Archive for January, 2010

My Islam Reading Project

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

I’m about to start an Islam/Middle East themed reading project, and if anyone wants to join me, you are welcome.  My selection process is complex and meticulous: I’ve scanned my bookshelves and made a list of books on the topic that I own but have not yet read.

The first three out of the gate are all written by immigrants who now live and work in the United States:

  • No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan
  • Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters by Omid Safi
  • A God Who Hates: The Courageous Woman Who Inflamed the Muslim World Speaks Out Against the Evils of Islam by Wafa Sultan

The first two look to be more or less sympathetic toward Islam, but since I haven’t read them yet, it’s hard to tell.  The third pretty much telegraphs its intention right there in the title.  (Wafa Sultan, you may recall, is the firebrand who shouted down a couple of Muslim men during an Al Jazeera exchange in 2006.)

If there’s enough interest, I might blog the first book chapter-by-chapter, like I did with Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth.  Let me know!

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Podcast #78 – Pat Robertson Is an Evil Moron

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Or at least so says Christopher Hitchens, responding to Robertson’s claim that the devastating Haitian earthquake (which may have killed upwards of 200,000 innocent people) was the result of “a deal with the devil” made during the Haitian Revolution in 1791.  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called Robertson’s remarks “utterly stupid.”  Barry Lynn of Americans United said they were callous and grotesquely insensitive.  And Keith Olbermann says Robertson is full of “senile crap.”

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Would you like your assault rifle with or without scripture?

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Man, just when I thought I’d seen it all, the fundamentalists come through with something new.  Trijicon, provider of combat rifle sights to the US military, has been encoding Bible verses in the serial numbers of their product!  For example, “JN8:12″ at the end of a serial number refers to John 8:12.  May we recommend Exodus 20:13?  Or better yet, 2 Corinthians 4:2 (”But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”)?

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Podcast #77 – Sports Losses and Southern Crosses

Friday, January 15th, 2010

University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was sidelined with a shoulder injury early-on at college football’s 2010 Rose Bowl.  McCoy had to watch from the bench as Texas lost the National Championship to Alabama.  But that’s okay, ’cause it’s all part of God’s Plan.

Tiger Woods’ rumored infidelities have been all the rage with the tabloids, but who’da thunk Fox News pundit Brit Hume (not exactly an outspoken evangelical zealot) would make us forget all about it with his shoot-from-the-hip comparison of Buddhism and Christianity.

North Georgia parents Patty Jo Marsh and Jacob Bartels decided it was a good idea to give tattoos to six of their seven children.  Themselves.  With a homemade tattoo machine.  Now they’re charged with illegal tattooing, reckless conduct, and more.  Oh, did we mention the tattoos were of Christian crosses?

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Will someone please bitchslap Pat Robertson?

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

As you’ve probably heard, a massive earthquake has devastated Haiti.  While Haitian authorities and international agencies are still trying to come to grips with the size of the calamity, Pat Robertson is already assigning blame:

Way to shoot from the hip, Robertson.  Here’s an idea: the next time you think of saying something…don’t.

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Podcast #76 – Stuart Bechman (Pres. of Atheist Alliance International)

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

Happy New Year!  We kick off 2010 by interviewing Stuart Bechman, president of Atheist Alliance International (AtheistAlliance.org).  AAI is planning its first-ever Australian convention in Melbourne on March 12-14, 2010.  For details visit AtheistConvention.org.au–tickets are going fast!

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