* Atheist's Lawsuit Cites His Treatment in the Army

Saturday, April 26, 2008

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — Like hundreds of young men joining the Army in recent years, Jeremy Hall professes a desire to serve his country while it fights terrorism.

"But the short and soft-spoken specialist is at the center of a legal controversy. He has filed a lawsuit alleging he's been harassed and his constitutional rights have been violated because he doesn't believe in God. The suit names Defense Secretary Robert Gates."
. . .

"Known as "the atheist guy," Hall has been called immoral, a devil worshipper and — just as severe to some soldiers — gay, none of which, he says, is true. Hall even drove fellow soldiers to church in Iraq and paused while they prayed before meals." More ...

Cross-reference METAXY: Atheists in Foxholes and George Bush's Christian god told him to go to war with Iraq.

New York Times: Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats

"It is unclear how widespread religious discrimination or proselytizing is in the armed forces, constitutional law experts and leaders of veterans’ groups said. No one has independently studied the issue, and service members are reluctant to come forward because of possible backlash, those experts said."

* Martin Luther King Born this Day in 1929

A mural in Kansas City, Missouri commemorating King's activism
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

* Easter at the White House

On Friday, President George W. Bush issued his 2007 Easter Message It says in part: "In this season of renewal, we can rejoice in Christ's rising, draw strength and inspiration from His example, and remember that in the end, even death itself will be defeated. This Easter we pray for all our men and women in uniform and for the military families whose loved ones are deployed on important missions in distant lands. We remember especially those who have given their lives in freedom's cause. On this powerful day, let us join together and give thanks to the Almighty for the glory of His grace."

Of course, as is usual for Bush, he violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. He consistently promotes his Jesus in his speeches to America.

* For Gods and Country ~ A Good Deal After All

The Army Chaplain Who Wanted to Switch to Wicca? Transfer Denied.

by Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
February 19, 2007

A year ago Don Larsen was a Pentecostal Christian minister at Camp Anaconda, the largest U.S. support base in Iraq. But after the February 22, 2006, bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra which triggered revenge attacks between Shiite and Sunni militants, Larsen did an about-face.

"I realized so many innocent people are dying again in the name of God," Larsen says. "When you think back over the Catholic-Protestant conflict, how the Jews have suffered, how some Christians justified slavery, the Crusades, and now the fighting between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, I just decided I'm done. . . . I will not be part of any church that unleashes its clergy to preach that particular individuals or faith groups are damned."

Larsen "decided the religion that best matched his universalist vision was Wicca, a blend of witchcraft, feminism and nature worship that has ancient pagan roots.

"On July 6, 2006, he applied to become the first Wiccan chaplain in the U.S. armed forces, setting off an extraordinary chain of events. By year's end, his superiors not only denied his request but also withdrew him from Iraq and removed him from the chaplain corps, despite an unblemished service record."

Sounds like Larsen came out on top. He's out of Iraq and at home serving as an artillery officer in the National Guard. Sometimes it's not a bad thing to be the target of bigotry and discrimination.

* Ku Klux Klan Resurgence ~ Religious and Political

The burning cross is a symbol used by the Klan to create terror. Cross burning is said to have been introduced by William J. Simmons, the founder of the second Klan in 1915: Wikipedia The Klan considers that they are "lighting" the cross as a symbol of their faith: Wikipedia See also Cornell Law School, Supreme Court Collection, for discussion on the significance of the cross for the KKK.

The Ku Klux Klan, which just a few years ago seemed static or even moribund compared to other white supremacist movements such as neo-Nazis, has experienced a surprising and troubling resurgence due to the successful exploitation of hot-button issues including immigration, gay marriage and urban crime. Klan groups have witnessed a surprising and troubling resurgence by exploiting fears of an immigration explosion, and the debate over immigration has in turned helped to fuel an increase in Klan activity, with new groups sprouting in parts of the country that have not seen much activity."

CNN, February 7, 2007 ~ Klan growing, fed by anti-immigrant feelings, report says

CS Monitor, February 09, 2007 ~ Anti-immigrant sentiments fuel Ku Klux Klan resurgence

All Headline News, February 9, 2007 ~ White Supremacists Groups Active And Growing In The U.S

KKK Ideology: "Though Ku Klux Klan groups are generally extremely anti-Semitic, a number of them, especially in the South, tend to spend more of their energy in activities opposing African-Americans and non-white immigrants, who are often seen as the more immediate enemies.

"Another difference involves religion. Whereas many neo-Nazis and racist skinheads may be atheists or pagan, Klan groups tend to be overwhelmingly Christian (often adhering to the racist and anti-Semitic Christian Identity sect), reflecting the Klan’s more traditional origins. However, even this may be changing to a certain degree ... as part of an effort to attract new members from the white supremacist subculture, that it would now accept certain non-Christians."

