Back to Blogging: “Wizard” fired from teaching gig in Florida.

Well, term is done, the conference I organize is finished for the year, and I’M ON STUDY LEAVE UNTIL SEPT 2009!

So, in between gardening, fishing and stuff like that (and working on the book I’m supposed to write on myth in the biblical prophetic literature), I can do a bit of blogging.

And since SHUFFL likes to take religious fuckwits to task, there is no time like now to get back to our roots:

From the Holy Harry Potter file…

From Pharyngula, a link to a Tampa news source story over the firing of a teacher FOR DOING MAGIC TRICKS!

That’s right, substitute teacher Jim Piculas got fired from Rusche Middle School in Land ‘OLakes for a 30 second magic trick (he made a toothpick appear and reappear) after someone complained that he was practicing “wizardry”, although school officials also say he wasn’t following lesson plans.

Well, alright. If there were reasonable grounds for terminating his temporary employment, fine. But if that was the case, then why the hell bring up “wizardry” accusations? It makes a mockery of any serious objections the school may have had with Mr. Piculas. How can you even begin to defend yourself against complaints that really do strike at the questions of whether you are doing a good job when you have to also address an accusation so bizarre and so stupid it probably does not matter if you can successfully refute the objections to your performance?

Sadly, the article does not give a lot of information about who made the accusation or other details. Still, who the hell in the school system would take such accusations seriously? If the complaint originated from a student, the stupid twerp should be made to apologize to the instructor. Even if a parent complained, so what? When are schools supposed to be projections of parents’ own paranoias and/or religious bullshit? Schools should have the right to tell parents to grow up. If the objection came from the school itself, then Florida really does have problems!

Dr. Jim’s Poison Word Processor Strikes Again!

This time in the Edmonton Journal, on Monday, March 24. In a complete inversion to my usual strategy of writing in response to a letter or article by a dipwit, I wrote to build on an op ed piece with which I agreed totally. So, my word processor isn’t really poisonous all the time. Just when I need it to be. I’m a sneaky bugger.

So, Scott Rowed wrote a piece enitled “Gov’t surrendered choice to religious schools: Our kids need to be integrated, not separated,” on March 15. Basically, the title is pretty descriptive of the contents and I blogged about it here. But, to repeat myself:

Scott argues that the fundamentalist schools in the province are now poised to receive full funding from the Alberta government due to advantageous loopholes that also allow them to discriminate on religious grounds in their hiring practices. I won’t summarize the whole article here, but it is well worth reading in its entirety. He discusses examples from Canmore, Ft. McMurray and other places. A few choice excerpts:

The history of religious schools in Alberta is not one of open debate. These decisions have been made behind closed doors between government officials and religious leaders — no public participation welcome. The most recent example was a secret document uncovered by the media in December 2007, showing that the government planned to increase funding for private religious schools…

Parents who believe that the first cowboy saddled up a triceratops have more choice as their children can attend either a faith school or a public school. On the other hand, Christians who accept evolution, non-believers, and followers of other faiths can enrol their children only in a public school. Every teaching position in a Christian school means one more fundamentalist teacher, and another teacher is out of a job…

When the Catholic school started up in Canmore in 2001, they had to share Lawrence Grassi Middle School with the public school board. The Catholic board tried to build a wall in the school and a fence in the playground to stop their children from mixing with the public school kids. Only the diligence of public school officials stopped this.

The article as a whole is very well worth reading.

From our email exchanges, I learned that Scott has received a lot of rather negative feedback from the Journal’s readership (his email address was included in the article. But this is what I had to say in my letter:

I agree with Rowed on religious schools, but more may be said. Rather than continue to divide our education system on sectarian lines in the name of “choice” and “diversity,” we should realize that when it comes to the pluralism at the heart of modern society we really have no choice. We either learn to get along with a set of shared values and an ability to share common institutions, or risk part of society sliding into self-absorbed and potentially xenophobic enclaves.

A common school system can play a great role in ensuring the brighter of those two alternatives.

That being said, a “world religions” class should be mandatory for all public high school students. It is imperative that students become aware of the primary beliefs, values, customs and histories of the main religious traditions that have shaped our world.

It must be noted, however, that teaching about different religions does not mean preaching any one religion as the ultimate truth.

