Skeptikeren

fredag, desember 05, 2008

Typecast - Japan's obsession with blood groups

Failed yet another job interview? Unable to meet the right man or woman? Don't blame your parents. Or society. The source of your suffering is your blood type.

The idea that blood type defines our personality, temperament and ability to mingle is routinely dismissed as nonsense, but that has not stopped four books on the subject from occupying Japan's top 10 bestseller list for the past year.

Instruction Manual for People with Type B Blood and follow-up titles - which offer life-changing tips on everything from career moves to romance for types A, O and AB - have together sold 5m copies so far this year, the book's distributor Tohan said yesterday.

Mainly bought by twenty- and thirtysomething women, the books reflect Japan's obsession with blood typology.

Blood types are cited as a factor in any thing from a colleague's quick temper to an inability to secure a coveted job or the affections of a prospective lover.

Link

Jihadist forum calls for 'YouTube Invasion'

A jihadist forum has urged supporters to wage a "YouTube Invasion" by uploading propaganda videos to the popular video-sharing website, the SITE Intelligence Group has claimed.

Link

Nigeria 'child witch killer' held

Police in south-east Nigeria have arrested a man who claimed to have killed 110 child "witches".

"Bishop" Sunday Ulup-Aya told a documentary film team he "delivered" children from demonic possession.

But after his arrest, he reportedly told the police he had only killed the "witches" inside, not the children.

Child rights campaigners say children are frequently abandoned, hideously injured and even murdered because their families believe they are witches.

Link

Straight Talk with guest James Randi

James Randi promotes "Flim Flam"

onsdag, desember 03, 2008

2012

fra skepsis.no:

Over et år etter at Skepsis publiserte Egil Asprems artikkel om mayakalenderne - Hva er spesielt med 2012? - er den fortsatt en soleklar nr.1 på listen over besøkte artikler. Sist måned ble den besøkt 4770 ganger. Vår andre publikasjon om 2012, Sacha Defesches The 2012 phenomenon klokket inn på rett under 1000 besøk, men har ellers vært én av få som har kunnet konkurrere på mengden besøk en og annen måned.

Kort sagt: 2012-spådommer begynner å bli såpass aktuelt at nysgjerrigheten er stor. Og da googler folk. Så det er satt i gang en liten aksjon for å få flest mulig til å lenke til Skeptoids episode om 2012. Dermed vil flere som googler 2012 komme til et fornuftig sted. Det er selvfølgelig en enkel glede å bidra.

Gay Bible angers Christians

A gay version of the Bible, in which God says it is better to be gay than straight, is to be published by an American film producer.

New Mexico-based Revision Studios will publish The Princess Diana Bible – so named because of Diana's "many good works", it says – online at princessdianabible.com in spring 2009. A preview of Genesis is already available, in which instead of creating Adam and Eve, God creates Aida and Eve.

"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Aida, and she slept: and he took one of her ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from woman, made he another woman, and brought her unto the first. And Aida said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of me. Therefore shall a woman leave her mother, and shall cleave unto her wife: and they shall be one flesh.' And they were both naked, the woman and her wife, and were not ashamed."

The film studio said it would also adapt and direct the revised Bible as a two-part mini-series, The Gay Old Testament and The Gay New Testament, once it is completed.

Link

Tredje desember

I hvillket år ble Jesus født?

I fra infidels.org:

It is beyond reasonable dispute that Luke dates the birth of Jesus to 6 A.D. It is equally indisputable that Matthew dates the birth of Jesus to 6 B.C. (or some year before 4 B.C.). This becomes an irreconcilable contradiction after an examination of all the relevant facts.

Andre linker:

JewishEncyclopedia
Wikipedia

tirsdag, desember 02, 2008

Louis Theroux Law and Disorder in Philadelphia

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Andre desember

Er skikken med å ha juletre gammel?

I fra Wikipedia:

I 1850- og 60-årene ble juletreet kjent i byene i Norge og hos enkelte barnefamilier i bygdene, men det var først etter 1900 at juletreskikken slo gjennom, da skolelærere begynte å arrangere juletrefester. På noen isolerte steder kom den ikke før i 1930, og enkelte steder møtte skikken kraftig motstand av religiøse grunner. I Nord-Norge så f.eks. læstadianerne på juletreet som stor synd.

mandag, desember 01, 2008

The 'Witch-Children' of Akwa Ibom

NOT enough outrage has greeted the broadcast of the documentary, "Saving Africa's Witch Children" by the UK Channel 4 on November 12, the material is available on the internet, the horror and the scandal contained therein are being circulated world-wide. Weeks later, there has been no report of any meaningful response to the horrific details of that documentary by the Akwa Ibom State Government, the Federal Government and the security agencies, other than that the Child Rights Bill has now been passed into law in Akwa Ibom State.

