LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY nebris)

"Twelve percent [of American Christians] believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife." ~Bill McKibben

..okay, I'm on the phone with shamangirl when the truth of the above statement hits me..*laughs like goon*..Goddess Bless, what a bunch of pinheads..

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ns_kumiho)

Intresting article from The Guardian:

Robert Winston: Why do we believe in God?

Many years ago, a team of researchers at the department of anthropology at the University of Minnesota decided to put this association to the test. They studied certain fringe religious groups, such as fundamentalist Baptists, Pentecostalists and the snake-handlers of West Virginia, to see if they showed the particular type of psychopathology associated with mental illness. Members of mainstream Protestant churches from a similar social and financial background provided a good control group for comparison. Some of the wilder fundamentalists prayed with what can only be described as great and transcendental ecstasy, but there was no obvious sign of any particular psychopathology among most of the people studied. After further analysis, however, there appeared a tendency to what can only be described as mental instability in one particular group. The study was blinded, so that most of the research team involved with questionnaires did not have access to the final data. When they were asked which group they thought would show the most disturbed psychopathology, the whole team identified the snake-handlers. But when the data were revealed, the reverse was true: there was more mental illness among the conventional Protestant churchgoers - the "extrinsically" religious - than among the fervently committed.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

A small step away from the craziness:

Air Force withdraws evangelizing policy
Lawsuit alleges officers imposed Christianity

By Robert Burns, Associated Press | October 12, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force has withdrawn from use by its chaplain service a code of ethics that endorsed evangelizing military service members who are not affiliated with a religion.

The move, disclosed by Air Force officials yesterday, followed a lawsuit by a Jewish graduate of the Air Force Academy, Mikey Weinstein of Albuquerque. He said senior officers and cadets illegally imposed Christianity on others at the school.

The code of ethics -- issued by the Air Force Chaplain Service in January -- includes the statement: ''I will not actively proselytize from other religious bodies. However, I retain the right to instruct and/or evangelize those who are not affiliated."( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY hummingwolf)

Tucked deep inside a massive bill designed to track sex offenders and prevent children from being victimized by sex crimes...

The provision added to the Children's Safety Act of 2005 would require any film, TV show or digital image that contains a sex scene to come under the same government filing requirements that adult films must meet.

Currently, any filmed sexual activity requires an affidavit that lists the names and ages of the actors who engage in the act. The film is required to have a video label that claims compliance with the law and lists where the custodian of the records can be found. The record-keeping requirement is known as Section 2257, for its citation in federal law. Violators could spend five years in jail.

Under the provision inserted into the Children's Safety Act, the definition of sexual activity is expanded to include simulated sex acts like those that appear in many movies and TV shows.

As has been pointed out, child pornography is already illegal, and California already has stringent laws protecting children (including child actors) from harm. What the modifications to this bill seem likely to do is to enable the federal government to crack down on any sexual scene dating back to 1995--including those between clothed actors on prime-time TV--if filmmakers haven't kept records which conform to today's law.

In other words, while there is nothing in the article which specifically mentions the Religious Right, you can bet they'll be goading officials to take full advantage of this provision if the thing gets passed. Similar provisions have been ruled unconstitutional in the past; here's hoping people come to their senses this time around as well.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Here we go...

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility News Release (www.peer.org)

For Immediate Release: October 13, 2005
Contact: Chas Offutt (202) 265-7337

POLITICAL SCREENING FOR ALL PARK SERVICE MANAGERS — Mid-Level Managers Picked for Fealty to “the President’s Management Agenda”

Washington, DC — The National Park Service has started using a political loyalty test for picking all its top civil service positions, according to an agency directive released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Under the new order, all mid-level managers and above must also be approved by a Bush administration political appointee.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ccroft)

BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4336660.stm

Chavez moves against US preachers - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he is about to expel a US missionary group, New Tribes Mission.

The leftist leader said the group were "imperialists" and that he felt "ashamed" at their presence in indigenous areas of Venezuela.

He accused the Florida-based group of making unauthorised flights and setting up luxurious camps amid poverty.

New Tribes, which preaches to non-Christian indigenous peoples, said it had no immediate comment.

It is one of Latin America's biggest missionary organisations and has 3,200 workers and operates in 17 countries, with operations in West Africa and South-East Asia too.( Read More... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY deridetenebras)

The president of a Christian activist organization is among a growing number of citizens who are saying it is about time for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to stop trying to put criminals' rights above the rights of American citizens.

( Read more... )

(link)