More faith-based murder

In May 2009, I told you about Kara Neumann, a Wisconsin girl who died from diabetes at the age of 11 because her parents failed to take her to a doctor, rather insisting that Jesus would heal daughter. Even after she collapsed and drawing her last breath, her parents called friends and family asking them to pray for Kara instead of calling 911.

The next month, a 9-year old boy, Aaron Gregory Grady, died as a result of complications from diabetes, much like Kara Neumann. The boy's mother falsely believed that God would save her son, so she resisted taking him to a doctor. On Friday, December 28th, 2010, she finally turned herself in to authorities and was subsequently jailed. Very convenient for her, however, that she was able to post $10,000 bond.

Jesus said "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible for you." It is impossible, however, to have sufficient faith to save a child from diabetes. Which begs the question, if these people had enough faith that God would save their children, and God failed, how much faith is enough?

It's that time of year again

Christmas is just two days away. When the Sun rises on that morning, it will begin it's annual sojourn northward, rising higher and higher everyday. On that morning, the Sun will repeat the cycle of defeating winter, cold, and death. On that day, you can honestly say, the Sun is risen.

Throughout antiquity in the ancient Near East, astronomy, astrology and myth were inseparable. Due to lack of scientific knowledge, these ancients tried to account for the natural world by creating gods and goddess. One of these gods was Mithra, a Persian solar messiah.

Those who worshiped Mithra celebrated his birthday and annual resurrection from the netherworld on December 25th. Around the time that Christ was said to have been born, the state religion of Rome was Mithraism. Early Christians in an attempt to attract converts to their religion adopted many mithraic customs, among these blood sacrifice, communion, baptism, and a dying/resurrected savior that bore the burdens of all mankind. In order for the sins of a follower of Mithra to be washed away, they had to be bathed in the blood of a sacrificed bull. It is also interesting to note, that Mithra had twelve followers or helpers, those being the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

It is for these reasons that Pope Julius I, in an attempt to eradicate the "pagan" worship of Mithra and Sol Invictus, decreed that Christ's birthday would be observed on December 25th.

Here are some terms for you to research:

Yalda, Mithra, Sol Invictus, Zodiac, tauroctony, mystery religions, amanita muscaria, vesica piscis, Zoroastrianism, Yuletide, Saturnalia, Precession of the Equinoxes.

Happy holidays.

Take the religious knowledge survey!

The results of a recent survey by the Pew Research Center reveal something that we've known all along: atheists know more about Christianity and world religions than most Christians. Not surprising. What really busts me up is that nearly half of the evangelicals who took the survey apparently have no clue who Job is.

You can take the survey here. You can read the phone interview version of the survey here.

My results reveal that I know more than 87% of those who took the survey, scoring 12 out of 15 or 80%. I missed 4, 14 and 15. I'm a little disappointed. Also, it seems that Muslims were not involved in the survey.

First Amendment under attack - Christian style!

The First Amendment is under attack again, and as usual, it is the usual suspects who are doing the attacking; the Texas Board of Education. When are the troglodytes in this braindead organization going to go away?

It's not enough that they hate science for the sake of dogma and want to change history. Now they want to alter the way religion is covered in social studies text books throughout Texas. Apparently, textbooks talk way too much about Islam, and not enough about Christianity. They've even gone so far as to threaten textbook publishers with the following warning:

"State Board of Education will look to reject future prejudicial social studies submissions that continue to offend Texas law with respect to treatment of the world's major religious groups by significant inequalities of coverage space-wise and by demonizing or lionizing one or more of them over others."

In other words, write only page after page of rosy material about Christianity, but damn you to hell if you write even one word Islam that is anything but negative. The most telling aspect of this whole thing is that no one on the board has been able to offer any kind of evidence that Islam receives preferential treatment over Christianity in any textbook.

Perhaps what goons like Don McLeroy are truly frightened of are the Founders who identified themselves as anything but Christian. Perhaps the Treaty of Tripoli, signed by John Adams, states it best that: "The Government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." Also, I think McLeroy and his clones should be reminded that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." That includes members of the public school boards, Mr. McLeroy.

Surprise! Well, not really.

More hypocrisy and double standards from Wiley Drake.

