religion&superstition

"You're going to hell! But I love you."

Tony Thompson1 Comment

“Do I hate anybody? Absolutely not. I just love them too much not to tell them the truth,”

“Nobody got bashed or anything. All I did was simply speak biblical truth,”

“The number one audience that I have to please is God.”

These are the words of Temple Baptist Church’s interim pastor, Scott Carpenter, who spoke at Kings Mountain High School’s annual baccalaureate service in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. During his speech, Pastor Carpenter told the audience that if they were gay, they were going to hell:

Continue reading “"You're going to hell! But I love you."” →

"You're going to hell! But I love you."
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A Million Hundred Thousand Moms are angry

Tony Thompson,

In a recent Facebook post, the conservative, retrograde, fundamentalist group One Million Moms (whose membership doesn’t seem to have a tenth of that number; of course that link is 3 years old, so maybe they’ve seen a tremendous surge in membership over the years) expressed their concern over an upcoming show from FOX, Lucifer:

FOX has plans in 2016 to air “Lucifer,” a new series which will glorify Satan as a caring, likable person in human flesh.

The series will focus on Lucifer portrayed as a good guy, “who is bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell.” He resigns his throne, abandons his kingdom and retires to Los Angeles, where he gets his kicks helping the LAPD punish criminals.

At the same time, God’s emissary, the angel Amenadiel, has been sent to Los Angeles to convince Lucifer to return to the underworld. 

Previews of the pilot episode depict graphic acts of violence, a nightclub featuring scantily-clad women and a demon.

Based (loosely, some might say) on characters from DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint, Lucifer follows the titular character (played by Tom Ellis) who decides he is tired of running hell and sets up shop in Los Angeles as a nightclub owner who wants to combat his millenia-old bad publicity:

Rush actor Tom Ellis plays the title role in the series, which explores what happens when the Lord of Hell decides to quit his job and move to Los Angeles. While that aspect of the series remains true to the comic book series, the television character’s decision to help the Los Angeles Police Department catch criminals is a pretty major departure from the more heady subject matter tackled by his comics counterpart.

Ellis is joined in the cast by Chicago Fire actress Lauren German as the LAPD detective who’s strangely immune to Lucifer’s charms, as well as Spartacus actress Lesley-Ann Brandt as a demon in human form who’s allied with Lucifer. D.B. Woodside (24) plays the angel Amenadiel, who’s tasked with convincing Lucifer to return to his realm in the underworld that he abandoned.

While Gaiman introduced the DC Comics version of Lucifer that inspired the series, it was writer Mike Carey who authored the popular, self-titled Lucifer series that ran for 75 issues and was published from 2000 to 2006.

Here’s the preview:

The idea of presenting Lucifer as a character who wants to combat his bad image and even being ::gasp:: likable? Well that’s just plain appalling to groups like One Million Moms (who love them some petitions). Given the theme of redemption inherent to Christianity, you’d think a group of religious people would support the most Evil Being® in all existence (OMG!!!) working to become a better person. After all, if Satan can become good (or at least not as evil), that says something about the power of redemption. If the Lord of Evil* can become a better person (or at least try) despite all the evil he’s done**, then us lowly humans born into sin***, definitely have a chance to bask in the presence of the Lord for all eternity. Your mileage may vary, but for me, that doesn’t sound like a good way to spend all eternity. It sounds rather like torture. In any case, the theme of redemption appears to be prominent in this show, so OMM ought to quit their complaining.

But they won’t.

Because Satan/Lucifer/The Lord of Evil can’t be nice. He can’t be likable. He can’t be anything approaching a decent person. And good golly gosh, he can’t be redeemed****! Attempts to paint Satan in a positive light are wrong because they mischaracterize Satan, who is an Evil Being®. As an Evil Being® we all know that Lucifer does not have good qualities. Depicted properly, Evil Beings® endorse, support, and condone slavery, rape, and infanticide. Evil Beings® are possessed of a bloodlust that must be sated with the ritual sacrifice of animals. They’re also petty tyrants who demand that their followers worship them, or else! Eternal Torment! Lake of Fire! Cut off From Being With Them For All Eternity! They create laws and commandments that prohibit people from engaging in completely innocuous activities like eating shellfish, wearing clothing with mixed fibers, dancing, consensual sexy funtimes, gambling, and more. Oh, and Evil Beings® will go on genocidal temper tantrums when their creations don’t act as they should (so glad that most human parents dpn’t kill their kids when they act up).

Whew. I guess that means Satan is safe. He hasn’t done any of those things. Good thing too, because then he’d be an Evil Being®. So my advice to One Million Moms-aside from “you ought to call yourselves Tens of Thousands of Moms” or “Moms who believe in religious nonsense” or my favorite “Moms who start petitions over harmless things”-you ought to start petitioning churches to quit worshiping that God guy. Between Him and Satan, it’s pretty clear which one is Evil-and it isn’t the guy with an upcoming tv show on FOX.

*Man, I love randomly capitalizing letters

**Or said to have done, bc honestly, I think Satan gets a bad rap

***Remember kids, sin is a fictional concept inherent to one particular strain of religion (out of thousands). Like other religious concepts, there is no basis in reality for this concept, so don’t get all confused thinking it applies to real world actions

****So sayeth One Million Hundred Thousand Moms

A Million Hundred Thousand Moms are angry

LGBT Link Round-Up 5.7.15

Tony Thompson, , 1 Comment

A round-up of stories and articles relevant to the LGBT community, this time with a bit more commentary than usual from yours truly:

For trans people seeking to escape the oppression and bigotry of their country of origin, the United States is often viewed as a sanctuary. Unfortunately, many of these asylum seekers have been treated brutally in immigration detention centers. Trans women are housed in facilities for men, denied proper medical care, subjected to sexual assault, and (bizarrely) placed in solitary confinement “for their own safety” (solitary confinement is a form of torture). In a move that I hope is not simply a lot of talk, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has made transgender immigrants a campaign issue:

At a campaign stop in Nevada this week, Hillary Clinton signaled she would review policies that allow transgender women to be locked up in men’s immigration detention centers, putting them at risk for assault.

“I think we have to do more to provide safe environments for vulnerable populations,” Clinton said in response to a question about transgender immigrants being detained in institutions that don’t correspond with their self-identified gender.

“I don’t think we should, you know, put children and vulnerable people into big detention facilities because I think they are at risk. I think their physical and mental health are at risk,” Clinton said in response to another question about trans asylum seekers. She also noted that she would be in favor of changing some detention processes.

A 2014 Fusion investigation found some 75 transgender prisoners are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) every night. The majority of them are trans women who are placed in men’s detention centers where the conditions are often humiliating, dangerous, and even deadly.

Even though transgender detainees only make a small portion of the close to 34,000 detainees held each night, trans victims made up one third of confirmed instances of sexual assault in immigration detention facilities, according to the Fusion investigation.

