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• Pro-Life Pharmacy won't sell birth control

  DMC Pharmacy, can we help you? Oh, you want birth control pills. I'm sorry, we can't help you with that. No, we don't sell condoms either. How about this pamphlet on the Rhythm Method? Perhaps a new Bible? Hello? Hello, are you there? The DMC Pharmacy in Chantilly, Virginia, is a Pharmacy with a Point of View. Basically, if you're going to "do it," you should be prepared for the pitter-patter of little feet. That means no condoms, no birth control pills, no morning after pill – nada. Zip. The "family planning" aisle will be filled with rosary beads, Left Behind novels and... Read More... Posted Jun 18 2008, 10:00 AM by Brett Singer with | with 13 comment(s) Filed under: news, religion, christianity, Virginia, birth control, church, abortion, condoms, family planning, Catholicism, planned parenthood, Washington Post, God, Brett Singer, catholic, belief, birth control pill, eternal hellfire, right of conscience, Thomas More Society, Tom Brejcha, ru486, pharmacist, drugstore, chantilly, pharmacy, religious beliefs, da vinci code, morning after pill, plan b, dmc pharmacy, drug stores

• White House Slammed for "Sinful" Lesbian Photo

  Now here's a way to drive up support for the administration: Post hot lesbian parent photos on the main White House web site. Finally, they're doing something right. Unless, of course, you talk to Stephen Bennett -- founder of the Stephen Bennett Ministry of Ignorance and Stupity or something like that. Bennett is bent out of shape because a photo showing the devil and his wife, Lynn Cheney, holding their new grandson included a caption explaining that the boy's parents are Cheney's daughter and her partner. And because there's really nothing important going on in the world today, Bennett took time out of his insanely busy schedule to say, "I say shame on the White House, shame on the president and shame on the vice president for allowing such a caption to be 'officially' added onto the White House website and such a beautiful photo of two happy grandparents and their new grandchild." Huh? Did you miss the controversy? What's the crime here, you ask? Why is Bennett so fumed? The caption listed Mary Cheney and her partner, Heather Poe, as "parents." And because lesbians obviously can't parent in any way, Bennett goes on to give a ninth-grade biology lesson on birds and bees and then throws his hands in the air and orders a "massage" from Ted Haggard. Tool. Posted Jun 04 2007, 04:01 PM by Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: dick cheney, christianity, lesbian, LGBT parenting, lesbian parenting

• Georgia Schools Must Not Teach the First Amendment

  I lived in Florida for 21 years and I used to get really sick of people making fun of the south for being backward. I guess there is some truth to every stereotype. Georgia has started offering state funded bible study classes. I wish I was kidding. Even though I attended a southern college I was a Political Science major and I clearly remember learning about both freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. Look, I understand that they are offering this as an elective, and I get that it could be classified as a general religion course but something just doesn't sit right with me.  Maybe I am nervous about the direction the federal government seems to be heading. Maybe I'm still bitter because you were much more likely to get into my high school's show choir if you went to my director's church. Maybe I'm concerned for my children. Or maybe it is the sentence: The Georgia law allowing the state-funded Bible classes won overwhelming approval last year from both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. Either way, I think that the Georgia State legislature might need to brush up on constitutional law or strongly consider funding electives studying other religious texts as soon as possible. Posted May 03 2007, 03:51 PM by Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: christianity, georgia, public schools, first amendment, bible study, state funding

• School Terror Drill Irks Christian Parents

  A rag tag group of right-wing religious fundamentalists stormed a New Jersey school with guns because a girl was expelled for praying before class. At least that's the script of a police drill that is driving Christians crazy in this sacred time of recognizing the Easter Bunny as the holiest of holies. In a drill designed to improve responses to school hostages crises, police decided to write a script that involves the "New Crusaders" storming the school to seek revenge for the made-up prayer expulsion. Though the word "Christian" wasn't used in the script, some Christians are nonethless put out, arguing the drill amounts of religious intolerance. My favorite part of the story was this quote from one outraged person: "This is an unreal scenario, like I said. No child can be expelled for praying in a school since it's legal; therefore, the parents wouldn't have gotten mad, they wouldn't have used guns. If a school district had expelled a girl for praying in class, the parents would have shown up with attorneys, not with pistols." Forget turning the other cheek. Real Christian parents sue. Posted Apr 09 2007, 09:33 AM by Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: news, school, christianity, easter, Easter Bunny, kid

• Are You Christian? God Gangs Takeover High Schools?

