imaginings in foreign nations across the globe and most notably in former Soviet Bloc countries.”

[…]

We noted last fall that Drollinger is aggressively expanding his operations both at the local government level in the U.S. and in national capitals around the world. His April 4 letter includes some details about the latter:

In the last few months discipleship Bible studies have been established to Parliamentarians in Romania; Ukraine; Fiji; Papua New Guinea; and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. A ministry is about to begin in Guatemala, and before fall, we expect work to be completed for ministries in the Central and South American nations of Peru; Ecuador; Brazil; Mexico; Uruguay; and Paraguay, as well as in the European city Riga, Latvia.

Work is current an ongoing with partners to establish discipleship Bible studies in Berlin and Bonne [sic]. We are enthusiastically pursuing an opportunity to plant a ministry in the European Union Parliament, a body of 600 Parliamentarians from 26 Western and Eastern European nations who meet two weeks every month in Brussels, Belgium and one week every month in Strasbourg, France.

We thought the Lord did not want us in the Middle East, but to our great surprise discussions are currently underway to establish a ministry in a Muslim majority nation in the Middle East.

[…]

Although Drollinger is quick to complain about news coverage he believes is unfair, his letter says a story published in a German newspaper helped attract new friends. And Capitol Ministries has been gushing about a recent BBC story that the group says “reached more than 1 million readers world-wide.”

I have no idea why people might find Drollinger favourable in any light, but even if you are one of the lucky people who lives in a happily secular nation, this should be worrying. Drollinger is naturally courting regressive governments, but there are always regressive asses in any government, and they are likely to listen to Drollinger. I fail to see the charm, and it’s beyond disturbing that Drollinger is not simply being dismissed. Just to give you an idea of what Drollinger wants to institute, as far as government is concerned:

Drollinger’s April 13 Bible study says it is a “disservice to the country” for public servants to “craft policy that is not somehow rooted in Scripture.” Here are some of the other theological and political positions Drollinger teaches public officials:

Drollinger likes to tell reporters that he doesn’t instruct public officials how to vote, but he makes it clear in his written Bible studies that, for example, Christian public servants are required to support the death penalty and oppose marriage equality.

Drollinger also has very specific views on the role of women: “there is a prohibition of female leadership in marriage, and female leadership in the church.” One of his Bible studies explains what he calls the “unambiguous” difference in responsibilities the Bible gives men and women, saying women’s “primary functions” include homemaking, home management, mothering, teaching younger women, displaying hospitality and dressing modestly.

There’s much more, RWW has the full story.

It’s Universal Soldier!

Rick Wiles seems to have decided we have gone with Universal Soldier, for real or something like.

End Times broadcaster and right-wing conspiracy theorist Rick Wiles warned that the United States government has secretly created “soldiers without a soul” and has unleashed them in Syria, which is a sign that Jesus will soon return.

“Is it conceivable that we have bred soulless creatures, soldiers without a soul, with no remorse, no conscience, no fear—you can go in, you can cut a baby in half, you can cut out the hearts of Christians and eat them—there is no conscience, there’s no fear, there’s no fear of God?” Wiles asked. “Is that what we have created? Have we turned these monsters loose in Syria?”

Oh FFS. There’s no need to go for melodrama when it comes to war, or the travesties committed by people on all sides in any given war, at any time throughout history. It’s not as though soldiers aren’t already trained to kill without thought or hesitation. That’s what war is all about, killing. No one has a soul, so that’s of no import, and throughout the ages, it would be a “fear of god” which has motivated wars more than the opposite. People tend to be especially vicious when they think they are fighting for a fucking god.

“This is Hitler on steroids,” Wiles added. “The Americans have become worse than the Nazis.”

I don’t think we’re quite there yet, but the spectre of nuclear war is hanging over our heads once again. It certainly would be nice to see the U.S. military sit the fuck down for once though.

“It’s the end of humanity,” he said. “If these things get loose, it’s the end of humanity.”

These “things”? When you start to think of people as things, it’s the start of all evil. And there are no ‘universal’ soldiers, or engineered critters wandering around in a terminator style lust for killing. Just regular soldiers and all the usual players, all sides. Perhaps it would be more to the point to get governments to stop thinking of war as a game.  As for the end of humanity, we’re doing a fine job of that one all by ourselves, no gods needed.