“This is an important issue in detention centers,” said Nicoll Hernández-Polanco, a Guatemalan woman who says she was repeatedly assaulted during her six months in a men’s detention center while she waited for a judge to make a decision on her asylum case.

* * * *

Despite a majority of the U.S. favoring marriage equality, a great many people continue to view lesbian, gay, and bisexual people as “lesser” or “inferior”. Such dehumanizing beliefs are on display in this story of a gay couple assaulted by two bigots at a barbecue restaurant in Chelsea:

The incident began at approximately 11 p.m. when the couple finished up their drinks at the restaurant at 261 Eighth Ave. where they had gone to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Snipes said. The couple had been at XES Lounge earlier that night, but moved to Dallas BBQ in search of their cheap margaritas, Snipes said.

At the restaurant, Snipes got a text about a death in his family and needed to leave the restaurant quickly, he said. As he headed out, he accidentally knocked over a drink, he said.

“A table near us audibly started making pretty gross comments about the two of us like, ‘White f—-ts, spilling drinks,'” Snipes said.

“I don’t let anyone talk to me like that. I went over there and asked, ‘What did you say about us?'” he added.

Snipes said he’s 140 pounds, never thrown a punch in his life and felt he;posed no physical threat to anyone at the table, especially the two large men there — one of whom stood about 6 feet 4 inches, according to police.

“I may be a mouthy broad, but I wasn’t going to take it to that level,” Snipes said.

One of the men stood up and escalated the verbal confrontation, Snipes said.

“He turned it into a physical altercation very quickly,” he added.

The man knocked Snipes to the ground and started kicking his face and spine, knocking loose one of his teeth, snapping the cartilage in his ear and bruising his head, he said.

He shouted, “Take that, f—-t,” according to Snipes.

Onlookers shouted “Stop! Stop! Stop!” according to a second video posted to YouTube by Isaam Sharef, who also took the Instagram video. He didn’t respond to requests for comment.

“At some point, the guy stops kicking me in the face. He’s won,” Snipes said.;

“[York-Adams] gets me up. But as he tried to get me away, that’s when the other dude hits him with the chair,” Snipes said.

York-Adams took the brunt of the hit and was knocked to the ground, but the chair also hit Snipes who then slumped into a nearby chair, visibly dazed.

An onlooker rushed up and took a cellphone photo of Snipes, video shows.

“They hit us hard and then they wouldn’t stop. I was hobbling away and they came and attacked us again,” Snipes added.

“We were just trying to get away from it,” he added.

The attackers fled the scene as the couple awaited police and medical crews, police said. The attackers had not been arrested as of Wednesday morning, police said.

Dallas BBQ did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

* * * *

In slightly more optimistic news, a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll reveals that 61% of survey respondents would be comfortable with or display enthusiasm towards a gay candidate rather than one who is an evangelical Christian. From The New Civil Rights Movement:

Asked how they would feel about presidential candidates with certain qualities or characteristics, far more Americans said they would “be enthusiastic” or “be comfortable with” a candidate who is gay than a candidate who is an evangelical Christian.

A very large majority, 61 percent, said they would be enthusiastic or comfortable with a gay candidate, while just 52 percent said the same of an evangelical Christian.

On the opposite side, just 37 percent said they would “have some reservations about” or “be very uncomfortable with” a gay candidate, while 44 percent said the same of an evangelical Christian.

The poll also found just 33 percent of Americans supportive of a Tea Party candidate, and just 30 percent supportive of a candidate with no political experience.

The poll was conducted with 1000 Americans at the end of April.

My thoughts-

  1. The population of the U.S. is more than 300 million, which means the poll shouldn’t be taken as representative of the views of a majority of U.S. citizens.
  2. The 37% of respondents with reservations about a gay candidate illustrates the fact that many people continue to hold homophobic beliefs. Whether an individual is running for mayor, governor, or president, their sexuality has fuck-all to do with their ability to govern, so it shouldn’t matter if a potential presidential candidate is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual.
  3. The 33% who would support a Tea Party candidate are fucking assholes who don’t appear to care that the Tea Party is made up of heartless fuckwits who care little for anyone who isn’t white, heterosexual, cisgender, or male.

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p style=”text-align:center;”>* * * *

From the Advocate comes the absurd story of a Nebraska woman who wants to sue all gay people on behalf of god:

Technically, the handwritten,seven-page petition to the U.S. District Court in Omaha seeks a judgment against “Homosexuals, Their Given Name Homosexuals, Their, Alis Gay,” reports the Lincoln Journal Star. The suit contends that gay people have willfully broken “religious or moral law,” and asks the district court to rule “in the matter of homosexuality.”

“Is homosexuality a sin, or not a sin?” is the pivotal question asked in the case.

Apparently this bigot thinks the country is a theocracy where Christianity holds sway and everyone must follow the rules of that religion (which would be well-nigh impossible). Newsflash: the United States is governed by the Constitution, not Christian mythology.

The complainant, 66-year-old Sylvia Ann Driskell, represents herself in the court filing as an “ambassador” for plaintiffs “God and His Son, Jesus Christ.” As such, she “challenged the court not to call God a liar,” reports the Omaha World-Herald.

There is absolutely no evidence that her god (or any other deity) exists, so the court can call him/her/it a liar all they want. More to the point, as I said above, the U.S. is not governed by Christian myth.

Driskell’s filing does not cite any existing case law but does frequently reference the Bible, including verses from the Old Testament books of Leviticus and Romans often used to condemn homosexuality.

Those verses prove that “homosexuality is a sin,” Driskell contends. Further, “they the homosexuals know it is a sin to live a life of homosexuality,” she writes. “Why else would they have been hiding in a closet.”

Firstly, the only thing those verses prove is the existence of anti-gay bigotry on the part of the human beings who wrote the bible.

Secondly, FEAR is one big reason many people hide in the closet. Fear of being ostracized by family and friends. Fear of being bullied, harassed, brutalized, and killed. Fear of becoming homeless. Fear of being unfairly treated by the USAmerican criminal justice system. Fear of losing their job. Fear of being prevented from obtaining a job. Fear of being discriminated in housing. The list goes on and fucking on. This woman most likely has internet access and could easily find the answer to that question if she gave a rat’s ass (she doesn’t, I know).

In her complaint, which was formally filed as Driskell v. Homosexuals, Driskell addresses claims about equal rights advanced by LGBT advocates. “The homosexual’s say that its not a sin to be a homosexual; In they have the right to marry; to be parents; and God doesn’t care that their homosexuals; because he loves them,” Driskell writes.

This is pure othering. She refers to gay people as “the homosexuals”. She doesn’t view us as human beings with a right to exist on our own terms so long as we don’t harm others. She doesn’t view us as human beings with legitimate concerns about the way we’re treated. To her, we’re something “other” than human. Such othering makes it easier to dehumanize us and deny us basic human rights. As I mentioned above, no court ruling can eliminate the anti-gay attitudes held by many citizens of this country (no more than the Civil Rights Act was able to eliminate the racist attitudes held by many USAmericans).

