Vatican Offers Heaven For Twitter Follows

I've seen some interesting ways people have attempted to get more Twitter followers^[1].  And I've seen all kinds of bullshit by religion^[2].  Now I've seen them together^[3].

In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets.

The church's granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.

The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.

It's immoral enough to tell people they'll be punished after they die.  It's even more immoral to tell them they'll still be so punished if they follow all the rules of the religion.  These so called "indulgences" aren't indulgences.  It's not like they're ways for people to indulge in things they wouldn't otherwise.  They're just bread crumbs to throw to your religion's followers to get them to do things you want them to.

And now the Vatican is using them for something as petty as getting followers for the Pope on Twitter^[4].  What the fuck, Vatican?  You've stooped to using the power of your massive church to get a bigger Klout^[5] score?

I'm on Twitter^[6] too, but I promise nothing to people for following me.  Not even a follow back, even though it's likely to happen as long as you're a real person and not a douchebag.  As a side note, the article states he's got more than 7 million followers, but it's only 2.6 million.

But back to this bullshit about indulgences.  They offer these things for a variety of things^[7].  As far as I can tell, turning in a priest for molesting a child isn't among them.  Apparently their god is more concerned about getting the Pope more followers than Bieber^[8] & Gaga^[9] than protecting children from being raped or punishing the sick fucks who raped children.

If evil exists, the Vatican is it.

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1.  http://gawker.com/5826960/update-only-92-of-newt-gingrichs-twitter-followers-are-fake
2.  Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless
3.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/16/vatican-indulgences-pope-francis-tweets
4.  https://twitter.com/Pontiffex
5.  http://klout.com/#/Pontifex
6.  https://twitter.com/aparticularA
7.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence#Actions_for_which_indulgences_are_granted
8.  https://twitter.com/justinbieber
9.  https://twitter.com/ladygaga

Sunday Morning Shares - 05-26-2013

Here's the links & tweets to share from the last week.  It's a day later than normal, but I suspect that didn't traumatize anyone.  Most were also shared on this Facebook page or retweeted.  Please add any fun or informative stories I missed in the comments.

Random Stuff:

(via @mashable)

(via No Hope For the Human Race)

(via I Must Geek Out)

Has Photoshop Gone Too Far? (via Zach)

10 Life Lessons from Calvin & Hobbes (via Sarah & Ivy)

(via Ivy & The Dangers of Baby Training)

(via @mashable)

(via @mashable)

Religion Stuff:

‘I’m Actually An Atheist’ Shirts Being Sold to Help Out Atheist Who Spoke to Wolf Blitzer (via @hemantmehta)

The abusive theology of “deserved” tragedy… (via New York City Atheists)

(via Atheist Mingle)

Gay Stuff:

Kids in the Hall Alum Scott Thompson on Hannibal and Why Being Gay Is Now Boring (via Kids in the Hall)

Political Stuff:

Maddow: Real Benghazi scandal is how media got played by GOP ‘sources’ (via Ken)

Pope blames tyranny of capitalism for making people miserable

(via @GoAngelo)

Ron Lindsay & Women in Secularism 2:

An Open Letter to Ron Lindsay

An Open Letter to the Center for Inquiry

The Silencing of Men

Tone Policing Only Goes One Way (via Vyckie)

Statement of Objection to Center for Inquiry CEO Ron Lindsay's Actions Regarding Feminism

Secular Coalition of America's Weekly Update:

National Secular Movement Update Call (05/23/2013)

Asshole Of The Week:

I'm not worried about my son becoming gay. I'm worried about him living in a society that doesn't recognize it as a sin.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) May 23, 2013

Reddit Porn:

(via /r/MilitaryPorn)

Louis CK Learns About The Catholic Church

My favorite bit on religion was done by Louis CK, who I've never seen identify himself as atheist.  I've barely even seen him say or do anything that suggested he might be atheist.  I know a few people who've never seen this video, even though it's at least 5 years old.  So I thought it was worth sharing here^[1].

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1.  http://youtu.be/VABSoHYQr6k

Saturday Morning Shares - 03-23-2013

Here's the links & tweets to share from the last week.  Most were also shared on this Facebook page or retweeted.  Please add any fun or informative stories I missed in the comments.

