(Source: theworldisconfused)
Gay men kiss as Muslims protest atheist convention in Australia
Gregory Storer and his partner, Michael Barnett, were attending the convention in Melbourne when they were confronted by a group of Muslim protesters holding signs that that said, “Atheism is the Cancer / Islam is the Answer” and “Christopher Hitchens Final Destination: Hell Fire.”
“My partner Michael and I took advantage of the moment to kiss in front of the group,” Storer wrote on his blog. “We understand that in some Islamic States gay people are persecuted and executed for their sexuality. It was an ideal opportunity to challenge the notion of acceptance and tolerance. As we began kissing, the Muslims began chanting, burn in hell.”
“It’s crazy that in Australia such bigoted homophobia is allowed to exist,” he added. “It amazes me that these men can hide behind their religion and use it as a weapon to victimise and condemn people without being challenged.”
“For Greater Glory” aka “Cristiada.”
“The Mexican epic Cristiada is about the Cristeros war of 1926 to 1929. Rebels started the uprising when the government tried to secularize the country and remove the influence of the Catholic Church.”
Well it’s a good thing that the forces of secularism lost! Without religion, Mexico today might be a hotbed of criminal activity where gangs fight urban wars over turf, most rapes go unreported, and people who speak out against the violence get beheaded. Let’s all thank religion for making Mexico a safe and wonderful place to live!
This is what happens when you attack a working mother for adopting and being a lesbian.
After Pat Robertson’s statement last week that homosexuality is “related to demonic possession,” Media Matters put together a mash up of some of the other things Robertson has called demonic over the years.
“No sweetheart. Jesus rose from the dead, but he’s not a zombie. And drinking his blood every Sunday doesn’t make us vampires. Let’s go get ice cream!”
Conversations With My Mother
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Me:
Hi Mom, how are you?
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Mom:
I'm good. But I'm just about to leave.
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Me:
Where are you going?
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Mom:
I'm going to church.
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Me:
On a Thursday night?
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Mom:
I went yesterday, I'm going today, and I'm going tomorrow.
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Me:
Did you break a stained glass window last Sunday? Are they making you work it off? I could write a check...
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Mom:
It's Holy Week, Alexander.
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Me:
Oh. Okay. Say hi to Jesus and the Easter Bunny for me!
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Mom:
I'll be sure to tell them both to pray for you.
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Me:
Screw prayers, I want some Cadbury Creme Eggs this weekend. Tell whichever one delivers the eggs that I want some.
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Mom:
What. Do. You. Want. Child.
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Me:
Nothing. Just to talk, but I'll let you go. Remember: Cadbury Creme Eggs.
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Mom:
GOOD BYE. (Click.)
I’m sure there are any number of Christians shaking their heads at this, but people who believe they’re eating the flesh and drinking the blood of their god every Sunday have no room to scoff. — Ryking
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes devoted a large segment of last week’s show to atheism, in honor of the Reason Rally held that weekend. Among his guests were Richard Dawkins.
Can the Reason Rally resonate in this most religious of democracies?
Despite the growing number of Americans who identify their religion as “none”, our politics are still dominated by supercharged religious talk. But this past weekend, in a sort of coming out party, atheists and other non-believers gathered on the National Mall last Saturday for the first-ever Reason Rally. It was their way of saying, “We’re here! We’re queer! Get used to it!”
The Reason Rally was modeled, in part, on gay rights activism that urged people to personalize someone they’d always thought of as an “other”. That strategy – recognizing your cousin, your neighbor, your classmate, your sibling isn’t straight – has fueled greater acceptance of gays and lesbians, and advances in civil rights. Everyone knows an atheist, the Reason Rally reasoning goes, and knowing an atheist goes a long way to accepting atheism.
While the analogy is imperfect (LGBT people face far more daily overt discrimination and deprivation of rights than do atheists), secularism remains the third rail of politics, and atheists still face hostility from some religious believers.
Emerging ideas tend to go through three phases. First they are considered so dangerous or odd that people won’t talk about them. Then they are thought so new and fascinating that people can’t stop talking about them. Finally, they become mainstreamed and are no longer unique enough to spark concern or secure air time.
Think back to 60 years ago when interracial marriage, homosexuality and transgendered people were unheard of or not discussed in polite society. Then look a little more recently, to when a person could get air time on major TV and radio talk shows just for being interracially married, gay or transgendered. And consider now, when these ideas have become sufficiently mainstreamed that they don’t generate that level of interest.
Well, today, the idea that one can be a good citizen without believing in a god is in the middle of that process.
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