Posts Tagged Religion
Anti-Abortion Debate Hits Superbowl XXXSomething
On February 7th, over 100 million viewers in the US will sit down to watch the biggest event in the US sporting calendar – the Super Bowl. While we all might think it’s just rugby with more protective clothing and less fake blood scandals, the Americans take it pretty seriously. So seriously, in fact, that they orchestrate elaborate shows for half time, with cheerleaders and singers and accidental strip-shows from members of the Jackson family. As you can imagine, with all of those lovely viewers, advertising space is at a real premium, with 30second adverts costing as much as £3million.
However, this year, one advert in particular is causing a real storm – the ad (or ‘commercial’ as those other-side of the road, elevators and sidewalkers like to call them) is a short ad from the evangelical Christian organisation ‘Focus on the Family’, showing one of the teams’ star quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother Pam. The ad in particular focuses on Pam’s decision to ignore medical advice to have an abortion – stressing the anti-abortion message of the religious far right in America. Read the rest of this entry »
After The Earthquake, Then Came The Missionaries
Posted by Marsh in Religion, Scientology on January 22, 2010
As followers of international news will know, the small island of Haiti recently suffered a devastating earthquake, leaving thousands dead and destroying the homes and lives of many more.
As we’re increasingly seeing in the wake of these natural disasters, the internet has proven to be a great source of aid and fundraising, with appeals instantly springing up on Twitter and Facebook to raise funds for the distraught citizens and destroyed towns.
But aid from charities like Unicef, The Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Disasters Emergency Committee (please donate to any one of those) isn’t the limit of the help offered to those suffering the effects of the disaster – instead, smelling the desperation and sensing a chance to convert, religious organisations and dangerous cults have descended upon the troubled isle to hoover up the hopeless into their organisations. Read the rest of this entry »
Christian Rock: The Devil’s Music?
No, it isn’t.
The truth is, no music is the Devil’s music. I don’t say this because of my lack of belief in the Devil – I recognise a useful metaphor when I see one – I say it because I think that kind of statement has a nasty quality to it, and in turn it speaks volumes about the person using it. It says: I detest the music you like; it is evil and corrupt, and therefore you are too, for listening to it. And, of course, the only person who ends up looking ‘evil and corrupt’ is the person speaking against this music in the first place.
(On a side note, I am not fond of the term ‘evil’ either, a dehumanising and imaginary concept if ever I heard one, despite what George W. Bush would have us believe. But that is another blogpost for another day)
My point is that this kind of rhetoric reeks of the judgemental. It speaks of intolerance and ignorance; it speaks, ultimately, of fear. I recently blogged about a website called ‘Objective Ministries’, which purports to be a fundamentalist Christian site. It is most likely a hoax, but links to several other ‘Christian’ sites. Which of these are also hoaxes and which are genuine I find difficult to tell, but I’m not worried about that so much for now. One of these sites is called: ‘Zounds! – Youth Rock Ministry’. This site (whether real or imaginary) is a vehicle for Christian-themed music, mainly aimed at teenagers.
I feel I should mention that I am talking here about fundamentalist Christianity, which to my mind is a very different beast from your average, run of the mill, moderate Christianity. I don’t see the two as interacting together in any real sense. Fundamentalists view reality in a very different way from the rest of the population, religious and non-religious alike. Fundamentalism – of any kind – is a seperate world entirely, and is a serious issue of its own. Fundamentalist Christians are fundamentalists because of the way they view the world, not because they are Christian. There are a million outlets for fundamentalism, and I would not want anyone to think I am condemning Christianity in this post, because that is not my intention. My problem with the ‘Zounds!’ site is not the site itself, but the issues it brings up about the whole notion of ‘Christian’ music, which has always bugged me. Read the rest of this entry »
Of Men and Pterosaurs
Posted by Colin H in Conspiracy Theories, Creationism, Cryptozoology, Dinosaurs, Evolution, Myths and Legends, Religion on January 8, 2010
So there I was, roaming ‘teh interwebs’ one last time before entering an extended Christmas weekend and going off radar, when I came across a link tweeted by a fellow Skeptic. It referred to something called ‘Project Pterosaur’. Interesting, I thought. I wonder what that’s about? So in the interest of simple human curiosity I clicked on the link.
Oh, and what glories did I behold! This site is the most fantastically bonkers and bewildering woo-stew I have ever seen. I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, vacate the Earth or simply join in the fun these people seem to be having.
The main site is something called objectiveministries.org, and it is an ‘educational resource’ for Creation Science. These kinds of sites are everywhere, the most well-known being answersingenesis.org. They’re all attempts to push very skewed versions of reality onto the public under the pretense that science is some kind of ungodly blight that hides the ‘truth’. This site is no exception. The link above takes you to a particular article on the site, detailing the aforementioned Project Pterosaur.
So, what is this project? I’ll let Dr Richard Paley, the leader of the project explain it in his own words:
“The goal of Project Pterosaur is to mount an expedition to locate and bring back to the United States living specimens of pterosaurs or their fertile eggs, which will be displayed in a Pterosaur Rookery that will be the center piece of the planned Fellowship Creation Science Museum and Research Institute (FCSMRI). Furthermore, the rookery facility will establish a breeding colony of pterosaurs in order to produce specimens that could then be put on display by other regional institutions or church groups.”
Yes, you read that right. Project Pterosaur is an expedition to kidnap living pterosaurs – a clade of creatures the fossil record implies hasn’t existed since the cretaceous period - and put them in a special zoo. Presumably with a big sign saying: “Nur nur! Silly Evolutionists!” Read the rest of this entry »
Skeptics with a K – Episode #011
Posted by Mike in 10:23, Podcast, Skeptics with a K on December 17, 2009
Christmas Special! The guys take a skeptical look at the traditional nativity story. Plus interdimensional portals over Norway, two full moons in the sky in January and your crazy homeopathic remedies.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Ericka Tazi – Case Closed
Posted by Colonel Molerat in Religion, Skepticism on December 16, 2009
At the end of September, you may remember reading of the Vogelenzangs. They were a pair of Christian hoteliers in Aintree who had been charged with ‘religiously-aggravated threatening behaviour’ towards a guest, Ericka Tazi. Ms Tazi claimed at the time ‘they all but called [her] a terrorist’, getting nasty and ‘yobbish’, though the publicised insults from the event seemed only to be that they had called Mohammed a warlord and said that the hijab kept women in bondage.
Anyway, the case has been dropped.
The judge threw it out, suggesting (from to the Times)
that Mrs Tazi’s account could not be relied upon and that she was not quite the religious person that she presented herself as in the witness box.
Ouch.
I wouldn’t put that on her character reference.
The couple’s counsel, Hugh Tomlinson, QC, expressed the super-important, not-to-be-missed point in a handy, sound-bite sized sentence – perfect for being remembered and repeated by generations of lawyers to come:
“The fact that someone is upset or offended is not a reason for criminalising the speech used by the other person,”
Remember that!
Anyway, at the time, I expressed hope that
the case will be quickly dropped and fogotten about.
And now that it’s dropped, I suppose we should try to forget it. Apart from that handy line from Hugh Tomlinson, there isn’t much more to say.
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