For some of us Charles Darwin was a mighty man of renown. The London Review of Books surveys some of the celebrations held for Darwin's 200th anniversary.
All of nature in its place
By hand of the designer
Comes our Charlie spins the world
From here to Asia Minor
In between the Platypus
And perfect Aphrodite
Charlie come with opposing thumb
To question the Almighty
Charlie by Chumbawamba
For all the good the internet has done it also eases the self-deluded in finding converts to their dementedly simple picture of how the world works.
We live in age of conspiracies, or rather, we are more aware of conspiracy theories than we used to be. Theories involving the hidden hand reproduce on the Internet and instantly jump borders. Giving the stories plausible heft are the exotic sites and TV stations now beaming everywhere, their studios, anchors and Web sites looking as professional and reliable as those of CNN, ABC News or the BBC. Channels such as Russia Today, Iran's Press TV and Al Jazeera pass on theories involving the supposed "real stories" behind world affairs to millions. Globalization not only assists with the spread of conspiracy theories, but because it causes such rapid change—in migration, jobs, security threats and the way we live—it leaves people desperate for clear, comforting answers. It is better to think that someone is in charge of everything than that the world is more often prey to accidents, madness and coincidence. That's why movies are full of dastardly but brilliant plotters, and hardly anything happens by chance
Are you really an addict or just lazy or wicked?
This creeping medicalization of everyday life means that almost any problem of excess can now be portrayed as an individual falling foul of a major mental illness. While drug addiction is a serious concern and a well-researched condition, many of the new behavioral addictions lack even the most basic foundations of scientific reliability.
The funniest Christian relic I've heard of since learning of the collectors of Jesus' foreskin:
Throughout the centuries, the cult of the Virgin Mary has rivaled that of her son’s. And so have her relics. Like Jesus, Mary ascended bodily into heaven. But that hasn’t stopped creative devotees from unearthing bodily relics of the Virgin. The most outrageous is her breast milk, which French scholar Nicole Hermann-Mascard traced to 69 sanctuaries, 46 of which were in France. The part of a pilgrimage route that traveled through the English village of Walsingham was known as the Milky Way because of its fame for possessing a drop of the beloved latte.
Did Jesus Christ visit the part of Britain now known as Glastonbury?
Researcher Dr Gordon Strachan said it was possible the Lord walked our shores to further his understanding of spirituality, as Britain was the seat of learning in his time.
He studies theories Jesus built a chapel near the site of Britain's biggest rock festival while in the West Country with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea.
No reason to think he did. No reason at all. Just pointless speculation to get attention. Attention can get you money.
Republican Governor Donald L. Carcieri of Rhode Island comes up with one of the more novel homophobic attempts to "save" normative marriages. Don't let domestic partners make funeral arrangements for one another.
This bill represents a disturbing trend over the past few years of the incremental erosion of the principles surrounding traditional marriage, which is not the preferred way to approach this issue.
R.I. governor vetoes 'domestic partners' burial bill
Just imagine the loving care the corpse of someone who has no surviving or available family. Not to mention the dead person's wishes.
Prue Lewis prays for pay. She's Christian Science practioner:
Leaders of the Church of Christ, Scientist, are pushing a proposal that would help patients pay someone like Lewis for prayer by having insurers reimburse the $20 to $40 cost.
Praying for healing, lobbying for a provision
If you've ever leafed through Mark Twain's book on Mary Baker Eddy you know Christian Scientists have been big on being paid for using the power of mind to heal the infirm.Were I a Republican I'd have paid them to make this foolish and greedy demand.
Why do the ignoranti so greatly enjoy the apocalyptic fantasies offered by the The Left Behind books?
Nietzsche called it ressentiment. It motivates Tea Partisans and the fundagelical Christians. Two groups of rabble that probably over lap.
Jenkins and LaHaye provide the ultimate revenge fantasy for the culturally left behind against the “elite.” The Left Behind franchise holds out hope for the self-disenfranchised that at last soon everyone will know “we” were right and “they” were wrong. They’ll know because Spaceship Jesus will come back and whisk us away, leaving everyone else to ponder just how very lost they are because they refused to say the words, “I accept Jesus as my personal savior” and join our side while there was still time! Even better: Jesus will kill all those smart-ass Democrat-voting, overeducated fags who have been mocking us!
The Almighty has way too much time on His hands.
A US man claims the face of Jesus appears every morning in the condensation on the side window of his pick-up truck
But vanishes with the morning sun so that no one else gets to witness this example of the Lord's grace.
Jesus appears in pick-up truck window
Maybe he'll take a photograph.
The mainstreaming of paranoia:
The rise of conspiratorial thinking expresses the loss of causality and meaning in the contemporary world. ... What is truly disturbing about the contemporary era is that it is not only the frightened and dispossessed who have internalized this cultural narrative, but also significant sections of mainstream society. Who needs The Protocols or other elaborate conspiracy theories when contemporary culture continually incites people to fear invisible forces?
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