The need to intelligently engage the role of religions in our pluralistic world should outweigh any reluctance we have, given the difficulty and expense of the task. Our school system must not shy away or pass the issue off onto schools dominated by one religious worldview or another.

No hate mail for me yet, but you never know.

Now, back to my old tricks and to formulate a response to another dipwit: “U.S. athiests may have no rights at all” Ah,the Lethbridge Herald, gotta love it.

Scott Rowed Exposes the Wedge Strategy of Alberta Faith Schools

Scott Rowed, leading figure of the nascent Alberta Center for Inquiry and tireless champion of secular schools in the province has published a brilliant op-ed piece in the Edmonton Journal today.
In “Gov’t surrendered choice to religious schools” Scott argues that the fundamentalist schools in the province are now poised to receive full funding from the Alberta government due to advantageous loopholes that also allow them to discriminate on religious grounds in their hiring practices. I won’t summarize the whole article here, but it is well worth reading in its entirety. He discusses examples from Canmore, Ft. McMurray and other places. A few choice excerpts:

The history of religious schools in Alberta is not one of open debate. These decisions have been made behind closed doors between government officials and religious leaders — no public participation welcome. The most recent example was a secret document uncovered by the media in December 2007, showing that the government planned to increase funding for private religious schools…

Parents who believe that the first cowboy saddled up a triceratops have more choice as their children can attend either a faith school or a public school. On the other hand, Christians who accept evolution, non-believers, and followers of other faiths can enrol their children only in a public school. Every teaching position in a Christian school means one more fundamentalist teacher, and another teacher is out of a job…

When the Catholic school started up in Canmore in 2001, they had to share Lawrence Grassi Middle School with the public school board. The Catholic board tried to build a wall in the school and a fence in the playground to stop their children from mixing with the public school kids. Only the diligence of public school officials stopped this.

It is a great bit, and hats off to the Edmonton Journal for publishing it!

Oh, you can read the whole thing here: “Gov’t surrendered choice to religious schools” or here: “Gov’t surrendered choice to religious schools“, so there’s no excuse not to.

The Centre for Inquiry is an international group that promotes critical thought, teaching of science and the promotion of secular values. They also have a discussion forum. The Alberta chapter does not have its own site yet, but the University of Alberta Atheists and Agnostics group is affiliated with them.

I have had a number of email exchanges with Scott, and exchanged a few digital epistles with Justin Trottier, CFI Ontario’s executive director.

At our atheists’ meeting on Sunday, I’m going to suggest that if we make a formal organization, we affiliate ourselves with CFI, and see if we can get a series of film-screening, lectures, etc. going on around town and at the university.

No doubt there will be letters in response to Scott’s article!

Lethbridge Atheists Meeting this Sunday!

Alright, we have a time and a date!

SUNDAY, March 16, around 7:30 at the Duke of Wellington bar in the Super Sam mall by the University.

Be there or be somewhere else.

So, how are we going to recognize each other? Here is Dr. Jim wearing a very cunning disguise:

Almost scary, isn’t it? If you can’t recognize me uncunningly undisguised, look for the table with the chicken wings and bottle of Strongbow cider.

Hope to see you there!

The Seedy Seed of Greed. Mike Murdock goes a-farming for a harvet.

I saw about 1 minute of Mike Murdock on the Miracle Channel today, with the intent to watch it through, but I couldn’t do it. He claimed to have written a “love song to the Holy Spirit”. O.K., whatever floats his boat. Then he started singing it. Fortunately, a commercial was on the next channel. Anyway, I did visit his site, www.mikemurdock.com (watch out for the video clip of him that starts automatically).

The site is absolutely mad, with a 20 numbered buttons across the top and down a side bar. Each takes one a different page with various preachings and videos (some that don’t work) or advert for a fund raising scheme or some such thing. Of course, the numbered buttons imply that you should work your way through them. So, here are the first three. That’s as far as I could make it.

#1. A 1 minute sermon of faith.

#2. A 2 minute sermon that uses the word “meditation” a lot.

#3. After 2 innocuous words of “Wisdom”, we get this:

Yup, “Miracle Harvests”. So, is he suggesting that those who “partner” with him (that sounds pretty “gay”, doesn’t it…) get something in return. I wonder what. Some kind of harvest, like Jack and the beanstalk, I presume. Or not. And speaking of magic beans, I wish someone would do a “farting preacher” staring Mr. Mike.

