Notes from the culture war

I spoke with a family member on Christmas about how pervasive Christian culture is in Southern California. He too is an atheist, but not out like me. I told him that I keep track of my contacts, be they in person or via the computer. It’s a hobby of sorts. This post is for him. It’s a list of my interactions from today.

I have breakfast with a co-worker at a nearby greasy spoon (a damn good one too). Korean Christians give me a pamphlet in the parking lot. It shows all the churches in the area I can attend to be saved. The local Catholic church is missing.

Still at breakfast – I’m handed a Watchtower while eating.

Still at breakfast – I tip large, the lady cleaning my table tells me God must have guided me to sit in her section. I tell her no – I sat in the the only available seat large enough for me at the time I ordered breakfast.God had nothing to do with it. She seems miffed but takes the tip anyway.

At the auto garage – manager asks me if I managed to go to church on Christmas. I said no. He’s a Korean – you don’t get invited to their churches, but they will always point you to a church they think you will fell comfortable in. He tells me about a church that meet just a few hundred yards away. I decline and then stick my headphone in my ears and walk outside to wait.

I play nine holes of disc golf at La Mirada – It’s near Biola University. The park is crawling with Christian types. You can tell Christians from the normal disc golfers as they will not offer to smoke a joint with you at the 4th hole. As I warm up, two different groups walk up. One prays before starting their game. They ask me to join them in prayer and then in their game. I pass.

Still at disc golf – the second group asks me if I’m a Christian. It’s the first words out of their mouths. I tell them to fuck off. I play alone, and really slow. When I get to my truck there is a bible track in my window.

I have lunch with the wife. It’s wonderful. We do not talk about anything remotely religious. My faith in humanity is restored.

I stop by Del Taco to get my son some chili fires (I can’t eat this stuff any more). The lady behind the window tells me to have a blessed day.

I figure today is not going to get any better, so I fire up TF2 and start practicing on a sniper server. After 10 minutes, somebody asks me if I am Mojoey the atheist. I say yes. The abuse starts… Only, I am able to retaliate by hunting him for the next half hour. Any time he showed his nose, I shoot him. He finally gives up and rage quits.

I check email. There is no new hate-mail (I get it everyday). But there is a heartfelt letter from some Christian youth telling me that I can be saved and that God loves me. Oh… and do I want to debate the existence of God. Um… No. I mark the sender as spam and move on.

It’s only 4:00 PM as I write this. There are still many hours to go and Twitter is beckoning.

Technorati Tags: Culture War,Atheism

Ripping on Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow is an active Christian who uses his position in the public-eye to further his religious agenda. As such, he deserves all the sarcasm the media can heap upon him. He is not off limits because he is a Christian quarterback any more than President Obama is off limits for… well, being insufficiently Christian.

I laughed my ass off to Saturday Night Live’s Tebow skit.

Of course, others were offended. Pat Robertson’s crazy response is far worse than the skit.

“If this had been a Muslim country and they had done that and had Muhammad doing that stuff, you would have found bombs being thrown off and bodies on the street,” he said.

It think it reasonable to expect that some Christian nutball will interpret Robertson’s comments the wrong way. Don’t you?

Bill Maher, a man I sometimes struggle to find funny, tweeted his sarcasm.

"Wow, Tebow just f---d #TimTebow bad. And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler ‘Hey, Buffalo's killing them.’ "

The response was predictable.

"Bill Maher is disgusting vile trash," Fox News host Eric Bolling tweeted. "I can't even repeat what he just tweeted about Tebow … on Christmas Eve. #straighttohellBill."

As long as Tebow paints bible verses on his face and inspires Christian's to engage in tebowing, then we get to slap back with our own wit, sarcasm, and humor. Tebow made himself fair game in the culture war on his own. It’s only fair that we take advantage of the situation. Right?

Technorati Tags: Tim Tebow,Sarcasm,Humor,Christians

More charges for youth pastor Chad Foster

Baptist youth pastor Chad Foster, profiled here, was charged with online solicitation of a minor, earlier this month. Foster already faces charges that he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl while he was a youth pastor at Community of Faith Church. He’s latest victim is girl who was 14-years-old at the time of the alleged crime. He knew her from his days at a youth pastor at The Second Baptist Church of Houston.

According to a complaint against Foster filed by the Harris County District Attorney's Office, the girl said she and Foster exchanged phone numbers and began to send text messages. Their communication extended to Facebook, according to the DA's office.

After the girl got a laptop computer in December 2010, she and Foster began to communicate via Skype, the complaint says. She told investigators Foster exposed himself to her on the video service more than a dozen times between January and May.

An investigator with the High Tech Crimes Unit of the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's office said Foster's cell phone records show more than 15,000 text messages between Foster's cell phone and the girl's between Jan. 1 and Nov. 2, according to the complaint.

