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Ethiopia: Religious Groups Making ‘Progress’ Toward Capital Punishment For Homosexuality
Evangelical groups are spreading anti-gay hate in Ethiopia causing a climate of moral panic and forcing the LGBT community to flee the country.
A death penalty against homosexuality may be introduced soon in Ethiopia, according to anti-gay organizations that ran a recent workshop on the topic.
The workshop, dealt with the social ‘evils’ and ‘disastrous’ effects of homosexuality in Ethiopia, and was led by United for Life Ethiopia, a Western Evangelical organization with local representation.
Government officials, religious leaders, leading heath professionals, charities and members of the public attended the event at the Bethel Teaching Hospital in Addis Ababa, last week.
In the workshop police alleged ‘homosexual family members and neighbors’ have sexually abused 117 boys last year.
Participants agreed that the Western gay motto ‘born this way’ is unacceptable to Ethiopia, stating that not only has homosexuality nothing to do with nature, but the ‘condition’ runs against it.
A representative, from the Ethiopian Inter-Religious Council Against Homosexuality (EICAH) organization, underlined to workshop participants that gayness is not natural and has nothing to do with human rights, but ‘a result of a result of inappropriate upbringing, identity crisis and moral decay.
‘So we have to work hard to teach our children the bible and ethics and also protect our nation from the dirty western imposed culture of homosexuality.’
Sultan Muhe, chair of Bright Children Voluntary Association (BCVA) testified that as a child he was gang-raped, an experience that ‘made him’ gay as well as a sex worker.
Muhe also stated that he was now cured (ex-gay) and now campaigns for others to be ‘healed’, stating: ‘Homosexuality should be discouraged by whatever means and the government should do whatever it takes to stop it.’
At the conclusion of the workshop, the EICAH representative stated that the council is ‘making progress’ in convincing the government to be stricter on homosexuality and introduce the death penalty to punish ‘such acts’.
The ECIAH representative added that prospects for capital punishment being legislated against gays ‘seems promising’.
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High Resolution(Source: girls-can-be-gamers-too, via darwinsminion)
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Richard Dawkins Reads His Hate-Mail, Again.
Richard Dawkins settles in next to his fireplace for a hilarious reading of messages from his detractors.
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Shit Homophobic People Say
A short highlight reel of mainstream conservative bigotry in America over the last 10 years.
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Second Child Death for Convicted “Faith-Healing” Couple
A couple that was sentenced to probation after their 2-year-old died in 2009 from pneumonia have had another child die.
Herbert and Catherine Schaible, fundamentalist Christians who believe in the power of prayer ahead of modern medicine, recently had their 8-month-old son die, according to Philadelphia Police spokeswoman Jillian Russell.
It wasn’t clear when the child died, or the cause of death, but the death hasn’t been ruled suspicious, Russell said.
The child was taken to a funeral home by an as yet unknown individual and the undertaker alerted police, Russell said.
An official cause of death is pending an autopsy, according to police.
In 2010, a jury convicted the Schaibles, who have seven other children, of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in the death of their 2-year-old son Kent. The Schaibles were each sentenced to 10 years of probation — they could have faced prison time.
As part of their sentence, the Schaibles were required to arrange medical examinations for each of their children, to immediately consult with a doctor when a child became sick and to follow the doctor’s treatment recommendations.
During their trial, the Schaibles’ lawyers said the parents were targeted because their fundamentalist Christian beliefs espouse faith healing.
Pennsylvania law says parents have a legal duty to protect their children’s health and safety, although the law does not specify if or when medical care must be sought.
Prosecutors said the Kent could have been saved with basic medical care — probably even over-the-counter medication — but the couple relied on prayer instead. Defense attorneys argued that their clients did not know how sick the child was, and their beliefs played no role in their decision.
When asked for comment outside his Rhawnhurst home Friday, Herbert Schaible, 44, told NBC10’s Chris Cato “we don’t want to talk.”
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"I’ve gone to these fundamentalist colleges and I’ve gone to Fox News and it’s interesting, the biggest impact I’ve ever had is when I said, “you don’t have to be an atheist to believe in evolution.” I’ve had young kids come up to me and say that affected them deeply. So yes it’s nice to point that out, but I actually think that if you read my book I never say that we know all the answers, I say that it’s pompous to say that we can’t know the answers. And so yeah I think that maybe there will be some people who are craving this stuff and who won’t pick up my book because of the way I’ve framed it, but at the same time I do think that people need to be aware that they can be brave enough to ask the question “Is it possible to understand the universe without God?” And so you’re right that I’m going to lose some people, but I’m hoping that at the same time I’ll gain some people who are going to be brave enough to come out of the closet and ask that question. And that’s what amazes me, that nowadays when you simply ask the question you’re told that you’re offending people."
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The Case Against Christianity - Dr. Richard Carrier
Dr. Carrier summarizes a short list of reasons he’s not a Christian.
