Theologians will assess the content of any heavenly messages to see if they contravene Church teachings.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Defender of Vaccinations Gets Death Threats 
Jan 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Reporters should treat the antivaccine lobby like Holocaust deniers, AIDS deniers and Moon landing deniers.… Read the rest
Impregnated via Rape, Girl is Killed by Family
Jan 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Doctors protected her, father promised not to kill her, she went home, her brother killed her.… Read the rest
Ron Aronson on Secularism and Commitment
Jan 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We don’t have to believe in God to see the world as meaningful and coherent.… Read the rest
Andrew Anthony on The Satanic Verses
Jan 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It dramatises the conviction that there is nothing more sacred than the freedom to question what is sacred. … Read the rest
Advertising Standards Authority to Rule on God
Jan 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Imagine the uproar if it became a legal requirement to insert qualifications in religious statements.… Read the rest
Dutch FM Shouts at Vatican Envoy
Jan 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Envoy has been called to a meeting to answer charges the Church opposes gay rights.… Read the rest
Vatican, don’t make me come down there…
Jan 12th, 2009 6:04 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe Vatican is in TRUB-BLE . The Dutch Foreign Minister is going to YELL AT IT. It might have to GO TO BED WITHOUT ANY DESSERT. HA ha ha HA ha.
… Read the restThe Vatican envoy to the Netherlands, we learn with enormous pleasure this weekend, is about to receive a well-deserved arse-kicking from Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister, Maxime Verhagen…[T]he envoy – Monsignor François Bacqué – has been called to a meeting to explain the Catholic Church’s stance on sexuality and marriage, and answer charges the Church opposes gay rights…LifeSiteNews said that, in December, the Vatican was attacked in the international press for refusing to endorse the UN motion claiming to “decriminalise homosexuality”…The Vatican’s representative at the UN, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, said
Cooking the books
Jan 12th, 2009 1:25 pm | By Ophelia BensonSo is the BBC a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Church of England or god’s favorite offspring or what? What’s it playing at?
… Read the restThe BBC has been forced to apologise to an acclaimed psychologist and writer after editing her derogatory comments about religion so that a radio programme broadcast “the opposite” of what she had said…[Dorothy] Rowe, best known for her work on depression, had attempted to comment on the subject proposed by the programme’s producer: “Why so many people want to believe in God and search for faith.” But she was aghast to hear how her words were eventually used…She said the interview “sounds like I am giving unqualified praise to religious belief. There is no mention of what I
UK Libel Laws, Publishing, Scandal, the Web
Jan 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Expansive libel laws can silence criticism and block exposure.… Read the rest
Living Under Duress in Swat
Jan 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Taliban have ordered the killing of women seen in market areas; a Bundh Bazaar dancing girl was killed.… Read the rest
BBC Edited Interview With Excessive Zeal
Jan 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
BBC edited psychologist’s criticism of religion to say ‘the opposite’ of what she had actually said.… Read the rest
Forced Abortion With No Anaesthetic
Jan 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Afghan rape victim’s brother cut the fetus out with a razor then stitched the wound with heavy string.… Read the rest
Bunting Shouts at Liberal Elitist Atheists
Jan 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Says Obama is a ‘passionate’ Christian, says poor people have prayer books, says atheists are horrid.… Read the rest
Taking Relativism Seriously
Jan 12th, 2009 | By Andrew TaggartWhy is there wavering in my voice when I say that something is ‘wrong, period’? It may be that in the back of my mind I hear someone retort, “But that’s just your opinion” or “Who are you to say?”, skeptical charges to which I have no immediate reply. Or it may be that I expect my interlocutor to go to great lengths to point out to me that somebody who can make that sort of proposition has to be smug, overconfident, and immodest, none of which, he will assuredly imply, are very becoming.
It is common today to hear people speak about wanting to get other people’s perspectives. By definition, perspectives are ways of seeing the world from different … Read the rest
Richard John Neuhaus 1936-2009
Jan 11th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The conservative Catholic theologian helped build an influential coalition of right-wing Protestants and Catholics. … Read the rest
Just Focus and You Can Do Anything
Jan 11th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Provided you have the ideal body type for what you want to do, but let’s not mention that.… Read the rest
Steve Salerno on What We Don’t Hear About
Jan 11th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We hear about what journalists decide to cover, not necessarily what there is.… Read the rest
British Chiropractic Association Sues Skeptic
Jan 11th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
By suing, the BCA is drawing far more attention to the criticisms than Singh’s article would have.… Read the rest
A Study Reports That Ants Attack Cheaters
Jan 11th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Worker ants in colonies with a queen are physically attacked by their peers if they try to reproduce.… Read the rest
