The ‘Green Dragon’ Slayers: How the Religious Right and the Corporate Right are Joining Forces to Fight Environmental Protection

People For the American Way, (PFAW):

 

Introduction

As Republican officials accelerate their efforts to weaken environmental regulations and attack climate scientists, energy corporations are reaping the benefits of a decades-long effort to put a more benevolent, humanitarian, and even religious spin to their anti-environmental activism. Among their most valuable allies are the Religious Right organizations and leaders who have emerged as ready apologists for polluters and critics of efforts to protect the environment. The Religious Right’s attacks are intended to lend credence to the efforts of corporations and the GOP to quash the Environmental Protection Agency and chip away at state and federal environmental safeguards. And increasingly, Republican leaders themselves are echoing the same misleading arguments and themes of the Religious Right’s corporate apologists.

Buoyed by corporate finances and a radical ‘dominion theology,’ the Religious Right has become more aggressive and fanatical in its defense of corporations and denial of climate science. Trying to combat the increasing number of evangelical Christians who are part of the “creation care” movement that is calling for a greater commitment to combat climate change, the Religious Right is working to misrepresent the environmental movement as dangerously deceitful, harmful to the poor and destructive to Christianity.

 

Corporate America’s Religious Right Power Play

In the last decade, as evangelical Christian leaders increasingly became involved in conservation, “creation care” and taking action against global climate change, the alarms went up in corporate America  that many traditional members of the conservative coalition were becoming advocates  for environmental protection. To counter the rise of the faith-based environmentalist Evangelical Climate Initiative, the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance emerged. The ISA, propped up by business interests including  Exxon Mobil, has peddled misleading and false claims to make the case that climate change is a myth. In 2007, the ISA was renamed the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation and became more belligerent and zealous in its anti-environmental activities.

Cont.

The Tea Party and Religious Right Movements: Frenemies with Benefits

People For the American Way, (PFAW):

Summary

The explosive growth, visibility and political impact of the Tea Party political movement in less than two years has inevitably led to tensions, jealousies, and jockeying for political position with the Religious Right movement, whose leaders have until now enjoyed being the self-declared voice of the Republican Party’s most active and engaged base. These institutional rivalries, and the ongoing debate about whether conservative candidates should highlight their positions on social issues important to Religious Right leaders as well as the small-government, low-tax message of the Tea Party movement, can mask the extensive overlapping and symbiotic relationships between the two movements at the leadership and activist levels. Despite some disagreements over priorities and political strategies, the two movements are pursuing shared political goals (defeating Democratic candidates and weakening the Obama administration) and policy objectives (most notably the repeal of health care reform legislation) as well as the long-term cultural goal of promoting an “American exceptionalism” that claims a divine mandate for limited government. Most of the federal candidates being backed by the Tea Party movement and being supported by vast sums of money from corporate coffers and anti-government billionaires are not in fact libertarians, but “complete conservatives” who share the Religious Right’s opposition to legal abortion and legal equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

Cont.

Big Bullies: How the Religious Right is Trying to Make Schools Safe for Bullies and Dangerous for Gay Kids

People For the American Way, (PFAW):

Students deserve an education that is free from bullying and harassment, and in many districts parents, teachers, principals, community members and students are working together to create a safe and welcoming environment for all children. Bullying can impede learning and ruin lives. As Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said, “bullying is doubly dangerous because if left unattended it can rapidly escalate into even more serious violence and abuse.” Close to nine in ten Americans believe that bullying is a “serious problem,” and many communities are directly challenging harassment and violence in schools.

However, many Religious Right activists want to derail efforts to combat bullying. An increasing number of conservative leaders and organizations have fiercely opposed anti-bullying programs developed by schools and education groups for the sole reason that such programs identify and attempt to combat the widespread bullying of LGBT youth.

Rather than recognize and address the problem of bullying against students who are gay or perceived to be gay, Religious Right groups want schools to embrace a policy of inaction. Many resort to repeating discredited lies about sexual orientation and vilifying the LGBT community and its allies to back up their opposition to anti-bullying programs that mention anti-gay bullying. Concerned students, families, teachers, education professionals, and public officials should not be fooled by the far-right’s attempt to smear anti-bullying programs, and should instead ensure that schools address bullying with a direct, honest and comprehensive approach.

Cont.

The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures

People For the American Way, (PFAW):

When state legislators across the nation introduce similar or identical bills designed to boost corporate power and profits, reduce workers rights, limit corporate accountability for pollution, or restrict voting by minorities, odds are good that the legislation was not written by a state lawmaker but by corporate lobbyists working through the American Legislative Exchange Council.

ALEC is a one-stop shop for corporations looking to identify friendly state legislators and work with them to get special-interest legislation introduced.  PFAW Foundation this month released a report exposing ALEC and its role behind some of the most extreme recent right-wing state legislation.

