This will put a smile on your face — James Dobson is in despair.
The battles that we fought in the Eighties now, we were victorious in many of those conflicts with the culture, trying to defend righteousness, trying to defend the unborn child, trying to preserve the dignity of the family and the definition of marriage. We fought all those battles and really it was a holding action. […]
[W]e made a lot of progress through the Eighties but then we turned into the Nineties and the internet came along and a new president came along and all of that went away and now we are absolutely awash in evil. And we are right now in the most discouraging period of that long conflict. Humanly speaking, we can say that we have lost all those battles, but God is in control and we are not going to give up now, right?
Knowing Dobson’s definition of what is ‘evil’, I am overjoyed to be awash in it. Keep on discouraging these sour old dogmatists!
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm evil
/homer
Poor Jimmy Dobson. He worked so hard to make the US a evangelical, fundamentalist, protestant theocracy and now people decided they didn’t want one.
I hope he’s right, but crying doom (real or imagined) has always been a standard way of rallying the troops to redouble their efforts (and giving$).
(Yeah, I know: glass half-full/half-empty).
Awash in evil indeed! He must be referring to the employee of his who was arrested for soliciting sex with someone he thought was under fifteen years old…right?
http://coloradoindependent.com/25918/arrest-report-do-you-like-older-guys-focus-employee-asked-teenage-girl
So the Internet is responsible for spreading the evil of our non-belief? Then hooray for the Internet! A truly civilising piece of technology!
If only Dobson would get the hint and focus on his own damned family instead of those of people who want nothing to do with his abhorrent superstition.
Is Ralph Reed really what anyone can call the result of something considered progress?
Mr. Dobson,
If God had wanted you to win those battles, you would have. After all, as you point out, “God is in control.”
Did you ever consider the possibility that God’s trying to tell you that you’re on the wrong side of these conflicts?
“…we can say that we have lost all those battles, but God is in control …”
So what you’re saying is that God is the one in control of your loss of those battles? Doesn’t that tell you something?
I love the smell of fundie despair in the spring air. It smells like rational tulips.
Hooray! The rapture is coming closer! Soon we’ll rid of these creeps!
Will any of them ever admit that it was the horrifying religious extremism of 9-11 that turned the tide and helped many individuals see that religion is poison? Is this why so many try to separate their personal beliefs from the word “religion”? Do they think that fools anyone? Will Dobson ever admit that it was his own righteous battles that turned many against Christianity? Is anyone else sick of all the bellyaching that this President is bringing about the end of society? They are tearing their shirts over on my local board.
I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair!
People thinking for themselves is obviously Dobson’s definition of evil.
Gee, Dobson, your boy lost. Maybe shouting that god hated the other guy was not the best strategy to ensure your boy would win. Or maybe people don’t really care if abortion is still legal when they’re not sure they’ll have a job next month. Perhaps gays getting married is a lower priority than paying the mortgage or putting food on the table. The state of one’s immortal soul may be a lower priority than the state of one’s mortal body if keeping body and soul together becomes problematic.
The leaders of the right never really wanted to overturn Roe….
Being able to call Dems “baby killers” has been political dynamite.
It’s always been their favorite hammer and know it’s all they have left.
Hey Rev.BDC…
Have fun at The Dead show..W Haynes is one the best guitarist on the planet
right now ….and Phil has been on fire.!
I predict your your brain will be launched out of your skull.
I can feel the evil oozing from my fingers into teh interwebs… BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Happy “Dobson Despair” Day all!!
Happy to be one of the members here in the Evil League of Evil. BTW, anyone seen Bad Horse?
James Dobsonfly and his ever-dwindling influence over his organization focus on the hellgrammite, and on Colorado politics is at the same place Pat Robertson was when he told the citizens of Dover that they “voted God out of their community”. The man is a has been along with Tom Tancredo, Marylin Musgrave, and Ted Haggarty. It’s Easter guys. Time for a rebirth. Let the fossils be buried under the sediment. Time to move on. Colorado has, Pharyngula should follow suit.
