March 02, 2006
Come on, people!
Get Lent - Protestants do the sober season. By Andrew Santella
I thought that the whole point of being a Protestant was that we wouldn't do the goofy ritual stuff! Sheesh.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:32 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 01, 2006
Next: snake handling
Tradition catching on with Baptists
Baptists realized that putting ashes on your forehead and walking around like that all day was considered strange and off-putting by many, so they thought, "We have got to get some of that!"
Story contains an explanation of just what Easter is.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:32 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
January 12, 2006
Idiocy
CNN.com - Hajj stampede kills hundreds - Jan 12, 2006
I don't care what religion you are, this is pure stupidity.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 17, 2005
Faith workouts on hold
Money struggle closed Christian gym
"Struggle" in the sense that they ran out of money. I guess there just weren't enough people who wanted to join "a modern exercise facility with a Christian atmosphere". Well, darn.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 13, 2005
Christnappers!
Jesus figure stolen from outdoor nativity at church
Kids today, huh?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:12 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 14, 2005
He said it, he said it!
The founder of those "Christian Exodus" bozos who want to set up a theocracy in South Carolina by getting lots of religious fanatics to move there just plain admits that he's a bigot. The League of the South is a Neoconfederate hate group.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Somebody's running for President!
Gingrich says religion key to American identity
"A secular America would not be America," Gingrich told about 600 people gathered at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center for a scholarship dinner.
Well. Hmm. What do I have to say to that?
Oh, right.
Fuck you, Newt.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 29, 2005
I can see that
Fired over pregnancy, Christian school teacher files suit
I think it's stupid, but a school is well within its rights to fire a teaching assistant because it thinks that "Biblically speaking, fornication is immoral," and the assistant was going to keep doing it anyway. Of course, none of them would ever fornicate. And if they did, they wouldn't get pregnant, what with being men and all.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:03 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 18, 2005
This is news?
CNN.com - John Paul's last words in Polish - Sep 18, 2005
Look, people don't say their last words in Latin anymore.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 05, 2005
What fun!
Area religious groups offer evacuees more than shelter
Let me guess.
Okay, you can eat, but first you have to read Deuteronomy.
Okay, that was completely and totally unfair. And I'm terribly sorry.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:04 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 21, 2005
Does John Giles know about this?
Temple open to the curious and converts
Jews are converting people? In Alabama? And they're advertising this? Is that even legal?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 16, 2005
I am totally in favor of this
al.com: NewsFlash - Baptist leader says churches must restore biblical discipline
I really want to see Baptist churches get Old Testament on their members' asses. (Which you aren't supposed to covet.)
In a series of Internet articles, Mohler blames churches' "creeping accommodation to American culture" and its "moral individualism."He says many church leaders won't rebuke or discipline their errant unrepentant members because they lack courage or fear lawsuits.
I wonder what a minister could do to provoke a lawsuit. Well, pretty much the whole of Leviticus 20 would do.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:42 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 13, 2005
Once they're born, they're on their own
Coalition urges unborn child pledge
The wingnuts at the Christian Coalition of Alabama are at it again, trying to get legislative candidates to sign an "Unborn Child Protection Pledge".
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:12 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 11, 2005
That explains it
Gardendale First Baptist pastor going to Memphis
Why I keep getting searches for "Steve Gaines" in my referrer logs. I mentioned him once; he's one of those anti-gay bigots that the SoBas love so much.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 23, 2005
It was very effective
Baptists vote to end 8-year Disney boycott
They brought Disney to its knees, didn't they? I mean, who goes to Disney World anymore? And ABC -- they shut down, right? As I recall, the real reason for the boycott was Disney's gay-friendly policies. These continue.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:20 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 22, 2005
"Armies of compassion?"
