Breaking News: Wednesday is Judgment Day, Goodbye Everyone!

Wow, if I'd realized that Wednesday was it, I might have had more fun this weekend. Hey, at least I got to watch the premieres of The Flash and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. So, I wonder what time the end is coming? Everyone have their hell-bound handbaskets ready to go? I think it's safe to say, that's where most of us are headed, right?

[Excerpt]

Christian group predicts the world will be 'annihilated' on Wednesday

While our planet may have survived September’s “blood moon”, it will be permanently destroyed on Wednesday, 7 October, a Christian organization has warned. The eBible Fellowship, an online affiliation headquartered near Philadelphia, has based its prediction of an October obliteration on a previous claim that the world would end on 21 May 2011. While that claim proved to be false, the organization is confident it has the correct date this time. . .

Read more (with video) at: The Guardian

Seen at the "Values Voters Summit"

This was spotted at the oh-so-moral-and-Christian "Values Voters Summit." Why these extremists attract any mainstream Republican speakers and support is a mystery. If I were a career politician, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near them. But I can nearly guarantee you that nobody there will denounce this sort of thing, even though it was clearly created by a lunatic.

 



Found at: JoeMyGod

The Gay Thing: Pastor Proposes Amendment to Jail Gays for 10 Years

Yeah, I know, why give this crazy guy a platform? But it's already out there, and there's another reason to highlight stuff like this: it seems to be spreading. As marriage equality spreads--and it seems likely to become the law of the land nationally sooner rather than later--the anti-gay backlash is starting to get nutty. Or rather, nuttier than usual. This guy is bananas, but there are a bunch more just like him.



The good Pastor Williams. Nice red neck you've got there.
Image from source, Raw Story.

So anyway, this guy likely sees himself as a patriot, but he doesn't seem to understand what the Constitution is, what's in it, what it's for, and how you amend it. I mean, if we just put the odiousness of what he'd like to do aside for the moment, his proposed amendment would be in conflict with the first amendment. But beyond that, the amendment would require massive support in both houses of Congress, as well as in a supermajority of the states. Constitutional amendments are extremely difficult to pass, and for good reason.

I'm not sure this punishment has
been completely thought through.

Beyond that, this guy wants to criminalize private sexual behavior. Behavior--it should be pointed out--that is practiced by straight people as well as gay people. That should freak everybody out. But even with this extreme proposal, the guy is a chickenshit. The Bible doesn't call for imprisoning gay people, it calls for the death penalty. As long as he's shooting for the moon here, he might as well go for it, right? But he wussed out. Not that his proposal would enjoy an ounce more support either way.

It's time for people to stop proposing changes to the Constitution that sever no other purpose but to limit rights. That's totally outside the purpose of the document. And you would think these "strict constructionist"-types would know that.

[Excerpt]

Pastor calls to imprison gays for ‘ten years hard labor’ with new constitutional amendment
 
A pastor who uses his Internet platform to teach political lessons based on conservative Christian ideology has proposed a constitutional amendment to punish LGBT people for “ten years in prison at hard labor.” In a video posted to his PreachingPolitics.com website last month that was flagged by the Good As You blog on Monday, Pastor Michael V. Williams asserts that Christians have been “increasingly tolerant” of gay people over the last 50 years. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Christian Radio Host Ties Ebola to Atheism, Homosexuality

Christian Radio Host, Rick Wiles. Nice hair.

Ebola is a horrible virus that kills quickly and gruesomely. Most of us know what we know about it from terrifying novels by Robin Cook, and scary medical thriller movies. So, when it rears its real head in the world, it can kind of freak people out. Which is why the CDC immediately came out and said: you can't get this easily, it's only transmitted through body fluids.

The infected doctors who came here are in isolation, and presumably not sharing any body fluids with anyone. If another healthcare provider gets a needle stick or something, they're sure to be popped right into a plastic bubble. This is not a third-world country. Ebola is very unlikely to become a runaway plaque in the States. It's not airborne. But fearmongers know that there is money to be made by scaring the crap out of people. And they've coupled it with other well-known pocketbook opening boogeymen: atheists and homosexuals (oh my)!

Honestly, can anyone make excuses for this guy? And he's not alone either. I heard our local right-wing radio doofus, Kevin Wall, trying to tie Ebola to the border immigration story. I mean, WTF? Ebola, untreated, kills rather quickly. The quarantine time is something like three weeks, because by that time, you either live or die. How likely is it that these kids can traverse all the way across Mexico from Central America with a disease that wipes you out and quickly? And how did it get there from Africa? It's absurd.

