Life Without a Net
Religion
What Does Science Say About Porn?
Pornography. To be sure, it’s a controversial topic. More than a few non-believers feel that pornography is harmful or degrading to women, or that it increases sex related crime. On the other hand, many believe that it is healthy, normal, and even has positive effects on both individual and societal levels. Thankfully, there is a … Continue reading
The Story of Easter, Updated for 21st Century Readers
The Plan, Part 1: In the Beginning Approximately six thousand years ago, a magical being called “God” set a plan into motion. He’d been waiting and doing very little for several googols of googols of years, so this was a very important time. All that brain power had just been sitting around, formulating the most … Continue reading
Shania Twain and the Welfare System: America’s Fixation on Beating the Odds.
What could Shania Twain and the U.S. welfare debate have in common? It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but I believe there’s something very profound to be discovered in the comparison. If music is indeed a reflection of our culture, then I believe Shania’s greatest hit reveals a profoundly dysfunctional fixation with … Continue reading
Rick Santorum vs. Jesus in Frothy Death Match 2012!
As the race for the Theocratic… err… Republican presidential nomination enters its final legs, we are down to two and a half candidates for the United States of Jesus…. err… America. Even as the devout Catholic Newt Gingrich returns home to Peachtree City (he’s quite the fan of “Peaches,” I am told. So long as they don’t … Continue reading
The Penn State Scandal Makes the Church Look Even Worse.
The Penn State Scandal has moved beyond sports news into the mainstream, and for very good reason. If you’ve been under a rock, here’s the short version: Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky has been accused of numerous counts of child molestation during his tenure at the university. Head coach and football demigod Joe Paterno has … Continue reading
GOP Candidates Compete for “Most Anti-Abortion” Title in Iowa
Atlanta based Pizza Baron Herman Cain joined five other GOP presidential hopefuls in Iowa to show off in front of approximately a thousand Christians. The theme of the night centered around each candidate’s commitment to ending legal abortion in America once and for all. (LINK) Said Cain, “I believe abortion should be clearly stated as … Continue reading
Denialism and the Rise of Extremism
Humans are very good at denialism. We all do it to some degree or another. And in fact, it’s not always a bad thing. Contrary to popular belief, depression isn’t always a sign that a person has an unrealistic view of the world. It’s often the opposite. We need a certain amount of healthy delusion … Continue reading
Kansas Judge: Planned Parenthood Keeps Funding… For Now.
Even if a statute does not appear unconstitutional on its face, it is nevertheless invalid if enacted for an improper discriminatory purpose, and the evidence before the court is that it was enacted precisely for this purpose, Marten said. (LINK) These are the words of the judge in a ruling granting Planned Parenthood an injunction … Continue reading
Rabbi Says Religion is Better for Human Rights
Writing for Huffpost Religion, Rabbi Alana Suskin has argued that with all its history of human rights abuses, religion is still a better basis for human rights than secularism. I disagree. To begin with, she addresses the claim that “religious people are a sort of automation for God’s whim:” While I can’t speak for all faiths, the … Continue reading
Woman Faces Life in Prison for Stillbirth
Back in 2009, I warned about the legal danger of pursuing personhood for fetuses. I warned that even partial steps in that direction would result in the destruction of women’s lives. That the ideological agenda to outlaw abortion at any cost would open a Pandora’s Box. Welcome to Pandora’s Playground, ladies and gentlemen. Thirty-eight states … Continue reading
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