Rev. Franklin Graham is a political hack.

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That is all but certain from this interview. Basically what he is saying is that, the only people who are "Christian" are those who agree with me.

My friends of faith, if you ever wonder why I am, at times hostile towards religion. Look no farther then this as an example. This is not about any sort of theological discussion, this is brute force politics. Live the way I say. Nothing more.

Rev. Graham, is definitely not like his father in that regard.

-Cheers

The Catholic Church, HHS, Contraception, and you...

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This was the discussion on Morning Joe on Monday. The big hubbub is over the HHS' decision to implement the contraception coverage rules, in the Affordable Care Act.

There has been much said about it over the last 48 hours, about how it is an infringement upon freedom of religion and the like. Now I will confess, I am not Catholic, nor am I particularly religious, so prepared to accept that I am not as sensitive to this issue as some may be. I am however, very concerned about how women's health issues are treated and talked about.

To me, this more an issue of equal treatment under the law then about religious expression.

In my opinion, if the Church wishes to act as a large employer or insurer, then it has to meet the public policy requirements of those industries. Many will say this is a difficult issue, but it is not really. Women's health issues are not a separable thing, they are health care issues. If you provide health insurance to employees then contraception is part of health care. You do not have to approve of how people use that good, but the good offered needs to be uniform and non-discriminatory.

Washington Post Chat

Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post had a reader chat the other day, that was pretty good. I wish there were was more commentary like this on cable new. I found this portion particularly
interesting:

Q.

NYC Mosque

You are simply misinformed and misguided and blinded by your liberal bias. It was a minority of Germans and Japanese that brought the horrors of WWII to the world. It similarly is a minority of Muslims that have brought 9/11 and soon nuclear horrors to the world. Like the Germans and Japanese ALL Muslims must bear the responsibility and wear this stain on themselves for generations until they have cleansed themselves thru good acts as have the Germans and Japanese. Additionally Obama said this Mosque will prevent another 9/11. Why haven't the exiting 100 Mosques prevented 9/11? This Mosque is a symbol of Muslim domination over America and IT WILL NEVER STAND.

• –
  August 24, 2010 5:37 AM
• Permalink

A.

Eugene Robinson writes:

Sigh. first, since the Germans invoked God in committing their atrocities, by your logic we should blame all Christians, no? Second, establishing an open-door community center devoted to interfaith understanding would seem to me to be a "good act." There is no question of "Muslim domination over America." Give me a break. Do you have so little faith in our Constitution and our nation?

– August 24, 2010 11:08 AM

This is just a microcosm, of what the essential arguments being made by the mosques opponents are. All Muslims are to blame for 9/11. That is simple bigotry and religious intolerance.

Should all Christians be tarred with the actions of the IRA, or the actions for murderous anti-abortion activists? I believe the answer to that question is "no". But it seems for far too many of my fellow citizens the resounding answer is "yes".

-Cheers

Real Profiles in Political Courage....

Seriously, kudos to Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) for showing clear and real courage for standing up for fundamental rights.

Merkley made the essential point here:

The debate swirling around the proposed mosque and Muslim community center in lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site has, for many, tapped into strong emotions of a national trauma that is still raw. But in the churning political and constitutional arguments, one question has not been adequately addressed: what makes a mosque near ground zero offensive....

[M]any mosque opponents argue, just because it can be built does not mean it should be. They say it would be disrespectful to the memories of those who died on 9/11 to build a Muslim facility near the World Trade Center site. I appreciate the depth of emotions at play, but respectfully suggest that the presence of a mosque is only inappropriate near ground zero if we unfairly associate Muslim Americans with the atrocities of the foreign al-Qaida terrorists who attacked our nation....

And Mr. Paul makes the salient point about rights here:

It is repeatedly said that 64% of the people, after listening to the political demagogues, don't want the mosque to be built. What would we do if 75% of the people insist that no more Catholic churches be built in New York City? The point being is that majorities can become oppressors of minority rights as well as individual dictators. Statistics of support is irrelevant when it comes to the purpose of government in a free society--protecting liberty.

I am not a fan of Rep. Paul, but his argument is a fundamentally libertarian one. So I applaud him on standing up for first principles.

-Cheers

Tyler you need to tell your people to.....

Pull their heads out their collective asses....

