gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Penguin - Carpe)

The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson

An Act for establishing religious Freedom.

Whereas, Almighty God hath created the mind free;

That all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and therefore are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being Lord, both of body and mind yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do,

That the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time;

That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions, which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical;

That even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor, whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the Ministry those temporary rewards, which, proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind;

That our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions any more than our opinions in physics or geometry,

That therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence, by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages, to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right,

That it tends only to corrupt the principles of that very Religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments those who will externally profess and conform to it;

That though indeed, these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way;

That to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a dangerous fallacy which at once destroys all religious liberty because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own;

That it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order;

And finally, that Truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:

Be it enacted by General Assembly that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities. And though we well know that this Assembly elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of Legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding Assemblies constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare that the rights hereby asserted, are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right.

gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Atheism - God)
For various reasons, I get email from various whack-a-loon extremist religious groups. In most cases, they are so desperate for numbers that leaving a comment on one of their screeds automatically signs you up for their mailing list. I don't mind, most of them are hysterically funny and "know your enemy" is good advice.

But today I got my weekly "Rapture Update" email, with the usual list of moral outrages inflicted on our nation by the likes of people like me, and I saw this:

Filth and Evil --- click here for more...

Sadly, the link did not provide more filth and evil. Now I am sad. Sad, and degenerate.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Atheism - God)
| Burning Buddhas, Books, and Art: Meet The New Apostolic Reformation

Texas governor Rick Perry's August 6th, 2011 The Response prayer event, the de-facto launch of his presidential bid, was dominated by the apostles of C. Peter Wagner's New Apostolic Reformation. This article documents a little-noticed aspect of this little-noticed movement.

Top NAR leaders, including C. Peter Wagner, Cindy Jacobs, Ed Silvoso and, Chuck Pierce, have repeatedly emphasized in their writings the need for believers to destroy or neutralize, by burning, smashing, or flushing down toilets, objects deemed to be unholy, including profane books and "idolatrous" religious texts (such as Books of Mormon), religious relics (such as statues of Catholic saints, the Buddha, or Hindu gods), and native art (such as African masks, Hopi Indian Kachina dolls, and totem poles.)

According to New Apostolic Reformation doctrine, objects to be destroyed include those associated with Mormonism, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hinduism, eastern religions, Christian Science, native religions, and Baha'i.

NAR theologians, including C. Peter Wagner, sometimes cite, as a Biblical justification for the destruction of artifacts, an incident described in the New Testament's Book of Acts in which the magicians of Ephesus, under the influence of Apostle Paul, gathered together and burned their books of magic (thus weakening, according to Wagner, the hold of the goddess Diana over the city of Ephesus.) But Wagner also provides a more contemporary model.

In books from 1994 up into 2008, C. Peter Wagner has repeatedly cited, as a model for societal "transformation", the efforts of the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola in late-15th Century Florence, Italy.

Savonarola is credited with instigating the mass-burning in Florence of books and cultural objects deemed to incite sin (including by some reports several paintings by the Renaissance master Botticelli), in an event that has become known to historians as the "Bonfire of the Vanities."

On page 96 of his book Changing Church: How God Is Leading His Church Into The Future (2004, Regal/Gospel Light), bemoaning the lack of significant city `transformation' in the U.S., Wagner notes that, while evangelists have invested "huge amounts of time" and "large sums of money", "Even after 10 years, we cannot point to a single city in the United States that has undergone a sociologically verifiable transformation!"


A lot more at the link.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Army - Infantry)
Texas lawmakers fighting to insert Christian language in funerals for non-Christian soldiers

Shouldn't veterans and their families have the right to decide whether religion -- and what kind -- is welcome at their own funerals? The Department of Veterans Affairs says yes. But three Texas Congressman and Christian military organizations want to strip away this basic right. Instead, they want to be allowed to impose unwanted Christian ceremonies on the military funerals of everybody who has served the red, white, and blue.


OK, I am livid over this. I am a veteran. I am an atheist. My disposal plan is cremation and scattering at sea, but if I did want a military service, I would not want an unwanted religious element intruding. Read Invictus instead. The crazy thing that the Christian services these morons want would horrify my family members who are Christians, as they run the gamut from Catholic to semi-agnostic deists. Then there's my mother-in-law's Judaism...

This is just another example of how the far right in America doesn't give a damn about Constitutional freedoms. Freedom of religion? Only if you're the right Christian sect.

Makes me sick.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Atheism - God)
Rick Perry’s Jesus Imperative: A Report from Saturday’s Mega-Rally | Politics | Religion Dispatches

By the time Texas Governor Rick Perry took the stage at his scheduled time at The Response on Saturday, the crowd had been softened to receive him. Perry, as scheduled, emerged from behind the prayer and worship band shortly before 11:30, his coiffed hair and toothy grin filling the enormous television screens behind him. The audience, still aglow and groggy, almost, from a frenzied prayer session devoted to individual repentance had been called upon, through the throb of the praise music, to “lay yourselves bare” for Jesus, your “first love,” and to “repent for putting other things before Jesus.”