Bush praises Southern Baptists as convention re-elects its leader
Even for Bush, that's a weird metaphor. Not to mention that compassion has never been the SoBas' definining characteristic.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:00 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 21, 2005
The other side
Falwell says church must work to defeat Hillary Clinton in '08: Roy Moore also addresses pastors
"The church won the 2004 elections and don't let anyone tell you any differently," Falwell told a crowd of about 9,000 attending Southern Baptist Convention Pastors Conference, a prelude to the two-day annual SBC convention that starts today."Now we've got a bigger challenge ahead of us. We've got to deal with Hillary in '08."
There you go. If you're against Hillary, you're for Jerry Falwell's vision of theocratic America. According to Jerry Falwell, anyway. I don't even think Hillary's going to run.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:06 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
June 20, 2005
If the tidal wave wasn't bad enough
Tsunami gave Baptists door to Muslims
Then the people of Indonesia had to put up with Baptists trying to convert them.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 19, 2005
Well, yes, but...
al.com: NewsFlash - Black Southern Baptist pastors say slavery issue far in the past
There's the whole segregation thing, too. That's not so far in the past. And that the Southern Baptist Convention only apologized for supporting slavery ten years ago.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 17, 2005
Don't say you weren't warned
SBC Convention Gears Up For Business, Evangelistic Outreach
Look out, Nashville; 10,000 Southern Baptists are coming. Speakers at the convention will include Jerry Falwell and Roy Moore. No doubt they've got something exciting planned on the whole "submission of women" thing, too.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:14 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 07, 2005
Hmm... no.
United Methodists seek to move beyond past of segregation, boost declining membership
The United Methodist Church is really sorry about stuff like having Bull Connor for a member and letting segregationist groups meet in the basement and hiring security guards to keep black people from coming to services. So, no hard feelings, huh guys? Why not join the UMC?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:11 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 05, 2005
I don't see it myself
NBC 4 - Irresistible Headlines - Sisters See Image Of Jesus In Paint On Wall
It doesn't look much like Jesus. More like the Hammer version of Frankenstein's Monster. What this says about the nature of God is anyone's guess.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 25, 2005
Not for money, then
Judge: Dismissed Zoghby case not settled
People don't just agree to drop lawsuits for no reason. There was some motivation, if not money then something else. The case was settled, just not formally.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 24, 2005
Someone got paid off!
al.com: NewsFlash - Judge throws out civil suit filed by woman against Mobile priest
The suit claimed that the priest 'approached Hughes from behind and groped her buttocks "in an intimate and sexual manner."' (Is there any other way?) The dismissal came with the judge saying that all parties had filed a "stipulation for dismissal." In other words, she got paid to go away and withdrew her suit. I like to think that the loot was in chalices and candleholders.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:35 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
May 23, 2005
Those wacky Methodists!
Church's youth service goes Greek with chariot races
In order to attract kids, a Methodist Church held... uh, a "toga party" and "chariot races". This is so goofy and inappropriate for a Church setting that it's actually rather endearing.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:13 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
May 18, 2005
Your Roman Catholic Church, everyone!
al.com: NewsFlash - Pregnant Montgomery student, banned from graduation, walks anyway
A student in a Montgomery high school was banned from her graduation ceremony because she's pregnant. But she walked anyway, and good for her. Three points:
1. The father of the baby is also a student at the school, but they didn't ban him or even identify him. I'd call that a double standard but that would be to admit that they have standards.
2. She could have gotten an abortion and nobody would have ever known. I'd think they'd be celebrating her choice.
3. Those robes pretty much hide a pregnancy anyway.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:06 PM | Comments (22)
May 16, 2005
Oh, please
Virgin Mary visionary set to return
You know, normally it's not news when a crazy person pays a visit. You just wait for Thanksgiving weekend to be over and hope that next year you can have it at someone else's house.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)
April 08, 2005
Bishop off the board
WHNT-TV, Huntsville, AL: Next pope to appoint new bishop for north Alabama
One of the last matters John Paul II took care of was to permit the retirement of David Foley, Bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham. For now, they get to wait until a new pope can name a new bishop.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:05 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 04, 2005
Follow the money
I didn't say anything about the passing of Pope John Paul II because I didn't know what to say other than mocking the TV coverage. (CNN: Pope not dead yet!) Simply put, this was a great man, one of the greatest of our time. I didn't agree with him on a lot of things, and felt that he had become unfortunately obsessed with the Church's archaic sexual teachings in recent years. But that doesn't counter his generally positive legacy that few can match.
