Category: Religion

Russian Orthodox Christians Offended By Apple Logo

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

While the Duma, the Russian Parliament, is considering laws to “to defend citizens’ religious feelings and national and spiritual values from blasphemy and insult,” Russian Orthodox Christians claim that the Apple logo is anti-Christian and insults their beliefs.

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Family Values Candidate Eric Bodenweiser Arrested In Delaware For Allegedly Repeatedly Raping Young Boy

This is Eric Bodenweiser, Republican candidate for the Delaware State Senate and anti-gay member of the Delaware Family Policy Council. Bodenweiser, 53, was viewed as unbeatable in the race against his Democratic challenger right up to the time the family values candidate was arrested for allegedly having unlawful sex acts with a 13-year-old boy.

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Divine or Negligent Judgment? Cows and Crucifix Strike Down The Faithful In Religious Devotions

We have had some bizarre religious injuries this week among both the Christian and Muslim faithful. In Newburgh, New York, David Jimenez was grateful to God for curing his wife of cancer, particularly he believed due to his devotion of a large crucifix outside the Church of St. Patrick in Newburgh. So he received permission to paint the crucifix to show his thanks, but it proceeded to fall and crush his leg in a rather mixed message. In the meantime, Muslims have reported a spate of injuries and deaths from people being trampled by animals during annual sacrifice Islamic rituals this week.

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Saudi King Demands International Blasphemy Law From United Nations

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz this weekend added his voice to the call of Muslim leaders for an international blasphemy standard that criminalizes anti-religious speech.   The monarch demanded the law in light of recent insults to Mohammad: “It is our duty and that of every Muslim to protect Islam and defend the prophets.”  Of course, Saudi Arabia does not even allow the building of churches in its country and routinely metes out draconian sentences for those who attempt to convert followers to other religions or commit apostasy.

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Rewarding The Rapists

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Richard Mourdock, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Indiana, made the following statement during a debate: “but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” Mourdock later explained that he doesn’t believe that God “pre-ordains” rape.

Mourdock’s view of God attempts to deal with the conflicting concepts of the goodness of pregnancy and the evil of rape. His view is incoherent.

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GOP Senatorial Candidate: God Intended Rape Victims To Get Pregnant

Honestly, what is the problem with rape and Republican candidates this year? First, Rep. Todd Akin loses a lock on a Senate seat by holding forth on “legitimate rape” and how women possess some magic ability to prevent pregnancies by rapists. Now, Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock (who defeated respected Senator Richard Lugar) has proclaimed with only a few weeks to go in the election that the impregnation of women in rape is part of God’s plan. What happened to the good old day when GOP candidates primarily followed a formula campaign based on lower taxes and longer criminal sentences?

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After Calling For International Blasphemy Crime: Egyptian President Morsi Participates In Service Calling For The Annihilation of All Jews and Israel

You many recall the demand of Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi for a new anti-blasphemy law at the United Nations. One of Mursi’s chief aides, Emad Abdel Ghaffour, “we call for legislation or a resolution to criminalize contempt of Islam as a religion and its Prophet. The voice of reason in the West will prevail if there is mutual respect, dialogue and efficient lobbying for this critical resolution.” That does not appear to be a two-way street with Morsi or his followers. Morsi was shown this week attending prayers and listening to cleric Futouh Abd Al-Nabi Mansour calling for the destruction of all Jews and their supporters. Observers report that Morsi not only did not object or distance himself from the remarks, but appears to say “Amen” after the specific call for death to all Jews.

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Turkish Schoolchildren Issued Anti-Semitic and Anti-Darwin Textbooks

Turkey was long a bastion of secular politics — a rare position in the Muslim world. After the ascension of an Islamic party-controlled government, however, religious extremism is taking hold in a variety of areas to the alarm of civil libertarians in Turkey and around the world. The most recent example is a series of books issued to schoolchildren that are filled with anti-Semitic and anti-Darwinian references. Darwin is actually described as a Jew (he wasn’t) with a big nose and a weird fetish for monkeys.

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A Sad Sign Of Our Times

Once again I am left virtually speechless but the sheer blind rage in this election. The moral leaders of the Church in the Valley in Leakey, Texas felt that it was appropriate to post this sign reading: “Vote for the Mormon, not the Muslim! The capitalist, not the communist!” Putting aside the violation of its tax-exempt status, church leaders thought nothing of the lesson given their children in making such false and prejudicial statements. It shows the dangerously thin line that separates the faithful from the hateful in our society.

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Ethical Relativism: A Good Idea or a Path to Anarchy?

by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

I had in interesting argument the other night. Not interesting because of the content precisely.  It was old ground about the rationale for being in Iraq and Afghanistan and this person took the position of the post hoc rationalization “to contain Iran” and that – and this was a new one, funny but new – that our reason for being there was based on our need as driven by the hostage crisis of the 70’s.  It wasn’t a match against a skilled opponent.  He was about as smart and skilled at argumentation as a house plant and that is really an insult to house plants.  But what was interesting was when the topic turned to the idea of just wars and ethical relativism.  I’ll  summarize the just war argument to give some context and then show how ethical relativism came into the conversation because it got me thinking about ethical relativism (and its natural cousin moral relativism).  Is it a good idea or a path to anarchy?

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Grace Under Pressure: Rev. Phil Snider Speaking “Against” The Inclusion of LGBT Into Springfield’s (Mo.) Non-Discrimination Ordinance

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Meet Reverend Doctor Phil Snider of the Brentwood Christian Church and consider his fire and brimstone speech on including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual citizens under the protection of Springfield, Missouri’s anti-discrimination ordinance. Phil did his undergraduate work at Missouri State University (Springfield, MO), then earned his masters degree at Phillips Theological Seminary (Tulsa, OK) and doctorate at Chicago Theological Seminary (at the University of Chicago).

Be sure to listen to the ENTIRE speech (it’s not very long) and be in awe:

That’s real religion!

~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Leading Pianist and Secularist Charged With Blasphemy In Turkey

Last Sunday, I published a column on “The Death of Free Speech”, highlighting the continuing threat of blasphemy prosecutions around the world.  This week we have yet another such disturbing case.  Well-known Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say appeared in court on Thursday on charges of offending Muslims and insulting Islam in brief Twitter posts.  Say is a celebrated artist who has appeared with both the New York Philharmonic and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and will now face 18 months in jail for making a joke on Twitter. Continue reading “Leading Pianist and Secularist Charged With Blasphemy In Turkey”

Egyptian Teacher Cuts Hair Of Girls Who Failed To Wear Muslim Headscarves

We have yet another outrage by a devout Muslim who believes that she should not only require others to follow her views of morality but is willing to punish children deemed immoral. In Southern Egypt, a teacher in Luxor forced two 12-year-old girls to hold their hands above their heads for two hours and then cut off some of their hair in front of the class to punish them for not wearing Muslim headscarves or hijab.

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THE DEATH OF FREE SPEECH

Below is my column today in the Washington Post on the decline of free speech in Western countries. Speech is being balkanized into prohibited and permitted areas by redefining speech in terms of its social impact. Increasingly, it seems that the West is re-discovering the tranquility that comes with forced silence. What is fascinating is that this trend is based on principles of tolerance and pluralism — once viewed as the values underlying free speech.

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