A group of 18 men in Northern Nigeria are facing a possible death sentence for taking part in a “gay wedding”. The men were dressed as women, and were promptly arrested for alleged sodomy. Unfortunately for them, the town of Bauchi is under Sharia law, and so the men face the possibility of being stoned to death.
For those of you unaware of what Sharia law is, in Arabic it translates directly to “the way”. It is the legal system bound by Islamic dogma. Their obvious and violent aversion to homosexuality makes it a crime punishable by death, and failing that, there is a real possibility that they could face torture or even amputation for their alleged “crime”.
It seems almost impossible that in this day and age, the biblical traditions of the 1st century are still being practiced, and yet, in Nigeria, it’s not uncommon for people to be flogged for drinking, or having their hands cut off for adultery. Most of the citizens there support this. In fact, they’re down right confused about why we make such a big deal out of it. They mistakenly assume that our morality must somehow be inferior to theirs, since they derive their laws from sacred texts, while we foolishly base it on precedence, and habeas corpus.
Obviously, there are some people in the US that actually support similar laws like the Sharia edicts. It’s not surprising that these same individuals are highly religious. At the same time, many of us in the West feel that it is important to respect other cultures, and their way of doing things. I, on the other hand, feel that it’s necessary to remind people that simply because it is culturally acceptable to do something, does not make it right. There are many different ways to live a good life; but there isn’t an infinite amount. If your laws and morality reflect the habits and mores of the Bronze age, the level of sophistication of your moral development will reflect this fact. As the world becomes smaller, we can no longer take the attitude of live and let life, particularly when it comes to violent offences against our fellow human beings. We should all take these kinds of issues very seriously, and not allow relativism to confuse the important issue of human rights.
There are so few hard core right wing religious groups in Canada that you can sometimes forget that they exist at all. In typical Canadian fashion, most religious organizations are reluctant to get involved in any politics, and prefer not to make a fuss. However, a new proposed program has one province’s “Right to Life” group up in arms. Newfoundland is facing some opposition for wanting to offer vaccines for HPV to young girls, as religious groups claim that such vaccines would further encourage kids to engage in sex. They want the program, which would help reduce cervical cancer rates by well over 70%, to be replaced by an abstinence only one.
I love these abstinence guys. Despite the overwhelming evidence that abstinence only teaching actually dramatically increases the instances of both pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, the religious organizations that push for this infantilizing program refuse to accept reality. It’s not a complete stretch for them to ignore strong evidence; it’s practically a daily habit for them. Luckily, the provincial government is more interested in the health of its citizens than in their immortal souls burning in eternal hellfire.
You have to wonder if any of these ignoramuses would quickly switch camps if one of their daughters or wives suddenly developed cervical cancer as a result of the Human papillomavirus. Would they think that their god had a special plan in place for their soon to be departed loved ones, or would they kick themselves knowing that they could have prevented it? Even if giving out the vaccination did somehow slightly increase how many teenagers engage in sexual intercourse (for which there is zero evidence indicating it would), it’s a small price to pay for these young girls to have a greater chance of living long and healthy lives.
One of my readers pointed me to an interesting project she started, called “Coming out Godless”. Her challenge is for individuals to talk about how they themselves began to understand that their belief of God was simply false. I visited it recently, and must admit I find the idea fascinating. I highly encourage people to go to her site and submit any story you find funny, tragic, or even educational.
Personally, I tried to write something, but was struck at just how long I’ve been an atheist. They say that certain individuals have absolutely no faith whatsoever. I am such a person. Although I went to a Catholic pre-school, their religious classes had absolutely no effect on me, nor did any witnessing individual seem anything more to me than a poor deluded sucker. Of course, this is the same kid who quickly rejected the idea of Santa; I soon learned the inequities of the bearded fat one, having grown up in a very poor family.
Hopefully, some of you will have something more interesting to contribute than I!
I don’t spend a lot of time wondering where my money goes when I buy food. I figure it’s going to the employees, the owner of the franchise, and whatever is left goes to some obscure CEO locked up in an office, counting his money. I always figured these guys were like Scrooge; they made you work in the cold, giving you as little time off to spend with your invalid son as possible. It never occurred to me that some of these guys might actually hold religious views that seriously jeopardized the liberties of others.Thomas Monaghan, founder of Dominoes pizza, has built a rather large Catholic town in Florida called Ave Maria. After purchasing precious swamp land, he decided to create a new Eden, where fresh faced young Christians can witness to each other, while they deny their fellow citizens birth control, or the ability to have safe abortions. He didn’t go halfway into this venture; Monaghan poured his billion dollar fortune into building his Catholic haven, selling his business to afford this dream.
