Planet Atheism

The Tale of the Pastor and the Potato

Published

on July 19, 2012

[Inspired by a story that went viral in Mar 2012]

I put my sermon down
The time came for a break
I needed a respite
To give my mind a shake
In order to return
To preaching about Christ
My batteries recharged
And mind with new-born feist

I had some fine new blinds
To put up in that time
I took them in my hand
I got a chair to climb
The day was mighty hot
To cope with this I chose
To cool my body down
By taking off my clothes

So here I was that day
Stretched out upon my chair
I reached for many hooks
I took the utmost care
And yet I’m an old man
My balance somewhat frail
And so I tumbled down
Dismayed at my dumb fail

Alas, things turned much worse
For I had left a spud
Exposed and in plain view
I landed with a thud
And since I did fall back
-I know it sounds a farce!-
The impact caused the thing
To be lodged in my arse

But that was not the end
To my great day of stress
For I had to engage
The help of NHS
And when I did recount
My story to the nurse
The day that I was born
I mightily did curse

National Trust to review creationist exhibit at Giant’s Causeway

Published

National Secular Society

on July 19, 2012

The National Trust has announced plans to review the controversial exhibit in the new Giant’s Causeway visitors centre in Northern Ireland which gives credence to the creationist ‘explanation’ of the natural phenomenon on Northern Ireland’s north Antrim coast.

The exhibit at the UNESCO World Heritage Site sparked controversy after it suggested there was ongoing debate over when the rocks were formed. The exhibit states “Young Earth Creationists believe that the earth was created some 6000 years ago” and “Some people around the world, and specifically here in Northern Ireland, share this perspective.”

A statement from the National Trust Press Office said:

“Having listened to our members’ comments and concerns, we feel that clarity is needed.

“There is clearly no scientific debate about the age of the earth or how the Causeway stones were formed.

“The National Trust does not endorse or promote any other view.

“Our exhibits, literature and audio guides for visits to the Causeway stones and this renowned World Heritage Site all reflect this.

“To ensure that no further misunderstanding or misrepresentation of this exhibit can occur, we have decided to review the interpretive materials in this section.”

Stephen Evans, Campaigns Manager at the National Secular Society, said: “We welcome news that the National Trust has listened to concerns and decided to review this misleading material. It now has a chance to restore its reputation after risking its integrity in a misguided attempt to appease creationists.

“While we can accept that its intention was not to promote or legitimise any of these opinions or views, by capitulating to religious demands that is exactly what it has done.

“We must remain vigilant to ensure that those who seek to promote religious propaganda and misinformation in place of education do not get a foothold in the UK.”

Ethical enquiry or moral instruction?

Published

Ken

on July 19, 2012

There has been a raging debate locally about the religious instruction classes in New Zealand public schools. I commented before that the Churches Education Commission, who run this programme, are hiding behind the provision of values teaching in the school curriculum (see Human values are secular).

This is somewhat opportunist because it promotes the idea that religion is required to teach morality (“you can’t be good without God”) and that their activity accords with the secular curriculum. It also ignores the fact that values is already taught in the normal classes.

The video below gives some idea of how values can be taught as part of a secular curriculum – its worth comparing this with the bible story mythology used by the Churches Education Commission (I provided some examples of their curriculum in Human values are secular).

Primary Ethics – What Happens in an Ethics Class

The classes shown in the video were developed by the St James Ethics Centre in Australia. They were trialed as an alternative to the Scripture Instruction classes in a number of public schools in New South Wales. The trial was so successful a larger programme now operates and is provided by Primary Ethics Limited, a public company founded by the St James Ethics Centre. It is effectively operating in a similar manner to the Churches Education Commission here (school “closed” during lessons, voluntary teachers, etc) – except it does not yet have charitable tax exemption in the way that the church’s programme does. (It won’t be able to get it on grounds of advancing religion).

