As more Christians realize the extent of your arrogance, insensitivity, righteousness, and general asshattery, many will undoubtedly hasten to distance themselves from you and your rhetoric. If I were a Christian, I’d certainly be embarrassed to be associated with you.

[The earthquake in Haiti] may be a blessing in disguise.

Would you say the same if someone you love was there at the time of the quake, still missing and likely buried under rubble?

[The Haitians] made a pact with the devil, [and] have been cursed ever since.

You’re a jackass, Pat Robertson. You’re insulated by wealth and privilege and are completely out of touch with reality as a result.

From the blogosphere this morning:

Well, I thought of the wrath God must feel for those arrogant blasphemers who reject His law and I also thought about how righteous His judgement will be.

–Shotgun Smith on his response to “some woman in Australia who thought that the death of Christianity was undoubtedly a good thing.”

Easy there, turbo. I’m guessing you didn’t read the entire article, as I suspect many of your Christian brethren won’t. To say the article is about the “death of Christianity” is incorrect and a bit pessimistic.

From page 36: “Let’s be clear: while the percentage of Christians may be shrinking, rumors of the death of Christianity are greatly exaggerated.”

The article actually discusses the decline of Christianity in our country and theorizes that this has occurred due to the lack of distinction between church and state.

While arguing that the influence of either too much secularism or too much religion creates imbalance in the political system, Meacham reminds the reader that “As crucial as religion has been and is to the life of the nation, America’s unifying force has never been a specific faith, but a commitment to freedom – not least freedom of conscience.” In simpler terms, our Founding Fathers neither envisioned nor intended to create America as a strictly Christian Nation, but rather as one in which each citizen had freedom and liberty.

I infer from this that the author sees a correlation between Christianity’s decline and how religious conservatives have long used politics to force their morals and values on the public. It’s easy to see why secular society, resenting attempts by Christian political leaders to forcibly remove Constitutional liberties (a woman’s right to choose, the right of same-sex couples to wed, the need for stem cell research funding, etc.) would want to distance itself from Christianity.

I also speculate that though they may never realize it, the Christ-Con’s sole saving grace is their failure to accomplish their over-arching aim: to rebuild the bulwark of 1950’s Christian America. Had they succeeded in stamping out all beliefs and practices that don’t coincide with their own, it wouldn’t be long before another group rose to power and did the same to them. And schadenfreude aside, that would be a bad for us all.

Oppression of anyone is oppression of everyone.
–Stevie Wonder

Have a look at these, then have a good laugh.

And the Christ-Cons wonder why:

Video source: YouTube via Blueollie

Here in Washington state, the battle rages on. A federal judge recently ruled that pharmacists can refuse to fill prescriptions for EC’s on the basis of their religious beliefs. This ruling was rendered ineffective when EC’s were subsequently made available as over the counter medications to anyone 18 or older.

I find it absolutely mind-boggling that the same pharmacists who vehemently object to dispensing EC’s on “moral grounds” seem to have no qualms about filling scrips for the erectile-dysfunction (“ED”) drugs Viagra and Cialis. I’m pretty sure women can’t get pregnant on their own. I’m also confident that more than a few men who take ED’s to have sex (whether they actually need them or not) are unmarried. Because Christians frown on pre-marital sex, shouldn’t these same pharmacists also refuse to dispense ED’s? 

In a related vein, why do we see numerous commercials for Viagra or Cialis but none for birth control (EC or otherwise)? These suggestive ads, always narrated by attractive younger women, invariably depict how a man can reclaim his youthful vigor and make hours-long love by simply ”asking his doctor for a free trial dose.” 

The sexism couldn’t be more apparent. No wonder feminists are pissed.

The image at the other end of this link is as objectionable as most of the comments underneath it. Proceed at your own risk.

7 days till the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade

As I’ve grown older and (hopefully) wiser, I’ve come to hold a few convictions about Christianity.

1. The Bible is its biggest stumbling block. It’s an odd fate that this venerable tome should be both the religion’s foundation as well as its wrecking ball. Written by imperfect men with their own agendas (and re-translated numerous times, also by imperfect men with their own agendas), there can’t be another book on the planet that’s been more misinterpreted. Yet despite this inconvenient truth, some Christians continue to look to its ambiguous passages to justify persecution of anyone who doesn’t believe the way they do. Though they think they’re displaying virtue and righteousness by waging war on Satan’s minions (i.e. gays, pagans, unwed mothers, Muslims, Jews, Democrats, etc. etc.), they’re actually hastening their religion’s demise. (To be fair, there are some amazing Christians who don’t approach their religion this way - a few can be found in my blogroll.)
2. Satan (as he’s most commonly understood) was fabricated by the Church to keep the masses afraid so it could gain and retain power. For those who immediately went on the defensive when reading the last sentence, I encourage you to read the post I linked to above. The author offers a plethora of historical evidence, much of which comes directly from the Bible.

Satan, the anti-Christ of the Christian faith, is apparently this “source of evil.” According to the Jehovah’s, he holds the puppet strings of all humanity, manipulating and tricking us into carrying out his wicked and sinful desires.

After more than 2000 years, the Church is still trying to convince people that they do not have the power to choose.

I choose personal responsibility. I do not claim I’ve been “manipulated by evil” when I make a poor decision, nor do I expect anyone else to shield me from the consequences that result.

I choose to empower myself. I do not give my power to a religious institution out of fear that if I don’t, I won’t be protected from said “evil.”

There is light and dark in us and all around us. Human beings are capable of both immense charity and unthinkable cruelty. The source of the rain that feeds our crops also destroys them with hail. The gentle summer breeze is born in the same place as the hurricane. The force that raises mountains also levels them. To deny either half of this universal duality is to live in fear and weakness.

The true source of “evil” is not the Christian anti-christ. It is in fact the same as the source of good – the power of choice.