Author Archives: Jacob Fortin

Christian University Fined for Deceiving Students

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Christian Universities are a joke. The notion that an educational institution would have an official religion is against the very idea of learning. Forget being able to challenge the beliefs and ideas of others, which is the bedrock of any liberal education. Instead, if you are a sensitive Christian that despises the idea that you might share real-estate with people who don’t believe in exactly the same this, then the University of Grand Canyon might be for you. All you need to accept is the idea that the amount of money you’ll be spending on your education will be way different than what you were originally quoted.

This is because they were recently fined 37 million dollars for deceiving students pursuing doctoral programs into paying more money than they were originally slated to give. This represents the largest penalty ever issued to an “educational” institution for this kind of activity. They should feel proud.

The University ranks 395th out of 435 in the US, which means that if you were to randomly pick any school in America, the odds of getting a worst one would be quite low. Grand Canyon ranks in the bottom 25% of American Universities, and from the graduation rates, it’s obvious that the school is far more interested in registrations than graduations.

Here are a few reviews that seem to corroborate this

I spent eight years working on a PhD only to have incompetent dissertation chairs. I was put in an extension course after extension course writing my dissertation proposal with no end in sight. Paying out of pocket. They use up all your student loan money and they don’t care to see you graduate. Horrible experience.

I don’t even know where to start. I am in my first class and can already see I made a huge mistake. The interface is awful and half assed. I was given bad in financial info. It is not worth what you pay.

Were you expecting a religious organization to be interested in anything other than money? Where have you been for the last millennium or two?

Churches concerned over lack of Gen Z generosity

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Churches around the world are in trouble. You see, young people are leaving Christianity in droves, and those that are staying have very shallow pocketbooks. This is the latest discovery of a recent study of protestant pastors that found that the majority of them were very concerned that the next generation of Christians were finding themselves unwilling to be charitable:

The future of the Church depends in large part on generosity. And that generosity will soon hinge on a generation who presently exhibit less financial security and lower levels of Christian affiliation, church attendance and charitable giving than their elders”

There are several reasons for this lack of “generosity”. For starters, Gen Z is poorer than their parents. They are also more educated about church misconduct, and it hasn’t helped these religious organizations that so many sexual abuse scandals have surfaced. It’s not exactly great marketing. Lastly, Gen Z might be politely showing up to church, but it seems the main reason is just to please their parents or grandparents. They lack their own reasons for showing up, and that’s a good thing.

The fact is, religiosity is dying among the younger generation. Living in the information age has made it practically impossible for churches to keep their flock. Either some scandal erupts, or a basic internet search will thoroughly destroy any claims made by the religious.

So, how are these guys going to keep paying the bills? Who cares!

 

Russian Muslims target Jews at Dagestan Airport

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As the situation worsens in Israel, the rest of the world has responded in a variety of ways. In many countries, Pro-Palestinian protestors have been making their voices heard, and often, these voices have been echoing some familiar sentiments that many of us thought were long gone. Russia, who claims to be fighting a “special military operation” in Ukraine to “rid Kiev of Nazis”, has been named as one of the possible instigators and planners of the attacks that happened (alongside Iran), specifically in an attempt to get attention diverted away from their disastrous war.

The Republic of Dagestan is largely Muslim, which naturally means that the animosity they feel towards Jews has always been high, and is now at a fever pitch. A few days ago, when word reached the populous that a plane from Israel had been diverted to their local airport, they came in force to “greet” any potential Israelite with the familiar phrase “Allahu Akbar”, or God is Great. This phrase has always struck me by how it reeks of insecurity, even as it is used in violent incidents.

The terrified passengers were harassed, and some appeared to have been injured in the process.  the mob was tearing passports from the hands of innocent travelers, telling people that they were “only looking for Jews today”. Around 60 people were arrested by police, but it didn’t just stop at the airport:

On Saturday, a crowd in the city of Khasavyurt in Dagestan gathered outside a hotel where they believed some Israelis were staying.

