When I was young, the God I knew,
A child could understand;
His evidence was everywhere—
The world was in his hand.
I needed no theology
I needn’t pass a test;
I simply was a Christian kid,
And so were all the rest. [Read more…]
“Crusaders” aren’t Christian, we shouldn’t assume—
Just assholes, I’m willing to bet.
They’ve gathered, opposing an atheist girl,
Just people, like many you’ve met.
There’s nothing that hints at some fault of religion—
They’re clearly not frightened of sin—
Their horrible thoughts did not come from the bible
(The odds are, they came from within)
Their words are their own; there’s no need to excuse them;
A threat is a threat is a threat;
These moron “crusaders” are still in the hunt
For “the most clueless idiots yet”
A handwritten letter; a personal screed,
Which the cops will examine for clues…
You threaten, you bully, you menace, you prod…
And of course, in the long run… you lose.
(bit–or more than a bit–of a rant, following…) [Read more…]
Suppose you ask a hired gun
To wipe somebody out—
Could you be held responsible?
Of that there’s little doubt. [Read more…]
The case I wrote about in March of last year is being tried, starting today. (as opposed to the similar case from a couple of years earlier than that.)
Details…: [Read more…]
I once met a fellow whose face would turn blue
As he thundered “I’m tellin’ ya, brother—
When I look at the things people tell me are true…
If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.”
“To doubt the Big Bang—why, the notion’s absurd—
The trick is, before the Big Bang was God’s Word”
(more, after the jump:) [Read more…]
You say you’ve been molested;
Your attacker is a priest—
We’ll get you into treatment
Till your nightmares have decreased
We’ll speak your name to Jesus
And we hope he hears our calls
And if praying doesn’t do the trick…
We’re cutting off your balls.
infuriating stuff, after the jump: [Read more…]
What a friend we have in Jesus,
Almost more than we can bear!
If a couple wants to marry,
Same-sex folks don’t have a prayer!
Oh what rights we often forfeit
Oh what needless pain we bear
All because some magic fairy
Says we haven’t got a prayer.
Have we courts and propositions?
Is there justice anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Though the church is so unfair.
Can they still retain their power
With their bigotry laid bare?
Once we look behind their curtain
Will the church still have a prayer?
Such a history of problems;
Can they ever make amends?
Will there be a single mourner
When the church’s power ends?
Still, I offer them this solace
If it’s as the church contends
All the love they have for Jesus?
Seems they’re really only friends.
Context here, and here (Cuttlecap tip to PZ).
No verse on this one (I admit, I tried, but they all sounded stupid), but this story is both beautiful and terrible. Beautiful, in that two people who love each other, who have been committed to one another for some 20 years, are today married. Terrible, in that they had to travel to another state to wed, and in that the very announcement that they planned to do so resulted in a lost job.
Oh, yeah, they are two men. And one taught in a Catholic school.
They’ve been together 20 years. An awful lot of marriages can’t make that claim. And they were openly gay, openly a couple. Their church knew. Their employers knew.
But when the Catholic hierarchy found out, an announcement of marriage was viewed as a “public stand against the tenets of the church”. Same sex marriage is unforgivable. Unlike, say, raping a child, which would result in a job transfer to a new diocese, and a coverup.
What just tears at my heart, though, is that both men choose to stay with the church (perhaps a new location, that’s all). The Roman Catholic Church is a huge part of their identity. It’s not that I don’t understand; I do. It’s not unexpected, and it’s not unusual. This is the dance they know; this is the music they are accustomed to (see metaphor here). I’d call it Stockholm syndrome, but that would be an insult to these men. I don’t know why they still choose to be Catholics. I don’t know why their friends aren’t leaving the church in droves, in support of these good men. I mean, I do know, but not in my gut. I don’t blame them a bit. Not in the slightest. Leaving would mean splitting their world into pieces.
But I do wish they would leave. I want some friend of theirs to stand up in church, proclaim that the hierarchy is wrong, and walk out. And I want that example to be followed by dozens, scores, hundreds of others. Because these men are right, and the church is wrong. And, from the comments, the congregation knows it.
Read the story. Get angry at the church. Again.
But… (and as bright sides go, this is a pretty good one) celebrate their marriage with them! Congratulations, Charlie and Al!
Harold Camping is changing his song
And admitting (dear God!) he was wrong
He’s been telling us lies—
Which is no great surprise…
Seems the rest of us knew all along.
Headline: Doomsday Prophet Camping Says Predictions Were ‘Incorrect And Sinful”
Frankly, if you look at his site (kinda creepy, wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t)…
Yes, we humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing; yet though we were wrong God is still using the May 21 warning in a very mighty way. In the months following May 21 the Bible has, in some ways, come out from under the shadows and is now being discussed by all kinds of people who never before paid any attention to the Bible. We learn about this, for example, by the recent National Geographic articles concerning the King James Bible and the Apostles. Reading about and even discussing about the Bible can never be a bad thing, even if the Bible’s authenticity is questioned or ridiculed. The world’s attention has been called to the Bible.
We must also openly acknowledge that we have no new evidence pointing to another date for the end of the world. Though many dates are circulating, Family Radio has no interest in even considering another date. God has humbled us through the events of May 21, to continue to even more fervently search the Scriptures (the Bible), not to find dates, but to be more faithful in our understanding.
… I think you’ll agree, his apology is far more earnest than, say, Rush Limbaugh’s. (This, by the way, is my entry in the world championships of “setting a low bar”.)
Both the Torah and the Bible tell us scientists are right
When they say creation happened only once.
So they clearly are compatible, and never ever fight;
Any moron who thinks differently’s a dunce.
The creation of the universe, all sources now agree,
Came from something that’s outside of time and space,
With the power to create (as any idiot can see),
And we’re pretty sure it had a holy face.
We can say “In the beginning”; we can call it the Big Bang
Scientific or religious points of view;
We can say that life’s first moment was a note the angels sang—
Pretty much, that’s just what science says is true.
If both science and religion say it’s fiction, then it is
There’s no truth there to be found in Harry Potter
But if God should be life’s author, then the narrative is His
And admitting this… is how you win the Trotter.
Jump: [Read more…]