* February is Black History Month ~ From Slavery to Freedom

Celebrating Black History Month
Black History Month ~ History.com

SLAVERY: From Biblical Times to Today's World
The Christian church's main justification of the concept of slavery was based on the "curse of Ham" which appears in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) in Genesis 9:25-27. "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. He also said, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. Christians at the time believed that Canaan had settled in Africa and that his descendents had become black.

Although slavery was widespread in Palestine during Jesus' ministry, the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) does not record his opinion of it. Slavery was casually mentioned without criticism in the various books of the Bible. It was accepted as a natural part of life by almost all Christians until the 19th century CE.

Anabaptists started to criticize slavery in the late 17th century. They were joined by Quakers and Mennonites. It was only when John Wesley (1703-1791), founder of the Methodist movement, became concerned about slavery that the small protest became a mass movement for the abolition of slavery.

Slavery is still advocated in North America by some Reconstructionist Christians and a few racist fringe groups within the Christian Identity movement.
Source for above ...

The History of Slavery in the US

* The Homophobic Catholic Church is at it Again

Reposted from Richard Dawkin's Website

Send The God Delusion to your MP

by J. Christie
PledgeBank.com

"I will Arrange my MP to receive a copy of Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion" but only if 645 other people (one per UK constituency) will do the same for other MPs." ~ J. Christie

Deadline to sign up by: 31st March 2007

Country: United Kingdom

More details:

The head of the UK Catholic Church has today (23 January 2007) asked the UK parliament to exempt Catholic adoption agencies from being forced to consider equally, applications from homosexual couples.

I do not believe the church should be given special status. Catholics, like everyone else in the country, should play by the rules. Faith should not exempt one from being guilty of discrimination.

Richard Dawkins, as Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, is best placed to make this argument, and his book "The God Delusion" (costing 11 pounds online) does it convincingly.

I will buy a copy, and have it delivered to my own MP. Should this pledge gain momentum, I additionally undertake to maintain a simple online list of MP's (and their addresses) for whom pledges have been received, to eliminate duplication of effort. ~ J. Christie

Sign up at:
PledgeBank

Cross-reference METAXY

* Mega-Mosque Clash in the UK & Christian Responses

LONDON - Some now call London the “Muslim capital of Europe” since no Western city has more mosques. London could be home to the largest Mosque outside of the Middle East.

The Shadow Cast by a Mega-Mosque

Telegraph.co.UK
by Philip Johnston
September 25, 2006

Plans are for an entire Islamic village, "... this is not any old mosque built to serve the local community. It will be the largest place of worship in Europe, a gigantic three-storey Islamic centre, with schools and other facilities, able to hold at least 40,000 worshippers and up to 70,000 if necessary."

UK: Bad News For Tablighi Mosque Development

Western Resistance
by Giraldus Cambrensis
November 5, 2006

"The Observer reports that the planned mega-mosque at Newham in east London is now encountering opposition from local Muslims. Previously, Christian groups had opposed the development of the mosque ... it has been revealed that the London Olympics [in 2012] will take place at the same time as Ramadan, and this news has upset those who are backing the mosque construction," which is proposed to sit right next door to the Olympic grounds

Plans for Western 'Mega-Mosque' Rouse Concerns

by Jennifer Gold
Christian Post Correspondent
January 10, 2007

"The group behind the development is called Tablighi Jamaat.

"According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tablighi Jamaat has ties to al-Qaeda. In addition, the shoe bomber Richard Reid was associated with Tablighi Jamaat, as were two of the 7/7 bombers who struck London's public transport system in 2005.

"Tablighi Jamaat has come under scrutiny from western security agencies since 9/11. Two years ago, according to The New York Times, a senior FBI anti-terrorism official claimed it was a recruiting ground for al-Qaeda."

My preference is that all religious structures be reassigned to something useful and needed, e.g., homeless shelters. Not an original idea, just a conviction. ~ BlogHer

Islam
Mega-Mosque Plans Could Make London "Muslim Capital of Europe"

Christian Broadcast News (CBN)
by Dale Hurd
January 2007

Spiritual Warfare News

Comments from Christians on "Worthy Boards":

"Anyway, if it is built, I hope somebody plants about 500 pounds of high explosives under the darn thing."

"Think about what you're saying man!! Supporting hate crimes is NOT the way Christians are supposed to conduct themselves. You don't need to like Islam or see it as a valid faith to show some respect for other people. If you think Islam is false, then pray for those who believe in it ... This is not what Jesus wants for us, this is not the message he sent to those who were misled or had been taught falsehoods."