The protesters threw stones at the windows and a sign was put on the door reading: “Entrance strictly forbidden to citizens of Israel”

There are roughly 300-400 Jewish families that live in the Russian republic. How long before something more serious happens?

Church warns of Fake Priest scammers

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It’s not often that the Catholic church tries to do something right. It’s so uncommon that when it happens, the cynical part of me wonders if there might be some ulterior motive behind it. For instance, the Diocese in California is trying to put a stop to fake priests who are tricking recent immigrants into paying thousands of dollars for “services” that would typically be either free or inexpensive.

Diocesan spokesperson Erin Haight told NBC News the bogus clerics “are charging these poor people thousands and thousands of dollars for things like health blessings for communions and confirmations.”

The church is learning lesson in humility, as the police have stated that only victims of the fraud can come forward. There is no legal way to distinguish between a destructive cult and an established religion, so it turns out that anyone that wears a crown of thorns can ask believers for whatever they want, and this kind of theft is totally legal.

Since so many of the victims are illegal immigrants, it’s almost assured that the perpetrators of these scams will continue to do so without resistance. Since they utilize the veneer of religion, they are practically untouchable. All the church can do is try to educate its flock to prevent them from being conned. The irony here is almost palpable.

New House Speaker is a Creationist Idiot

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We always knew you were a little troubled, America. If you aren’t being terrified on a daily basis by mass shootings, you have to worry about your republic being eroded by religious zealots intent on transforming the United States into a theocracy. They are now one step closer with the Republican Party installing a religious extremist as their House Speaker.

Mike Johnson is now one of the most googled person, since before his important position, most of America was unaware of his existence. A brief look is not encouraging: the man is a religious wacko, who has worked with conservative groups to ban abortion, which he blames for school shooting (it’s not the guns, you know). He also thinks that the embarrassingly dumb Creation Museum (which he fought to have funded with taxpayer money) is an important “educational” tool.

“The Ark Encounter is one way to bring people to this recognition of the truth, that what we read in the Bible are actual historical events,” Johnson said in a 2021 interview with Ark Encounter founder Ken Ham while guest-hosting the radio show of Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, an evangelical activist group.

This man is now second in line to the American presidency. Is this a sign of more things to come, or will this act as a wakeup call for voters that religious nutbags are actively trying to destroy their democracy? Only time will tell.

Madrassa teacher Arrested for Mollesting Students

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Over the years, we’ve covered a lot of child abuse by pastors and priests. It’s an almost daily occurrence, so much so that the phrase “youth pastor arrested for molestation” has become a bit of a meme these days. Because Christianity is so dominant in our society, we forget that other religions have the same tradition of molesting their flock, and protecting their abusers.  Take for instance a recent story out of India. A 25 year old madrassa teacher was arrested after he was accused of “sodomizing” almost a dozen students (that we know about). They also arrested the trustee, who had not only failed to take any action to report the abuse, but he also helped the teacher to flee when word came that police were going to arrest him. Both had tried to flee when the accusations were made, but they were eventually apprehended.

The whole affair came to light after one of the students was brave enough to do something about the abuse.

The offence came to light after one of the students of the residential school called his mother using the mobile phone of another maulana a few days back and complained about the teacher’s sexual gestures and acts with students, the police statement said.

It’s a reminder that only the courage of victims will finally stop these religious organizations from providing shelter, aid, and a fertile ground for their depravity. As the stigma of abuse sheds, I have no doubt that there will be more stories of this kind. Here’s hoping that the victims get some form of justice in all of this.

Kazakhstan bans hijabs in schools

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The topic of the hijab is a tricky issue for secular countries. On the one hand, it’s an obvious form of religiously mandated modesty, forced upon women. On the other, it can be (in limited cases) a free expression of one’s religious devotion, though unsurprisingly this freedom is rarely granted outside of Western countries.

