In his Christmas address the Pope attacked same-sex marriage. In his remarks, Benedict quoted the chief rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim, in saying the campaign for granting gays the right to marry and adopt children was an “attack” on the traditional family made up of a father, mother and children. He claims that gay marriage, …
Continue reading ‘Pope Benedict and the struggle against Nature’ »
When the Hindu fundamentalist leader Bal Thackeray died recently, the city of Mumbai practically came to a standstill. So revered was he by followers of his right-wing Shiv Sena party – a notoriously violent bunch feared throughout the state of Maharashtra – that offices, shops and restaurants closed, and cinemas cancelled performances. An over-reaction? Not …
Continue reading ‘Extreme right-wing Hindus: the fanatics who shut down Mumbai’ »
Letter to The Guardian Letter to the Editor: So, women can’t become bishops because “Jesus chose only male disciples”. Quite right too. He also only chose Jews and not Christians. I am open to offers. Rabbi Guy Hall, London (quoted in The Week) What a muddle these religious ideologues of all religions (in this case …
As the Church of England was voting against female bishops last week, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa was celebrating the consecration of its first woman bishop. The new bishop of Swaziland, Ellinah Wamukoya, 61, said she hoped to represent the “mother attribute of God. A mother is a caring person, but a mother can …
The Church of England was thrown into turmoil recently after the General Synod voted against the appointment of women bishops. The measure was passed by the Synod’s houses of bishops and clergy, but failed to secure the two-thirds majority also required in the house of laity, by just six votes: in total, 324 members of …
Continue reading ‘The Church of England and women bishops’ »
I applaud the manner in which the Coptic Orthodox Church recently appointed its new Pope. Pope Tawadros II was chosen by a blindfolded boy (randomly chosen from a line-up of 12) , who picked his name from a chalice. The chalice contained the names of three candidates shortlisted following a consultation involving 2,400 electors, whose …
Some people believe that religions are superstitions devised by people who lust for power and control over their fellow men. Sometimes, it is said, they are also simply a means of making a living for a charlatan or faux wizard (viz. the founder of the Mormans). But how effective they can be! Witness the number …
The Sisters of Mary, a Catholic organization based in Ohio, have made a video claiming that contraception makes women unattractive to men, makes them murderers, that it turns men gay and that it makes them have sex with dogs. (Truly!) The nuns site a study in which a male chimp rejected his sexual partners after …
In any war between the civilized man and the savage support the civilized man. Support Israel – Defeat Jihad. This is the wording of an ad just put up in the New York Metro by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, an extremist advocacy group. When I first read it I thought it must have …
Continue reading ‘Bad manners. Bad politics. Crass stupidity’ »
“The Chief Rabbi of England has accused atheist Professor Richard Dawkins of using an “anti-Semitic stereotype” in his best-selling book The God Delusion by saying the God of the Old Testament was “the most unpleasant character in all fiction”. Dawkins dismissed the allegation as “ridiculous” and said he was not “anti-Jewish” just “anti-God”.” Has the …
Continue reading ‘Defending the old god of the Israelites’ »
Scientologists believe that 75 trillion years ago an inter-galactic dictator called Xenu brought his people to earth, and there he massacred them. Their souls now torment modern human beings. Scientology, founded by Ron Hubbard owes its current prosperity mainly to a single Hollywood star, Tom Cruise. It is accused of prising vulnerable people away from …
A few weeks ago residents in a slum district of Islamabad spotted Rifta Masih, an 11-year-old girl from a minority Christian family, “acting suspiciously”; she was holding the charred remains of pages from the Koran having apparently set fire to them. Now she’s jail accused of blasphemy, for which she could even be sentenced …
In June the Vatican censured The Leadership Conference of Women Religious for violating Church teaching on issues including birth control and homosexuality, and adopting “certain radical feminist themes”. At its annual conference the nuns agreed to resume discussions with Rome about the future of the Leadership Conference, but has warned that it will call off the …
Epicurus said that there were no rewards and punishments after death because there was no one out there to reward or punish you. The idea of hell-fire and damnation are fairy tales designed by control freaks to make you conform, be a good dutiful citizen, refrain from complaining about such minor matters as corruption and …
The Catholic church’s relationship with the Obama administration reached a new low when the administration ruled that employers had to offer birth control without co-pay as part of the new health reform law. “Obama threatens religious freedom,” thunder the bishops. Religious liberty is under attack at home and abroad, they claim. How does one answer …