"Nevertheless, I stand by what I said. I hope they blow it to kingdom come, along with the golden domed mosque in Jerusalem. I long for the day when all mosques will be reduced to rubble. All of them. And I don't respect islam. I have no respect for it whatsoever."

"Jesus didn't exactly show much respect for other ways of thinking, did He? Anyway, the desire for the mosque to be destroyed is more a security concern than a religious concern. Islam has always threatened to take over the world. They have shown no desire to live at peace with other faiths. That mega-mosque is indeed a threat to our existence. Didn't you see that the group behind the building are the same ones responsible for the terrorism in Brittain?"

"Oh, I don't support hate crimes in any sense of the word. I don't say I hate the people themselves (muslims). I just hate the mosques, along with the false teachings that they propagate. I hate islam because it sets itself up against faith in Jesus, and attempts to offer a better path for people. This is evil. I don't apologise for hating something that is in opposite teaching to the only way of salvation."

"Islam is a death cult, bend to thier ways or die; even if one does bend to their ways it would not be good enough because they were not born muslim. They cannot get along with their neighbors other faiths or other muslims. Islam is dangerous to all who value life, to obliterate this ideaology is to protect and preserve life. No different then the attack upon Berlin in WWII, we should be more proactive in this 'holy war' than the current PC mindset or we are all doomed."

"They cannot get along with their neighbors other faiths or other muslims. Islam is dangerous."

"As well as being dangerous to others (those who don't subscribe) to their teachings, they are also primarily a danger to themselves - to anyone who takes on board this false teaching and embraces it. If it is wrong in God's eyes, it is wrong. No question, no doubt about it. It is a danger to those who embrace it's philosophy and false teaching, drawing them away from their only means of salvation, and it is a danger (militarily) to the rest of us.

Death to islam!

And this is not a hate crime.

Death to the enemy of God. Death to the enemy of mankind."

"Worthy" headquarters is based in Jerusalem but:

Mail your tax-deductible donations to:
Worthy Ministries
P.O. Box 47711
Baltimore, MD 21244
USA
.

ISLAM
Originally uploaded by Aamir Hafeez Zaidi.

* Gay Animals Out of the Closet, Cave, Nest, Whatever ~ Some Unhappy Religious Folks

First-ever museum display shows 51 species exhibiting homosexuality.

Scientists say that homosexual activity among giraffes is, in many cases, more common than heterosexual activity.

by Sara Goudarzi
LiveScience Staff Writer
November 16, 2006

"From male killer whales that ride the dorsal fin of another male to female bonobos that rub their genitals together, the animal kingdom tolerates all kinds of lifestyles.

"A first-ever museum display, "Against Nature?," which opened last month at the University of Oslo's Natural History Museum in Norway, presents 51 species of animals exhibiting homosexuality.

"Homosexuality has been observed in more than 1,500 species, and the phenomenon has been well described for 500 of them," said Petter Bockman, project coordinator of the exhibition."
...

"Against Nature?" was set up partly to demystify the concept.

"The argument that a homosexual way of living cannot be accepted because it is against the "laws of nature" can now be rejected scientifically, said Geir Soli, project leader for the exhibition. "A main target for this project was to get museums involved in current debate; to show that museums are more than just a gallery for the past."

MSNBC's Full Story ...

To learn more, see LiveScience's presentation, Gay Animals: Alternate Lifestyles in the Wild.

Example from LiveScience:

Bonobo Chimpanzees ~ "Homosexuality has been documented in almost 500 species of animals, signaling that sexual preference is predetermined. Considered the closest living relative to humans, bonobos are not shy about seeking sexual pleasure. Nearly all of these peace-loving apes are bisexual and often resolve conflict by the “make love, not war” principle. They copulate frequently, scream out in delight while doing so, and often engage in homosexual activities. About two thirds of the homosexual activities are amongst females."

Unfortunately, the museum is in Norway where I won't be going anytime soon. But I sure will make the good news available to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and some of the godless who travel. The religious ones will be relieved to see for themselves that homosexuality is "natural," even "God-given." As well, they'll realize that homosexual marriage is as good for society as heterosexual.

* The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition and I Wish Everyone the Best for the 2007 New Year!

AnswerCoalition.org

* Santa, Jesus, and the Symbolism of White Supremecy ~ by Tim Wise

by Tim Wise
University of Dayton

" ...it was pure racial resentment and nothing else leading the white woman, child in tow, to say to her friend, "don't you think it's silly to have these Black Santas? Everybody's trying to be so P.C. I mean, come on, a Black Santa? Everyone knows Santa is white."