That being said...
al.com: NewsFlash - AP poll: Next pope should pursue change
Matthew wonders why the Cardinals or the Church in general should care what Americans think. Short answer: money. There are a lot of Catholics, and Americans are a small minority of them. But they're the richest single bloc, and the Church's finances are disproportionately reliant upon American contributions. If a lot of American Catholics were to schism -- to say, join with American Anglicans who are already in the process of forming their own church -- it would hit the Roman Catholic Church hard in the pocketbook.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 19, 2005
Be afraid. Be very afraid
Herald.com | 02/19/2005 | Christian conservatives map out political agenda
It's very frightening, but you probably know most of it. The new thing that scares me is the faith-based action centers in all 435 congressional districts". I also get very nervous when religious people use the word "war", in this case as "war chest".
St. Roy was not there, but his Calf was:
A potent symbol of conservative Christians' fight for a faith based government -- all 5,280 pounds of it -- sat locked to a wooden platform on a six-wheeled truck outside the church:''Roy's Rock,'' the granite statue of the 10 Commandments that former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore displayed in court, made a stop at Coral Ridge this week during its nationwide tour.
One fan of Moore's hoisted herself onto the platform and posed in front of the monument with her dog Baby as a security guard snapped a photo.
Mary Jo Jones said she hopes Moore, who was forced to resign for refusing to remove the statue from the rotunda of the judicial building in Montgomery, will again run for political office.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:23 PM | Comments (17) | TrackBack
February 03, 2005
It's not about religion, it's about acknowledging God
Woman claims religious bias in her firing by clinic
Okay, the former office manager of a medical clinic claims that she was fired from that job because she wouldn't go to morning prayer meetings and that the director actually said to her that "I'm concerned about your job performance because I don't know where you stand with God, and we've never discussed that." He (the director, not God) denies that this conversation ever took place. Personally, I'm not wild about the idea that I could go to the doctor and instead of treating my illness he'd be worried about my soul.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:10 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 27, 2005
Oh, shut up.
The New York Times > Science > Shroud of Turin: Old as Jesus?
No it's not. It's a fake. It's not even a particularly good fake -- the proportions are clearly that of a flat carving, not of an actual human being, so unless you believe Our Lord and Savior was only two inches thick (which would be a very odd heresy but not the oddest) you're in an untenable position. This is also an historical achievement; the 100,000th different excuse by religious fanatics for a carbon-dating they don't like.
I link to CSICOP; I'm sure they'll have a response soon.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:32 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 21, 2005
We're very progressive
Evolution debate seems to wane; board prepares to revise courses
Less than 150 years after the publication of The Origin of Species, Alabama is managing to get through an entire textbook selection cycle without right-wing religious nuts trying to get evolution banned from the curriculum. I know, I know, we're on the cutting edge here. Sure, there's a sticker, but we even took out the part about evolution as a "controversial theory".
In all seriousness, one of the worst parts of the whole mess is that by labeling evolution a "controversial theory" or "one of many theories" we're doing a disservice to not only scientific understanding but to science as a process. Instead of explaining what a theory is, schools are supporting the layman definition of "theory" as the equivalent of "hypothesis".
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:23 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 03, 2005
Sins of the fathers
Gay Couple's Sons Anger Catholic Parents | ajc.com
A bunch of bigot parents want a California diocese to kick the children of a gay couple out of a church school. Apparently, they think that only "families that pledge to abide by Catholic teachings" should be allowed to educate their children there. Wow. I seem to remember graduating from a Catholic high school even though my father is a divorced Episcopalian.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:25 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
December 19, 2004
Where's the justice?