[Excerpt]

‘Christian’ Radio Host: Ebola Will ‘Solve America’s Problems Of Atheism And Homosexuality’
 
Some people, when they look at the worst Ebola outbreak in history, hope for its quick end and for the safety of those in the communities affected. But others, like Christian Radio Host Rick Wiles, hope it spreads to the US and wipes out every last atheist and gay person in the country. . .

Read more at: AddictingInfo

EDITED: I got an odd tweet, taking me to task for not knowing what a virus is. It is totally possible I zipped this post out more quickly than I should have, so I've fleshed it out a little more. Funny, the guy was an atheist (and proudly so), so we'd actually probably get along.

Crazy Preacher Bradlee Dean Still Has it In for Rachel Maddow

Not an Axl Rose impersonator.

I have Google Alerts set up for several things for my blog, one of them being "Rachel Maddow." The other day, I got an alert for a story about Bradlee Dean (yes, he really spells it that way), the nutty, anti-gay, rock and roll preacher, and how he has a legal squabble with Rachel Maddow. This story goes back a ways, but it has to do with Rachel doing a story on Dean, and his anti-gay views. Dean said she took him out of context to make him look hateful, which is hilarious, because he is plainly hateful.

Anyhow, he lost the case, and is supposed to pay for her legal bills. But he doesn't want to. Beyond that, I couldn't really suss out what he was trying to say. Even the headline was inscrutable ("WHAT RACHEL MADDOW PURPOSED NOT TO TELL YOU ABOUT ME"). And then I got at least two more Google Alerts on the same story, covered by others. Now, since I couldn't figure it out, I passed it off to Joe.My.God., since that blog had been covering this story back in the day. But even Joe apparently couldn't make heads or tails of it.

But as I said the other day, when I have a WTF story I can't get my hands around, Wonkette is my go-to crazy-splainer.

[Excerpt]

Bradlee Dean Will Never Retreat, Never Surrender, Never Stop Suing Rachel Maddow

. . .Time for some Real Talk here. We read this DeanScreed several times, but we still can’t really figure out what on earth he is saying. He’s still SUPER MAD ALL CAPS HEADLINES MAD that Rachel Maddow quoted him, but didn’t quote everything he ever said, because if she had, then it would be totally clear that when he called for the deaths of the gays, it was totally not calling for the deaths of the gays, because context. Also, we have learned that Bradlee is in desperate need of an editor, even one of the crummy ones over at his other haunts like WND, because Christ just try to follow this. . .

Read more at: Wonkette

Could Religious Fundamentalism Be a Curable Mental Disorder?

"Dark sided!"

As an atheist, it can be tempting for me to look at this headline and say, "Well, obviously! All religions are crazy!" But by that, I really just mean preposterous. And by that, I mean to me. But I think even a religious person could acknowledge that some people take their brand of religiosity a bit (or a lot) too far. I mean, there are religiously-driven people whose entire livelihood hangs on trying to turn gay people into second-class citizens. Or worse. That's nuts, right?

Turns out, maybe so.

[Excerpt]

Kathleen Taylor, Neuroscientist, Says Religious Fundamentalism Could Be Treated As A Mental Illness
 
An Oxford University researcher and author specializing in neuroscience has suggested that one day religious fundamentalism may be treated as a curable mental illness. Kathleen Taylor, who describes herself as a "science writer affiliated to the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics," made the suggestion during a presentation on brain research at the Hay Literary Festival in Wales on Wednesday. . .

Read more (with video) at: Huffington Post

Crazy Creationists: Dinosaurs Fled the Flood!

Last night I posted a piece about Mitt Romney' literal belief in his wacky religion. And, I noted that as an atheist, I find 'em all wacky, so I'm not so much singling Mormonism out, as I am saying it's just extra special goofy. But Mitt's not alone in his belief in unbelievable things.

Somehow, I got on the Creation Ministries International mailing list. And these folks are literal believers in the book of Genesis. Just FYI, that's the book that set me on the road to atheism, because it was taught to me at the same time as freshman Earth science. Guess which book won? Anyway, Genesis is chock full of ridiculous things that only the deeply deluded could believe are literal. From the "firmament" to the items set into it, from the cleanliness rules to the list of sacrificial requirements, from the conflicting dual creation stories to there being light before there was a light source? All of it is frankly unbelievable.


