You may recall that Wiley Drake is the Bible-thumping sleezebag that loves to pray for the deaths of those who have a difference of opinion, whether it's politics, health care reform, religious affiliation, or more specifically, abortion. He tried to credit himself for the death of George Tiller, and indirectly credit himself for the death of John Murtha. However, he has been kind enough to call off his imprecatory prayer hit on President Obama recently. That is, until he supposedly reveals that the president is actually Kenyan.

You may also recall that Robert Byrd died last month. Since Byrd was a known racist, pro-choice, and even supported partial-birth abortion, you would think that Drake would have called down lightning, locusts, hail, fire, brimstone, and a kitchen sink for good measure to try to send him on an express elevator to hell. Instead, Drake attempted to take credit for getting him into heaven.

You can understand my confusion, Wiley. You take credit for the deaths of other senators and congressman, and even call for a divine hit on all the Democrats in Congress for trying to give aid to Americans who otherwise can't afford it due to corporate greed. But you try to score brownie points with God by praying for someone who's a known racist to get them into heaven?

Very telling, Wiley. Very telling.

Yet more right-wing violence

You right-wingers with your religion and your guns. Silly rabbits!

Yep, even more violence from right-wing, religious nuts was being planned across Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. These guys were planning on killing law enforcement agents by the dozens. That is, until the FBI caught wind of what they were up to and put the kibosh on their plans.

Wait, let me guess. These would-be assassins weren't really Christians, right?

Let me ask you something. If a Muslim attempts to blow up a marketplace at the busiest time of day but was captured just before the event took place, and another Muslim says to you, "He/she was never really a Muslim,"would you believe them? Of course you wouldn't. Besides, their justification for their actions can be found in the Qur'an, right?

Why then, whenever a Christian murders a child for suspected witchcraft you simply shrug it off by saying the braindead mantra, "They were never Christians"? Chew on that for a while.

What I find amusing about these terrorist scumbags is that they were supposedly fighting against tyranny, only to tuck their tails between their legs and surrender at the first sign of an FBI badge. Courageous. Riiiiiiight.

Again, you clowns on the right have the audacity to be offended by the fact that the DHS revealed you for the terrorist thugs you are? Please. You know no shame or honor.

Are you listening, Mr. Beck? Are you paying attention to the news? How does it make you feel that your clones are taking up arms with the intention of killing law enforcement agents by the dozens? At least be honest with yourself, Glenn. You couldn't give a shit about the average American who's struggling to make ends meet. You're swimming in so much money that the term "health care" is absolutely meaningless to you. You couldn't care less about freedom, nor the safety of Americans, let alone health care. Eh, fuck them. Right, Glenn? Sink or swim. Right, Glenn? It's all about ratings, after all.

Keep beating that hornet's nest, Glenn. The more innocent people die at the hands of far right-wing lunatics, the more bloody your hands become.

As for you losers who think you're heroes by running around in the woods with an AR-15 in your hands, you're nothing but pondscum hiding behind the mask of religion. Have fun in jail, losers.

A response to NPR's Adam Frank

Adam Frank wrote a thought-provoking article at NPR's new forum on science and religion called 13.7. He addresses the concern held by European, Indian, and Chinese scientists that Americans, in general, still prefer the warm, fuzzy blanket of dogma over science and empirical evidence. Particularly, when it comes to evolution vs. creation.

Frank makes several valuable points in his article, perhaps most important of which, is that this is an argument that should have been put to bed decades ago. That, as a country, we should be intelligent and wise enough to at least separate science from the hopeless void of dogma.

Frank adds that no amount of evidence is ever going to convince a creationist that they're wrong, nor will the faithful ever convince the most ardent atheist that spirituality is important. Although, I don't know a single atheist or agnostic who is against spirituality. On the contrary, they celebrate the spirit of man and the pursuit of knowledge. They are, however, against baseless dogmatism and those like Don McLeroy, who wish to pursue politics in order to put our education system on a fast track to nowhere. Spirituality does not necessarily mean organized religion.

On one hand, Frank is right - we shouldn't be having this argument. On the other hand, I couldn't disagree with him more.