Anyway, #3 has 4 pages. Plant a $58.00 seed and you will get the seven miracle harvests.

a.  M. H. of Uncommon Wisdom. Yup, you get the “Wisdom of God” that “determines your Favor, your Health and your Wealth.” Golly, with wisdom you make better decisions and they will “determine your increase”. Increase in what?

b.  M. H. of Uncommon Favor. I can’t quite figure this one out. Sow favor and then reap Favor in return. O.K. “Any honor of spiritual leadership unleashes the Favor of God.” This, of course, is associated with being Mike’s “partner”. Hmmm. Do you think I have it right: God will favor those who give Mike money and defers to him as an authority?

c.   M. H. of Uncommon Health and Healing. Now, this is curious. The blurb is basically about Mike’s charities in South Africa and Mexico, which, if they do the work he says, is really a good thing. But notice the title of this harvest. Somehow one reaps what one sows, and one becomes healed.

d. M.H. of Uncommon Ideas. If the third made you feel good about giving, the fourth will make you feel like a million bucks. Yup. God will give you good, marketable ideas. Yeah, right.

e. M. H. of Financial Prosperity. “God is Wealth-Conscious”. “Money is a weapon…that drives back the spirit of darkness”. Yeah, helps Mike pay his electric bill a zillion times over…

f. M. H. of Family Restoration. This is really obscene. “Your reaction to the Law of God Determines God’s Reaction to Your Children (Hosea 4:6b).” Really sick. Hosea is a metaphor filled book that likens Israel to a wanton woman and promises divine punishment on her and her offspring. How about the Miracle Harvest of an abusive (divine) husband/father?

g. M. H. of Your Personal Promotion. Basically a plea, not just for $58, but for that amount monthly.

Here is someone who planted the $58.00 seed in 2005 and waited 58 days.

Conclusion

Well, the 58 days is up. It’s time to look over the last 58 days and see if the 58 day seed covenant worked. Here is a brief summary of the things that happened:

Idid not receive what I specifically asked for. I asked for $3,340.30 at the beginning of the covenant, and did not receive it. In fact, my loan amount increased.

I entered 5 surveys with a chance to win $1,000 dollars but did not win any of them.

I started having car trouble.

I got a letter from my bank saying my account was overdrawn, and was charged 21 dollars.

I started having severe pain in my mouth, and I needed to see a dentist. I decided not to, so it wouldn’t interfere with the 58 day seed covenant.

I entered a survey to win a $25,000 “new look,” but did not win.

No one ever just “walked up to me and handed me money,” but I did find a quarter on the floor at a restaurant.

I got $832.86 back on my tax return.

So, does Mike Murdock’s 58 day seed covenant really work? You decide.

I would think not. Maybe that’s why he now want $58.00 every month…

Well, I won’t go through all 20. It is pretty repetitious and gets quite silly, but here is the blurb from the “Donate” button. This should put to rest any doubt about God’s will for the contents of your wallet.

Precious friend, thank you for Partnering with me!
The Gospel is your greatest investment. Seed guarantees Divine Favor.
Your Seed creates a covenant with God. Expect Uncommon Health… Uncommon Favor… Uncommon Wisdom and the greatest Financial Breakthrough ever!
The Size Of Your Seed Always Determines The Size Of Your Harvest.
Each month, I ask the Holy Spirit to provide an extra Seed of $58…to 3,000 Passionate Partners who love the Wisdom of God. This Seed of $58 reaches 58,000 homes through our Television Ministry. If you are joining The Wisdom Key 3,000…please request your special Partnership Pak…containing books and tapes that will Bless your life.
Write down…where you want to receive your Harvest the most and expect God to move swiftly to Honor our Covenant of Expectation.

3000 “passionate partners”. Oooooo… the Miracle Harvest of Uncommon Kinky! “Expect God to move swiftly to Honor our Covenant” Yeah, that’s a good one. This is the same God that will shit all over you ’cause your parents pissed him off. And we are supposed to trust him? Try again, Mike.

For Cryin’ Out Loud: The CRY, Edmonton, Onward Christian Soldiers

Preparin’ the Way of the Lord, or something like that. I came across a bit about it on the Canadian Christianity site:

Edmonton’s CRY!

