Saudi divorces wife for watching male TV host: report

"A Saudi man divorced his wife for watching alone a television programme presented by a male, an act he deemed immoral, the Al Shams newspaper reported on Saturday.

The man, whom the paper did not identify, ended his marriage on the grounds his wife was effectively alone with an unrelated man, which is forbidden under the strict Islamic law enforced in the ultra-conservative kingdom, the paper said.

Men in Saudi Arabia have the authority to divorce their wives without resort to the courts."

Yahoo/AFP, September 29 2007

Kenya: Christian Group Moves to Court to Challenge Death of Jesus

"A group of Kenyans have grabbed media attention here after they filed a suit at the High Court challenging the arrest and sentencing of Jesus Christ about 2000 years ago.

The Friends of Jesus, through Judiciary spokesman Dola Indidis, told the court this week that they want to set the record straight that Jesus was innocent. They alleged that the arrest, torture and punishment of Jesus was unlawful and amounted to violation of his human rights."

allafrica.com, 31 August 2007

From what I read in a Norwegian Christian paper, they now also want to sue Italy, Israel, Emperor Tiberius, Pontius Pilate and King Herod. We're pleased to hear that Judas is left off the hook for now. (There are actually some fishy things regarding his "suicide".... or shall we say he very conveniently fell headlong and bursting asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.)

Well, I hope they examine the biblical evidence thoroughly. They'll probably find that the gospels don't give a correct picture of what happened and that there's a lot of contradictions among the witnesses. Then again, it's a case based on hearsay, so it should not be brought to a trial.

Anyway, if there's a good trial where all the evidence from higher biblical criticism is heard, then I doubt many of them will still be believers when they're finished.

Teacher: I was fired, said Bible isn't literal

"A community college instructor in Red Oak claims he was fired after he told his students that the biblical story of Adam and Eve should not be literally interpreted.
Steve Bitterman, 60, said officials at Southwestern Community College sided with a handful of students who threatened legal action over his remarks in a western civilization class Tuesday. He said he was fired Thursday.
"I'm just a little bit shocked myself that a college in good standing would back up students who insist that people who have been through college and have a master's degree, a couple actually, have to teach that there were such things as talking snakes or lose their job," Bitterman said.

[...]

"You don't fire professors for giving you a scientific answer."
Bitterman said Linda Wild, vice president of academic affairs at Southwest, fired him over the telephone."

Des Moines Register, September 22, 2007

Appalling.

The sheer evil of the Catholic Church

"Evil is a religious concept and the Catholic Church loves to bandy it about when commenting on the behaviour of other people. Well, now I want to tell the Catholic Church that the activities of its Archbishop Francisco Chimoio of Maputo, Mozambique are incredibly evil.
This stupid man is putting about the idea that condoms manufactured in Europe are pre-infected with HIV.

[...]

Scientists desperately try to reassure people that the virus cannot live outside the body, and there is no way condoms could have this effect. But clerics hold great sway among the deprived and illiterate people of rural Africa. Their words are heeded, unfortunately."

National Secular Society, 27. September 2007

See also The Guardian: HIV-infected condoms sent to kill Africans, claims archbishop

Vandals egg house of local atheist

"The home of a local outspoken atheist was vandalized overnight Friday, police said -- with eggs tossed at the house and cars, and crosses and religious words scrawled in chalk on the driveway.
A church bulletin also was stuck on the front door.
The incident comes days after Rob Sherman's daughter, Dawn, led a successful effort to have the song "God Bless America" yanked from Buffalo Grove High School's homecoming celebration. Dawn Sherman is a freshman on the student council.
The vandalism likely was the retaliatory work of youngsters, police Sgt. Mike Millett said -- since it came on the heels of the school incident and because one of the chalked words, "Jesus," was misspelled. "

Daily Herald 9/23/2007

See also comment at Atheist revolution:

"The police are convinced that angry teens are the culprits rather than some local Christian terrorist organization. Their evidence? The vandalism closely followed the incident at Sherman's daughter's school, and "Jesus" was misspelled. They may have a point about the proximity of the vandalism to the school incident, but the misspelling sounds like they are assuming Christian adults must have some modicum of intelligence. I'm not sure this is a safe assumption.
Had racist slurs and symbols been used to deface the home of an African American student, I wonder if the police would have the same response that this was simply an innocent prank by teens. Well, maybe in Jena they would."

Suicide leap woman 'told she was possessed'

"A British woman threw herself to her death in Paris after two French "mediums" convinced her that she was possessed by evil spirits, a court has heard.
Miss Hateley, who also claimed in her final hours to be plagued by hallucinations and that she was the victim of a sect that had fleeced her of her savings, committed suicide on Aug 26, 2000.
The circumstances surrounding her death have only now come to the attention of the French courts alongside related investigations into the alleged activities of the mediums. The two men, Grégory Selo and Laurent Sousa, have appeared in court to face the charge of "non-assistance of a person in danger", which they deny.

[...]

She saw an advert for a medium in a newspaper and made contact with Selo, aged 25 at the time and a convicted drug dealer who called himself "Angel of Gods".
"He gave her advice over the phone, told her to lie down to energise herself and she kept giving money," said Mrs Hawary.
"Little by little she became more fragile. He was aware of this, and exploited her weakness to take money. She borrowed from everyone - her friends, family, from work."
She spent 10,000 euros (£6,800) - including all her savings - over a six-month period, trying to rid herself of her bedevilment."

Telegraph.co.uk, 15/09/2007

No driver's licence needed for religious missions

"She's never had a driver's license and doesn't need one, West said as she represented herself Friday in Douglas County District Court.

"I was not operating a vehicle; I was exercising my right to travel," West, 21, told Judge Robert Fairchild. "I was in a private vessel on a religious mission."

[...]

According to Godsent and information he presented to reporters outside court, the couple belong to a group that claims the U.S. is not a country but a foreign corporation that has invaded America. They are concerned about implanted identification chips and say sovereign Americans are being forced to choose between God's law and man's law."

LJworld.com, September 1, 2007