Author Archives: Jacob Fortin

Bigotry is expensive

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Have you ever noticed the religious right always uses the word ‘pro’ for things they are vehemently opposed to? When they say ‘pro-life’ for instance, they aren’t claiming ALL life is precious; just embryos. I’ve always joked around how pro-lifers write on both side of their picket signs so after protesting at an abortion clinic, they can head over to the local prison to support capital punishment. I also like how these same people try to use the word ‘pro-marriage’ to mean they are opposed to gays marrying. I would think if you were pro anything, you would want to make sure EVERYONE could marry. That’s rather what ‘pro’ is supposed to mean, you know.

Then again, double-speak is a classic tactic of the right. Say one thing; mean the complete opposite. Here is an article about a ‘pro-marriage’ charity crying foul after their coffers were drained trying to prevent gays from adopting from their service.

The Leeds-based charity, Catholic Care, was recently told it must consider gay couples as potential adopters under the Sexual Orientation Regulations (SORs), despite its belief that children need a mother and a father.

Now I won’t shit on them too much; after all, they probably do an otherwise fine job of finding parents for kids. But that does not mean their bigoted ideological stance is appropriate. Kids need parents; not just a mom and a dad. Human beings require love and commitment, and there are plenty of homosexual couples who would bend over backwards to adopt (what, I’m not allowed a good gay joke once in a while?). I don’t doubt the love these kids would receive would be grand indeed.

I wish in situations like this everyone could agree to be reasonable, but that’s not always possible when someone holds a bigoted view of you. If the charity refused to let people adopt because they were a different color, would we really be too surprised when they found themselves buried in legal documents? It turns out if you discriminate against people, you get bitch slapped back to the Stone Age. How shocking.

The real losers in this whole affair are the kids. Everyone is so busy trying to defend their ideological viewpoint that they forgot the first mandate is to get children cared for by loving people, not to make a political statement.

On a side note: does anyone think it’s weird that a bunch of celibate guys in dresses condemn homosexuals for living a deviant lifestyle? Just asking…

Tired Christian claim #3: evidence for Jesus is overwhelming

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I’ve been seeing this argument popping up more and more often these days. It’s a relative newcomer in terms of claim, but it certainly is one that’s worth discussing. Last article, I mentioned how the word ‘faith’ is a misnomer; I’ve never actually met a Christian who did not think there was a mountain of evidence supporting their claim that Jesus of Nazareth was a God. Really the only time you’ll actually hear the “it’s my faith, and I believe it despite what you say” excuse is whenever you paint them in a corner.

In the early days of Christianity, there really was no debate as to whether Jesus was a real person or not. Most accepted the view that the story of Christ was a parable for living one’s life. Paul of Tarsus, who laid the foundation for Christianity, never referred to Jesus as a real person. As far as he understood it, the story of Christ was an allegory about redemption, forgiveness and finally absolution.

For a long time, Christianity developed many different branches. Some favored a more allegorical approach to the religion (see the Gnostics for more), but in 325 AD, Emperor Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea, which would be responsible for ‘organizing’ the religion. There, a committee decided what books would eventually become the Bible. The council decided a historical Jesus was needed to codify the religion. The books of Luke and Matthew, which laid the foundation for his genealogy, were included to provide evidence of his blood relation to King David in order to fulfill Old Testament prophesy. Predictably enough, both conflict with one another (with some Christians getting really creative with their explanations).

The Council had succeeded in establishing their creed, but there existed little (if any) historical corroboration of the actual existence of a man by the name of Jesus. Since the Bible was largely considered the only real necessary historical document, there was little attempt to prove his existence outside of Christian doctrine. Why would they bother? Standards of evidence in the 4th century were not the same as they are now.

