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.
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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?
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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.
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The Magnificent Frog 
Well, don’t you know that lezzers are only lezzers because they haven’t found the right man yet. And they will find their way (with the help of god) before long. At least that’s what a few religious people I know have told me.
Good luck to the Saudi woman – she’ll need it. What is disgraceful (apart from the obvious) is that presumably qualified psychologists are spouting such incredibly destructive lies.
There is a problem, I think, with reporting rather than with good science. Anyone with an agenda can find a reputable scientist who will have published something that supports their agenda. This is especially true when the media “interpret” the science and quote mine it to support their agenda. There is a difference between acknowledging factors and assumptions and pushing an opinion.
There is a view among the “ex gay” movement, Christians (and other faiths) who claim to cure people of The Gay, that faith and prayer can change a person’s sexuality. Now it may well be possible to change your sexual preference within a range but that range seems to be a genetic predisposition rather than learned behaviour. So if someone is naturally attracted to both genders then they may choose to demonstrate that attraction to one or the other but if someone is as gay as a handbag full of rainbows then they can’t choose to be straight. Why should they?
There is also an underlying assumption among these religious organisations and politicians who pander to them that the nuclear family is the single way to live and everything else is wrong and bad for society. I don’t believe that and even if it is true that hetero couples with 2.4 children are right for the majority of families that isn’t to say that a gay couple or a poly relationship with no children or a dozen isn’t right for someone else. Why should anyone, gay, straight, bi, monogamous, polyamorous or asexual be dictated to in this way?
Oh dear, yes. Well, there are four main problems really. First, there is some really bad research going on. (In a day or two I’ll be posting about a study that was done that was shoddy.) Second, some researchers choose to misrepresent findings in their write-ups for reasons I don’t quite understand. (There is also the case that some researchers don’t actually understand what they’ve found either!) Three, funding bodies often pressurise researchers into misrepresenting or, at the very least, skewing findings for their purposes. And, four, as you say, the media will do what they will with research.
It makes being a researcher difficult, I can tell you. There’s nothing worse than seeing findings being misquote/ misused/ misinterpreted!
The Ex-Gay movement is so creepy! I laughed the first time I heard about it and then I learned just how sinister it is! Speaking of research, there are plenty of studies which claim to have found that ex-gay treatment is successful. They’re all incredibly flawed, and in many cases the results are completely fabricated. If it was so devastating it would be laughable.
What we should expect with proper scientific research is the bad science to be criticised by experts in the field and so discarded as poor. Even though that probably happens the media and those with agendas will still latch onto research that supports their position (or sells better).
The whole Ex-Gay thing really is creepy and stands out as an example of poorly presented and researched science. One person who had some gay feelings once who is now claiming to be straight isn’t proof that prayer and “gay therapy” works. Nor are a dozen people or a hundred. The plural of anecdote isn’t evidence.