" ...the earliest representations of Jesus, Mary, and Christ's disciples appear in the catacombs of Rome, where the first Christians, known as Essenes buried their dead. All of these portrayals picture a dark-skinned Messiah. In addition, during the time of Roman Emperor Justinian II, the Empire minted a gold coin that pictured Jesus. This coin, which today can be viewed in the British Museum, shows a man with clearly non-white facial features and tightly curled hair, consistent with the description of Christ offered in the Book of Revelations, wherein it is noted that Jesus had hair like wool, feet the color of burnt brass, and resembled jasper and sardine stones: both of which were brown in color."

Ancient Catacomb Painting and Coin, Black Jesus

Blacked Out Through Whitewash by SuZar

Christ, " ...according to the Bible itself, called the "Lamb of God" with kinky hair compared with lamb's wool, feet the color of burnt brass (Rev. 1:14,15), and a likeness resembling jasper and sardine stone (Rev. 4:3) ..."

* * *
Hating in the Name of God (Racism and Violence)

by Benjamin Radford
Writer and Managing Editor
Skeptical Inquirer Magazine

* Study: Atheists Most Discriminated Minority

No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.
~ George H. W. Bush on the campaign trail in 1988.

It is obnoxious to hear Christians whine with outrage over what they perceive to be a 'war on their Christmas season' while nonbelievers are looked down upon all year round and historically.

Study: Atheists Most Discriminated Minority
April 15, 2006

University of Minnesota study of 2006: (Would you want your daughter to marry an Atheist?)

University of Minnesota researchers conducted a telephone survey of over 2,000 households in early 2006. They found that:

"...Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and other minority groups in 'sharing their vision of American society.' Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry."

Lead researcher, Penny Edgell, noted that Atheists:

"...offer a glaring exception to the rule of increasing social tolerance over the last 30 years....It seems most Americans believe that diversity is fine, as long as every one shares a common 'core' of values that make them trustworthy—and in America, that 'core' has historically been religious....Americans believe they share more than rules and procedures with their fellow citizens—they share an understanding of right and wrong. Our findings seem to rest on a view of atheists as self-interested individuals who are not concerned with the common good'."

It would appear that Atheists have a major public relations job ahead of them.

ABC News
Who's Counting: Distrusting Atheists

THE ULTIMATE OUTSIDERS? NEW REPORT CASTS ATHEISTS AS "OTHERS" BEYOND MORALITY AND COMMUNITY IN AMERICA

"Respondents had various interpretations of what atheists are like and what the label means," investigators found in discussions following the initial interviews. Perceptions fell into two categories.

"Some people view atheists as problematic because they associate them with illegality, such as drug use and prostitution -- that is, with immoral people who threaten respectable community from the lower end of the social hierarchy." Presumably, this might be rooted in the claim that only religion can provide an authentic moral compass, and that without a deity (and the presumed punishment in an afterlife), people have little to lose by engaging in certain immoral, sinful behaviors.

gapingvoid.com
"Others saw atheists as rampant materialists and cultural elitists that threaten common values from above -- the ostentatiously wealthy who make a lifestyle out of consumption or the cultural elites who think they know better than everyone else." In both cases, atheists are perceived as "self interested individuals who are not concerned with a common good."

Tolerance towards Atheists:

Although adults in North America exhibit reasonable tolerance towards persons belonging to different Christian denominations and other organized religions, this acceptance does not necessarily extend to Atheists.

This is a serious concern to many Atheists and other non-Christians -- a problem which has every likelihood of becoming more intense in the future, because of the rapid change in the religious makeup of the U.S. Polling data from the 2001 ARIS study has revealed that the percentage of American adults who do not follow any organized religion has almost doubled from 1990 to 2001 -- from 8% to 14% of the adult population. Many of the latter are Atheists, Agnostics, Non-believers, Secularists, Humanists, etc. Many American adults -- 81% of whom identify with a specific religion -- seem unwilling to extend elementary freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly to this growing minority of fellow Americans.

The good news ...(or bad, depending upon your point of view, heh) ...
"The Secular Coalition for America is the new (first one ever!) Washington-based lobbying organization for atheists, humanists, freethinkers, and other nontheistic Americans. Our mission is to increase the visibility and respectability of nontheistic viewpoints in the United States and to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government as the best guarantee of freedom for all."

* Thanksgiving, No Thanks

1916 Panoramic view of California Indians
~ BlogHer: Thanksgiving day is traditionally a Christian holiday with adherents of other religions giving thanks to their particular brands of gods. But millions of people celebrate without images of supernatural beings giving thanks for and to other people instead. For America's Indians, however, it is a day of mourning the massacre of countless people by Christians "founding" the country and the continuing discrimination that they suffer. And so ...

Text of Plaque on Cole's Hill

Since 1970, Native Americans have gathered at noon on Cole's Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the US Thanksgiving holiday. Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims and other European settlers. To them, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their culture. Participants in a National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience.

Photos from Wikipedia