Despite the extremely flimsy evidence for the historical Jesus, Christians still maintain that the New Testament is a historical document, despite the fact even the books themselves offer contradictory stories as to the origin and lineage of Jesus. The only evidence that suggests he might have existed are the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian who makes a brief reference to a Christus figure (which translates literally to ‘Anointed One’), but even this passage is disputed. Clearly, if someone had indeed performed the supposed miracles Jesus did, there would be more corroborating evidence for multiple sources. Of course, if St. Paul and his ilk had simply made it up, it would explain everything.

I can only imagine the need to prove the existence of Jesus is a way for Christians to feel that their religion is not entirely a fabrication. Perhaps they feel if Jesus were in fact a real man then everything else in the Bible must also be true. If you’re familiar with logic, you can quickly understand how flawed this type of thinking is.

Lots of Christians believe the evidence for Jesus and their religion in general is overwhelming. In fact, it’s far too flimsy to even qualify as proper history. It demonstrates, however, human beings need more than faith to believe in something; we demand evidence. It just so happens it’s the standards of that evidence which tends to differ with Christians. They feel that by barely proving his existence, they have somehow proved he was a God.

I might be willing to go on a limb and say Jesus may have been based on a real person (the best candidate is Apollonius of Tyana), but it’s not enough to convince anyone with a sound mind this means a virgin gave birth to an all powerful savior who sacrificed himself on a cross to absolve humans from having eaten a sacred fruit in a mythical garden. Honestly guys, is that the best you can do?

Religious wacko facing dismissal sues school district

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You can’t keep a good psycho down, apparently. John Freshwater is an eighth grade science teacher who denies evolution, used a high voltage lab tool in class to burn crosses on the arms of students, and told them homosexuals are evil sinners. The district first suspended him after hearing the allegations, and announced last June (yeah, the story isn’t exactly “fresh” here) they were canning him. Now Freshwater is suing them for violating his freedom of speech.

They still haven’t been able to get rid of a guy who clearly violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by trying to force his religious beliefs in a secular institution. This guy has the balls to then turn around and deny the allegations against him, claiming the school purposefully discriminated against him due to his religious beliefs. Too bad there are a bunch of pictures of burnt flesh to prove him wrong.

First off, he’s in Ohio, so odds are every single board member is a Christian, so I strongly doubt they fired him on purely religious grounds. You can’t burn crosses into students’ arms and then assume getting fired somehow violates your rights. When you work for a public school, there is a code of conduct you must follow, and trying to teach creationism in science class is a big no-no.

I want to know who actually hired him in the first place. I have to assume it’s almost impossible to find any decent science teachers down south, since he somehow passed muster. Here’s my advice to any school administrators: when employing a science teacher, it’s normally a good idea to see where they stand on science. If they have a big Bible in their hands at the interview, odds are there isn’t a lot of valuable information in their heads. I think asking a simple question like “do you believe in evolution” is a pretty simple way to find out just how qualified they are. Don’t you?

Orthodox Jews sue over light sensor

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I actually have a few friends who observe the Sabbath, refusing to use any electronic devices, perform any kind of labor, and not even touching any money. I’ve always found their customs to be rather silly, but then again, that’s how I feel about most types of rituals. I don’t have a problem with people doing what they want, so long as they keep it to themselves.

Well, that’s not good enough for some. An Orthodox couple in the UK are suing over religious discrimination because the lights in their apartment hallway have sensors which automatically turn on whenever they detect any movement. They now say they are unable to leave their apartment as a result.

They want the lights changed and their neighbors to financially compensate them for their troubles. Obviously, people in the building are less than impressed, and I can’t blame them. The light sensors were installed to avoid wasting energy, and as an environmentally conscious person, I approve the use of such devices. The fact they make observing Sabbath a problem is not anyone’s concern but the people who hold these types of useless rituals.

I’m tired of otherwise compromising and reasonable people being sued left and right because the feelings of religious folks are being hurt. The sensors are there for people’s safety and convenience. If Mr. and Mrs. Coleman are unhappy about this type of technology, there are plenty of places in Bournemouth they can move to. Demanding others inconvenience themselves to accommodate some stupid tradition is not only ridiculous; it’s fucking insulting. No one is forcing them to live there. When will religious people stop thinking the whole world revolves around them?