I am not suggesting this set-up as an alternative for New Zealand – partly because I can imagine that when a school is closed to provide separate Christian and secular classes (and logically Hindu, Muslim, etc., classes) the divisions created could cause playground trouble. In fact all children should participate together in a programme exploring human ethics, whatever their religion. Dividing children up according to sectarian interests would only impose moral instruction, which treats children as puppets to be indoctrinated, rather than training them to become morally autonomous.

If the current values component of New Zealand’s curriculum is done well I imagine classes would be similar to that shown in the video.

Below I have extracted some topics from the curriculum offered to children in NSW. Have a look and compare that with the mythology imposed on children by the Churches Education Commission in New Zealand’s religious instruction classes.

Kindergarten (Stage E1)

Thinking together

Asking good questions
Time for thinking
Taking turns – speaking and listening

Thinking together about questions that matter

Finding answers to different kinds of questions. Children will begin to distinguish ethical from other kinds of questions and learn how to disagree respectfully.

Putting it all together: ethical inquiry

Discussion topic: Being left out

Giving and asking for reasons

When should/do we give reasons? Giving reasons to our teachers, parents, friends, brothers or sisters

Needs of animals

What do animals need in order to live good lives?

Distinguishing social conventions from morals

Examples: Pushing in, staring, table manners, please and thank you.

Friendship

Why do people have friends? How do we know if someone is our friend? What makes a good friend?

Acting fairly

Discussing what is fair in a variety of situations familiar to Kindergarten students.

Telling a secret

A discussion around what secrets are and when it’s OK to share them and why.

Why do we have rules?

Do rules apply to everyone? What if there were no rules? Classroom/school-based examples.

Should we tell on people who do the wrong thing?

A discussion of what ‘doing the wrong thing’ means and asking the questions:

Should we always tell?
Should we never tell?
Should we sometimes tell?
How can we work it out?

Caring for the environment

Is it always OK to swing on the branches of a tree? Or to collect shells from the beach? Or catch tadpoles in the creek/small crabs/ insects…?
How do we decide what’s OK to do?

Year 6 (Stage 3.2)

A fair society?

Students will use The Outsiders story to consider issues of fairness in society.

Should Human Rights be extended to other animals?

Human rights: where do rights come from and how are they justified? What obligations do they impose on governments and individuals? To what extent, if any, should human rights be extended to other living creatures?

Fatalism

Are our futures and fates fixed? Does what we do today have any effect on what happens in the future?

Beliefs, Opinions, Tolerance and Respect

What does it mean to respect another person’s beliefs or opinions? Should we always respect the beliefs of others? To what extent should we be tolerant of moral difference?

Moral responsibility

To what extent can we be held morally responsible for our actions? What might it mean for society if it turned out that even our conscious decisions were determined in advance?

Drugs in Sport

Performance enhancing drugs are banned in all sports. Students will discuss the concept of unfair advantage and whether the taking of performance enhancing drugs is morally wrong.

Appeal to Authority – Revisited

To what extent do we still appeal unquestioningly to authorities in our everyday lives? What are the consequences of thinking and acting for one’s self? Students will look at examples of groups that have refused to follow blindly.

The value of nature and the environment.
Does nature have intrinsic value? Is the environment worthy of moral consideration just because it exists? Or does it have value only because it meets human needs?

Can war ever be just?

What is wrong with war? Is it ever right to go to war? Students will examine the issue of pacifism and non-violence (e.g., Ghandi) and discuss if there is a moral way to conduct war.

An ethical life

Consideration of our moral responsibility to others. To what extent do we have a responsibility to continue examining and discussing ethical issues once we leave Primary Ethics classes? Should we always stand up for our beliefs?

I think such discussion topics would be a very useful part of values classes – and I am sure the kids would enjoy the discussion.

See also: Primary Ethics Curriculum.

Similar articles

Portland Humanist Film Festival Accepting Submissions

Published

Hemant Mehta

on July 19, 2012

I’m pleasantly surprised at how many atheist film festivals are out there. Here’s one more to attend if you’re in the area: The Portland Humanist Film Festival 2012 will take place October 26^th-28^th and they’re looking for submissions!

