The designer of the app, Francis Dierick, took this project personally. In an email, he writes:
Selecting those quotes was actually a very interesting personal experience that renewed my atheist ardour. The app was developed with tongue firmly planted in cheek: e.g. it has a 17+ rating to protect the children from the obscenities described in the bible.
The app costs $0.99, but Francis has been nice enough to offer free promo codes for a few readers.
If you want them, all you have to do is leave a comment with the most mis-interpret-able Bible verse you can find
If you use your real email address, I’ll pick my favorite three and those people will get an email from me with their promo code tomorrow. (To use them, go to the iTunes store and click on “Redeem.”)
This week the theme is Bait and Switch and of course they thought about Christians.
So they found Off The Map because we are in the business of helping Christians learn how to not be jerks which means we hear a lot of jerky stories (some of which are bait and switch).
So last weekend I found myself sitting in the studios of KUOW / NPR Seattle (94.9 FM), headphones firmly situated, with Ira Glass in the middle of my head talking with me. The conversation continued for an hour and fifteen minutes…
I suppose Jim still technically owns my soul… which means I can safely say I have now met Ira Glass.
There’s a new movie out called Collision which documents a series of debates on the topic: Is Christianity Good for the World?
It features Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great, and evangelical theologian Doug Wilson.
On Thursday, November 19th, I will be co-sponsoring a screening of that movie along with The Painted Door, a Chicago church. Following the screening will be a discussion about the movie featuring myself and Chad Meister, editor of of the forthcoming God is Great, God is Good, a refutation of Hitchens’ book.
It’s not a debate. Just a discussion of ideas discussed in the movie.
Tickets cost $5 (you pay when you get there), but you must RSVP here so we can add you to the list.
Here’s the pertinent info:
What: Screening of Collision followed by a panel discussion.
Where: Merit School of Music’s Gottlieb Hall Street, 38 S Peoria St., Chicago, IL 60607
When: Thursday, November 19th, 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.
There better be some atheist support at this event, that’s all I’m saying But invite your religious friends, too. It’ll be an interesting discussion for everybody. I’m looking forward to it.
In case you missed The Simpsons this weekend, they aired their annual Halloween episode: “Treehouse of Horrors XX.”
One of the shorts was “Don’t Have a Cow, Mankind,” and it deals with a zombie-creating burger that infects all who eat it. Bart eats a burger and manages to stay safe, though, so he is referred to as the “Chosen One.” They have to take him to the Safe Zone in order to create an antidote.
When Marge gets him there, we hear this exchange:
Guard: “Welcome, son. To survive, all we must do is eat your flesh.”
Marge: “Hold it right there, Bub! What kind of civilized people eat the body and blood of their savior?”
Rev. Lovejoy: [Groans nervously]
As you can guess, Bill Donohue and the Catholic League are throwing a shit fit over this:
What kind of uncivilized people work at Fox? Last year, when they poked some gentle fun at the Apostle’s Creed on the Halloween episode, we said nothing. That’s because it didn’t cross the line. This year is different: mocking the heart of any religion always crosses the line, and mocking the Eucharist does it for Catholics. They know this at Fox, which is precisely why they did it.
Actually, there’s nothing wrong with mocking the “heart of any religion,” and Holy Communion is perfectly fair game. Let Catholics defend the practice of eating Jesus. The rest of us can call it what it is: absurd.
If you’d like to see the episode, it’s on Hulu:
The short begins at the 7:50 mark and the excerpt in question begins at the 14:08 mark.
Christian products have gained popular acceptance in the music and book sections of retailers over recent years. The newest Left Behind and Charlie Church Mouse PC video games are among three titles being piloted in approximately 100 Texas Walmart stores for determining customer interest.
…
The demographics in Texas make it an ideal testing ground for Left Behind PC Games where there are over 23,000 churches… Texas ranks first in the nation in the number of Evangelical Protestants (over 5 million), second in number of Mainline Protestants (over 1.7 million) and third in number of Catholics… Troy Lyndon, CEO of Inspired Media says, “The US market for Christian video games could reach $648 Million within the next five years based upon just 3% of video game sales being in the Christian segment.” This projection is based upon the prediction by PricewaterhouseCoopers that the sale of video game software will reach $21.6 Billion by 2013 in the US alone.
I don’t know whether to cry for all of Texas or for the children who will end up playing this garbage.
For some reason, I just don’t think kids are going to line up for miles for games like this one:
You are in control of the gospel singers and missionaries, and you must defeat the secularists, devils, and rock stars. By defeat, they mean you must convert them by “raising their spirit level.”
Personally, I’d prefer the Christian version of Mario Kart. That would be awesome.
I’d totally take Judas out with a red turtle shell.
I don’t know how much truth there is to this story (It comes from OneNewsNow, so take it with a grain of salt):
In January, a study conducted by the Parents Television Council (PTC) found 94 advertisers for the CBS show Two and a Half Men. According to the PTC, the show features countless jokes involving adult themes, and many include dialogue with a child actor.
Glen Erickson with the PTC says sponsors were contacted about the show’s content. “So often we find the advertisers are not aware of the content issues the show has,” he points out. “We are continuing to bang our drum, and we have seen some terrific success.”
…
So far, 31 advertisers have dropped the show.
Really, PTC? “Two and a Half Men” is too edgy for you? You would think they’d go after the show immediately after it, “The Big Bang Theory”…
Come to think of it, what does the Parents Television Council deem worthy and unworthy for children to watch?
Green = Ok
Red = Not Ok
Yellow = Somewhere in the middle (perhaps similar to a PG-13 movie)
Gray = Not yet rated
For example:
So let’s see…
PTC green-lighted two game shows that encourage risk-taking with money (and, frankly, the idea that you can win money without having any real knowledge or education). In fact, they green-light most game shows.