But nothing is more ridiculous than the flood story. Forget that there are (again) two conflicting Noah's Ark stories, and different numbers of animals in each. There are problems with the size of the boat. There are problems with the technology of building such a boat. There's the problem of how every kind of animal got to the middle east, and then re-dispersed themselves back to from whence they came. There are the uncomfortable facts about feeding and housing these animals for such an extended period, and what they would do about the waste. How did they keep the animals from eating each other, or the humans? How did they transport the bacteria, viruses, insects, arachnids and amoeba? How did the sealife and freshwater animals survive in the stirred up, seawater/rainwater/sediment-filled water? How did plantlife and fungi survive submerged for 100 days? And we're not even talking about where the water came from, and where it went! Why would an "all-loving" god murder his "children," no matter how disobedient they were?

Creation Museum folly. Image from Bay-of-Fundie.com

On top of this is the question of dinosaurs. Why doesn't the Bible mention dinosaurs? Well, some try to parlay allusions of "dragons" and whatnot into dinosaurs, but it's a stretch. It actually makes the bible sound more like a bunch of fables to me. So, the question is, if man coexisted with dinosaurs, why do they get such scant coverage in the Bible? Why weren't they on the Ark? Did Noah take dinosaur eggs, rather than full-grown T-Rexes and Stegosauri? Why isn't it mentioned?

Obviously, it isn't mentioned, because the writer(s) of Genesis never heard of dinosaurs, and thus couldn't write about them. They didn't realize that the sun is the source of our light, so they could say it was created after light. They didn't know how clouds, the atmosphere, the orbits of the moon and planets, or stars in the universe worked, so they made crap up about the celestial bodies being placed in a bowl that separated the waters of heaven and earth. There are so many, countless, obvious problems with Genesis, an irreligious person like me just stands with my mouth agape. How can any adult take these fairy tales seriously?

And then I get my latest installment of further attempts at devising a narative that makes sense out of a book that really doesn't.  You know what I liken groups like Christian Ministries International to? I liken them to Rankin-Bass. You know, the studio that made such holiday classics as, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Year Without a Santa Claus. In those holiday specials, they took all of the implausibilities in the Santa Claus story, and explained them in such a way as to keep kids believing it just a little while longer. And as kids, we wanted to believe. That's all this foolishness is.

If you are interested (and I hope it's only for amusement value), you can find this group here: Christian Ministries International.

Chick-fil-A: I'll Have a Chicken Sandwich with a Side of Jesus

Image from Bilerico.com

Right now, there is a big hub-ub (which I've participated in) about Chick-fil-A, a fast food restaurant with a goofy name. They were vocally political recently, strenuously denouncing gay marriage (and very likely, just gay people) in the press. It has been no secret that the owners of the company were conspicuously religious. In fact, there have been past gay half-hearted boycotts of the place, based on the types of groups the company gave money to.

But, what do I care, right? I've never eaten there in my life, having never lived anywhere where there was one. Besides, I rarely eat fast food, and if I did, there are plenty of other places to get it. I've even been known to frequent In-N-Out Burger on occasion for their protein burger, and they print Bible verses on the wrappers! I don't know why fast food companies would want to be so conspicuously religious, but whatever, right? Yeah, not anymore. I may have no real impact on their bottom line, but I don't have to give money to a company that in turn, spends some of the profits on groups that are out to curtail my civil rights. It's chicken. It just can't be that good.

If you think I'm being silly, take a look at this article from a few years ago from Forbes (not exactly a left-wing rag). As an atheist, I don't think about religion much. But in-your-face, overt religiosity grinds my gears. This might even grind yours.

[Excerpt]


The Cult of Chick-fil-A

At a busy Chick-fil-A in Rome, Ga. Richard Yadkowski keeps a paternal eye on employees squeezing lemons and cooking chicken. Like seven teens who work in his restaurant, Yadkowski, 33, came to Chick-fil-A when he was living in a group foster home created by Chick-fil-A founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy. "I tell the kids, 'This is not just selling sandwiches; it pays for your upbringing,'" says Yadkowski, a hardworking, happily married Southern Baptist who plans to work with Chick-fil-A for life. . .

Read more at: Forbes

Bradlee Dean Strikes Back. . .

"Whatever dude."

. . .like the little bitch he is. Sorry, but this is just about the whiniest response from a supposed "tough guy," slapped down by a female judge who sided with Rachel Maddow. Poor, poor widdle Bradlee. Bradli? Kidding. . .

