Terry Firma, though born and Journalism-school-educated in Europe, has lived in the U.S. for the past 20-odd years. Stateside, his feature articles have been published in the New York Times, Reason, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Wired. Terry was the founder and Main Mischief Maker of Moral Compass, a now-dormant site that pokes fun at the delusional claim by people of faith that a belief in God equips them with superior moral standards. He was the Editor-in-Chief of two Manhattan-based magazines until he decided to give up commercial publishing for professional photography... with a lot of blogging on the side. These days, he lives in an old seaside farmhouse in Maine with his wife, three kids, and two big dogs.
Like my friend Benjamin Corey, I don’t know why the following two things aren’t the opposite of how conservative Christians think. Asking critical questions about the Biblical case against homosexuality, as Dan Haseltine did (Haseltine is a prominent Christian who fronts the band Jars of Clay) … is an damnable act. Saying we should happily waterboard (torture) Muslim prisoners of war as a way to “baptize them,” which is what Sarah Palin proposed … is fine. Read more
GOP candidates tend to talk a good game about the Constitution. Too often, that’s all it is — talk. Take the political forum that was held in Ankeny, Iowa last Friday, sponsored by the conservative Christian group Family Leader. The GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate seat who appeared there said things that are so at odds with the Constitution, it’s hard to believe that they’ve actually read it, or that they’ve understood that the United States isn’t supposed to be a freakin’ theocracy. Read more
Earlier this month, Hemant reported how the largest school district in Idaho saw fit to ban Sherman Alexie’s celebrated youth novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian on account of it being “obscene” and anti-Christian. The second-best response to the whole affair came from Gretchen Caserotti, a librarian in Meridian, Idaho, who noted dryly that thanks to the unnecessary controversy, the book is now in high demand in local public libraries such as hers. But for the best response, we turn to Mountain View High School junior Brady Kissel. Read more
Now look: Most atheists don’t eat children simply for the heck of it. We’re just more practical and pragmatic about consuming young flesh than most people. It pains me that there are those among us who still frequently endure hunger pangs, refusing to feast upon even the juiciest juveniles. These fellow atheists are the victims of an outmoded uneasiness that the rest of the world refers to as “scruples.” Fortunately, I just came across this 1970s book that helps explain, in an inspired fashion, why taking a bite out of a well-buttered bambino ought to be a guilt-free indulgence — and indeed is often the sane, rational thing to do. More here. Read more
