5
POPSIf you can find a better deal.....TAKE IT
In the Washington Post, Tom Shales demanded that Hume apologize, saying he had "dissed about half a billion Buddhists on the planet." Is Buddhism about forgiveness? Because, if so, Buddhists had better start demanding corrections from every book, magazine article and blog posting ever written on the subject, which claims Buddhists don't believe in God, but try to become their own gods. I can't imagine that anyone thinks Tiger's problem was that he didn't sufficiently think of himself as a god, especially after that final putt in the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year. Are you a visual learner? Absorb the truths of God's Word through the WatchWord Bible – the entire New Testament on DVD In light of Shales' warning Hume about "what people are saying" about him, I hope Hume's a Christian, but that's not apparent from his inarguable description of Christianity. Of course, given the reaction to his remarks, apparently one has to be a regular New Testament scholar to have s
1
POPSGod by any other name... What is the correct response to these firebombers? I must confess I think they're idiots, and that's just for starters.
8
POPSWhere The Preaching Goes Too Far There is no war on evangelical Christians here and they are not being thrown to the lions. As this article states, they are childishly chafing against societal shifts. They don't want to see civil rights for us all because they believe God discriminates and it's their view of religion/politics or the highway. They will always find "token" gays to mimic their views because those poor souls think loving their oppressors will win them approval. But spreading these views to parts of the world with less freedom is downright dangerous and unconscionable.
8
POPSThe Christian Taliban Birthers, teabaggers and the religious right are the conservative’s trifecta of bigotry, hatred and intolerance.
6
POPSAtheist Ireland Publishes 25 Blasphemous Quotes 1. Jesus Christ, when asked if he was the son of God, in Matthew 26:64: “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” According to the Christian Bible, the Jewish chief priests and elders and council deemed this statement by Jesus to be blasphemous, and they sentenced Jesus to death for saying it. 3. Muhammad, quoted in Hadith of Bukhari, Vol 1 Book 8 Hadith 427: “May Allah curse the Jews and Christians for they built the places of worship at the graves of their prophets.” This quote is attributed to Muhammad on his death-bed as a warning to Muslims not to copy this practice of the Jews and Christians. It is one of several passages in the Koran and in Hadith that can give a scriptural foundation to Islamic anti-Semitism, including the assertion in Sura 5:60 that Allah cursed Jews and turned some of them into apes and swine.
4
POPSMoney/Art Gamble - "French Artist Makes A Deal With The Devil" "Another article goes deeper into the terms of the agreement. Apparently if Boltanski dies within the first two years during the project, Walsh will pay Boltanski's next of kin a discounted price for the footage in installments over eight years. But should Boltanski live beyond the eight years, Walsh will pay full price. Should Boltanski die before the eight years the footage goes to Walsh but if he lives then it belongs to him. Boltankski wants to prove to Walsh, who says he never loses a bet, that no one can beat the odds all the time. In an earlier AFP piece, Boltanski said that Walsh told him he would die before the eight years are up because he never loses and while Boltanski conceded that he doesn't take the best care of himself he still is willing to bet with the man he calls a devil."
10
POPSTilting at windbags: Glenn Beck's fondness for Thomas Paine More: Truth be told, Paine was the very antithesis of people like Beck, an ideologue who will stop at nothing—including distorting the truth about a Founding Father—in order to deceive, which, as Paine also wrote in “The Age of Reason,” isn’t all that difficult to do, because “the sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related that it is difficult to class them separately.”
9
POPSJesus Hated War-Why Do Christians Love It So? More from the article below: "A major unasked question is “what should be the role of religion (specifically Christianity) in the starting and perpetuation of politically motivated wars?” If war-makers mix religion and politics by invoking God’s blessings on the cannons and the cannon fodder, shouldn’t the churches, which are supposed to be the consciences of the nation, apply core Christian ethical principles to the war question and refuse to cooperate with the slaughter of fellow children of God? Sadly, for the past 1,700 years, Christian churches have not done so. They have largely failed in their moral obligation to teach and live the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount."