,…,

Americans are increasingly recognizing and speaking out against the disproportionate power of corporations in shaping public policy and steering politicians, and ALEC is a prime example of how Corporate America is able to buy even more power and clout in government. Rather than serve the public interest, ALEC champions the agenda of corporations which are willing to pay for access to legislators and the opportunity to write their very own legislation.  It helps surrogates and lobbyists for corporations draft and promote bills which gut environmental laws, create a regressive tax system, eliminate workers’ rights, undermine universal and affordable health care, privatize public education, and chip away at voting rights.  It’s no wonder that so many big corporations view ALEC  as a wise investment.  ALEC represents an alarming risk to the credibility of the political process and threatens to greatly diminish the confidence and influence ordinary people have in government.

READ REPORT

Why is the GOP Keeping Women and People of Color Off the Bench?

Marge Baker, May 31, 2011

All Senate Republicans except Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski united to block Goodwin Liu, President Obama’s nominee to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, from getting an up or down confirmation vote.

Over the course of the debate on his nomination, Republicans freely distorted and mischaracterized Professor Liu’s record, but even in that environment, Sen. Charles Grassley’s attacks stood out.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Grassley, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, accused Professor Liu, a Taiwanese American, of wanting to make America like “Communist-run China” …

Cont.

BOOK: ‘Forged: Writing in the Name of God–Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are’

Author: Bart D. Ehrman

Source: http://www.infidels.org/kiosk/book1048.html

Description: It is often said, even by critical scholars who should know better, that “writing in the name of another” was widely accepted in antiquity. But New York Times bestselling author Bart D. Ehrman dares to call it what it was: literary forgery, a practice that was as scandalous then as it is today. In Forged, Ehrman’s fresh and original research takes readers back to the ancient world, where forgeries were used as weapons by unknown authors to fend off attacks to their faith and establish their church. So, if many of the books in the Bible were not in fact written by Jesus’s inner circle—but by writers living decades later, with differing agendas in rival communities—what does that do to the authority of Scripture?

Bart D. Ehrman, the New York Times bestselling author of ‘Jesus, Interrupted and God’s Problem’ reveals which books in the Bible’s New Testament were not passed down by Jesus’s disciples, but were instead forged by other hands—and why this centuries-hidden scandal is far more significant than many scholars are willing to admit. A controversial work of historical reporting in the tradition of Elaine Pagels, Marcus Borg, and John Dominic Crossan, Ehrman’s Forged delivers a stunning explication of one of the most substantial—yet least discussed—problems confronting the world of biblical scholarship.

Ehrman’s fascinating story of fraud and deceit is essential reading for anyone interested in the truth about the Bible and the dubious origins of Christianity’s sacred texts.

Christians and the sin of hating homosexuals

Randal Rauser, April 28th, 2011

In “Why conservatism is riskier than you might think” I pointed out that those who maintain the status quo are sticking their necks out like everybody else given that the status quo is sometimes wrong. (When you think about it this is so blindingly obvious that it is a surprise we should need to be reminded of it. But it is another thing when it is our status quo which is coming up for inspection.)

In the post I offered safe examples where the conservative status quo was wrong. These are “safe” (read: non-controversial) because the vast majority of people now agree that they (conservative Nazi Christians and segregationists) were wrong. Other cases are more controversial because we remain very much in the middle of them. The whole challenge is to be able to discern when controversy is warranted and when opinions should be qualified, rethought or rejected.

So then along comes one of my readers, Beetle, who raises an issue which is a good deal more controversial. He writes: “It is with no small amount of glee that I anticipate history repeating itself as large swaths of xtian denominations eagerly entrench themselves on the obviously losing side of the same-sex marriage debate.”

Now why am I not surprised that somebody would bring up this topic? But let me steer it a bit differently. The topic of homosexual marriage that Beetle raises is not the most important issue here since one could believe homosexual relations are immoral and still accept that the state should recognize same-sex unions. (By the same token, one could believe that homosexual relations are moral but that the state should not recognize homosexual marriage, an unlikely but still conceivable position.) So the real topic concerns the (im)morality of homosexual relations.

Here we must begin with this observation which is the topic of this post: many Christians hate homosexuality with a degree that is completely out of disproportion, even if one accepts that homosexuality is a sin. Moreover, many Christians hate homosexuals. Love the sinner, hate the sin may work great in theory, but the reality is often very different.

You may remember the late Kenneth Lay of Enron. Apparently he was a Baptist and yet he lied and cheated tens of thousands of people out of their life savings. Let’s say that Kenneth’s church discovered this the same week they discovered that another prominent heterosexual (or so we thought) member of the congregation — let’s call him Dave — was engaged in an illicit homosexual affair. As a guess, do you think the congregation would have a deeper visceral reaction to Kenneth’s sin or Dave’s? I suspect the latter. And what is my evidence?

Cont.

Fearful Teen Commits Suicide Due to Harold Camping’s Judgment Day Prediction

By Elena Garcia | Christian Post Reporter, May 26 2011

A 14-year-old girl from Russia was so scared of the May 21 doomsday and rapture prediction made by Harold Camping that she committed suicide the same day, investigators said Wednesday. The teenager wanted to choose death rather than be among the ones suffering on earth after the rapture.

Cont.

