A step in the right direction

As an Atheist, I have always been uncomfortable with the tradition of prayer in the Senate.  It seems like another opportunity for Fundamentalists to point at the Senate and say "We even pray over our government".

There are two solutions. Ban prayer at government functions, or broaden the program to include all religions. Of the two options, I vote for the latter. I have no wish to stick my finger in they eye of my fundamentalist counterparts by banning prayer. However, I do desire to stick my elbow in their eye by allowing every religion on the planet a chance to lead the Senates morning prayer.

It happen today, my elbow feels righteous.

A Hindu clergyman made history Thursday by offering the Senate's morning prayer, but only after police officers removed three shouting protesters from the visitors' gallery.

Rajan Zed, director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple in Reno, Nev., gave the brief prayer that opens each day's Senate session. As he stood at the chamber's podium in a bright orange and burgundy robe, two women and a man began shouting "this is an abomination" and other complaints from the gallery.

The Christians were pissed

For several days, the Mississippi-based American Family Association has urged its members to object to the prayer because Zed would be "seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god."

Next up is a Wiccan high priestess. She plans on delivering the prayer skyclad.

Technorati tags: prayer, politics, Hindu, Senate, Rajan Zed

A newly minted pedophile gets life

Youth Pastor Jamie William Soria was sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on nine counts of child molestation and one count of sodomy.

Prosecutors said Soria preyed on the children as a volunteer at Northwest Church and coach at Malloch Elementary School. The four boys were under 14 when he abused them, they said.

A criminal investigation against Soria began in 2004 after a child at the church told another pastor Soria abused him.

Soria's defense attorneys said that child's mother was out to get their client, who they portrayed as “touchy-feely” but not a child molester.

“This can't be justified in the eyes of the Lord,” Soria told the judge at his sentencing hearing.

Note to Pastor Soria - In prison pedophiles get special treatment. I hope you are ready for it. At 36 you've got at least 40 years of hard time coming.

Technorati tags: Pedophilia, Jamie Soria, clergy abuse, sodomy, child molestation

I terrified a little girl today

I did not mean to terrify a helpless little girl, it just happened. It all started when I snuck out of the office for a quick lunch. I brought a book along for company. I frequent a family owned Mexican restaurant once a week or so. They make great tacos, I eat tacos. It's a good relationship. Plus, their pozole, when they make it, is to die for.

I slipped into my usual table, popped open the book, and started reading. My matronly waitress greeted me by name and enquired if I were eating along today. I nodded yes and then turned my attention back to the book.

A few minutes later a small girl sat down in the seat across from me. She was three or four years old at most. She had crayons, a coloring book and a huge smile on her face. I lowered my book to make eye contact, she screamed. "El Diablo, El Diablo", and ran from the table, her crayons flying in every direction.

Conversation stopped, everyone looked my way, I tried to laugh it off but only drew cold stares.

The young girl's mother brought her back to my table. She was trembling and crying. She would not look at me. She was terrified. I could not make out the conversation that passed between mother and child, it was tense and then tender.

The young girl eventually calmed down. Her mother told me her daughter thought I was the devil. She told her daughter that I was not the devil because the devil had horns. Apparently, my dark red mustache and unruly red goatee had scared her, she imagined the horns.

The mother spoke something in Spanish to the room - everyone laughed and a few people pointed at me. The tension dropped.

My waitress came back to take my order. She addressed me as El Diablo. The tacos were great.

Technorati tags: Ed Diablo, The Devil, Stories from my day

Peeping pastor goes to trial

Up in Spokane Monday, youth pastor James Ritter case started with opening statements. Ritter is accused of using a webcam to entice teen aged girls from his church to engage in sexual behavior. 

“There are people like this, out there, like the suspect, who will go to any and all lengths to befriend people and use the computer to draw them into conversations that then become something they shouldn't,” Spokane Police Sergeant Brad Arleth said.

