Christian parents beat adopted child to death... because the Bible says so

"Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them." says Proverbs 13:24 and if the kid is severely injured or dies in the process, well that's ok because it's the Bible telling parents to do so.




First of all it's certainly frightening that a book like To Train Up a Child could be popular around the world. Responsible parents don't train a child, they educate a child, but apparently Christian parents tend to leave it up to God to educate them and I don't see that as being very responsible.

The "observing Christians" (which is just another way to say "religious freaks")who authored the book hold the typical arrogance of the preachers who actually believe their actions are manifestations of God's will, that Gods acts through them, and that whatever they do or say has a part in God's plan. Therefore, they won't see anything wrong in their message or the consequences such a violent and abusive message has. I bet it took the reporter a lot of self-restrain not to punch both of them in the face when one of them started hitting him lightly with his hand.

According to the authorities, the girl was beaten for seven hours with short breaks for prayer. I wonder what kind of person could pray, and what those prayers would be, before and after beating a child. My guess is that those parents also thought they were doing the correct thing because if God says so, well, how could it be wrong?



To regard the Bible as the word of God is to be nothing else but a card-carrying idiot. Sure, it could contain some interesting and useful content, but to obey it word by word because of its supposedly divinity is plain stupid. These kind of cases remind us that the idea of a God talking to people is a really bad idea and should be fought against if what we seek is a more rational an peaceful world.

Finally, if really God meant what that couple did and didn't lift a finger to stop them, He/She is huge dick. Or he just doesn't exist, which is the most probable.

If this is Blasphemy, let God come down and tell me

He/She/it surely won't, since he might not care, might not be able, or just might not exist, which is the most logical conclusion.


The problem with blasphemy is that it can range from working on Sundays to tackling the Pope (which I have to admit is somehow funny), depending on how deranged people's beliefs are. It depends on the people making that claim that something is blasphemy since God will not come down to Earth to tell us exactly what is an offense to Him/Her/It.



Moreover, if we consider than an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God can get offended by anything we human beings do, we are certainly talking about a pretty little, miserable short-sighted being who needs lesser beings to defend Him/Her/It from whatever others do.

Apparently, Allah is terrorized by the West's freedom of speech. Well, that's a
pretty miserable and weak god we have there.

In other words, blasphemy is not about God, could not be about God. It's about His/Her/Its bigoted and intolerant fans, who can't bear have their cherished and nonsensical beliefs mocked, or even, just questioned and criticized, usually with a pretty good reason. This is what happens when faith pretends to be above everything else in a person's life. The more fanatical, the more a "Jesus Freak" a person is, the more God loves them, that's the message religion brings. For Muslims, just change "Jesus" with Allah and there we have a couple of towers coming down.


Now, add to that equation how politically incorrect it is to criticize religion, especially when it's taken as a breaching of someone's "Freedom of religion". Moreover, add the horror and despair that are brought when that religion belongs to some foreign, usually non-white, group of people, since criticizing such belief is "racist" or "xenophobic", and you'll have some retarded legislation against blasphemy.

Both of them would be art (a pretty dick art if you ask me)
but because of the protection Islam has thanks to multiculturalism,
this is what we have

Fortunately there is still hope since the UN, which some years ago supported legislation against "defamation of religion", now sheds away the politically correct crap and notices that freedom of expression can't be thwarted by what is perceived as freedom of religion.

United Nations Affirms the Human Right to Blaspheme Late last month, the UN issued a new statement on the extent of freedom of speech under international law. It says that laws restricting blasphemy as such are incompatible with universal human rights standards.

Thus, for instance, it would be impermissible for any such laws to discriminate in favor of or against one or certain religions or belief systems, or their adherents over another, or religious believers over non-believers. Nor would it be permissible for such prohibitions to be used to prevent or punish criticism of religious leaders or commentary on religious doctrine and tenets of faith.

Laws against blasphemy or “religious insult” (found throughout the world, including half of all Council of Europe member states) are inherently discriminatory against secularists and religious dissenters. They are discriminatory in that secularists have no legal recourse—nor should they—when the words of believers offend their moral sensibilities, nor can gays take the publishers of Leviticus to court for the spiritual affront to them that it surely is. Skeptics and heterodox believers, on the other hand, do have an Article 18 right to live and speak according to their conscience even when it offends the orthodox.

Believers usually have their "freedom of religion" as a shield to insult gays, non-believers and even other religious groups, but whine and pout when someone dares to point out their hypocrisy and intolerance. The only "but" I could have regarding this issue, is that blasphemy should be made in a tasteful manner. It's different to say "The only church that illuminates is a burning one" than "Fuck Jesus in the ass".

These can be considered blasphemous, but who cares, they are awesome

Fortunately, the tendency is for religious influence in laws and in public to go down. A better world is possible.

Miss USA 2011 is an intelligent person

I'm not a fan of beauty pageants, mostly because they seem boring, fake and most of their answers sound shallow. Yet I couldn't help but notice that the new Miss USA, Alyssa Campanella, is not just a "huge geek" but also has no problems accepting that evolution is a fact.

Good news! The new Miss USA contest winner has beauty AND brains!



Asked if evolution should be taught in public schools, Miss Campanella replied, "I was taught evolution in high school. I do believe in it. I'm a huge science geek...I like to believe in the big bang theory and, you know, the evolution of humans throughout time."

After the initial celebration, a couple of friends pointed a couple of things that lowered my happiness levels. This shouldn't be much of a celebration, but of shame and indignation, because only 1 of the 51 contestants gave an actually scientifically accurate answer.