Faith Healing: Even when it pushed her eyeball out of its socket, her parents, still refused to take her to a doctor

Parents who ‘tried to cure child’s face tumour with faith healing’

A mother and father put their faith in God to heal a tumour on the face of their baby that threatened her eyesight, an Oregon City court heard.

By the time the little girl, Alayna, was six months old the benign tumour had grown to the size of a baseball. Even when it pushed her eyeball out of its socket, her parents, Timothy Wyland 44, and his wife Rebecca, 24, still refused to take her to a doctor.

Cont.

Priest Sex-Abuse Case Hits Church of Pope’s Adviser

By Alessandra Pieracci and Giacomo Galeazzi / La Stampa / Worldcrunch Thursday, May 19, 2011

This post is in partnership with Worldcrunch, a new global news site that translates stories of note in foreign languages into English. The article below was originally published in the leading Italian daily La Stampa.

(GENOA) — The latest sex-abuse case to rock the Catholic Church is unfolding in the archdiocese of an influential Italian Cardinal who has been working with Pope Benedict XVI on reforms to respond to prior scandals of pedophile priests.

Father Riccardo Seppia, a 51-year-old parish priest in the village of Sastri Ponente, near Genoa, was arrested last Friday, May 13, on pedophilia and drug charges. Investigators say that in tapped mobile-phone conversations, Seppia asked a Moroccan drug dealer to arrange sexual encounters with young and vulnerable boys. “I do not want 16-year-old boys but younger. Fourteen-year-olds are O.K. Look for needy boys who have family issues,” he allegedly said. Genoa Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who is the head of the Italian Bishops Conference, had been working with Benedict to establish a tough new worldwide policy, released this week, on how bishops should handle accusations of priestly sex abuse.  Cont.

Modern Christianity: Wives, fall down on your knees, before the Lord…then before your husband releasing him from your pressure and pushing

“Fall down on your knees, first before the Lord in weeping and repentance asking for His forgiveness. Then go fall on those knees a second time, this time before your husband releasing him from your pressure and pushing, and beg him to do as he feels God is directing him.”

From: ‘Woman, do stop Pushing your Husband‘  May 14th, 2011

By Olabode Ososami, pastor at The Redeemed Christian Church of God – Nigeria & has published 3 books. “The Majesty of God” – his latest book was released last December.

In The News: Legitimizing Faith With Reporting On The Wallowing In Religious Delusion

There are other ways the mainstream media could cover stories like this one about survivors of the Joplin, MO, tornados wallowing in religious delusion. By choosing to cover these stories in the way they are almost always covered, the authors legitimize faith. Just look at this one from CNN as an example of what I mean.

By characterizing “religious leaders” as trying “to offer meaning after such a senseless disaster,” this article contradicts itself. If the disaster was senseless (accurate), trying to “offer meaning” necessarily involves distorting reality. Why is this something to be praised rather than condemned?  Cont.

Another Conservative Christian, Law Breaking, Anti-Separation Of Church And State, May Run For US President

(NOTE: Moore IS the “moral crisis” in the USA….to step back into time when their were witch trials, woman and blacks having no rights and when Quakers, Mormons and Native American Indians were killed off by Puritans, is not my desire for the USA. If Mr. Moore and other religious zealous want to make the bible the law of the land, I suggest they leave the USA and create his own little country and can pick and choose who is not his “type” of Christian. This is what the Puritans did when they first invaded this continent…the joke is that they came her to be free to practice their religion when all they did was kill off and send others away, banning them from their community for not being 100% the same as them. I think it was Hitler that desired that power. Well thank the souls of the universe that some liberal humanist arrived, Thomas Jefferson, and decided that this was not a good way to have a country run if it wanted to be thought of one that honored religious freedom. I often wonder, if their were no liberal humanist around when the Romans threw Christians into pits with lions during town festivals for entertainment, if the Christians of today would be more appreciative and thankful for those who follow in the footsteps of humanists, who often they call, in a negative way; secularists, leftists or even socialists, because they don’t want to turn back time and end up living in a world like a theocracy where their holy book supports killing people of different religious beliefs, cultures and colors?)

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Moore Sees “Moral Crisis” and Mulls Run for Presidency

Posted on 29 May 2011

By LAYLA PENA, IowaWatch Staff Writer
Roy Moore has come a long ways, done a lot of things and stirred a few controversies since the days when he made 85 cents an hour bagging groceries at a Piggly Wiggly.

Moore has tried professional kickboxing in Texas, ranching in the Australian outback and politics in Alabama. In that Deep South state, he ran for public office several times, including two runs for governor. He was trounced in both of those races. But he also got elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court – only to get booted off the bench less than three years later for disobeying a court order.

Cont.

US Sued By Group Over Antibiotics in Farm Feed & More From ‘Health Freedom Alliance Alert’

‘Health Freedom Alliance Alert’: May 29, 2011:

(Includes other recent articles. Clicking on any title and a new window will open to that article)

Groups Sue US Over Antibiotics in Farm Feed

Coffee Likely to Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk

Factory Farms Pollute 100 Times More Than All In US Combined

Mushroom Compound Suppresses Prostate Tumors

GM Soy: Invisible Ingredient ‘Poisoning’ Children

PLU Codes Do Not Indicate GM Produce

If You Are Female And Vote Conservative Anywhere In The World, You Are A F&cking Idiot!

