Has anyone told him that the Colbert Report is also a joke? And warned him about the Onion?… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Pastor on trial for encouraging corporal punishment of children 
Mar 20th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The prosecution argued Phil Caminiti influenced church members on how to discipline their infant and toddler children, using rods, dowels and other spanking methods.… Read the rest
TAM 2012
Mar 20th, 2012 3:43 pm | By Ophelia BensonTwitter is all abuzz and agog because registration for TAM 2012 is open today, and a list of speakers is posted (with more to follow). I’m one.… Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Hands off
Mar 20th, 2012 3:12 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe Vatican has issued a report on priestly child rape in Ireland. The Vatican is happy to see “the deep faith of many men and women” despite all this brouhaha about child rape. The Vatican knows what to do moving forward: it is to have “deeper formation in the content of the faith for young people and adults.”
And there’s another thing.
… Read the restSince the Visitators also encountered a certain tendency, not dominant but nevertheless fairly widespread among priests, religious and laity, to hold theological opinions at variance with the teachings of the Magisterium, this serious situation requires particular attention, directed primarily towards improved theological formation. It must be stressed that dissent from the fundamental teachings of the Church is
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Ireland: Vatican expresses “dismay” at priestly child abuse
Mar 20th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The Visitators also encountered a certain tendency…to hold theological opinions at variance with the teachings of the Magisterium, this serious situation requires particular attention.”… Read the rest
I get email
Mar 20th, 2012 1:36 pm | By Ophelia BensonI got one today from someone who has commented here a few times as nmcc or NMcC, and who commented yesterday to tell me how wrong I am about the word “cunt” and to say “Sarah Palin is a cunt.” I deleted that comment and put him – his email address showed he’s a Nigel – in moderation. The message I got this morning expressed surprise at the deletion of the comment. (It started with “Hi” – this is more significant than you might think.) I replied, brusquely,
… Read the restReally? You would have thought “Sarah Palin is a cunt” was well within my commenting policy? I’ve been very explicit about that. Other things not within my commenting policy: “Al Sharpton is
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
A visit to exotic Whitechapel
Mar 20th, 2012 11:39 am | By Ophelia BensonA strange article by Jemima Khan in The New Statesman on what she calls “Asian” marriage but discusses mostly as Muslim or Islamic marriage.
… Read the restMarriage Asian-style is practical, contractual and, to the western mind, deeply unromantic. “The spinster crisis is an issue of modernity,” preaches an energetically gesticulating man in a white prayer cap, jacket and trainers. “Success is the right attitude – no conspiracies, please. Can’t blame Israel.” Cue laughs from those assembled: women in hijabs seated on one side of the wood-panelled hall; men, mostly in suits, a few of them in Arab dress with beards, on the other; chaperones at the back.
The speaker is Mizan Raja, the engaging founder of the UK-based Islamic Travels agency, who
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Helen Lewis pays tribute to Peter Cook
Mar 20th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Equity wanted him to change his name. Fine, replied Cook. I will instead be known as Xavier Blancmange. Or Wardrobe Gruber. Or Sting Thundercock.… Read the rest
The New Scientist lectures atheists on god
Mar 20th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Religion is deeply etched in human nature and cannot be dismissed as a product of ignorance, indoctrination or stupidity. Until secularists recognise that, they are fighting a losing battle.”… Read the rest
Trayvon Martin shooting case goes to State Attorney’s Office
Mar 20th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
George Zimmerman told police he acted in self defense when he fatally shot Trayvon Martin Feb. 26 in a gated community.… Read the rest
Vote with your feet
Mar 19th, 2012 4:03 pm | By Ophelia BensonI was on a plane or in an airport much of March 9, and busy the rest of the day, so I missed the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s full-page ad in the New York Times. The ad is a good thing.
Before the ad, there was an open letter.
… Read the restDear ‘Liberal’ Catholic:
It’s time to quit the Roman Catholic Church.
It’s your moment of truth. Will it be reproductive freedom, or back to the Dark Ages? Do you choose women and their rights, or Bishops and their wrongs? Whose side are you on, anyway?
It is time to make known your dissent from the Catholic Church, in light of the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops’ ruthless campaign endangering the right
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Yes and no, and then again maybe
Mar 19th, 2012 3:36 pm | By Ophelia BensonSome people want to have all the things – religion and science, belief and doubt, props for being thoughtful and admiration for being Deeply Spiritual.
… Read the restDo you struggle with doubt & questions despite your best intentions? What does it mean about someone if he or she admits to both embracing “belief” and “doubt?” How does science impact your thoughts on this issue? For this Lent we are asking people to go into potentially dangerous (but also liberating) territory, to ask the hard questions about their faith. After all, doesn’t this season of Lent ask us to identify with the struggles of Jesus, including his expressions of doubt in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross?
So during this Lent
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
More on the scrubbing of Polk County roads
Mar 19th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They plan to bring mops, spring water, and soap. They also plan to bring their support for Humanists of Florida President EllenBeth Wachs.… Read the rest
FFRF ad in NY Times: quit the Catholic church
Mar 19th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
FFRF placed an open letter via a full-page ad in March 9 NY Times urging liberal and nominal Catholics to “quit” their church over its war against contraception.… Read the rest
Militant is the new neo
Mar 19th, 2012 11:26 am | By Ophelia BensonNick Cohen has some gently critical things to say about the new fad for calling secularism “militant” and “extreme.”
‘Militant secularist’ has become the ‘neo-con’ of the 2010s: a know-nothing label that signifies extremism, without explaining where the extremism lies. Radio 4 broadcasters prove that their bias is not always squishy liberal by allowing the religious to denounce the supposed militancy of their critics, without allowing the critics to reply. Like the small-c conservative columnists in the broadsheets, they forget to tell you what is ‘militant’ about ‘militant secularism’ because if they did, they would expose their own fatuity.
Or their mendacity, or their rebarbative blend of the two.
… Read the restIf you turn on the news tonight and hear of a
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Cleanliness is next to…what was it again?
Mar 19th, 2012 10:59 am | By Ophelia BensonMy friend EllenBeth Wachs and other Florida atheists have been teasing the Polk Under Prayer crowd.
… Read the restCounty Road 98 in Polk County, Fla., was scrubbed today by a group of atheists who are protesting the “Polk Under Prayer” campaign, supporters of which poured olive oil on the road last year in an anointment ceremony.
“Mainly we want this to be a safe haven for folks who want to raise their families,” explained Polk Under Prayer organizer, Dr. Richard Geringswald, according to ABC News affiliate WFTS-TV in Tampa. “Asking God’s protection from ne’er do wells and evil doers.”
Ellen Beth Wachs, the president of Humanists of Florida Association and Atheists of Florida, said that she feels unwelcome as an
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Nigeria: reporter threatened over Boko Haram coverage
Mar 19th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
First Boko Haram threatened him, now the government is threatening him.… Read the rest
Florida atheists scrub Polk County “anointed” roads
Mar 19th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Last week, Polk Under Prayer campaign members buried bricks engraved with Psalm 37:9-11 beside 12 major roads, praying for criminals to become Christian or be incarcerated.… Read the rest
One dead, six rushed to hospital from faith healer rally
Mar 19th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The deceased was discharged from an ICU before attending the rally where televangelist Chris Oyakhilome was said to perform miracles and cure the sick.… Read the rest
‘Honour’ crime victims living in fear in the UK
Mar 19th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Qawal had freedom in Pakistan but that all changed when she came to England and was beaten not only by her husband but his mother as well.… Read the rest