What about the other 50? Many of them have no idea what evolution is, or how evolution works. To them, being "beautiful" seems enough. No wonder that many tend to think of girls who participate in beauty pageants as shallow and dumb.

Yet, there is hope. I don't consider myself as a 100% optimist, but if at least one contestant is brave enough to say something that might be deemed controversial or offending by the largely ignorant public avid of beauty contests, then a better future might be possible. A future beauty goes hand in hand with intelligence. That's something I can believe in, since it depends on us.

Around 50% of Americans are creationists. This means, they believe that God created humans and everything that exists as it is right now, which is utter ignorance, not to say pure stupidity and a shame to a country that is (or at least, used to be) first in many aspects. But the numbers among the girls in the contest are worse, since only two of them said something scientifically coherent. I know they are not scientists, but a question like this is similar to "is the Earth flat?"

This is one of the effects religion has on people who has a deep and twisted sense of "freedom"; they think they are entitled to their own "truth", as if facts depended on whether someone wants to accept them or not.

Finally, 98.5% of US scientists accept evolution as a fact. That's certainly a more reliable group than the pastors who insist the Earth is no older than 7000 years and the people who believe them. I have to admit it's hard not to look down on those people.

Finally, because Alyssa Campanella is the new Miss USA, some pictures of her:






You know what? I do think she's pretty, but not "remarkably" pretty. Actually, I think last year's Miss USA, Rima Fakih, was more beautiful. But that's just like, my opinion.

The rapture that wasn’t (and never will be). Bible prediction FAIL

Supposedly, the rapture was scheduled to happen yesterday, so that all of those “true believers” who got God’s message would be lifted and taken to heaven, leaving the unbelievers on Earth to suffer the period of “tribulation” just before the end of times.

The rapture, properly depicted in a comic book

As expected, such story that sounds like taken from a bad children’s fiction about revenge, didn’t happen and the only thing we had was just another proof that revelation is just as useful to predict future events, as making up a story while high.

It’s interesting how much attention this event got from the media. I think these kind of prediction are so ludicrous people will have to look at them, just like one gets drawn to the “man bites dog” kind of news. It’s astonishing to see people believing such nonsense, and moreover, astonishing to see people spending their entire savings

Or goes to the streets just to embarrass himself

But these cases of fanaticism (especially when it is religious fanaticism) are not just anecdotal. And this is one of the reasons many of us think it’s important to criticize religion: because it wants to dominate over reason and consider blind belief a virtue




We also have those who actually killed themselves, those who wasted all their money, and those who put their family at risk. Meanwhile, Harold Camping, the pastor who initiated this madness has gone missing (could it be he was the only one raptured) while his followers just wonder what to do now. I’m not sure if to consider them victims of a scam, or think that they are just receiving what they signed up for. Maybe they truly deserve the suffering of having nothing, but that doesn’t mean the scammer can go free.

As I said before, this could be scoffed as something anecdotal except for the tragedy it causes. But also because those who believe their God has revealed the day He is going to do something are considered a curious and even funny phenomenon, worth only to be on the back page in a newspaper.

However, there are many who actually believe in the rapture, that one day Christian will be taken to heaven while the rest are left to suffer. And just because they don’t give an exact date (“soon”, they say) that doesn’t make them less insane than those who claim to know a date.

And if we are actually talking about some insane ideas, we have to include that ask to be taken just on faith, no matter how nonsensical they can be, like the virginal birth, walking on the water, the resurrection and the idea that God actually had a son and He walked among us. If we consider those who think they’ll be taken to heaven as deluded, we will have to include among them those who believe in all what I just mentioned.

We have to admit that the later don’t cause as many problems as the firsts, and it’s easier to live with and among them. Or maybe, we just got used to them. But let’s not fool ourselves: just because one is crazier than the other, insanity is insanity. And if we need to invoke faith to believe it, it’s because those claims can’t stand the scrutiny of reason.

Motherhood is overrated

Some parents deserve respect, most of them don’t – George Carlin

I might have chosen the worst day to write this. But that doesn’t make it less true. The fact that a person has had a child is no way a factor to earn respect. Let’s see how that person raises a child, and then we will be able to talk about respect.

Want an example?

Parent upset over atheist group at Larkin High

At least one parent was upset today when a group of students set up shop in the Larkin High School cafeteria to talk about atheism.

But one parent said the school went too far.

“They were here to talk about atheism,” said Shavon Stanback of Elgin. “That’s totally unacceptable to me.”

She continued: “I’m a Christian woman. I believe in God. I believe in heaven and hell.”

This woman thinks she is doing the right thing. She says she believes in God, which to me, doesn’t make much sense, but well, it’s her choice. The problem comes when because of that belief, she thinks that whoever doesn’t share her same delusions should be barred from saying so. If the school authorities, or worse, government authorities had the same attitude, we would have a pretty theocracy going on. But she is not a government or school authority. She is a mother, who has the task to raise a child, and I’m pretty sure she is pouring her same delusions and bigotry on that child.

That is a mother who certainly doesn’t deserve respect.

That’s just one case from last week. If I dig deeper, I can find lots of cases of parents who let their kids die because they preferred to pray instead of taking them to a doctor.

This is not just about religion, but about the idea that parents (in today’s case, mothers) deserve respect for just having opened their legs, delivered a child 9 months later and prevented the kid to starve to death

I swear there is a worse video, but I couldn’t find it.