Here is a portion of her letter:

* * * *

Closing out this round-up of LGBT stories is a look at how homophobes overcame their anti-gay bigotry:

‘I was raised to see homosexuals as evil, sinful, deceitful people who molested children and had a secret agenda to infiltrate our homes and lives and degrade the quality of life itself and our nation’s belief in God. “Fucking fags” were terrible people, possessed with demons and waiting to pervert whoever would crack first,’ one said.

‘Then my parents got a divorce. A nasty one, where my father’s hypocrisy was made painfully apparent as he was sent to jail for downloading so much child porn at work he clogged the servers, and my mom was revealed to be a judgmental, paranoid psychopath who sought to degrade and demean everyone around her except her son. She kicked me out of the house when I was 18 for sleeping with my then-fiance.

‘Just like any acceptance of any sub-culture, the rest was eventual. Slow, embarrassing, and awkward experiences as I gradually realized that these people didn’t want to molest little kids or turn me into “one of them,” they just wanted to be. Multiple encounters with multiple people helped me slowly branch the void. The half-drunk man crying to me on the plane about how he wished to God he wasn’t gay. The lesbian couple that took me to their family’s home for Christmas, since I’d be spending it alone. The “gay ninja” that slipped in under my radar and (drunkenly) taught me to dance, sighing each time at how hopelessly white I was.

‘They were people, just like me. These “possessed, compulsively-lying pedophiles” were really just people that liked to take it up the ass, or sometimes dress a little different, or adopt an abnormally large amount of cats. But hell, who doesn’t do those things?

‘I’m still pretty ashamed of how I was and how I thought in the past. I was so intentionally hurtful to so many people, and I didn’t need to be. Growing up in a repressive, conservative household will contribute to that, but really, so much of it was just my own small-mindedness and lack of exposure to reality. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it is something I’ve overcome and learned from, and it’s no hyperbole to say that it’s made me question the way I see things ever since.’

Once again we see that exposure to and interaction with lesbian, gay, and bisexual people can lead to a reduction in anti-gay beliefs. Viewing LGBT people as human beings is one way homophobia can be overcome. Here is another:

‘When I was a child, I used it as an insult,’ one said.

‘That changed in 5th grade, when I called my male babysitter “gay,” as an insult, in front of my mom. She stopped me, and asked “Do you know what that means?” I was throwing a temper tantrum, and wasn’t really aware of where she was going, so I just said, “Yes. It means he likes men. He’s a homo!” All stuff I had picked up in school, etc.

‘But she pushed me, and asked, “So, is there anything wrong with him liking men?”

‘I didn’t have a good answer for that, because I had never thought about it before. But she made me think about it right then. I haven’t used “gay” as an insult since then.’

When I was younger, I heard the word ‘gay‘ used as an insult on a fairly regular basis. While it still occurs from time to time, I don’t hear it as often as I used to (I’m aware this is an anecdote, rather than evidence), which is a good thing, I think. IMHO, it’s a sign that people are coming to the realization that there is nothing wrong with being gay and that word should not be used as an insult (now can we get people to stop using slurs based on race, actual or perceived gender, and gender identity?).

More stories of former homophobes overcoming their bigotry can be found here.

LGBT Link Round-Up 5.7.15

Oh noez! Conservative Americans are losing their rights!

Tony Thompson, 1 Comment

Conservative Christian business owner Brian Klawiter (pictured above) is irate.

He’s not angry about the horrific levels of gun violence in the U.S. or wealth inequality. He’s not worried about Congress being incapable of doing their job or the President ordering drone strikes in other countries. Nor is he worried about cuts to government assistance programs that keep millions of citizens afloat or ongoing efforts to erode the rights of women to exercise control over their reproductive anatomy.

The Grandville, Michigan owner of Dieseltec (an automotive repair company) is also not mad about the country’s dependency on fossil fuels, the threat of climate change, the erosion of the separation of church and state, soaring college tuition costs, crumbling infrastructure, the school-to-prison pipeline, Rape Culture, Citizens United, or the Patriot Act.

No, Klawiter is mad about more important things, and recently posted a rambling tirade on Facebook. In his message, he whines about how the rights of conservative USAmericans are being squashed:

His whiny, barely coherent rant is like something straight out of FOX “News”. There’s so much I could say about this, but I think this response from bankruptcy attorney Jeffrey Maples is a far more amusing and eloquent reply than anything I could manage:

Mapes Law Offices Grand Rapids Bankruptcy Attorneys at Mapes Law Offices Grand Rapids Bankruptcy Attorneys

DEAR DIESELTEC:

This evening I was reading the news online and came across this story about Dieseltec, a local business that posted a message on their Facebook site proclaiming that homosexuals were not welcome and would be refused service. Our slogan is “Helping Good People through Bad Times” (for this let’s just say “Helping People through Bad Times” ) and boy oh boy Dieseltec, you are in for some bad times and will need my help. So here is my open letter to Dieseltec.

Dear Dieseltec:

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Jeffrey Mapes, and I specialize in bankruptcy law — helping individuals and corporations when things go wrong. I noticed your post on Facebook where you decided to alienate most of the general public by stating that you will refuse service to openly homosexual people. This is certainly an unorthodox business strategy, and perhaps it will work for you, but I get the feeling you will need a bankruptcy attorney pretty soon and I wanted to offer my services. Like you, I am white, male, Christian, a business owner, and a gun owner. Unlike you, I provide services to everyone regardless of their sexual orientation because it doesn’t matter to me — I hope this won’t be a deal breaker for you.

If that upsets you, let me tell you a little bit more about our office to try and persuade you, The first thing you will notice is how friendly and compassionate the office staff is. Despite your inane, incoherent and just plain dumb comments, we know that everyone makes mistakes and we want to help you overcome them. They will also be more than willing to help you with some basic grammar that you seem to struggle with.

If you still need more convincing, let me assure you that we will make certain that your bankruptcy petition is filed correctly and there are no errors. You stated in your post that you would incorrectly assemble a vehicle in order to prove a point. I want to let you know that despite the fact that I would love to prove a point to you about tolerance, I won’t compromise my standards of quality to do so. After all, I have to look in the mirror at the end of the day and if I didn’t do my best for everyone, I would have trouble sleeping. Perhaps you could give me pointers on how you sleep at night?

Just a few other housekeeping items. While I certainly don’t encourage people to bring guns into my office, so long as you have the proper permit and handle it responsibly, you can bring your gun along. I would only ask that you refrain from menacingly stroking your weapon while you quietly sing David Allen Coe songs to yourself. I also think you have a deep and fundamental misunderstanding of the first amendment and how it works, but that is a long discussion and we should save that for when we meet in person.

Well Dieseltec, I hope I’ve convinced you that Mapes Law Offices is the right place for you to file your bankruptcy. I would like to leave you with some words of inspiration from the dramatic film Billy Madison and I hope that you will take them to heart:

“What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”

Sincerely,

Jeffrey D. Mapes

Priceless!

