Bemused tourists looked on as about 100 priests fought with brooms while cleaning the church in preparation for Orthodox Christmas.… Read the rest
Jesus appears in a sock
Dec 29th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHe looks a bit peevish.… Read the rest
Tiny dog
Dec 28th, 2011 4:53 pm | By Ophelia BensonAnother one. Just for fun.
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Disinfecting
Dec 28th, 2011 4:46 pm | By Ophelia BensonJason Thibeault says why it’s useful that Rebecca Watson draws the pus of frothing misogyny out into the open where we can see it and then pour bleach on everything in sight.
… Read the restMaybe not so good for her, but for all of us. These magical superpowers of hers are probably a curse for her own sanity, but they are a boon for our society, for our respective communities. It’s excellent that she can draw so much attention to the problem, and can draw out the people who are, in essence, part of it, where they can make examples of themselves. The “touch of boorishness” that she can draw out of complete strangers just by mentioning this nonsense is
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
We have to base our behaviour according to scripture
Dec 28th, 2011 11:14 am | By Ophelia BensonIt appears that David Cameron is jealous of theocracy. He wants him some of that extra goddy power!
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the UK is a Christian country “and we should not be afraid to say so” in a speech in Oxford on the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible….
And he staunchly defended the role of religion in politics and said the Bible in particular was crucial to British values.
Catherine Pepinster, editor of the Catholic weekly The Tablet, is chuffed.
… Read the rest“But what Christianity is really about is putting the least first. It requires us to feed the hungry, visit prisoners, have time for the lonely, fight for the oppressed, and love our enemies.”
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Israelis rally against Haredi extremism
Dec 28th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThey held signs reading “Free Israel from religious coercion” and “Stop Israel from becoming Iran.”… Read the rest
Cameron in praise of theocracy
Dec 28th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia Benson“He staunchly defended the role of religion in politics and said the Bible in particular was crucial to British values.”… Read the rest
When PMs link religion and state – be afraid
Dec 28th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThen you get “We have to base our behaviour according to scripture, God’s revealed message,” and hell on earth.… Read the rest
Just for fun
Dec 27th, 2011 5:00 pm | By Ophelia BensonCooper on the beach.
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Post-born children don’t matter so much
Dec 27th, 2011 4:30 pm | By Ophelia BensonThere’s a thing called Personhood USA.
The Primary Mission of Personhood USA is to serve Jesus by being an Advocate for those who can not speak for themselves, the pre-born child. We serve by starting / coordinating efforts to establish legal “personhood” for pre-born children through peaceful activism, legislative efforts and ballot-access petition initiatives.
By “pre-born child” of course it means the embryo; by “pre-born” it means “inside the body of a woman whose wishes are entirely beside the point.” By “personhood” it means “usurping the rights of the woman who is gestating the embryo.”
It is pleased that Ron Paul signed the “Personhood Pledge” but it is also suspicious.
… Read the restUpon receiving the signed pledge with the addendum, Personhood
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Aesthetic interlude
Dec 27th, 2011 3:21 pm | By Ophelia BensonJust to knock your socks off -
Photography in the style of traditional Chinese painting of the Song and Yuan dynasties by Don Hong-Oai.
There are lots more; go look. They’re sensational.
Via Julia Galef at Facebook.… Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Decent women don’t have “crisis pregnancies”
Dec 27th, 2011 12:41 pm | By Ophelia BensonAnd if we haven’t had enough religious bullying today, here’s another batch.
… Read the restAs ThinkProgress has reported, so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” that claim to help women in need are actually established by anti-abortion activists with the sole objective of shaming women out of having abortions. Despite receiving federal and state funding, they have a history of preying on and misleading pregnant women who are seeking abortions and giving them false medical information to dissuade them from making their own decisions.
After a year-long investigation, a new report to be released today by the pro-choice group NARAL reveals that those problems plague the vast majority of North Carolina’s crisis pregnancy centers. In addition to providing false medical information, many of
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Not a touch
Dec 27th, 2011 12:02 pm | By Ophelia BensonHmmm.
Massimo Pigliucci did a skeptical post on Hitchens a couple of days ago, and Jerry Coyne defends Hitchens today. I mostly agree with the defense, but…hmmm.
… Read the restMisogynyist? Does Pigluicci know what that means? Let us check the Oxford English Dictionary. “Misogyny: Hatred or dislike of, or prejudice against women.” I don’t think Hitch hated, disliked, or was prejudiced against women. Sometimes he was mildly paternalistic, as when he claimed that his wife didn’t have to work, and sometimes he made boorish remarks verging on sexism, as in his famous critique of the Dixie Chicks. (But remember that he used equal invective against people like Jerry Falwell, and was not accused of being a man-hater.)
[Update: The last sentence quoted
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Behold the whore
Dec 27th, 2011 11:00 am | By Ophelia BensonI couldn’t watch more than a couple of minutes of the video of Na’ama Margolese without getting too angry to keep watching. It’s so disgusting that grown men consider it their “religious duty” or some such fucking nonsense to bully and threaten a little girl, call her a slut, and spit on her.
… Read the rest…she was featured in a news broadcast on Israel’s Channel 2 about the ongoing Haredi harassment of the girls who attend the Orot Banot School, and about the problem of extreme Haredi control in Beit Shemesh in general.
Naama spoke on camera of her fears while walking the short distance from her home to her school, after numerous occasions when she was cursed at and even once
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Ron Paul signs “Personhood Pledge”
Dec 27th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia Benson“Personhood USA received a signed copy of the pledge along with a statement attempting to clarify his position on the personhood rights of the preborn.”… Read the rest
Na’ama Margolese and religious coercion in Israel
Dec 27th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonGrown men spit on an 8-year-old girl and call her a slut.… Read the rest
Thousands protest gender segregation in Beit Shemesh
Dec 27th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonOn Monday, violent incidents continued as Haredim clashed with police officers and attacked two television news crews.… Read the rest
‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ tell Jewish woman to convert
Dec 27th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIn addition to providing false medical information, many of the centers actively proselytize and tell non-Christian women to convert or face damnation.… Read the rest
Pope says: be stupid
Dec 26th, 2011 4:22 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe pope said more in his homily than “look behind the pretty sparkly glitter.” He said the door to a church in Bethlehem is only a meter and a half high, which means people can’t enter the church while riding a horse. He thinks that’s way deep.
Anyone wishing to enter the place of Jesus’ birth has to bend down. It seems to me that a deeper truth is revealed here, which should touch our hearts on this holy night: if we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our “enlightened” reason.
And there’s the voice of the cleric for you, telling you that reason is a nasty … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
People can be so ineffable
Dec 26th, 2011 11:40 am | By Ophelia BensonI’d pretty much forgotten about Hugo Schwyzer, but I still (just) recognized the name, so I was motivated to read Comrade Physioprof’s post on him the other day, and startled by what it told me.
… Read the restNow I find out for the first time (also see the comments) (although this is not newly public information, just new to me) that over a decade ago the motherfucker sexually preyed on his students and attempted to murder his ex-girlfriend, as described graphically on his blogge:
I walked into the little kitchen only steps from where my ex lay. I blew out the pilot lights on our gas oven and on the burners, and turned the dials on everything up to maximum. I
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)