As the rest of the world catches up with us and summarily passes us by, our country is left holding the bill wondering what the hell just happened. Not only does the value of our dollar continue to freefall, but so does our overall sense of wonder. The youth of today's America seemingly no longer struggle to understand our place in the Universe, nor where we came from. And all the while, our fellow man around the world are beginning to hand our rear ends to us on a big, shiny, silver platter.

As tumultuous as they were, the 60's is almost solely responsible for producing some of the best engineers this world has ever seen. The race for space was on, and the sky wasn't necessarily the limit. Back then, American scientists made kids wildly curious about science and space. Today, however, channels like TLC would rather showcase a family who's been brainwashed by a money-hungry, tax-evading, psychopathic control freak who can't keep his penis in his pants than air a show about space exploration. Sadly, it seems the wild curiosity of youth is going the way of the dodo.

I left the chains of Christian tyranny three years ago. Particularly Christian creationism. When I did, I had no idea what I truly was for 20 years - a slave. A slave to an ideology that is not bound by scientific scrutiny. It doesn't require you to know anything about geology, meteorology, biology, electronics, astronomy, taxonomy, physics, optics, or even culture. As a matter of fact, it doesn't require you to know anything - about anything! All creationism/ID requires of its adherents is willful ignorance, even in the blinding light of scientific knowledge and research.

The change in my personality and stance toward religion did a complete 180, literally overnight. At one point in my life I was a creationist. Now that I realize the lie that I had been living, I put snake-oil salesmen, liars, and charlatans like Ray Comfort, Kent Hovind, and Ken Ham squarely in my sights.

I agree that America is unique in the world with regard to science because of clowns like those mentioned in the last sentence, and we shouldn't have to stoop to their levels. These evil men would love to set our scientific advancements back to the Dark Ages when the church controlled all knowledge. And that is exactly why they need to be kept firmly in check, and out of the realm of science.

There is a battle going on, Mr. Frank, and it needs to be fought. With due respect, while you may think you are doing a service to all Americans by being friendly and taking a seemingly neutral stance toward the damage that creationism is doing to our culture and education, all you're truly doing is appeasing those who have nothing but utter contempt toward science. Simply because it doesn't fit their dogmatic worldview. American science should press on, but all the while freethinkers have to engage in this debate.

I'm not saying that faith is paramount to sheer stupidity. Even the most ardent non-believer would be the first to admit that Christian, Muslim, and Jewish scientists have made great scientific discoveries because of their desire to understand the mind of God. But I am living proof that we shouldn't just throw in the towel and forget about cretins like Comfort and Hovind, paying them no attention. That's exactly what they want. Where would I be if it weren't for scientists like my friend David and my wife who forced me to think critically, and fellow bloggers like Peter Buckland and PZ Meyers? I'd still be in a mind-numbed, fundamentalist church, as empty-headed and willfully ignorant as I was 5 years ago.

No, thanks. Been there, done that. Never going back.

Update: Hahaha!

A week ago I told you that creators of this poll weren't getting the reaction they wanted, so they pulled it down. They put it back up, and it still wasn't getting the reaction they wanted. Today we find that they moved the goalposts yet again. Read the options from the first poll from January 22, then read the ones from today (below), and you tell me who's being dishonest.

Since they changed the questions again, I took the liberty of voting again. You shouldn't be surprised that the results of the poll have more or less stayed the same.

Hahaha!

Thanks to PZ Meyers for bringing this story into the spotlight. This is classic!

Apparently a poll was posted at thisisyourbible.com that asked the question, "Is the Bible really inspired by God?" It didn't yield the results that the creators of the poll had hoped for, so they temporarily took it down. Shocking!

However, they have since put the poll back online, and it's still getting a negative reaction. Just in case the website says everything is fine and that the overwhelming majority of people believe that the Bible is the word of God (which it's not), I've posted the image below.

I'll be keeping my eye on this one so you don't have to.

On Avatar

I finally got to see James Cameron's 3-D blitz of a movie, Avatar. If you haven't had the chance to see it, go do so at your earliest convenience. Not even 30 seconds had past before I muttered to myself, "Wow." The graphics are simply amazing, and make me feel guilty for not pursuing my art career more intently.

Of course, not to be outdone and unheard, paranoid Christians emerged over the past few weeks to rip the movie to shreds as if it were a threat to their religion. Christian critics have called the movie "pagan", "anti-human" and "abhorrent" with anti-capitalist and environmentalist overtones. Anti-capitalist and environmentalist I might understand, but anti-human and abhorrent?