Klawiter says that as a result of posting his screed, he has received threats to himself, his family, and his business.

Criticize his ideas.

Mock him.

Shun him.

Boycott his business if you choose.

But do not threaten the man or his family.

Neither violence nor the threat of violence should be used in the pursuit of equality.

Oh noez! Conservative Americans are losing their rights!

Religion News 4.14.15

Tony Thompson, ,

Charges against ‘Catholic Warrior’ dropped because she’s a Christian

Back in December, Susan Hemeryck walked into the state capitol Christmas display area, pre-apologized to two Florida Department of Law Enforcement Capitol Police officers, and then proceeded to vandalize a display erected by the Satanic Temple featuring the angel Lucifer being cast down from the heavens into hell.

But Hemeryck, like most intolerant conservative “Christians,” couldn’t handle the biblically-correct scene so she actively sought to destroy it. However, even though she is caught on camera handling the display, was caught red-handed by law enforcement officers, and freely admitted to the Associated Press that she “yanked that little devil off the fishing line” and “should have just done a better job and finished it off for good,” state prosecutors decided not to pursue the case.

As part of her defense, Hemeryck’s attorney accused the state of “basically putting an attack on Christians,” and prosecutors apparently backed down afterwards. Their lame excuse? Lack of evidence.

“The defendant is simply carrying the display,” prosecutors said in a statement. “No damages are apparent — it is simply disassembled.”

Yeah, tell that to the the Satanic Temple and all of the organizations and people who fought so hard to place the display on state grounds to symbolize true freedom of religion and religious tolerance.

I bet if a Muslim did the same thing, prosecutors would pursue the case. But since it’s a Christian, and they’re all so good and wholesome, she gets let off the hook.

Hmmm, is there a commandment about not vandalizing?

* * * *

Thanks to ‘religious and cultural reasons’, primary school students in London banned from watching solar eclipse

According to The Telegraph, students at North Primary School were only able to observe the rare eclipse from inside the school, watching it on video screens.

Located in area known as “Little India,” the community is considered diverse, but with a large a large Hindi population.

Headteacher Ivor Johnstone said the decision to bring the children inside was based on “religious and cultural” reasons

“The school made this decision when we became aware of religious and cultural concerns associated with observing an eclipse directly,” he explained. “Although we are sorry for any disappointment, pupils were still able to watch the eclipse on screens in classrooms.”

What about the students who aren’t Hindu? Are there any other Hindu rules and strictures they have to follow?

Some Hindu scriptures state that an eclipse makes believers impure, with fundamentalists saying believers must bathe immediately after an eclipse and chant the name of God to overcome the forces of darkness.

Hogwash. Like astrology, the position of the stars and planets doesn’t affect our psyche. And like astrology, there is no evidence to support such nonsense. No flavor of theist should be able to dictate to others what they can and cannot do, nor should they have any influence over anyone other than their followers. Don’t want to see an eclipse? Take your child out of school that day. Hell, I wish it was more than that. I wish theists had to offer evidence for their beliefs–most especially when they directly impact children.

Also, I have to laugh at the idea that it’s not ok to directly observe an eclipse, but viewing it indirectly is a-ok.

* * * *

 Are you ready for the world’s first gay Mormon superhero?

Independent comic book creator Brian Andersen (So Super Duper) is on a mission to make history with Stripling Warrior, the world’s first comic book series featuring a gay Mormon superhero.

The series tells the tale of Sam Shepard, a happily out and newly married gay man whose life is changed forever after he is visited by an angel from heaven on his wedding night and is summoned to be the Hand of God on Earth.

Why was he chosen? How does his sexuality impact his role as a servant of the divine? And how does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints react when it hears a gay man has been sent on a mission from the heavens? You’ll have to read the story to find out, but until then take a look at the eight-page preview below and then head over to the Stripling Warrior KickStarter page to lend your support to making comic book history.

Religious nonsense makes much more sense in a fictional comic book world than here in the real world.

* * * *

Speaking of religious rubbish, Vatican officials apparently believe that supernatural beings walk among us:

“There are those who try to turn people into vampires and make them drink other people’s blood, or encourage them to have special sexual relations to obtain special powers,” said Professor Giuseppe Ferrari at the meeting in Rome, which heard that the number of such possessions is rising globally. “These groups are attracted by the so-called beautiful young vampires that we’ve seen so much of in recent years.”

Professor Ferrari, who heads an Italian occult watchdog, The Group on Research and Socio-Religious Information, said exorcisms should only be conducted by properly trained priests. Although the Vatican regards genuine demonic possession as rare, with many suspected cases proving to be people with mental illnesses, Pope Francis has urged dioceses to ensure that they follow Catholic law and have at least one trained exorcist each.

Swiss exorcist Father Cesare Truqui told The Independent that this week’s course, attended by exorcists, priests and lay people, was vital in order to raise awareness and hone priests’ skills. “The ministry of performing exorcism is little known among priests. It’s like training to be a journalist without knowing how to do an interview,” he said, noting that dioceses in Italy and beyond were experiencing a surge in reports of symptoms of “possession”.

* * * *

I’ve heard some say that it is harmless to believe in demons or demonic possession. These people are ignorant of the cases where people have suffered or died as a result of being “treated” for their so-called possession. Here is the latest, tragic case:

Police in Texas  are searching for the parents who starved their “demon possessed” toddler to death before fleeing to Mexico following a failed resurrection. Acting on an anonymous tip that a two-year-old had died, and that the death had not been reported.

According to the tipster, a “rising ceremony” was held on March 22 to “attempt to resurrect Victim from the dead.” When that failed, the child was wrapped in a blanket and “taken back to Mexico,” for burial, according to a search warrant.

“We don’t know if this was to try and resurrect the spirit of he child and we don’t know if this was to try and resurrect the child themselves or what exactly that service or ceremony encompasses,” said Lt. Mark Maret.

The child died inside a Balch Springs home that functioned as Congregacional Pueblo De Dios, a church that was formed in 2007. The church is affiliated with Georgia-based Pentecostal denomination, the Hispanic Conference of the Congregational Holiness Church, according to NBC.

According to a woman who knew the boy’s mother, it was believed that the child was possessed by demons — and they attempted to starve the corruption out of the little boy, who was not fed in 25 days.

Video of the “rising ceremony” shows church secretary Aracely Meza babbling incoherently while praying for the toddler’s body, which she anoints with oils. Numerous congregants were present for the ritual, yet the crime was not reported until four days after the child’s death.

Meza breaks down crying when she fails to bring the little boy back to life with magic.

Detectives have thus far been unable to locate the child’s parents or other congregants who fled to Mexico to bury the abused and neglected child. However, Meza has been charged with injury to a child by omission.

A young boy is dead now thanks to his parents’ belief in superstitious nonsense.

As an atheist, I dislike religion for reasons just like this.

Religion News 4.14.15

How to fix the United States

Tony Thompson1 Comment

Child abuse.

Rape Culture.

Unemployment.

Homelessness.

