A Martyr for Democracy

For some time before September 11, tension had been simmering between various factions in post-revolution Libya. The weak transitional government has abdicated responsibility for security to armed militias, many of them Islamist.  One of those Islamist militias, Ansar al-Sharia, is widely held to be responsible for the attack that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

Chris Stevens was held in high esteem by Libya's revolutionaries, whose cause he supported last year. His death outraged many Libyans and may have inspired the populist demonstration against the militias that took place in Benghazi on Friday.


There were counter-demonstrators, but they were far outnumbered. The clashes killed at least 11 people and wounded 70. A day later, the Libyan government banned all militias and armed groups that are not under government authority and are working to cobble together a national security force.

There is no way to know what Libya will look like in a year. It may be taken over by Islamist militias in the end.  Or, it may install a secular democracy on the Turkish model.  There are no strong leaders, no Libyan Kemal Attaturk, but this weekend has shown that not all Muslims are anti-American, not all Muslims want to live in an Islamic theocracy, and many Muslims are willing to stand up and fight against the extremists in their midst.

I thought Showtime Put "The Borgias" on Hiatus This Weekend...

I didn't bother to tape The Borgias while I was out of town because I thought they were skipping the holiday weekend. Now, when I get back home (and to my computer), I see snippets online about the Pope's Butler being thrown in prison in the Vatican for stealing documents from his desk, exposing corruption in the Vatican, and suspicions that a rogue Cardinal is behind it all.

It sounds like I missed an episode...oh, wait.  That's a news story that broke over the weekend about the latest developments in the 2012 Vatileaks scandal.  The references to a papal butler and a detention facility inside the Vatican made me think they couldn't possibly be talking about this century.

Rick Perry's Prayers Fall on Deaf Ears

Texas Governor Rick Perry famously asked his supporters to pray for rain to end Texas' record drought. One named storm after another has either teased Texas or bypassed it entirely.  The latest is Tropical Storm Lee.

The water-logged Lee was tantalizingly close to Texas but hopes dimmed for relief from the state's worst drought since the 1950s as the storm's forecast track shifted east. Forecasters said it could bring drenching rains to Mississippi and Alabama early next week.

The most logical conclusions are either:
1. Prayer has no affect on weather; or
2. God hates Rick Perry.

However, I'm sure that Pat Robertson will somehow blame it on the Supreme Court striking down Texas' sodomy law.

Us Versus Them

When Norway was hit with two coordinated terrorist attacks on July 22, the media (and possibly law enforcement) were quick to assume a jihadist link. That isn't surprising. In the immediate aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, the authorities checked area airports for men of Middle Eastern origin. Fortunately, those early assumptions (in both cases) did not prevent the capture of the true culprits.

It is human nature to divide people into Us and Them, and to attribute evil to Them rather than Us. We draw the bluntest dividing line possible. It is easy and obvious to define foreigners and Muslims as Them.

However, Anders Behring Breivik is neither a foreigner in Oslo nor a Muslim. He is as Norwegian as Vidkun Quisling and a professed Christian who was inspired by the crusades. It is chilling how closely his crimes and motivation parallel the September 11 terrorist attacks carried out by Al Quaeda. While the number of victims was far fewer than on September 11, 2001, there were 19 terrorists who carried out those attacks rather than one lone bomber/gunman. The body count per terrorist is remarkably similar.

It seems to me that the real motivating force we should worry about is not Islam but rather intolerant fundamentalism. In the early 21st century, Islam harbors more intolerant fundamentalists than Christianity or Judaism, but that was not the case a few hundred years ago. A couple centuries before its revolution, France was torn apart by sectarian warfare between Protestants and Catholics. Heretics were burned in 16th century England, and witches were hanged in Massachusetts a hundred years later. These atrocities eventually led western European nations in a more secular direction, forcing mainstream Christianity to get along with its neighbors.

Islam is only beginning that journey. It can be seen most strongly in Indonesia, a country that has been mostly left alone by U.S. foreign policy. The Indonesian people have transitioned to democracy and moved away from Islamist rule to a more secular government, because that is how they wish to live.