1. God is silent - Only “revealing” conflicting info to certain people
2. God is inert - Not that he doesn’t do any specific thing, it’s that he doesn’t do anything.
3. We have the wrong evidence - the same kind of evidence that is given for all religions.
4. We have the wrong universe - vast, old, full of junk material. If humans are the point, the inefficiency is astounding. -
High ResolutionWhen my sister in law posts notes like this on Facebook, I feel that she grossly under appreciates the magnitude and intensity of suffering and what a psycho her god would be to willingly inflict such suffering as a “test”. Instead, I think she is referring more to the stress of planning a wedding (for example).
I guess God tests some people by making it hard to find a parking space or a wedding venue, and others he tests by giving them AIDS from birth and almost zero food to eat, and as a bonus round, they must fend off brutal marauders.
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Every national church or religion has established itself by pretending some special mission from God, communicated to certain individuals. The Jews have their Moses; the Christians their Jesus Christ, their apostles and saints; and the Turks their Mahomet, as if the way to God was not open to every man alike.
Each of those churches show certain books, which they call revelation, or the word of God. The Jews say, that their word of God was given by God to Moses, face to face; the Christians say, that their word of God came by divine inspiration: and the Turks say, that their word of God (the Koran) was brought by an angel from Heaven. Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all.
"- Thomas Paine -
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As it is necessary to affix right ideas to words, I will, before I proceed further into the subject, offer some other observations on the word revelation. Revelation, when applied to religion, means something communicated immediately from God to man.
No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a communication, if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only. When he tells it to a second person, a second to a third, a third to a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be a revelation to all those persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and hearsay to every other, and consequently they are not obliged to believe it.
It is a contradiction in terms and ideas, to call anything a revelation that comes to us at second-hand, either verbally or in writing. Revelation is necessarily limited to the first communication — after this, it is only an account of something which that person says was a revelation made to him; and though he may find himself obliged to believe it, it cannot be incumbent on me to believe it in the same manner; for it was not a revelation made to me, and I have only his word for it that it was made to him.
"- Thomas Paine, on why we have no obligation to believe prophets (or any of their writings). -
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The Most Religious States Are Also The Unhappiest
A new study reveals that states whose populations identify as “very religious” are using the most anti-depressants
They say that religion is the opiate of the masses, but it seems that the opiates of the religious are antidepressants.
A study released yesterday confirmed that Mississippi remains the most religious state in the Union, followed by a handful of its southern belt brothers: Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, as well as the Mormon stronghold of Utah. The Gallup poll showed that 58 percent of all Mississippians identify as “very religious.” The least religious states in the U.S. are the former stomping grounds of the very,very religious Puritans: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.
But life in these highly faithful states doesn’t seem to be all its cracked up to be. The most religious states in the U.S. share another trait: the highest use of anti-depressants.
Utah has long been the nation’s capital of happy pill popping, with its citizens twice as likely to be on anti-depressants than the general U.S. population. But the rest of the observant states aren’t far behind. Of the top-ten most religious states, nine have higher than average use of anti-depressants.
Some states have startlingly medicated populations.
In Utah, Louisiana and Arkansas–the 2nd, 4th and 5th most religious states in the Union– nearly 20 percent of the population is on some form of anti-depressants, according to a 2006 study by one of the largest prescription companies.
The rest of the highly religious states aren’t far behind. Mississippi (most religious), Alabama (third most religious), South Carolina (6th), Tennessee (7th), North Carolina (8th) and Oklahoma (10th) have above average rates of anti-depressant use, with 15 to 17 percent of the citizens medicated. Of the top-ten most religious states, only one–Georgia–isn’t disproportionately addicted to anti-depressants. Nationally, the prescription rate was about 14 percent.
Anti-depressants weren’t the only medication being doled out in the most religious states. In fact, a state’s level of religiosity correlates with a state’s overall medication rate. Of the top ten most religious states in the Union, six are also on the list of top-ten most medicated states.
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41 homophobic Christian groups, (who do, in fact, represent most of Americas Christian population through lobbying and if you’re a Christian, make no mistake, you are supporting this) published this half-page ad in today’s USAToday calling on the Boy Scouts of America to continue to oppress and marginalize homosexuals at every level throughout their organization. This is true Christianity right here and while not all Christians support this sort of thing, all Christians support one or more of these lobbies whenever they donate to their church, support Christian political movements (because they’re usually fronted by these groups. Even seemingly innocuous ones like the National Day of Prayer), or just promote Christianity in culture because you lend legitimacy to these people and these causes. This ad shamefully equates homosexuality to immorality and progress to cowardice. They are the cowards. They are cruel and their culture is a dying one. You either get on the right side of history and throw this garbage away or you support them in shame and face being humiliated for generations to come as backward and ignorant.
Divine Irony
is a rich archive of religious delusions, scientific truths and political implications.
"Tell people there’s an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure."
-George Carlin
“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed”.
-Albert Einstein