Climate change.

Corrupt politicians.

Income inequality.

Domestic terrorists.

Domestic violence.

The War on Drugs.

Childhood obesity.

The War on Women.

The War on the Poor.

Crumbling infrastructure.

The growing police state.

The War on the Homeless.

Skyrocketing student debt.

Rampant institutional racism.

A broken two-party system.

Staggering amounts of gun violence.

The erosion of the wall between church and state.

The ongoing denial of the civil and human rights of LGBT citizens.

These are just some of social, political, and economic issues facing the United States. These problems negatively affect the lives of millions of USAmericans on a daily basis (and they reverberate around the world). Put aside those issues for now, as the country faces a far more dire threat than childhood obesity, unemployment, transphobia, or a racially biased criminal justice system.  Arizona state Senator Sylvia Allen (R) has identified this problem and offers a solution:

Each year a few bills get proposed at the state Capitol that have people shaking their heads.

This year: Mandatory church attendance.

An Arizona state senator thinks it is a good idea for the American people.

State Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, brought it up during a committee meeting Tuesday while lawmakers were debating a gun bill, not religion.

Allen explained that without a “moral rebirth” in the country, more people may feel the need to carry a weapon.

“I believe what’s happening to our country is that there’s a moral erosion of the soul of America,” she said.

Mandatory church attendance.

Such a simple, elegant fix for the moral erosion of the country’s soul. While Sen. Allen’s solution is blatantly unconstitutional and would be all but impossible to enforce even if it became law, let’s not focus on that. Let’s also not focus on the question of whether or not souls exist and if they do, how a country can have one. Let’s not even worry about identifying the specific problems caused by the moral erosion of the country. What’s important is that her solution would set things right in this country and reverse the moral breakdown afflicting the nation. The United States would experience a moral rebirth and everything will be wonderful and glorious and super and awesome again. Just like it was in the glory days of the 1950s:

The original comment occurred during a vote on legislation to allow individuals who have permits to carry concealed weapons to bring them into public buildings. Allen said she did not understand the opposition and talked about moral breakdown.

“Probably we should be debating a bill requiring every American to attend a church of their choice on Sunday to see if we can get back to having a moral rebirth,” adding “that would never be allowed.”

On Wednesday, Allen said that was a “flippant comment” but decried the changes since she was a child in the 1950s.

“People prayed, people went to church,” she said in explaining her views.

“I remember on Sundays the stores were closed,” Allen said. “The biggest thing is religion was kicked out of our public places, out of our schools.”

Ah yes, the wonderful 50s. When people prayed and went to church. When the KKK still roamed the country lynching African-Americans. When LGBT people dared not leave the closet. When women were denied their reproductive rights. When fearmongering McCarthyism gripped the country. Yeah, that was a real swell time-for cisgender, heterosexual, christian, white men.

The irony of a woman longing for the US to be more like it was in the 1950s is not lost on me.

How to fix the United States

Someone tell Jesus to stop kissing people

Tony Thompson, , ,

One bright summer day in the late 80s, teenage-me was faced with a dilemma: how best to get home. I stood there, at the top of the hill leading to the swimming pool, weighing my options. There were a fair amount of trees along the hill, but not so many that I couldn’t safely navigate. Besides, if things got hairy, I could simply apply the brakes on my bicycle and slow myself down. There was another route (one that didn’t involve hills or trees) I could have taken to leave the pool, but this one was shorter. Which made it the better choice, of course (at least to my then-teenage mind). As I hopped on my bicycle and began the downhill journey, I began to question if I was being wise or foolish (definitely foolish). Shortly after beginning my descent, I realized I was going faster than I wanted. No problem I thought. Bike brakes, remember? Of course to function properly, bike brakes need brake pads that are not worn. Mine were very, very worn. Panic set in. My speed was increasing, and I couldn’t think of a way to stop that didn’t involve some pain and suffering. My panic diminished when I saw a ditch at the base of the hill. A ditch with a bridge spanning it. If I could make it to the bridge safely, I’d be in the clear. So I aimed for the bridge. Unfortunately, I missed and my bike (with me still on it) careened into the ditch. When my bike fell, I fell with it. As my bike skidded across the concrete ditch, so did my body. I still have the scars on the left side of my body from that accident. I remember that the experience was painful.

Despite what I had just experienced, I was able to pick myself up and drag myself home. I don’t recall the look on the faces of my parents, but I imagine it was that panicked look most parents get when they learn that their child has been injured. Let me be clear though: those injuries…the pain I was in…the suffering I experienced? It was all minor. No limbs were lost. There was no significant blood loss. I had no life-threatening injuries. Nonetheless, it still qualifies as an experience involving pain and suffering. According to the late, not-so-great Catholic icon Mother Theresa, experiences such as mine-while awful-are ultimately a good thing:

One day I met a lady who was dying of cancer in a most terrible condition. And I told her, I say, “You know, this terrible pain is only the kiss of Jesus — a sign that you have come so close to Jesus on the cross that he can kiss you.” And she joined her hands together and said, “Mother Teresa, please tell Jesus to stop kissing me.”

The message is clear: pain and suffering are the path to Jesus. Uh-huh. At the time of my accident, I was still a believer (it took nearly a decade before I came to recognize the error of my ways and rejected religious nonsense). Nevertheless, I think my teenage-self would have preferred to avoid that kiss, thank you very much.

The idea that human suffering should be passively accepted or held up as a glorious part of the human experience (and thus, nothing we should try to alleviate) is a repulsive idea to me. I don’t like pain. I’d venture to say that the majority of people living on this planet don’t like pain. If it can be avoided, we humans often do. Because pain hurts. As for suffering, who the hell wants to be deprived of food, air, water, or shelter? Who wants to lead a solitary life with no interaction with other human beings? Who wants to be subjected to malnutrition, starvation, or disease? While the odd human here or there might say they like to suffer, I think it’s safe to say that the overwhelming majority of human beings don’t like to suffer. Sadly, the Catholic Church-that self-proclaimed bastion of morality that claims to have the best interests of humanity at heart-continues to disagree:

Jesus Sahagun, from Valladolid, has been charged with several offences including gender violence and causing injury and mistreatment.

The events began in 2012 when the girl’s parents asked for Sahaguns help because they believed Satan had possessed their daughter.

She was then subject to 13 exorcisms, in which she was repeatedly tied up and had crucifixes held over her head.

The girl’s aunts and uncles complained to police after the teenager tried to commit suicide.

In a statement in court, the girl’s parents said the Priest was aware their daughter was suffering from anorexia but that he told them the exorcisms would not interfere with her treatment.

In an interview with El Mundo newspaper in 2014, Sahagun said the exorcisms were necessary because the girl was “possessed by the devil.”

“The young woman’s suicide attempt was not a result of the exorcisms practiced on her,” he said.

Sahagun also defended exorcisms as “a religious practice maintained as part of the Church’s tradition, as a right available to all the faithful.”

