Foetuses found at Bogota airport

The corpses were wrapped in plastic and concealed inside statues of Christian icons, which were smashed open. Colombian police chief Gen Jord Alirio Varon said the four- to five-month-old foetuses could have been intended for use in Satanic rituals. Gen Varon said the foetuses were found alongside crucifixes and medals.

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Just found this great blog entry, for all you ID fans. Sorry if you’ve already seen it.

Looks like the next witness for the trial was Robert Pennock:

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The concept of “intelligent design” is a form of creationism and is not based on scientific method, a professor testified Wednesday in a trial over whether the idea should be taught in public schools. Robert T. Pennock, a professor of science and philosophy at Michigan State University, testified on behalf of families who sued the Dover Area School District. He said supporters of intelligent design don’t offer evidence to support their idea. “As scientists go about their business, they follow a method,” Pennock said. “Intelligent design wants to reject that and so it doesn’t really fall within the purview of science.”

Pennock is the editor of a pretty nice (but rather expensive) collection on ID stuff.

I wonder if we’ll be able to get a transcript of all this testimony. If anyone finds anything, send the link…

After Dena — my new favorite Christian — posted on the “Love thy neighbor” thread about how she gets so frustrated by some Christians’ ugly behavior in the name of their religion, I thought I’d post this awesome New Yorker piece about Ole Anthony, a Christian activist who has made it his life’s mission to take down corrupt televangelists.

His life story alone is fascinating. He was once exposed to a nuclear blast and doctors aren’t quite sure why he isn’t dead yet. Great stuff. Well worth printing and taking with you if it’s too long to read online:

God Doesn’t Need Ole Anthony

Interesting little societal tidbit: Societies worse off ‘when they have God on their side’

RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today. According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.

The actual article can be found here, and here’s a little taste from the abstract:

Abundant data is available on rates of societal dysfunction and health in the first world. Cross-national comparisons of highly differing rates of religiosity and societal conditions form a mass epidemiological experiment that can be used to test whether high rates of belief in and worship of a creator are necessary for high levels of social health. Data correlations show that in almost all regards the highly secular democracies consistently enjoy low rates of societal dysfunction, while pro-religious and anti-evolution America performs poorly.

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Just a follow-up to Ron’s post about the ID crap. You can read about the specifics of the trial here and here. I guess the first witness was a biologist from Brown University, Kenneth Miller:

“There is no controversy within science over the core proposition of evolutionary theory,” he [Miller] added. On the other hand, Miller said, “intelligent design is not a testable theory in any sense and as such it is not accepted by the scientific community.” During his cross-examination of Miller, Robert Muise, another attorney for the law center, repeatedly asked whether he questioned the completeness of Darwin’s theory. “Would you agree that Darwin’s theory is not the absolute truth?” Muise said. “We don’t regard any scientific theory as the absolute truth,” Miller responded.

I really hope the Thomas More Law Center (compliments of Domino’s Pizza) has better arguments than that. Oh, wait, that’s right — they don’t.

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More fun with, mostly, good ol’ Leviticus. An oldie but a goodie I thought I’d share:

President Bush, I need some advice regarding God’s Laws and how best to follow them

Dear President Bush:

Congratulations on your election victory and for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from you and understand why you would propose and support a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. As you said, “in the eyes of God marriage is based between a man a woman.” I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18.22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

However, I do need some advice from you regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how best to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25.44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans but not to Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21.7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanness (Leviticus15.19-24). The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord. (Leviticus 1.9) The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35.2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Leviticus11.10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there degrees of abomination?

7. Leviticus.21.20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Leviticus19.27. How should they die?

9. I know from Leviticus 11.6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean. May I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Leviticus 19.19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Leviticus 24.10-16) Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, as we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Leviticus 20.14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

Yours truly,
An Inquiring Supporter

P.S. I look forward to your answers because there are a number of other issues that I’d like to get settled as soon as you’ve enlightened me on these … Thanks again.