 

 

 

 

(NOTE: This is from a article about the Philippine news, it eerily mirrors what is happening in the USA, though few pay attention)

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Unborn child bills will not block Senate’s Reproductive Health (RH) debates

Monday, May 30, 2011, (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)

Excerpts:

“…..proposed law will treat women as mere incubating machines to ensure the life of the unborn,”

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“………the bills that seek to raise the penalties against abortion and ban the use of practices and drugs that induce abortion……..”

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“Senator Miriam Defcensor-Santiago, meanwhile, turned the tables on critics of her RH bill by calling the unborn children bills unconstitutional.

She said the Constitution calls for the separation of Church and State and that authors of the unborn children bills “are trying to enact legislation that establishes the views of the Catholic Church hierarchy.”

She said if the unborn children bills become law, pregnancies will be even riskier for women since the bills prohibit procedures that put the unborn child’s life at risk.

Instead of giving mothers, their family, and their doctors to weigh their options, the bill “will transfer difficult choices to a distant, cold, and inflexible law.”

The bills call for stiffer penalties against abortion, already prohibited under Philippine law.

Enrile has proposed amendments to the Revised Penal Code that will make mothers, doctors, and pharmacists “more seriously held liable and accountable for any act injurious or fatal to the unborn child.”

An expectant mother will face 12 to 20 years if she “practices an abortion upon herself or shall consent that any other person should do so.”

If the crime was committed by her parents, they will also face the same penalty.

“In effect, the proposed law will treat women as mere incubating machines to ensure the life of the unborn,” Santiago said.” 

Cont.

Glue Guns Used To Glue Scraps Of Meat Together To Sell You As Prime Cuts…..Yummy

Industry-Wide Use of Meat Glue Sticks Together Scraps of Meat To Sell You Prime Cuts

by Lois Rain on March 29, 2011

Did you know your meats contain meat glue? Just one more way food producers can sell more, while lowering the quality of what you consume. If it’s so harmless and miraculous, why didn’t we know about it before? It’s not on labels because technically it is not part of formulation of the product. That’s a giant stretch. It is not harmless…and yes, you are actually ingesting it all the time!

It creates a type of franken-meat in that it allows butchers to use the undetectable glue to piece together scraps of meat into a seamless full meat cut. England banned use of Thrombin coagulant last year. They found it mislead consumers to think they are getting a prime cut for their money, and also the original glue was made from cow and pig blood, something they didn’t think was wise in restaurant meats.

When multiple pieces are globbed together, bacteria have a better chance of growth. “If there is a bacteria outbreak, it’s much harder to figure out the source when chunks of meat from multiple cows were combined,” said Keith Warriner who teaches food science at University of Guelph.

The EU recently brought back the use of the new glue, Thrombian, or Transglutaminase, right along with Australia, Canada and the US. The FDA, of course, deems it GRAS (generally recognized as safe). The meat preparers in the video below need to wear masks when using it because, “It’s dangerous s—.”

It’s hush-hush because meat preparers are afraid to lose their suppliers and customers.  The next time you buy natural and organic meat, it wouldn’t hurt to ask about its use.

~Health Freedoms

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Meat Glue: It sounds utterly repellent; like some pre-industrial, rustic adhesive, but it’s actually a fine, tasteless powder that looks like icing sugar and is it makes meat and other proteins stick together like super glue. If your eating meat, chances are you’re eating or have eaten the glue at some point.

Cont.

Free Market Conservative Capitalist Ideologies Make Fetuses Sick, No Need For Them To Make Anti-Choice Laws.

GMO Toxins in Vast Majority of Pregnant Women and Fetuses

by Lois Rain on May 28, 2011. Last week we posted about the people in South America falling ill from the intense unregulated spraying of GM soy crops. Roundup Ready plants always allow and warrant the most dousing yet. We are well aware of the dangers of pesticides in both GM and non-GM produce. Fortunately, the biological changes of being pregnant somehow keep Glyphosate (Roundup) out of the bodies of pregnant women and their unborn babies.But, the other form of GM toxicity doesn’t get as much traction – perhaps because officials and scientists have always assured us of its safety. They are the toxins built into the plant itself through genes, that work as a bio-pesticide, toxic to insects and other pests. Blood tests show that in this form, those toxins show up in 100% of pregnant women and their fetuses!

We can see evidence of the toxic effects by even just consuming animals who eat GM feed. Yet the USDA continues to flash green lights for GM crop approvals considering the crops safe for both animals, people, and children in the womb.

~Health Freedoms

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GMO Toxins in Vast Majority of Pregnant Women and Fetuses: Canadian Study

The GMO mass experiment on the public is producing results. The toxic elements can be found in nearly all pregnant women and children.

The toxins designed into genetically modified crops are finding their way into the bloodstreams of all pregnant women and their fetuses. This shocking result belies the genetic modification industry’s claims that such toxins are destroyed by the digestive tracts of people who eat the animals fed these GMO crops. Obviously, that claim was based on nothing.

