Next time you decide to arbitrarily hate a group of people (blacks, Jews, Muslims, atheists, …), think of this and ask yourself if you are qualified to have an opinion.

Use those frequent flier miles.
Jessica Hagy, Indexed, August 9th, 2006

Xenophobia

bigotry · hate · xenophobia

This is just as instructive if you replace “Santa” with “God”.

Wondermark #474; In which you better Watch Out, December 23, 2008

Be good for goodness' sake

god · morality · philosophy · religion · santa · wondermark

This past week I spend two days photographing parishioners at Zion Church Ministries in Everett, Massachusetts. They are a fun, lively and beautiful bunch of people.

This woman, Deaconess Lolithea Thompson, wears 14 karat gold fingernails. She had them custom designed and crafted by a jeweler. Each nail is emblazoned with a trinket or patterned texture. One of the thumbnails has a stud through the tip, around which a small gold flower twirls. How cool is that?!

Deaconess Lolithea Thompson - Used with permission

When Lolithea’s natural nails grow out she has to remove the gold nails, trim her natural nails, and re-affix the gold nails. She has had these nails for decades and is quite proud of them.

fingernail · gold · jewelry · photography · portrait

All but the Ring: Why Some Couples Don’t Wed
Lisa Selin David, Time, May 25, 2009

A Gay-Marriage Solution: End Marriage?
Michael A. Lindenberger, Time, March 16, 2009

Is marriage on its way to becoming the relationship equivalent of our appendix (in that it’s no longer needed but can cause a lot of pain)?

I sure hope so. Marriage is an archaic institution that has a benign effect on a relationship, at best. The legal benefits of marriage, however, are significant. Committed Unmarrieds pay dearly for their decision to forgo government’s stamp of approval on their relationship. The same-sex marriage fight is primarily one of benefits and semantics. If government would get out of the business of marriage, these problems would disappear immediately. There would be no losers (except, perhaps, the wedding industry and divorce attorneys).

Thank you for directing my attention to these articles, Brian.

court · gay · government · law · lgbt · marriage · politics · prop-8 · same-sex

Helen Fisher tells us why we love + cheat
Ted Talks, February 2006

And I’ve also come to think that it’s one of three, basically different brain systems that evolved from mating and reproduction. One is the sex drive: the craving for sexual gratification. W.H. Auden called it an “intolerable neural itch,” and indeed, that’s what it is. It keeps bothering you a little bit, like being hungry. The second of these three brain systems is romantic love: that elation, obsession of early love. And the third brain system is attachment: that sense of calm and security you can feel for a long-term partner. (more…)

anti-depressant · cheat · drive · evolution · love · lust · marriage · psychology · sex · TED · ted talks

Governor Signs LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom
Governor’s Office, Maine.gov, May 6, 2009

Today Governor John E. Baldacci signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.

Just when I was beginning to think I couldn’t be any prouder to be a Mainer, this. Hooray for Maine!

In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,” Governor Baldacci said. “I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.
~Governor Baldacci

Bravo, Governor. Bravo!

Marriage is the legally recognized union of 2 people. Gender-specific terms relating to the marital relationship or familial relationships, including, but not limited to, “spouse,” “family,” “marriage,” “immediate family,” “dependent,” “next of kin,” “bride,” “groom,” “husband,” “wife,” “widow” and “widower,” must be construed to be gender-neutral for all purposes throughout the law, whether in the context of statute, administrative or court rule, policy, common law or any other source of civil law.
~SP0384, LD 1020, § 650-A. Codification of marriage

baldacci · gay · governor · law · legislature · lesbian · lgbt · maine · marriage

Traditional Marriage: An Outmoded Institution
Kirsten Uhler, Cogitations, May 5, 2009

Kirsten wrote a brilliant paper on marriage for the sociology course in which she is currently enrolled.

None of the “benefits” of marriage require marriage. Children can be conceived and reared and sexual satisfaction can be had without any legal contract or public vows of commitment. I’m glad the proclivity toward marriage is waning.

In the newly Christianized countries of Northern Europe marriage was essentially a business deal between the bridegroom and the bride’s father. The symbol of a successful “bride sale” was the ring (a form of down payment) which was given to the bride herself. Acceptance of the ring constituted betrothal. The full payment of the “bride price” was made on delivery, when the actual wedding took place. Since then, the ring has acquired many other symbolic meanings and is still used in our modern marriage ceremonies (Haeberle, 1983). It still signifies to me that a woman has been “bought,” the price of the ring indicating her value.

I’ve long argued that wedding rings are a superficial waste of money. I haven’t wore mine for years.

The common laws turned the married pair legally into one person—the husband. The husband was enlarged, so to speak, by marriage, while the wife’s giving up her own name and being called by his symbolized her relinquishing her identity. This legal doctrine of marital unity was called coverture (Cott, 2002). This meant that a wife could not use legal avenues such as suits or contracts, own assets, or execute legal documents without her husband’s collaboration. The husband became the political as well as the legal representative of his wife, disenfranchising her.

Coverture is fucked up!

I am in a wonderful relationship with Brent. We are only married to receive the legal benefits we would not otherwise have. We are still together because we make each other happy. We have history together. We have insight into each other. We agree on important philosophies and values. We enrich each other and affirm the best in each other. We challenge each other and make each other want to be a better person. We communicate; we’re open and honest with each other. We appreciate each other’s uniqueness and value. We have regular and exciting sex. We show affection. We don’t keep score or compete with each other. We share responsibilities. We have children together and agree on parenting styles. And we are best friends. All these things keep us together and happy. Our marriage does not.

I love you, too, Kirsten.

Promising to love someone tomorrow is puerile. The subjugation of women is immoral. An expectation of sexual fidelity is insecure, unreasonable and selfish. Traditional marriage should, like religious myth, be relegated to history.

kirsten · marriage · misogyny

Native Americans Descended From a Single Ancestral Group, DNA Study Confirms
University of California – Davis, April 28, 2009

[The Book of Mormon] is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas
…
The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.
~Book of Mormon, Introduction

Mormons claim the Book of Mormon is true because, among other things, despite nearly 180 years of trying, nobody has proven it false. The problem with this claim is that it has been proven false. Archeological and DNA evidence long ago proved that Native Americans emigrated from East Asia. Mormon apologists then posited that there may have been multiple groups in the Americas at the time. The DNA evidence, however, was so overwhelming that the leaders of the church updated the Introduction to the Book of Mormon.
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book of mormon · cult · dna · lds · mormon · religion · study · uc davis · university of california

I saw this in a church where I worked recently.

Mother Goose & Grim, September 14, 2008

comic · funny · humor · noah · ram · religion

A Formal Resignation

I stopped going to church way back in 2004. Since then I’ve been an outspoken atheist and critic of theism generally and Mormonism specifically. A family member once asked, “why don’t you have your name removed from the records of the church?” My reasoning for not doing so was that I didn’t care what the church considered to be my membership status. I stopped being a member when I stopped believing the ridiculous dogma.

(more…)

apostate · atheist · ex-mormon · mormon · name removal · resignation