Others are so arrogant they can't even entertain the thought their behavior is NOT excused and that may cost them dearly.

That's not entirely true. Some folks got free passes...others have to watch the show.

Here's a depressing bit of polling data.

• 62 percent of white evangelical Protestants said torture of a suspect could be often or sometimes justified.
• 51 percent of white, non-Hispanic Catholics said torture could be justified.
• 46 percent of white mainline Protestants were willing to justify torture.
• 40 percent of the religiously unaffiliated chimed in to agree to justify torture.

This poll is particularly dismaying for those of us in that category of white evangelical Protestants. It's not like Catholics are going to be proud of these findings either -- nearly half of us disapprove of atrocities! Nor is the three-fifths disapproval of violations of human rights among the religiously unaffiliated anything to brag about.

But, jeez, "62 percent of white evangelical Protestants said torture ... could be often or sometimes justified." That's colossal failure and shame No. 1.

Colossal failure and shame No. 2 is that this is significantly higher than the Sick Bastard Rate of any other religious group.

And even worse:

Those who attend religious services at least once a week were more likely than those who rarely or never attend to say torture is sometimes or often justified.

The implication here is clear: Being a white evangelical Protestant who regularly attends religious services will likely make you a much worse person than you otherwise would be. It makes you more comfortable with gross immorality.

To use good evangelical language: Devout evangelicals who attend church regularly view sin as justifiable much more often than religiously unaffiliated people who never attend religious services.

Something has gone very, very wrong here.

How interesting. You think you have a "free pass" such that your actions in this life don't affect your afterlife? That certainly explains a lot about your loose grasp on spirituality and morality in this world - in the end, it doesn't matter, so why bother. Is that why you are a torture enthusiast; you think you can support torture without a spiritual cost? That's a pretty good gig - you can be as evil as you like in this world and then go to heaven. It pretty much trashes the moral element of religion, but it's an interesting case study of egotistical spiritualism. If I believed in the supernatural, I'd actually be concerned for your ultimate fate.

The Sick Bastard Rate



Isn't that interesting? The more conservative and devout the religious belief, the greater the likelihood that the adherent will justify evil. In this case not only does the religious belief not prevent one from embracing evil, it actually encourages it.

The Sick Bastard Rate



Isn't that interesting? The more conservative and devout the religious belief, the greater the likelihood that the adherent will justify evil. In this case not only does the religious belief not prevent one from embracing evil, it actually encourages it.

Maybe it's just realistic and practical. As distasteful as the enhanced interrogation techniques are there is no Justifiable need to remove them as tools in certain circumstances.
Hard to rationalize that Peoria was nuked simply because you were afraid to feel bad...

There is no rationalization of torture. It is a war crime that was universally condemned by civilized people before Bush. Just because you degenerates have slipped into your Torquemada heretic mode doesn't mean it's right. Bottom line? You asshats have crossed the line in a big way and do not deserve any consideration. What your boys do deserve is a firing squad.

The Lord manifests himself in many ways - on the bottom of a frying pan, in a baby scan and on a burnt fish finger, for instance.

His latest appearance is equally unlikely - on a Marmite jar lid. At least that's how the Allen family have interpreted the gooey residue on the inside of it.
Mother-of-three Claire Allen, 36, saw the image when she was preparing toast for her youngest boy Robbie, four.

'I opened the Marmite jar and the lid caught my eye,' she said. 'Immediately I thought, that's Jesus.

Mrs Allen's discovery is the the most recent of several religious sightings in otherwise mundane objects.

In May last year, a drinker spotted the face of Jesus in the foil of a bottle of larger, while likenesses have been found several times on slices of toast - most notably when a decade-old cheese sandwich bearing the likeness of the Virgin Mary was sold to an online casino in 2004 for £15,000.

Jesus has apparently also appeared in a baby scan in August 2006, in the bottom of a U.S. couple's frying pan in February 2005, and on a fish finger in Canada in November 2004.

Panties or Peoria...

Maybe it's just realistic and practical.

There you go again...constantly creating strawmen.

Well, if people didn't torture, then Jesus could never have been crucified and then we'd have to spend a shitload of time in anguish.

So yeah, torture must be God's Will.

Inconvenience is one rationalization for chucking morality out the window. Of course that sort of morality never has any postive moral value, since it never is used when it is most needed.

Panties or Peoria...

Inconvenience is one rationalization for chucking morality out the window. Of course that sort of morality never has any postive moral value, since it never is used when it is most needed.

There's nothing moral about allowing Peoria to be nuked simply to prevent the discomfort of little Abdul ... unless your values are perverted.

You are without a doubt the biggest bloodthirsty hypocrite I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. I hope you get hit by a bus. and live.

Inconvenience is one rationalization for chucking morality out the window. Of course that sort of morality never has any postive moral value, since it never is used when it is most needed.

You are without a doubt the biggest bloodthirsty hypocrite I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. I hope you get hit by a bus. and live.

That would be the kind of morality davis embraces. Switch morality. On and off like a switch. The kind that allows hate, war and torture.

There's nothing moral about allowing Peoria to be nuked simply to prevent the discomfort of little Abdul ... unless your values are perverted.

You have indicated in the past that you identify most closely with the SBC. Even the SBC came out against torture. From nearly any religious perspective, to support torture is to reject God. You can't claim to love your neighbor as you torture them.... unless your values are perverted.

1.) No one is "nuking" Peoria. However, the use of torture certainly increases that likelihood, as it increases the number of terrorists and their commitment to their cause.

The prisons increase crime theory.

You would know more about Peoria than I...If you think that the city should be nuked to spare little Abdul then I should abide by your decision.