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, young women who dare to defy the practice are routinely harassed and sometimes beaten to death, as was the case a year ago, with 22 year old Mahsa Amini. Since her death, more women have defied the mandate to wear it, even as thousands are arrested and killed. The ones living in exile of this theocratic country are not fans of the headscarf, as it has become a symbol of both social and political revolution.

Paradoxically, in England, a recent statue was erected celebrating this vicious denial of female agency. This is the same country where honor killings have gone up by 81%. Many of these killings go unsolved, as the family is unwilling to cooperate with police investigations. How many other faiths can boast of this kind of this devotion?

Kazakhstan is facing the growing threat of religious upheaval. The country is 70% Islamic, although the government tries its best to stay secular. Their recent solution to the danger of sectarianism is inelegant, to say the least. They recently banned the wearing of the hijab in schools, arguing that wearing it represents a kind of religious  propaganda. Officials stressed that the ban does not apply outside of school, but already, the familiar cries of oppressions abound. In protest, hundreds of girls refused to show up to their schools, and one official was beaten by two religious thugs when she refused to allow a student wearing one to enter.

This kind of restriction only serves to feed the grievances of the religious, who always feel oppressed, even when their boot is on your neck. Free societies are always at danger of losing their commitment to liberty, since this can often be used as a tool to spread religious repression. This is what the hijab represents; the cross-section of freedom and oppression. The irony of course is that were Islam in power, the choice to wear it would disappear for everyone. The dilemma of freedom is a one sided affair, but it is our responsibility to preserve it.   Still, we cannot win this fight by compromising the values we hold dear. Instead, if schools really believe that religious symbols represent propaganda, the only inoculant against dogma is a good education. If there’s one place everyone can improve, it would be this.

Courts overrules JW parent’s fight to prevent blood transfusion for child

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Religious folks baffle me. Imagine that your child is dying, and in order to save their life, a simple blood transfusion is needed. For the vast majority of us, this is simply a no-brainer; people have been receiving blood transfusions for almost 400 years, and it’s a relatively benign form of aid.  Sure, there are some minor risks involved, but for the most part, thousands of transfusions happen without incident. Not so in the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have interpreted the Bible’s disgust in spilt blood into a generalized philosophy that outright bans their members from receiving transfusions, even when it would save their lives. It’s estimated that almost 600 JW’s lose their lives every year from their refusal, and since their adoption of this ridiculous practice, over 30,000 of them have perished needlessly.

If you want to let yourself die over the ridiculous belief that your god disapproves of this life saving medical procedure, and you are an adult, there’s nothing stopping you from throwing your life away. However, this certainly does not mean that you have a right to decide for others whether or not they get to live. That’s something that the courts in Australia also seem to agree, as a recent ruling from a judge is forcing a JW couple to allow their three year old toddler to receive blood for her upcoming medical surgeries. For months the couple has been fighting her doctors, and so the courts had to get involved to save her life.

The court took into account the parents’ strongly held convictions. “However, based on the medical evidence and the submissions advanced by the parties it was clearly in JI’s best interests and welfare to authorize the proposed treatment in advance of her upcoming surgeries”

Why is someone’s conviction important? Anyone can have a conviction, but it does not mean that their beliefs are righteous. You could have a strong conviction that everyone on earth is the devil and needs to be destroyed (a belief that’s held by quite a few religious groups, I might add). The fact that the court and even the doctors were trying to bend over backwards for these types of ludicrous beliefs is beyond me. Only the veneer of religion can make people this weak and pathetic in the face of such stupidity. By just concentrating on the facts, it boils down to a child’s life hanging in the balance, all because her parents think that a Bronze Age god gives a crap what gets put in your body.

Cursed are the Poor

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While religion is on a slow decline across the world, there is a brand of Christianity that is flourishing as people’s economic prospects begin to dwindle: prosperity gospels. Their philosophy is simple: wealth is a direct result of “seeding” the church, which is just a fancy way of saying that the more money you give to religious charlatans, the more God will bless you.

