Is the Bible compatible with Western values?

Dutch YouTube series Dit Is Normaal recently conducted a social experiment that probably should be repeated throughout the West: They disguised a Christian Bible as The Holy Koran, and had people on the street read troubling passages within it:

The result is all kinds of troubling prejudice bubbling quickly to the surface:

What's compelling about this to me is that, as a Canadian, I've always felt an affinity for the Netherlands. (Perhaps that's how I ended up writing for a Dutch marketing blog!) Like Canadians, the Dutch pride themselves on being a tolerant and open-minded society. But I can imagine some of the same reactions happening on the streets of Ottawa.

The thing is, many of the world's religious texts were written in more violent and intolerant times. But as  L. P. Hartley wrote (in 1953) "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."

To take almost any ancient holy text literally, as a whole, and consider it a guide for modern living is religious extremism. And that's what we really need to be afraid of.

Angry evangelical Christian starts viral campaign for Starbucks

A former Arizona pastor named Joshua Feuerstein was angry that Starbucks' Christmas cups this year have no recognizable holiday motif with the exception of the colour red. He is also angry that (according to him) Starbucks employees are forbidden to use the phrase "Merry Christmas."

So he took to Facebook with this rant and a video (which you can watch here):

Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus ... SO I PRANKED THEM ... and they HATE IT!!!!  #share
Use #MERRYCHRISTMASSTARBUCKS
Follow --> Joshua Feuerstein
Posted by Joshua Feuerstein on Thursday, November 5, 2015

Not too bright, this fellow. But his post has been viewed more than 10 million times, and shared almost 400,000 times.

Which is really good for Starbucks.

After all, people will have to buy a Starbucks coffee to be able to pull off this "prank." Depending on the demographics of Mr. Feuerstein's followers, some might even be new customers. It's the exact opposite of a boycott, and the baristas will probably be mildly amused.

That is, as long as people don't bring their guns. That's just asinine.

The right way to mock #KimDavis' ignorant bigotry

I know, I know. She's an easy target. She's been married four times, with at least one marriage ending because of her infidelity. She has old-fashioned hair. And her husband dresses like the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz. (OK, I've been guilty of that one too!)

But if you really want to tell Kim Davis off for the hypocrisy of her so-called Biblical literalism, you need to knock off the personal attacks and take that literalism at face value.

That's how Planting Peace did it:

Twitter

I'm not sure they got the parallel right, though. If they are referring to Exodus 21:7 (“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do") it's more about slavery or indentured servitude than what we would call marriage. However, a DailyKos writer describes the same verse as "selling your daughter as a slave to be given to her owner or owner's son for sexual exploitation as a 'wife,' so I could be wrong.

There are lots of horrible definitions of marriage in the Bible, but perhaps this one was chosen for the pure absurdity of it in the modern west. But as far as I know, there is no real consistency of how marriage is defined in the Bible. Parts were written when polygamy was still standard, and others exhort married couples to ensure "the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral."

Of course, all of this is moot because Kim Davis doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. But it's such a shame that people like her have become the face of American Christianity in the 21st century. I'm not a believer, but I still believe that Jesus the philosopher was all about love and acceptance.

French design agency advertises job for someone who is "if possible not Jewish"

Via BBC

The BBC posted this screencap of a Graphic-Jobs.com job ad from a French design agency that included the line "Si possible pas juif(ve)" ("If possible not Jewish").

Yeah. It was soon removed.

NSL Studio says it must have been hacked and that the company "distances itself totally from all racist or anti-Semitic acts or statements".  Graphic-Jobs.com distanced itself, stating "we strongly condemn the nature of the content published by the agency NSL Studio."

 The damage is done, however. Racial discrimination is illegal in France, and SOS Racisme is apparently taking legal action.

Joke, troll or genuine hate, it's a sad comment in a country already rife with religious and ethnic violence.

Is this Cavalli logo an appropriated Sufi symbol?

Via The Fashion Law

See that fake tattoo on Georgia May Jagger's neck?

Okay, now mentally rotate it 90 degrees. What does it look like? To an entire sect of Sufi Muslims, it looks like this:

Via MTO

Followers of The Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi School of Sufi Islam are outraged at seeing their emblem in a sexualized advertising campaign. They've launched a Twitter hashtag campaign, #takeoffjustlogo, as well as a petition.



I have written frequently about the problem of commercial appropriation of cultural symbols. And I think I've established myself as a critic of Islamophobia. But as a branding professional, I think this outrage is completely mistaken.

The logo is clearly a stylized "JC" monogram. There is no extra elaboration. "Just" JC.

I firmly believe that the logo designer was completely unaware of any similarity with the Sufi symbol, and it takes a concerted effort to see it:

Via Allvoices

So what's the big deal? One of the anti-Cavalli campaign organizers, American doctoral student Nasim Bahadorani, said "We have this sign that to us represents blessed peace. It's a refuge … To see it disgraced like this for a company to make money is heartbreaking."