Conservatives have pointed out a recent poll showing that 40% of British Muslims want to see shariah law enacted in the U.K. The obvious corollary is that 60% -- a comfortable majority in any election -- do not want shariah law enacted.

We should be making moderate Muslims feel welcome among us and make it easy for them to assimilate into western society rather than treating them like outsiders, so that they only find welcome among the jihadists.

If I must draw a line defining Us and Them, I want to draw it so I am on the same side as Muhammed Ali, Aasif Mandvi and Fareed Zakaria, rather than Fred Phelps, Eric Rudolph and Anders Behring Breivik.

Quote of the Day

And all that stuff about camels getting through eyes of needles... with the tax breaks Ryan is giving the rich, they can breed miniature flying camels.

The Paul Ryan Watch contributor DownWithTyranny

Sounds like a lucrative new enterprise for Sokoblovsky Farms.

Did Anyone Notice the 2nd Coming Yesterday?

Maybe Jesus came back as a pillar of cloud.

Music for the Rapture

The song selection is obvious, but here is a terrific cover by Great Big Sea.

One Love

In honor of Holy Week, I am featuring the very small collection of religious-themed rock songs that don't suck.

Since not sucking is a subjective judgment, your mileage may vary. Feel free to comment, either on the religious themes of the songs, or the degree of suckage (or lack thereof). I'm still recovering from a family vacation, however, so I may not see your comment right away.

This is probably the most joyous religious rock song that doesn't suck of all time.

Starman

In honor of Holy Week, I am featuring the very small collection of religious-themed rock songs that don't suck.

Since not sucking is a subjective judgment, your mileage may vary. Feel free to comment, either on the religious themes of the songs, or the degree of suckage (or lack thereof). I'm still recovering from a family vacation, however, so I may not see your comment right away.

I've always thought this song sounds like an account of the second coming, in modern times.

My Sweet Lord

In honor of Holy Week, I am featuring the very small collection of religious-themed rock songs that don't suck.

Since not sucking is a subjective judgment, your mileage may vary. Feel free to comment, either on the religious themes of the songs, or the degree of suckage (or lack thereof). I'm still recovering from a family vacation, however, so I may not see your comment right away.

For Good Friday, here is a performance by George Harrison (with a little help from his friends) at the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971.

Hallelujah

In honor of Holy Week, I am featuring the very small collection of religious-themed rock songs that don't suck.

Since not sucking is a subjective judgment, your mileage may vary. Feel free to comment, either on the religious themes of the songs, or the degree of suckage (or lack thereof). I'm still recovering from a family vacation, however, so I may not see your comment right away.

By the incomparable Leonard Cohen. Enough said.

Turn, Turn, Turn.

In honor of Holy Week, I am featuring the very small collection of religious-themed rock songs that don't suck.

Since not sucking is a subjective judgment, your mileage may vary. Feel free to comment, either on the religious themes of the songs, or the degree of suckage (or lack thereof). I'm still recovering from a family vacation, however, so I may not see your comment right away.

This may be the only rock song with lyrics entirely (more or less, within the margin of translation) lifted from the Bible (I don't count Don McLean's folksy acoustic "Babylon" as rock, although it doesn't suck, and it's lifted directly from Psalms).

Spirit in the Sky

In honor of Holy Week, I am featuring the very small collection of religious-themed rock songs that don't suck.

Since not sucking is a subjective judgment, your mileage may vary. Feel free to comment, either on the religious themes of the songs, or the degree of suckage (or lack thereof). I'm still recovering from a family vacation, however, so I may not see your comment right away.

Here is the incomparable Norman Greenbaum with his biggest hit:


In case you were wondering, yes, Mr. Greenbaum is Jewish (but then again, so was Jesus).

Jesus is Just Alright

In honor of Holy Week, I am featuring the very small collection of religious-themed rock songs that don't suck.

Since not sucking is a subjective judgment, your mileage may vary. Feel free to comment, either on the religious themes of the songs, or the degree of suckage (or lack thereof). I'm still recovering from a family vacation, however, so I may not see your comment right away.