Seriously, I know they think the Rapture is nigh....but come on. This is why I absolutely believe in the separation of church and state. If only it could keeps loons like this out of office. That would make me very happy....

Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), the bill's sponsor, said that privacy issues are the chief concern behind his attempt to criminalize the involuntary implantation of microchips. But he also said he shared concerns that the devices could someday be used as the "mark of the beast" described in the Book of Revelation.

"My understanding -- I'm not a theologian -- but there's a prophecy in the Bible that says you'll have to receive a mark, or you can neither buy nor sell things in end times," Cole said. "Some people think these computer chips might be that mark." [...]

[T]he growing use of microchips has collided with the Book of Revelation.... David Neff, editor of the magazine Christianity Today, said that some fundamentalist Christians believe that bar codes and implanted microchips could be used by a totalitarian government to control commerce -- a sign of the coming end of the world.

-Cheers

Weekend Round-Up

Back to the grind. Good weekend, got to hang out with a nice group of people this weekend. Leigh was in town, though sadly with out her lovely husband Louis! Got to hang with my boys Mike and Tyler. Scuba was a fine host and hosted a fun party. The vets represented. Echo rocked on the beer pong table. DMB did me a solid and danced up a storm.

Went to a stellar event at Seven Saints. They hosted one of the owners of North Shore Distillery.
It was quite informative and we tried many interesting beverages. It may have spawned the creation of a new drink (thanks Julia for the input).

Now on to the other stuff.

Two articles this morning caught my eye.

Those who know me know how this sort of thing irks me. I definitely do not want someone who shows such a disdain for science to ever have their hands on any levers of power.

And another religiously-tinged article about PTSD and its treatment or lack thereof.

Now I can get my week started right! Nice and angry. :-)

-Cheers

This is just sad.

This year is the anniversary year for Charles Darwin. Something that should be celebrated an interesting life, an interesting man, and a beautiful intellect.

Yet there may not be a distributor in the States for the film because it is too controversial amongst the religious sects in this country.

If you ever sense some hostility in my posts for organized religious institutions and some of its backward members, this sort of thing would be the reason why....

Creation

Creation, starring Paul Bettany, details Darwin's "struggle between faith and reason" as he wrote On The Origin of Species. It depicts him as a man who loses faith in God following the death of his beloved 10-year-old daughter, Annie.

The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.

However, US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.

We are talking one of the greatest thinkers humanity has produced. His findings revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. I find it sad and deeply disturbing that only 39 percent of Americans put stock in, what is well supported science.

On the other hand I have no problem whatsoever understanding why school children in this country score so much lower in science and math then in other developed nations.

There are consequences to holding to such an ante diluvian mindset.

-Cheers

National Day of Prayer

I have seen there is a bit of a hubub on the teevee machine about the President Obama choosing to downplay the National Day of Prayer. Honestly I think that is a good idea.

Now this is normally an issue I would stay away from like the plague, but it seems to be getting a fair amount of chatter. What I find interesting is that it, also serves to show the conservative (small 'c') side of the President.

What I mean by that, is there are those who believe issues of worship should be private and while others believe in more ostentatious showings of faith. I believe our current President is more the former and not the latter.

For me? Well most who know me would say I am agnostic at best, possibly with a more animist look at theology at this point. But I do have a very firm belief in the separation of Church and State. Steve Benen has a nice post on the subject over at the Washington Monthly, his previous career gives him a bit of insight in to the various maneuvering that go in these situations.

You do not have to be an atheist to think that most displays of religious fealty in the public square need to be carefully scrutinized. Just as much as the State needs separation from religious concerns, even more so the Church needs to be protected from the machinations and abuses of the State.

Prayer, at least from what I learned should not need a day of commemoration, the faithful should be doing it every day. Nor should it matter whether it is recognized by others, since it is by its very nature a personal conversation between you and your god, gods, or a noodley appendage. Who cares what others think?

So yeah I applaud the President for trying (in vain) to dial the notch back a bit on this, and lower the political temperature.

-Cheers

The Golden Rule...

This is going to take me a bit to unpack this.

Pew released a new poll and there were some interesting numbers in there about religious affiliation and views on torture, as Chris Good is reporting.

For some more commentary see Steve Benen.

-cheers