Radical Atheist

Why does the Religious Right demand that only abstinence should be taught to teenagers when according to their own Christian mythology Jesus was born of a girl who practiced abstinence. A whole lot of good it did her.

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Should gay people, individually or singly, be allowed to adopt children?  Should single straight people be encouraged to adopt?

In a rational world the criteria to be adoptive parents, or parents of any kind, would be based on practical concerns about those things of direct benefit to the child. The prospective parent’s preparation for parenthood, the parent’s financial and social security. Do they love each other, if a couple? Treating their sexual persuasion as a minor element is appropriate.

Of course if the heterosexuals could ever learn to control their animal natures and treat procreation as something special and make births less common this wouldn’t be as much an issue. As long as straight people can’t control themselves there will be more kids waiting for homes than there are straight, Christian couples enjoying their patriarchal family hierarchy to adopt them.

Christians would do well to think of the best interests of the children and not be so concerned over matters they can’t show make a lick of difference to the welfare and happiness of the children.

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While the rest of the country is making an effort to overcome homophobia, it appears the geeks in Redmond haven’t gotten the word.

Earlier this week, a rather disturbing story surfaced on The Consumerist. Xbox Live community member Ryan Grant discovered his gamertag had been flagged by community members as being offensive; as a result, he was informed that he had to change his tag from “theGAYERgamer” to something more acceptable.

According to a letter Grant sent to The Consumerist: “…when i tried to sign into my xbox live account ‘thegayergamer’ I was told that it had to be changed. I figured that it was just from people reporting it as an offensive name being that the greater Xbox live community isn’t exactly welcome to gay people, i spend a lot of time muting people on Halo3. I assumed that once i called Microsoft they would straighten things out. I talked to a supervisor there, Roxy, who told me that she didn’t personally find the fact that my gamer tag had gay in the name offensive, but that the greater Xbox community did, so I would have to change it.”

It’s a little surreal to read about this, partially because it occurred in the same week that California’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage, but also because it wasn’t that long ago when Major Nelson made a point of condemning homophobic behavior on Xbox Live. Not only that, but Microsoft’s response doesn’t really seem to hold water: online communities are certainly allowed to report things they deem offensive, but it’s the moderators who have the final say about what’s appropriate and what’s not. Of course, this isn’t the first time that members of Xbox Live have demonstrated a lack of tolerance towards openly gay members of the service.  (Source)

Gays have finally started speaking out in society to let others know that they will no longer accept 2nd class citizen status.  Now is the time to start doing the same online.  Are you a gay blogger, gamer, webmaster, forum moderator?  Announce yourself, let people know that sexual preference, especially on the web, is not something to be discriminated against.  It’s nonsensical, it’s offensive and it’s no longer going to be accepted.

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The California Supreme Court has overturned a gay marriage ban in a ruling that would make the nation’s largest state the second one to allow gay and lesbian weddings.

The justices’ 4-3 decision Thursday says domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage. Chief Justice Ron George wrote the opinion.

The city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples and gay rights groups sued in March 2004 after the court halted San Francisco’s monthlong same-sex wedding march.

The case before the court involved a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a voter-approved law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

With the ruling, California could become the second state after Massachusetts where gay and lesbian residents can marry.

“What happens in California, either way, will have a huge impact around the nation. It will set the tone,” said Geoffrey Kors, executive director of the gay rights group Equality California.

California already offers same-sex couples who register as domestic partners the same legal rights and responsibilities as married spouses, including the right to divorce and to sue for child support. It’s therefore unclear what additional relief state lawmakers could offer short of marriage if the court renders the existing ban unconstitutional.

Finally, some good news from a Supreme Court.  Perhaps religious morality can be kept in check with logic and reason after all.

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I’m convinced that in order to become a Christian these days one must not only accept Jesus as your personal lord and savior but also renounce sin and divest yourself of your sense of humor.  I’m not sure how I managed to get through my period of religious belief and escape with my sense of humor intact.  Perhaps that’s a sign that I was never really accepted by god.

Nothing’s funny to Jesus.  And if you love Jesus, nothing should be funny, enjoyable or humorous to you, either.

Let’s look to the fine Christian folk of Reedsburg, Wisconsin for an example of sacred seriousness.

An elementary-school event in which kids were encouraged to dress as members of the opposite gender drew the ire of a Christian radio group, whose angry broadcast prompted outraged calls to the district office.

Students at Pineview Elementary in Reedsburg had been dressing in costume all last week as part of an annual school tradition called Wacky Week. On Friday, students were encouraged to dress either as senior citizens or as members of the opposite sex.

A local resident informed the Voice of Christian Youth America on Friday. The Milwaukee-based radio network responded by interrupting its morning programming for a special broadcast that aired on nine radio stations throughout Wisconsin. The broadcast criticized the dress-up day and accused the district of promoting alternative lifestyles.

“We believe it’s the wrong message to send to elementary students,” said Jim Schneider, the network’s program director. “Our station is one that promotes traditional family values. It concerns us when a school district strikes at the heart and core of the Biblical values. To promote this to elementary-school students is a great error.”

Schneider co-hosts “Crosstalk,” a nationally syndicated call-in Christian radio show.

After the program aired, both the school and Reedsburg School District office were flooded with calls complaining about the event.

The response surprised Principal Tammy Hayes, who said no one had raised any objections beforehand. She said a flier detailing Wacky Week had been sent home with children the prior week, and an announcement was also included in teacher newsletters.

The dress-up day was not an attempt to promote cross-dressing, homosexuality or alternative gender roles, district administrator Tom Benson said.

“The promotion of transgenderism – that was not our purpose,” Benson told the Baraboo News Republic. “Our purpose was to have a Wacky Week, mixing in a bit of silliness with our reading, writing and arithmetic.”

Obviously this sacrilegious abomination was the work of Satanical, homosexual, liberal, anti-war, godless heathens.  Right?

The theme for Friday’s dress-up day came from students, Hayes said.

“It’s different every year. They basically present the ideas, and they vote on what they would like from Monday through Friday,” Hayes said. “… They did not mean anything by this day. They were trying to have fun and come up with a fun dress-up day.”

Oh well, anyway, this is a prime example of how being lighthearted and having fun can lead right into the main gate of the devil’s garden.  If god had wanted us to enjoy life, he would have said so.  And I don’t see where Jesus ever said, “Go forth and have a good time”.

(Source of quoted material)

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