[Excerpt]


Bradlee Dean Fires Back At Judge In Rachel Maddow, MSNBC Suit

Bradlee Dean is fighting back against the judge who ordered him to pay Rachel Maddow's legal fees in his lawsuit against the MSNBC host. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Rick Perry Not Just Religious but Weird Religious

Or is that scary religious? We all know that Rick Perry hosted a big ol' "pray for America" rally this past weekend, and that it wasn't particularly well attended. You might have even known that many of the religious figures associated with the event were a bit kooky (hello, Oprah is a harbinger of the anti-Christ?). But did you know that the religion being pushed here is the New Apostolic Reformation? If you didn't, click the link. They're. . .well. . .a little out of the mainstream. And they want to take over our government. For realz.

Whatever your religion, it is a core principle of the United States of America that we have no state religion. Though many conservatives attempt to rewrite history, the separation of church and state is fundamental to what America is, and what it was founded as. Rick Perry, if he indeed is a believer or supporter of this belief system, must not become president.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Townhall Gun Carrier Wants Obama to Die

Image from source, TPM Muckraker

We're officially done with August, which--for whatever reason--is always called the "silly season" in politics. It may have to be re-dubbed the "scary season" after this summer of continuously creepier activities by President Obama's detractors. Whatever a person might think of Obama personally, or his policies, he simply hasn't been in office long enough to justify this nutty, off-the-deep-end right-wing frothing.

Take this guy, for example. He's the guy who brought an automatic weapon to a health care reform Town Hall meeting. And he happens to have a whack-job preacher that makes Reverend Wright look like the Snuggle bear.

[Excerpt]

Gun-Toter From Obama Event: I, Like My Pastor, Want The President To Die

The violent anti-Obama sentiment coming out of central Arizona managed to get still more toxic over the weekend.

Chris Broughton, the man who brought an AR-15 rifle and a handgun to an Arizona Obama rally earlier this month, says he "concurs" with his fundamentalist pastor's prayer for President Obama "to die and go to hell. . ."

Read more at: TPM Muckraker

Young Turks on Guns at Townhalls (Plus "The Gay")

It was only a matter of time before "the gay" was linked to the whole tea bagger/birther/deather/townhall mob scene. I'm actually surprised it took this long. Here's a clip from The Young Turks, about a crazy pastor and his passionate hatred (and death wish) for President Obama.



So where is the gay part of the issue? Well, here is that same pastor of "the best church in the world" on that very topic.

[Excerpt]

God Commands You To Kill Gays

I spend a lot of time here mocking Religious Right groups and activists for their views of homosexuality, but as Jeremy says about these audio clips he posted the other day, "this 'culture war' is all fun and games until someone wants to execute you."

And he's not joking. Just listen to these rants from Steven L. Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, AZ, explaining to his audience how gays are out to rape their children in order to recruit them and says that the only way to stop them is to kill them. . .

Read more at: Right Wing Watch

Was Jesus Gay?

I'm not seriously considering the matter, because I'm not religious in the slightest. But the very notion does tend to squick some people out. I wonder why that is? In any event, this guy is very interesting to listen to (the accent doesn't hurt), and makes some very valid points. Check it out.

Post-Apocolyptic Warnings from the Future!

Apparently, there is still a faction of the religious right that is convinced that Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ. I know, it's stupid. And they also seem to regard the very (very, very) bad fiction series Left Behind as literal truth. Scary. But also a little funny.







Fair warning: if you take the bait, and check out the Left Behind series, be prepared for a lot of wasted hours, and some dreadful writing. Read my review, and save yourself some time.

Found at: Jesus' General

Sarah Palin's Church: Alaska a Refuge from Armageddon?

Image from source, Raw Story

OK, I've read (most) of the apocalyptic Christian book series, Left Behind, and I don't recall there being any refuges, excepting perhaps Israel, and that was quite temporary and for a select few. I did wonder what might happen during the "tribulation" to astronauts on a space station, or other outer space base, since the Bible only talks about what happens on Earth. And Earth is pretty much devastated everywhere, at least according to Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkens, alleged experts on the Rapture and all that follows.

So how is it that Alaska could be some sort of safe harbor during apocalyptic hell fire? Oh, and full disclosure: I find all of this end of days stuff a load of hooey anyway.

[Excerpt]

Palin church: Alaska will be a 'refuge' for Armageddon

Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has attended a number of different churches over the years, but for most of her adult life, she belonged to the Wasilla Assembly of God, which has attracted attention for its unorthodox beliefs and practices. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Are Gas Prices Dropping Due to Prayer?

Photo from source, Raw Story

Quick answer: of course not! I'm not even a tiny bit religious, so I do have a bias here, but seriously, WTF? I know that some conservatives have a little trouble with cause-and-effect. So listen up, people: if A is followed by B, you cannot logically conclude that A caused B. A may simply have preceded it, and had no relation to B at all.