Faith schools in Britain try to defend their existence

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When I was a young child, I was sent to a Catholic primary school. It was the only way my parents could ensure that I went to an English institution. The trade off was every day, the teachers would force us to say a morning prayer, and class time was occasionally devoted to learning about Jesus. It was insanely boring and annoying, but I got over it. I already knew how to read and write before I got to class, as my parents had taken it upon themselves to feed my endless curiosity. It may have been part of the reason their indoctrination had little impact; I had by then already made up my mind about the issue of God, and found it wanting.

There are over 7,000 faith schools in Britain, a huge number for an otherwise secular country. Unlike in the US where private schools aren’t publicly funded, these faith institutions receive 85% of their money from the government, something a full two thirds of their population now opposes. Seeing the writing on the wall, they’ve fought back, telling everyone they are a necessary part of a diverse society. Here is a quote from an article that appeared in The Christian Institute:

Most people would accept that parents have a right to educate their children in an ethos of their choosing, however wrong it may seem to others, as long as the law is observed.

I normally don’t take any serious issue with privately funded religious schools. Parents who want to insulate and mentally stifle their children will do so regardless of whether or not these schools actually exist. At least if there is some government involvement, it means we can establish education criteria for them to follow.

But I’m not buying their stupid notion that schools promote diversity. If you’re incapable of sustaining so many schools without government funding, it demonstrates there really aren’t enough ‘diversified’ individuals willing to pay for it. Why should anyone be forced to give their hard earned tax money to religious institutions? These people already get tax breaks. They don’t need our money too.

Religion and science don’t conflict, apparently

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Apparently, the perception that religion has been impeding science is wrong! That’s according to this article in The Guardian, which claims the commonly held belief that science has a history of being suppressed and challenged by religion is false.

Unfortunately, if you’re looking for any compelling arguments in this article, you won’t find any — you’ll be better served by reading this interview with biologist Jerry Coyne on his new book, which prompted the author to write this article in the first place. It seems the author failed to mention the systematic campaign of ignorance that was entirely the product of Christianity’s stranglehold on education and science. Perhaps the most telling example is this story about Archimedes and his notebook. You may remember him from his now famous (and historically inaccurate) story about jumping out of the bath, yelling “Eureka!” after solving the mystery of water displacement. Well, it turns out Archimedes did more than simply discover this scientific gem; he also discovered integral calculus thousands of years before Newton.

This vital discovery in math and sciences in general was almost lost when the only remaining copy of his notebook fell into the hands of the Church. Roughly 700 years ago, a monk took the manuscript, erased the precious notes, flipped it 90 degrees, and converted into a prayer book. It would take another 2000 years for humans to grasp the concept of integral calculus. The loss of this information (and the subsequent recovery by modern scientific techniques) is but one of the myriad examples of how the systematic control of education and information by the Church impeded science.

Now that does not mean the two are completely incompatible. The works of Aristotle and Plato thrived under Christianity, but they did so only because their teachings were found to be compatible with Church doctrine. Anything regarded as heretical was suppressed, locked up, or destroyed. In a world where a religion claims absolute control over all elements of life, any findings or works that contradicted with doctrine was considered seditious and dangerous. We aren’t surprised by this revelation, since still today, religious institutions continue to suppress and undermine scientific discovery. Are there really any creationists that aren’t religious?

Any Dawkins fans here?

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Here is a great interview with fellow Canadian Steven Pinker for fans of evolutionary science. The video is over an hour long, so if you’re going to watch this all in one sitting, might I suggest planning your afternoon accordingly. Trust me, it’s worth it!