Ritter's virtual sessions tuned into as many as a dozen alleged actual sexual encounters with a teenaged girl. What is troubling about his case is that his Church new about his web cam behavior and allowed him to continue in his role as a youth pastor. The church paid for Ritter to attend five counseling sessions after parents complained about his behavior. His church eventually fired him.

Ritter was not an ordained minister but worked full time as director of Christian education at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 7307 N. Nevada St. He was fired a week before he turned himself in on Dec. 22, 2005, to face six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count each of communication with a minor for immoral purposes and sexual exploitation of a minor.

Something tells me Ritter is on his way to the big house. I'll post the verdict when it comes in.

Technorati tags: pedophilia, child molestation, Christianity, clergy abuse, James Ritter

Fundie mom want to ban 80 books

Laura Lopez wants to ban 80 books from her son's high school library. She based her decision on a simple key word search. If the book contained references to abortion, homosexuality or atheism, it was added to the list. She has not even read the books herself. How stupid is that?

She targets literary genres ranging from reference books to short stories. Among the books she wants removed are "Medical Ethics: Moral and Legal Conflicts in Health Care," "Warriors of God: Richard the Lionhearted and Saladin in the Third Crusade," "Coping When a Parent is Gay" and "The Cider House Rules," a John Irving novel about a rural doctor who runs an orphanage and performs illegal abortions.

 Lopez is not only a fundie, she might be simple too. The school board has a process to follow when a book contain objectionable content. Instead of following the process, Lopez chose to ape the language of her fundie masters.

In her objection to "Am I Blue?: Coming out from the Silence," a collection of 18 short stories about gay and lesbian issues, Lopez wrote: "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and not Eve and Sue."

It looks like common sense will win out. Lopez goes before the full school board next, she has little chance of winning.

Technorati tags: Fundamentalists, Christianity, fundies, banning book, abortion, homosexuality, Atheism

No Hell in Catholic school

The New Humanist has an interesting little post on a young boy with the surname Hell and his run in with the local Catholic School.

Poor Alex Hell, aged 5, is currently without a school after his local Catholic primary denied him a place because of his surname. The principal of St Peter the Apostle school in Melbourne, Australia took the decision following consultation with the parish priest, telling Alex's father: "You have made a rod for your son's back." To add insult to injury, the reason the family wanted Alex to attend St Peter the Apostle was because of surname-related bullying at his previous school. The school later agreed to offer the boy a place providing he used his mother's surname of Wembridge. Inevitably the family have told the school to "go to Hell", obviously using those exact words.

All this begs the question, what were the school worried about? Maybe they've been watching too many horror movies after Mass on Sunday afternoons? To see what almost certainly wouldn't have happened if young Alex had attended the school, see this trailer for classic 70s horror flick The Omen

Who says superstition is dead?

Hat Tip Reminiscence.

Technorati tags: Religion, Christianity, Catholics, superstition, Australia

baaaaad pastor

Baptist pastor John Adams was busted in the act of downloading child pornography. Once arrested, he admitted to his crimes.

Police said Adams told them that he was the primary user of the computer, and he claimed to have downloaded and viewed child porn on numerous occasions.

"Adams further stated that he downloaded and viewed child porn, and he was the only one who used the computer to view child pornography," said Upper Arlington police Officer Brian Correll.

Adams faces two counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor. Jail time cannot be far away.

John Adams has served as pastor at Mount Cavalry Freewill Baptist church in Darbydale for ten years Church members are stunned but supportive.

"I think the world of the person," Nilburn Stepp Jr., a deacon at the church, said of Adams. "He's like a brother. He is a brother.

"We don't know the facts yet."

The church is "blessed" to have Adams as its pastor, according to Adams' biography on the church Web site.

"His biggest dream is to have each and every member of our church walk with him through the Gates of Heaven," it says.

My bet is that Adams is not going to heaven.

