Zimbabwean Churches Causing Hundreds To Die By Banning Medications

Apostolic and evangelical Christian churches in Zimbabew are discouraging and even banning their worshippers from taking their medications for HIV/AIDS, and other conditions, and they are dying by the hundreds.  Because Jesus cures AIDS.  Presto!

Except that he doesn’t.

 

Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe

From Zimbabwe NewsDay (emphasis added):

[…]

Apostolic and Pentecostal churches with their origins in West African countries now based in Zimbabwe have been cited as the major culprits.

This sad story came to the fore during the recent burial of Tambudzai Mazvihwa (not real name) of Banga Village in Shurugwi.

According to speakers during her burial, she had stopped taking her anti-retroviral medication and developed complications, which later caused her premature death.

“Parents and relatives, I think you are all aware that our daughter here was taking anti-retroviral drugs, but for the past five months she had stopped her medication on instructions from her church elders who had prescribed holy water instead of the pills. It is the holy water that has caused her death. Had she continued with her treatment, she would be living up to this day,” said an elderly headman during her burial.

Only a few villagers attended the burial and members of her church did not attend for fear of being beaten up for having caused her demise.

As men shovelled red gravel onto her grave, some spoke in low tones condemning the acts of her church.

[…]

There was no cross, no flowers and no name on her grave. Tambudzai is yet another victim of the doctrinaire religious sects that are taking Zimbabwe by storm; she is among hundreds of other worshippers who met a similar fate.

[,,,]

There are also many versions of Christianity, with some churches overtly borrowing from traditional religious practices such as divination, witch hunting and “spiritual” healing.

Pseudo-science And Religion: Drapetomania To Homomania

On their Facebook page, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) says that being gay is a mental illness.  It’s true because they say so!  Read the comments over at GoodAsYou; there are some excellent, well thought-out critiques on NOM’s pseudo-scientific claims.

It is really appalling to examine the lengths that religious extremists will go to justify their bigotry and hatred, and using their Bible to do it — I’ve discovered the term “drapetomania” (2nd paragraph below the Facebook screenshot).

“I believe …”, begins the quote by Louis J. Marinelli III, of NOM, and that is all it takes for a christianist to declare something as fact.

"I believe ..." turns anything into fact for christianists, with no regard for mountains of scientific data from medical, psychological, and social research findings.

Well, then what would one call the “mental illness” with the symptoms of refusing to be treated worse than garbage and having one’s basic human rights legislated away?  I think what I have, then, is “homomania”, ‘cuz the fantastic lies these people spew make this homo crazy-mad.

Physician Samuel Cartwright (1793-1863) coined the term "drapetomania"

In the 1800’s, when slaves had the annoying habit of running away from their masters, the Louisiana physician Samuel A. Cartwright “diagnosed” this “mental illness” and coined the term drapetomania.

His reasoning was that since God created some people to be slaves, that their NORMAL inclination (in caps, like in the NOM post shown, it helps to make it true), their NORMAL state of mind put there by God, was to be subservient to their masters.  Therefore, the “unnatural” desire to run away from their masters must be a mental illness.  Emphasis added:

Cartwright described the disorder — which, he said, was “unknown to our medical authorities, although its diagnostic symptom, the absconding from service, is well known to our planters and overseers”^[4] — in a paper delivered before the Medical Association of Louisiana^[5] that was widely reprinted.

He stated that the malady was a consequence of masters who “made themselves too familiar with [slaves], treating them as equals.”^[6]

Andrew Shirvell Finally Fired, Cries Victim

Andrew Shirvell will become another darling of the Religious Reich, already crying “Victim!”, his christian right to lie, harass and stalk sinners has been violated!  This poor, oppressed christian was minding his own business when, out of nowhere and for no reason, evil homosexual tools of Satan and the librul media swooped down on him to destroy his life and attack his christian beliefs.  But, Je$u$ will bless him.  He will write a christian best-seller, go on speaking engagements for anti-gay christianist organizations, appear on christian talk radio and the Christian Broadcasting Network, hell, he might even get a job with Bryan Fischer!

via JMG

 

Family Research Council Wants Your Opinions

Give it to ’em!  You can go to their site HERE and tell them.  I did.

FRC survey - step 1

The survey question: “Off the top of your head, what comes to mind when you think of the Family Research Council?”

NARTH Lifts Their Luggage To Philadelphia, Met With Protest

Photo grabbed from JMG's gallery

Yesterday was the annual NARTH convention, held this year in Philadelphia.  You might remember the recent “Rent Boy” scandal with one of NARTH’s founders and board members, Dr. George Rekers.  NARTH

See photos of the bigots and read coverage of the protest at GoodAsYou, Joe.My.God. (and here), TruthWinsOut.

Read also ZACKFordBlogs, “

Love this from Joe.My.God.:

Today I participated in the Truth Wins Out protest at NARTH’sannual convention in Philadelphia, where TWO’s Wayne Besen led a chanting crowd of activists on the sidewalk outside their host hotel. Many of NARTH’s attendees took turns peering at us from the windows, but hid from us (in shame) otherwise. However Liberty Counsel’s Matt Barber, a speaker at the event, spent quite some time glowering at us from the front sidewalk.