EA pisses off Christians, everyone else ignores them

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Guerrilla marketing is all about tricking people into learning about your product. Most of the time, you don’t even know it’s going on around you. Sometimes it’s as subtle as a person at the bar strongly encouraging you to get shots of Jägermeister, and sometimes it’s a bunch of glowing ‘litebrights’ that cause massive panic (do you remember the Mooninites debacle?). This time, the devious minds at EA are attempting to use Christian fundamentalism to create buzz about their new game, Inferno.

Their tactic was simple: pretend to be a bunch of fundies, and make outrageous / cheap looking picket signs and make yourself visible. I have no doubt they were hoping other right wing Christians would jump in on the hate bandwagon. Any publicity is good publicity, and anytime the religious right boycotts something, it’s a good day for everyone’s bottom line.

The problem is that the game (which looks like a gigantic ripoff of God of War), based very loosely on the book The Divine Comedy, isn’t the kind of thing fundies are really concerned about these days. Sure, maybe 15 years ago it would have caused an uproar, but I have never in my life met a Christian who has bothered to read the actual book. It may have been required reading 400 years ago, but nowadays, only Liberal Arts students bother to pick it up. I’ve only read about 1/3 of it myself before passing out due to boredom. Then again, poetry was never really my thing.

Hilariously enough though, it seems to have generated a little bit of vitriol from a few Christians. Here’s a funny post over at Catholic Video Gamers:

Ok, look Electronic Arts, as much as the hardcore gaming community is full of the risible self-parodies known as the “freethinking” – the Richard Dawkins-loving, fundamentalist atheist, “I’m-so-much-smarter-than-you-are-because-I-don’t-believe-in-God” types, I doubt that even they would actually be more likely to buy a game because they *think* that their ideological foes (the equally risible Fundamentalist Creationist, anti-Catholic, evangelical “Christians”) happen to hate it. Gamers of all varieties will buy this product if its, well, actually a good game. So instead of engaging in a shamelessly anti-Christian stunt to promote your poor excuse of a product, maybe you ought to work on making this game, you know, something better than a blatant God of War rip-off and make it, ya know, something worthwhile?

Well, I guess the ad campaign did work a little, eh?

Quebec priest gets 18 months for child molestation

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It never really stops does it? It seems like every other day, there’s another story involving a priest abusing kids. Luckily, once in a while, the justice system gets involved and someone goes to jail. This week, Paul-Henri Lachance, a Quebec Roman Catholic priest, was found guilty of child molestation and sentenced to 18 months in jail.

I’m still very confused as to why these guys end up serving such small sentences for crimes I consider to be quite serious. Lachance had abused Shirley Christensen for a period spanning three years (from 1979 to 1981), and yet his sentence is only half of that. While I’m happy he’s going to jail, I can’t help but feel the sentence is on the light side. Why are we putting drug dealers away for longer than child molesters? I’m pretty sure the hippie who sells me pot isn’t as big a danger to society as a sicko like Lachance.

I’m hoping this case will bring to light more of the abuses that have undoubtedly happened in this province. If there are two things you can usually count on, it’s the fact child molesters are repeat offenders, and the vast majority of those who are abused never come forward. Like an iceberg, what you see on the surface is deceptively small compared to what is hidden below the murky depths…

Discovery Institute tries to censor YouTube

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There are few institutions as corrupt, intellectually dishonest, and morally bankrupt as the Discovery Institute. Their name itself is a tragic irony; there is no ‘discovery’ going on there. All they are interested in doing is attacking the foundations of science in order to get everyone to abandon evolution in favor of creationism. They are heavily funded, ambitious, and as this video shows, without scruples. Everything is fair game to these guys. So we need to push back, and push back hard.

That’s why I’m so angry they are attacking YouTubers who are simply trying to expose them as the ignorant, anti-intellectual organization they are. Other than a website and a popular podcast, all I can do is spread the word. If any of you have some free time on your hands and happen to know the law, give this guy a hand, will ya?