When 27 million dollar creation museums are springing up, you know fundamentalists have access to some serious cash, but Monaghan goes far beyond the hopes and dreams of exclusionary pious folks. He’s not the only business owner with deep pockets that is pushing an agenda; Gary Heavin, the founder and CEO of Curves, donates a considerable amount of his earnings to pro-life organizations. Although the chain itself is not involved, its growing popularity has no doubt allowed a substantial increase in his donations.
Although I do believe that people should be allowed to spend their money as they see fit (so long as no one is hurt), I nevertheless feel it is my duty not to support any company or institution I feel is doing people a disservice. Monaghan’s “University” is just another fledgling religious lapdog, ready to churn out countless generations of conservatively minded individuals who oppose women’s right to choose, gay marriage, or not generally believing in a bearded, andro-centric god. Although he no longer owns Dominoes, it might prompt me to be a little bit more careful where I choose to purchase from…
I saw this video, and was unaware of CNN’s attempt to discuss whether or not atheists were being discriminated against. Nevermind the fact that as a news organization; they are far more interested in making money from advertisers than in displaying any journalistic muscle, this so called “panel” was populated entirely by individuals who were themselves believers. You might as well have a panel of southerners talking about whether black people are being discriminated against. What fair assessment they would provide!
Hira Ratan Manek (or HRM as he’s known) believes staring at the sun heals
When navigating around the endless New Age nonsense out there, inevitably you’ll run across a gamut of different emotions, ranging from surprise to utter shock at the gullibility and stupidity of the human race. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a new group of dough eyed true believers come out of the woodwork. This time, it’s a goof troop in Atlanta that believes staring directly at the sun, 5-45 minutes a day, is making them lose weight and feel great.I admit it; I’ve been tempted sometimes to look at that giant ball of gas millions of miles away; after all, it’s the reason there’s life here on Earth. Who isn’t curious to see what it really looks like? Luckily, we can in complete comfort using special telescopes (yeah science!) Of course, we were always told that staring directly as the Sun without special equipment was about as smart an idea as shoving a fork in an electrical socket; but, than again, not everyone takes good advice. These sun-gazers believe that the “life-giving” properties of our favorite star revitalize them, by infusing them with vital energies.
If you’re looking for some scientific proof to these crackpot claims, don’t waste your time. It’s the same tactic every New-Ager uses: say the word energy, and life force, and people will buy anything you say (as well as your crummy high-priced merchandise). Who needs science anyways, when your guru is a retired Indian spice trader that has rabbit like sideburns? His ideas are so “beyond” science, it takes a spin doctor to understand what the hell he’s saying.
“We have a super computer in our bodies given to us by the nature, which is our brain. HRM (Hira Ratan Manek) calls it the “brainutor”. The brain is more powerful than the most advanced super computer. Each and every human being is gifted with innumerable talents, and infinite inherent powers by nature. Individuals should never underestimate themselves. Everyone is gifted. If we make use of these powers we can take ourselves to great levels. Unfortunately, these infinite inherent powers are programmed in that part of the brain that is largely dormant and goes unused. Even medical science agrees we hardly make use of the brain but about 5-7% – the most brilliant of humans like Albert Einstein is reported to have used only about 32% of their brains.”
Where does HRM get his facts? Presumably from the wisdom of Mother Earth! But wait, there’s more nonsense! He goes on to say that:
“Sun energy is the source that powers the brain, which can enter and leave the human body or the brain only through one organ that is the human eye. Eyes are the Sun Energy’s entry door to the human brain… Present day teachings and ideas such as don’t look at the sunlight at all –you will damage your eyesight; never go out in the sun as you will get cancer, are causing needless hysteria and paranoia. The more you are away from the nature, the more there is a cause for illness and you will automatically support global corporations”
Well, just in case you thought that perhaps Mr. Manek might not know what the hell he’s talking about, bask in his unique understanding of our solar system, as HRM informs us that the Sun is “the biggest planet in our planetary system”. Wow, and here I stupidly thought it was a star!
The rest of us that possess a little common sense can laugh at the ridiculous claims of people like Manek, who is just another type of Breatherian (those who essentially believe that they can survive on only sunlight and water). So long as people are desperate to believe anything a bearded weirdo is willing to tell them, we can expect the continued survival of similarly sad and deluded individuals.