Please.

Over at God's news site, critics Ted Baehr and Drew Zahn published their views on the film, which is fine. I agree with them in the respect that the film may be anti-capitalist and environmentalist, but my response to them is a resounding "So what?" I believe in capitalism (to a point), but unrestrained capitalism gets people killed, and please show me the harm in taking care of our world. The two intentionally ignored the multiple biblical references in which God instructs mankind to take care of the planet and resources that he gave not destroy it for the sake of making a quick buck.

They both go on to say that in reality mankind is evil and in need of a savior. Keep in mind that Baehr is the very same person who attacked the movie as anti-human. How much more anti-human can you get than saying humanity is evil?

Over at Baehr's website he furthers his critique by mentioning the following (don't laugh, this man is serious):

- "hints of bestiality"
- "reverse racist ideology"
- "people caught in the mouths of large creatures"
- "occult"
- "creepy tree grows into people"
- "brief alcohol use"
- "ugly alien creatures could cause children nightmares"

There's a reason the movie is rated PG-13, Mr. Baehr. No parent should be taking children to see it. And seriously...bestiality? Seriously?

However, as expected, they both gave The Book of Eli a two-thumbs-up review. Although there is implied rape, physical abuse of women, and spurting blood (none of which were in Avatar), Baehr calls the movie uplifting and awe-inspiring.

With this in mind, last week Ray started blabbing about moral relativity on his blog, without considering for a moment that Judeo-Christianity is the end-all-be-all of moral relativity. Christian fundamentalists like Ray miss the glaring irony in their stance toward moral relativity - that their religion is morally superior to all others, when even a child could tell you that large portions of the Bible are altogether evil.

According to Baehr and Zahn, protecting the environment and fighting against corporate corruption are evil, but maiming and killing for the sake of Christianity is holy. Would you care to explain how this is not morally relative, Mr. Comfort?

Oh, and for the last time, pagan is the Latin term for "country dweller". By that definition, half of the Christians in the world are pagan. Get over yourselves.

Delusional Christianity

It's okay if you're a Christian. If you believe in Jesus, that's your business. It's personal to you, and you should keep it that way. And it's your constitutional right as an American to believe in anything you want, even if you believe that pigs can fly, unicorns exist, or there's a scared little man behind the curtain furiously pulling levers and spinning dials to keep you deluded and confused.

But when you start making claims that you can raise the dead, it's time to be tossed in jail before another Jonestown takes place. This guy makes Ray Comfort sound like the poster child for sanity and well-being. Is it too much to ask for video of said dead raising?

Funny, Jesus can use this dirtbag to raise the one child from the dead, but he can't save 15 million children from poverty, AIDS, and death by starvation every year.

The next time you're raising someone from the dead, please have a team of coroners, scientists, and a camera crew on site, asshole. In the meantime, please see a psychiatrist. Either that or join the human race and work on becoming a decent human being instead of providing false hopes and hocus-pocus to unsuspecting, desperate, and destitute citizens of the world.

In related news, Pat Robertson blames that the recent earthquake in Haiti on the Haitians. According to Robertson, the Haitians signed a deal with the devil when they fought for their freedom from France, hence they called down Gawd's wrath on their heads.

What do you expect from a psychopathic piece of shit like Pat Robertson? Thanks to White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs for shoving it back in Robertson's face.

Some Christians just aren't happy after all.

Well surprise, surprise, surprise!

The Pew Research Center released the results of a survey last week that confirms that Americans are learning what the rest of us who left Christianity have known for years - Jesus just doesn't make you happy.

While the majority of Christians still primarily believe in Jesus, a growing number of them are blending Christianity with more esoteric forms of belief such as those found in the Far East and New Age. Personally, I prefer my own form of religion, for lack of a better term.

When I do good, I feel good, and it makes me want to do more. When I do bad, I feel bad, and it makes me want to be a better person.

It's as simple as that.

Inebriation - Bible style!

This morning I read an article in the CDT from a reader expressing vehement hatred for alcohol. The author made no distinction between the casual drinker and drunken college students who spend their Saturday nights in the local bars, then chasing every blonde, brunette, and redhead up and down College Avenue.