The Portland Humanist Film Festival was founded in 2010 and was established to be a provocative and enlightening cultural experience indicative of the rapidly growing Humani

Biblical deconstruction X: God tests Abraham

Published

Jeremy

on July 19, 2012

Our Daily Train | By Jeremy Styron

And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. — Gen. 22:12 (KJV)

***

Here we deal with one of the most well known, and by that I mean notorious, verses in the whole Old Testament.

The passage in Genesis 22 begins with God deciding, for whatever capricious reason God decides to do anything, to test Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering to him:

Credit: The Brick Testament

Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Of course, God gets it wrong here. Isaac was not Abraham’s only son, since in Abraham (then known as Abram) had copulated with Sarah’s maid:

Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. … And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

Of course, we learned in the last edition of this series that God was going to give Sarah a son in Chapter 18. Why then, only two verses before that did God allow Abraham to impregnate Hagar when he knew that he was going to wind up intervening in the first place and giving Sarah a baby? In any case, Isaac was not Abraham’s only son, but then again, maybe God doesn’t count children born through surrogate mothers.

But back to the story. God tells Abraham to take Isaac up to a mountain — we aren’t told which mountain — and to sacrifice his son in order to prove his faith. Abraham and Isaac then start on a surely woeful march up the mountain when Isaac asks his dad:

Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

Abraham said not to worry, that God would provide. As an aside, Isaac is forced to carry the wood for his own sacrifice up the mountain, much like Jesus would later carry his own cross up to the hill for his sacrifice in John 19. Of course, since much of the gospels are embellishments on the others or directly contradictory (here, here, here, here, here, here ), John, the most embellished of them all, can hardly be trusted, and this detail may have been added later to further connect the story in Genesis with Jesus, since other comparisons can be made (Isaac’s reference to the sacrificial lamb, for instance, as opposed to a goat or some other hoofed animal).

While we are told in only five words that Abraham bound up his son, it would have been interesting for the writer to have included more detail here. For instance, I wonder how that conversation would have gone:

Abe: Isaac, you are the sacrifice. There is no lamb.

Isaac: What?!?

Abe: Yes. I’m sorry.

Isaac: But … (begins crying now)

Abe: I believe God will provide, my son, in his own time.

Isaac (screaming): You can’t be serious!

Abe: I’m afraid so. I’m sorry. I love you. But I love Yahweh more, so … Tough break, kiddo. Now help me with the rope.

I wonder if at some point there might have been a struggle. Isaac, of course, could have outrun his father since Abraham was an old man by now. Apparently, Isaac didn’t put up much of a fight, and Abraham then tied his son up like an animal on the sacrificial pit, raised the blade and was poised to strike when an angel appeared and stopped the action. A ram then appeared caught up in some brush, which Abraham then proceeded to sacrifice instead. The place was hereafter called “The Lord Will Provide,” which is a funny-sounding place name. In any case, God then appears and said he would bless and multiply Abe’s descendants as “the stars of the heaven” and said that from his seed, all nations will be blessed and that all his descendants would come to “possess the gates of their enemies.”

If you know anything at all about Israel’s history, you know that that last part never happened. Israel could have enjoyed some conquering successes on a local scale, if those parts of the Old Testament are true (doubtful), but the nation of Israel has been conquered territory in some form or another for more than 2,000 years now, beginning in 63 BCE with the Roman Empire and then the Byzantine Empire. And from there:

In 635 CE, the region, including Jerusalem, was conquered by the Arabs and was to remain under Muslim control for the next 1300 years.^[43] Control of the region transferred between the Umayyads,^[43]Abbasids,^[43] and Crusaders throughout the next six centuries,^[43] before being conquered by the Mamluk Sultanate, in 1260.^[44] In 1516, the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, and remained under Turkish rule until the 20th century.^[44]

Christians, and Jews presumably, view the Abraham and Isaac passage as one of the most important in the Bible because they say it shows how important faith in God is and that God is trustworthy to follow through on his promises. Of course, other than the localized battles that may or may not have happened that I just mentioned, the ultimate promise was not kept, and one can make the argument that if we assume for a moment that he actually exists and actually cares about the protection of Israel, he is also a monster for sitting back silently while his precious nation has been ransacked for centuries, not the least of which was the slaughter of 6 million Jews in Nazi death camps.