But really? There are only so many ways to create symbols in the world. As much as this one means to The Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi School, and as much as their religious sensibilities are real, this accidental sort-of similarity ranks pretty low in the problems of the world. At least in my opinion.

Cavalli can choose to withdraw the logo if they want to, and they may if they feel the bad PR will influence their key target audiences. But for now, the brand is appealing to the European Union's trademark and design authority, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM).

From Reuters:

"Roberto Cavalli SpA is deeply saddened by the distress expressed by the Sufist School students, but hopes that the sentence emitted by a competent authority such as the OHIM, will convince the Sufist religion of the complete good faith and the groundlessness of their requests," the company said this week in a statement.

Ironically, Roberto Cavalli was the subject of some much more warranted religious outrage back in 2004, when he produced a line of bikinis featuring classical Indian images of Hindu gods. Cavalli apologized and withdrew the swimwear from stores following protests in the UK.

Global advertisers just can't leave Christ The Redeemer alone

Via Adrants

Last week, it was Rai (Italy) and Sportsbet (Australia). Now it's Ladbrokes, a European online gambling site operating in UK, Ireland, Belgium and Spain.



According to Adrants' Steve Hall, The Archdiocese of Rio demanded the video be removed from YouTube and the advertiser complied. But by then, it had already been copied reposted by others.

The stunt is, of course, fake. But as I mentioned before, the Archdiocese owns the image rights to the statue, putting them in a position to sue advertisers who use it.

Christ The Redeemer in a soccer jersey provokes anger, possible lawsuits

Via abcnews.go.com

It's not the first (or the worst) example of Rio de Janeiro's monumental Christ The Redeemer statue being used in an ad campaign. But maybe the context of the World Cup has people particularly jumpy.

In one example, from Australia, involved a giant inflatable Jesus hovering over Melbourne, sporting a Team Australia soccer jersey with the logo of bookmaker Sportsbet and the hashtag #KEEPTHEFAITH.



While Australia is known for edgy advertising, this stunt upset Reverend Tim Costello, chair of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce. He told the press, "One of the great statues in Rio is Jesus, and Brazil is a Catholic nation that takes its faith seriously and its football fanatically."

Indeed, Brazil's church was deeply offended. But by another campaign that had Jesus join Team, Italia:

Via NY Daily News

NY Daily News reports that The Brazilian Catholic Church  threatened to sue Italian broadcaster Rai after it showed the statue in an Italian jersey in its promotional video for its coverage of the World Cup.



While this upset the The Archdiocese of Rio on religious grounds, the issue could actually be one of intellectual property. The Archdiocese has image rights over the statue. After they threatened to sue Rai for $5.4 million, the network pulled the ad.

My own sensitivities are not too bruised by poking fun at The Jesus, since he's so embedded in secular western culture. But the intellectual property argument for this particular representation could be a real headache for cheeky advertisers.

UPDATE: Ad Critic Joe La Pompe informs me that it is a well-worn old idea!

Church billboard quotes Hitler on children

The Columbus, Georgia, Ledger-Enquirer reports that this billboard was placed by Life Saver Ministries, a Christian organization that promises "to reach the weakest and the forgotten, the 'at risk' children from the roughest areas," apparently with the wisdom of Adolph Hitler as well as Proverbs 22:6.

The billboard went up last Friday in Auburn, Alabama, and has since been removed. "We are pulling the billboard and certainly never intended to cause confusion," Life Saver Ministries founder James Anderegg told the Ledger-Enquirer. "Herbert Hoover would have been a far better one to quote when he said, 'Children are our most valuable resource. We are a children’s organization and had honorable intentions and nothing less."

Umm... sure.

Christian college prof appears on beer label, gets canned

Daily Mail

Holy City Brewing is a microbrewery in Charleston, South Carolina. This is one of their beer labels.

Daily Mail

And this is Paul Roof, who until recently worked as an associate professor of sociology at a Christian liberal arts college in North Charleston.

Charleston Southern University apparently told Dr. Roof that appearing on a beer can was "not representative of a Christian environment" and they fired him.

He claims that the picture, which was taken at a beard competition, was used without his knowledge and without compensation. However, Dr. Roof has a longstanding relationship with the beer brand. According to live5news, he founded the Holy City Beard and Moustache Society in 2007, with Holy City Brewing as a name sponsor. Charleston Southern was aware of his relationship with the company, but didn't have an issue with it until now.

The professor told NBC, "I was told that it was not representative of a Christian environment. And for me a Christian environment entails two things: looking out for other people and forgiveness of others who've transgressed you."

Islamophobic ad featuring Hitler says "stop racism"

Oh, that's rich.

This is just the latest PR stunt by "The American Freedom Defense Initiative" a rabidly anti-Islam group that insists every single Muslim is a radical bent on genocide.

This ad, according to the Washington Post, features Adolf Hitler talking to Haj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem who supported the Holocaust.