Most of you are already familiar with the big names in the biz: Creflo Dollar and Joel Osteen come to mind. However, this ignores the hundreds of other small hustlers like Jason Mattera who demand that their already financially stricken flock give them thousands of dollars with the vague promise that they will see these amounts returned tenfold. It’s an easy pitch for those desperate for a miracle.

No content with just ripping off their fellow man, now some have taken to venting about how the evil of poverty is a direct result of those lazy bums that refuse to do an honest days work, and a lack of faith in God. You see, in their world view, people who need help have failed to help themselves, and the whole notion of “Christian charity” is really a fundamental misunderstanding of biblical teachings:

Of course, Christians are supposed to be at the tip of the spear in alleviating poverty, especially when it comes to other believers. That doesn’t mean, however, that we are under any obligation to help indolent bums.

Such people are not entitled to our generosity.

The irony in all of this is that a majority of adherents to prosperity gospel tend to be people of lower means. In a sense, these poor wretches want to understand their own failures and seek to justify the intense inequity in wealth distribution around them. Why are some rich and others poor? Their conclusion is simple: it’s all their fault for lacking faith:

Many scholars of religion…argue that the Prosperity Gospel resonates only with those of the lower class by offering them the “opiate” of upward mobility. Others make the reverse argument that the Prosperity Gospel actually rationalizes the wealth of those who have been upwardly mobile by saying that this is spiritually derived and deserved (Bruce 1990b; Fee 1981; Gifford 1998).

As wealth inequity grows, so too will this movement, which will only continue to add to the problem. From now on, anyone associating Christianity with compassion and charity better think twice!

Police Failed to catch abuser because he belonged to their church

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Religion makes you blind and dumb. Believers always assume that people who share their faith must also share their morality, with devastating consequences. Take for example the case of Roc Anthony Byrd, recently accused of rape, and a number of other sexual battery charges. He would have been caught sooner, but when some of his victims came to the police, they were sent away because Byrd was a fellow member of their church.

One other woman said she attempted to file a report around 2004 to 2005 after being touched inappropriately but the officers involved reportedly said, “oh he would never do that he goes to our church… why would he do that?”

The 52 year old chiropractor had been inappropriately touching his female victims for years with impudence. He must have believed himself invincible, what with the police believing him an upstanding member of society simply because he showed up to their church ceremonies. So strong was the indoctrination of faith that even his victims were in denial about the whole thing”

Court records said another anonymous victim trusted Byrd because she believed he was “such a great Christian man.” When she was touched inappropriately, she thought to herself that the chiropractor surely couldn’t’ve been doing what “he was doing.”

This and other more heinous crimes are perpetuated every day, and the faithful close their eyes to it all. Even when all of their instincts tell them that something is wrong, the power of their indoctrination makes it almost impossible for them to see evil for what it truly is. It’s no wonder pastors and other men of the cloth have gotten away with the rape and mental torture of their flocks’ children; when their victims are in this level of denial about reality, it’s easy pickin’.

Taliban refuses to let women be rescued from Earthquake

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A few days ago, a terrible earthquake rocked Afghanistan. It measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, which did a tremendous amount of damage in a country already devastated by war.

Since the country is now run by the Taliban, rescue efforts were almost non existent, with the fundamentalist organization showing up to the effected areas hours after the quake.

“For two to three hours after the earthquake, there was no information or accurate news,” said Rashid Azimi, a local aid coordinator not connected to the Taliban government, adding that it was the local residents themselves who cried for help when no one else was available to support rescue efforts.

The quake happened during the afternoon, when the men were off tending to their daily chores. This meant that the majority of victims were almost exclusively women and children, who are forced to stay inside the home and away from the prying eyes of others. To make matters worse, when people attempted to help those trapped under the rubble, they were greeted by armed Taliban soldiers that forbade them from helping, since strange men are not allowed to touch any women:

According to Maryam, it was not difficult for the local people to save the women, but some armed Taliban were there who were not allowing them to go near the women…the Taliban did not allow women to visit these areas for the first two or three days of the earthquake so that men and women could not gather there.

