Too bad it’s the 21st century. The story: The Vatican is preparing to publish a statement on the use of condoms by people who have Aids, a senior Roman Catholic official has said. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan told La Repubblica newspaper that Pope Benedict XVI asked the Vatican’s council for health care to study the issue. The Vatican says abstinence … Read More
Doug Giles: Reprobate
Townhall columnist Doug Giles yesterday reprinted an obscene column he originally wrote in 2004. It’s entitled "A Christian Can Be A Christian Or A Liberal, But He Can’t Be Both". It begins this way: Can a Christian be a liberal? Short answer: no. There is no way a Christian can buy into neo-liberal ideology and be faithful to the bigger-than-Dallas … Read More
Blogbites
For no particular reason, I wanted to share this quote from the Rude Pundit: In any sane nation, Rush Limbaugh would be a homeless junkie, shouting on street corners before he pissed himself again. Also, for no particular reason, did you know that the Lord asks Pat Robertson to ask about other peoples’ sex lives? Here’s a bit from an … Read More
The War Against Easter
Yup. There’s one of them, too. Think Progress has the low-down, but my favorite is this graphic and quote from Fox’s Bill O’Reilly: O’REILLY: "Although some left-wingers in the media deny it, we have documented a number of cases where Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter have been attacked by secular interests. Lawsuits and corporate policies have proved this … Read More
Christians Sue For Right To Be Intolerant
From the L.A. Times: Ruth Malhotra went to court last month for the right to be intolerant. Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality. But the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she’s a senior, bans speech that puts down others because of their sexual orientation. I can relate to the source of her complaint. In … Read More
Collapse Of The Christian Coalition
Play "Taps": The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson as the political fundraising and lobbying engine of the Christian right, is more than $2 million in debt, beset by creditors’ lawsuits and struggling to hold on to some of its state chapters. The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat … Read More
Yeah, Whatever
Pseudo-science from a creationist website: "There is no evidence in the fossil record of one kind of creature becoming another kind. No transitional links or intermediate forms between various kinds of creatures have ever been found." For example, "the evolutionist claims that it took perhaps fifty million years for a fish to evolve into an amphibian. But, again, there are … Read More
Easter For All
This isn’t going to go down well with the Religious Right: And, thanks to some pretty impressive advance planning by her two mommies, Colleen Gillespie and Alisa Surkis of Brooklyn, N.Y., Ella won’t be the only child with gay parents who’ll be scooting a colorful egg with a spoon on the White House lawn. "As a parent, you want everything … Read More
Okay, I’m Not Impressed Anymore
An oceanographer from the University of Florida explains (PDF format) that Jesus may have actually not walked on liquid water, but on a patch of frozen water — i.e., ice.
The Power Of Prayer – Part Two
Yesterday, I wrote about a scientific study showing that being the subject of other’s prayers does not help you, especially if you know that you are being prayed for. In the interest of "balance", here’s another study which shows that regular church attendance can extend your life an additional 1.8 to 3.1 years. Two points: (1) By comparison, regular physical … Read More
“Jesus Is Intolerant”
Bet you didn’t know that, but that’s what the religious right is saying. Via Carpetbagger, we learn of an excellent report from the People For The American Way, discussing some of the incindiary rhetoric coming from the "War Against Christians" conference held last week. People of faith, take note. These people claim to be your leaders. For those who are … Read More
The Power Of Prayer
It’s not as strong as you might think: The largest study of the medical power of prayer found secret prayers on patients’ behalf didn’t reduce complications in heart surgery and there was a 14 percent higher chance of problems when patients were aware of the prayers. The research, appearing in the April issue of the American Heart Journal, followed 1,802 … Read More
Riddle Me This
According to a recent U.Minn study, atheists are the most hated and distrusted minority group in America. So how can anyone take seriously the claim that there is a "War On Christians"? This victimization thing has got to stop. The resurgence of Christian faith is the highest I’ve seen in my lifetime. We have a President who claims to be … Read More
Stupider Than ID
Meet intelligent design’s stupider younger brother: Geocentrism. Sungenis is a geocentrist. He contends the sun orbits the Earth instead of vice versa. He says physics and the Bible show that the vastness of space revolves around us; that we’re at the center of everything, on a planet that does not rotate. He has just completed a 1,000-page tome, "Galileo Was … Read More
Another Holiday, Another War
I swear. Conservative Chistians just can’t stop acting like they’re being persecuted. Here’s the latest from World Nut Daily: FAITH UNDER FIREIs Easter latest holiday hijack?Bunny gets booted from city council as some fear offending non-Christians In the wake of the national uproar over the celebration of Christmas in America, some are now focusing their attention on Easter, wondering if … Read More