The Doobie Brothers made a triumphant entry into "Rockin Down the Highway: the Wildlife Concert" with this classic song of praise.

I Am Not an Athiest

I am not an athiest. I don't usually write much about my personal beliefs, but I want everyone to understand what shaped my opinions in my subsequent posts. I was very religious in my youth. In fact, as an adolescent, I thought I might be called to the clergy. My pastor, however, was dismissive of my questions about theology and biblical scholarship, and he did not encourage my interest, despite the fact that our church had ordained women for years.

I began looking into other denominations, hoping to find one that seemed right. I wanted to reconcile my understanding of Christ's teaching and the historical contexts in which the books of the Bible were written with church doctrine.  I came to realize that the vast majority of organized religions are just as concerned with preserving the authority and prerogatives of the clergy as they are with bringing the truth and spiritual comfort to their flock. I could not in good conscience promote any of them.  I became a "sole practitioner" -- a description more common among neo-pagans than Christians (who are very big on that "whenever two or more of you are gathered in my name" thing).

I respect sincerely held religious beliefs, even when I vehemently disagree with them.  I oppose any attempt by someone else to force me to live by their religious beliefs, however. Any laws passed by our government must serve a secular purpose to promote the general welfare and/or public safety. The ten commandments are not the basis of our legal system. Our legal system is rooted in English Common Law, which evolved from pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon traditions. There are many areas of overlap, just as there are areas of overlap with Solon's law code and other ancient legal texts. Every civilization has an interest in promoting the personal safety and property rights of its citizens.

Something that most American Christians do not understand is that ancient prohibitions against abortion were not about saving the lives of innocent babies (most of those cultures did not recognize the humanity of a child until after it was named, since so many died at birth). Those prohibitions were about protecting the father's property. In many ancient cultures, a man had the legal right to kill a child born to his wife or concubine. If the child had a birth defect or was suspected to be another man's bastard, it could be left to die outside of town. The decision was always the legal father's, not the mother's. A woman who killed her child or aborted her pregnancy was thwarting her husband's property rights. It was seen as an attack on her husband (just as Medea killed her children to punish Jason for abandoning her).

Many in the pro-choice movement believe that those old patriarchal property rights still motivate large segments of the pro-life movement.  That Brazilian bishop who excommunicated a mother and doctor for providing a life-saving abortion for an eight-year-old girl but did not excommunicate the stepfather who raped and impregnated the girl demonstrated that those attitudes still exist within parts of the Catholic Church hierarchy. The pro-life activists who picket clinics with signs saying "Don't punish a rapist by killing his child" also demonstrate that old attitude. They seem to believe that a woman's body only exists to be a vessel for a man's seed, and that decisions about pregnancy should always be made by a man.

My next post will explain my take on the "life begins at conception" argument.  Please read it before commenting on this one (your comment may be more relevant if you attach it to the other post).

Does Life Begin at Conception?

For the last half-century, the Catholic Church has actively taught that life begins at conception. They did not always advance that argument. In the middle ages, priests developed texts known as "penitentials" that were designed as guides in the confessional. They provided standard penances for a wide variety of confessed sins. The penitentials provided different punishments for women who had an abortion depending upon whether it was before or after "the quickening" (the point at which fetal movement can be felt by the mother). If it occurred after the quickening, the woman was assigned far longer penance than for an early abortion. This seems to indicate that, earlier in the history of the church, life was considered to begin at the quickening, not at conception.

Jewish tradition teaches that the soul enters the child at birth. Even today, many Orthodox Jews will not address an unborn child by name or even set up a nursery in anticipation.

The tricky thing about Catholic Church doctrine is that, according to the Church, it does not change over time. When a new doctrine is developed in response to a change in society, the Church claims to be simply clarifying and articulating something that was always true. For many centuries, there was no need to worry about the Virgin Mary being a carrier of original sin, because the mother was believed to be just the vessel for the father's seed. She may shape her offspring, as a plant's roots grow in the shape of the pot, but she does not pass on her nature. Gregor Mendel's studies of genetic inheritance, however, made people aware that Jesus must have inherited genes from his mother. Thus, the Catholic Church developed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, whereby Mary was the product of a specially-blessed union and was miraculously conceived without inheriting original sin from her parents.