Congress funds fatherhood project
$2 million from the Justice Department budget went to the "National Fatherhood Initiative". The Justice Department.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 06, 2004
Come to think of it...
Wouldn't Gerald Allen's law banning books with homosexual characters take out the Bible? For instance:
4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
That's pretty plainly a violation of the bill, and more explicit than most books with gay themes. I'm pretty sure Gerry doesn't want to ban the Bible, but I don't see any way around it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:03 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 24, 2004
We need a crusade
Whether you are are Protestant, or Catholic, or Orthodox, or other, you must agree: this cannot be allowed to continue. Sure, these days there's a certain amount of tolerance for heresy, but this goes far beyond the normal Church governance or nature of the divine situation. This is just wrong.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:37 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 17, 2004
You know what bugs me?
WPVI.com: Virgin Mary Sandwich Back on Ebay
How do they know it's the Virgin Mary? I mean, is there a caption? It could be anybody, really.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:03 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
November 08, 2004
Creeping theocracy update
Court to weigh in on evolution feud | ajc.com
Biology textbooks in Cobb County, GA have one of those moronic disclaimers stating that "evolution is a theory, not a fact", demonstrating only that the people who buy the textbooks don't know what "theory" and "fact" mean. Or, for that matter, "evolution".
Anyway, some parents have sued the school board to get the moronic disclaimer removed, and it's in Federal court. One of the many things to look forward to in the increasingly Bushified Federal judiciary will be watching it bend over backwards for the forces of creationism. At the current rate, we're about ten years from state school boards being allowed to put creationism in the school curricula.
Don't discount creationism as a political force. In my opinion, it's at least as important as anti-abortionism and homophobia as a motivating factor for the Republican Nutjob segment of society. Arguably, in fact, it's the most important factor.
What separates the Republican and Democratic parties more than anything, I feel, is the Republican ground strength. Democrats have to be organized to get out the vote, and to win local elections. Republicans are pretty much already organized. And their organization begins largely at the local school board level; that's where Republican activists start out. And what are they most about? Getting evolution out of the textbooks, or getting "equal time" for "scientific creationism" or "intelligent [sic] design" or whatever they're calling it this week.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:22 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 02, 2004
Mississippi Bulldozing
Miss. Man Arrested for Bulldozing Church
An apparently racially-motivated attack; the suspect is white, the congregation of the church mostly black. But a bulldozer?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 17, 2004
Bigots want another boycott
Conservatives urge P&G boycott over gay rights battle - Sep. 17, 2004
Focus on the Family and the American Family Association are at it again. Sigh. This time they're upset that Procter & Gamble is opposing an anti-gay statute in Cincinnati. How long before these cretins resurrect the Satanism slur?
Anyway, they want to boycott Tide and Crest. So their people will, presumably, use one of the fifty different other detergents and one of the thirty other toothpastes that P&G make?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:23 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 01, 2004
Nice to know where you stand
GOP convention has strong subtext of religion
Trying to look inclusive, the Republicans had a Muslim imam give the invocation Monday. This did not sit well with some of the Alabama delegation:
Afterward, state Rep. Gerald Allen, a delegate from Tuscaloosa, shook his head when asked about the invocation.“I do know enough to know their beliefs are contrary to the beliefs and values this country and our founding fathers have embraced," Allen said. “I wasn’t happy with it."