And prayer is probably the hardest "cause" of all to even come close to proving. After all, what if Religious Guy #1 prays for prices to drop, and Religious Guy #2 (who has a lot of Exxon-McCain-Mobil stock) prays for prices to go up? Pray for rain? Somebody's probably praying against it. And on and on. So essentially, if anything happens, somebody can claim it to be an answered prayer. Nice.

[Excerpt]

'Pray at the Pump' activist: 'We shall overcome' high gas prices

Divine intervention, not the market, is bringing gas prices down, one campaigner says.
59-year-old Rocky Twyman of Rockville, Maryland has garnered worldwide attention after holding prayer meetings at gas stations across the United States since April as part of his "Pray at the Pump" drive. Recently, to celebrate a drop in the average price of gasoline to $3.80 a gallon. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Cheesus: Jesus Found in a Cheetos Bag

Ah me. Jesus has made yet another food-based appearance, this time in a Cheeto cheese curl. Why is it so often food? Is Jesus bored with the bland cracker at communion? I guarantee taking communion will be much more popular if they substitute Cheetos.

These stories are always so silly. Yes, that particular Cheeto looks vaguely human. Yes, it might even look--again, vaguely--like our traditional image of Jesus. Well, if Jesus was quite deformed. . .and orange. I know I'm repeating myself, because in my brief time blogging this is at least the fourth thing either Jesus or Mary have "appeared" in.

My biggest questions are, 1) if Jesus (or his mom) want to appear to humans, why is it always in a kind of stupid way? Wouldn't the Jumbotron in Times Square be a little more effective? And, 2) what the heck makes you think it is Jesus (or moms) anyway? We don't know what either of them looked like, and even if we did, lots of people look like that. This Cheeto could just as easily be Willie Nelson.

[Excerpt]

Can you see Jesus in this Cheeto?

A couple of years ago, the youth director at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church in Houston was snacking in the church youth offices when he noticed an odd-shaped Cheeto. Upon further inspection, Steve Cragg determined he could see a familiar image of Jesus in the shape of the cheese curl.

One of the church youth named the item in question 'Cheesus. . .'

Read more at: ABC News

Previously:

Jesus Found in Potato!

Jesus Found in Slab of Granite

Jesus Christ on a Pancake!

Man Cuts Off Hand, Cooks in Microwave

Wow. Few stories hit me like this one did. . .

This poor, delusional, religion-soaked guy took "Crazy Christian" to its extreme. I'll bet he was reading the collected Left Behind series of Armageddon books, and became convinced that he was Nicolae Carpathia. Poor sucker. I hope he gets the help he needs, and comes to realize how nutty all that "anti-Christ" nonsense is. Everybody knows the AC is Dick Cheney!

[Excerpt]

Man Cuts Off, Microwaves His Own Hand

A man who believed he bore the "mark of the beast" used a circular saw to cut off one hand, then he cooked it in the microwave and called 911, authorities said. . .

Read more at: CDA Press

Fred Phelps & Family Get Comeuppance

Photo from Wikipedia (no, it's not another Halloween story)

The Rev. Fred Phelps and family may have finally done themselves in. He had a winner when he was "only" picking on gay people, sadly. He garnered a lot of press, ticked a lot of gay people off, but the law pretty much left him alone. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he and nearly his entire family are lawyers, if you can believe it. Of course, Phred is disbarred.

Anyway, once they branched out to protesting soldiers' funerals, it was only a matter of time before their comeuppance. And the uppance did come, and how. Maybe this will finally drive the crazy old coot, and his equally crazy family/congregation completely out of the limelight.

[Excerpt]

Jury awards father nearly $11 million in funeral protesters case

The father of a fallen Marine was awarded nearly $11 million Wednesday in damages by a jury that found leaders of a Kansas church had invaded the family's privacy and inflicted emotional distress when they picketed the Marine's funeral.

The jury awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages, $6 million for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress to the Marine's father, Albert Snyder of York, Pa. . .

Read all about it at: AOL News

And for a whole lot of background, try this: Fred Phelps Expose

Rachel Maddow: Value Voters Debate

This isn't Rachel's most recent Campaign Asylum video, but it's new to me. And if you haven't seen it, it's new to you too! And she's addressing the "crazy Christians" issue in the Republican Party.

And no, that is not intended as a disparaging comment toward all Christians (though I'm not a fan of religion in general). You know who I mean. And so do they.