18
POPS"When Same-Sex Marriage Was a Christian Rite "
more (at source): Legend says that Bacchus appeared to the dying Sergius as an angel, telling him to be brave because they would soon be reunited in heaven. While the pairing of saints, particularly in the early Christian church, was not unusual, the association of these two men was regarded as particularly intimate. Severus, the Patriarch of Antioch (AD 512 - 518) explained that, "we should not separate in speech they who were joined in life". This is not a case of simple "adelphopoiia." In the definitive 10th century account of their lives, St. Sergius is openly celebrated as the "sweet companion and lover" of St. Bacchus. Sergius and Bacchus's close relationship has led many modern scholars to believe they were lovers. But the most compelling evidence for this view is that the oldest text of their martyrology, written in New Testament Greek describes them as "erastai,” or "lovers". In other words, they were a male homosexual couple. Their orientation and rel
6
POPS"Thou Shalt Shoplift" Says Priest "If one has exhausted every legal opportunity to get money and you're still in a desperate situation it is a better moral thing to do to take absolutely no more than you need for no longer than you need," he said. However the Archdeacon of York, the Venerable Richard Seed, said: "Father Tim Jones is raising important issues about the difficulties people face when benefits are not forthcoming, but shoplifting is not the way to overcome these difficulties."
6
POPSRove: Champion of "traditional" divorce Actually, this is Rove's second divorce. His first wife was "Valerie Wainright, a wealthy Houston woman from the Bush social circle, but the marriage could not withstand his consuming preoccupation with politics." They divorced after three years of marriage. So the one that was just terminated was Rove's second "traditional marriage" to end without death doing them part. His next traditional marriage will be to his third wife. Did I mention that Rove believes it's vital that our secular laws enforce precepts of "traditional marriages" and bar everything else?
1
POPSMalaysia High Court Allows Christian Use of the Word 'Allah' The word 'Allah' is Arabic for God. He is the same one God worshiped by Jews, Christians and Muslim. Justice Datuk Lau Bee Lan, in her oral decision, said that pursuant to Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution, it was an offence for non-Muslims to use the word "Allah" to Muslims to propagate the religion. But it was not an offence for non-Muslims to use the word to the non-Muslims for the purpose of religion, she added.
1
POPSdo who I say, not what I do in closing: "I've long thought that the solution to the cheap, cost-free moralizing that leads very upstanding people like Karl Rove to want to ban same-sex marriages (which they don't want to enter into themselves, and thus cost them nothing) is to have those same "principles" apply consistently to all marriage laws. If Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh and their friends and followers actually were required by law to stay married to their wives -- the way that "traditional marriage" was generally supposed to work -- the movement to have our secular laws conform to "traditional marriage" principles would almost certainly die a quick, quiet and well-deserved death." http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/2010-California-Protection-of-Marriage-Act/
6
POPSHappy Birfday, Charles Dickens' "Christmas Carol" more: Interestingly, there is no mention of the following in Dickens' A Christmas Carol: -Christmas tree -wrapped gifts -Anything related to The Nativity (wise men, baby Jesus), although there are plenty of homeless parents all through Dickens' works. While such values as charity, family, and universal goodwill certainly fall well within the Christian tradition, the book is not explicitly Christian much beyond the wish that "God bless us, everyone." Actually, that feels quite Anglican. ;-) There is no mention of Santa Claus per se, but the Ghost of Christmas Present is a big Oðin-like viking spirit, in a green fur-trimmed robe, bare chested and hearty. You know GoCP is going to the holiday swingers party once he drops off Scrooge.[/quote[
3
POPSDec 26: Boxing Day Celebrated in Bahamas, Canada, Jamaica, U.K., Ireland. It was once a day when the church's poor boxes were opened. In Britain, originally a day when gifts (boxes) are given to servants, tradespeople, or others who provide services.