Dobson is and always will be a despicable little bigot. He wraps his bigotry in a godly mantle and dares anyone to speak against his interpretation of god’s words. I wonder what he sees in his mirror? Certainly not a failure, widely denounced. Maybe we can convince the son that his father’s path of hate and intolerance can never succeed.
Dobson’s Focus on Overthrowing the Government is in some trouble right now. Losing members, laying off staff, and the money isn’t coming in anymore.
Never want to celebrate too early, but the tide is going out on the fundies right now. Their 8 years of control of the US government was marked by astounding corruption and incompetence, piles of bodies in a pointless war, and the destruction of the US and world economies.
That last one is hurting a lot of people. Unemployment in California is over 10%, that is 3 million unemployed. It is higher in other states such as Oregon and some of the south. People might want to hear that jesus loves you and everyone you don’t like are going to hell. They like to eat and pay their mortgage more.
Dobson is a humanoid toad but at least he is an old humanoid toad and one day will do a Falwell or Kennedy. The fat lady isn’t singing yet but she is warming up.
I like how he blames “a new president”…yep, Clinton turned everyone gay, single-handedly performed thousands of abortions, and robbed the populace of their 401ks. Doesn’t sound far-fetched to me…
I wonder if people like Dobson ever stop and think “I sound crazy.” But if they do, it’s likely followed by “Nah, it’s everyone else!”
Errr … mr Dobson,
These are the Naughties and we’re pretty much out of them by now.
Methinks you have a forgotten a president somewhere in there. As well as quite a few lovely pastors who’ve done theirs to make the Internet fun.
God is in control? I guess we know what he prefers, then.
Oops, not enough coffee. That 3 million assumes everyone in California had a job. I doubt the little kids count in those stats. It should be, somewhere around 3 million no longer have a connection to someone employed or so.
Thanks! Ride should be here in 30 mins.
Warren is awesome. Seeing him again in the Fall on the Widespread Panic / Alman Bros dual tour.
We are awash in
evilinformation.There, fixed that for you.
@#18,
Yay, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog reference! I still think it’s too bad Joss Whedon didn’t turn that into a regular show instead of Dollhouse…
I think God is just as delighted as PZ about this.
God doesn’t exist.
“Right? Right?” [looks around, finds none] “Right?” (in a choked voice)
[/movie moment]
I somehow enjoyed how despair dripped from Dobson’s words… Does that make me evil? [gasp!]
Dobson should be more careful. With this statement he has shown the true enemy of his religion to be information and access to it.
“…but then we turned into the Nineties and the internet came along…”
He is showing that the fundamentalist evangelical movement can only remain strong by limiting and controlling the information that is available to all minds not yet closed by said movement.
For fucks sake, just let god take control and go to sleep already.
Rev BDC…
I’ll bet you’ll get a Samson and Delilah…
And isn’t it strange that the post-rapture world looks amazingly like the pre-rapture world: wars, famine, pestilence, natural disaster, demagogues. The only thing that will be different is that the fancy cars and homes of those preachers will be vacant.
Dibs on any Lexus from a Raptured Christian!
Yes, Dobson, please blame it on the internet. Declare the internet to be inherently immoral. That will work well. Try to be successful while completely avoiding modern communication methods.
I will now listen to Roy Zimmerman making fun of creationism to celebrate.
Have fun.
Probably just being cynical, but can’t help but think the underlying message is that Dobson would be able to overcome evil with a sufficient influx of cash. Seems like that is always the point with the Delusionist superstars.
So he finally recognizes what he is. It is about time he acknowledged that he and his kind are evil.
We’re awash in evil? Again?
Ol’ Dobson is just upset because he didn’t get a new party dress to go with his Easter bonnet and pretty red slippers like the pope.
Just got back from easter service. so glad I am in a liberal denomenation, and not a fundie one.
I always hated dobsons anti morality, anti science, anti humanity stances.
He is a moral reletavist, twisting what is meant to be a book about the importance of choices, and turning it into a literal tool of perescution and fund raising.
