July 23rd, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
For some reason I don’t think this movie will do well with the James Dobson or WorldNetDaily crowd but Bill Maher has a new documentary that puts Religion to the test.
Dubbed as an “uproarious nonfiction film about the greatest fiction ever told”, Religulous is a man on the street type documentary directed by Larry Charles of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame that has Maher exploring various world religions as he travels to numerous religious destinations, such as Jerusalem, the Vatican, and Salt Lake City, interviewing believers from a variety of backgrounds and groups.
Maher has also started his own belief.net parody website disbelief.net as part of the promotion for the movie that further satirizes various religious subjects and will surely cause some fireworks leading up to it’s October 3rd release.
I have the feeling that the back and forth banter over Ben Stein’s Expelled will pale in comparison with what is waiting for this movie.
July 12th, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
Worldnet Daily (ick) has an article that discusses a lawsuit brought forward by a gay man (that’s a homosexual man for the American Family Association’s homo-filters) against 2 Bible publishers for violating his Constitutional rights.
Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Press reported.
Fowler filed his claim against Grand Rapids-based Zondervan Monday, alleging its Bibles’ references to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of “demoralization, chaos and bewilderment,” the paper said.
Now I have no idea if this guy has a case, but what I consider a bigger point about this story is just how much certain interpretations of the Bible have been changed to reflect the world view of some homophobic biblical scholars that have been charged with updating these versions of the Bible. And as a result, how the ideals of those that follow their teachings have followed suit.
A perfect example of this shift towards unbridled religious driven homophobia by some is given by Fowler as part of his lawsuit and it perfectly documents this change by showing how much one passage has changed in the last 40 years.
In 1970, I Corinthians 6:9 read as followed-
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulteres, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effiminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.
In 1982 ,the same scripture read like this-
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodimites.
In 2001 the same scripture reads like this-
Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit God’s kingdom. Do not be fooled, those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, those who are male prostitutes, or men who have sexual relations with other men, those who steal, are greedy, get drunk, lie about others, or rob these people will not inherit God’s kingdom.
Anyone notice a pattern? Over the years as gay and lesbian groups have begun pushing for more equality, the more anti-gay certain versions of the Bible have become. Kind of explains why the religious right’s agenda has become so anti-gay centric doesn’t it?