Random Stuff:

(via George Takei)

Science!:

There Are Whales Alive Today Who Were Born Before Moby Dick Was Written (via Sarah)

Two ships passing in the night: neuroscience and social media (via @Alyssa_Milano)

Shorter-winged swallows evolve around highways (via Mark)

Secular Coalition of America's Weekly Update:

National Secular Movement Update Call (03/21/2013)

Religion Stuff:

The High School Performing a Play About ‘Adam and Steve’ Isn’t Being Anti-Christian (via @hemantmehta)

(via Atheism)

Cardinal asserts that child raping priests shouldn’t be punished. (via @jteberhard)

Frans de Waal's Bottom-Up Morality: We're Not Good Because Of God (via Omaha Coalition of Reason)

(via @tsh1118)

An Increasing Number of Atheist and Agnostic Alcoholics Anonymous Groups Are Altering the Twelve Steps (via @hemantmehta)

Digital Bible Reaches 100 Million Listeners (via @mashable)

Atheist Student Questioned By Police For Being an Atheist (via Kansas City Atheist Coalition (KCAC))

Expert: Gay Rights Opponents Misrepresenting Religious Liberty

(via @jteberhard)

ACT NOW:  Tell your Senators not to use your taxpayer money to fund religious schools! (via @OmahaCoR)

Pope Stuff:

Geography of the Conclave: Where Do the Cardinals Come From? (via @ZacharyNelson)

(via Rational Hub)

Asshole Of The Week:

Christians Defending The Bible Tend To Fail

I like Penn Jillette, but I do often find myself disagreeing with him.  Particularly when he's espousing especially libertarian views or defending Glenn Beck^[1] When I saw the title of this article, "Atheist Penn Jillette Defends the Pope and Catholic Orthodoxy"^[2], I was expecting to disagree with him once again.

Disagreement with Jillette is far from what I found, because defense for the Pope isn't really what he was doing.  He took one of my favorite stances in regards to the bad behavior of Christians.  By pointing out that such reprehensible behavior is actually in line with the Bible, it puts Christians in the awkward position of choosing between defending the despicable and admitting that the Bible is flawed.

Either way, the opposition to Christianity wins.  That's the funny thing about defending an incorrect position.  It's quite difficult to do without looking like a fool and hurting the very thing you were attempting to protect.

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1.

2.  http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2013/03/07/atheist-penn-jillette-defends-the-pope-and-catholic-orthodoxy/

Progress From The Vatican

My response to the announcement of the Pope's resignation^[1] was not optimistic.  But then I saw a post^[2] showing that they might be nominating the first Black Pope^[3].

He's responded to the problems the Vatican faces.

Pope Benedict's eight-year papacy saw controversies over paedophile priests, a tense relationship with the Muslim world, and the conviction of his butler for stealing documents that revealed corruption at the top of the Vatican.

"[We need] to relevantly address issues and the credibility of our own ministry and leadership," said Cardinal Turkson. "The Church, if you adopt the imagery of a boat, is going through quite a bit of a storm and it does not appear to be over yet," he said.

"In Europe, churches are getting empty, the population appears not to relate much to the Church and to religion and all of that –that is an issue to deal with. In the new churches, Latin America, Africa and Asia, where the Church appears to be growing there is also the challenge of being able to maintain membership. Whoever succeeds Benedict will not lack challenges and they are an invitation to creativity and innovation."

He's addressed anti-gay bills in Africa^[4], like, Uganda's controversial "Kill the gays" bill, . .

Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said some of the sanctions imposed on homosexuals in Africa are an “exaggeration,” but argued that the “intensity of the reaction is probably commensurate with tradition.”

Referring to the issue of stigma surrounding homosexuality in Africa, the cardinal said it is important to understand the reasons behind it. “Just as there’s a sense of a call for rights, there’s also a call to respect culture, of all kinds of people,” he said. “So, if it’s being stigmatized, in fairness, it’s probably right to find out why it is being stigmatized.”

Moreover, the cardinal called for a distinction to be made between moral issues and human rights.

“We [the Church] push for the rights of prisoners, the rights of others; and the last thing we want to do is infringe upon the rights of anyone. But when you’re talking about what’s called ‘an alternative lifestyle,’ are those human rights?” the cardinal said. “He [Ban ki-moon] needs to recognize there’s a subtle distinction between morality and human rights, and that’s what needs to be clarified.”