Anyway, with all this, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t show any love for your mother today. On the contrary, if she is not a bigoted religious nutjob, or someone who has no idea of the Earth’s shape, or a sadistic beauty-obsessed bitch, go ahead and tell her “I love you mom”. And if she is anything like that, well, suck it up and do it anyway. No one else should do that.

Vatican Idol: John Paul II's beatification

Today the Catholic world celebrates the latest addition to the Catholic pantheon. John Paul II breaks the record for the fastest beatification and is now just one step from sainthood.

He has earned his wings

I think it's pretty obvious the reasons behind this fast process. The Catholic Church has seen a decline in the number of its followers, the reason being, of course, its boy-raping priests and the church's idleness to deal with it. As it was expected, the catholic Church didn't like this one bit. Giancarlo Zizola, John Paul II's biographer told Spanish newspaper El Pais:

These are bad times for the Roman Church and the beatification appears as trying an urgent therapy. It seems like they are trying to reproduce the massive consensus regarding the last papacy to cover the actual crisis. Zizola thinks that there is an interest among movements like Opus Dei and Communion and Liberation to appropriate John Paul II's figure to strengthen its actual role"

John Paul lived in another time, an easier time than the one Ratzinger has. John Paul II didn't have to suffer the internet diffusing with no restraints all the hypocrisy and perversion the Catholic Church is capable of. Catholics' selective memory was helped by that time's media, which never did many efforts to spread the sexual abuses committed by the priests. Add to that the fact that the secular movement wasn't as strong as it is today.

This is why John Paul II is remembered as someone sublime, almost like a modern-day saint. Considering the crisis the Catholic Church is suffering, why not take advantage of such fame? Doing so allows the church to create a bridge between it and the faithful who started to see estranged and away the church that for many years had control over so many people.Now this generation can say "We have a blessed among us! We have someone especial! God is still with us!"

We have to admit that John Paul did some good in the world, like his criticism towards the communists (you can say whatever you want about American capitalist imperialism, but I don't think a Soviet-controlled world would have been better) or helping Chile and Argentina to achieve peace. But this in no way erase his activism against contraceptives, especially in AIDS-ridden Africa, or against gays.

And who can forget his friend Marcial Maciel?

Pope who turned blind eye to priestly abuse set to be beatified

Most notoriously of all, John Paul took no action at all against the Mexican priest Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, who was beset by allegations of sexual abuse for decades. It eventually emerged that he was a drug addict who had fathered several children with two different women and had also committed numerous acts of sexual abuse, some with his own children. But Degollado was an authoritarian conservative after John Paul's own stripe, and John Paul would hear no ill of him. It was left to his successor to force him to retire to "a life of penitence".

"In more than 25 years as the most powerful religious figure on the planet," commented Barbara Blaine, head of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (Snap), "John Paul II did almost nothing to safeguard kids." Because of this she urged the church to postpone the beatification, to "avoid rubbing more salt into these wounds".

Maybe John Paul didn't really know who Maciel was. However, he knew exactly what he was looking for and what kind of people he needed to achieve it

John Paul II's dark ally

For his battle, he needed an unconditional army. He had no use for Franciscans, Dominicans or Jesuits. They were to busy with the poor. Almost in the Marxist realm. Enemies of the powerful. Wojtyla found new recruits in the Opus, the Kikos, the Lumen Dei, the Communoin and Liberation and the Legion of Christ. Together they jumped in the time machine and went back to the 50s, to a church with a centralized power and with no place for dissidence. And decided that such church had to be the one of the new millennium. Maciel was one of the leaders

Marcial Maciel died without ever going to prison for his crimes, neither judged for them. If there is a miracle we can actually attribute to John Paul II, it is to have protected a rapist for so long and even after dead



This is the guy venerated by old people who see in him the one they were trained to love and obey, and by young ones, who they see as the wonderful figure with they grow up, go up to the altar and scratch the skies. They even have relics, a vial with John Paul II's blood, in case someone thought this couldn't get even more medieval, a time the Catholic Church would love to see brought back

This is a very clever move by the Catholic Church, but not really surprising. To take advantage of its followers' gullibility is just normal for them.

Holy Week recommendation VII: "Penn & Teller's Bullshit: The Vatican"

Holy Week supposedly ends with a great event, the (supposed) resurrection of Christ. I'll do the same. I'll finish this week of recommendations with a blast. You must already know about it and maybe you have already seen it. Well, it's only fair to watch it again.




On August 27, 2009, Penn & Teller's Bullshit made an episode about the Vatican. As you can expect from them, they didn't have nice things to say. But they hard true things to say. Not a truth that is said to be given by God through the Pope, or found in the Bible. "Truth" as in facts.

The interesting thing is that this episode is not listed on Penn & Teller's webpage, nor available on the DVDs. Why could that be? You tell me, who wouldn't want that episode available to anyone?

Fortunately the internet has made a miracle. We can watch the episode about the Vatican! Whoever didn't want this to be available can't be very happy about it, just like those who oppose to sharing information are when knowledge is made available to people.





These are parts 2 and 3. They have Spanish subtitles. So, if you can, please, send them to your Spanish-speaking friend, to that foreign student, to the lady who cleans your home, or to the guy who takes care of your garden. I write most of this blog in Spanish because I feel like the Spanish-speaking world needs to have this kind of knowledge.