What about God, or Abraham for that matter, as revered paternal figures? Not so much. What father would send his son to slaughter in the first place, much less in the brutal way that Yahweh ordained Jesus to be tortured and killed. Moreover, if God wanted to test Abraham’s faith, he could have easily done it by something other than a blood sacrifice. He could have made Abraham run laps around the mountain at his old age or made him climb a tree and then fast up there for three days and three nights, as the biblical parlance goes. That God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son places this sinister little story firmly in the context of the time in which it was written. No one but a sadist would ask a loving father to kill his son and put him through the emotional stress of actually contemplating such a heinous act, regardless of whether he was actually going to make Abraham go through with it.

We will no doubt revisit this sadistic side of Yahweh’s nature in future editions. Until then:

A Different Type of Scholarship Fund

Published

Hemant Mehta

on July 19, 2012

Black Skeptics is announcing the creation of the “First in the Family” scholarship fund beginning this school year:

$200-$500 scholarships will be awarded in June 2013 to up to ten South Los Angeles high school students of color in the Los Angeles Unified School District who will be the first in their immediate family to go to college. BS will seek matching funds from community based and partner organizations in the humanist, social justice and LGBTQ community.

The eligibility requirements are on their website. It’s a wonderful cause and another example of Humanism in action.

Does Everything Happen for a Reason?

Published

Bruce Gerencser

on July 19, 2012

The Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Muslim and Mormon, along with many “spiritual” people, believe EVERYTHING happens for a reason. They all believe that God or the Universe or some sort of divine energy/consciousness orchestrates our lives and that nothing happens by chance or accident.

According to people who think like this, everything that happens in our lives is part of a bigger purpose or plan. No matter what happens to us, it happened because it was meant to happen.

According to this way of thinking…the irresponsible, dumb-ass, youthful driver who pulled out to pass a slow-moving truck on a double yellow line and missed hitting Polly and I head on by a few feet was acting according to some greater purpose or plan. If he had hit us, our death would have happened for a reason.

As I think back through my life, my Mom’s suicide at age 54, my Dad’s death from surgery complications at age 49, my sister-in-law’s death from a motorcycle accident, my wife’s favorite uncle’s death at age 51 from a rare heart virus, my wife’s younger cousin’s recent death from myasthenia gravis…all of these all-to-soon tragic deaths had no positive effect on those left behind and their deaths certainly, outside of releasing several of them from pain, had no positive effect for them.

As I look at the world I see pain and suffering. I see hunger and thirst. I see violence and deprivation. I see poverty, animal abuse, and environmental degradation. Yet, I am told these things happen for a reason. Pray tell, what is the bigger purpose or plan for these things? What reason could there be for children starving, women being raped, and families having no means of support?

A week or so ago a horrific, violent storm ripped though NW Ohio. People and animals were killed, buildings and trees were destroyed, and millions of people were left without electricity for days, all during a time when temperatures were setting new historic highs. Again, what is the bigger purpose or plan for these things?

As Polly and I drove home from SE Indiana we saw widespread devastation from what some describe as the worst drought in decades. We saw fields where farmers had already cut down their corn to use as silage. Again, what is the bigger purpose or plan for these things?

All across the world war rages on. My own country has troops stationed all over the world and is currently waging war in Afghanistan. U.S troops, bombs, and bullets are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths of innocent civilian men, women, and children. Again, what is the bigger purpose or plan for these things?

It is not enough to say that God has a perfect plan and we must not question him. I not only question this God, I charge him with gross negligence and malfeasance. Any human acting as this God does would be considered a manic, cruel, serial-abuser of his fellow human beings. Such a God we would or should not want as family or a friend, yet billions claim this God as their friends, confidant, family member and lover.