Cont.

Originally published at Gaia-health.com May 20th 2011

Brazil follows USA’s Separation of Church and State, While Loving Theocracy

Politics and the priest

Maria José Rosado-Nunes
May 29, 2011

Brazil is seen as a country of diverse faith. But though religion is an important reference point, the extent of religious diversity in this sprawling country is not as pervasive as belief itself.  Globally, the image of Brazil is connected to African traditions and religions. While referring to the 2000 census data, the Brazilian sociologist Flávio Pierucci found that Brazil is a Christian country, perhaps the largest Christian country in the world.

Around 73.8% of the population calls themselves Catholic, 15.4% evangelical with Christians accounting for 89.2% of the population. A mere 0.3% were adherents of the African religions Candomblé and Umbanda. Pierucci asks: Where is our proclaimed religious diversity?

It is true that this data does not take into consideration  what we call ‘multiple belonging’, that is the practice of calling oneself Catholic but going regularly to Candomblé cults; I attend Mass on Sundays and visit my Mother of Saint in the yard on Fridays.

Yet the hegemony of Christianity has political ramifications, despite the separation of church and state under the 1891 Brazilian constitution. During the 2010 presidential campaign, religion was used to bolster conservative views, especially on sexuality and reproductive questions.

Cultural flashpoints — the right of gay men and lesbians to a legal union and the legalisation of abortion — became the focus of inflamed public discussions. This investment in dogmatic arguments during a political campaign was highly unusual for Brazil, even though the culture is permeated with religious values.

Cont.

Religious Extremist Arizona Senate Pres. Pearce close to being recalled by Arizonia’s tired of his Theocracy

Religious Extremist Russell Pearce Finally Challenged!

by Jim Gressinger on May. 29, 2011

Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) is close to being recalled. A new organization called, appropriately enough, Citizens for a Better Arizona, says they have collected twice as many signatures on a recall petition as required by law.

Pearce has lead the religious extremists in the Arizona legislature in their crusade to eviscerate our state’s public schools, rip apart the state’s safety net for our poor, deny our women the right to an abortion, and discriminate against some of our citizens because of their sexual orientation. In other words, Pearce and the other Christian fundamentalist wackos in the legislature have been highly successful in forcing their extreme religious worldview and Bible morality on the rest of us through law and public policy.

All of this religious legislation over the past two years while passing no meaningful legislation to create or attract good paying jobs to our state. A backlash was, I had hoped, inevitable. And here it is.

Cont.

What do Jesus and Harry Potter have in common? More than you think

Source: Think Atheits, Sunday School MAY 29, 2011

More information: JesusPotterHarryChrist.com

LET’S SKIP THE INTRODUCTIONS. You don’t need me to tell you that Jesus Christ and Harry are two of the most famous celebrities in the world, whose stories have been translated into dozens of languages and found international support in diverse cultures. What you may not be aware of, however, is the mysterious, complicated and intriguing relationship between them. For example, did you know that the topics “I read Harry Potter and Jesus still loves me,” “Even Jesus reads Harry Potter” and “Harry Potter will return sooner than Jesus” each have their own Facebook group, or that Wikipedia has a page dedicated to “Religious debates over the Harry Potter Series”? Much more remarkable than their respective popularity is the significant tension – and unexpected affinity – between them…

At first glance it may seem that J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard and the crucified Jesus prophet who became the Christian savior have absolutely nothing to do with each other – and yet the unease and sometimes outright animosity between the followers of these two figures suggests otherwise. Harry has been banned, burned, and abused by religious fundamentalists for over a decade. At the release of Rowling’s final book, however, many readers were surprised to discover parallels between Jesus and Harry that, in such apparently diverse world-views, had no right to be there.

As a result, recent years have witnessed a revolution in Christian responses to Harry, with many groups, writers and religious leaders praising Rowling’s young sorcerer as ultimately Christian and a clear metaphor for Jesus Christ. And yet the most spine-tingling question has so far been ignored: Why do these similarities exist at all? Although it is easy to accept that Rowling crafted the literary character of Harry Potter after the figure of Jesus, shouldn’t it pique our interest that Jesus – a monumental figure in modern world religion generally believed to have been historical – has so much in common with the obviously fictional fantasy world and character of Harry Potter?

The main distinction, it will be argued, is that Jesus Christ is real: Jesus has traditionally been viewed as a historical figure, while Harry is instantly recognized as fiction. But does this distinction apply to the many seemingly mythical elements in the gospels? Can Jesus’ miracles be separated from Harry’s magic tricks because they really happened – or will we allow that certain features of the gospels were exaggerated or intended to be literary. And if so, where do we stop? What protects Jesus from the claim that he is, like Harry, a fictional character?

This is the starting point of Jesus Potter Harry Christ; an innovative treatise into religious history, comparative mythology, astrological symbolism and contemporary culture. From ancient mystery religions to modern fairy tales, from fictional Hogwarts to the ruins of Jerusalem, Derek Murphy, PhD in Comparative Literature at one of the world’s top universities, zooms in on one crucial question: How do we separate the obviously mythical literature of Jesus Christ from the historical man himself?