Holy Week recommendation VI: "Deliver Us From Evil"

So far I've recommended various films and even a TV series that somehow deal with religion. Today I'll go for something more precise that doesn't have to be interpreted or understood and that leaves no room for interpretation. A documentary that lays well-deserved waste on the filth within the Catholic Church.



"Deliver Us From Evil" explores several cases of people who were abused as children by Father Oliver O'Grady during a period of 20 years. As hard as that might be, the victims, now grown up and with lives of their own, recall those experiences that might be shared by many others who don't have the courage to come out and tell the world. Maybe courage isn't the word, because I can't even imagine how disgusting such experience might be. Father O'Grady, a respected member of the community abused children put under his care by well-meaning, but deluded parents.

However, the outrage won't stop there. Many times we have heard that these are just "isolated cases" and that just one bad priest doesn't have to be the cause to blame the whole church. Well, consider that O'Grady was protected by his superiors, moved from parish to parish when some report of abuse came out. It wasn't until too many victims came out and spoke that he was brought to justice. Just until the end his superior decided to act against one of their own. Forget the children's suffering, for the Catholic Church first and most important is to keep their good reputation.

This is the kind of film that should be screened in every school, so that parents are aware of the kind of people that an organization that relies on obedience and near-veneration respect can produce. Trust is to be gained, and to talk about God is never a way to do so.

Holy Week recommendation V: "Neon Genesis Evangelion"

Just like with anything out there, there are lots of bad stuff, some good ones and few great ones. When it comes to Japanese animation, Neon Genesis Evangelion is the best of the best.


From it’s opening theme to the controversial and nerve-wrecking plot, Evangelion appeared during the mid 90s and became a breaking point in animation. We know the Japanese don’t make their cartoon only for kids, but for anyone who wants to be bombarded with a blast of imagination without being bounded by reality. Evangelion pushes that concept to the limit.



Evangelion has 26 episodes for TV and 2 movies, which, depending on who you ask, could be a real finale, or another look at the end we were already told. And by finale, I mean it. With the final episode (or movie) in Evangelion, the world ends. There is nothing more. Or maybe there is, but not as we know it. So, let’s take a look at one of the greatest, if not the greatest piece of animation ever made.

In the year 2015 the Earth is devastated by what is knows as “The Second Impact”, a disaster of cataclysmic proportions that destroyed Antarctica and killed half the world’s population. A 14-year old biy, Shinji Ikari arrives to the city of Tokyo 3 after being called by his father. After arriving, he will witness a huge monster being attacked by civilian forces and finally stopped momentarily by a bomb. After being rescued, he is taken to the Nerv, where his father is commander in chief.

Sachiel, the third angel

In Nerv, Shinji finally meets his father after several years. But also, he learns the harsh reality. The monsters that are attacking the city are angels send by God to produce the “Third Impact” and move forward to another reality. Eventually we will learn that to do this, they have to fuse with Adam, the first angel, who is being held captive in embryonic from by Nerv.

Adam, the first angel

Lilith, the second angel, is held captive in Nerv's headquarters

Furthermore, Shinji has been summoned to serve as a pilot for the Evangelion, giant organism made with Adam’s angelic DNA. These Evangelions lack a soul and Shinji, as well as the other Evangelion pilots, will have to serve as such.

The Eva 01

The battles are quick, bloody and breath-taking, enough to gather a huge legion of fanboys. Add to that the deep psychological processes between the different characters, from the loud and arrogant Asuka, to the silent and almost autistic Rei, both also Evangelion pilots. Every battle will take a mental toll on the characters, to the point in which an inevitable fate will come to occur, for better or for worse.



The idea that God wants to destroy his creation to “improve it” is not a new one. Having already destroyed its creation with a flood, this time God starts sending his angels with a specific purpose and it’s up to us, humans, to stop them.

Personally, I have to admit that Evangelion played a key role in my questioning of the beliefs I once had. The different interpretations of Christianity and its lining along other beliefs, even as part of a cartoon show, made a crack in what I once thought was rock solid. If there is only one cartoon you should ever consider to watch, that cartoon is Evangelion

Holy Week recommendation IV: "Madeinusa"

It’s interesting how the religious will usually look for a way to go around their prohibitions to do what they want, while at the same time, keeping the consciences at bay. God will always be an excuse for capitalism, socialism, bigotry, love, acceptance, racism, etc. This is the idea I got after Madeinusa, a Peruvian movie starring one of its greatest actresses, Magaly Solier



Madeinusa is a young girl who lives with her sister and her father, who is the mayor of Manayaycuna, their town, which is getting prepared for the Holy Week festivities. Salvador, a young man from the coast, arrives, apparently, to work on a mining project. He sees one of the festivities, in which several girls from town compete on who will be the Virgin Mary for the procession. Madeinusa wins and Salvador takes a picture of her. Because of this, he is locked up, being told that the villagers don’t like foreigners.

Yeah, I'm the Virgin. But won't be for very long

In town, Madeinusa acts like weeping Virgin Mary who goes along a statue of Jesus Christ who just died on the cross, towards a church. After that, the whole town celebrates because God is dead and for 3 days won’t see what they do.

Salvador: "So, let me get this straight: On Good Friday, God dies and therefore
can't see all the sins you will commit?"

Madeinusa: "Let's have sex! NOW!"

Salvador breaks free and starts walking around town. He then meets with Madeinusa, who proceeds to seduce him and finally having sex with him. Madeinusa then asks him to take her to Lima, the capital in the Coast. Salvador refuses and she goes away, angry.

Madeinusa: Ok, we had sex, now take me out of this town

Salvador: You bitch...