So to recap, the corrupt and pathetic Afghani theocratic government was not only terribly slow to react to a disaster, they also actively prevented women and children from being saved, and they hurriedly buried the bodies without ceremony so that the whole incident could be quickly forgotten.

The reaction from Western governments has been mixed. While there are attempts to help the victims, it’s believed that any aid sent to the country would most likely be appropriated by the Taliban, and its doubtful that any would make their way to those in need. The country is already under heavy sanctions, which has aggravated the situation. The truth is that very little can be done, so long as religious tyrants continue to exert their theocratic control. I don’t foresee this changing anytime soon.

Bangladeshi atheist blogger on the run

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Islam has to be the most insecure faith in the world. Ever since it’s invention, a strange mixture of religious plagiarism and local superstition, believers have had a murderous hatred of anyone that choose to abandon it. Christianity has long since abandoned the physical component of crusades, but Islam simply cannot transition away from this tradition. Any threat made against someone must be taken seriously. Salman Rushdie learned recently that one must always remain vigilant, as the murderous intent of the faithful never fades.

Rushdie is not the only target of Islamic ire. The perpetual and disturbing harassment of atheist blogger Asad Noor has forced the Bangladeshi man to flee to India after a number of threats to his life were made. He was being harassed not only by locals, but also by his own religious government, who appears to want to put him behind bars for blasphemy:

The local police raided the blogger’s house in Amtali village in the southern Barguna district in the dead of night on 14-15 July 2020, hounding his parents when they couldn’t find him. Police raided their house again on 16 July. On 18 July in the early morning, the police raided the house again and detained Asad’s father, Tofazzal Hossain, his mother, Rabeya Begum, two younger sisters (one was minor), and two other relatives, without any formal charge or warrant. The local police kept the family members in detention for 40 hours before releasing them in the night of 19 July.

Noor now lives anonymously in India, no doubt looking over his shoulder in fear every day, wondering when some brainwashed maniac will strike either him or one of his family members. Muslim believers are upset that he has not only abandoned the faith, but dares to encourage others to do so. Two of his fellow countrymen, Bijoy Hossain Tanil and Farhan Choudhury, living in comfort in both Paris and the UK, have gained notoriety after they released (and subsequently deleted) social media videos calling on his execution. Since both live in countries which allow freedom of expression, they have not been jailed, though I would not be surprised if authorities now have them in their sites.

Personally, I believe that religiously motivated threats should be taken as seriously as school shootings. In fact, I would not be opposed to the deportation of anyone who encourage the murder of others, especially if these threats are religiously motivated. Keep in mind that religions are often also political organizations, and a call to action is akin to a declaration of war. People take religion as seriously as they take their patriotic duty, and so, despite being a free speech purist, I believe an exception must be made in the case of religion, where words carry with them the power to activate the zealotry of their flock.

The West cannot afford to remain complacent on the threat to civilization that Islam poses. So long as Muslim fundamentalists continue to threaten people, or openly attack them at peaceful venues, they will continue to be a threat to the values and ideals of a free and open society.

 

Sweden rocked by terrorist attack

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It began with a football match. Belgium had come to challenge their Swedish rivals, and the stadium was packed with fans eager to cheer on their teams, and by all accounts it was turning out to be a beautiful day. Arriving a little late to the game, a few stragglers were making their way inside the building when a bearded man approached and opened fire on them, killing two and seriously injuring a third. He then sped away on his moped.

Unsure if there were more and if this was part of a larger attack, the match was suspended, with the players going back to their locker rooms, and the terrified audience told to wait, rather than flee chaotically and add to the confusion. For agonizing hours these spectators were held captive, until finally near the stoke of midnight, they were allowed to leave.