Nice to see that even if Roy's not around we have another self-taught expert on the Founding Fathers.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 19, 2004
Sorry, honey
CNN.com - Church says girl's communion not valid - Aug 19, 2004
God hates you, he gave you a disease that can cause cancer and you're going to Hell! All part of the Catholic Church's full-service dogmatic insanity!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 14, 2004
Ah, the Republican Defense Act
Same-sex wedding foes push petition
The Christian Coalition is trying to get even more bigotry written into the Alabama Constitution by putting an anti-gay marriage amendment on the ballot. Or that's what they say. What it's really about is all sorts of ways of supporting Republican candidates, especially for the state Supreme Court.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 05, 2004
Really great timing, Bob
Office to help faith-based initiatives
No wonder St. Roy doesn't believe in Separation of Church and State, what with things like the Alabama Governor's Office Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Why Bob Riley waited until now, when Duhbya's on the ropes, to introduce this thing is anybody's guess.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 26, 2004
Strange moments in media
Huntsville's Etz Chayim synagogue has a Torah scroll now; they had been borrowing from other synagogues. It may be the first scroll dedication in Huntsville in more than a century. That's great. What I want to know is why I see this byline:
By CHRIS WELCH
Times Entertainment Writer
Entertainment writer?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 19, 2004
Those damned nuns
Neighbors seek to oust religious order
People in an Atlanta neighborhood want to get rid of a group of nuns that have converted a house into their dormitory. You know what nuns are like, up all hours of the night making a racket with their praying and good works.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:38 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 08, 2004
Israel, the Republicans, and the Religious Right
As many of you no doubt know, a significant portion of Republican support for Israel is a result of Christian fundamentalism. This isn't about any fondness for Israel as such, or for Jews in general, but rather because of fundamentalist apocalyptic beliefs. They think that the end of the world is coming, and as part of this they think that there has to be a state of Israel in existence. That Israel, according to their (somewhat tortured) reading of the Revelation of John, will be destroyed, and the Jews will all convert to Christianity as a result. (Simplistic, but no more simplistic than the economic views of the GOP.)
I've been arguing with Alex about this for some time. He seems, in my opinion, entirely too comfortable with a Republican Party that bases its support of Israel not on the grounds of traditional Democratic support but rather on weird right-wing Christian grounds. I can't imagine being comfortable with this group of Christian Zionists, which include some of the most reactionary elements of the Religious Right.
But let's leave that aside. Let's look at the consequences of an Israel policy based upon Christian millenarianism. Consider, for example, the story of Eliot Abrams and the Christian Zionists. Abrams, the NSC's top man on the Middle East, had to go sit down with a bunch of fundamentalists to assure them that if the Israeli government withdrew from Gaza it wasn't a violation of the Covenant or something, and that there weren't any important religious sites in Gaza. The group he met with -- the "Apostolic Congress" -- believes that if Israel withdraws from Gaza Jesus won't come back.
Look, there's no question but that any sort of peace settlement is going to involve Israel giving up any claim to Gaza. (Most Israelis don't even want Gaza.) But here's a significant portion of the President's base saying that they can't support Gaza withdrawal proposed by the Sharon government.
The fact is, leaving aside the Christian Zionist beliefs about the "complete Israel" (and a literal reading of the Bible would mean that Israel would not only have to control all of the current state, including the West Bank and Gaza, but most of Jordan and much of Syria) there's an important point to consider here. The majority of Israelis want peace. Most Americans want peace in the region. These people, the people the Bush Administration is sucking up to, are actively opposed to peace.
Remember, they want Israel to exist so it can be destroyed. A secure Israel at peace with its neighbors isn't what they want. They want an Israel surrounded by enemies. They want Israel to try and control the full extent of the ancient claim, and then for the Arabs to invade Israel and destroy it. That this isn't good for Israelis, or anybody else, doesn't enter into it. They're trying to force a prophesy to come to pass. Millions will die? Heck, they want the whole world to be destroyed.
Now, does this sound like a group of people you want on your side? Of anything?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:25 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
July 02, 2004
Warning extended to Birmingham
nbc13.com - News - Jehovah's Witnesses Gather At Convention In Birmingham
Be prepared to hide! Another Jehovah's Witness convention is going on in Birmingham! There will be 6,600 JWs in the city! Take appropriate precautions! Owners of vicious dogs, be ready to release them!
My favorite bit of these stories: "The public is invited." I'm sure people will be lining up for that party.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:52 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Red alert!