When birth control pills became available, women had the ability to control their reproductive destiny far more effectively than ever before. The pills prevented pregnancy before it ever happened by suppressing ovulation and possibly also by preventing implantation if a woman did ovulate. Since medical science recognizes pregnancy as beginning at implantation (since a great many fertilized eggs are naturally expelled by the body for a variety of reasons), conventional birth control pills do not end a pregnancy.

It was after the pill became available that the Catholic Church began teaching that life begins at conception, not implantation nor the quickening. Many Protestant churches followed their lead. This doctrine is logically problematic for a couple of reasons.

First, the Church condemns hormonal birth control for the stated reason that it can prevent a fertilized egg (which the Church now says is a human life) from implanting in the womb, and thus the pill kills babies. However, the Church encourages breast feeding, even though lactation causes hormonal changes similar to the pill and also can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb. Why does breast-feeding get a pass when birth control pills are condemned?  If the Church is more concerned with making a woman's body subordinate to a baby than with saving the lives of fertilized eggs, the difference makes sense.

Secondly, prior to implantation (and even for a short while afterward), it is still undetermined whether that fertilized egg will grow into one baby or two or three (or even five, in the case of the famous Dionne quintuplets). If the soul enters at conception, does it split when the zygote does?  Do twins each possess only half a soul?  Also, twins sometimes merge during the course of a pregnancy. This even happens with fraternal twins, who grew from two separate fertilized eggs. Some people are born with different DNA in different body parts as a result of such in-utero mergers.  Do these people have two souls?

My faith does not require me to believe that life begins at conception, and my knowledge of science and of church history does not allow me to believe it. Therefore, in my opinion, any legal restrictions on first trimester abortion are based entirely on the desire of some people to impose their religious beliefs on others.

Who Were the Samaritans?

Most Christians are familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan.  As modern Americans, we tend to think that the point is that a stranger went out of his way to help someone, when his own people passed him by because they didn't want to get involved. We may think an appropriate modern analogue would be a tourist in New York City coming to the aid of a mugging victim, while his own neighbors ignored his plight.

However, many of us misunderstand the significance of the story because we are unfamiliar with the history of the Samaritans and their relationship with the Jews of Jesus' time.

When Babylon was conquered by the Persians, the exiled Israelites were allowed to return home.  However, the returning Jews found their homeland partially occupied by the Samaritans, who claimed to be the descendants of Israelites who never went into exile.  They also claimed that the Samaritan faith (as defined by the Samaritan Torah) was the true ancestral faith, before it was altered by the experience of exile.  The Jews, however, believed the Samaritans to be descendants of other subject peoples who were moved to Israel by the Assyrians.  The Samaritans were not allowed to participate in the building of the second Temple, and so they built their own. The two groups occasionally fought wars, and the Samaritan Temple was destroyed by a  King of Israel a little over a century before Jesus' birth.

The Samaritans suffered persecution under rule by the Romans, the Byzantine Empire, and the Muslims who conquered the region in the Middle Ages.  Many fled, and others converted to Islam.  There is a tiny remaining population, divided between enclaves in modern Israel and Palestine.

I think that an accurate modern analogue to the story of the Good Samaritan would be to imagine an Orthodox Jew (one whose religion is identifiable by his clothing and hairstyle) visiting Jerusalem, where he was mugged and left for dead, then ignored by other Jewish passersby.  Imagine that a Palestinian came to the man's aid, protected him from hostile neighbors and paid for his hospital stay, then paid for his transportation back home.

We cannot appreciate the significance of the parable unless we understand the historical context that made the story so very difficult for Jesus' audience to imagine.  No one should be judged by their ethnic group or religion.  Each individual should be judged on his or her own actions.

Alternative Holiday Signs

I've always found the "Keep Christ in Christmas" signs to be a little weird.  They seem more like political campaign signs than proselytizing. They also reveal an ignorance of the actual origin of Christmas traditions.

