The Catholic Church retreats into the darkness, again

George Coyne, the Vatican astronomer, has been sacked. Red State Rabble and John Wilkins speak out on it.

They cite one source condescendingly claiming that Coyne “appointed himself an expert in evolutionary biology,” while Bruce Chapman of the Discovery Institute (speaking of unqualified gits appointing themselves the status of ‘expert’) calls Coyne an “evangelizing Darwinist,” and blames his fall on his radical theology. It seems to me that Coyne was actually a highly qualified scientist who was well-informed about the general principles of science, and who informed the Vatican about the actual status of the discipline of evolution within the domain of science. What this represents is a case of Catholicism once again rushing to bury its head in the sand—they can’t have someone who honestly represents the uncomfortable facts of science speaking out, after all. I’m sure his replacement will be better steeped in the dogma, will confine himself to a much less forthright position, and appreciates theology more than the science.

I hope George Coyne uses the freedom from one set of duties to reconsider that religion thing. It must be hard to serve two masters, especially when one is about enlightenment and knowledge, and the other is about ignorance and dogma.

As a Pythonist, I am deeply, deeply offended

An encouraging development

While I’m sure it’s personally difficult for Mary Lambert, this is a good sign: a fundamentalist, literalist church is getting fundamentalist and literal on its congregation.

The First Baptist Church dismissed Mary Lambert on August 9 with a letter explaining that the church had adopted an interpretation that prohibits women from teaching men. She had taught there for 54 years.

Consistency is a virtue the religious should pursue more. When they kick out the women, there goes over half their membership; when they start stoning the adulterers and liars and usurers, they’ll be rid of 99% of the men. The religious problem in this country will be solved.

Meanwhile, maybe Ms Lambert can look up a Unitarian church in her neighborhood.

There’s a metaphor in here somewhere

Thousands of people heard that the sea water at a beach had turned sweet, and they

This is not a school

Schools teach people how to think. This abomination is about learning not to think. It’s also an example of child abuse by smiling, cheerful parents, and a contemptible media outlet that blandly and merely reports the way religious fanatics poison kids’ minds.

So Long Mom, I’m off to Drop the Bomb

Some people seem to be outraged at the idea of people stopping the killing in the Middle East. Those people are, curiously enough, some very prominent Christians.

A small minority of evangelical Christians have entered the Middle
East political arena with some of the most un-Christian statements I
have ever heard. The latest gems come from people like Pat
Robertson, the founder and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting
Network, and Rev. John Hagee of Christians United for Israel. Hagee,
a popular televangelist who leads the 18,000-member Cornerstone
Church in San Antonio, ratcheted up his rhetoric this year with the
publication of his book, “Jerusalem Countdown,” in which he argues
that a confrontation with Iran is a necessary precondition for
Armageddon (which will mean the death of most Jews, in his eyes) and
the Second Coming of Christ.

In the best-selling book, Hagee insists that the United States must
join Israel in a preemptive military strike against Iran to fulfill
God’s plan for both Israel and the West. Shortly after the book’s
publication, he launched Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which,
as the Christian version of the powerful American Israel Public
Affairs Committee, he said would cause “a political earthquake.”
With the outbreak of the war on Lebanon, he and others have called
to their followers to pray for Israel, and for the continuation of
the war on Lebanon. They have demanded that Israel not relent in
what they call the need to destroy Hezbollah and Hamas. They seem to
have completely forgotten the very core of the Christian faith.

Forgotten the core? What’s that—proselytize, evangelize, convert the heathen, or kill them all and let God sort ’em out? I think Rev. Hagee is perfectly representative of the historical mainstream of the Abrahamic religions.

To our current infestation of cheerleaders for Jesus: if you want to comment on this thread, please make it clear whether you a) believe in the Rapture, Armageddon, etc., b) believe that a war in the Middle East is a necessary precondition for biblical prophecy to be fulfilled, and c) think this is a good thing.

(via Liz Ditz and Boing Boing)

So this is news?

This is absolutely no surprise: a newspaper article reports that church-based scams are costing the country big bucks.

Between 1984 and 1989, about $450 million was stolen in religion-related scams, the association says. In its latest count — from 1998 to 2001 — the toll had risen to $2 billion. Rip-offs have only become more common since.

Small potatoes. They’re only counting rip-offs like Ponzi schemes and other non-religious con games. I’m sure that what people willingly toss into collection plates adds up to a far larger act of wholesale robbery; a clerical collar is just a genteel swindler’s uniform.

Did you hear about the Wisconsin priest?

In regional news, the Catholic church is getting sued. Two hundred bishops have been named in a lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin family. I suspect you won’t even need to read the article to guess what it’s about.

That’s right: a conspiracy by the church hierarchy to protect a pedophile priest.

This priest committed suicide after the police homed in on him in a murder investigation, which makes it a little more sordid. Apparently, the priest, Ryan Erickson, argued with a local man about the accusations of child abuse, and shot him and an innocent bystander to shut him up. Erickson wasn’t just a messed up pedophile, he was a gun nut who wore a pistol under his robes at Mass, and had a reputation as a histrionic religious fanatic, even more so than you’d expect of a priest. One of the bizarre revelations at that last link is that the guy was also in charge of sex education for his parish, and was particularly interested in suppressing and condemning masturbation. I guess, actually, it’s not masturbation if you get a little boy to help you out.

I’ll be very surprised if this lawsuit goes anywhere, though. Religion is always regarded as a solid defense.

Pharyngula

Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal

Once Again I Rule Freethoughtblogs

Where have all the flowers gone?

Sporadic blogging over the holiday period

Abuse in the Anglican church: An all-too-familiar pattern

Targeted Individuals II

Invasive but Cute

Shellshocked

The Catholic Church retreats into the darkness, again

As a Pythonist, I am deeply, deeply offended

An encouraging development

There’s a metaphor in here somewhere

This is not a school

So Long Mom, I’m off to Drop the Bomb

So this is news?

Did you hear about the Wisconsin priest?

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