Graham Spanier recently solidified his tone against binge drinking and alcohol abuse, which he dubbed "dangerous drinking", by Penn State's student population. The author took exception to Spanier's position, and I agreed with the author's stance that throwing more money at the problem isn't going to rid State College of alcohol related problems. That is, until the author invoked religion.

Not surprisingly, the author is a Christian who possesses a very weak knowledge of the Bible and its origins which are deeply rooted in gnosticism and paganism. The author carefully chose two passages from the Bible which he/she used to bolster his/her argument that alcohol itself is pure concentrated evil, and that anyone who enjoys even the occasional drink is subject to hellfire. The favored passage used is Proverbs 23:31-32:

"Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."

Of course, the author made a huge blunder by omitting the New Testament narrative of the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11), where Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine. Needless to say, Christians maintain that this passage simply illustrates Jesus turning water into unfermented grape juice. Honestly, if you were at a wedding and had a choice between wine and grape juice, which would you choose? Yep, I'd choose the wine, too. As the Psalms say, "wine maketh glad the heart of man".

But the Wedding at Cana is only one example of celebratory and ceremonial inebriation that can be found in the Bible. It is filled with example after example of inebriation, the first possible example of which could (emphasis added) be found in the Garden of Eden narrative, where God forbids Adam from eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil:

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Genesis 2:16-17

And we all know the rest of the story. God creates Eve for Adam, Eve tempts Adam with the fruit from said tree, Adam gives in, God calls out Adam for giving into his curiosity (i.e., being a human being)...errrr...sinning, Adam blames God for giving him Eve in the first place, God curses Adam and Eve, and Adam and Eve go on to live happy, healthy, productive lives.

Wait. I thought God said they were to die on the day they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? And not only did they not die, Adam went on to live 930 years. That's odd. Nearly 7 billion people later, and we're still here. That sounds more like the rise of mankind, not its fall. Besides, there's something unnerving about a god who doesn't want you to know the difference between good and evil, but punishes you for doing something wrong.

Perhaps the most telling evidence of inebriation in the Bible can be found in Exodus 16:12-24, which tells of Moses leading the Israelites through a wilderness. God appears to Moses and speaks to him from a cloud, telling Moses that he will give him and the Israelites bread, or manna, to eat. But even a casual glance over this passage reveals that the Israelites were more than likely consuming psychoactive fungus, not bread. As a matter of fact, the term manna is a Hebrew word that doesn't mean bread at all, but literally translates to "What is it?" Surely, the Israelites knew what bread was?

Most Christians believe that just because the Bible says that the manna is bread, then that means it's bread - period. But let's take a closer look at this passage starting in verse 14.

"And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein."

Genesis 16:14-24

Consider the characteristics being described of said manna. It appears in the presence of moisture, something which mushrooms need in order to grow. Also, after enough time passes mushrooms will begin to rot and give off an odor, and will subsequently "melt" in the heat of the sun. But spray a mist of water on bread and leave it out overnight, and it will turn into a soggy mess. However, it will produce nowhere near an offensive odor as a rotting mushroom, nor will it melt away in the heat of the sun. On the contrary, if you put bread outside under the heat of the sun, you get a crouton.

The word "manna" is used 17 times in the Bible, and the term "hidden manna" can be found once in Revelation 2:17. Strong's Concordance refers to manna as the food of the angels, those who the Bible refer to as the elohim. Elohim is the Hebrew word for God, however, its meaning changes when the word is presented in all lower case. It is interesting to note that multiple cultures around the world also refer to some hallucinogenic mushrooms as the "food of the gods".

Author Dan Merkur, Ph.D., is one of the first researchers since the late John Allegro to approach the topic of hallucinogenic fungus use in the Bible from a scholarly perspective, even though Merkur is at times at odds with Allegro. Merkur's research has taken a critical look at the manna found in the Bible, and offers evidence that manna could have been a hallucinogenic fungus called ergot. There are about 50 different species of ergot, some of which infest grains like barley and rye, and were often baked into loaves of bread. However, some other forms of ergot are small, round, granular fungi, about the size of a "hoar frost".