I prefer the agnostic, atheist, deist way of looking at life. Shit happens. Good and bad happens to one and all, and often what comes our way has no purpose or reason. It just h-a-p-p-e-n-s.

This does not mean that I can not learn from the bad things that happen in my life. My own physical debility and life of pain has been quite instructive. My past experiences have indeed helped to make me into the man I am today. (good and bad) But to suggest that God or the universe or some divine energy/consciousness is behind how my life has turned out? I reject any such notion…I gladly embrace what my life is and all that helped to make it what it is, but I have no place in my life for some sort of divine puppeteer pulling the strings of my life. Four years ago, I reached up and cut the puppeteer’s strings and from that day forward my life has been my own. My life is an admixture of my own choices, the choices of others, genetics, and random events and circumstances. I need no other explanation, I need no God to make my life more palatable. It is what it is until it isn’t.

Is Your Soul an Information Field in Another Dimension?

Published

Adam Lee

on July 19, 2012

[Author's Note: In keeping with the tradition that whenever you have a blog post whose title is a question, the answer is always "no"...] Of all the essays I've written, my favorite is "A Ghost in the Machine", presenting the evidence that our personality traits and sense of self arise from ...

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Botanical Wednesday: a pleasant thought

Published

PZ Myers

on July 19, 2012

Plants are just covered with these.

(via Visuals Unlimited)

A pox on all of their houses

Published

PZ Myers

on July 19, 2012

I hate this article from the very first paragraph.

Public discussion of evolution often turns into a nasty debate between young-earth creationists on one side and atheists who believe science disproves the existence of God on the other. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

It’s a dishonest setup. It’s a game: let’s pretend that scientists only criticize young earth creationists, and then we’ll set up a bunch of Christian absurdity as the moderate position! Scientists never think of attacking the positions of reasonable Christians, you know.

It’s a lie. We criticize the follies of soft and fuzzy Christianity and old earth creationism all the time, as well as that young earth creationist nonsense. And do you know why we so often have to jump on young earth creationism?

Because the ‘moderate’ Christian jackasses won’t do it.

The article is an excellent example of that: it describes a discussion and joint publication of a book via Biologos between a diverse group of Christians, including young earth creationist Baptists, the Intelligent Design creationist Bill Dembski, and the gang of mushy apologists from Biologos…and how is their interaction described? As “gracious dialogue”. Please. If you’re going to sit there with a bugnutting freaky cultist with a literalist interpretation of every word of the Bible, and not be strongly critical of their freakin’ idiocy because you both believe in Jesus, then yes, I’m going to lump you all together.

Yes, it has to be that way. I see no point in regarding intellectual cowards with greater respect than I do the total fruitloops they associate with.

And further, it is no saving grace that the Biologos crowd can believe in an old earth, when at the same time they are arguing for the existence of a literal Adam and Eve, for the logic of salvation from original sin, for the blood pseudo-sacrifice of a god-man as somehow freeing me from guilt about a disobedient distant ancestor. It’s all garbage, through and through.

We get a succession of bullshit claims that we’re supposed to regard respectfully.

Keathley also points out that for some Christians, evolution presents a problem because it implies that suffering and death have been with the world from the beginning, rather than resulting from rebellion against God.

Right. Reality is a problem for some Christians. So?

“I think everybody recognizes this is an important topic and it’s not going to do any good to simply yell at each other across the fence,” he said. “They need to hear from us on the nature of Scripture, the nature of the fall and of salvation. And we need to hear from them on the nature of modern science.”

The only thing that makes it important is that it is a set of delusions held by powerful and influential people. Otherwise, the “nature of scripture”, the “fall”, and “salvation” are simply incredible and absurd concepts given weight by repetition and dogma.

I don’t just despise the blatant stupidity of young earth creationism. I also despise the equally blatant stupidity of Christian dogma and ‘sophisticated theology’.