MY Canada is sponsoring TheCRY Edmonton, an all day event at Fort Edmonton Park March 15. MY Canada describes this unique event as: “A full day of intense, fervent, worship and prayer for revival in Canada, for reformation in Canada and for the Dominion of God to fill our nation from sea to sea. This is not a concert. This is not a conference. This is a CRY. We will lift a CRY to God for LIFE to prevail in Canada, for the ending of abortion, drug addiction, perversion and suicide that has been taking the youth of our nation out. We will lift a CRY to God for a mass outbreak of His glory and the love of God to hit the high places of influence in our nation.”

Here is the tearful sites own info.

TheCRY Edmonton

March 15th, 2008

Fort Edmonton, Blatchford Field Air Hangar

Interesting. They have a is a14 minute video of the “Cry” (Whine, Winge???) on Parliament Hill in 2006. I tried to dowload or link it here, but I fucked something up. Anyway, Note the disclaimer:

Video: 14 Min Summary Video from TheCRY, July 15th, 2006 on Parliament Hill. *Very powerful - this will give you a tast of what TheCRY 2008 will be like.

Note To Media: This was a non-political event, it was a prayer meeting.

How the FUCK can a meeting with an agenda like ending abortion and establishing the “Dominion of God” be scheduled at the nation’s parliament and NOT be a fucking political meeting? I trust that they are paying full price for the use of the facilities at Fort Edmonton Park.

Anyway, there is a much shorter clip of some of the scenes with a stupid fucking melodramatic rally the Christian troops to stand on guard for Canada poem by Faytene Kryskow, recited by some overly melodramatic silly person. Notice the Israeli flags! Not political, yeah, my ass. For some stupid reason, I got the video to embed for a  while, but then it didn’t work, , so here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igq4RpTi4SQ

Watch it and weep, Oh sensible ones, they are coming after you… SAVE US SOMEONE! What are they really up to???

This looks like a job for - - -  SIR IAN OF TERAHERTZ!!

and his faithful companions

The University of Alberta Atheists!

British Banish Blasphemy Laws! God Be Damned!

YIPPEE! The Church of England has been preparing for this for some time. According to an article in the Telegraph from Jan. 8,

The last successful prosecution for blasphemy was in 1977, when the publisher of Gay News, Denis Lemon, was given a suspended sentence for printing a poem about a Roman centurion’s love for Jesus.

Church leaders accept that existing blasphemy laws have been severely undermined after the High Court last month rejected an attempt by an evangelical Christian group to prosecute the director general of the BBC over the musical Jerry Springer - The Opera.

Don Horrocks, of the Evangelical Alliance, a multi-denominational Christian group, yesterday warned against the message that would be sent by scrapping the law. But he accepted that there was little practical argument for retaining it.

“Everybody knows it’s not really going to be used again,” he said.

I haven’t found a news release about the final decision, but according to a post by “faithlessgod” in the Center for Inquiry forum the House of Lords abolished the law on March 5. The vote was 148 to 87.

The fiery debate had a near record turn-out of bishops, who were split between those accepting the inevitability of change and those lamenting the signal abolition would give about the decline in religious influence and the secularisation of society. Some feared that abolition would unleash a tide of blasphemous publications.

Terry Sanderson, President of the NSS [National Secular Society] said: “This is the culmination of the Society’s 140-year fight to abolish this medieval law under which many innocent victims have suffered. … Our celebrations will be overshadowed by the knowledge that parliaments elsewhere in the world will soon be pressurised into passing a new law even more pernicious than blasphemy. It will outlaw so-called defamation of religion.”

In Britain itself, the Archbishop of Canterbury seems to be in favour of this, even while allowing the blasphemy law to be struck down. A late January story in the Times says:

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has called for new laws to protect religious sensibilities that would punish “thoughtless and cruel” styles of speaking.

Dr Williams, who has seen his own Anglican Communion riven by fierce invective over homosexuality, said the current blasphemy law was “unworkable” and he had no objection to its repeal.

But whatever replaces it should “send a signal” about what was acceptable.

This should be done by “stigmatising and punishing extreme behaviours” that have the effect of silencing argument.