“This is probably the first time a book encapsulates the works of contemporary mythicists such as G.A. Wells, Timothy Freke, Tom Harpur, Acharya S., Earl Dougherty, and Robert Price. Murphy bares a scalpel intellect in his first scholarly venture, dissecting the figure of Jesus Christ while peeling open the wonderful tales the other rising-dying godmen that once upon a time captivated pagan audiences across western civilization.” Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio

“Particularly absorbing and highly topical: Linking this analysis to J. K. Rowling’s globally popular character further heightens its relevancy.” –Parmenides

http://www.holyblasphemy.net

Jail For Your Beliefs, Be Thankful Your Not Gay and Friends With the USA…You’d Be Dead

(NOTE: WWWAAAHHHHHHHHAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!!)

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Source:  Algerian Christian Sentenced To 5 Years For Blasphemy, Saturday, May 28, 2011

International Christian Concern reports that last Wednesday the Criminal Court in Algeria’s Djamel District sentenced an Algerian Christian, Siagh Krimo, to five years in prison for violating Art. 144 bis 2 of Algeria’s Penal Code. That section prohibits acts that “insult the prophet and any of the messengers of God, or denigrate the creed and precepts of Islam….” Krimo’s neighbor, who did not appear as a witness, accused Krimo of Christian proselytizing and of making defamatory statements against the Prophet Muhammad. Krimo holds weekly prayer servies at his home which apparently are monitored closely by Algerian police.

 

Christians Try To Be Non-Profit, While Being For-Profit, Wanting To Not Follow Laws When Selling Products Lose Again

Religion Clause Blog, Sunday, May 29, 2011

Howard M. Friedman – Professor of Law Emeritus University of Toledo

Excerpt: “….a religious corporation sole does not prevent the Federal Trade Commission from regulating its advertisements for dietary supplements.  The organization in fact operated as a for-profit entity generating economic benefits for its founder and his wife.”

Cert. Denied In Corporation Sole’s Challenge To FTC Regulation: Sunday, May 29, 2011. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Daniel Chapter One v. FTC, (Docket No. 10-1292, cert. denied 5/23/2011) (Order List.) In the case, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that an organization’s formal legal status as a religious corporation sole does not prevent the Federal Trade Commission from regulating its advertisements for dietary supplements. The organization actually operated as a for-profit. The Circuit Court also rejected the argument that the FTC violated the Establishment Clause by using “scientism” as the basis for its requirements. (See prior posting.)

Graduation Prayers From High School To Kindergarten Generate Complaints: Saturday, May 28, 2011. Americans United announced Friday that it had filed a lawsuit challenging a Texas school district’s plan to officially include prayers in its graduation ceremony, scheduled for June 4.  The complaint in Schultz v. Medina Valley Independent School District, (WD TX, filed 5/26/2011) requests emergency relief, alleging that the planned student-led  invocation and benediction violate U.S. Supreme Court precedent under the Establishment Clause. Meanwhile, the Freedom from Religion Foundation said in a press release yesterday that it has sent a letter (full text) to the Giles County, Tennessee, Director of Schools complaining about a two-minute sectarian prayer by a local clergyman at the kindergarten graduation at Pulaski Elementary School.  Apparently prayer is traditional at the school’s kindergarten graduations. The school principal introduced the clergyman who then offered the prayer which ended with the words “in the name of Jesus Christ.” [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

North Dakota Will Vote On Religious Freedom Constitutional Amendment: Saturday, May 28, 2011. In the state’s June 2012 election, North Dakotans will vote on a religious freedom amendment to the state constitution.  According to the Devil’s Lake Journal, the North Dakota Secretary of State ruled this week that sufficient signatures had been obtained to place the initiative on the ballot.  The proposed amendment provides: “Government may not burden a person’s or religious organization’s religious liberty. The right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief may not be burdened unless the government proves it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act and has used the least restrictive means to further that interest. A burden includes indirect burdens such as withholding benefits, assessing penalties, or an exclusion from programs or access to facilities.” [Thanks to Don Byrd for the lead.]

Suits Against Atlanta Pastor and His Mega-Church Are Settled: Friday, May 27, 2011. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports today that there has been a settlement in four civil lawsuits against Bishop Eddie Long, his LongFellows Youth Academy and his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. In the suits, four men alleged that the prominent Atlanta pastor used his spiritual authority to coerce young male members and employees of his mega-church into sexual relationships. (See prior posting.) Apparently the settlement is the result of contentious mediation that has been underway in the lawsuits since February. Neither side would comment on the terms of the settlements, except to say that they will result in the lawsuits being dismissed with prejudice.

US Army (American Taxpayers) Provides and Funds Vacation Bible School

(NOTE: I consider these people worse than those who flew planes on 9/11. Atleast they were reacting to how they have been treated by another country and religion. The US military and those who covertly steal money from the American taxpayer to recruit are far more evil.)