Thats why I am a gay chirstian. screw the fundies, dont need them. I will have my belief, and I will watch discovery channel and enjoy science and evolution!
TAKE THAT LORD DOBSONMORT!
Funny thing is: the net may, in fact, turn out to be one of the harder things for religions to adapt to… And this may actually be a very, very good thing… I find myself thinking, at least, of certain freethinking type kids immersed in nasty little bible belt backwaters who have at least that one lifeline out to relative sanity…
But this is too complicated a subject for a sunny Sunday, on which one could be sipping a beer.
@32 I agree. Kirk Cameron’s character in “Fireproof” actually tries to save his marriage by beating the crap out of his computer with a baseball bat. I think we’ll see the internet emerge as enemy number one for these dark age fundies.
Time to try a different god, since the current one is not working out.
The Biblical prophecies have enough historical wiggle room to be interpreted during any time of challenge. Dobson, a man whose organization thrives on fear of societal unknowns (or anything that dares contradict his narrow beliefs, for that matter) is rapidly losing influence in a world that rejects the politics of fear and control. He is casting stones at his neighbor, and he regards anything that doesn’t fit into his little worldview as “evil”…
“War” is not very Christ-like, Mr. Dobson. Damning your neighbor without showing any understanding or compassion is what is leading to your downfall. I have seen your faith, Dobson, and it’s vile, hateful, and ancient. Too bad that you use the Internet yourself to communicate via Focus on the Family’s website. You don’t mind bathing in this supposed “evil”, eh?
Focus on your own damn family.
Three cheers for the failed movement and its whiny leaders!
If Dobson continues to whine, his followers should give him some of his own medicine.
After all, “spanking is the shortest and most effective route to an attitude adjustment.”
This day is a fulfillment of the prophecy of St. Biafra:
You call yourself the Moral Majority
We call ourselves the people in the real world
Trying to rub us out, but we’re going to survive
God must be dead if you’re alive
I wish I could be as hopeful as you are. I’m thinking back across history and how the same thing was said of the printing press, etc. It seems to me that any time a new media comes into play, the first widespread use is almost always for pornography, followed by religion. I’m afraid it will be the same way with the Internet.
As long as people don’t know how to use reason to differentiate between the falsehoods exhibited in a new media and the truths, nothing will change.
The future is reserved for sanity. We only have to clean up the mess that’s up to our neck.
As for Mr. Dobson:
He does not need to preserve the dignity of my family. My wife and I very much support the efforts of law-abiding, consenting same-sex individuals. They might threaten your marriage, Dobson, but they do not undermine mine. Perhaps you should rearrange your priorities and acknowledge that not all of us share your wicked views.
Hooray! The rapture is coming closer! Soon we’ll rid of these creeps!
What makes you think those contemptible creeps would actually be selected in any Rapture?
My theory is that the Rapture happened in 1980. The bodies of all practicing Christians who had truly lived all their lives according to Christ’s teachings vanished instantaneously and their souls went to Paradise.
Shortly after that, Ronald Reagan became President, signalling the start of 100 years of tribulations for those of us left behind.
If Dosbon is in despair this makes the best easter evah!
So, I guess this means “ignorance= strength”?
You notice that when he speaks of evil, it’s never about, say, lying so your country would go to war, or fleecing ignorant people into debts they clearly can’t handle.
Evil in Dobson’s world is always about sex. This means (a) since healthy people think about sex quite a bit, and rarely in terms of baby-making with their legal spouse, his average parishioner is always in the guilt-ridden wrong, thus giving Dobson a bit more leverage in messing with their heads; and (b) since their entire moral sense is trained to react to only to nookie in its myriad forms, the ability to get outraged over non-sexual cruelty, injustice, theft, etc. diminishes (1), which means Dobson et al. can get away with anything as long as their zippers stay closed in public. Which is pretty much the point.
(1) Does anyone think these people would have reacted at all to those Abu Ghraib photos if the subjects had been fully dressed?
Remember the words of Barry Goldwater:
“THE MORAL MAJORITY IS NEITHER”.