At night, when one of the town’s women is taking Madeinusa clothes off, she notices blood and realizes she is not a virgin anymore. She goes and tells her father, who takes her home. When Salvador goes by their house, he hears people having sex.

The next day Salvador wakes up drunk and is guided to a weird ritual in which some women are choosing men to have sex at night. Salvador leaves, disgusted. At night, the mayor takes him to the second floor of his house, and he shows him all the offerings the people have given to the church. Madeinusa is also there. He then tells Salvador that he can take anything and go back to Lima. Salvador refuses and leaves, and the mayor then leaves Madeinusa locked up. However, she escapes and goes to Salvador, who finally agrees to take her to Lima. They are leaving, but at night, she remembers she doesn’t have her mother’s earrings. She comes back and finds that her father has broken them.

Madeinusa waits for the morning and prepares soup for her father, but it is poisoned. Salvador comes back, looking for Madeinusa, but find the mayor, dead. Madeinusa’s sister arrives and thinks he killed her father and starts calling for the people.

At the end, we only see Madeinusa in a truck going to Lima, without Salvador. His camera is seen lying among the Holy Week offerings.

Then she moved to France

Some people criticized the movie because, they said, it depicted villagers from the Peruvian mountains as crazy people, while the one arriving from the coast is the civilized one. This however is an impression one can have, especially if it’s the first time one lives through local celebrations. Usually during these celebrations, there is great display of religiosity, but also men and women get drunk, there is violence and some people get injured.

This is a nice depiction of the religious hypocrisy that is lived through ritual that are respected simply because tradition is an unmovable force in such places. Traditions and customs are respected, especially if they have some religious meaning, and under that excuse, people will do whatever they want. It doesn’t matter if you got drunk, hit your wife or had a child out of wedlock, if it was during the saint’s celebration, it’s all ok.

Holy Week recommendation III: "The Crucible"

The inquisition was one of the darkest periods of Christianity, and while most of it occurred in Europe, the newly founded United States was not free from religious fanaticism. One of the most prominent episodes of such craze was the Salem witch trials, which were adapted in The Crucible.



In Salem, Massachusetts, a group of girls and a Barbadian slave dance around a fire like celebrating some kind of rite. There, Abigail (played by Winona Ryder) drinks a chicken’s blood and wishes for John Proctor’s wife to die. One of the town’s men sees them, and surprises them. As most of the girls flee, one of them drops unconscious. The girl won’t wake up and the girls that were seen are questioned about what happened. Among those who arrive at the sick girl’s house, is John Proctor, who had an affair with Abigail.

Some of the men think that the girls are just pretending to be asleep, but others, including the town’s reverend, believe that they are possessed. The girls accuse their slave to be working with the devil and escape the punishment.

Sorry, but in this time, the blacks always get blamed for everything

Aware of the easiness of accusing someone to be witch, the girls start accusing other women in town, John’s wife among them. The accused are arrested, but John’s servant, and one of the girls who wouldn’t wake up, is asked by him to testify that the sickness was faked. Facing the possibility that they might be accused of lying to the jury, the girls accuse John’s servant of being a witch and put a spell on them. John then confesses to having an affair with Abigail and the reason she is doing all this is to get rid of his wife.

John’s wife is asked if it’s true that her husband had an affair and she lies trying to protect her husband. Moreover, John’s servant accuses him of working with the devil. John and his wife are then apprehended and sentenced to be hanged.

Abigail then tries to escape and asks John to come with her, but he refuses. John is the offered to confess of working with the devil and be freed. However, he chooses to die while keeping his innocence.


The obvious idea we get from this film is how easily people who are supposed to be intelligent, under the spell of religion, will believe anything and, which is worse, harm others without any proof further than their own prejudice. Moreover, this zealotry can be used just like the girls used it against innocents, just to escape their punishment.

The witchcraft ritual also spawns some questions, especially how intolerant of other religions the early Americans could be. It would be nice if this were only at that time, but unfortunately, nowadays we see the same behavior among those who claim to be faithful to the Lord.

But those days are gone and now witches are awesome

If you like historical movies, check this out and then you can get the book or research more on the issue.

Holy Week recommendation II: "The Crime of Father Amaro"

The movie is based on a novel written in 1875, which means that priests haven’t been that holy for a long, long time. If they ever were. "The Crime of Father Amaro" was nominated for best foreign movie.



Father Amaro (played by Gael García Bernal) arrives to a small town in Mexico, where he is sent to learn from the elderly priest in charge. He starts celebrating mass and is admired by the extremely Catholic inhabitants, especially by Amelia, a young woman who teaches catechism to the children. Amaro soon notices that the older priest has an affair with Amelia’s mother, but says nothing. He also says nothing about the construction of a hospital that is financed by drug money.

"You will go to heaven, but there is room for only one Virgin there

On the other side, there is another priest who is criticized for helping a leftist guerrilla. He eventually will get defrocked, but will continue to help the insurgents.

Having feelings for Amaro, Amelia dumps her boyfriend Ruben, a journalist and an atheist who has proof about the relationship between the church and the area drug lord. He writes an article for the local newspaper, but the church threatens it with withdrawing their advertisements from the newspaper. Ruben is fired and then his home vandalized by angered Catholics and his father results injured

Not even God can escape this temptation

Amelia announces she is pregnant with Amaro’s child. Despite the words about love being a blessing, Amaro refuses to acknowledge that he is the father, since that would threaten his career as a priest. Amelia asks Ruben to marry her, but he refuses. Amaro then arranges for Amelia to have an abortion. At night, he takes her, along with a devout catholic woman to a clinic, but she starts bleeding profusely. Amaro tries to get her to a hospital, but she dies in the way.