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Source: Think Atheits, Sunday School MAY 29, 2011

By Justin Griffith, on May 28th, 2011

Earlier this month, all 50,000 troops stationed at Fort Bragg received a message from our Public Affairs Office. It was a brief announcement for the Annual Garrison Chaplain’s Vacation Bible School.

The annual Garrison Chaplain’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) will be held at Gordon Elementary (Linden Oaks) June 16-17 from 9 a.m.-noon and Devers Elementary (Ardennes) June 20-24 from 9 a.m.-noon. VBS is available for DOD Family members who have completed kindergarten through the sixth grade.

Okay, so there are some obvious issues already. The government is funding a religious summer camp for youths (why?). Public school buildings are hosting religious activities, albeit it seems to be during ‘summer break’. Don’t forget the raw marketing power of a huge user base for the email message announcing it.

So we are on shaky ground right off the bat. Pink flags are being raised, but then again, maybe I can delete this spam message and chalk this off to awkward efforts to get the word out.

Cont.

Fmr. Lt. Dan Choi, along with others, beaten up by neo-nazis and Russian police for marching peacefully in Moscow’s LGBT Pride parade

Tell Secretary Clinton: Condemn police violence at Moscow Pride

Watch the horrific video of Fmr. Lt. Dan Choi, who along with Russian and international human rights activists, was just beaten up by neo-nazis and the Russian police for the “crime” of marching peacefully in Moscow’s LGBT Pride parade. Then sign Dan’s open letter to Hillary Clinton (below).

The US government has so far said nothing about this clear violation of human rights. And a State Department employee just claimed that there’s nothing the Obama administration can do because the entire US government is “on vacation” until Tuesday. Incredible.

There is something you can do. Please sign Dan’s open letter to Secretary Clinton urging her to condemn the anti-LGBT violence in Moscow and to reaffirm the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Russia and around the world.

Dan has agreed to personally deliver this open letter with all of your signatures to the State Department upon his return to Washington. We can make a difference here, with your help.

TAKE ACTION

Rhetoric Hides Dirty Secrets on Blackwater; US War in Yemen

Published on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 by RT America

Yemen’s security forces clashed with anti-government protesters in the deadliest bout of violence to date, following the collapse of a Gulf plan to ease President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of power. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chided the president of Yemen for the bloodshed, urging him to step down from power. But at a time when the United States needs Saleh to continue its secret war in Yemen, The Nation’s Jeremy Scahill says the Obama administration’s call for change in that country are nothing but empty rhetoric. Meanwhile, a group of lawmakers wants an explanation of America’s role in Erik Prince’s latest venture in the United Arab Emirates, where the billionaire founder of the military firm Blackwater has launched a new mercenary force. Scahill, who has reported extensively on Blackwater, reveals how this army could potentially set the scene for a proxy war against Iran. Cont.

FBI Targeting Political Activists as Terrorists

Published on Thursday, May 26, 2011 by RT TV

Source: http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/05/26

Anti-terrorism resources are being used to target environmentalists, peace, animal and political activists who hold different views than the government.

It was recently revealed that a counter-terrorism firm spied on individuals who attended film screenings of the documentary Gasland. The film focuses on the practice of natural gas fracking and what impact it has on the environment and in the communities where it is used.

The FBI and other government agencies are cracking down on those who are not willing to say in line with the status quo.

In Pennsylvania, activists have faced terrorism charges for writing slogans in chalk on sidewalks. In California, 27 individuals are set to go on trial stemming for protest actions Elsewhere 23 anti-war, pro-labor and international solidarity activists may face a grand jury on trumped up charged. The FBI boasts 164,000 suspicious activity reports that are made up of activists who do not follow the governments view on matters.

The US government is using taxpayer money to squash the competition as opposed to protecting the American people from true terrorist threats, all while stomping on freedom of speech rights.

Carlos Montes, a co-founder of the Brown Berets Chicano Movement explained there is a marked rise of the US government using tools at their disposal designed to fight terrorism to impose oppression on political activists.

“The protest movements are directly exposing and challenging the lines that the US government puts out,” he said, yet law enforcement authorities continue to crack down without just cause. “It’s a war against dissent.”

The government is working to stop the movement which is merely seeking to exercise its right to free speech and the right to protest

“They’re trying to stop us but we’re not going to let them do it,” Montes added.

VIDEO:  FBI targeting political activists as terrorists

Why I Left the “Fundamental” Christian Church

Saturday, May 28, 2011, 1:17 PM

By Carol A. Ranney

My brother told me once that although his usual bet is 25 cents, he would have bet $100 that we would not have a black president in his lifetime, or that I would have ever gotten a tattoo. He would have lost both bets. He probably would have bet $200 against my ever leaving the fundamental Christian church, but he would have lost that one, too.

After a lifetime of attendance at what are now considered “fundamental” Christian churches, I have left, and I will not return. I don’t think it is me that has changed as much as it is the fundamental churches. Granted, I have changed. I have stopped repeating some of the things I was taught, and have begun to think for myself. I have given up wondering why conservative Christian groups are in passive resistance against doing anything about global warming, for example. Or why being a Republican is their only approved position in politics. Or why they are obsessed with “returning” the USA to being “a Christian nation”– when its virtue is in being a democratic nation, ruled “of the people, by the people, for the people,” many of whom are not Christians.

