Rachel Ford is a programmer, and since 8:00 to 5:00 doesn't provide enough opportunity to bask in screen glare, she writes in her spare time. She was raised a very fundamentalist Christian, but eventually "saw the light." Rachel's personal blog is Rachel's Hobbit Hole, where she discusses everything from Tolkien to state politics.
Recently surfaced video reveals some profound thoughts on modesty from Paul Chappell, pastor of the Lancaster Baptist Church of Lancaster California and president of the West Coast Baptist College. He begins with reflections on “purity.” To fundamentalist Christians, “purity” refers to abstinence and “modest dressing.” As is typical from the “purity” movement, Chappell’s emphasis is entirely on women’s premarital sexual activity and women’s clothing: … what ever happened to purity? What ever happened to that? What ever happened to the days when girls said “I’m not going to be touched by every guy, I’m not going to walk down the aisle like a filthy dish rag on my wedding day”? What ever happened to that? Read more
And the Lord spoke, and said, “Yea, these are the commandments of the Lord thy God. Keep them holy that you might find favor in his sight. “First, thou shalt abstain from wearing the garment called Spanx, for it is immodest, and an offense to the sight of the Lord. “And neither shalt thou wear ‘skinny jeans,’ for it is pleasing to the eyes of homosexuals, but an abomination in the sight of the Lord thy God. Amen.” Levi 1:1-3 Maybe my translation is slightly off there, but recently surfaced comments, purportedly made by Anthony Morris III, a member of the Jehovah’s Witness Governing Body, certainly mirror that spirit: Read more
It might sound like a Stephen Colbert “aging pundit tries to appeal to young viewers with cringe-worthy attempts to prove he gets them” skit, but it’s not. The West Virginia Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston has a project with the edgy name of VCAT — Video Catechism — aimed at the young ‘uns. The goal is “to effectively reach this generation of teens with the richness and beauty of [the] Catholic faith.” Since teens “consume… a staggering” amount of media each day, much of it video, the messages are video-based. If the name doesn’t win back the young, erstwhile Catholic demographic, the content is sure to make an impression. Content like one of the latest VCAT productions: a hip-hop video catechism called “Love God/Love Each Other” written by youth icon and Franciscan University Professor Bob Rice. Explaining the purpose of this and other VCAT productions, he states What we are doing with these 18 videos is show young people that the commandments of God actually set us free and don’t restrict us. While that may be their intent, it seems like an overly optimistic goal considering the production in question. Read more
Last Thursday, Federal District Judge Ancer Haggerty ruled on American Humanist Association v. United States. The case was brought by prisoner Jason Michael Holden, in conjunction with the American Humanist Association, because, as ThinkProgress reports, Holden “wanted Humanism… recognized as a religion so that his prison would allow for the creation of a Humanist study group.” Read more
Students at Michigan State University are in for a real treat today: a Creationist conference called the Origin Summit! The event’s website is really quite informative, as it gives students a great preview of what’s in store for them. I’m tempted to let this actual screen capture from their site do the talking, as it pretty much sums up what you can expect: I know, you’re already burning your science textbooks, having been swayed by such wit and reasoning. But, really, there’s so much more goodness to be had that it seems a shame not to mention at least a few more shining moments. Read more