When I first arrived, I got some shots of NARTH attendees inside the hotel, causing one to rush over yelling that I’d be arrested for “stalking” if I didn’t leave. Which I did, but I still got to “stalk” some of these baby-killers out to their cars, as you’ll see below. The tall bald guy is Christopher Doyle, an “ex-gay” who is on the board of PFOX and who is on staff with “ex-gay” whackadoodle Richard Cohen as a “Sexual Reorientation Coach” at the International Healing Foundation. If that wasn’t enough for this professionally “former” cocksucker, he writes newspaper editorials arguing againstthe Day Of Silence. Anyway, I don’t think pillow-whackerRichard Cohen has totally gotten Doyle in touch with his “natural masculine nature,” because when I kept taking photos, Doyle put his hand on his hip and hissed, “I don’t need this. Why don’t you just sssssssstop!”

The Dark Ages vs. Bryan Fischer, Tony Perkins et al.

A single quote from the Dark Ages that nicely sums up today’s christianist leaders and “culture warriors:

What harm would it do, if a man told a good strong lie for the sake of the good and for the Christian church … a lie out of necessity, a useful lie, a helpful lie, such lies would not be against God, he would accept them. – Martin Luther [1483-1546], Table Talk, published 1569

And a few more that describe them quite well.  Religion today, as always, is used to justify any deed they do.

God does not work salvation for fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin vigorously…. Do not for a moment imagine that this life is the abiding place of justice; sin must be committed.

Sin cannot tear you away from him [Christ], even though you commit adultery a hundred times a day and commit as many murders.

Superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages, but truth goes a-begging. [Martin Luther, Table Talk]

Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has: it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but–more frequently than not –struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God. [Martin Luther, Table Talk]

Martin Luther and Johann Tetzel burning each other's books, circa 1518

Christine O’Donnell Admits Using Campaign Money For Personal Use

...another pathological liar for Jesus

Christine O’Donnell now finally admits what she’s been doing all along, using campaign money to live off of and pay her personal rent.  She’s a grifter — plain and simple.  And she’s been lying about it and many other things, like her education and resumé items, but it’s all OK, y’all, because she loves her Jesus!

“She acknowledges using campaign money to pay part of the rent on her current town house. Her attorney maintains someone with the Federal Election Commission approved the arrangement, although the commission’s rules say candidates can’t use campaign money for their mortgage or rent “even if part of the residence is being used by the campaign.”

via rawstory and JMG

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Ann Coulter On Twitter: “Pederasts”

If it weren’t for the fact that so many people actually like Ann Coulter, this wouldn’t deserve much notice.  Apparently, Barron, of GOProud, loves the fact that Ann Coulter perpetuates the shamelessly willful lies of the christian extremist reich and eqates gay men with pedophilia and pederasty.

Funny thing is, “@bujeeboo” is apparently a heterosexual woman, from reading her tweets, blog and bio, so I’m really not sure how Ann Coulter thinks @bujeeboo (or gay men) would fit the definition of a “pederast”.

Eddie Long Preached That Gays “Deserve Death”

The spiritual sons' spiritual daddy

Imagine that you’re a teenaged kid sitting in the pew when your family’s preacher gives his fiery “homosexuals deserve death” sermons.  You hear the sentiment repeated by the trusted adults around you — parents, adult relatives, teachers, all the people on whom you rely for guidance and ‘truth’ and ‘what’s real’ in this world.

You hear the tone of total disgust and fear: ‘queers’ are filthy and evil predators, controlled by actual demons and that (G)od (H)imself (who, you’re told, created them) despises them so much that there is no hope for them now or in the afterlife.  So despised and evil are these monsters, that (G)od sys that they must even be put to death in the here and now.

You, like all the other kids your age, are beginning to experience the natural development of your attractions towards others — you don’t know what sex really is, you’ve never even had sex (or for that matter, never had a life yet) but at some point you realize — omg, they’re talking about you.  You’re terrified.

Now, does it take much more to understand why so many teenaged kids are ending their lives? Does it take much more to understand why so many kids are physically attacked and/or killed?  Or why so many kids are thrown out of their homes, thrown away like garbage by “loving Christian parents”?

Does it take much to understand the psychological impact this bullshit has on a kid?  And, the kids who don’t kill themselves turn out to be, depending on many variables, either happy, well-adjusted adults who’ve learned that nothing the hell is wrong with them, or they totally believe the lies and sink into a self-loathing and self-destructive spiral, or they totally believe the lies and become self-loathing, hate-filled, closeted gay-bashing preachers/criminals/scammers.

“Bishop” Eddie Long’s Scandal Is A Grower

The good Pastor and “Bishop” Eddie Long is cancelling TV appearances as a third victim of his sexual advances comes forward.  Nah!  Didn’t see this coming.

via JMG

Atlanta Anti-Gay Preacher Accused Of Coercing Sex From Boys

Alleged pastoral predator

Atlanta mega-church pastor and televangelist “Bishop” Eddie Long, another anti-gay Christian hypocrite, is being accused by two men, now 20 and 21, of offering cash, cars and trips in exchange for sex.  They claim he started ‘grooming’ them when they were just 14-15 years old.  This fucking hypocrite has preached against the “sin” of homosex, and has crusaded on the national stage against same-sex marriage.