Not moral.
Not a majority.
#8: if there is a god, he showed that Dobson was on the wrong side. This is like saying that She/He/It (abbreviated to SHIT) doesn’t give a shit.
Since the existence of anything supernatural is extremely improbably, it much more likely that there is no one out there who gives a shit but we all do and the population is clearly drifting away from this religious nonsense.
The Christians have succeeded! They have you posing about their traditions as traditionally as they worship them. You’ve begun posting about that which you claim has no earthly justification — even when unprovoked. They win. Now get out of the stupid competition unless you must oppose them to exist. Not very atheistic to need theology so badly.
I think that overall the trend might be away from religiosity, as it is in Europe, but there will be many a detour on the road, and we can’t get complacent. Interesting NYT article today about African preachers acting essentially as missionaries in this country. That’s a seriously scary trend.
OT but good news. Caopt Phillips free, three pirates dead, one in custody.
Yodood,
You’re an idiot. It’s as simple as that. It’s not meant to be a put-down, I’m just stating a fact. My wife is 5′ 1″, I’m an atheist, and you’re an idiot.
Knowing this, you should be made aware that your life will be easier if you don’t talk so much. That’s the bit that tends to let people in on your particular problem.
Dahan @ 49:
I am more hopeful than you seem to be. It appears that, over time, as people have more information available, the church loses some of it’s power. There has never been such a rapid, widespread change in communication before. Ignorance, the foundation of religion after all, is hard to maintain when a few mouse clicks can take you to …almost anywhere. Including porn. And ideas that have been unspoken in your home or community. It can be very liberating to discover that others may not be 100% convinced either.
I suspect that for many, deconversion is a slow and gradual process, fed by doubts and the shortfalls of religion. While the fundies are retreating for the moment, the next national crisis will get people all pumped again and we will have a replay of the infamous 700 Club show of 9/12. Only good thing is, there will be fewer and fewer, over time. never reaching zero, but heading towards some low value of asymptote.
Goood news for whom?
Happy Monkey Dr. Dobson!
Good news for anyone not a direct descendant of Blackbeard or Somali Sam. Or do you approve of hostage taking?
The internet is serious business.
No srzli guiz
WOW!!! I hope you are drunk because this makes no sense.
No one would care about the xians if they hadn’t tried to take over the USA and head on back to the Dark Ages, while inflicting a huge amount of damage in the process.
It also cost them millions of members. When xian becomes synonymous with Liar, Hater, Moron, and Killer, who would want to be one?
Dobson does have one solid accomplishment and redeeming feature. Such a humanoid toad full of hate and hungry for power has produced more atheists in one day than Dawkins and PZ have in a year.
He is talking about Warren Ellis. Obviously.
After 9/11, God took control and convinced Bush to start a war with Iraq. Now that we have lost 5000 of our best and crippled 50,000 more, I’m wondering what lesson God has taught Ben Laden.
June, don’t forget the huge number of Iraqis who have also been killed and maimed. (Plus numerous other nationalities.)
What seems to be the pattern for religion and communication is a strengthening and upsurge, but overall marginalization of religion. The fundies get fundier, but they also become a smaller proportion.
The printing press led to the protestant reformation; nowadays, the biggest nutters tend to be protestant, but it mostly broke the pan-societal hold the Catholic church had on Europe. Bloody wars were fought over it, but they calmed down and people moved on.
Radio, and television led to the televangelists, and the Pat Robertsons and Jerry Fallwells of the world. More fundie, yes, but representing a proportion of society that’s smaller still. The Bush Regime happened, but we’re (hopefully) calming down and getting ready to move on.
Which means, at this rate, given a few more centuries, Christianity might end up reduced to a handful of Gene Ray-like figures shaking their fists and railing at society, while the world moves on without them.
Funny how everything was hunky-dory 6 months ago for these guys, but once a dem is in the White House again its back to talking about how this country has been “awash in evil” since the 90s. The transparent selective arguing of the right is really getting tiresome.
yodood: Dang you got us yo; responding to things that other people say with which we disagree means we agree with them. No way to argue with that iron-clad logic.