1.) No one is "nuking" Peoria. However, the use of torture certainly increases that likelihood, as it increases the number of terrorists and their commitment to their cause. When an enemy claims you are evil, and then you willingly play into their hands and fulfill that expectation, it reinforces the belief in the righteousness of their cause, bringing more and more into the conflict.

2.) We're not talking about "discomfort" or "panties" or any other intentional misrepresentation of torture. We're talking about torture. From nearly any religious perspective, torture is always a great moral evil. You have indicated in the past that you identify most closely with the SBC. Even the SBC came out against torture. From nearly any religious perspective, to support torture is to reject God. You can't claim to love your neighbor as you torture them.... unless your values are perverted.

Richard Land of SBC: No room for torture in U.S. intelligence-gathering

Pretty lame bull poop there,Innocent...nothing but one logical fallacy after another.

The prisons increase crime theory. I don't buy it, though having folks that are supposed to be on our side stir up trouble just so they can get votes and create outrage probably makes the terrorists think they have some empathy here in the US.

That is one enormous load of sheit. If you treat people like animals and torture them then you can expect others to be outraged and do whatever they can to either stop it or get revenge.

We are supposed to defend human rights. You idiots just threw that out the window on 9/11.

Okay folks, I have to do a presentation and paper on the topic of religion in the media and Im having trouble figuring out what exactly Im going to talk about, so I need your help.

Basically I need to think of a religion that has been prominently shown in the media and talk about the image of it that has been portrayed. So far, Ive considered mormonism and scientology, but neither have really piqued my interest so Im open to anything. Any ideas?

great lap dances too

(LAS VEGAS, Nv) -- The Raelian Movement is announcing plans to build a UFOland in Las Vegas where visitors can attend a Happiness Academy and see a full-size replica of a UFO.

Raelians believe that humanity was created by extraterrestrial scientists and they want to share their belief with visitors to Las Vegas. They will also host a museum and a 1000-seat theatre where their spiritual leader, Rael, will give lectures.

"The museum will display all the evidence we've gathered for the past 35 years that shows we were indeed created by scientists -- highly advanced human beings from another planet," said Ricky Roehr, leader of the North American Raelian Movement.

He said he expects the UFOland to become one of the most popular destinations in Las Vegas within the next five years.

There is no word on where UFOland will be built.

Raëlism, or The Raëlian movement, is a UFO Religion founded by a former French sports-car journalist and test driver named Claude Vorilhon. Followers of the movement, called Raëlians, believe that Vorilhon, or "Raël", received special knowledge and instruction for mankind from the creators of life on Earth, human-like extraterrestrials called Elohim whose technology enabled them to appear as "angels" or "gods" in the eyes of ancient people. Raëlians believe that previous visitation from Elohim sparked the founding of many major religions humanity knows today.

........
"The museum will display all the evidence we've gathered for the past 35 years that shows we were indeed created by scientists -- highly advanced human beings from another planet," said Ricky Roehr, leader of the North American Raelian Movement.......

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists?

Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers.

The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.

But religious authorities in Muslim but secular Turkey are not amused by the twist on the popular reality game show format and the Religious Affairs Directorate is refusing to provide an imam for the show.

"Doing something like this for the sake of ratings is disrespectful to all religions. Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programs," High Board of Religious Affairs Chairman Hamza Aktan told state news agency Anatolian after news of the planned program emerged.

The makers of "Penitents Compete" are unrepentant and reject claims that the show, scheduled to begin broadcasting in September, will cheapen religion.

"We are giving the biggest prize in the world, the gift of belief in God," Kanal T chief executive Seyhan Soylu told Reuters.

"We don't approve of anyone being an atheist. God is great and it doesn't matter which religion you believe in. The important thing is to believe," Soylu said.

The project focuses attention on the issue of religious identity in European Union-candidate Turkey, where rights groups have raised concerns over freedom of religion for non-Muslim minorities.

Detractors of the ruling AK Party government, which is rooted in political Islam but officially secular, accuse it of having a hidden Islamist agenda, a charge it denies.

Some 200 people have so far applied to take part in the show and the 10 contestants will be chosen next month.

A team of theologians will ensure that the atheists are truly non-believers and are not just seeking fame or a free holiday.

That is just weird. Looks like something off the original Monty Python show. Speaking of which, my library system has the originals.

Viktor Mirosiichenko, the public face of Kontora loan company, shows a contract with a borrower at his office in Riga July 2, 2009. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

RIGA (Reuters) – Ready to give your soul for a loan in these difficult economic times? In Latvia, where the crisis has raged more than in the rest of the European Union, you can.

Such a deal is being offered by the Kontora loan company, whose public face is Viktor Mirosiichenko, 34.

Clients have to sign a contract, with the words "Agreement" in bold letters at the top. The client agrees to the collateral, "that is, my immortal soul."

Mirosiichenko said his company would not employ debt collectors to get its money back if people refused to repay, and promised no physical violence. Signatories only have to give their first name and do not show any documents.

"If they don't give it back, what can you do? They won't have a soul, that's all," he told Reuters in a basement office, with one desk, a computer and three chairs.

Wearing sunglasses, a black suit and a white shirt with the words "Kontora" (office) emblazoned on it, he reaches into his pocket and lays out a sheaf of notes on the table to show that the business is serious and not a joke.

Latvia has been the EU nation worst hit by economic crisis.

Unemployment is soaring and banks have sharply reduced their lending, meaning that small companies offering easy loans in small amounts have become more popular.

Mirosiichenko said his company was basically trusting people to repay the small amounts they borrowed, which has so far been up to 250 lats ($500) for between 1 and 90 days at a hefty interest rate.

He said about 200 people had taken out loans over the two months the business was in operation.