A British mother and father who invoked religious teachings to refuse medical help for their young son will be spending up to three years in jail. The five-month-old boy, Ndingeko Kunene, died of rickets, a bone condition caused by vitamin D deficiency. Read more
The Press Tribune newspaper was supposed to be a voice for liberal Pakistanis who’d had it with their country’s Islamist thugs. A partner of the New York Times, the Tribune launched four years ago, covering topics that most of the country’s conservative-leaning press wouldn’t touch. It was a brave initiative, and eventually, the Pakistani Taliban responded the only way it knows how. With bullets. Six weeks ago, three employees of the media group that owns the Press Tribune were shot to death. Not surprisingly, The attack was later claimed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a large coalition of militant groups, which accused the media group of disseminating anti-Taliban propaganda. No arrests were made, which was par for the course. The police hadn’t nabbed any perpetrators in earlier attacks against the newspaper either: Read more
If you’re a man and you want to get married in the Santa Cruz Basilica (pictured below) at Fort Kochi, India, Catholic vicar Francis Fernandez would like to make sure you can produce sperm. So says this article from the New India Express. The vicar requires that you undergo a “potency test,” which I infer means the proven ability to ejaculate, as one quoted expert questions the efficacy of such tests by saying “Some can’t stimulate themselves under artificial circumstances.” Read more
When a man of God meets a mentally challenged young woman who has the brain capacity of a seven-year-old, what ensues? It doesn’t appear to have been Christian love in the case of Baton Rouge pastor David “Scott” Lemley. Lemley allegedly decided to rape her on several occasions because his own wife had been sick and sexually unavailable. Can it get worse? Yes: The victim’s own father offered her to Lemley, police say. Read more
In a dramatic (if commonplace) turn of events, a prominent Christian luminary who advocated home-schooling, traditional gender roles, and purity before marriage has been removed from his position following allegations of sexual misconduct. At least 34 women who have been involved with the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) over the past 40 years claim they have been sexually harassed by the ministry’s founder, Bill Gothard (no, really, that’s his last name). He has also been accused of molestation and failure to report child abuse. Read more
From the Onion the Courier-Journal: In an effort its spokesman has described as “outreach to rednecks,” the Kentucky Baptist Convention is leading “Second Amendment Celebrations,” where churches around the state give away guns as door prizes to lure in nonbelievers in hopes of converting them to Christ. As many as 1,000 people are expected at the next one, on Thursday at Lone Oak Baptist Church in Paducah, where they will be given a free steak dinner and the chance to win one of 25 handguns, long guns and shotguns. Read more
If you saw “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway, then you’ll undoubtedly remember when the main character sings, “I believe that God has a plan for all of us. I believe that plan involves me getting my own planet.” That idea is so obviously ridiculous that you can’t help but mock it when anyone mentions it. But according to some media reports, a new explanation of that idea by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says that’s not actually how it works. Here’s what that explanation says: Read more
Half a year ago, the vestry of Grace Episcopal Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas adopted a lovely, heartwarming Statement of Inclusivity. It was belatedly posted on the church’s Facebook page last Saturday. The statement reads, in part: “We extend a special welcome … to those who are single, married, divorced, partnered, LGBT, filthy rich, dirt poor, or struggle to speak English.” Days later, Grace Episcopal Church’s pastor, Greg Fry, was fired … for being transgender. Maybe we didn’t read the statement correctly? Let’s enlarge and make sure. Yeah, there’s definitely a T there. Read more
NonStampCollector steps away from his usual animated fare and tackles Christian apologists’ moral argument for God: Read more