Source: 15,000 sexts evidence against youth pastor, authorities say by Carol Christian of the Houston Chronicle

There may be more victims. No… I’m pretty sure there will be more victims.

Technorati Tags: Baptists,Clergy Sexual Abuse,Child Molestation

A worthy cause

Help support the LGBT community in Chicago by signing a petition calling for the resignation of Catholic Archbishop Francis George.

Truth Wins Out launched a Change.org petition today calling on Chicago Archbishop Cardinal Francis George to resign after he incomprehensibly compared the LGBT community to the Ku Klux Klan. George's over-the-top remarks were so extreme that they shredded his credibility and permanently damaged his ability to serve as a respected voice of reason. Link to the petition

Source: Petition Drive Calls on Chicago's Archbishop Francis George to Resign For Comparing LGBT Community to Ku Klux Klan

Here is the Archbishop’s quote that got so many people upset. It was delivered on Fox News. "You know, you don't want the Gay Liberation Movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism."

The Archbishop dug in with this comment:

When the FOX News host tried to give Cardinal George a way out of the statements, he dug in saying “It is, but you take a look at the rhetoric. The rhetoric of the Klu Klux Klan, the rhetoric of some of the gay liberation people. Who is the enemy? Who is the enemy? The Catholic Church.”

Source: Calls Begin For Cardinal Francis George To Resign Over KKK Comment

Now that is hateful comments have hit the press in the worst possible way, the hatemonger is backtracking.

“Obviously, it’s absurd to say the gay and lesbian community are the Ku Klux Klan,” he told ABC 7. “But if you organize a parade that looks like parades that we’ve had in our past because it stops us from worshiping God, well then that’s the comparison. But it’s not with people and people – it’s parade-parade.”

Source: Cardinal George backtracks on KKK comments

Of course, ABC 7 is a regional outlet, while Fox News is a national outlet, so his backpedaling may not reach down to Podunk, Texas.

Technorati Tags: Catholics,Gay Rights,Fox News,Hate

Youth pastor Daniel Robida sentenced

Youth pastor Daniel Richard Robida, profiled here, was sentenced to 17-years and 10 months in prison. He was convicted of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. His 17 year-old-victim will have a long time to live in peace without the fear that this sex offender will ever bother her again.

Just in case you are wondering, he knew what he was doing.

According to police reports, the victim said she had been involved in a sexual relationship with Robida, who was 33 at the time and a youth pastor at Harvest Community Church in Summerfield. It was not clear if the victim was a member of the church, according to the report.

Robida later told authorities he performed various sexual acts on the girl, but did not have intercourse with her. He said he was aware she girl was 17.

Source: Former youth pastor sentenced to prison

This case brought the age of concept into focus. It also highlighted Christian moral blindness. Many of the comments and most of the emails I received on my original post painted the victim as a willing participant. A few painted her as a Jezebel keen on ruining a pastor’s life or at least separating him from his family for her own purposes. The real issue are the actions of the pastor. He is a man who should know better (as all men do), and he has the supposed moral training that comes from being a God fearing Christian. He chose to act on his impulses. He alone is responsible. I’m happy to see our legal system recognized this.

*edited 12/29/11 to correct error

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Youth Pastors,Sex Offenders

Republican Amy Koch’s epic moral failure

When you put yourself forward as the representative of Christian moral standards, the fall from the dizzying heights of moral perfection can be lethal. Well… lethal to your career anyway.

Amy Koch was the Minnesota state Senate Majority Leader up until yesterday, when she resigned her leadership position after news of her extramarital affair surfaced among her peers. Koch was a sanctity of marriage campaigner and strong opponent of gay marriage. Of course, when she broke the news of her resignation, she lied.

In a previous explanation for her sudden and unexpected resignation, Koch claimed it was because she had decided not to seek re-election next year and that the MNGOP "cannot afford a lame duck leader in negotiations next session, which is why I am resigning my position as majority leader."

Source: Amy Koch Affair. Sex, lies, and Michael Brodkorb by Gregory Pratt

Amy Koch’s hypocrisy is stunningly brazen. While sleeping with her own employee, she was working against gay rights by co-authoring a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage (S.F. No. 1975). The bill reads in part, “A marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in Minnesota.”

Governor Mark Dayton called for the Republican controlled-legislature to kill the proposed ban in light of their obvious hypocrisy. I think it’s the right thing to do. After all, if the Republican leadership cannot live up to their own standards, what right do they have to enforce it on others?

My favorite response to Koch’s hypocrisy was issued by the gay and lesbian community of Minnesota. They apologized for ruining the institution of marriage by causing Koch to stray from her marriage.