Technorati tags: John Adams, pornography, child porn, pedophilia, clergy abuse

Lubbock Pastor May Not Stand Trial

I wrote about James Clark in May. Clark is accused of importing an exchange student from Africa for use as his personal prostitute. Clark may not stand trial.

Declining health may keep a former Lubbock pastor from standing trial.

James Clark is accused of forcing an African exchange student to have sex in return for tuition last year. He faces several charges including compelling prostitution, money laundering and fraud.

Clark had been set to stand trial on June 11th. Several health problems, including a stroke, keep pushing back that court date.

So now, the prosecutors and defense have asked that Clark be evaluated to see if he is even competent to stand trial.

Determining if a man is competent to stand trail is a scary thought. In this case it would mean that Clark's stroke was serious enough to affect is ability to understand write an wrong. I hope that is not that case, nobody deserves to live like that, not even a hypocrite. Besides, I would rather Clark spend the rest of his days in prison (assuming his guilt).

Technorati tags: James Clark, Pedophile, clergy abuse, sexual abuse, forced prostitution, Lubbock, Texas

Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims

 What the hell is going on in the U.K.? A recent study indicates teachers are dropping the Holocaust from course work out of fear of offending Muslims. Their position is absurd.

It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial.

So... Teachers think dropping the holocaust is a good idea because some children are taught to hate Jews and deny the Holocaust. They choose to capitulation rather than confront a hateful lie. Cowards. Political correctness will be the death of western society.

I've got to ask, do they stop teaching evolution because it will offend some Christians?

Technorati tags: Political Correctness, Islam, education

Human Psyche of J.D. Crow

My long time blogging friend J.D. Crow has joined the Atheist blogroll. He is an excellent writer and maintains an enviable blog.  His post, There Is No God has a link to Penn Jillette's NPR submission for This I believe. Stop in and check it out.

Technorati tags: The Atheist Blogroll

how many bombings?

I was recently asked how many abortion clinics had been bombed in the last ten years? A Fundamentalist Christian friend asserted none had been bombed, I thought otherwise.

According to Religious Tolerance's report on Violence & Harassment at U.S.Abortion Clinics, the number is 47. Of course, 47 includes bombing, arson, attempted bombing or arson.

I found another statistic odd. No arrests have been made at blockades since Bush came to power in 2000. I wonder if there is a correlation?

Technorati tags: Bush, abortion, politics, Christian terrorism

This is a shock, a surprise

Or so says Ricardo Zuniga, an elder at First Christian Church which hosts La Igreja La Goiha - a Brazilian congregation. Zuniga was shocked and surprised at the hypocrisy shown by youth pastor Thiago Fernandes after he admitted raping and molesting three children, aged 7 to 13.  He was caught when an 11 year old came forward.

BSO said it was alerted to the situation when, during evening worship services July 1, an 11-year-old boy told his parents that when he went to the restroom he was approached by Fernandes.

People ask why I comment on Christian misbehavior. With each case, people comment less and less. Most emails now provide tips instead of criticism. Except the Christians, they ask me to stop posting because it unfairly prejudices the good Christians do. There is something fundamentally wrong with that.

Technorati tags: pedophilia, clergy abuse, pastoral abuse, molestation, youth pastors, Florida

Oh the shame

Pepperdine is a conservative Christian university. The campus in Malibu is among the most beautiful in the world. I have a graduate degree from Pepperdine. I spent most of my time 70 miles away at the Orange County Campus (which is not so beautiful). I made a dozen trips to the main Campus. It was an amazing experience each time.

I like follow of what goes on at Pepperdine. I subscribe to the alumni newsletter and have a news filter setup to track their volleyball and basketball programs. While reading Pepperdine news this morning, I was shocked to find The Malibu Times reporting on an alleged pedophile professor at the university.

A former adjunct professor who taught religion at Pepperdine University for nearly 10 years was arrested last week at his Camarillo home for allegedly molesting and sexually assaulting three girls during an eight-year period. The girls were members of the youth ministry program at Camarillo Church of Christ, where the accused, Markus Holland McDowell, served as the youth minister. McDowell was also accused of possessing child pornography on his home computer, according to Ventura County Sheriff's officials.