In short, if I ate psychoactive mushrooms by the handful, I'd be seeing the glory of God, too. And even if there was such a person named Moses that led the Israelites from Egypt, he was simply an ancient version of Timothy Leary, and nothing more.

more to come...

Thoughts on the word "tolerance"

I had a very brief exchange this morning with a Christian about the decision by the founders of Conservapedia to come out with their own version of the Bible. Apparently, all modern translations of the Bible are too liberal and feminine for these clowns, so they feel it's absolutely imperative to have their own version. Oh, and Hell. Apparently, nobody takes the "logic" and "very real existence" of Hell seriously these days. What a joke. If they do come out with their version of Gawd, I can't wait to get my hands on it so I can eviscerate it as well.

Anyway, the topic of tolerance came up from said Christian. The gist of his argument was, "for someone whose political group places so much emphasis on tolerance, you sure don't practice what you preach." No pun intended.

So let's consider this word for a moment in light of what the Bible says about a variety of topics, starting with parenting.

"And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death." Exodus 21:15

So, one of these days, if Brendan ever hits me out of childhood frustration and anger, the Bible says I have to put him to death.

I won't go too far into every facet and every verse of the Bible here. But Christians don't have much authority to wield when they discuss intolerance by atheists, agnostics, and other freethinkers toward Christianity. Genocide, infanticide, rape, murder, lying, slavery, and abortion are all condoned in the Bible. Are these things that we should tolerate?

I am intolerant of shameless ideologues who think the world should bow to their interpretation of God or die. I am intolerant of those who stomp on science and never make an attempt to understand it, but accept the luxuries it offers that make life better. I am intolerant of those who steal and lie to others to become wealthy. I am intolerant of misogynists who control and brainwash their wives and daughters, robbing them of a life, liberty, and education. I am intolerant of those who use religion in order to justify evil. I am intolerant of those who ignore science in favor of dogma.

Yes, I am intolerant. And you should be, too.

Religion and social health

A youtuber that goes by the handle, Desertphile, has posted a video that displays the inverse relationship between religion and the health of any given society. Desertphile does great work, but has little time for bullshit.



Back in January, I told you about the inverse relationship between the most and least religious states in the country - Mississippi and Vermont, respectively. In almost every facet of life, people in Mississippi fall far behind the people in Vermont with respect to quality of life. Crime is higher, the quality of education is lower, IQ is lower, and health is consistently ranked as the worst in the country. The same traits can be said of the Southeast versus the Northeast.

One more right-wing religious nutjob.

First it was Wiley Drake. Then it was Gordon Klingenschmitt. Now it's this guy. Meet Steven L. Anderson. He's the pastor and founder of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, AZ. He's also a first-rate ass clown.

Anderson is just one more in a growing trend of hate-filled zombies of the far religious right that wishes death upon anyone who doesn't subscribe to their point of view. He also says that homosexuals should get the death penalty. As typical of the far right, his target of choice is President Obama.

Last month Anderson told his congregation that he wishes the president would get "brain cancer so he can die like Ted Kennedy," then go to hell. Big words coming from a man who hides behind God while fomenting his brand of hatred.

In an interview with KSAZ Fox News 10 in Phoenix, AZ, he said "I will not take the law into my own hands. I will not take up any arms. It's a spiritual battle. It's a spiritual warfare."

He may not take up any arms, but members of his congregation sure will. His parishioners show up at his church frequently with sidearms on their hips. Take this guy for example. His name is Chris Broughton. Yep, he's the same guy that brought a loaded AR-15 to a convention center in Phoenix where the president was holding a town hall meeting last month. In a recent interview on the Alex Jones Show, Broughton said of Anderson's church, "It's the best church in the world."

These people are scary, folks. They perform a very delicate balancing act between the Constitution and terrorism. They're not afraid of death. They're not afraid of jail. They have only one agenda - stop President Obama and anyone who disagrees with them, and Jesus will reward them in heaven. That's what makes them so dangerous. They're one brain lapse away from a killing spree sparked by insanity brought on by their own version of Christianity.

Anderson is allowed to say that he hates Barack Obama. He can say every wicked thing in the world that he wants to about the man. But when he mentions that he prays for Barack Obama to die in one of his sermons, and the very next day one of his brainwashed minions shows up within firing range of the president with an AR-15, something needs to be done.