A video had made its way to social media, with the suspect releasing a statement claiming to have killed others, and crediting his murderous act on his beloved religion of Islam. The Tunisian man had been living in the country illegally, his request for asylum having been denied back in 2020. Keep in mind that the country is not a troubled spot, and has accepted almost 10,000 asylum seekers themselves from other African countries.

While the country still reels from the shock, fears in the country are at an all time high. There are concern that others may try and mimic the act, especially with pro Palenstinian demonstrations happening throughout the country. It’s a tense time, and not doubt that the political repercussions of this act will be felt, not only in Sweden, but other European countries that realize that there are real dangers of violent spillover as the conflict between Israel and Palestine continues to escalate.

Gambian Women face renewed threat of FGM

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In 2015, Gambia did something that few African countries dared: they banned Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM. The penalty for mutilating young women is up to 3 years in jail, and a fine of no less than 700 USD (which is a substantial sum there). Recently, politicians, along with religious leaders, are demanding it be “decriminalized”.

Muslim Imams have been fighting to reinstate the barbaric practice, claiming that the law is “anti-Islamic”. One imam, named Abdoulie Fatty, recently paid the fines of three women that had been found guilty, effectively telling others in the community that anyone caught destroying the reproductive organs of young women would be helped.

“We want to tell them that anybody who blew the whistle on these women and those who arrested them and the magistrate who sentenced them and any other person who support them, we will curse them until we leave this world to ensure that Allah destroys them. That will deter others. We don’t want violence but enough is enough. Let us stop provoking and offending each other. We should follow the command of Prophet Muhammad. Instead, they are fighting Islam, but Allah will be the judge.”

To be clear, FGM, which is mainly practiced in African countries, is never mentioned in any Islamic doctrine. It’s origins date back thousands of years, when it was forced upon Egyptian slaves to ensure their fidelity. It has since evolved into a ritual designed to forever destroy the ability for women to enjoy sex. Instead, procreation is to be forever be painful and associated with shame (just the way religion likes it).

Islam’s perpetual fear of the opposite sex is evident in how every restrictive and sexist practice is enthusiastically adopted by the faith. The abuse of women and Islam go together like peanut butter and jelly; it’s a match made in heaven. How women can not only tolerate, but actively participate in this murderous cult is beyond me, and will forever remain one of the great tragedies of existence.

 

Texas Pastor impregnated girl he abused for years

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It is undeniable that one of the major reasons for the prevalence of abuse in churches is that due to the privileged status granted by religion. Anyone associated with a church is often seen in a trusting light, even when this trust is unwarranted. This guarantees an innumerable amount of tragedy, a fact we are regularly reminded of on a daily basis.

Just a few days ago, pastor Robert L. Carter was arrested in Huston. His crime? Over the span of a decade, he repeatedly raped one of his parishioners (that we know about), beginning his assault when she was only 6 years old. The abuse was an almost daily occurrence, ending only when the victim decided that the abuse had to stop. This was 3 years after she had given birth to a child she was forced to give away.

The victim is now damaged for life, and is fighting to get custody of a child that was wrongly taken from her. This will no doubt add to this tragedy, with a new family being torn apart to undo past wrongs.

With all of these lives destroyed, you would think that perhaps a little self reflection had occurred. You would be wrong. Rather than take responsibility for his crimes, and for destroying multiple lives, Carter is quick to blame his monstrous deeds on outside forces beyond his control:

“I need you to understand that it is not about my flesh because my flesh causes me to do the things that I would not do. Paul said the good that I would I just can’t seem to do because he said whenever I [go to do good] evil is always present because I’m in my flesh,” he said. “Your flesh will send you right to Hell. Your flesh will get yourself in trouble.”

What a load of utter nonsense, straight from the mouth of a deeply troubled individual that barely qualifies as human. This gobbledygook might mean something to the faithful, but when someone not beholden to this word salad hears this, they see it only as a disgusting omission of responsibility. So long as religion continues to give lowlife scum like Carter a safe space to operate, these tragedies will continue to be a daily occurrence.