Pastor Marukudiyil Velan arrested

Published

Mojoey

on July 18, 2012

A longtime Catholic priest, Marukudiyil Velan was arrested for sexual misconduct involving a woman and her child. Marukudiyil, or "Father Chris", worked for the Church of the Visitation in Brick.

The priest was charged with one count of criminal sexual contact with the adult woman, one count of criminal sexual contact with the child and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. He is held in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River in lieu of $75,000 bail with no 10 percent option. As a condition of bail, the defendant is prohibited from having any contact with anyone under the age of 18. He was required to surrender his passport and the provisions of “Nicole’s Law’’ were implemented. Nicole's Law permits a victim of a sex offense to obtain a restraining order against the offender.

So… Father Chris allegedly molested a woman AND her child. That's new. I wonder if they rename the garden named after him?

Fortune Teller Wins First Amendment Case in Louisiana

Published

Tara

on July 18, 2012

A Louisiana fortune-teller and Tarot card reader has just successfully defended her First Amendment rights — but not the rights you’re (probably) thinking of.

The city of Alexandria, LA enacted an ordinance in 2011 that made it “unlawful for any person to engage in the business or practice of palmistry, card reading, astrology, fortune-telling, phrenology, mediums or activities of a similar nature within the city, regardless of whether a fee is charged.” The ordinance carried a fine of up to $500 for each day it was violated.

Rachel Adams, a fifth-generation psychic, “claims that she was born with the ability to ‘understand and appreciate Tarot cards, telling of futures, psychic abilities and palmistry.’” She accepts voluntary donations for her services. When she attempted to obtain the necessary permits to operate her business, she was visited by police and issued a summons; she was to appear in criminal court last September.

Rachel Adams (via The Town Talk)

Instead, Adams filed a civil lawsuit, claiming that the ordinance was unconstitutional.

Adams asserted several constitutional rights violations, most notably that the ordinance abridged her First Amendment-guaranteed freedoms. However, it appears that her best argument was not freedom of religion, but freedom of speech. To obtain summary judgment — that is, a speedier resolution — on her claim, she dropped the religious claim and successfully argued that the ordinance banned speech based on its content, and that the city did not have a compelling-enough reason to ban it.

The federal district court accepted the magistrate’s recommendations and declared the ordinance unconstitutional (PDF). This means that Adams and other fortune-tellers in her area can operate without threat of arrest. As a district court decision, however, it only applies locally — unless the city chooses to appeal the decision and loses.

The magistrate’s rationale didn’t touch the question of whether fortune-telling was a legitimate religion or whether banning it abridged Adams’ free exercise rights — his only fear was government oppression of unpopular speech. However, and perhaps unwittingly, his free speech argument is among the best arguments for the separation of church and state I’ve ever heard:

The danger of the government deciding what is true and not true, real and unreal, should be obvious. For example, some might say that a belief in God or in a particular religion, for example, or in the “Book of Revelations” is not supported by demonstrable facts. Books that repeat the predictions of Nostradamus and the daily newspaper horoscope could be banned under the City’s reasoning.

The magistrate here seems to be raising the spectre of a threat to ban the Bible, but the argument cuts both ways. The government cannot choose to protect only the types of religious speech it agrees with. Perhaps all the legislators desperately enacting anti-Sharia law statutes, decrying the use of public funds for Islamic schools, and declaring 2012 the “Year of the Bible” would do well to take note — it is not their job to decide the truth or veracity of any one belief as opposed to others. That’s the kind of “government oppression ” our Constitution protects against.

JC Penney’s financial woes blamed on The Gays

Published

Barry Duke

on July 18, 2012

JC PENNEY, the US department store, is a deep financial trouble. Following its third unsuccessful rebranding in three years, and the failure of its “Fair and Square” pricing policy to attract customers in an ever-tougher market the company’s shares have been plummeting.

More crap from batty man Green and ginger sidekick Robin Phillips

But according to Boy Wonder “Robin”, Stephen “Birdshit” Green’s demented sidekick, the company’s woes are the result of JC Penney making:

Homosexual activist Ellen DeGeneres its new spokesperson.