"On behalf of all gays and lesbians living in Minnesota, I would like to wholeheartedly apologize for our community's successful efforts to threaten your traditional marriage," reads the letter from John Medeiros. "We apologize that our selfish requests to marry those we love has cheapened and degraded traditional marriage so much that we caused you to stray from your own holy union for something more cheap and tawdry."

Source: Gay community apologizes to Amy Koch for ruining her marriage by Kevin Hoffman

Republicans. It’s only wrong if other people are doing it.

Technorati Tags: Republican Hypocrisy,Minnesota,Gay Rights

Pastor Wilbert Brassfield arrested

This one is a double whammy. Wilbert Davis Brassfield was a pastor and a police officer. Both positions are supposed to represent the highest standard of trust and authority. In this case, Brassfiled represents neither.

He is accused of withdrawing more than $10,000 from the Courts of Praise Christian Fellowship Church's bank account without the knowledge or approval of church leaders.

Davis served as pastor of the Fluvanna County church from its inception in 2006 until 2010.

Source: Charlottesville police officer accused of embezzling from church where he formerly was pastor

Embezzlement does not rise to the level of a sex crime, but if we consider this offence in terms of the Christian moral standard of the bible, it is equivalent to murder. All sins are equal, which, of course, is utter hogwash. Stealing $10K is lower on the scale of moral failings than child molestation, which itself is lower on the scale than murder. All sins are not equal. And, do not get me started on the concept of sin.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Misconduct,Sin

Pastor Phillip Joubert sentenced

Pastor Phillip Joubert, profiled here, was sentenced to five years in prison for molesting his 13-year-old daughter. His daughter even testified against her pervert of a father in open court. Joubert is scum, yet his church thinks he is a saint.

There are several problems with this case. The most troubling is that Joubert admitted to touching his daughters breasts and vagina, but he says he did not have sex with her. After an admission like this, who could stand by him? How does this Christian morality thing work then? If a pastor molesting his daughter is not ‘bad’, then what is? How will Joubert be able to preach on the subject of good and evil if he does not know what it is himself?

His church plans to hire an interim pastor so that Joubert can resume his leadership of the church once he serves his sentence. This is completely insane. If you call yourself a Christian, please make an attempt to play by your own rule book. The bible clearly states that men like Joubert should never be allowed to lead a church. Why allow it? Joubert will be a convicted pedophile and registered sex offender. Will you put that on the marque in front of your church?

Stay away from this man and his church. He will offend again. Just wait.

Joubert is the pastor at New Light Missionary Baptist Church.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Baptists,Incest,Child Molestation

More on pastor Arnold Mathis

Associate pastor Arnold Maurice Mathis, profiled here, should never have been allowed to work as a pastor. Since there are no standards for this profession, anyone can lead a church. One must only profess faith. Every crime or defect is forgiven or overlooked. Arnold Mathis is a registered sex offender. Yet, he was somehow allowed to lead a church. He allegedly used his position to gain the trust of a young girl, and then rape her. He’s a real model of Christian morality.

According to the PCSO, Mathis first met the victim at a local basketball game and offered to "help" the victim financially. Sheriff Judd says, "He approached this young man at a concession stand at a basketball game."

He also offered to buy the victim new shoes. The victim, who had no father figure in his life at the time, believed Mathis was trying to mentor him.

Source: Associate pastor arrested on child sexual battery charges

Mathis allegedly bought the troubled youth with shoes and kindness. Are pastor’s taught this technique in school? It seems pretty damn common.

Mathis is the assistant pastor of. I’m betting they did not do a background check.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Rape,Florida

More time for pastor Robert Meredith

Pastor Robert Meredith, was already convicted of molesting a child under the age of 12, and sentenced to eight years in prison. Now he has been sentenced to an additional four years in prison on three additional charges.

Robert Meredith, 50,  pleaded guilty to one-count of first-degree sexual abuse during arraignment on new charges in Calloway Circuit Court. Accepting a plea offer from Commonwealth’s Attorney Mark Blankenship, sexual abuse charges two and three were combined with the first and Meredith pleaded guilty to one-count, first-degree sexual abuse; a Class D felony.

Under terms of the agreement, Meredith was sentenced to another four years in prison; bringing the total to 12 years. He was previously sentenced to eight years. However he will serve the terms consecutively; meaning he will serve his eight year sentence before he begins the additional four years.

Source: Meredith arraigned on new charges

The crimes occurred in Kentucky, so the victim could be his wife…

Meredith was the pastor at Green Plain Church Of Christ.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Pedophiles,Kentucky

Youth pastor Jeremy Fulton sentenced

Pastor Jeremy Fulton, profiled here, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for sexually abusing 5 young girls from his church. Some of the victims were 10-years-old at the time of the abuse.