My attitude may have been shaped by the fact that, in our neighborhood, the guy who put out the KCiC sign every year was the same one who spent the summer telling all of his neighbors when and how they should mow their lawn and tend their garden (he always had an emphatic opinion about home repair projects, too).

For the Christmas Originalists, Heathens, Secular Humanists and ancient history buffs out there, here are some fun alternative holiday signs that you can print out and display if you are so inclined.

A Brief History of Christmas

It's getting to the time of year when a certain segment of the religious right -- the folks who think simple faith is preferable to studying theology and their own church history -- start whining about "The War on Christmas."  You will hear them complain about Neopagans and Secular Humanists co-opting Christmas for their own holiday celebrations.  Some of them will make statements about Christmas trees being inappropriate for anyone but Christians (or with any other name but Christmas tree).

There is no language in the gospels indicating that Jesus of Nazareth was born in December. In fact, the only seasonal clue -- the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night -- would seem to indicate that the nativity took place in the Spring, during lambing season (the only time of year in which shepherds spend the nights in the fields with their flocks).

Most cultures have some sort of celebration that is tied to the Winter Solstice.  The minor Jewish festival of Channukkah is overtly called "the festival of lights" and its theme is light lasting longer than expected.  The Jews' Roman occupiers celebrated Saturnalia, a multi-day festival that included family gatherings, feasting and the giving of gifts.

In addition to the official Roman state religion, many Roman soldiers practiced Mithraism, a mystery religion (meaning its doctrines were kept secret from all but the highest-level initiates) that originated in Persia. Our knowledge of Mithraism is sketchy (since it was a mystery religion that completely died out in ancient times), but we know it involved a god named Mithras who was born on the Winter Solstice and later sacrificed a celestial bull to save mankind from the darkness.

When Christianity became an official State religion of the Roman Empire, it began to compete openly with the existing pagan religions for followers.  Forcing people to give up their cherished holiday traditions is no way to win converts.  Thus, the church decided that Jesus was born on December 25 (the Bible didn't directly say otherwise, after all), and declared that the faithful could celebrate the Nativity with a Christ Mass and feast. The Saturnalia traditions were largely absorbed into the 12-day Christmas celebrations (culminating with Epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the Magi with their fabulous gifts).

Northern European pagans had their own Solstice celebrations.  The Scandinavian and German peoples burned a Yule log to represent the returning sunlight and brought evergreen trees (tannenbaums) inside, because they defy winter by remaining lifelike rather than dropping their leaves.  When Christian missionaries proselytized among the northern tribes, they let them keep their old traditions, attaching them to the new Christmas celebrations.

After about 1500 years, Christmas traditions are indeed venerable.  However, it is ignorant to assume that Christians have a monopoly on December celebrations, or that non-Christians have no right to decorate evergreen trees and exchange gifts.


In December, I will wish my family and Christian friends a Merry Christmas (or Feliz Navidad or Mele Kamikimaka, depending on my mood and how much I am longing for the tropics).  I will wish my Jewish friends and relatives a Happy Channukah.  I will wish my pagan friends and relatives a Good Yule.  And to everyone, I will wish Happy Holidays (because no matter which of the above holidays we celebrate, most of us celebrate New Year's Eve as well).

Some Religions Are More Equal Than Others

If this had happened at the FLDS compound in Texas, do you think the suspect would still be awaiting arrest?  When Texas authorities received an anonymous tip about a (fictitious, as it turned out) child bride who had been married against her will and abused by her husband, they swept in and removed 439 children from their families and warehoused them until the courts ordered them returned to their parents.

Sadly, the Grant County case is not a freak occurrence in the Amish community. It's not even the only one in the Midwest this year. Amish children are especially vulnerable, since the faithful are taught to shun the outside world and avoid the secular authorities. They also believe in forgiveness rather than prosecution.

But, by and large, Americans hold the Amish in high esteem, so we give them the benefit of the doubt.  Just as faithful Catholics give their church the benefit of the doubt when bishops protect abusers rather than their victims. Have any Catholic schools been shut down in the wake of those abuse scandals?  I haven't heard of any.

But if a religious group is not only in the minority, but also widely despised, a whole different set of rules apply.