Parents starve “possessed” daughter to death

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Khyra Ishaq was, by all accounts, your typical happy-go-lucky 12 year old living in Birmingham. Her mother, a recent convert to Islam, pulled her from school and began to isolate all of her children away from the outside world. Her excuse was they had been bullied in school over their attire, but no official complaint was filed with the school, and many of the house’s windows were boarded up.

One neighbor, who had left out some stale bread to feed the birds, was verbally lambasted for allowing the children to eat it (they had, apparently, been sneaking out in desperation looking for food.

The other 5 children were also dangerously malnourished, and at first glance it would appear the reason may have been because the children were not properly observing their religious rituals. It is likely this is why Khyra’s mother felt she was possessed; her natural rebellious nature would have easily been confused with some kind of demonic spirit.

It’s rather difficult to get the real story as to what happened. One thing is for sure, however; religion played a role in the neglect and torture of these children. To what extent, it’s difficult to ascertain, but it’s not uncommon for extremely religious individuals to completely isolate themselves from the outside world, especially if they feel it has a corrupting influence.

Trying to use religion to properly raise your kids is like trying to perform brain surgery with a lead pipe; there’s no room for subtlety. How many more little girls have to have their clitoris removed, or die at the hands of their own family for failing to observe religious traditions?

NOTE:  It seems she was not only starved, but also tortured. More disturbing news is coming to light, such as the systematic torture (using cold baths, beating her with a stick, etc.) of this little girl for no other reason than her mother felt she had an evil spirit. If you’re surprised by these kinds of actions, realize they are common practices in many parts of the world.

Is Your Ignorance Regular or Diet?

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If you’ve been living under a rock, or have only recently tuned in to the ‘webs’, you may not be aware of the Creation Museum, a 27 million dollar tribute to ignorance. Over half a million people have been ‘taught’ that the earth is only 6000 years old, and dinosaurs and humans coexisted peacefully in the Garden of Eden. The exhibits involve complex animatronic robots and sophisticated equipment meant to awe and inspire visitors.

The museum itself is perhaps one of the greatest embarrassments in the world. It’s a testament to the fact we are still a long way away from being educated as a populace. It seems some people love religion so much they demand the world fit into the narrow confines of their beliefs. The true purpose of the museum is obvious once the tour nears its end. There patrons become witness to a ‘world without god’, which involves a bored teenager looking at a computer screen, and another watching a TV. Watch out parents, this could be your children!

Now the museum had a corporate partner, and it’s none other than giant Coca-Cola Inc. It seems that the thirsty, uneducated masses that make their way through the museum will be offered their product exclusively. According to the site, they’ve been partnered up with the company for a while now, but they have since made it official.

From a corporate standpoint, I can’t really find too much fault in that one. Coke wasn’t founded by scientific ideologues, and they are in the business of selling a product. At the same time, however, it’s also at our discretion to abandon a product that lends its name to such intellectual dishonesty. If you were a Coke fan, you may want to develop a taste for fruit juice instead; it’s better for you anyways.

So is it fitting that a drink that rots your teeth is a corporate sponsor to a museum that rots your brain? I think so.

History is only a teacher if you listen well

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The Holocaust was terrible. It showed us a dark side of humanity we weren’t all willing to believe. It proved any one of us can succumb to cancerous ideologies of hatred and bigotry. I regard all genocide memorials as a warning to the human race: be mindful of messages of hate, for they are usually followed with violence and destruction.

I’m an idealist, so in my mind, the best way to avoid another potential holocaust is to make sure all human beings are properly respected, regardless of creed, race, and sexuality. It’s why I find it so tragic that a New York Holocaust memorial has become yet another victim of the bigoted attitudes of religious Orthodoxy.

Dov Hikind’s mother was in Auschwitz, and he refuses to allow other groups that also suffered at the hands of the Nazis from sharing the memorial.