While the causes of anorexia nervosa are not known, I think it’s reasonable to reject any supernatural hypothesis, bc hey, there’s no evidence for the existence of any supernatural beings (whether godlike or demonic). Before one more exorcism is performed, the Catholic Church should be made to prove the existence of their particular flavor of deity, as well as the existence of demons. They should also have to prove that demons can and do possess humans, and how they know this to be true. Finally, they ought to be required to demonstrate the efficacy of exorcisms. Until they do so, they should be forbidden from engaging in exorcisms, on penalty of prosecution. They should not get a free pass to engage in practices that contribute to human suffering simply because they are a religious organization.

That’s how things ought to be. Pity that’s not the way things are. They get to continue engaging in exorcisms and other actions that, rather than ameliorating human suffering, exacerbate it. Actions like installing a watering system to keep homeless people from sleeping in cathedral doorways:

The cathedral, at Geary and Gough, is the home church of the Archbishop. There are four tall side doors, with sheltered alcoves, that attract homeless people at night.

“They actually have signs in there that say, ‘No Trespassing,’” said a homeless man named Robert.

But there are no signs warning the homeless about what happens in these doorways, at various times, all through the night. Water pours from a hole in the ceiling, about 30 feet above, drenching the alcove and anyone in it.

The shower ran for about 75 seconds, every 30 to 60 minutes while we were there, starting before sunset, simultaneously in all four doorways. KCBS witnessed it soak homeless people, and their belongings.

“We’re going to be wet there all night, so hypothermia, cold, all that other stuff could set in. Keeping the church clean, but it could make people sick,” Robert said.

The water doesn’t really clean the area. There are syringes, cigarette butts, soggy clothing and cardboard. There is no drainage system. The water pools on the steps and sidewalks.

A neighbor who witnessed the drenching told KCBS, “I was just shocked, one because it’s inhumane to treat people that way. The second thing is that we are in this terrible drought.

Yes, that is an inhumane way to treat other humans (and hey, what about those alleged teachings of Jesus that Catholics claim to follow) but if you put on your Think Like Mother Theresa Hat, it makes sense. Homeless people being drenched in water? Facing hypothermia? Kicked out of one of the few areas that provides some shelter? Yeah, that’s suffering, but what are you complaining about? You just got kissed by god!

Someone tell Jesus to stop kissing people

The source of most of the world's craziness

Tony Thompson5 Comments

I’ve been a bartender for 16 years. In that time I have overheard many a conversation between guests. These discussions can be placed in two broad categories. The first category consists of relatively mundane subjects, such as the weather, favorite football teams, the latest movies or music…stuff like that. Run-of-the-mill discussions like that pretty much go through one ear and out the other.

The second category consists of those conversations that tend to stick with me. As an advocate for social justice, these are the chats that cause my ears to perk up. These are the conversations that I try to pay attention to (as much as I can while working). During the 2008 USAmerican Presidential election season I listened as people droned on and on about how they disliked then-Senator Obama, or how they really liked Sarah Palin (I was working at a restaurant patronized by a lot of conservatives). During the trial of George Zimmerman, I listened as people tried to justify his killing of Trayvon Martin. Then there was the time a male patron made victim blaming and Rape Culture enabling comments while discussing serial rapist Bill Cosby with two female guests.

Can you guess which category the following comment would fall in:

“Muslims are the source of most of the craziness in the world.”

Yeah. That sentence came out of the mouth of a guest (we’ll call him Greg) sitting at my bar last week. Greg was chatting with a woman he was having drinks with. Is there a context in which that statement wouldn’t be bigoted? Yeah, I can think of a few. He could have been mocking someone. He could have been repeating something he heard from someone else. He could have been discussing how he used to feel about Muslims. I don’t think any of those explanations apply in this case, but that’s just a gut feeling I have. A gut feeling influenced by the fact that there is a lot of anti-Muslim animus in USAmerica.

While I could be wrong, I think Greg was speaking from a place of profound ignorance, and his comment is the perfect example of why diversity is important. While I don’t know his background, I suspect he hasn’t regularly interacted with Muslims over the course of his life. I have to wonder if he would have benefited, at some point in the past, from knowing and interacting with people he knew were Muslims. If he dated a Muslim, went to school with Muslims, worked at a job where he regularly interacted with Muslims, had Muslims as friends, or played sports with Muslims…would he still have made that statement? Perhaps. After all, people with homophobic or racist beliefs often interact with gay people or Latinos. Men and women interact all the time and simply being exposed to women hasn’t prevented some men from becoming MRAs or MGTOWs. On the other hand, prior exposure to Muslims might have shown him that they are people, just like him. People with hopes and desires, worries and fears. People who want to raise their children to become productive members of society. People who go to the movies, watch reality tv, go bowling, or shoot pool. He might have learned that statements like “Muslims are the source of most of the craziness in the world” are not only wrong, but hurtful. Such exposure might have taught him that the vast majority of Muslims in the world are peaceful…that extremist Islamic groups like ISIS are not representative of Muslims worldwide.

I think regular, ongoing interaction with people who differ from you, whether it’s people of a different sexual orientation, those with a different gender identity, or those with a different religious background helps break down stereotypes. Such interaction can help show people that despite the [often superficial] differences between us, we humans share a lot in common. Interacting with people of diverse backgrounds can teach us to be more tolerant and accepting of others, their lives, and their experiences.

Shattering stereotypes. Finding common ground. Building bridges based on our shared experiences. Those goals lay at the heart of “Meet a Muslim Family“, a two-week campaign in Canada:

The Choudhry family has an unconventional strategy for fighting Muslim youth radicalization — inviting strangers into their Woodbridge home.

On Sunday, the family invited 14 non-Muslim Canadians to join them for a casual late lunch. The gathering was part of a two-week campaign called “Meet a Muslim Family,” in which Muslim families throughout Canada invited community members into their home for the purpose of uniting Canadian families and dispelling misconceptions about Muslims and Islam.

“There’s one way to learn about Muslims — which is turn on CNN, and you’ll see people on fire and buildings blowing up and bombs being dropped — or, you can actually see real Muslims in your neighbourhood who have been living here for decades,” said Safwan Choudhry, one of the campaign’s organizers.

Choudhry, 26, and two friends came up with the campaign after witnessing a spate of negative attention on, or negative treatment of, Muslims in the media. He pointed to a Quebec judge’s recent refusal to hear a woman’s case because she was wearing a hijab and to terror charges laid against Canadians with alleged ties to ISIS.

“I think any non-Muslim Canadian, hearing all this chatter, surely has to be concerned, if not worried, that like, ‘What is going on?’” he said.

Choudhry said he hopes the initiative draws attention to similarities between non-Muslims and Muslims — he mentioned his family’s interest in skiing and snowboarding and love for Tim Hortons coffee.

Skiing?

Snowboarding?

WTF? It’s like the Choudhry family is just like other families all across the globe. Imagine that. I think Greg could benefit from meeting a Muslim family.