  A friend of the family is a teacher at the same high school I dropped out of from which I graduated, and he tells the story of a freshman girl who was approached by a group of five older boys in a secluded hallyway. "Are you Christian?" they asked. The young girl declined to state, and the boys were pissed. "We're going to kick your ass," they said. Thankfully another student wandered by at the time and broke up the ensuing melee. It's a new thing in this school, apparently. Either profess your love of a the Christian god or face an ass-whooping. No joke. The school I'm talking about ain't in the Bible Belt. We're talking about Northern California -- not too far from the site of the "Summer of Love" not too many decades ago. The story had me wondering whether this was just a crazy fluke -- school kids hopped up on Jebus Juice or whatever -- or whether this is a new phenomenon facing kids across the country. Have you heard of something like this before? Posted Apr 02 2007, 02:10 PM by Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: attack, christianity, attacked, high school, america, bad children

• BattleCry To Teens: Be A "Stalker of God." Whatever That Means...

  BattleCry is a roving evangelical festival - a Christian Lollapalooza, if you will - that is gripping the religious youth of the nation.  Just this past weekend, over 22,000 teenagers gathered at San Francisco's AT&T Park to pray, sing, and listen to Christian bands. Kids came from as far away as Los Angeles to participate in the cross-cultural gathering, which also included speakers (a "former Islamic terrorist" among them), and stand-up comedians ("What would an atheist praise song be?  'Who gives us reason to live? No one!'). BattleCry founder Ron Luce believes teens today are barraged by sex, violence and immorality at every turn, and that they need a Christian alternative.  BattleCry's website roars "A stealthy enemy has infiltrated our country and is preying upon the hearts and minds of 33 million American teens. Corporations, media conglomerates, and purveyors of popular culture have spent billions to seduce and enslave our youth. So far, the enemy is winning."  But, Luce reassured his young San Francisco audience, "We will not allow the enemy to steal this generation!" Read More... Posted Mar 12 2007, 10:27 AM by Alisyn with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: christianity, BattleCry, teen life

• "Christian" Pediatrician Denies Care To Sick Child With Tattooed Mom

  Doctor Gary Merrill says he was just "following his beliefs" when he refused to treat Tasha Childress'  toddler-aged daughter for an ear infection, because her mother had visible tattoos and piercings.  And despite the negative press he's getting for it, Dr. Merrill says he'd do it again, to ensure the patients he does deem holy enough to treat, have a more "comfortable" and "Christian" atmosphere. According to the American Medical Association,  Dr. Merrill's practice of turning sick people in need away based on their - or their parent's -  physical appearance is no big deal.  But it was a huge deal to Tasha Childress and her sick babe.  “I felt totally discriminated against, like I wasn’t good enough to talk to,” she said, and rightly so.  "Really, it didn’t matter what he didn’t want to see us for. It isn’t right." Childress says she wants the policy to be changed immediately, and an apology from the doctor for making her feel like an outsider.  Merrill says he will continue to enforce the rules he has in place, which even include no chewing gum in his office.  I say... who knew that God hated gum? Posted Mar 07 2007, 08:03 AM by Alisyn with | with 19 comment(s) Filed under: christianity, christian doctors, sick kids, gary merrill

• Do Kids Need Religion? Daddy Blogger Says, "Hell No!"