This was no idle command—in fact “command” and “obedience” were the day’s chief buzzwords for many speakers; as repentance was required on behalf of yourself, your church, and your country for having failed to commit yourself to Jesus, for having permitted abortion and “sexual immorality,” for failing to cleanse yourself of “filthiness,” and to repent for having “touched what is unclean.” As the individual repentance portion of the day reached its climax, just before Perry’s remarks, people lay flat on the floor; others raised their arms in charismatic receipt of God’s word. Others danced. Some spoke in tongues. A woman wearing a fatigue green “M.A.S.H.” t-shirt (that’s Mobile Army Spiritual Hospital) prostrated herself on the floor.

“Like all of you, I love this country this deeply,” intoned the governor who once publicly mused about his state seceding. “Indeed the only thing you love more,” he added, as the audience held its collective breath, praying he wouldn’t say something that fell short of expectations, “is the living Christ.” A collective exhale for him getting it right; the governor was exalted.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Atheism - God)
[livejournal.com profile] wcg is an evil, wrong man. Which is why we love him.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Default)
| Psalm 109 Imprecatory Prayer Case to Go Forward in Texas

Fascinating case. Gordon Klingenshmitt is a well-known right wing loony who was thrown out of the Navy for failure to obey lawful orders. He keeps telling people it was because he "refused to stop praying in Jesus' name" even when confronted with the actual paperwork showing differently.

But does imprecatory prayer rise to the standard of incitement? If I stand in front of a group and shout "bring me the head of Tommy Lasorda, and burn Dodger Stadium to the ground!" I can (and should) be arrested for inciting the orange & black mob in front of me to commit felonies. However, if I happened to say "it would be so sweet if I could sit here with my feet up on Lasorda's severed head watching Dodger Stadium burn." have I done anything to encourage or suggest to my theoretical listeners that I want them to do these things?

Will no one rid of this troublesome priest? Henry II knew how to phrase things to avoid direct responsibility.

Do constant imprecatory prayers directed at a fairly public figure, broadcast to an audience that can be described as far more devout and fanatical than the average Christian in America rise to the level of a credible threat? Or are they protected free speech?

I have my opinion. What's yours?
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (atheism - trashcan)
[Regarding homosexual members of a church youth group]

I just wish it was that simple. These kids aren't doing anything wrong besides being homosexual...they aren't inappropriate or crass, and know not to show unusual affection toward the members of their own gender. The problem is just that they're happy, as bad as that sounds, and by everyone in our group seeing that their sin hasn't caused them any pain or guilt...I dunno. We try to illustrate to them and everyone else how God sees them (almost every week now), but it doesn't stop them from being as popular as they are. They're exuberant and extremely content in their lifestyle, and I'm really worried that it's going to rub off on the other children.

I strongly believe that Satan has found a great ally in homosexual children. I'm completely lost as to what to do.


This isn't a Poe, or if he is, he's one of the most determined ones I've ever seen. This person is actually upset because the gay kids in his church's youth group are happy, confident, and popular. He'd prefer that they be guilt-ridden and miserable.Because obviously being around homosexuals who aren't two steps from suicide will corrupt the other little darlings.

Damn right it will. The other kids are growing up knowing that "the gay" isn't a disease, and that homosexuals are people like themselves. Friends, family, and yes, fellow members of the church. These kids are going to reject the intolerance, and hopefully in time the intolerant religion that spawned it. Bigotry can only exist in darkness. Expose people to the light of other cultures, other people, other ways of thinking and it melts.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (atheism - trashcan)
From that Grand Central Station of right-wing nuttiness, Conservapaedia, why traditional man-women marriage is allegedly better than same sex marriage.

The advantages of marriage between a man and woman include:
  • the combined experience to raise both boys and girls
  • enjoyment and interests in complementary aspects of childrearing
  • having a partner with different, and complimentary, outlook and concerns
  • in the absence of sexually transmitted diseases or infertility, the ability to have children from birth
  • having a partner with different domestic interests and abilities
  • the combined experience to deal with others
  • an institution that has thrived for millennia
  • less domestic violence due to very different physical strengths and different reactions to problems
  • less tendency for partners to compete, and more tendency for positive reinforcement


Let's take these in order, hm? Every single parent I know looked at that squirming small person expelling various foul-substances and demanding food, shelter and a college education, and thought "I have no fucking clue what I'm doing." No one knows how to be a parent. You learn from your own parents and by trial and error. Assuming that just because I'm make I wouldn't know how to handle girls is an insult to every father of daughters on the planet. My mother, who is in fact female, handle my boyness quite well, and knew exactly what I was going to do before I was going to do it. More importantly, she understood when to let me slip the leash and get hurt. Parents are the important thing. I could go on at length on how my father never quite groked either of his sons, let alone his daughter.

The second and third are more of the same misogynistic claptrap. It assumes that a same-sex couple are going to be in idealogical lock-step. Bollocks. I know gay couples where one is domestic and the other is more interested in climbing trees. What brings people together is love. Kirsten is into things I have no interest in at all. Her fascination with the history of Russia in the 12th and 13th century can be described as non-existent. We come from different backgrounds and experiences. Our relationship got started because we both liked Dr. Who, but grew roots because we found that our differences aside, we were happier together than apart. Had we had children, those kids would have benefited from our backgrounds. If I were gay and Kirsten was Ken, it would be the same.