 . . by suggesting that making being gay a crime punishable by death isn't a violation of human rights.

So what if a man they're considering for Pope thinks the problems the Catholic Church faces are the declining membership, not the epidemic of pedophiles in their priesthood; and it's a possibility the next Pope doesn't think it's a human right to not be killed for being gay.  But at least he's not another white guy.  Progress for the Vatican is a tricky thing.

Maybe the Pope after next will be someone who's not a hateful piece of shit.  Or maybe at least sometime before the 22nd Century.

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1.  Same Shit, New Pope
2.  Found on Hammer the Gods
3.  Cardinal Peter Turkson, Possible Pope Successor, Has Defended Legislation Like Uganda's 'Kill The Gays' Bill
4.  Cardinal Responds to U.N.'s Criticism of Africa's Social Policies

Some Other Takes On The Pope's Resignation

Writing my previous post was depressing.  So here's some less serious responses to today's news.

Atheism Unleashed

Religion Poisons Everything

The Aussie Atheist

Tom Joad

Atheists and Rational Thinkers

Atheists and Rational Thinkers

Atheism Resource

Occupy Bacon

And last, but not least, there's the always spot on Onion:  Resigning Pope No Longer Has Strength To Lead Church Backward

Same Shit, New Pope

I share JT Eberhard's disdain for Joseph Ratzinger^[1]. He's a terrible person who's done the world terrible harm. He's probably the only person in the world who's done the world more harm after being a Nazi than while he was.

I hold no optimism that his resignation^[2] will improve the Catholic Church. Their hate, lies about condoms^[3][4][5][6], protection of pedophiles^{[7][8][9][10][11]}, and shitty treatment of women^[12][13][14] aren't limited to just that one man. It's institutional. At best, the next Pope will be marginally better than this one.

The Vatican will continue getting Africans killed, and its members will continue to defend that despicable behavior^[15]. It will continue its efforts to suppress women's rights^[16]. It will continue to protect those who rape children.  It will continue to be bigoted toward homosexuals^[17][18][19], Jews^{[20][21][22][23]}, and sometimes both at once^[24].

It will continue to be the kind of organization who had a questionable relationship with the Nazis^{[25][26][27][28][29]}, was later led by one^[30], and has done more harm to world than even they did.

It will continue being one of the most evil organizations^[31] in the history of the world.  Just with a different monster running it, pretending to be infallible while pushing clearly fallible nonsense.

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1.  The Pope is resigning. Good.
2.  Pope Benedict XVI to resign citing poor health
3.  Pope claims condoms could make African Aids crisis worse
4.  Vatican renews condom criticism
5.  Vatican newspaper article says condom campaigns increase AIDS risk
6.  The Catholic Church versus HIV/AIDS in Africa
7.  Catholic order had 'pedophile ring' in Vic
8.  Head of Catholic Bishops Paid Pedophiles to Disappear
9.  The Catholic church really is full of pedophiles.
10.  Catholic sex abuse cases - Wikipedia
11.  A smoking gun letter reveals Vatican directly ordered pedophiles be protected
12.  Proper Dress and Behavior for Catholic Women
13.  The Vatican's War on Women
14.  Vatican Reaffirms: Women's Ordination Invalid
15.  What Impact Does Catholic Teaching Have on AIDS in Africa?
16.  Vatican Crackdown On Nuns Over Social Justice Issues, Women Ordination
17.  The Vatican hates gays
18.  Vatican article likens gay marriage to communism
19.  Vatican Launches 'Anti-Gay Media Blitz,' Compares Gay Marriage To Polygamy, Polyandry
20.  Jewish outrage greets Vatican 'anti-Semitism' remarks
21.  Vatican embracing anti-Semitism?
22.  The Vatican's Shameful Secret
23.  Cables: Anti-semitism in the Vatican
24.  Vatican: Homosexuality And Jews Caused Pedophilia Scandal
25.  Red Cross and Vatican helped thousands of Nazis to escape
26.  Catholic Church and Nazi Germany
27.  Vatican City during World War II
28.  The Vatican Made Nazism Possible in Germany and Croatia
29.  Archbishop Orsenigo Celebrates Hitler’s Birthday
30.  Was Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) A Nazi? Why Join the Hitler Youth?
31.  Richard Dawkins on the Catholic Church