Stripping his church of 503c status is just the start, if indeed his church enjoys such status. This psychopath needs to be investigated and haunted by the Feds 24-7. I'm no fan of George Bush by any stretch of the imagination, but I have never wished death upon him.

I'm tired of neo-conservative, religious zealots like Anderson wielding the Bible as justification for their own fiery brand of hatred. Dirtbags like Anderson, Drake, and Klingenschmitt love to cherry pick verses from the Bible to support their very specific point of view. But you'll never hear them mention verses like 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Matthew 5:44, or Ephesians 6:12, that says our fight isn't against the flesh of men, but spiritual powers. Nor will you hear them mention any of the verses that say God alone puts men in positions of authority.

Watch Anderson spew his hatred below. Hit play.

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Update: Dale Neumann

In May I told you about the death of Kara Neumann. She was murdered by her parents because they felt that praying to Jesus provided more hope to save their daughter than medical treatment for diabetes. The day she died, Kara became so weak that she collapsed to the floor and went into a coma. Even as Kara was dying her parents prayed and asked their friends and family to pray for her instead of calling 911.

Thanks, Jesus.

Kara's mother, Leilani, was convicted in May of second degree homicide. On August 1st her husband was also charged with the same crime. Both face up to 25 years in prison.

But here's the kicker. Dale's attorney, Jay Kronenwetter said, "Dale Neumann was doing what he thought would work for his daughter. He was administering faith healing. He thought it was working."

This little girl was dying for a month. She grew weaker and weaker every day, until she finally collapsed and went into a coma. And even then, Dale and Leilani thought praying would heal their daughter and save her from certain death. At which point did these murderers realize that Kara's "faith healing" wasn't working?

As far as I'm concerned everyone who prayed for Kara knowing she was being denied medical treatment instead of calling child protective services should be put on trial as well. How people like Kronenwetter can sleep soundly is a mystery.

Have fun in jail, Neumann's.

In related news, Daniel Hauser is continuing chemotherapy for his non-Hodgkins lymphoma by court order.

God is pro-life...supposedly.

I was driving through Bloomsburg last evening when I was passed by a car with the bumper sticker you see to the left. I laughed.

If you're a Christian, you need to understand that it's possible to not believe in Jesus and be pro-life, no matter what the far-right fundies tell you. It is also possible to be a Christian and be pro-choice. However, the biggest pro-choice advocate in the world is Jesus himself. I know that's hard for you to believe, but it's true, and I'm going to prove it to you.

Read the following verses. Think about them, be honest, and ask yourself if the god you serve is truly pro-life.

"Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."

Numbers 31:17-18

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"And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:"

Deuteronomy 2:31-34

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"And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:"

Deuteronomy 28:53

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"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."

1 Samuel 15:3

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"And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."

2 Kings 2:23-25

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"And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child."

2 Kings 8:12

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"Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up."

2 Kings 15:16

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"O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stone."

Psalms 137:9

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"Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished."

Isaiah 13:16

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"Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children."

Isaiah 13:18

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"Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?"

Lamentations 2:20

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"Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house."

Ezekiel 9:6

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"Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts."

Hosea 9:14

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Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

Hosea 13:16

I know many of you will try to justify the actions of your god by stating something to the gist of, "Well, it's God, so he can do whatever he wants"..."These people were picking on God's people, so they had it coming"..."Burn in hell, you God-hating, anti-American, leftist scum!"..."You're taking the Bible out of context." But how you can take smashing a baby's head against a boulder over and over and over out of context is beyond me. Hate is hate, evil is evil, and killing an innocent child, regardless of religion or political affiliation is the greatest evil of all.

But ask yourself, if Jesus told you to go forth into someone else's land and kill their children, would you do it? If you say yes, you're in dire need of psychological help.

No flyover for you!

I love the First Amendment. But I don't love when it's stretched out of context.

During the July 7th edition of Fox and Friends, anchor Gretchen Carlson and guest Patrick Mahoney took exception to the Pentagon's denial of a flyover request at the "God and Country Festival" at Nampa, Idaho. They're in a tizzy because this is the first time in 42 years that a flyover request has been denied, and apparently it's all Obama's fault.