I don't know whether to laugh or scream at the fourth. I'm infertile, have been since chemotherapy. I'm also happily married and we could have adopted, or used donor sperm, to have children. Infertility is not a barrier to being a parent. STDs? Are you kidding? It is a freaking miracle I never got a STD. I was a fucking infantryman! I have slept with prostitutes, had unprotected sex with multiple partners, and engaged in other risky behaviors. I (and the doctors at Stanford Medical Center) are amazed I don't have AIDS. Millions of straight married people live with Herpes Simplex II. This is just more "diseased gays" bullshit.

"The combined experience to deal with others." Because gays live a cloistered existence in their fabulous monasteries. You learn to deal with others by living a life. I have a coworker how got married last year. He's a rather passive person to the point that the other drivers had to physically carry him to the boss' office and hold the door shut to get him to ask for a raise. He won't speak up at meetings unless someone prompts him. He's married, and honestly does not have any experience in dealing with others.

Slavery thrived for thousands of years. Kidnapping women and marrying them by force was a legal way to get a bride for centuries. Vengeance killings were acceptable in western civilization through the 19th century. Times change. And no one is saying that male/female marriage is going away. Just expanding. At the dawn of this nation, marriage was defined as being between a man and a woman of the same race and religion, providing the woman's family approves.

The abuse things? Ridiculous.

Opposite sex partners don't compete? News to me. More tendency to be supportive? Got a cite for that?

Andy Schlafly is a prat.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Atheism - God)
If Religions were real... )
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Atheism - God)
While we all ponder the theological implications of a giant statue of Jesus being hit by lightning and burning to the ground, enjoy this musical tribute to a now-destroyed roadside icon.



It looks to me like Jesus is yelling at the artist. "Hello? This cross? I'm supposed to be nailed to and hung from this thing. What? Yes, there is a problem! The bloody thing is too small! You couldn't crucify Hervé Villechaize on this piece of crap. Who? Seriously? For My sake, don't you ever watch TVLand? OK, you couldn't crucify MiniMe on this thing. Does that fall into your cultural sphere? It needs to be bigger. How big? Oh, I don't know, maybe large enough that My arms can be nailed to it while outstretched? Look, read the Wiki article on crucifixion and figure it out. I'll be in My trailer. Somebody get me a Diet Dr. Pepper."
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (atheism - trashcan)
Mormons found guilty on 13 counts of political malfeasance, says FPPC

Excellent. Now let's strip the LDS of their tax exempt status.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (atheism - trashcan)
epic fail pictures
see more Epic Fails
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (atheism - trashcan)
"And you know Kristi, something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French, uh you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French. True Story. And so the Devil said "OK, it's a deal." And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor. That island is Hispaniola is one island. It's cut down the middle. On one side is Haiti, on the other side is the Dominican republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc.. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. Uh, they need to have, and we need to pray for them, a great turning to God and out of this tragedy. I'm optimistic something good may come."


You read that right. Because the slaves of Haiti, inspired by the American and French Revolutions, rose up and threw off their shackles, they deserved what happened yesterday. Because to this racist piece of trash the only explanation for a bunch of black guys beating a bunch of white guys is a pact with Satan. See for yourself

Pat Robertson needs to be dragged through the streets in chains, flown to Port-au-Prince, and forced to dig graves with his bare hands until he drops. And that's my judgment after I've had several hours to calm down.

Of course, he has a history of blaming natural disasters on the groups he wants his followers to hate.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Music - Metallica)
(Yeah, I know I've probably done this one before, but it's so appropriate.)

I hope the legion battalion slightly understrength squad of HMS fan appreciate that i have dragged my sick butt out of bed to post this morning. Not even the H1N1 virus can stop the power of Heavy Metal.

Y'all can thank [livejournal.com profile] kshandra for today's selection. I was mentioning that i should do something relating to how sick I am at the moment. Since she's been watching me crawl around the apartment all this week, she suggested Creeping Death. Works for me. The song is one of Metallica's more popular live tracks, since we get to chant DIE! over and over. The band came up with the idea for the track when they were watching the The Ten Commandments. The sequence where the Angel of Death moves through Egypt killing each first-born child prompted bassist Cliff Burton to remark "Whoa, it's like creeping death!" That comment, and the story, inspired the song's lyrics.

Incidentally, if you want to see one of the reasons I reject organized religion, read Exodus chapters 7-12. In it Pharaoh is ready to let the Hebrews go several times, but God makes him change his mind just so He can send down another plague! What a prick!

Anyway, enjoy Creeping Death taken from 1998's Cunning Stunts

gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (atheism - trashcan)
Funny Pictures & Funny Videos
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Atlas Wanked)
Arizona State Senator Sylvia Allen (R) says Earth is 6,000 years old.



The entire 42 second clip is just chock full of fundie fail.

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gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Default)
Douglas Berry

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