Days later, Amaro celebrates mass, while the town thinks that Ruben was the one who impregnated Amelia and Amaro saved her.

Oh, yeah, thank you guys for blaming the atheist.
Now come and keep drinking the cool-aid.

The depiction of the admiration the people feel for their priests (“Father Amaro is a living Saint”) is a great reflection of reality, a reality in which people, especially poor and uneducated, tend to blindly trust their priests, pastors, and in general, anyone who claims to represent God. A sad reality that ended up in thousands of children being abused.

Another thing worth noting is that among the “bad” priests, there is a good one who chooses to serve where he is needed. More than trying to patch the Catholic Church’s reputation, I think this represents pretty well that those who get the most recognition aren’t usually the best ones when it comes to “serving God”.

There is also the fact that Amaro feels guilty for what he does, at least at first. But then, he finds a way to reconcile his conscience with his priestly duty and then keep doing what he does, meaning, Amelia. At least this time it was a willing young woman instead of a boy.

Finally, the people’s zeal about defending their priests against those who criticize them depicts pretty well the kind of sheep religion breeds.

Overall, The Crime of Padre Amaro is a great drama that will have viewers, both believers and non-believers entertained and outraged. And maybe, might make some believers rethink their ideas about priests, pastors and other snake-oil dealers.

Holy Week recommendation I : Chocolat

If you live in a place with a Catholic majority, you have to live with the Holy Week. This is the week that precedes Easter (when Jesus came back to life and became a zombie) and should be of preparation for such an important date (even though it's not a fixed date and changes depending on the lunar calendar (Pagans called, they want royalties for using their way of choosing dates for their rituals).

This is a Holy Week celebration in Spain.
Yes, I know it looks like something else.

Regardless of how it started, the problem is that everything around smells like incense and over-the-top holiness. But not everything is really that bad. I remember, as a schoolkid, I loved holy week since we got 2 days off (Good Thursday and Friday). Had I known that kids in the United States got the whole week off with a less pretentious name (Spring Break) it would have been really pissed off.

Another thing I had to live with was that locals TV stations would broadcast biblical films and cartoons. At that time I enjoyed them, I think because those were once-a-year films. Nowadays it's not funny anymore.

So if you live in that kind of environment, you might want to watch something less preachy. During these week I'll be updating daily with recommendations to have an entertaining and sane Holy Week.

Today's recommendation is Chocolat:



A woman and her daughter arrive to a conservative French town, desiring to open a candy store. The villagers get intrigued during the time she makes the preparations and when she does, some arrive, curious to know what she has to offer. The problem is, she opened her candy store during lent. And the conservative major (played by Alfred Molina) cannot accept that people might have some kind of pleasure (like eating delicious chocolate) during a time that is supposed to be of suffering.

At the same time, a group of gypsies (led by Johnny Depp) arrives to town. They set camp at the riverside, since they are usually shunned by the townspeople. However, they get along pretty well with the chocolate store owner, which infuriates the major and some other conservative villages even more, to the point of burning down their camp.

What? You are an atheist who doesn't celebrate catholic rituals and sells chocolate?
I'll crush you to death!

It's interesting how the protagonist is hinted to be an atheist. But more interesting is how her actions, while not disregarding of the village traditions, are viewed as threatening to the town's morality. While wrapped in a comedy/drama/romance format, it reflects very well how many believers feel about others who won't share their delusion or traditions.

So, go to the rental store, ask a friend, or get it from the internet (you know how, right?), this is a very nice film who would slip well as a family movie.

On how the burning of a book became worse than the slaughter of people for retarded reasons

Remember the case of the crazy pastor (I know this is kind of redundant, but this guy is worse than the usual) who wanted to burn a Koran and even Obama came out to ask him to do so?

Well, he finally did it:

Koran burnt in Florida church

The burning was carried out by pastor Wayne Sapp under the supervision of Terry Jones, who last September drew sweeping condemnation over his plan to ignite a pile of Korans on the anniversary of September 11, 2001 attacks.

Sunday's event was presented as a trial of the book in which the Koran was found "guilty" and "executed."

The jury deliberated for about eight minutes. The book, which had been soaking for an hour in kerosene, was put in a metal tray in the center of the church, and Sapp started the fire with a barbecue lighter.

A very dick thing to do, especially considering that Muslim extremists are violent enough to go on a murderous spree as they did when the Muhammad cartoons were published. If can have faith in something, it’s in the fanaticism that religions inspire

Ten dead in Afghan Quran burning protests

At least 10 people have been killed and 83 wounded in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, officials said on Saturday, on a second day of violent protests over the burning of a Quran by a radical fundamentalist Christian in the United States.

A suicide attack also hit a NATO military base in the capital Kabul, the day after protesters over-ran a U.N. mission in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and killed seven foreign staff, in the deadliest attack on the U.N. in Afghanistan.

This isn’t anything less than outrageous. Yet, there are many, especially politically correct liberals with a “multicultural” mindset who abhor the actions of pastors Sapps and Jones, but say nothing about, and even try to justify their actions by blaming it on the pastors.

Is it disrespectful and bigoted? Yes, but it is also within one’s rights to burn his property on the land he owns. At least in the United States. No one says that this is an action that deserves praise, but certainly deserves the freedoms that our constitution guarantees.