Jehovah's Witnesses gather in Mobile
Everyone bolt their doors! Seven thousand Jehovah's Witnesses have decended upon Mobile! This is not a drill! Please follow standard Jehovah's Witnesses Warning procedures! Make sure your blinds, drapes, and curtains are closed, and that no light or sound from your home is perceptible outside! If they know you're in there they will not go away!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 30, 2004
Madonna quickly converts to Buddhism after Bomb scare
Madonna quickly converts to Buddhism after Bomb scare
June 29th, 2004
London, England--After a car bomb when off right near Madonna, aka 'Esther' the Kabbalah singing fool and her now-converted husband Guy Ritchie, Director of such films as "Snatch", Madonna/Esther has announced a conversion to Buddhism and instead will be changing her name to Bai Ling.
"No one seems to hate the Buddhists," said a shaken Madonna at a London press conference. "The Kabbalah thing has sevrved me well for years but being part of the Jewish culture is not the safest thing, particularly in Europe," said the former pop icon.
Meanwhile, many of Madonna's Hollywood followers from Ashton Kutcher & Demi Moore to Brittney Spears, too plan to jump on the Buddhist bandwagon.
"Ashton & I were already big Richard Gere fans so we figure we are in good company with him & Madonna/Bai Ling", said Moore.
When the reporter asked Kutcher a question, Moore interrupted: "Ashton no longer does any talking unless I tell him to and he follows any religion I follow, ok? You hear me?"
Meanwhile, Britney Spears representatives have phone Madonna/Bai Ling/Esther regarding what it involves being a Buddhist and what color bracelet she should wear.
"Yellow," said Madonna. "That's the color I want all of my Buddhist friends to wear," she said.
Meanwhile, Hollywood's longest running Buddhist, actor Richard Gere was reached for comment at his condo in Beijing while he was meditating with the Dali Lama regarding the sudden PR surge for Buddhism with Madonna/Esther/Bai Ling joining the fray among others.
"Great!" said Gere. "I love Madonna/Bai Ling/Esther and I am glad she chose us over Tom Cruise & John Travolta and their silly Scientology click--we are much more relaxed hanging with the Lama boys," said Gere. He then added, "I have decided soon to take a trip to Mecca to offer peace and love to the Muslim community if Maddona/Esther/Bai Ling would like to join me. She can even bring Lourdes," Gere added. he immediately raised his arms from a sitting positon and started humming again.
Madonna has contactes Simon & Shuster books and asked that all her children's books be translated into Chinese.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 26, 2004
Watch out for Jew Cooties!
Jews, moderate Baptists foster ties frayed in past 25 years
The moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, in its attempts to repair all the damage that the Southern Baptist Convention has done over the last few decades, met with regional Jewish leaders in Birmingham yesterday. They had lunch. Now they have to meet with the Muslims, the secularists, the Catholics, the Episcopalians, the Methodists...
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 24, 2004
Here come the moderates!
Assembly hopes to unite Baptists
3,000 Baptists will descend upon Birmingham today. The bland-food restaurants will all enjoy the windfall, I'm sure. This is the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly. It includes Southern Baptists and other denominations, and one thing they're expected to do it strengthen ties with the Baptist World Alliance. The Southern Baptist Convention severed its ties with that organization for being insufficiently right-wing.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 17, 2004
Dog Bites Man (3)
Continuing on our theme of news that isn't particularly surprising, Southern Baptists at their national festival of hate convention were "fired up" by their new leader, a Birmingham-area pastor, yesterday. He apparently has a direct connection to the Almighty:
"God does not approve of same-sex marriage!" the Rev. Steve Gaines, pastor of First Baptist Church in Gardendale, thundered during the convention sermon. "There is no way God endorses any kind of marriage except a man and a woman."
Wow. He actually knows what God is thinking? Amazing. Tell me, Steve, did God give you any tips on who's going to win the World Series this year?