“And can be used by the religion as a means to silence critique” Dr. Jim says on William’s behalf. Williams is further quoted in the paper as saying:

The legal provision should keep before our eyes the general risks of debasing public controversy by thoughtless and, even if unintentionally, cruel styles of speaking and acting,

Cruel styles of speaking and acting? What the Fucking Fuck is that all fucking about!!! I says, politely

Dr Williams said: “It is clear that the old blasphemy law is unworkable and that its assumptions are not those of contemporary lawmakers and citizens overall. But as we think about the adequacy of what is coming to replace it, we should not, I believe, miss the opportunity of asking the larger questions about what is just and good for individuals and groups in our society who hold religious beliefs.”

Dr Williams was criticised by the National Secular Society who accused him of promoting “self-serving and dangerous” ideas.

Terry Sanderson, president, said that the Archbishop’s speech was a “blatant pitch for new legislation to replace the blasphemy laws that the Government are planning to scrap… Dr Williams takes us right back to the beginning with his special pleading for the protection of religious feelings – in other words, another form of blasphemy law that would be even worse than the one we’re about to ditch.

Britain should finally get rid of that asinine notion of an established church.

Atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, secularists and generally sensible people have to stand up for our rights. The pernicious section of Bill C-10 here in Canada is not a blasphemy law, it is merely an amendment to the tax law, but it would permit the Heritage Minister to withhold tax credits to movies that strike the good minister as offensive or otherwise unsavoury. If the minister is enlightened, there will be little problem. If the minister is moralist, we are fucked. I’ve blogged about evangelist McVety who takes (tax) credit for that part of Bill C-10, and wondered if even the smutty, violent Bible could pass muster.

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia (emphasis added), Canada has blasphemy laws:

Defamatory, seditious, blasphemous and obscene libel are all forms of criminal libel covered by the Criminal Code. Truth, fair comment and privilege provide defences against criminal libel charges as they do with civil libel claims, but, as with Québec civil law, public benefit must be proved if the truth plea is to succeed. Incitement to the use of force to bring about a change in government may be punished as seditious libel. However, qualifying stipulations in the Criminal Code are designed to permit political debate, discussion and argument without the incurring of criminal sanctions.The Criminal Code defines blasphemous libel only as intention to commit blasphemy, which it does not define. The Code provides that the blasphemy law shall not be construed so as to prevent religious discussion conducted in good faith and in temperate language. There is doubt as to whether these criminal provisions are constitutional in the face of the Charter.

Time to get vocal, methinks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enemies of Reason - The Irrational Health Service

Here is Richard Dawkin’s 5 part film on Faith Healing and assorted nonsense. Each is about 10 minutes long, and it is great. All sorts of weird and wonderful healings, and Dawkins’ brilliant commentary. He apparently hasn’t asked any angels to help him–so says a woman in pt. 2. But someone else says he might have a Black Hole in his body. But before you go through them, save a few minutes for this loony:

David Hertzog from Gloryzone:

“God’s gonna stretch us like crazy this year.”

“Bald people getting hair on their heads.”

Body parts being recreated.”

Brains, some people need brains, being recreated”

“If you’re sick in your body and you walk into a heavier glory, Bang, you’re healed”.

“God’s gonna press the accelerator”

Herzog’s show can be seen on the Miracle Channel)

But let’s let our British Scientist guy have his say.

Dawkins Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four:

Part Five:

Hope this makes you feel better.

Time to Mobilize the Troops and Get a REAL Lethbridge Atheists Group Going

The move to start a Lethbridge atheists group has gone in fits and stops for a while. There was a group on Meetup and I was supposed to organize some stuff in the autumn but I never did. Now, I’m bound and determined to do it for real this time!

I’ve been in touch with some folks who belong to the Society for Secular Humanists in Calgary. As it turns out, they are going to join the Center for Inquiry. This is a large organization with branches globally. The SSHC will become CFI (Alberta), and it would be great to get a chapter going here in Lethbridge.

Anyway, fellow SHUFFLer Natasha and I are planning a meet and greet at a pub, hopefully sometime next week: March 10-17.

 

Anyway, SHUFFL now has an email account: If you want to come along, just email happilyunchurched@gmail.com and we will plan something, hopefully convenient for all.

 

Cheers,

Dr. Jim.

 

A Victory for Common Sense, and no Allergic Reaction.

A few days ago, I wrote to the the Miracle Channel complaining about a prayer they had posted by a certain Barbara Billett that all but guaranteed a cure for deadly food allergies. I am very happy to report today that Mrs. Billett has contacted me and agreed to remove the prayer.  I wrote back rather politely and said “thanks” for taking my concerns to heart.

Yippee!