The source of most of the world's craziness

The source of most of the world’s craziness

Tony Thompson5 Comments

I’ve been a bartender for 16 years. In that time I have overheard many a conversation between guests. These discussions can be placed in two broad categories. The first category consists of relatively mundane subjects, such as the weather, favorite football teams, the latest movies or music…stuff like that. Run-of-the-mill discussions like that pretty much go through one ear and out the other.

The second category consists of those conversations that tend to stick with me. As an advocate for social justice, these are the chats that cause my ears to perk up. These are the conversations that I try to pay attention to (as much as I can while working). During the 2008 USAmerican Presidential election season I listened as people droned on and on about how they disliked then-Senator Obama, or how they really liked Sarah Palin (I was working at a restaurant patronized by a lot of conservatives). During the trial of George Zimmerman, I listened as people tried to justify his killing of Trayvon Martin. Then there was the time a male patron made victim blaming and Rape Culture enabling comments while discussing serial rapist Bill Cosby with two female guests.

Can you guess which category the following comment would fall in:

“Muslims are the source of most of the craziness in the world.”

Yeah. That sentence came out of the mouth of a guest (we’ll call him Greg) sitting at my bar last week. Greg was chatting with a woman he was having drinks with. Is there a context in which that statement wouldn’t be bigoted? Yeah, I can think of a few. He could have been mocking someone. He could have been repeating something he heard from someone else. He could have been discussing how he used to feel about Muslims. I don’t think any of those explanations apply in this case, but that’s just a gut feeling I have. A gut feeling influenced by the fact that there is a lot of anti-Muslim animus in USAmerica.

While I could be wrong, I think Greg was speaking from a place of profound ignorance, and his comment is the perfect example of why diversity is important. While I don’t know his background, I suspect he hasn’t regularly interacted with Muslims over the course of his life. I have to wonder if he would have benefited, at some point in the past, from knowing and interacting with people he knew were Muslims. If he dated a Muslim, went to school with Muslims, worked at a job where he regularly interacted with Muslims, had Muslims as friends, or played sports with Muslims…would he still have made that statement? Perhaps. After all, people with homophobic or racist beliefs often interact with gay people or Latinos. Men and women interact all the time and simply being exposed to women hasn’t prevented some men from becoming MRAs or MGTOWs. On the other hand, prior exposure to Muslims might have shown him that they are people, just like him. People with hopes and desires, worries and fears. People who want to raise their children to become productive members of society. People who go to the movies, watch reality tv, go bowling, or shoot pool. He might have learned that statements like “Muslims are the source of most of the craziness in the world” are not only wrong, but hurtful. Such exposure might have taught him that the vast majority of Muslims in the world are peaceful…that extremist Islamic groups like ISIS are not representative of Muslims worldwide.

I think regular, ongoing interaction with people who differ from you, whether it’s people of a different sexual orientation, those with a different gender identity, or those with a different religious background helps break down stereotypes. Such interaction can help show people that despite the [often superficial] differences between us, we humans share a lot in common. Interacting with people of diverse backgrounds can teach us to be more tolerant and accepting of others, their lives, and their experiences.

Shattering stereotypes. Finding common ground. Building bridges based on our shared experiences. Those goals lay at the heart of “Meet a Muslim Family“, a two-week campaign in Canada:

The Choudhry family has an unconventional strategy for fighting Muslim youth radicalization — inviting strangers into their Woodbridge home.

On Sunday, the family invited 14 non-Muslim Canadians to join them for a casual late lunch. The gathering was part of a two-week campaign called “Meet a Muslim Family,” in which Muslim families throughout Canada invited community members into their home for the purpose of uniting Canadian families and dispelling misconceptions about Muslims and Islam.

“There’s one way to learn about Muslims — which is turn on CNN, and you’ll see people on fire and buildings blowing up and bombs being dropped — or, you can actually see real Muslims in your neighbourhood who have been living here for decades,” said Safwan Choudhry, one of the campaign’s organizers.

Choudhry, 26, and two friends came up with the campaign after witnessing a spate of negative attention on, or negative treatment of, Muslims in the media. He pointed to a Quebec judge’s recent refusal to hear a woman’s case because she was wearing a hijab and to terror charges laid against Canadians with alleged ties to ISIS.

“I think any non-Muslim Canadian, hearing all this chatter, surely has to be concerned, if not worried, that like, ‘What is going on?’” he said.

Choudhry said he hopes the initiative draws attention to similarities between non-Muslims and Muslims — he mentioned his family’s interest in skiing and snowboarding and love for Tim Hortons coffee.

Skiing?

Snowboarding?

WTF? It’s like the Choudhry family is just like other families all across the globe. Imagine that. I think Greg could benefit from meeting a Muslim family.

The source of most of the world’s craziness

Religious News 2.24.15

Tony Thompson,

Former police officer and current pastor accused of child sex crimes

The indictment filed Dec. 16 in Deschutes County charges Worley with 37 counts, including two counts of rape, 20 counts of sexual abuse, 11 counts of sodomy, one count of attempted sodomy and three counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct.

In the latter three counts, the documents state Worley “did unlawfully and knowingly induce (the victims) … to engage in sexually explicit conduct for a person to observe.”

According to the indictment, the alleged abuse occurred between Sept. 1, 2002 and June 30, 2004 while the children were under the ages of 14 and 12.

Deschutes County prosecutors would not reveal how Worley knew the alleged victims but did say they did not believe Worley was a pastor during the time of the alleged incidents. However, prosecutors told KATU they are concerned there are more victims.

Worley was booked into the Multnomah County Jail on Dec. 30, and on that day he posted a tweet that reads, “Stormy weather has arrived. About to find out two-things: who our real friends are and how our God glorifies himself. #Psalm35 #GlorytoGod.”

Worley is active on social media as well as his blog, called Pastor Jamie’s Blog, where he spreads the message of Jesus and offers advice on how to lead better, more spiritual lives.

In one blog post he writes:

What kind of witness for Christ are you? Are you an effective one? Here’s a better question, do you feel that you share the love of Jesus for the world with the world in a valuable way? I’m going to go out on a limb, using only my personal experience in conversations with believers of all ages and maturities, and say that you’re either thinking, “no, not really.”

According to biography on the blog, Worley is married with four kids and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mississippi as well as a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Multnomah Biblical Seminary in Portland, Oregon.

He writes that his favorite book is the Bible and that his passion is to “spend my life seeking the lost and equipping the found, all for God’s glory.”

The On Your Side Investigators went to Powell Valley church on Monday, but it was closed. Messages were not returned Monday.

Worley’s family declined to speak to a KATU reporter on Monday.

“It’s really devastating,” said Lily Prosch, a former member of the church. “Pastors are trusted individuals so why would you think to second guess a person like that?”

Prosch’s mother used to be a secretary at the church and she said her son still attends youth group there.

Prosch believed Worley also led prayer groups for youth at Sam Barlow High School in Gresham.

“That scares me,” Prosch said. “My son is a student at that school and I would hate to think that (Worley) would have any further access to my child.”