Although the nation faces the threat of international terrorism, that's not as dangerous as Massachusetts Supreme Court justices ruling that gay marriage is legal, he said.
Yes, I think it's clear what the bigger threat is.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Dog Bites Man (1)
Group fights morning-after pill availability
The Christian Coalition of Alabama is against a policy of the state Department of Public Health that requires its clinics to offer the morning-after pill. CC leader John Giles says that this "makes them no different than an abortion clinic," showing that the Catholic position on birth control has really taken a quick hold there.
I was stunned myself. I'm certainly in favor of the policy, but I figured that Alabama would never do anything like it. Turns out they were forced to -- it was this or lose $5 million in Federal money.
The morning-after pill, of course, is neither new or dangerous; it's just a higher dose of regular birth control pills. And it works the same way. The Catholic Church is opposed to all forms of birth control, of course; in theory most Protestant sects are not, but in practice they're anti-sex and hence anti-birth control.
Giles disagreed that the emergency contraception is good public policy because he said it gives people a way out for irresponsible behavior and because its safety in teenagers is unproved.
He said it! It's not about protecting life, it's about punishing people for having sex! He admits it!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:08 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 15, 2004
Yeah, right
Vatican: Inquisition Was Not Widespread
Isn't that funny? The Catholic Church, which ran the Inquisition, now says that the Inquisition wasn't as big of a deal as those silly Protestants and Jews said it was. To be honest, the whole position reminds me of the stuff Holocaust deniers come up with. ("Yes, 125,000 people were tried for heresy in Spain, but only about 1 percent of them were actually executed!")
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:20 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 14, 2004
Take the hint, SCOTUS
Israeli Supreme Court allows sale of pork
Some Supreme Courts aren't afraid to rule on touchy issues. The Israeli Court ruled that in municipalities where the majority of residents demand it, pork sales must be allowed. Orthodox groups, in the fashion of religious fanatics of whatever faith whenever they're a significant faction but don't get their way in everything, whined that it would "undermine the nation's Jewish identity". This probably has something to do with things like the belief of some Orthodox leaders that Reform Jews aren't Jewish.
UPDATE: Fafnir says that this decision is the first step into leading us into a savory and golden era. As usual, he's almost certainly right.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
All too typical
CNN.com - Court dismisses Pledge case - Jun 14, 2004
JUSTICE STEVENS: Let's not rule on the issue. Let's just find some technical reason to kick the case.
FOUR OTHER JUSTICES: Okay!
ME: Again?!?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 08, 2004
$897,000 of your money
Abstinence program to start media blitz
That's the federal grant money being sent to promote "abstinence education" in Mobile area schools. Alabama has some of the nation's highest rates of STDs and teen pregnancy, so the people running the program say that it's a good candidate for this. I would say that the only sex education anybody in this state gets is wrongheaded and misleading anyway, and this will just add to it, and my guess is that the best we could hope for is that things don't get any worse. (Critics, by the way, get one paragraph near the end of the story and are limited to the "abstinence-plus" folks..)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:31 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 27, 2004
Sanity prevails
State in Nigeria Ends Vaccine Moratorium
And it only took eight months! A Nigerian state that, among other things, has made sharia the law of the land, had blocked polio immunization because they had decided it was an American plot to spread AIDS. This crippled efforts to eradicate the disease. It's not clear that the eradication effort can succeed now.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 24, 2004
Attracting new members
AP Interview: Christian Coalition head moves to Catholicism
Renegade Alabama Christian Coalition president John Giles has converted to Catholicism. Imagine. He says it's about the whole history and glory thing. My guess is that it's at least in part about the Church's recent lurch to the right.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 13, 2004
An up and comer
Indiana Congressman Honored for Christian Statesmanship
John Hostettler won the "Distinguished Christian Statesman" award for "exemplary service to God and country". This award has a history of picking out the scary right-wing fanatics before they're famous. The the first award went to John Ashcroft in 1996, the second to Roy Moore in 1997.
Pos