They think “Survivor” and just about every drama on television are unsuitable for children.
Meanwhile, they still haven’t gotten around to rating “Cougar Town.”
I guess one upside is that “The Simpsons” is no longer considered absolutely unsuitable. When that show premiered twenty years ago, groups like PTC were denouncing it left and right.
It just seems so useless to rate shows this way. It’s up to every parent to decide what they want their children to see, and it’s fine that PTC has their recommendations. But there is a lot to be gained from watching shows that discuss controversial topics. Based on their lists, the PTC seems to want to discourage children from seeing them. I find that unhealthy. Parents ought to watch those programs with their children and discuss them afterwards.
I wonder how many parents who try to follow the PTC’s recommendations have kids who find ways to watch these “red-light” shows, anyway. I suspect many of them do…
Is there anyone reading this who was not allowed to watch certain shows as a child?
How could you recognize
and cherish hysteric fairy tales.
They’ve come to life.
Now sit by and listen…
the whole world wails.
…
How is it divine
when it’s flawed design?
Fill the cracks with faith I can’t find.
Oh please believe I’m doing just fine.
For what’s deceased I shall never grieve.
Just let your faith die.
Did I say “allude to”? I meant they come right out and say it: religious beliefs are absurd and we’d all be better off without the superstition.
Meanwhile, David Bazan was the frontman for (as the submitter put it) “one of the few historical non-sucky Christian bands” Pedro the Lion. But his faith is slipping, too.
According to the LA Times review, he’s come a long way since his Christian days:
Bazan built an intensely devoted following inside the Christian community during his decade-long run with Pedro, asking tough questions of religion from the perspective of a thoughtful believer. Here, though, the doubt that Bazan has always scratched at takes a firmer, more certain form: “I clung to miracles I have not seen,” he admits in “Bearing Witness,” “From ancient autographs I cannot read.”
The past tense there is crucial: “Curse Your Branches” documents Bazan’s coming to terms with his newfound agnosticism , a change of heart he credits in “When We Fell” to his inability to accept “the threat of hell hanging over my head like a halo.” (”In what medieval kingdom does justice work this way?” he wonders later in that song.)
How exciting!
Now, we just need one of these artists to make it big enough so they can sing these lyrics on TV or at an awards show.
Speaking of which, can we have a Grammy category for Best Contemporary Atheist Album? Kathy Griffin could present it…
Ricky Gervais has been making the media rounds the past few weeks to talk about his new movie The Invention of Lying.
In the movie, lying leads to, among other things, the invention of religion.
So, Gervais has been talking about religion in many of the interviews he’s done:
When [Gervais' character] Mark Bellison learns to lie, he learns it can be used to comfort people, not just for personal gain. Something close to Gervais’s heart.
“I’ve been an atheist all my life,” he continues, “but I always knew that if my mum asked me when she was dying if there was a heaven I’d say yes. I’d lie. I think that’s how religion started – as a good lie. If you’re not an atheist you can watch this film without getting angry. I watch films about angels, love ’em. I don’t think you have to treat something that comes down on one side as propaganda.”
Gervais insists he isn’t worried that his views about religion could ruin his career.
“I’ve never tiptoed around the subject, not even in America,” he said. “I say it on TV in America; I say it on radio in America. I nail it to the mast. I did Inside The Actors Studio and the students were taken aback.
“I don’t see why we would ever get hate mail,” [Gervais] said at the movie’s press conference. “We decided that in this world, that’s how religion started. It’s an alternative world. It’s in no way atheist propaganda. I love films about angels and things like that and I wouldn’t go, ‘Oh, they’re coming down on one side here.’ Like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ I don’t leave the cinema with my faith or lack of it challenged. I don’t think people should take this as anything other than an artistic choice.”
But as might be expected from a Gervais-led panel, every serious pronouncement about the film is countered with something funny. [Writer/director Matthew] Robinson adds, “I wrote this film to denounce one organized religion in particular and that’s Greek mythology. Because Zeus is not real. I don’t believe in him and I don’t think anyone else should.”
The ever-earnest [Jennifer] Garner embraces the prospect of controversy. “Isn’t it great if [the film] does start a conversation? Religion is something worth examining and your faith is something worth questioning. So I think if this movie asks that of people, that’s not a bad thing.”
Gervais prods Garner for her own belief system. “Yes, I do believe in God,” she confirms. “Thank you for making that clear.”
This is my “coming out” album. I’ve been living with a secret for quite a while. It’s something that most of my friends know about me but I’ve never divulged it in public. Although at least 10 percent of the U.S. population openly admits to being part of this group, there is tremendous pressure not to be vocal about it. And it’s a political third rail. You will almost never hear a politician admit to being one. But I’m tired of dodging the issue and feel I do a disservice to all of those who are not afraid to be outspoken about who they are. It’s time to stand and be counted. The truth is that I’m an … atheist. There, I said it. I guess I’ve known that I was one since I was a little kid. I experimented with theism in high school. Who didn’t? But I’d have to get drunk and kind of force myself. And I’d always feel “wrong” afterwards. And then I’d feel guilty for feeling “wrong.” It was a dysfunctional way to live. Then I moved to Greenwich Village. And all around me were these other atheists. Just doing their thing. It all felt very natural. And I’ve never looked back. Wait, what was the question again?
It’s always nice to hear someone — anyone — come out publicly as an atheist. It makes it all the more acceptable for the next person to do it, too, as Allison himself experienced in Greenwich Village.
Congratulations to him for doing it in such a public way.
Secular Student Alliance Member Todd Stiefel has agreed to match all donations to us by 12/21/2009 up to a total of $50,000. Double the value of your support and help us get the whole match by donating now.