What a lovely Easter. Dead pirates and Dobson. Time to pour the bourbon.
Humble pie is best served cold. It makes my day that Dobson is sad.
“Good news for anyone not a direct descendant of Blackbeard or Somali Sam. Or do you approve of hostage taking?”
I dunno about you, but death is close to never good news in my book.
Back to the thread at hand! It’s about time. I’m glad that a lot of us are starting to stand up to the bullshit of the right! It’s time for the true majority to be heard.
Patricia, OM @41 wins the Easter internets!
I will count myself among those who think the internet IS bad for small-minded religious beliefs. You can barely watch a video without being exposed to different and often conflicting beliefs in the comments section, and I think exposure to this diversity is key to moderating religion’s influence.
Finally:
Thank you, varlo, for posting this, I find it an immense relief. That and Dobson’s statements have made my Sunday morning seem a little sunnier.
Dobson is right about the internet: It was instrumental in my conversion from superstition to sanity.
I am of the opinion that among the most evil people of all are Sunday School teachers, of the kind that murder 8 year olds…
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1774475.html
I will allow that not all Sunday School teachers do this kind of thing, but… I wonder what happened in her past that led to this.
Well, the Somali pirate thing isn’t as black and white as one might think. Apparently, we in the west have been illegally dumping our nuclear waste in Somali territorial waters, causing radiation sickness among coastal dwellers. In addition, illegal trawling has been stealing seafood the Somali’s rely on for sustenance. Interesting article from The Independent below:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-you-are-being-lied-to-about-pirates-1225817.html
78#
Jeebus overload!
Sayonara, Dobuson-San!
“Knowing Dobson’s definition of what is ‘evil’, I am overjoyed to be awash in it.”
My thoughts EXACTLY.
I will allow that not all Sunday School teachers do this kind of thing
How generous of you. Do you also allow that not all women do this kind of thing, or that not everyone who lives in a mobile home park does this sort of thing? I’m not normally a champion of Sunday school teachers, but Jesus Fing Christ that’s a ridiculous smear.
Posted by: Admiral Naismith @52:
That would explain disco.
I’m wondering what lesson God has taught Ben Laden
That he was right that, to start the war he wanted between Islam and America, it’s best to attack the latter when a Republican is in office.
Warner@42 wrote:
Your post doesn’t exactly explain why you’re a gay Christian, and I’m honestly curious to know why (and how) you cherry pick out of that book to base your beliefs on.
One of my biggest steps to atheism was realizing just how second (third? fourth?) class women are in the bible, and we’re not even called abominations or ordered to be put to death for who we are.
If you discount references in the bible to homosexuality, what other sins do you discount? Do you discount the idea of eternal damnation? If so, why Christianity? Isn’t the whole idea that Jesus temporarily died for our sins?
I truly am curious. Despite how much I disagree with them, I can understand truly fundamentalist Christians more than I can understand liberal Christians.
They have you posing about their traditions as traditionally as they worship them.
You might not have come across as quite so stupid if you had posted this in a thread about Easter instead of one about James Dobson.
Off topic(ish), A link to ruin your day. Though FWIW, I found this article through a facebook link. 113 people have commented and the vast majority of comments are variations on the theme of what an idiot this guy is.
Dianne, for the (presumably) majority of us who don’t speak German…?
If Dobson thinks we’re awash in evil, maybe he’ll consider leaving this evil place and find refuge on a remote isle. Anyone want to contribute to a one-way ticket for him and the Focus on Family staff to PItcairn, Tristan de Cunha, or Easter Island? The world would be better off with him and staff in an out of the way isle to go with his out of the world creed.
Nothing has ever successfully explained (or excused) disco. Disco remains an inexplicable speedbump in musical (and dance) history and taste, not to mention being a pothole in human society.
