Oi Vey

Here's another good example of the clash of Judaism with modern culture.
It's a webcomic about a rabbi talking to a Jewish robot called "ShaBot 600". Most of the jokes are puns, and puns that require a basic knowledge of Judaism, too.



Yeah, they're all pretty much like that. And so far, there are 174 of them.
WHICH IS TERRIFYING.

And While We're Talking About Things That Are Borderline Offensive...

Here
is a link that discusses the use of caffeine suppositories during Yom Kippur, which involves a 25-hour fast. Apparently, a suppository does not break the fast, but will still keep you energized and alert during your prayer.
...
What.
This seems like a pretty solid example of what happens when ancient religion clashes with modern-day standards and technology. As the article states, "These guys love a good loophole."

EDIT:
Oh my goodness, it's everywhere.

Yamulcops!

Stumbled across this interesting little tidbit the other day. For those of you too lazy to click the link, the Mayor of Amsterdam is considering using "Decoy Jews" (or policemen posing as Jews) to draw out potentially anti-semetic offenders. There has evidently been some anti-Jewish violence recently, and this was one of the techniques that might be used to approach it.

And yes, that's a picture taken from "The Hebrew Hammer" as a thumbnail for the article.

I'm glad that Amsterdam is taking anti-Semitic violence seriously, but does this seem borderline offensive to anyone else?

Well, *I* Think So

I Was Touched By His Noodly Appendage

There were some pirates around campus today, proselytizing the faith of Pastafarianism. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, here is the link to their website.

On that note - it has always frustrated me how aggressive some of the more secular groups can be. One of the things that people stereotypically dislike about the devoutly religious is their tendency to present their own beliefs as superior or enlightened, or their attempts at converting random strangers.

Well, to the smug aggressive Atheists of the world, I say "cut it out, guys." There's no sense in mimicking the very behavior that you so smugly condemn. And the only difference between a missionary and an Atheist with a t-shirt like this one is that the missionary is more likely to be pleasant when he talks to you about his faith. Both individuals are trying to sell something to you, and both are doing it in a sneering way.

But, there's no need for me to do any ranting myself, here. That'd just be hypocritical.
I will say, however, that given how similarly most religions are based in things like love, peace, and goodwill, taking a hostile and superior stance towards religion as a whole isn't just excessive, - it's ignorant. And moreover, most atheists reject religion on the basis that it is frequently the cause of strife, violence, and conflict. Ultimately, both sides are interested in the same thing - peace.
The only time religion, or a lack of it, will lead to hostility is when neither side has taken the time to understand the opposing stance. So whether you're an atheist or a zealot, take the time to educate yourself.

That said, Pastafarianism is a hilarious bit of satire, with zero hostility. It's mostly just about things like stripper factories.

All The People in History Who Have Ever Claimed to be Jesus Christ

I'll just leave this here.

Bananas: The Scourge of Athiesm Everywhere

This is a video by evangelist preacher Ray Comfort (which MUST be his real name) that uses the existence of bananas as clear proof that there must be a God of some kind, since there could be no fruit more perfectly designed for human consumption than the banana. Go ahead and watch it, it's pretty amusing.

The argument, on the surface, makes sense. If God didn't create the Earth and all its inhabitants, then why do things like bananas, which are incredibly convenient to eat and grow, exist in the first place? Why isn't the world covered in spiky death-fruit?

Well, Ray, I've got news for you.



This seedy sunovabitch is a wild banana. Friendly to humans, they are not.
And the reason that the bananas found in the wild look like that while the banana that Ray so lovingly cradles looks like a zippered pocket of fruity deliciousness is because humankind has gradually bred bananas into docile perfection over many, many generations.
So, who made the banana perfect for human consumption? We did. Ba-BOW!
This is also why pineapples are so easy to cut open and eat, by the way. Wild pineapples are basically just spiky little balls of stubbornness.



So, this hardly closes the book on Creationism and the arguments that can be made for it, but as far as fruit goes - we didn't get any help from God on that one.

The Other Bible

I have to admit, while I do find the stories contained within the Bible to be interesting, even MORE interesting to me is the history of the book and its contents. After all, someone had to physically sit down and write the pentateuch, and regardless of whether or not you believe that there were multiple authors, there had to be influences of some kind on the way those stories were recorded.

Here's a site that takes an in-depth look at the possible influences and histories behind the Bible.

It's pretty neat.

Scripture for the Critical Reader

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible (found here) is available online in all books of both the Old and New Testament, along with highlights and citations that note all the contradictions, absurdities, or other significant points within the scripture. Whether you're interested in reading the Bible critically, or just want to investigate some of its vaguer passages, it's probably worth a glance.

Well, this is rather neat.

Secrets of the Buried Bible investigated some of the history of the Bible's creation and popularization, but here is an additional viewpoint regarding its possible link to Chinese culture.

Here's the link.