Very few electronic materials in the last decade, have done as much damage to Nigeria's image as this documentary. It is a factual portrayal of the failure of the Nigerian state, the entrapment of the people in a shell of superstition and hysteria, the absolutely low value of human life in Nigeria, the abuse of Nigeria's children and the opportunism of religious charlatans who lie, kill and cheat in God's name. Covering the plight of children who are dubbed "witches" in Akwa Ibom, the documentary tells a familiar Nigerian story.

It begins on an appropriately instructive note: "Say Amen, Amen, Say Amen, Amen." A Christian worship is in session. The substance of the documentary is how so-called religious leaders - Pastors, priests and self-styled Bishops engage in exorcism as they spread a scary gospel about the existence of evil and witchcraft in the Akwa Ibom community. This has led to mass delusion and hysteria in parts of the state with children, mostly being accused of witchcraft.

The children are exposed to all forms of dehumanization. One had a nail driven into her skull. Another was given poison to drink. Many were set on fire. Innocent-looking young children including babies under the age of seven are stigmatized and driven away by their parents and relations. Other parents take their children to churches where a Pastor declares the child a witch or wizard, who is in need of deliverance.

Link

Hey…a little respect

Første desember

Hva betyr advent?

I fra Wikipedia:

Advent er en kristen årstid som markerer forberedelse til juletiden. Navnet kommer fra latin Adventus (Redemptoris), «(Herrens) ankomst». Første søndag i advent er første dag i kirkeåret.

I ortodokse kirker begynner advent 15. november, og varer i 40 dager. I andre kirker begynner den på søndagen som er nærmest festen for St. Andreas (30. november), og varer fram til jul. Fjerde søndag i advent kan da falle på julaften.

Det er usikkert når kristne begynte å markere adventstiden. Den tidligste referansen man ser til at det er noe spesielt med tiden før jul er fra et konsil i Saragossa i 380, der det forbys å være fraværende fra kirken i de tre ukene mellom 17. desember og Herrens åpenbaring (Epifani), 6. januar. Den første helt sikre henvisningen er fra synoden i Lerida i 524. Den ble da fastlagt som starten på kirkeåret.

Den ble tidligere markert som fastetid i alle kirker, men dette er ikke lenger universelt. I den katolske kirke er den fortsatt en faste- og botstid, men med mindre strenge regler enn fastetiden før påske. I ortodokse kirker er det strengere, og den kalles der ofte vinterfasten. Protestantiske kirker og den anglikanske kirke markerer den i liten grad som faste- og botstid.

I kirker som bruker liturgiske farger er adventsfargen fiolett, som tradisjonelt er en botsfarge. I den katolske kirke kalles tredje søndag i advent Domenica Gaudéte, «Gled dere-søndagen», og denne dagen kan rosa brukes som liturgisk farge.

Tradisjonen med å markere adventstidens gang ved å tenne lys hver av de fire søndagene er gammel, men det er usikkert når den ble innført. En myte forteller om en tysk dame som ville lage en kalender for sin funksjonshemmede sønn, som gledet seg sånn til jul. Hun fant opp adventstaken, og tente lys for å telle ned til jul (iflg. Terje Nordby forfatter av Mytekalender Vinter og programleder av Mytekalender på NRK P2). Adventskransen består av fire lys (moderne adventsstaker har ofte fire lys ved siden av hverandre), hvor ett tennes første søndag, to andre søndag osv.

Disney accused by Catholic cleric of corrupting children's minds

A leading Catholic cleric has launched a fierce attack on Disney, claiming it has corrupted children and encouraged greed.

Christopher Jamison, the Abbot of Worth in West Sussex, has accused the corporation of "exploiting spirituality" to sell its products and of turning Disneyland into a modern day pilgrimage site.

He argues that it pretends to provide stories with a moral message, but has actually helped to create a more materialistic culture.

In a guide to helping people find happiness, the abbot, who starred in the hit-BBC series The Monastery, warns that society is in danger of losing its soul because of growing consumerism and the decline of religion.

He suggests that many people have become obsessed with work, sex and eating in an attempt to ignore their underlying unhappiness, and criticises corporations and industries that have benefited from promoting false notions of fulfilment.

Link

For en gangs skyld er jeg enig med en prest.

The Skeptic Zone Podcast

Richard Saunders is Vice President of Australian Skeptics and producer of "The Skeptic Zone Podcast" www.skepticzone.tv He delights in teaching critical thinking to children and was a guest speaker at TAM 6 and Dragon*Con 2008.

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