The killing of innocent people, who had nothing to do with the actions of a religious zealot? Despicable and hateful, and certainly proper of a religion that wants to be considered as a religion of peace, but is ready to kill in order to prove it. This is something few people want to admit, and will try to whitewash how mindlessly violent faith can be. Want an example?

Obama calls killings in Afghanistan outrageous

"No religion tolerates the slaughter and beheading of innocent people, and there is no justification for such a dishonorable and deplorable act," Obama said.

Obama wants to be nice, and keep the peace among everyone (or at least, keep the fire away from him), but this is certainly not true. Religion tolerates the slaughter and beheading of innocents. The only difference is that some take that literally and others don’t. But we will never know which one is right.

Muslims need to realize that the beliefs they hold so dear also inspire hatred and violence. Just like Christianity, but in a greater way. No one should have to hold their criticism just because they have a gun pointed at their head, and if the gun fires, have people saying "it's your fault for provoking them".

As much as I despise pastor Jones' actions, I think he has a right to carry on with them, if we are to care about freedom of speech. A friend of mine suggested to me that I might be falling into a slippery slope fallacy by considering that prohibiting such speech would prohibit also other actions that might be considered disrespectful to Muslims or any other groups. But consider that this action is being done away from a Muslim community and whatever is burned is private property. If we are going to start prohibiting people to state their discontent with a group's action and philosophy by a symbolic act that harms no one, then the same could be applicable to any cartoon, any speech or any book.

Sam Harris explains this very clearly:

The point is that only the Muslim community is combustible in this way. The controversy over Fitna, like all such controversies, renders one fact about our world especially salient: Muslims appear to be far more concerned about perceived slights to their religion than about the atrocities committed daily in its name. Our accommodation of this psychopathic skewing of priorities has, more and more, taken the form of craven and blinkered acquiescence.

There is an uncanny irony here that many have noticed. The position of the Muslim community in the face of all provocations seems to be: Islam is a religion of peace, and if you say that it isn’t, we will kill you. Of course, the truth is often more nuanced, but this is about as nuanced as it ever gets: Islam is a religion of peace, and if you say that it isn’t, we peaceful Muslims cannot be held responsible for what our less peaceful brothers and sisters do. When they burn your embassies or kidnap and slaughter your journalists, know that we will hold you primarily responsible and will spend the bulk of our energies criticizing you for “racism” and “Islamophobia.”

Someone has a cool sense of humor

Yesterday I went by a music store. I wasn't really looking for something, just checking if there were good CDs at a good price. And then I saw this:


I don't know if this was made on purpose by an employee with a witty sense of humor or just is the result of a decreasing demand in both genres, which makes possible to toss all the CDs with those themes in just one sector. Whatever it was, it certainly was appropriate.

The sad story of the Poe’s Law girl and the gullible atheists

Atheists like to feel proud about our reliance on facts and reality instead of faith and feelings. While this is mostly true, considering that atheists and liberals have higher IQ and know more about religion that believers, to be an atheist is not an exemption of gullibility and fanaticism. Not that I’m happy to say so.

It was one day after the Japan Earthquake. During that day the internet’s attention caught a video of a girl thanking God for striking Japan after she prayed and fasted for one day. Youtube user Tamtampamela had many videos in which she praised God and badmouthed atheists.

Congratulations dear: You just made a fool of a group
of people who take pride in the skepticism, but were quick to fall
for their own prejudices. For that, I salute you, Queen of Trolls.

The video is this one:



This video was shared among my atheist Facebook contacts (and I’m sure many more) accompanied by rants about how disgusting Christians are, that religion is a drug that makes you crazy and stuff like that.

But there was something weird in the video. Something it was hard to pinpoint. After checking her channel I saw that her description mostly matched that of a Christian zealot. But there was something missing. Most Christian youtubers have lots of bible citations in her information boxes. She didn’t. Instead, she had mostly quotations from famous people that badmouthed atheists.

Next I checked her subscriptions. Among them there were two well-known satirists, Edward Current and 1god1jesus. Those two facts made me almost sure that the girl was a satirist and many atheists were falling in what is known as the Poe’s Law:

Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is impossible to create a parody of Fundamentalism that SOMEONE won't mistake for the real thing.

So much for skepticism and rationalism. Many of my contacts lost their patience and ranted about her, with many of her friends commenting and ranting as well. Few of us would point that she was a Poe. But they wouldn’t listen.

I think that in cases like this, atheists won’t stop to check for the evidence and just follow their instinct, or should I say, belief, that Christians are just that hateful. I don’t think that is the rule, but certainly there are many that agree with what that girl said and can sustain it as any other Christian would say can sustain the idea that God actually love us.

Something similar tends to happen with Ratzinger and the belief that he was a Nazi. Most atheists (and actually, most rational people) tend to dislike Ratzinger. And because of that and the fact that her served in the Hitler Youth, they are very quick to say that he was a nazi. They won’t check for the evidence that points to the contrary, preferring to believe what they want.

Tamtampamela saw that her video got her a pretty unwanted attention when she started to receive pizzas at her home (which means that the internet had her home address and other information) so she made a video stating that she was just a troll.




Moments after this video was published, her account was closed.

This changed the criticism from being directed to a hateful Christian, to being directed to a girl that trivialized a tragedy. While she used this sad event lightly, she also made a point: that a christian, or any believer, can use God to justify the most hateful of remarks (which already happened). If there is any anger to be drawn from this, it should be directed to those who really believe what they are saying as being God’s message.

