17 ’Adhar 5769: Genealogy Day/National Open An Umbrella Indoors Day

Greetings.

Worthy causes of the day: “Stop subsidies for Big Oil”, “Keep Humanitarian Aid in Sudan”, “Protect Marine Mammals - Say No to Arctic Ocean Drilling!”

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Malaysia Christians battle with Muslims over Allah”: This pointless battle over terminology, now with the (probably baseless) accusation that Christians in Malaysia call God “Allah” in order to convert Muslims. Which considering this childish attack by Muslims on freedom of religion might not be a bad thing.
   
2. More freedom of religion problems: “Saudi Arabia’s Shia Stand Up”, “Swat Valley: Sharia implemented on 16 March”, “Somalia OKs Islam as basis of law for country”
   
3. “Saudi Academy in Va. revises Islamic history books”: Thus is it written:

   An Islamic school in northern Virginia with close ties to the Saudi government has revised its religious textbooks in an effort to end years of criticism that the school fosters hatred and intolerance.
   
   While the Islamic Saudi Academy deleted some of the most contentious passages from the texts, copies provided to The Associated Press show that enough sensitive material remains to fuel critics who claim the books show intolerance toward those who do not follow strict interpretations of Islam.

   Further down there is a truly bizarre claim:

   Some sensitive sections survived the revisions, though. One of the few references to Christians and Jews, or "People of the Book," disparages scholars in those faiths for rejecting the truth of Islam.
   
   "Scholars of the People of the Book know that Islam is the true path because they find it in their books," an 11th-grade textbook reads. "But they shy away out of ignorance and stubbornness. And God knows their deeds and will judge them."

   This claim is nonsense. If Jewish and Christian scholars know that Islam is the true religion, then they cannot be ignorant; failure to adopt Islam in such a case would be intellectual stupidity. Furthermore, the very premise that the books of Judaism and Christianity proclaim that Islam is the true religion is itself wrong. I have never seen anything remotely suggesting the truth of Islam in any of the Jewish religious literature of any period nor in the New Testament; if any pro-Islamic material is in there, it is tucked away in some little-viewed spot. I could say more as to why Jews do not consider Muḥammad a prophet, but unfortunately I have limited time today and do not have the proper references at hand.
   
4. “'Sex-y' sermons cause stir in rural Alabama”: Yes, this is unconventional. However, given current publicly attested attitudes on sex which are different from the mores of the past and that historically religion has had a lot to say on the subject, why should anyone be surprised that sexuality should become the subject of sermons?
   
5. “Muslim community rallies behind Sudbury man charged by the FBI”: So... this guy has supported Islamic terrorism in the past, and the Muslim community is shocked that the FBI, whose job it is to fight against terrorists (among other things), should be interested in him. Exactly why should I be surprised?
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Moderate Taliban”
  
• “First, pork invades Washington, then superbugs invade pork”
  
• “International Space Station crew seek refuge during debris scare”
  
• “Nutrient-Powered Evolution”
  
• “Mystery repairman fixes broken W.Va. traffic light”
  
• “By the Numbers: Illegal Construction in Jerusalem”
  

Since tomorrow is Pi Day, today’s weird thing is the weird song “Pi”:

Enjoy, share the weirdness, and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

8 Tammuz 5768: National Slurpee Day/World Population Day/Day of the Five Billion

Greetings.

Worthy causes of the day: “Object to Privacy-Invading FISA Law”, “Stop the Polar Bear Whitewash”, and “World Leaders Must Fulfill Their Promise”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “New legal threat to teaching evolution in the US”: Apparently some people do not understand the concepts of critical thinking and academic freedom or are willing to indulge in Orwellian distortions of language in order to encourage belief in creationism. If I have not said it before, I will say it now: religion is supposed to be about truth. It is hypocritical to lie in order to get people to believe what is allegedly the truth.
   
2. On Wednesday, I explained that “if it is natural, it is good” is a moral fallacy.  Also relevant to the discussion of sexuality and morality is “Bisexual Species: Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom”, which discusses the prevalence of homosexuality among non-human animals in the wild and in captivity and the reasons for its existence.  Noted also is the fluidity of human sexuality.  While it is common these days for people to pigeonhole themselves and others as “heterosexual”, “homosexual”, “bisexual”, and certain less-popular categories, these categories at best only approximate people’s actual behavior; people do not always behave in accordance with the category by which they classify themselves or others classify them, and the lines between categories are regularly crossed in certain situations.  One cannot therefore assume one is permanently fixed in a specific category, which has two moral consequences:  1)  One cannot make the plea that one is predestined to behave strictly according to one category.  Granted, few, if any, humans can switch categories solely at will, and many may never switch, but the potential for change may be there.  2)  One cannot assume one will never find oneself tempted to do anything in a forbidden category.  Granted, temptation is not the same thing as acting on temptation, and many will never be seriously tempted to do certain actions, but the wise are aware of their own potential weaknesses so they may guard against them.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Iran's Missiles”
  
• Congress examines EMP threat
  
• “The Process of Koshering”
  
• “Top Ten Worst Uses for Windows” (I really cannot make this up.)
  
• “Drug marketing code draws line at gift pens” (Down with bribery!)
  
• “Iconic Pink Flamingo Maker Files Bankruptcy”
  
• “Dick Cheney, enemy of reality”
  
• “The Roar of the Aurora ”
  
• “Coral Grief: Warming Climate Threatens Reef Destruction”
  
• “Pesticides That Kill Pests--But Not Pets”
  
• “Rove ignores committee's subpoena, refuses to testify” (Does anyone buy the rationale? It is hard to imagine “executive privilege” applied to someone no longer part of the executive branch of the federal government.)
  

Today’s weird things are Mark Melchior's Cigar Box Guitars, a much better use for cigar boxes than holding death sticks. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron