hobbit-humanist
Humanism, atheism, some politics and lots of common sense.
Archive for the category “Human Rights”
Insult
Islam is a very sensitive religion, not only do we see lots of knee jerk reactions from the Islamic world but we’re seeing a lot of stories lately about people being persecuted, charged for blasphemy, locked up, maybe even the death sentence for some. Recently we’ve had the Bangladeshi bloggers, The Egyptian comedian/chat show host who was questioned on blasphemy charges and today its a Turkish Pianist for anti Islamic tweets on Twitter. Last week I saw a video of two young Pakistani men being beaten possibly to death for some minor infraction of Islamic law, whatever they’d done they didn’t deserve what was happening to them.
To better understand Islam I’ve been reading up on it in some depth. I have mentioned Islam in past blogs even though I tend to write about Christianity, though I feel a need to speak out against any organised controlling religion. I do have a few more informed impressions after reading, indeed I had views beforehand on Islam but I always feel its better to read and research before immersing myself in blogs about something, after all I don’t want to be accused of knee jerk reactions! I’ll get back to Islam more at a later date, when I’ve absorbed some more and mused a little longer. If anyone has any thoughts on Islam I’d welcome comments.
Good & Bad
Actually I should have called the blog ‘Slight good news and very bad news’. First the good news and a school in Ohio has had to remove a portrait of Jesus. Secular groups and civil rights activists had argued the portrait constituted an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. Why would any schools want religious images and symbols anyway, lets keep it in churches. Nobody knows for sure what Jesus looked like anyway, its pure guess work as the Bible in its wisdom doesn’t give us a description. The first wider spread imagery of course comes from the Constantine era and after when it was assumed he was bearded and robed, if he’d existed of course then there would have been a good chance of that, however I think he’s a construct character and this isn’t a blog about the validity of his being.
On to the bad news. Three bloggers in Bangladesh have been arrested for allegedly defaming Islam. No surprises there as you only have to cough in Islam’s general direction in some countries and you’re in trouble. Ironically I was reading some Islamic history today and the early scholars of Islam are responsible for some remarkable inventions and discoveries, way before Western Christendom began to rise. Sadly though it seems Islam has gone into some kind of reversal through recent times and the only Muslim scholars you hear about these days are the ones that know how to beat women and spout the tenets of Sharia law. I find it amazing you cannot be a non-believer in some countries such as Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia etc. Well maybe you can but its best to keep it quiet and pretend you’re one of them.
The reality is though, if right wing Christianity could get away with some of the things Islam does then it would do because organised religion is about control.
Religious Round Up News #2
Continuing with the serious here’s the latest bi-monthly round up, shocking from the very beginning.
No !!!
I think the picture below pretty much says it all. Personally I think parents should let their children make an informed choice later in life and when they are old enough to do so. Of course religious parents will get their kids christened or baptised without a second thought for the individuality of their baby. It is totally wrong to negate or not give a child choice later in life based on their own judgement, feelings, intelligence and perceptions. I strongly suspect people with a strong religious orientation will think ‘We are *insert faith* so our child will be *insert faith* too, and that’s the end of it, very selfish indeed.
What makes me even more irate about the issue is people that hardly go to church but just use them for christenings, baptisms and weddings, I mean seriously if you’re not a Christian then what is the point? No, it’s just for vanity and photos and a chance to show off and celebrate after. So there you go, criticism of indifference and some atheists that just use churches for no other reason than occasion, christenings for occasion have little point at all and probably have no bearing on outcome or decision later.
As for me? I wasn’t christened and my parents though atheist didn’t bang an atheist drum, the choice was mine and mine alone. I received religious education (more like fiction and rhetoric) at school and later in life decided I didn’t believe in gods. I can’t exactly recall how old I was but probably in my late teens/early twenties I suspect.
Many people don’t just become atheists, I personally just didn’t decide ‘Oh I’m atheist’ and that was it. I probably did believe in gods initially when I was too young to make rational choices and arguments mentally. Then as I grew out of those young years into a teenager religion didn’t really stack up or seem logical. I probably questioned and argued a lot and in the end rationality and intelligence won, plus I would add a good measure of life experience which is always important in any decision making.
Right Direction
I’m still feeling good after yesterdays news yet today I’ve woken to mixed opinions on atheist forums and I haven’t even checked religious ones yet. I fully expect the church to gear up and oppose it, especially the catholic church.
On reading things over breakfast this morning one atheist said he just didn’t get why gay people would want to get married in church at all. They added;
‘I am amazed that the gay community, (which has been murdered, tortured, incarcerated, condemned, ostracised, pilloried and vilified as an abomination by most, if not all of the Abrahamic religions for centuries), would want to go anywhere near a church or feel the need to have their loving union validated by religions.’
I get the persons point but I feel this is more about equality for gay people than anything else, purely having the right to get married in a church is better than not having the right. It seems this is how gay people feel mostly, for many its not about religion its about symbolism and being able to marry in church if they so wish and also be free of the state telling them what they are allowed to do. Let’s be honest many heterosexual married couples in the UK get married in church even though they don’t give a damn about religion but that’s perfectly acceptable. They just want their twee photos with the backdrop of a church and a traditional day and who can deny them that?
If I was gay I personally wouldn’t go near a church with a barge pole and I fully understand the above comment the atheist posted but I’m glad we are moving in the right direction because regardless of sexual orientation gay people are human beings. It did cross my mind that we have still some ways to go regarding equality in the world, let’s remember Abrahamic based religions have treated women appallingly for centuries and still do in some countries so there is still much to do.
Progress
So after a full day of debating in the House of Commons the British parliament are moving forward with gay marriage proposals/legislation. It’s not over yet though, there’s more to come and of course the House of Lords putting their stamp on it. I do feel a sense of pride being British today though at the news, which is a bold step towards greater equality.
It didn’t go without event though, many Conservative members of parliament were against it, one female Conservative standing up and saying;
‘My constituents aren’t homophobic they are just opposed to this bill’.
Well if they aren’t homophobic then why the opposition? Religion of course and most of the British middle and upper class probably like to be seen as Christian even if they aren’t really, doing ones bit to be seen at the village church on Sunday is probably the done thing. Ironically its the upper class that usually get caught up in sex scandals that regularly grace the tabloid press!
The reality is that same sex civil partnerships have been legal here since 2004, so the new proposals are just an extension as I see it really, a greater step towards acceptance and equal rights.
Slavery
I went to the cinema the other day to watch the new Tarantino movie called ‘Django Unchained’ and very good it was too, albeit a little on the lengthy side. The movie is about a black southern American slave that gains his freedom, wins his wife back and does some killing along the way. Mr Tarantino had obviously done some research into not too distant American history and depicted slavery as the brutal business it was, quite graphically in some scenes.
That fantastical moral book of wisdom called The Bible doesn’t really have a problem with slavery though, in fact it goes into detail about it. Lets take a look;
44 Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly. (Leviticus 25:44-46).
Hmmm no regard for nations around you then, only the people of Israel matter. Anyway moving on to sexual slavery, perfectly permissible but with the odd niceties;
7 If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to go free as male slaves do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money. (Exodus 21:7-11).
Charming indeed. In fact the only real restraint God counsels is that we aren’t to beat our slaves so bad that we injure their eyes or teeth, I’m guessing you can beat the crap out of them elsewhere though (Exodus 21).
If we move onto the New Testament you’d think things may improve, sadly no, in fact Jesus makes no reference in objecting to slavery. Ideally if he had existed he might have spoken up about it but as regular readers will know I firmly believe he is a manufactured fictional character, so no objection to slavery doesn’t come as a surprise.
The very odious, miserable and downright liar St Paul admonishes slavery by saying;
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. (Ephesians 6:5).
And to round things off nicely we have;
All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. 2 Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. (Timothy 6:1-4).
Of course back in the formative days of the United States people such as the Baptist Revered Richard Fuller used the Bible to support slavery saying that;
“What God sanctioned in the Old Testament, and permitted in the New, cannot be a sin.”
