Great advice!

I'd like to see these kinds of signs being mandated on churches, along with these signs on the bibles:

Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them)

Picking up where Bible expert Bart Ehrman's New York Times bestseller Misquoting Jesus left off, Jesus, Interrupted addresses the larger issue of what the New Testament actually teaches—and it's not what most people think. Here Ehrman reveals what scholars have unearthed:

The authors of the New Testament have diverging views about who Jesus was and how salvation works

The New Testament contains books that were forged in the names of the apostles by Christian writers who lived decades later

Jesus, Paul, Matthew, and John all represented fundamentally different religions

Established Christian doctrines—such as the suffering messiah, the divinity of Jesus, and the trinity—were the inventions of still later theologians

These are not idiosyncratic perspectives of just one modern scholar. As Ehrman skillfully demonstrates, they have been the standard and widespread views of critical scholars across a full spectrum of denominations and traditions. Why is it most people have never heard such things? This is the book that pastors, educators, and anyone interested in the Bible have been waiting for—a clear and compelling account of the central challenges we face when attempting to reconstruct the life and message of Jesus."

About the Author

Bart D. Ehrman is the author of more than twenty books, including the New York Times bestselling Misquoting Jesus and God's Problem. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is a leading authority on the Bible and the life of Jesus. He has been featured in Time magazine and has appeared on NBC's Dateline, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, CNN, The History Channel, major NPR shows, and other top media outlets. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Oh God, Oh God! OH GOD!!!

Hmmm, interesting. Who ever thought of bible based sex education? What an amazing thought!

Seriously, the bible has been used to repress people's sexuality basically since it was written, but there is so much perverse stuff in the bible, of which only a little is condemned by God. It seems like, as we've seen so many times before, people are reading into the bible what they want to find and are blind to all the other stuff that they don't agree with. This happens a lot amongst those who claim the bible as a source of knowledge.

Let's have a look-see at the video and see if we can't unpack it a little...

Jerry Lawson says:

Gods way of sex is very straightforward. In the scripture it's a husband and a wife, only within the confines of marriage.

Well, in Genesis alone there's a whole lotta strangiosity!

Just some of the exceptions to the wedded heterosexual model can be seen with descriptions of:

• Incest Gen 19:33
• Having sex with your wife's handmaiden Gen 16:2, 30:3
• Trading vegetables for sex Gen 30:16
• Sex with your stepmother Gen 35:22, 49:4
• Sex with your sister in law is fine Gen 38:9 (just don't come on the ground)
  
• Sex with your daughter in law Gen 38:16

Jerry Lawson Continues:

We're just bible people and we make no bones about it, we're just going to talk about what's in the bible

Well, I guess that means no decent sex education, just a whole lot of really strict laws with horrific consequences:

If a man has sex with his mother, sister or another man, kill them both (Lev 20:11, 12, 13)
If a man has a threesome with his wife and her mother, all three must be burned (Lev 20:14)
If a man or woman has sex with a beast, kill them both (Lev 20:15-16)
If a man has sex with his sister or a menstruating woman they are to be shunned (Lev 20:17, 18)

Geez, abstinence only education would be a lot more attractive if screw ups get you killed!

Oh, and while we're in the sex-ed section of the bible, don't forget that God is ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED with how dirty-filthy-filthy-yuck-yuck-eww the seed of man is. I guess he really should have put a bit more intelligence into his design of that squidgy little creation!

Then there's the argument from ignorance where he holds up a stack of emails and says that he only got 5 negative ones. I guess it just goes to show that people who are not interested in this aren't compelled to respond. Lawson's email is not an adequate census of the population's feelings about the billboard. This is obvious, but I'm just pointing out some tomfoolery when I see it.

Finally, Lawson says:

People are tired of a one sided debate and they'd really like to hear what God has to say about it

Now I think I have a good litmus test to apply to this scenario. Make a film depicting all of the sex in the bible, with the required response to each act and try to get ANYONE to publish it. I'm pretty sure that it would be less a sex education film and more of an extreme porn/snuff/ moral imposition film. It would be very unlikely that an honest representation would be permissable in any country unless it only cherry-picked the bits that would be considered respectable.

When it comes to sex education, the best source is well researched, scientifically based information presented gradually over a child's progression through school. The topics should be presented based on the child's ability to understand and think about the subjects that they are exposed to.

There is no rational basis to restrict the sexual activities of informed consenting adults acting in a way that does not impact on the rights of others.

Using the bible as a moral compass is almost definately going to complicate the issues.

and just for those who might be thinking 'that stuff is all old testament, it doesn't count'. Lawson is referring to the bible as a whole and at no point says that he is using specific books of the bible over others.

James Randi: Questioning the Bible

Divine Comedy

Jon Andrew Davis' 'Divine Comedy' exhibition is a collection of blasphemous, internet meme citing whimsical looks at religious topics.

Below are some gems...

By far my favourite is the Ghostbusters vs Jesus painting.

"I ain't 'fraid o no holy ghost!"



Then there's the Jonestown Cool Aid, with a splash of holy water to wash it down.

Nothing get's rid o' the demons like a jones and holy on the rocks!



Lending a sense of fun to choosing your brand of foolish idolatry is the Dartboard of blind faith.

Just don't stigmatize yourself with the darts!



And after a long, hard day's work there's nothing like the soft touch of a holy roley when you go for a Deuteronomy 23:13!

Finally I understand why it was written on scrolls!


Check out some more lighthearted blasphemy at the full Flickr set here

Are your morals in line with the bible?

Your morality is 0% in line with that of the bible.

Damn you heathen! Your book learnin' has done warped your mind. You shall not be invited next time I sacrifice a goat.

Do You Have Biblical Morals?
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I've gotta say, I'm quite proud of that score, though I think some of the questions may have been a little biased ;)

Thanks to gotcaffeine of This Blog Contains Caffeine