Wiles went on to explain that when Jesus said that he would return when the world is as it was “in the days of Noah,” that was a reference to the Nephilim, which were a race of giants mentioned in the book of Genesis that were supposedly born as the offspring of fallen angels and human women. God was so displeased with this corruption that He had to wipe out the entire world with a flood and the same thing will soon happen again, Wiles warned.

Yeah, except it didn’t end, did it? Your dumbfuck god kept a fair amount of the corrupt people, and it started all over again, going by the fairytale. There’s genius for you.

“We’re at the days of Noah,” he said. “God is about to say, ‘Enough is enough, the human race has got to end.’”

No, we aren’t at the days of Noah, those days never actually happened. Anyroad, I fail to see what Mr. Wiles is moaning about. He starts out with Jesus coming back, which they are always yelling about, but never actually seem to want it to happen. So, is Jesus a comin’ back, or is Jehovah about to burn the world with fire? And what the fuck would a christian care, anyway? Aren’t you all supposed to be ever so eager to go live in paradise mansions with your gods? Aren’t you supposedly living this life for the afterlife, the only one which truly counts? I’d think you’d all be lining up to be a martyr, but it does rather seem you’re all very attached to this life.

RWW has the story.

“Its Rightful Position.”

Howard Chandler Christy's Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States.

Howard Chandler Christy’s Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States.

Jerome Corsi has been opining about how overwhelmed he is, it’s just so much work exposing non-existent satanic pedophiles and “red-pilling” people. In the midst of his rant, I was caught by one odd thing. Odd to me, at least.

“The corruption, the evil of devoting yourself to Lucifer ends up in satanic sacrifices, children abused, human rights kidnapping, just incredible human torment, torture, snuff films,” Corsi said. “The evil depths and corners of this are so abhorrent to me, and should be to every right-thinking American, that we need to expose this, we need to bring it out, we need to show it the light of day despite how many people it’s going to be disturbing to.”

“Those of us who are going to know every aspect of it are ourselves going to have to pray to God that we come out not so damaged that we become somewhat dysfunctional,” he added. “We are going to have to make sure that we pray and approach this with the light of God and the help of God in order to get through this crisis.”

“These days, I am overwhelmed with hundreds of emails and I barely have time to function,” Corsi said, wearily. “But I can’t sleep thinking that there may be one more radio show, one more opportunity to get the word out, one more mind to red pill. That’s what drives me is the desire to serve God and to have the Constitution of the United States restored to its rightful position.”

Personally, I think Corsi is already dysfunctional. Anyroad, what caught me was the line about having the constitution restored to its rightful position. It has a position? What might that position be? It’s very strange to be talking about a document as if it were a person…is there a little constitution throne somewhere? A nice, little flat crown? Asshole christians and conservatives already damn near worship the thing, they talk about it constantly, or at least bits of it. I’ll admit, I’m a bit confused about just what this rightful position might be.

RWW has the whole story.

Sunday Facepalm.

Great Again: Restoring Faith In America from EverBright Media on Vimeo. WARNING: if you’re going to watch, turn your sound waaaaaaay down. The initial blast of horns could cause a heart attack.

Mike Huckabee has a ‘free’ dvd for you, featuring time traveling kids who learn about how “god” founded Amerikka. I think all  the lunatic christians should be made to take the citizenship test for this country, they would all fail miserably, then we could kick them out. If you’re in the mood for godawful glurge, it’s all here.

Guide To Electing Godly Candidates.

Image from Intercessors for America guide to the 2018 midterm elections.

Image from Intercessors for America guide to the 2018 midterm elections.

If you need some motivation to be involved and vote the midterm elections, here it is!

IFA’s vision is “to see God’s purposes for America fulfilled through sustained prayer and Spirit-led obedience.” Kyle noted last month that IFA’s director, Dave Kubal, had posted a video talking about the 2018 midterms and the importance of “aligning intercessors with elected officials” in order “to see great advances of the kingdom of God” enacted “through our government.”

IFA’s 2018 guide touts the importance of getting engaged before primary elections, and it’s talking specifics.

[…]

It’s important to note that IFA wants people to do more than pray: It wants them to get actively involved in election campaigns. The midterm guide links to an IFA publication on “intercessory activism,” which it defines as “promoting and releasing God’s kingdom values in today’s political process by adding action to intercession, joining in political campaigns and elections, positioning intercessors alongside elected officials to support them in prayer.”