Most of all, I have chosen to leave the fundamental church because of its position on gays. The church has abysmally failed the gay community. It has portrayed Christianity as a belief system based on hate, not on love. They say they “hate the sin but love the sinner.” That’s like saying “I love you but I hate the color of your skin.” They are absolutely adamant that (in spite of current scientific research, biblical study and the unified voices of GLBT people from around the world) gays and lesbians were not born this way, but they have made a choice. A wrong, sinful choice that if they wished, they could reverse. And until individuals choose to be heterosexual, the thinking follows, they are unacceptable to both the church and God.

Cont.

Attorney General’s Minn. visit marred by protests from protesters who claim the government has been unfairly targeting anti-war activists in a federal investigation

Published on Saturday, May 28, 2011 by the Associated Press

by Tara Bannow

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder visited Minneapolis Friday to praise the city for its program to reduce youth violence, but was interrupted several times by outbursts from protesters who claim the government has been unfairly targeting anti-war activists in a federal investigation.

Holder was in Minnesota to headline a conference on youth violence prevention, and to meet with young adults from the area’s Somali community — who have felt under fire in recent years as authorities investigate the travels of men who returned to Somalia to possibly fight with a terror group.

He also held a larger closed-door town hall meeting with area Muslims to talk about their concerns about law enforcement and “Islamophobia.”

But the dozens of anti-war activists who attended the morning conference on youth anti-violence stole some of the spotlight. They said Holder was responsible for the September FBI raids and subpoenas of local activists, and that he has the sole power to stop the grand jury investigation into allegations they provided material support to terrorists.

Tracy Molm, a former University of Minnesota student whose home was raided, was the first protester to interrupt Holder’s speech. She spoke with him afterward.

“The only phrase he used over and over again was, ‘We’re going to have to agree to disagree,’” she said. “I have a movement of people around the country and outside who agree with me, so it’s on you to stop this.”

The activists cite a September Inspector General’s report that they say criticizes the FBI under Holder’s administration for improperly targeting advocacy groups such as Greenpeace and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The lengthy report said the basis for opening some investigations of those affiliated with groups was “factually weak.” In some cases, the report said the FBI classified cases of nonviolent civil disobedience as “Acts of Terrorism.”

Cont.

This Is What A Police State Looks Like (The USA)

Published on Saturday, May 21, 2011 by CommonDreams.org

by Rania Khalek

The late Chalmers Johnson often reminded us that “A nation can be one or the other, a democracy or an imperialist, but it can’t be both. If it sticks to imperialism, it will, like the old Roman Republic, on which so much of our system was modeled, lose its democracy to a domestic dictatorship.” His warning rings more true by the day, as Americans watch the erosion of their civil liberties accelerate in conjunction with the expansion of the US Empire.

When viewed through the lens of Johnson’s profound insights, the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Kentucky v. King makes perfect sense. On May 13, in a lopsided 8-1 ruling, the Court upheld the warrantless search of a Kentucky man’s apartment after police smelled marijuana and feared those inside were destroying evidence, essentially granting police officers increased power to enter the homes of citizens without a warrant.

Under the Fourth Amendment, police are barred from entering a home without first obtaining a warrant, which can only be issued by a judge upon probable cause. The only exception is when the circumstances qualify as “exigent,” meaning there is imminent risk of death or serious injury, danger that evidence will be immediately destroyed, or that a suspect will escape. However, exigent circumstances cannot be created by the police.

In this case, the police followed a suspected drug dealer into an apartment complex and after losing track of him, smelled marijuana coming from one of the apartments. After banging on the door and announcing themselves, the police heard noises that they interpreted as the destruction of evidence. Rather than first obtaining a warrant, they kicked down the door and arrested the man inside, who was caught flushing marijuana down the toilet.

The Kentucky Supreme Court had overturned the man’s conviction and ruled that exigent circumstances did not apply because the behavior of the police is what prompted the destruction of evidence. Tragically, an overwhelming majority of the Supreme Court upheld the Conviction. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that citizens are not required to grant police officers permission to enter their homes after hearing a knock, but if there is no response and the officers hear noise that suggests evidence is being destroyed, they are justified in breaking in.

In her lone and scathing dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed with the Kentucky Supreme Court, arguing that the Supreme Court’s ruling “arms the police with a way routinely to dishonor the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement in drug cases. In lieu of presenting their evidence to a neutral magistrate, police officers may now knock, listen, then break the door down, nevermind that they had ample time to obtain a warrant.” She went on to stress that “there was little risk that drug-related evidence would have been destroyed had the police delayed the search pending a magistrate’s authorization.”

Cont.

FBI seizes Ferrari, takes joy ride, crashes and then refuses to pay

In 2008 the FBI managed to track down a stolen Ferrari – much to the owners delight – but not for long. An agent decided to take the car for a spin before it was returned to the owner. He crashed it and no one is willing to pay-up.  Cont.