  One of the biggest questions my wife and I have mulled over is that of Lucas' religion. See, we're a mixed bag - Beth and I are both the product of interfaith marriages, with one Jewish and one Christian parent (to paraphrase Adam Sandler, put us both together, what a fine looking Jew!). We've done some spiritual window-shopping. We once attended a local service at a Unitarian church, and we met with a "progressive" rabbi, a meeting that went well, right up until we asked if we could still have a Christmas tree, in keeping with the traditions of one half of our collective family - based on the frosty reply we received, we might as well have asked if we could serve pork chops at the next Passover seder. Chip over at Daddy Dialectic tackles the question head on: does a child need religion? His answer is an emphatic and thoughtful "no". Read More... Posted Jan 19 2007, 06:24 AM by JasonAvant with | with no comments Filed under: religion, spirituality, christianity, atheism, church

• Canadian Parents Claim Yoga Is The Devil

  When I was a kid, the only time religion ever disrupted the flow was if one of my classmates happened to be a Jehovah's Witness. And it was a brief disruption: once a month or so, that kid would have to go hang out in the library for half an hour while the rest of us sang "Happy Birthday" and ate cupcakes. Those kids didn't even come to school on the days when we had Halloween, Christmas, or Valentine's Day parties, and they always had to do generic crafts while the rest of us made construction paper jack-o-lanterns or menorahs. No big deal, but then, this was back in the dark ages when we still had fully funded physical education programs that were taken seriously. And what does P.E. have to do with religion? In Quesnel, British Columbia it would seem that the two are one and the same. Christian parents in Quesnel are furious that their children are being taught yoga as part of a program to encourage physical activity and reduce childhood obesity, claiming that yoga is a religious practice that violates their own belief system. "There's God and there's the devil, and the devil's not a gentleman," says rancher Audrey Cummings. "If you give him any kind of an opening, he will take that." Interesting response when the issue at hand is the Smarties and Aero bars filling the openings of fat Canadian children.  The opinion that yoga practice is unchristian is a common one, although many Christians not only disagree, they practice with fellow Christians at church-sponsored classes.  How this BC school decides to proceed is undetermined, but for now, the school board notes that students, like my classmates of yore, can just leave the room. Posted Jan 11 2007, 08:00 PM by Patti with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: christianity, physical education, yoga, childhood obesity, Canada

• God's Little Gold Mine

  I was raised in a pretty strict and conservative Christian church, and let me tell you what, back then we did not have swag. The closest we ever came was this bracelet that you made at Vacation Bible School that had different colored beads on it, and each bead represented a different important thing about Jesus which I can't actually remember except the red bead was for blood, because, duh. The whole What Would Jesus Do? phenomenon didn't hit until I was in high school or so, and by then I was a total existentialist who believed in pretty much nothing but maybe getting a boyfriend some day, and WWJD was not my guiding philosophy toward that end. In any case, there were no Jesus Princesses in my youth. Plenty of bracelets, no princesses. A decade or so ago when I was deep in the throes of misspent youth, I sometimes babysat for a friend, and her kid watched Veggie Tales. And I remember thinking "Hey, that's smart, a cartoon with a Christian slant. I bet they'll find a nice little niche for themselves". Boy, did I know how to call 'em. Little did I know that Veggie Tales was only an opening salvo in the marketing of Christianity Culture. Make way for Gigi, God's Little Princess. Looking like a cross between Eloise and Fancy Nancy, Gigi is apparently a response to the princess phenomenon that nobody with daughters seems to be escaping (if you can't beat 'em, etc. etc.). You can insert your own snark about Disney Princesses not being subservient enough here; I've shot all the fish in that barrel. Recently Princess Gigi's had some serious success: the top Christian children's DVD of 2006, and the top selling Christian children's book "The God's Little Princess Devotional Bible", and a whole empire of other crap, with (probably) more to come. And fear not, parents of boys, your sons can bask in the glory that is Will, God's  Mighty Warrior. Because girls are princesses, and boys are warriors, get it? Good.  While my churchgoing days are, except for holidays, pretty much behind me, I can't help but feel wistful for the days when I cheerfully went to Sunday School because I took it seriously, not because I had a bunch of paraphrenalia to inspire my devotion. When the prevailing wisdom was that Christianity meant humbleness and charity, not a full-scale marketing attack. When the bracelets were made out of pipe cleaner and plastic beads, not pink marabou. What would Jesus do? I have a guess. Posted Jan 09 2007, 08:32 AM by Patti with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: god's little princess, marketing to children, princesses, christianity