In a post on Green’s Christian Voice blog today, the God-addled little pipsqueak declared:

The destruction of the company is attributable both to prayer and to the boycott campaign among those who were offended by the company’s pro-homosexual posturing, particularly the American Family Association’s advocacy group OneMillionMoms.com.

He quotes OMM as saying:

Rather than build on the faith-based traditions of founder James Cash Penney [CEO Ron] Johnson has abandoned family values and taken the company into a financial tailspin by embracing social activism. Families are the backbone of Penney’s existence. As long as it pushes homosexual marriage, families will go elsewhere.

But wait. OMM’s boycott campaign was an abject failure, and they abandoned it.

Meanwhile, earlier on the insane CV blog, Green referenced another failure: his own, in Stonewall’s “Bigot of the Year” award scheme in 2011.

In doing so, he announced that the Nationwide Building Society was to be challenged today at its AGM over its association with the gay charity’s scheme.

Green, who was shortlisted for the award last November along with Sir Brian Souter, Bishop Arthur Roche, Bill Walker MSP and the eventual winner journalist Melanie Phillips, said he planned to put down a question at the AGM

Said the clown:

Nationwide sponsored the 2011 Stonewall awards dinner … I intend to ask how much money Nationwide gave, whether they knew the nature of the event they were sponsoring, whether they support the redefinition of marriage, one of Stonewall’s key aims, and when they plan to apologise for bank-rolling an event which insulted and humiliated not just a humble Nationwide member like me, but respected public figures.

He added:

In particular, Sir Brian was awarded a knighthood by Her Majesty in June 2011, just months before he was vilified by Stonewall. Nationwide have said they are ‘not supportive of the vilification of individuals’ and that they ‘have made this clear to Stonewall’. They have pulled out of sponsoring future events, while remaining ‘members’ of Stonewall.

This is a lie. They did not “pull out”. In this report, Tina Coates, Head of Media Relations at the building society, said:

This was a one-off sponsorship, and Nationwide did not have influence over the award categories, the winners, or the nominees. This award was one of 10 … we did not just sponsor the individual award.

She added:

We are committed to making it [the Nationwide]a great place to work and ensuring that our employees are able to develop and grow in an environment free from prejudice and intolerance. Stonewall is recognised as the leading Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender equality charity. Stonewall’s Diversity Champion programme promotes diversity and equality in the workplace and Nationwide is an active member of this programme.

As part of our pledge to support diversity in the workplace, Nationwide took the decision to sponsor Stonewall’s Sixth Annual Awards in 2011.

Green said:

No-one on the Nationwide Board of Directors has yet been man enough to apologise to any of the individuals concerned, and I think they should.

Of course, not one of those shortlisted was invited by Stonewall to attend, which was a grave discourtesy. But as ‘Bigot of the Year’ is merely an attempt by Stonewall to bully and humiliate someone in public life, Stonewall won’t ever find the courage to invite those shortlisted for fear that the winner might tell the assembled gays a few home truths.

And he said:

It seems homosexuality can only advance by insulting and browbeating its opponents. But I hope the Nationwide experience will send a message through the world of business that the Stonewall awards dinner is a toxic brand.

We wait with baited breath for the bigot’s report on how he fared at the AGM.

Hat tip: BarrieJohn

Cincinnati Reds Sweep St Louis Cardinals July 15 2012

Published

Bruce Gerencser

on July 18, 2012

July 15th Polly and I celebrated our thirty-fourth wedding anniversary. We spent the night at the Millennium Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. We ate a late lunch at the Texas Roadhouse in Milford. We had a wonderful time with our only “bad” moments being when we were “lost.” Smile If I had to list what Polly and I have fought over the past thirty-four years, directions and map reading would top the list. And let me say… I am not the problem. Smile As all married couples learn…their significant other has flaws, quirks, and deficiencies that defy explanation. You learn to say…it is what it is. Polly and I fussed a bit and then laughed it off. We had no place we HAD to be so there was no need to have a fight over our “lostness.” Yes, we have a GPS unit and that has helped some, but, as everyone who has a GPS unit knows, they are NOT infallible. (as was the case in downtown Cincinnati) I cussed at the GPS unit but it remained indifferent to my protests.