May I suggest one of the currently active volcanoes?
blf: My point focused on American losses to sharpen the painful point that we “revenged” the loss of 3000 Americans on 9/11 by killing 5,000 and crippling 50,0000 more. Boy, did that teach Ben Laden a lesson!
blf wrote:
Only if Bobby Jindal can accompany him.
I suppose Dobson wants us to have good Christian values like these:
Yes, those Christians, they’re just soooooo much more moral than the rest of us.
Not.
90#
Not overly fair on the Pacific denizens…after suffering from such a dubious influx of bible bull excreters at the beginning of the 19th century…Unfair to curse them again methinks.
Anyway ‘Dobby’ and co would only assume the missionary position…ahem!…seems it is only Christian!
June, attacking Iraqi had little-to-nothing to do with the 11-Sept atrocity: bin (not Ben) Landen was being sheltered by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The alleged reason for attacking Iraq was the so-called weapons of mass destruction, of which there were none, and which experts (e.g, the UN inspectors) kept telling anyone who would listen did not exist.
… focus on the hellgrammite
No, please don’t! Do NOT roil those waters! Leave those poor Megaloptera alone!
(chomp!)
See, I told you to not touch the hellgrammites. Now count your fingers ….
Throw in (pun intended) Ken Ham and the DI (sounds like the name of a punk rock band) to make it the loathsome foursome, and we’ve a deal!
Dianne, for the (presumably) majority of us who don’t speak German…?
Oops. That was remarkably flaky of me. I’m afraid I couldn’t find the story on the English part of the Spiegel site so all I’ve got is an apology for being an airhead and a suggestion to use an online translator. Or not. It’s just another idiot bishop blaming atheists for all that’s wrong in the world.
…bin (not Ben) Landen…
Laden, not Landen?
Gawk! Preview proofreading FAIL.
St Tabby #89:
As someone who’s German ability approaches that of a 5 year old, it’s something about a bishop saying the murders of communist countries are proof of the inhumanity of atheism
Completely OT. I’ve just come back from an afternoon of sailing. The winds were a bit brisk today. A good time was had by all.
The alleged reason for attacking Iraq was the so-called weapons of mass destruction
The Bush administration actually provided 27 rationales for the invasion (http://news.illinois.edu/NEWS/04/0510WAR.HTML). As Wolfowitz said, “The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the U.S. government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on which was weapons of mass destruction as the core reason”.
For the real reason, google PNAC.
The many and various God debates on h2g2.com had a large part to play in my own growth to atheism, so I too will agree with Dobson there.
Freely available information is (almost) always a good thing.
TRiG.
Speaking off causes of the Iraq war, I can’t pass up an opportunity to recommened robert newman’s stand-up special on Channel 4, History of Oil.
Look for it on google video.
And I have my doubts about PZ. Still, I will look at all the evidence.
Codswallop:
Well, good luck to ya. I’ve met PZ. I’ve got a cousin who’s taken classes from him. I’ve seen pictures of him and seen him talk twice. I could go on for a long time.
When I’ve got that kind of evidence for a god, you can bet I’ll no longer be an atheist.
What did you even mean by that statement?
Dahan,
I believe that Codswallop was indulging in a bit of rhetoric called a joke. I could be wrong, however.
Evil’s all nice and sudsy!
‘Tis himself,
Hmmm, looking it over again, you may be right. It’s so hard to tell here sometimes. I’ll take my lashings quietly.
Dobson and fundies, et al; finally, finally have met their match…cables, routers, switches and motherboards…I think we need to start worshipping those wicked, evil motherboards especially. They have given all of us hope for a better tomorrow.
I find myself surprised, rather than overjoyed, at such expressions of sorrow by Dobson et al. since Nov 2008.
Aren’t they the people who claim to have God on their side? Isn’t it doctrinal that hardships of life are trials of God, to test your faith? Isn’t he supposed to be setting an example of strength during hard times? Why should one political downturn force him to retire from work and then whine like this? Aren’t we reminded constantly that the nation remains center-right and any wins by left will be short-lived?
It seems Mr Dobson needs to be on suicide watch.