IFA’s “Intercessory Activism Guide” encourages people to volunteer in campaigns and to consider running for office. “Ask God how He might want you to become more actively involved in campaigns and elections in your area,” the guide suggests. It also suggests praying for protection for “God-fearing candidates” and asking that “those who are truly called of the Lord would stand out among the rest.”

These assholes don’t care whether or not a person running for office is actually qualified to hold said office, all they care about is if the person is an asshole christian. They’re supporting Cynthia Dunbar in a bid for congress, FFS.

RWW has the full story.

Christianity, Ever and Always Twisted.

Christianity is not only one of the most evil religions ever dreamed up, it’s also by far the stupidest. Christianity has all the clarity of a cement block, and does that ever show. There’s a reason there are so damn many types of christianity, all of them at war with the rest. Each and every brand of christianity, over 33,000 of them, are absolutely positive they are the real, true christians. Christians happily plug up their brains about this, lacking the courage to address this big ol’ elephant in the room. If “christianity” is the real, true religion, why in the hell can’t you all agree on just what constitutes christian belief? Why the constant infighting and outfighting? Why are there always corpses on the ground when christians decide to fight over real, true christianity? The constant infighting is always on display, too. Every time I’m traveling home from town, I pass a billboard with “REAL Christians believe in Jesus’s teachings” with a phone number. Still doesn’t sink into all those brains pickled in Jesus juice, ever terrified of actual thinking.

Then there’s the bible, a pastiche of stories, most of them borrowed from earlier cultures and beliefs, badly edited time and time again, with near endless translations. Christians can’t agree on this elephant, either, but each different brand is positive their choice of translation is the real, true one. Along with being a manual on how to be the very best psychopath you can be, the bible is an exercise in contradictions and vagueness. It’s made so you can twist anything at any time, in any direction. And if there’s one thing christians excel at, it’s twisting the fuck out of an already twisted religion.

Chuck Baldwin, an independent baptist, is more than happy to  contribute  to the ongoing twisting.

Citing a passage from 1 Timothy, Baldwin asserted that every adult has “a duty to provide for your family, but you cannot provide protection for your family without being equipped to do so.”

Let’s take a look. 1 Timothy 5:8 reads: But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. Yeah, okay that’s pretty basic, take care of your family, with the standard threat attached. As for whether or not christians should be all wrapped up in material goods and such, it’s 1 Timothy 5:8 up against Matthew 6 31-34: Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Oh, what’s a christian to do? Provide for yourself and yours, pay attention to material goods enough to ensure a good future, or trust Jehovah? Chuck Baldwin decides to ignore all of that in favour of twisting provide into protect.

“Therefore, you must have the means of self-defense,” Baldwin said. “And in our society today, that means a firearm in the similitude of an AR-15. Without that, you are not in a position, you are not even able to protect not just your family and your house, but your neighbors, your community around you; that we, as a community of people—that’s the militia—are given the God-given responsibility to protect our communities. That is a biblical requirement.”

Personally, I’m pretty damn sure that whole “provide for your own” business has to do with the everyday prosaic things, like shelter and food. I note that Mr. Baldwin seems to think that community and militia mean the same thing. They don’t. And while I’m grateful that Mr. Baldwin is in the next state over from me, I would not ever want some lunatic yahoo to up and decide to “protect” me with their arsenal.

And no, having guns is not a fucking biblical requirement in any way, no matter how much you twist things around to fit your personal evil. Get a slingshot, dude, worked out well for David, yeah? Or spears! You could have a whole bunch of spears. And of course, there are always swords, since you can’t seem to find your way around a weapon filled life. Mr. Baldwin is working ever so hard to turn the AR 15 biblical, and there’s a good reason for that, Mr. Baldwin’s membership and staunch support in and of the NRA. Gee, what a surprise. Mr. Baldwin is also of the the Christian Reconstructionist Constitution Party, who are in favour of repealing all federal gun laws.

If I could, I would ask Mr. Baldwin what happened to trust and faith? One thing which is biblical is trust in Jehovah; I doubt Mr. Baldwin has problems with the whole “in god we trust” business, so why would he need to be bristling with guns? Isn’t the biggest “gun” in the arsenal of a christian supposed to be prayer? O ye of little faith.

RWW has the full story.