Finally, my fellow atheists and other non-believers, don’t be so quick to get angry. Stop your horses, check out the evidence, check out again, and when giving your opinion, do so in a measured way. That just better PR.

It was about time, the pastor who said Japan’s Earthquake was a punishment from God

As it’s usual when a disaster happens and the most despicable religious authorities want to get some attention, there had to be someone who said that Japan’s earthquake and tsunami were God’s punishment for being “an idol-worshiping nation”

"Just so you know, if you don't worship me, I'll kill more than 10,000 people.
But remember, I love you"

As you should know, Japan suffered the worst earthquake in its history. Then came a terrible tsunami that destroyed entire cities. Now, it faces a potential nuclear disaster.

It’s really a bad time to be in Japan. I have some friends there and can’t even imagine how bad their lives might be.

Well, just like with Haiti and New Zealand, there had to be a pastor who, inspired by Holy Spirit, said that this tragedy was caused by the people walking away from God:

Pastor under fire for remarks on quake

A well-known pastor here has caused a stir by describing Japan’s latest earthquake as a warning from God to an “idol-worshiping nation.”

The controversial remarks by Rev. Cho Yong-gi, emeritus pastor of the Yeouido Full Gospel Church, have immediately resulted in strong criticism from civic groups and Internet users who are calling for the pastor to resign and offer an apology to the earthquake victims.

I think I have said this before, but it’s good to remember: This pastor talks with authority of a person who represents God and spreads His message to his followers. Many Christians might get angry and say that this pastor is not preaching the actual word of God, but they have no proof of that. Those who agree with Cho can also say that the ones criticizing him are not real Christians and that they’re not interpreting God’s message in the right way.

This is why to be part of a religion depends so much in an interpretation. We are never, ever, going to be sure of what God wants us to do, or what He or She is thinking. We can’t even prove his existence. If we talk about a God who loves us, it just takes a quick glimpse to all the suffering and pain in Japan, or the misery and hunger in other parts of the world to notice that such God either doesn’t care, or enjoys our suffering. Or just, doesn’t exist.

If you want to do something more than just praying (which isn't very helpful), you can donate to the Red Cross. It's a pretty reliable institution and certainly will send useful material instead of Bibles.

Also, if you feel like donating to a secular humanist, you can do so to Ayelet H. Fogel, who happens to be a friend of a friend. I just sent her $30.00.

On Ash Wednesday

Well, today is the actual Ash Wednesday. So, here is Ash

looking badass

And here is Wednesday

The original goth. The rest are just emo

But further than that, if you're a person with a pretty wide social circle, you then know at least a couple of devote Christians, which you will recognize by the dirt on the forehead they'll bear today. So what's that about?

As you might know, Jesus supposedly spent 40 days in the dessert just hanging around alone (his friends say fasting, but when you're the Son of God, you can pretty much have a cheeseburger appear, brought by a Hooters girl). During this time, Satan is said came to troll him. He offered lots of cool things, but Jesus said no way Jose. Satan then thought about it and just left saying "dude, I just realized no trolling I'll ever do will be compared to your own holy old man letting you being accused, beaten, whipped, raped and killed to atone for others' faults, so, see ya later"

Well, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40 days. During this time, called Lent, many believers will pledge to abandon some kind of pleasure, trying to imitate Jesus fasting during those 40 days.

Or you can just give up sex for the sake of a bad comedy movie
that ends up with the protagonist being raped.

The idea behind the ashes is to show sorrow for the sins committed. Along this, the fasting and penitence takes place, preparing the person for Easter. This is something quite hard to understand (or maybe, something that just needs to be done instead of understood), the idea that repentance should be done through self denial and visible actions towards God. Whatever we do, if we feel it's wrong, will most likely have a negative effect on others. And it is towards these others that our repentance shall go. It useless to look at the skies and say "God, forgive me" if nothing is done towards the ones who actually suffered from our actions.

We share this planet with others and if we expect to live a quiet happy life, it will be very helpful to have good relations with those who surround us; for our own sake not because God is telling us. As a non-believer I don't need a deity to tell me to be a good person. And if I wanted to be a bad person, well, I think I can find a justification in that same deity.

Happy Ash Wednesday

Happy Cat Day 2011... with Atheist Cats

It's been brought to my attention that today is Cat Day 2011, and given the attraction the internet has with cats, it would be irresponsible not to do something.

So, for your entertainment, here are the best atheist cats




That's ok, search is good. But eventually one has to accept that no matter how much you searched, or others have searched, there is none, and then start acting like there is non. But keep searching.



Yeah, no ceiling cat



Still, no proof of ceiling cat



No evidence of it.



Just like, Santa Claus. You want me to believe in it? Show proof.



Even the bird says so.



Oh, and your images and concepts, no matter how cute and lovely they are (enough to send his "son") are no proof




Which, considering the evidence is a pretty accurate and practical conclusion.



And even if he existed, he is pretty much a dick



Your prayer, your songs, your paintings, architecture and art can be nice. But futile.



Which is why I prefer to use my time in other ways



Which is certainly more entertaining

But sometimes I'll be bothered with people actually coming to my door and trying to convince of otherwise



And if this doesn't stop




But there are other implications, such as the ignorance religion promotes, even after facing the overwhelming proof science give us.



Yeah, the only reason so many people like to think that is because of their beliefs and faith-based ignorance. For that I can not show respect. That's why



Happy Cat Day 2011