Joy is short-lived, as today amazon decided to apply theocracy rules to their sales ranks and search pages. Hope, of course, springs eternal.
Toads like Dobson are all about power and money and nothing much to do with xianity.
The god babble is just a means to an end and otherwise unimportant.
It is pretty clear he thinks god only favors Theothuglicans and that isn’t written anywhere in his magic book.
Inge,
Please describe what amazon is doing.
Cyan, it seems (haven’t verified it in detail) that they are removing ratings and maybe searchability for books that deal with GLBT issues: http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html.
And the day had started so well with the news about Dobson…
That weevil Cal Thomas had a woe-is-us column the other day that his side had “lost the fight” about gay marriage. Too bad, Cal. Here ’tis, if you can stand it.
The Cal Thomas bile was nauseating.
But I didn’t get one thing. Does he intend to ban divorce, too?
Inge:
Don’t believe everything you read.
If this does turn out to be the case, I hope that amazon’s profits are negatively affected.
Azkyroth: Yes, it’s not consistent. Without the letter quoted on the LJ entry I linked to I’d have believed it to be a technical glitch.
Your LJ link gives a 404.
Azkyroth: remove the “.” at the end.
OH NOES NOT THE INTERNETS!!!
If god is in control, why are we awash in evil?
Worse yet for Dobson & FOTF, profits are way down.
Of course. Stupidity (trademarked by Glenn Beck) is still in demand, evidenced by this conversation noted on Gawker:
Woman: [Shouts] “Burn the books!” [applause]
Man: “I don’t think you were serious about that, were you?”
Woman: “I am too.”
Man: “Burn all the books?!”
Woman: “The ones in college, those, those brainwashing books.”
Man: “[laughs] Brainwashing books?”
Woman: “Yes.”
Man: “Which ones are those?”
Woman: “Like, the evolution crap, and, yeah…”
http://gawker.com/5207368/a-very-special-book+burning-glenn-beck-tea-party
check out the article and comments about amazon on Dear Author (dearauthor.com) – they’ve got a pretty strong case against amazon.
check out the article and comments about amazon on Dear Author (dearauthor.com) – they’ve got a pretty strong case against amazon.
if anyone still cares about the German article linked to earlier, here’s the translation:
check out the article and comments about amazon on Dear Author (dearauthor.com) – they’ve got a pretty strong case against amazon.
I apologize for the various grammatical errors in the translation, which of course I’m only noticing now *sigh*
Obviously the Internet is the modern equivalent of the apple offered by the serpent to
Eveall, so of course he would share his god’s view on the dissemination of real knowledge.woah! I swear, I only posted my one comment once! (gremlins. it must be gremlins.)
What is evil to Dobson smells like Prada’s infusion d’iris to me. If we keep this up, future generations may have a tolerable world to live in.
I agree with Eamon – religious types always whine like that. If you let them have their way they’ll have their holy wars too. Unfortunately they’re not disappearing any time soon; looking around I see a world that wants to believe in fairies – if not xtians, mohammedans, or wiccans it’s bound to be something else. At least with religions that push holy cows you can say there’s one fairytale that’s full of bull.
Yikes – Just seeing Dobson’s name gives me the creeps. My ex-father-in-law raised his family according to the rubbish published by Dobson, including the liberal use of a leather belt. What he ended up with is the most dysfunctional family I have ever met (we’re even talking incest!!)
And what’s with the use of ‘awash’? Recently Cardinal George Pell here in Australia came out in support of the Pope’s stand on condoms and AIDS, stating that “If you look at the Philippines you’ll see the incidence of AIDS is much lower than it is in Thailand which is awash with condoms,”
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25316198-421,00.html
Re: “Yikes – Just seeing Dobson’s name gives me the creeps.”
I’ll add another. Dobson AND Gothard–the dynamic duo of biblical authoritarianism.
Even if an invisible man in the sky does exist, why should I worship any singular authority? No Gods or Kings. Only man and his independence. I don’t care how much this supposed deity loves me. Not all creations are intended to take orders from their creator. That is not the spirit of genuine freedom.