Carlson read part of the Pentagon's response on air:

"Air Force and DoD policy prohibit support for events which appear to endorse, selectively benefit, or favor any special interest group, religious or ideological movement."

Carlson continued, "But Reverend Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition says the rally was not designed to promote any one religious faith, but rather to celebrate the troops."

A quick visit to the event's website proves otherwise:

The God and Country Festival in Nampa, Idaho is organized by a volunteer-driven organization called the God and Country Association, Inc. The organization is made up of Christians who are committed to strengthening the fabric of the Treasure Valley community through the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are also interested in helping believers around the nation get an independent God and Country event started. We believe that Christians in America should have a natural affection for their country because it was founded on the godly ideal that liberty is derived, n ot as a gift of governments and politicians, but as a gift of our Creator.

So much for that theory, Mr. Mahoney.

Carlson then asks, Maloney, "So, when I first read this story, I found it hard to believe. Because for 42 years at this rally in Idaho the Pentagon has authorized a flyover. Suddenly, this year, a new president in office, and a new policy. What do you make of it?"

There is no new policy, Ms. Carlson. It's just an old policy that is simply, finally, being enforced.

Mahoney responded, "Well, we're stunned actually. And it's a reminder that the Constitution promises freedom of religion, not freedom from religion."

The Constitution protects everyone, reverend. It is there to provide Americans with the freedom to worship however they choose - even if they choose not to. It protects, theists and non-theists alike. It protects Christians, Jews, Wiccans, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics, deists, and even Satanists. If you don't like this, perhaps you should leave the country.

By the way, Mahoney is the same clown that paid a visit to Obama's office in July 2008 when he was still a senator. Mahoney showed up with this sign.

Nice.

So, I have a question for Carlson, Mahoney, and other fundamentalists like them - how would you like for tax payer money to be spent on the Thunderbirds having a flyover at an Islamic rally, or even a Satanic rally? It makes all of you very nervous, doesn't it?

Here is the rest of the response letter from the Pentagon that Carlson didn't want you to read:

Thank you for your request for Air Force aviation support during God and Country Festival on 01 Jul 2009 in Nampa, ID.

We have carefully reviewed this particular event. As you may recall from the request form's instructions, the Department of Defense (DoD) authorizes the Air Force to participate in flyovers for those recognition events held in direct support of the five patriotic holidays (Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, POW-MIA Day and Veterans Day) and for aviation-related events, such as airshows and airport dedications. Sporting events that fall on one of the five patriotic holidays mentioned above are not considered to be events held in direct support of a holiday commemoration and will require a waiver.

Your Air Force aviation support request doesn't fall into either approved category, as such, we are unable to approve it. Air Force and DoD policy prohibit support for events which appear to endorse, selectively benefit, or favor any special interest group, religious or ideological movement.

With an increasingly high operations tempo and limited resources to meet our training and operational commitments, we are required to take a hard look at all of our requests and carefully follow our policies and guidelines. In denying your request, we are not questioning the worthiness of the event, but rather enforcing DoD and Air Force policy to preserve the operational and training requirements of our aviation units and to practice the prudent stewardship of taxpayer-financed resources.

We hope that you can appreciate and understand our position. We believe that your event will, nevertheless, be a success. Any further questions can be referred to me at 703-695-9664.

Tech. Sgt. Roy Utley

Aviation Support
703-695-9664 Phone
703-693-9601 Fax
www.airshows.pa.hq.af.mil

Hit the play button.

My day - ruined

Arts Fest is a pretty big deal in State College. It brings artists from all over the country to our humble little town to sell their wares, and the talent that these people display is absolutely amazing. The food is great, the music is great, and the atmosphere is great.

But leave it up to douchebags like this to ruin the fun for everyone.

If you were anywhere near the intersection of College and Allen today around 2:00 o'clock, surely you heard him warning festival goers that they're all doomed to hell. Men, women, children, infants, it makes no difference - his god is an equal opportunity hater.

For those of you who know me, you'll know that I'm a pretty easy-going guy. But the moment I heard him spew his vitriol to those around him, it made my blood boil. Unfortunately, the First Amendment and the State College Borough Ordinances 1460 and 1530 give him the right to do so.

So, if you see him or any of his cohorts handing out chick tracts or preaching, give them a little protest in your own creative, yet lawful way.