We spent the evening watching the Cincinnati Reds beat the arch-rival St Louis Cardinals. We joined 39,000 people in cheering the Reds as they showed how good of a team they can be. As reporters noted later, the stadium had a playoff atmosphere. The stadium had that “feel” (you have to be a baseball fan to understand this) as we watched starting pitcher Homer Bailey come of age, finally showing why the Reds made him a first round draft pick in 2004.

Bald Eagle getting ready to land prior to the start of the game.

Ah yes, we Reds fans LOVE the Saint Louis Cardinals.

A reminder of ALL the different people that help make the game experience all that it is.

Homer Bailey, starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds.

Future Hall-of-Famer, Joey Votto. Votto was placed on the disabled list the next day and had knee surgery on Tuesday. He will be out 3-4 weeks.

Outfielder Chris Heisey slides safe at home plate, eluding Yadier Molina’s tag.

Aroldis, the Cuban Missile Chapman, the 100 mph+ throwing closer for the Cincinnati Reds. He made quick work of the Cardinals.

This picture says it all. The Cincinnati Reds took all three games of the series, reminding the Cardinals and everyone else that they are the team to beat in the National League Central Division. (yes, written like a t-r-u-e, hardcore Reds fan)

Christian counselors

Published

Mojoey

on July 18, 2012

I have had two conversations with people who provide Christian counseling for members of a church. Both conversations occurred within the last two weeks. The story is simple. Both men talk to people who need help and try to relate whatever issues they have to biblical principles. Both men feel called to do so. By "called" I mean that God told them they should be lay counselors.

Neither is a qualified professional counselor. One works for a Christian pastor who also does counseling. The other works as a volunteer who talks to people. Both do the counseling in private or semiprivate locations. Both counsel men and women, but not children.

When I asked what types of problems they were dealing with, depression, addiction, and impulse control issues came up as the top three. When I asked if they were qualified to help people with these types of problems, they both said no, but then claimed it was God's work. I guess that makes it okay.

I asked for an example of the help they give. For depression it was taking the person back to the bible and a better connection to God. The joy they connect with is supposed to help overcome depression. Addiction was treated through prayer. I'm serious - read the bible for a man who was so depressed that he could barely function, and prayer for the gambling addict.

I realize that two conversations do not establish a corrupt process, but damn. These people should not be helping anyone. Their victims need professional help. Why do Christians go to unqualified people for help? It makes no sense.

Columbus Indiana, A Great Place to Visit

Published

Bruce Gerencser

on July 18, 2012

We spent the first night of our trip in Columbus, Indiana. Columbus, home to Cummins, is a delightful place to visit. Columbus is noted for its unique building architecture. We were very surprised to find that Columbus has a vibrant downtown area, a rather unusual find in industrial towns of this size. We decided that Columbus would be a good place to come back and visit when we had a few days to wander around the downtown area and visit some of the unique buildings that dot the downtown landscape. (sadly when we got away from downtown, Columbus looked all too familiar, an industrial town showing signs of economic stress and decline)

The Commons in downtown Columbus. The glass façade reflects the buildings across the street.

We ate dinner at local family owned Tre Bicchieri, a fabulous Italian restaurant, in downtown Columbus. Our table was in the front left corner by the front window.Our waitress did a wonderful job and the food was superb. Dinner, plus gratuity, came to 46.00. Highlight of the night? A waitress lost control of her tray and dumped two beers down the side of a man. Biggest surprise? This didn’t faze the man. He took it all in stride, wiped himself off, and went right on chatting with those he was dining with. A teachable moment, to be sure. Yes, shit happens but we choose HOW to respond to it. This man, by not getting angry or blowing up, showed how we should respond when accidents like this happen. Sure, it would be better if they don’t happen…but, as we all know, they DO happen.