“These people are not in the same category as Jewish people with regards to the Holocaust,” Hikind said following a press conference at the memorial. “It is so vastly different. You cannot compare political prisoners with Jewish victims.”

Hikind is upset because the memorial wanted to honor the tens of thousands of homosexuals, disabled, and Jehovah’s Witnesses who were also killed. In total 5 million people, who had no connection with Jews at all, were also massacred. It’s not something we tend to hear about very often, and it’s an oversight many are trying to correct.

Much of the attention to the Holocaust has been paid to the Jews, and with good merit; they suffered the most through the ordeal. It does not, however, excuse the behavior of some of their descendants who have decided the memories of other minorities are not ‘in the same category’ as their own. Last time I checked, no one likes getting killed, and the lessons of the Holocaust aren’t only ‘don’t kill the Jews’. I know human history is ripe with genocides (too many to count, really), but we should treat every single death seriously indeed.

Dov Hikind’s rejection of other ethnic groups to the memorial makes me sick. He’s just the latest addition on my growing ‘Wall of Shame‘. You’re a sad man, Dov. Your mother was a victim of crazed ideologues. Do you not think you dishonor her memory by refusing to recognize the tragedy of death simply because some of the victims were gay, or another religion? History is a teacher, but you can only learn from it if you listen closely enough. Otherwise, you find yourself repeating the same patterns, again and again…

Who Wants to go to a Book Burning?

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I’ve heard of some pretty stupid lawsuits in my day, but this one takes the prize as most insulting and intellectually bankrupt. The case involves a number of plaintiffs who are suing a library in Milwaukee for their decision to allow a controversial book to be in the Young Adult section. The book, Baby Be-Bop, is the story of Dirk and his struggle to come to terms with his homosexuality.

The group is suing the Library for $120,000 in emotional damage and scarring. Presumably, the mere presence of the book at the premises made these individuals lose considerable sleep. They are also suing for the right to burn this book in public. What is this, the Middle Ages?

Perhaps the book will offend a few people, but so what? Do they really think their outrage gives them the right to burn books and sue non-profit institutions? We aren’t living in a fascist dictatorship, so hopefully this frivolous lawsuit will end with the members being exposed for the bigoted, anti-intellectual morons they are.

Hey, conservative Christian guys, stop trying to burn books you don’t agree with. Stop trying to tell everyone how to live their lives, and for your God’s sake, can you all just leave the rest of us who don’t buy into your bullshit alone for a while? Find a hobby that doesn’t include burning literature, please. I highly recommend thinking; it seems you’ve neglected this activity. These jerks just made the ‘Wall of Shame‘.

Pope sheds crocodile tears for victims of abuse

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he Vatican issued this statement following the release of the Ryan report which chronicled years of abuse at the hands of priests and nuns in Catholic run reform schools, stating that Pope Benedict XVI was visibly upset and distraught. They also claim the Pope has been busy pressuring churches to be more open about the abuse. For anyone familiar with history, however, his crocodile tears are not enough to make us forget this is the same man who played a lead role in the cover up of abuses of children by the clergy.

If you really want to know how hollow and meaningless his words truly are, ask yourself how many individuals have been named in the abuses in Ireland so far. Until now, not a single name or arrest has been made. Is this beyond the power of the Pope? Of course not. If he really wanted to be part of the process, he would release the identities of every priest who committed any abuse and would rout them out of the organization. I think we can all agree such a thing will never happen; the Church is more concerned with protecting their institutions than they are in protecting kids. It’s why the abuses will never stop so long as they continue to operate with such impunity toward the law.

The governments of the world are all too gutless to demand the Vatican make the identities of offending priests public knowledge. What else can you expect from an organization that boldly claims they are the official spokesperson of an all powerful entity? Why anyone takes their claim seriously (despite the atrocities they commit) is beyond me. I can’t seem to win the argument to stop giving these guys tax free status, but do we also have to make them immune from prosecution? How insane is that?