KATU left several messages for the Gresham-Barlow School District Monday. Messages were not immediately returned.

“If there is anybody else out there that was hurt by this man, please feel free to come forward and stand up for yourself and what happened, and say this isn’t right, and I’m not going to allow this to happen,” Prosch said.

Officer Worley: His “conduct was not a good faith error”

The On Your Side Investigators uncovered Worley used to be a police officer with the Tillamook Police Department.

He worked at the department from Sept. 1, 2005 to November 3, 2006 but his badge was revoked in 2007 for ongoing misconduct, according to City of Tillamook records obtained by the On Your Side Investigators.

“After considering the totality of circumstances, it appears that Worley violated agency policy, and was untruthful or deceptive on more than one occasion,” according to 2007 police review board meeting minutes.

The document states Worley engaged in “unethical writing of citations,” inappropriately responded to a restraining order, destroyed marijuana in the field, used the Internet excessively while on duty, created “sexually explicit advertisements,” and made unwanted sexual advances to a woman in a 911 dispatch center, among other things.

* * * *

A funeral is a rough time for the family and friends of the deceased.  One would think even a bigoted homophobe might still their tongue during this time of grief-if not for the departed loved one, then at least for the mourners. Sadly, a pastor in Colorado halted the funeral for a 33-year-old lesbian:

The Denver Post reported that hundreds of mourners had gathered to pay their last respects to Vanessa Collier when New Hope Ministries Pastor Ray Chavez brought the proceedings to an abrupt halt.

The funeral could only go forward in his church, Chavez said, if mourners removed any visible evidence that Collier was a lesbian, including photos taken with her partner, Christina, which he insisted must be edited out of the video.

The funeral-goers refused Chavez’s terms and the pastor canceled the ceremony altogether 15 minutes after it was scheduled to start. Fortunately the family and friends gathered were able to move the funeral — flowers, programs guests, casket and all — to another location nearby.

Many of the mourners felt that Chavez’ refusal to allow the ceremony was unduly cruel, a final insult to a woman from a marginalized community.

“It was humiliating,” said Collier’s longtime friend Victoria Quintana to the Post. “It was devastating.”

“A church turning away a funeral. Who has ever heard of anything like that happening?” said another friend, Jeanette Arguello.

Collier died alone on Dec. 30 of a gunshot wound. Police told the Post that it is currently unclear whether the incident was an accident or suicide.

Protesters gathered outside New Hope Church on Tuesday, shouting “Give us an apology!” and “Shame on Pastor Ray!”

Once again, we see that religion is elevated in importance over the lives of actual human beings. As so often happens, when that occurs, human beings suffer.

* * * *

I’ll admit it: I’ve fallen for some of the satire produced by sites like The Onion or World News Daily. Sometimes the “stories” they report on seem quite believable (often when the stories are about conservative idiotology).  Just ask Joe the Plumber:

The most recent bout of buffoonery comes in the form of a post claiming that an Egyptian scientist has found indisputable proof that Moses and the Exodus from Egypt is a historical truth rather than a Bible story meant to teach metaphorically.

Joe’s writer, if you can call him that, isn’t so much astonished by the fact that Exodus has been proven by a scuba trip to the Red Sea, but that mainstream media, namely CNN and the New York Times, hasn’t reported on it:

If the mainstream media isn’t reporting on a story like this, one might ask why, rather than assuming the story to be true. But not good old credulous Joe.

* * * *

Chicago-area imam charged with sex abuse at Islamic school

The longtime head of a suburban Chicago Islamic school has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman who worked there, and a civil suit filed Tuesday accuses him of abusing that employee and three teenage students. The legal actions shed light on an issue that even many Muslims say is too often pushed into the shadows within their communities.

Mohammad Abdullah Saleem, 75 – who founded the Institute of Islamic Education and is regarded as a leading Islamic scholar, or imam, in the United States – is charged with felony criminal sexual abuse. Prosecutors said he abused the 23-year-old woman, an administrative assistant at the Elgin school, in a series of escalating incidents over months.

The civil suit accuses Saleem of abusing that employee, as well as three female students at the school as far back as the 1980s. The lawyer in that case, Steven Denny, said Saleem took advantage of both the trust accorded to him as a religious leader and of the tendency of Muslims to remain silent on matters of sex and sexual abuse.

“This place was ripe for abuse,” Denny told a news conference.

It took special courage, he added, for his clients to come forward within a culture that discourages even casual contact – never mind explicit sexual contact.

The suit says a fifth person was abused when he was 11 by a male staffer at the school, not Saleem. It accuses the school of failing to protect children, many of whom lived on campus. It asks for more than $1.5 million in compensation, saying the victims are psychologically scarred.

It will come as no surprise that Saleem denies the allegations against him. Hopefully this case will lead to greater discussion of sexual assault in the Muslim community, as it is currently a taboo subject.

At Denny’s news conference, a statement from the 23-year-old woman called on Muslims to speak up about sexual abuse. She said, “I will no longer stay silent.”

The chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, to which the school does not belong, says he examined the facility’s bylaws and found they granted Saleem almost absolute decision-making power. In light of Saleem’s arrest, Mohammed Kaiseruddin said Islamic schools nationwide should rework their bylaws to allow greater oversight.

Nadiah Mohajir, director of HEART Women and Girls, which raises awareness about sexual abuse in the Muslim community, called Saleem’s arrest “a wake-up call” that presented an opportunity to address a topic that’s been taboo for too long.

“The shame and stigma surrounding sexual abuse is even higher in Muslim communities, with its emphasis on purity and modesty,” she said.

Kaiseruddin said the matter illustrated that Muslims were not immune to a problem that has plagued the Roman Catholic Church.

“We found out that Muslims are burdened by the same (issue) other faiths are burdened with,” he said.

 * * * *

I’m sure many USAmericans think arranged marriages only occur in foreign countries. This story about a young woman sold into marriage for $25,000 might shock them:

At 20 years old, a young woman was slated to be sold into marriage to man twice her age. For $25,000, in installments no less, her perspective groom was able to buy her. It would’ve been more, except that she had been sexually abused as a young child. As a result, her future husband got a “discount” as it were.

It sounds like something out of Saudi Arabia or some parts of Africa, doesn’t it?

Except it wasn’t. Her name is Jennyfer Deister, and she was a member of America’s blossoming Christian fundamentalist homeschool movement — the rest of the story, though, stands as is.

The Daily Mail reports that she was sexually abused in one of the four foster homes that she was passed through, before she was finally adopted by real-world cultists. Her family sold her to a man twice her age for $25,000. She said that she could’ve netted as much as $50,000 on the open market, but she was “damaged goods” as a result of her sexual abuse.

Jennyfer had no say in who she married, but says that her husband-to-be was a decent man.

I don’t care how decent he is. No one should be forced into a relationship and no one, but NO ONE, should be treated like property to be bought and sold. That’s disgusting. It’s also biblical, so this practice has some precedent.

Religious News 2.24.15