I’ll second the dysfunctional-family Christian bit. Every truly warped person I’ve known has turned out to be an active Christian, and a family is geometrically worse. The folks next door are Baptist Temple home-schoolers, and the 14-year-old girl has been sneaking out of nights.
Another young-teen female of my acquaintance, who is not from an overtly Christian family but, due to other circumstances such as being the only child of a divorced only child, is now a spoiled, selfish, lazy, contemptuous, disrespectful, arrogant, ignorant, and rude little bitch. She reminds me very strongly of fundamentalist Christians in all her behaviors, and she’s currently thrilled to have a boyfriend who attends a Christian school. God help her.
His problem is that he wants to be persecuted. This is tough when his team has the majority. What can he do? AH! Widen the definition.
Used to be, persecution involved fun stuff like beheadings and burning at the stake. Not saying that still doesn’t happen, but in the USA it’s gone out of fashion. Before I get jumped on, yes, I realize this is still going on is parts of the world. A person can have horrible things happened to them because of their beliefs. But I’m keeping this local.
Okay, Dobby wants to claim persecution, oppression, whatever. So back to my first point, since no one is throwing xians to lions. He must widen the definition. It’s now anyone who asks questions, expresses doubts, defies his authority, or thinks for themselves.
@ Legs:
Dontcha know? Not being allowed to shove your retarded superstitions down everyone’s throats is EXACTLY like being thrown into an arena with hungry lions.
@ 143
Can we cancel Dobby’s TiVo, cut off his cell phone service, and make him use dial-up?
Not quite the impact of lions, but this is 2009.
Actually, this whole thread has about busted my irony meter*. Dobby is bitching about the internet, and I read it on…..the internet?
*1993 irony meter if anyone has a 2n222a transistor.
Of course it is. It you’re arm is down my throat, I’ll bite it off. Exactly like the lions…
May I interest new in my latest model irony meter, the
IronMeasure-Protect-o-Magic™ ?
@91: you’ll never understand disco until you learn to dance the hustle. Then it will all make sense to you.
“The battles that we fought in the Eighties…and the internet came along and a new president came along”.
Uh, like Ronny Raygun and BushSeniorov and BushCheneyov? (20 years versus 8 under Clinton?)
Talk about mindless. Dobson doesn’t seem to have a memory. I wonder where he gets his information from?
Maybe he makes it all up.
You can’t fight The Culture.
Well done, Jadehawk # 131. Good to see the translation and a good one it is too!
More evidence that religion is an equal-opportunity con-game, regardless of the language employed to mouth it, and whatever culture it infects.
I think you guys are missing the point when you talk about dysfunctional Christian families. They aren’t protecting the health of families, only the “dignity” which is only about keeping up appearances and saying the right things. In other words, if there is a mother and a father and they are Christian they may do as they please with their kids so long as they don’t admit any problems, divorce, or try to control their lives (well the man can have a little control, but not too much). That, is dignity. Health is a part of the liberal agenda.
Anecdotally though, the worst family situations that I’ve seen, I mean the ones that make you want to vomit or land one of the kids permenantly in an assisted living situation, have involved religion, drug addiction, or both.
I don’t think that is a coincidence.
There has been only one Christian. They caught him and crucified him–early.– Mark Twain
@151, I agree
… Christian families don’t do the things you mentioned – they just sweep it under the carpet. Its about claiming the moral “high-ground” – so even when they ‘sin’ it’s ok, as long as they are still ‘believers’.
From religious tolerance.org (a politically moderate site):
“Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significantly higher than for other faith groups, and much higher than Atheists and Agnostics experience.”
Religious groups found this study scandalous – more info on study found here:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm
The site also gives figures on a disproportionately higher incidence of child abuse in conservative christian households.
The point is that your whole life you can act in a way that completely contradicts all Christian convictions, but as long as you repent, go to church on Sunday and believe Jesus is your saviour, all your transgressions are forgiven by society and presumably, God.
Religion is not a moral code, it’s an excuse to act amorally.