Fulton declined to speak at his sentencing Tuesday. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement that Fulton "used his position of authority and respect as a member of the clergy to win the trust of parents and gain access to children for the purpose of sexually abusing these girls," who were 10 to 16 when abused.

Source: Ex-NYC youth minister gets 22 years in prison for sexually abusing girls

Fulton was the youth pastor at Mariners’ Temple Baptist Church. They’ve moved on. There is nothing linking Fulton to the church on the website. Move along sheple. There is nothing to see here.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Pedophile,Baptist

Charges dropped against Rev. David Szatkowski

Rev. David Szatkowski was originally charged with sexual assault for allegedly groping a 15-year-old girl. This was a he said, she said case, so I did not post on this crime when it originally hit the press. The DA decided to drop the charges after further investigation and consultation with the alleged victim.

The victim alleged that the catholic priest grabbed her breast. Szatkowski denied the claim. the whole story seemed pretty thin at the time. I hope this is the end of it.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Catholics

Pastor Matthias Anderson denied bail

Oceanside youth pastor Matthias Anderson, profiled here, was denied bail by Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson. Anderson is facing a 50 year sentence on 34 criminal sex charges. Judge Dickerson thought the Anderson was a flight risk since he’s facing a life sentence.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,California,Child Molestation

Libertarianism attracts nutballs like Jules Manson

Jules Manson is a nutball. He threatened President Obama with an unbelievable comment on his Facebook page. The comments were racist, hateful, and violent.

Manson's comment that Obama and his "monkey children" should be killed had been removed from Facebook, officials said. But another Web site, Your Black Politics, posted a screenshot.

Read more: Facebook post threatens Obama

Manson backed away from his comments by claiming they were careless and emotionally driven. What? He just outed himself as racist nutball, and he uses he equivalent of a bad hair day as an of excuse. His excuse does not feel authentic, and I’m pretty sure the reason is that it is not authentic.

Manson claims to be a Libertarian. He was the last place finisher in a run for a Carson, California City council seat. City council races are non-partisan, so I am not sure why it was important that he proclaimed himself a Libertarian, unless it was to attach himself to a cause that will drive away voters. I can say this much. He stood out as odd duck during his campaign. I know because I work in Carson and follow the politics there. I even know Jim Dear, the current mayor. The Manson campaign was a joke.

What I find troubling is how often embarrassing political troublemakers are Libertarians. We’ve had too many cases to enumerate, although my personal favorite is the spiting candidate Gary Copeland, a druid, who ran for governor with the backing of the state party. Manson is just the latest in a long line of fringe nutballs to rise from the ranks of registered Libertarians and self-destruct on the national stage.

Unfortunately, the Libertarian Party of California has no effective way of vetting political candidates. In fact, they beg anybody to register to run in any race, be it local, state, or even at the federal level. All one need do is pay the dues and sign the pledge. Say yes to their request, and they will help put anyone on the ballot. They pushed me hard to run in a national election a few years back, and I’m unelectable.

There is no evidence that Manson is endorsed by the Libertarian party. Nor is there evidence that he participated in the Libertarian political process, although, I’m betting that evidence will surface soon. He appears to be a self-proclaimed libertarian, except for the fact that he is registered as a Libertarian under the name Julio Manson.

I call on the Libertarian Party of California to expel member Julio 'Jules" Manson from the state party. I also ask that they issue a statement clearly stating that they do not support Manson’s position. It is the right. In fact, I’m mystified why the Kevin Takenaga has not done so already. Furthermore, I call on the Libertarian Party of California to fix their friggen website. It’s embarrassing.

Technorati Tags: Libertarians,Nutballs,Politics

For the love of a dog

I got sick this week. A stomach virus put me down on Monday and Tuesday. My dog, a minpin named Thor, slept near my feet the whole time. When I was at my worst, on Tuesday at about noon, my dog nuzzled my beard and tried to comfort me. I woke up to his barking soon after. He wanted me to open the door so that he could exit out to the backyard. I let him out, but the barking did not stop. He kept coming back to the door and barking, and then he would walk into the yard and bark some more. Frustrated now, I moved to the door to see what small animal was annoying my dog. Thor was laying in a patch of sunlight in the grass. He was pawing at the turf and barking at me. He wanted me to come join him in the warmth of the sun. He was trying to take care of me. I love that dog.

The next day I noticed that Thor was sick. He was lethargic and did not respond to my voice. Plus, he had lost control of his bladder and had vomited in all manner of places. My dog was sick. My wife stayed home with him and took him to the vet on Wednesday. My son spend the night wrapped around a dog who just wanted to be warm. I’m continuing the job this morning. Thor is sleeping on my feet right now. I love that dog.

Technorati Tags: Deep Thoughts,Love,Dogs