It’s almost as sure as the sun rises in the morning — the louder the religious bigot, the greater the chance that he/she is hiding the very thing they’re railing about.  And the sheeple lap it up and fill the collection plates.  From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

A few minutes before evening Bible study on Tuesday night, several members said they were shocked by the allegations.

Samuel M., 40, of Atlanta called Long “a good man – a man of God. He wants to help everybody… That man loves his wife. When you believe in your pastor, you believe in your pastor.”

Of course you idiots are shocked.  Did ya think the good pastor was putting his sex trips in the church bulletin?  You fucking idiot Christians will believe anything that comes from someone waving a Bible around.  One clue for you idiots: None of these frauds are “men of god” — wake. the. fuck. up.

O’Donnell: Typical Christianist On The Grift And Above The Law

Another Christian sociopathic liar

Face reality, Christian Teabagger idiots.  The little darling, Christine O’Donnell, that sweet and holy honey of yours, is a grifter, a scammer and a criminal, a watchdog group alleges.  But, remember, don’t touch yourself because that is sinful!  You idiot Christians¹ will believe anybody that waves a fucking Bible in front of your face!  Emphasis added:

A watchdog group has filed official federal complaints against Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell, upset winner of Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary in Delaware, and has labeled her a “criminal” for allegedly using campaign contributions for rent and other personal expenses.

“Christine O’Donnell is clearly a criminal, and like any crook she should be prosecuted,” said Melanie Sloan, CREW Executive Director. In complaints filed with the Federal Election Commission and the US Attorney’s Office in Delaware, CREW alleges that O’Donnell used $20,000 in campaign funds to pay for living expenses in 2009 and 2010. “By misusing campaign funds,” said Sloan in a statement, “Ms. O’Donnell committed the crime of conversion; by lying about her expenditures on forms she filed with the FEC, she committed false statements; and by failing to include the campaign funds she misappropriated as income, she committed tax evasion.

“Ms. O’Donnell has spent years embezzling money from her campaign to cover her personal expenses. Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on much these days, but both sides should agree on one point: thieves belong in jail not the United States Senate.”

Marriage Equality Is Not A Threat In Iowa

Starting with the quote that torques me:

“They shouldn’t be allowed to marry,” Maggie Gallagher, chairman for the National Organization for Marriage, said in an e-mail. “They shouldn’t be allowed to redefine marriage to mean whatever relationship (they) choose.”

First off, I’ll refrain from saying “Maggie, go fuck yourself!”. I think it’s fair to claim that, according to the definition of “traditional” marriage that Maggie holds, it’s considered “untraditional” for a woman to use her ‘maiden’ name (Gallagher).  It is also very un-Biblical for a self-professed Christian woman, like Maggie Gallagher Srivastav, to dishonor her husband by refusing to use his name.

As Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, so the husband is the head of the wife, and both are to submit to Christ, which Maggie Gallagher Srivastav is clearly not doing.

The law should reflect Biblical Principles™ controlling the personal relationships of every citizen — that’s what these fuckwits want — so it should be the law that the woman must take and use her husband’s surname to further preserve the sanctity of Traditional Marriage — Maggie Gallagher Srivastav should not get to redefine traditional marriage.

</sarcasm>

Christine O’Donnell Has A Gay Identity Disorder

Christine O’Donnell has a disorder, several disorders, in fact.  One disorder is doing what most Christians do best — making shit up.

“People are created in God’s image. Homosexuality is an identity adopted through societal factors. It’s an identity disorder.” [LINK]

Wrong.  God is made into the image of whoever the person is talking about god.

Wrong. Homosexuality is not an adopted identity, nor is it a disorder.  O’Donnell can go fuck herself

Another Christian sociopathic liar

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But Christine says that she actually heard the literal, audible voice of ‘God’, and that is what is called psychotic delusions, hallucinations, a symptom of schizophrenia.

Christine O’Donnell And The “Ex-Gay” Scam

This lady is an incredible piece of work!  Besides her long record of many-faceted scumbag behavior, lies and looney statements, Christine O’Donnell is another Christian scam artist making a buck on the “ex-gay” therapy scam.

Also, Christine “dabbled in witchcraft” (video below the fold) … She must be put to death according to her unchanging, infallible, holy scriptures.  By letting this admitted witch/sorceress live, other innocent Christians can be at risk for demon possession, or, something.  Christians, pick up those stones and do what you know is commanded in God’s Infallible, Unchanging Word.  And none of this “oh-we-follow-the-New-Testament” bullshit.  Jesus himself allegedly said (allegedly, because Jesus probably never existed, and even if he did, the NT was written after he allegedly died by people who never met him) that he was not here to throw out the Old Laws, that you must keep “every letter” of the Law.