Seems a church in New Zealand (yes...this isn't an anti-church thing) has put up a billboard "challenging stereotypes" of the Christ conception story, that I (admittedly as a non-Christian) find hilarious, however some Christians are finding offensive. Here's the billboard:

And you can read more about the controversy at BBC News. Meanwhile, the whole thing reminds me of a friend I had in college who told me about his very devout Catholic grandmother who once expressed that though she believes in the absolute word of the bible, she has some SERIOUS doubts about this whole virgin birth thing.

Chanukah is the festival of lights,
One day of presents?
Hell NO!
We get eight crazy nights.

Not gonna lie: If I weren't such a little atheist heathen, I'd totally throw myself a bat mitzvah just so I could sing this song every year at the table

Ok ... now that I think about it, fuck it! Am officially adding it to the repertory of december holiday songs --'cause, you know, Christ was indeed a Jew.

So let's partake in more kosher goodness:

 more this way»

I recently covered the attack on Leo Igwe, the Culture Kitchen blogger who was attacked by a mob of religious fanatics in Nigeria. Leo is still carrying on the fight on behalf of abused children in Nigeria, despite the attacks. He has sent me his most recent post:

The attack in Calabar and the threat of religious extremism in Nigeria

By Leo Igwe

Around 11.30 am on Wednesday July 29 2009, a mob of about 200 persons from the Liberty Gospel Church invaded the Cultural Center in Calabar Cross River State The Cultural Center was the venue of a public symposium on witchcraft and child rights organised by the Nigerian Humanist Movement and Stepping Stones Nigeria.

Most of them arrived the venue in buses wearing orange Tshirt while others donned plain clothes to hide their identity. As we were about to start, some of them stormed the conference hall stamping their feet on the ground and chanting slogans critical of the event and the organisers.
 more this way»

And Mike Hendrick's breaks it down on why they've aided and abetted the murder of Dr. George Tiller. From Hendricks: Tiller's killers were many :: KansasCity.com Prime Buzz:

They include every one who has ever called Tiller's late term abortion clinic a murder mill.

Who ever called Tiller "Tiller the Killer."

The groups who spent decades fomenting hate toward a man who simply believed that he was serving a purpose by being one of the few doctors in the country performing late-term abortions.

Hate. Not heated opposition. Not strong disagreement.

But blind hatred.

The kind of hate that would prompt some maniac to take a gun into a church and shoot a man to death in front of friends and family.

His accomplices know they have blood on their hands, which might explain why they were quick to issue statements today expressing disapproval of Tiller's murder.

Among them, the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.

"Operation Rescue denounces the killing of abortionist Tiller," read the headline of a new release posted on that group's website.

Those words drip with hypocrisy.
 more this way»

[Reposted from 2006 by mole333...I think this is worth revisiting and I know Leo has a hard time accessing the internet in Nigeria]

Skepticism in Africa

Leo Igwe

The word skepticism comes from the Greek word "skepticos" which means inquiry. Skeptics are inquirers. And the skeptical outlook is governed by reason, science, curiosity and critical thinking. It is opposed to dogmatism, irrationalism, blind faith, gullibility and superstition. The skeptical temper has inspired distinct trends in human thought, history and philosophy- the renaissance, reformation and Enlightenment.

In countries across the world, the state of skepticism is not the same. Some countries are more skeptical than others.

Last year, I visited three West African countries - Senegal, the Gambia and Sierra Leone to meet with scientists and skeptics and to ascertain the state of skepticism.

In Senegal, the traditional life is still mired in myths, superstition and taboos.

In some communities, people do not go to market on Wednesdays or cut their hairs on Saturdays. They believe that such actions would lead to death and misfortune- these beliefs have gone unchallenged for centuries.
 more this way»

One of my annual diaries (when I remember to do them) is honoring the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during WW II, which happened to coincide with Hitler's birthday in 1943. I happen to feel that it was a particularly good birthday present for Hitler: the defeat of his elite force by a bunch of half starved, barely armed Jews. In 1943, it also coincided with Passover. This year the anniversaries don't coincide quite so well as they did last year, but they are still close and still significant.

I can think of no better expression of the Passover tradition than the Warsaw uprising against Nazi Germany. My appreciation for this is heightened by the fact that I am currently in the middle of the book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Though I am only in 1942 so far, I find my knowledge of the history of the period is greatly enhanced and my appreciation of the 1943 Warsaw uprising even greater.

Last year, at a Seder we attended, the hostess compiled her own Haggadah for the evening. Within it she included something that seemed out of place and too modern...except that it was perfectly appropriate for a night that in 1943 was the Passover Seder, such as it was, just before the Warsaw uprising. In her photocopied Haggadah she included this (source unknown):
 more this way»