Who are you, and what’s your history re: religion and stuff? Raised Lutheran (ELCA) in Wichita, Kansas. Became an atheist in 1997/1998 (holy crap, 20+ years ago) Got my BA in religious studies in 2000 (Texas Christian University). MA in religion and culture (University of Manchester, UK) in 2002, and […]
Read MoreWhat feminists make noise about
In reply to my previous post, “Jokuvaan” made the following comment: What you are missing here is the current double standard of european mainstream feminists treating rapes differently depending of the ethnical background of the perpetrators. So far feminists have made more noise about one man comparing women to cars […]
Read MoreDawkins insults feminists, complains when feminists feel insulted
Last Tuesday (Jan. 26th), Richard Dawkins made the following tweet: Text: “Obviously doesn’t apply to vast majority of feminists, among whom I count myself. But the minority are pernicious.” Here’s a summary of what happened next: Lindy West began a Twitter conversation with Dawkins, informing him that the woman caricatured […]
Read MoreNothing more spectacular about him
The BBC has a profile on Omar El-Hussein, the man who carried out Saturday’s killings in Copenhagen. He apparently was assisted by two other men, who have since been taken in police custody. They were charged with providing El-Hussein with weapons and helping him escape after the attacks. We know […]
Read MoreBrief summary and context of yesterday’s violence in Copenhagen
Yesterday a symposium to discuss blasphemy and the meaning of free speech was held at a cafe in Copenhagen called Krudttønden. In attendance at this meeting was Lars Vilks, a 68 year old Swedish man upon whose head the Islamic State placed a $100,000 bounty for his 2007 depictions of […]
Read MoreCalling it justice doesn’t make it just
Apparently in the uproar over beheadings committed by ISIS, some have noticed that America’s ally Saudi Arabia has committed quite a few of them as well: The escalation of the war against the Islamic State was triggered by widespread revulsion at the gruesome beheading of two American journalists, relayed on YouTube. […]
Read MoreIn the virtue stakes, reverence leaves empathy at the starting line
In France, individual citizens run a satirical magazine, the Charlie Hebdo, which publishes cartoons making fun of Muhammad among countless other current world leaders and historical figures. In retaliation, terrorists storm the office and murder 12 people at that office, as well as five more at a kosher market. As […]
Read More“Why I can’t celebrate”
Valarie Kaur, a third generation Sikh American film maker, writes about why she isn’t celebrating Osama bin Laden’s death: The last time a sudden burst of nationalism rallied us against America’s turbaned and bearded enemy, an epidemic of hate crimes swept the country. In the yearlong aftermath of 9/11, the […]
Read MoreWill you quit making it about freedom of speech?
No, I won’t. Not when people in positions of power to do so, such as Senators Harry Reid and Lindsey Graham, suggest that perhaps they ought to take some sort of action against people like Terry Jones and his congregation for their blasphemy: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says congressional […]
Read MoreThe devil in Mr. Jones
I’m not sure it’s actually worthwhile to delve too deeply into the mind of Terry Jones. He’s far from the only Islamophobe in America, and his reasoning behind the Qur’an burning wouldn’t matter too much even if it were abundantly clear– which it isn’t. A valid argument can be made […]
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