My first post on McDowell did not mention his involvement with Pepperdine. I checked my records. I think I met McDowell at a conference hosted at the Graziadio Business School. It gives me the creeps. He is charged with:

McDowell, 46, was arrested and booked at the Ventura County pre-trial detention facility last Thursday. He was released the next day after posting a $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court for his arraignment on Friday. The charges McDowell faces, according to the court's Web site, include four counts of "lewd act upon a child," two counts of "lewd act with child," two counts of "oral copulation of a person under 16," two counts of "anal and genital penetration by foreign object" and one count of "possession or control of child pornography."

One of McDowell's friends (or McDowell himself) has been posting snarky comments in the tread of my first post. One of the alleged victims had posted anonymously.  In response, McDowell's friend asked:

Miss Anon, I do not want to in anyway disrespect what you've gone through, I'm just not sure what I believe right now, if at all possible are you able to disclose what it is exactly you say he did to you?

What McDowell is charged with is a matter of public record. Wanting to know the details, for whatever reason, is just plain creepy.

Technorati tags: pedophilia, clergy abuse, pastoral abuse, molestation, youth pastors, Pepperdine

It's Enough to Make Me Wanna Drink

Sometimes I write about Atheism, sometimes libertarianism, and sometimes I write about both. Fundie Watch has a great post on religious moral activism. In his case, the local fundies want to ban alcohol sales on Sunday. They managed to piss of The Watcher, and me too.

The Watcher does a great job of rebutting the fundamentalist's moral justification to ban alcohol sales. Our county is a secular democracy. One would hope blue laws would be a thing of the past.

The article, from OneNewsNow's Ed Thomas, illustrates another attempt by fundies to help people lead moral lives--whether they want to or not.

Wichita petition aims for choice on alcohol sales

"Choice?" You mean they don't have a choice now? There is some time when citizens of Wichita have to buy alcohol? I guess it's all those godless liberals trying to force their views down everyone's throats like we keep hearing about.

Read More...

I have two arguments against banning alcohol sales. One is from the atheist perspective, the other from the libertarian. They both converge on the topic of economics.  Since the sale of alcohol is legal, the citizens of Wichita create demand for alcohol on Sundays through their legitimate purchases. If the fundies were actually influential, they would be able to influence the buying habits of other community members. The result would be fewer people buying alcohol on Sundays, which would cause businesses to question the value of selling on Sundays.

Fundies cannot ever hope to convince  the 354,865 residents who might like to buy a six-pack on Sunday that it is immoral. Especially if it is moral and legal every other day of the week. Their only hope is to try to artificially manipulate the market through passing a law that limits market access. Of course, they cannot win. The demand will just move to different days. They are not actually affecting supply - people will stock up.

The real question comes down to influence. Their approach shows they have little influence in the community, otherwise. they would not try to implement a meaningless blue law. As an Atheist, I would fight any blue law a fundie might try to pass. As a libertarian, I would fight any law that attempts to limit the free market.

I'll have to watch this one. My bet is it goes down in flames.

Technorati tags: Blue laws, economics, Wichita, fundies

Most suicide bombers are Muslim

Via Psychology Today: Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature. I read the headline about Muslims and thought... well duh! What came next caused me to think about religious prejudices.

Suicide missions are not always religiously motivated, but according to Oxford University sociologist Diego Gambetta, editor of Making Sense of Suicide Missions, when religion is involved, the attackers are always Muslim. Why? The surprising answer is that Muslim suicide bombing has nothing to do with Islam or the Quran (except for two lines). It has a lot to do with sex, or, in this case, the absence of sex.

Absence of sex... Go figure. We are being attacked by men who cannot get laid. Is everything about sex?

Technorati tags: Islam, sex, Iraq, Muslims