Jesus Twitter, Saudi Lesbians and Dodgy Electricians

May contain sarcasm.

Apparently Twitter and Facebook could lead to the salvation of man at least according to the Reverend Franklin Graham.

“The Bible says that every eye is going to see [the Second Coming of Jesus],” Graham told Ammanpour. “How is the whole world going to see [him] all at one time? I don’t know, unless all of a sudden everybody’s taking pictures and it’s on the media worldwide. I don’t know. Social media could have a big part in that.”

The 58-year-old cited a verse that says Jesus will be coming on “a cloud and the whole world will moan.”

That’s one for Cloud Computing then. On the other hand maybe he’s trying to squeeze modern technology into an old story. Still you’ve got to admire his creativity. Those of us who remember the heady days of 20six already know that God had a blog.

—

Arab news have reported that “[a] Saudi woman expelled from her college for having a lesbian relationship with her hostel supervisor has urged authorities to review the decision and allow her to continue her education.” In a manner that is not untypical for the religiously minded they fail to see that some people are gay. We in the West have largely accepted the fact. There are some elements who don’t like it but the law accepts that people are gay and is now changing to build this acceptance into social institutions like marriage. The Middle East are a way off accepting that gay people exist. Instead they seem to be inventing excuses to vilify homosexual behaviour without considering the reason that gay people have sex with one another. You know, the fact that sex is fun and people enjoy it.

They make a big deal about it which, of course, makes gay people hide their sexuality. It doesn’t stop them being gay but it does demonise them and make them (I imagine) awfully unhappy.

He said expelling the girl created a new problem instead of resolving the issue. He said action should also be taken against the supervisor by college authorities on the basis of the girl’s statement. He said lesbian relationships are quite common among girls in recent years because of the influence of satellite channels and the Internet.

“When we observed a few cases in our university we dealt with them by providing necessary counseling. We also hold a number of lectures and other programs to protect girls from having such deviant relationships,” he said.

A number of psychologists told Arab News that lesbian relationships happen in schools and universities for many reasons, including a sexual identity crisis suffered by some girls. Some of them were victims of sexual abuse during their childhood and most of them do not want treatment to change their lesbian attitudes, they added.

Good grief, gay girls who like being gay. Whatever next? I suppose that as long as they submit to their menfolk when they are forced to get married it doesn’t really matter if they enjoy it. That is how religion treats women isn’t it?

—

Electrician, Colin Atkinson, of Wakefield District Housing has won the right to display his religious affiliation in his works vehicle. This not only goes against the company rules (no displaying personal items) but also common decency (don’t impose your beliefs on others). Even though people have complained the company has backed down.

Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of the CLC, said: “This case shows what can happen when Christians refuse to give in to threats of intimidation and, when faced with a calm rationale by Christians, many right-minded employers will see sense.”

Yay, another win for sheer bloody mindedness and putting your faith above the service that you offer as an employee.

Women Molested by Christian Pastor

This story on Sunday World is pretty sickening. Don’t read it if you’re under 18 or sensitive to graphic details of sexual assault.

Holy Man, Paseka Mbhoro Motsoeneng, assaulted two women on stage during a “demon banishing” service in Katlehong on Sunday.

Sitting on the lap of a female congregant, Motsoeneng placed his hand on the head of a 17 year-old teen, who cannot be identified due to her age, and started praying for her.

Motsoeneng told the congregants her tummy had swelled up because some sorcerers had cast an evil spell on her.

As he was praying for her she collapsed. Motsoeneng then told the teenager, who was lying on her back, to open her legs, which she did.

He then plunged his fingers into her private parts and started moving his fingers inside her vagina.

As he was busy with his “healing process”, Motsoeneng ordered her to call him by his nickname, Mboro.

“Say Mboro,” he ordered her.

“Mboro” she said, with a stifled cry.

I’m going to hazard a guess and say that her mother and father were in the congregation or, at the very least, an adult or friends who cared for her and would want to see her protected. Why did no-one of them take a length of wood and beat it around this abuser’s head? Why did no-one even stand up and shout, “leave that girl alone, you monster” or try to intervene? It is because he is a pastor and is in a position of power. This is a well known phenomena studied in depth by Stanley Milgram. Mboro has been given power over people by virtue of his position as a pastor. He abused this power for some sick and twisted reason that I’m quite thankful that I don’t understand.

Yet Mboro isn’t a doctor or a policeman. He’s a pastor. Why should a pastor have any kind of authority at all? The dubious beliefs of theists grant power to them. They accept, for some reason, that they need someone to look out for their “spiritual” welfare. They leave themselves open to exploitation. It isn’t fair to blame them for this. They’ve been scammed. They are the victims.

Sickeningly Mboro moved on to a second victim.

The young woman, who was not asked to identify herself, was told to tell the packed hall what her problem was.

“I haven’t slept with my husband for some time because it hurts when we make love.

“Every time he penetrates me, it feels like he is cutting me with a sharp knife,” she said.

Mboro took off his shoes and placed his foot on her vagina.

“There’s something breathing in her biscuit. It feels like a heartbeat,” he said.

He later ordered the woman to take off her undies. She complied. He said he wanted to “stitch it with his holy water”.

Motsoeneng sprinkled water on his right hand and rubbed the woman’s genitals.
He ordered her to call her husband “with all the nice words in the book of love and tell him she would discharge her conjugal rights”.

Yep, her husband was there in the crowd. He watched as his wife was sexually assaulted. It sounds like he was even grateful to Mboro for “fixing” the missus.

Sick isn’t it. Such is the power of religion. When it is coupled with an abuser or unrestrained power it is really a monstrous thing.

(Source FriendlyAtheist.com)