AFDI claim their ads are a response to "the vicious Jew-hating ads … unleashed on Washington DC Metro buses last month.” by American Muslims for Palestine:

The AMP ad, reminding Americans that some of their tax money goes to Israeli aid, it certainly politically charged. But it just doesn't seem quite as over-the-top as the response.

Perhaps all sides of religious conflicts should make an agreement not to judge each other by the acts of their worst zealots, or the bloodthirsty and weird writings of their ancestors. We can debate US foreign policy until we're red, white, and blue in the face, but the only sure way to lose the argument is to succumb to Godwin's Law.

Dope-smoking Jesus hawks cheeseburgers

Adland's Kid Sleepy shared this dumb little attention-getter from Seattle with the comment, "Ads like this are designed only to shock. but that's the funny thing about shocks. The shock wears off quickly.. And shock value in terms of advertising equals a dingleberry."

I don't care much about the blasphemy, but is that cheese on that burger? It's Passover for God's sake! At least let Yeshua Ben Yosef eat kosher.

And now, we can forget we ever saw this.

"Jesus is Muslim" ads provoke Ohio Christians

According to Yahoo! (via Fox News, obviously) these boards are posted in Ohio. Who could possibly take issue?

 In a press release sent to Christian Newswire, [Christian radio host Dave] Daubenmire wrote, “Although we support the Islamic community's right to free speech, as well as their right to post messages on billboards, we do not support the hi-jacking of the name of Jesus Christ in their attempt to lure uninformed Christians into their religion.” Operation Save America was less diplomatic about the rally, writing on their website, “It appears that the Muslim community in Columbus, Ohio, is becoming increasingly arrogant in spreading its monstrous religion, with its false book, and its false prophet, right in the face of the Church of Jesus Christ in Columbus. It has purchased space on three billboards around the city spreading lies about the Gospel of Christ.”

Dave, you may want to look up "free speech". It's the same concept that lets "Operation Save America" spew their intolerance.

Ironically, the Ask A Muslim campaign is all about unity among the Abrahamic religions. On its web site, it says "Adam, Abraham, Jesus, Muhammed: One Message, One God". (However, later in the slide show, it also states rather exclusively "Islam: The Religion of The Only God".)

The Ask a Muslim site claims to invite discussion, saying "We believe that clearing up the many misconceptions about Islam will make this world a better place. A place with less violence and hatred, filled with mutual respect and understanding."



But in the end, this just seems to be an attempt to poke the bear of Christian fundamentalism in the United States by a brand of Islam that is equally intolerant of dissent. Makes me wish both groups would just "let god sort it out," since they're both into fatalism:

Sigh.

"Hula" STI app offends indigenous Hawaiians, plans to carry on regardless

Via Wikimedia

It's getting to the point where marketers are being challenges to rethink our causal brand appropriation of cultures — even when we mean no harm.

Case in point: The Hula app, "a free way to find STD testing, get the results on your phone, and share your verified STD status," has made some native Hawaiians angry.

From Global News:

An online petition is asking for the “Hula” app to change its name.  

...

The three college students who started the petition say they are not opposed to the app’s functions but don’t want to see the hula dance – a beloved cultural art form – exploited. 

“My culture is more than a tourist destination,” said Kelly Luis, a student at Columbia University. “It is more than a place to go for the summer. It’s more than just sexy hula girls on the beach. There is a culture there.”

The Change.org petition, which so far has just over 1200 signatures, details how Hula was a sacred art form that was suppressed by colonial missionaries, and is now degraded by sexualized portayals in popular culture.

Some protestors on the Hula Facebook page also bring up the supreme irony in naming an STD app after a Polynesian sacred rite. Following European contact in the late 1700s, venereal diseases introduced by foreign sailors decimated indigenous Pacific island nations. From the time of Captain Cook's landing in Hawaii in 1778 to 1853, the population of the islands fell from an estimated 300,000 to just 71,019.

Screencaps via Hula

I have no doubt that the people developing the Hula app and brand bore no ill will towards the Hawaiian people.

Global reports that the company posted the following on their Facebook page:

“We are in the process of learning more from your community, discussing internally and hope to address your concerns shortly.”

I can't seem to find it, however.

The company's CEO and founder, Ramin Bastani, told AP that he is going ahead with the brand name, but will stop using puns like "getting lei'd" because he "didn't realize that it was offensive."

Here's his story about the brand evolution:

The app was originally named Qpid.me, but it sounded too similar to a dating site and was changed to "Hula" because the company wanted to evoke a "sense of beauty and being relaxed," Bastani said. "It was a pop culture sense of the name." 

"We loved the idea of calm and beauty of anything Hawaiian," he said, "which is the antithesis of anything having to do with health care." 

Learning about Hawaiian culture has taught him that dancing hula is a "communication tool" used to pass on information among generations, Bastani said. "That plays very well with what we actually believe as the core of the company."

To be honest, I could have made the same mistake. It's really easy to see cultural traditions, which have been treated so superficially for so long in popular culture, as nothing more. And indeed, Hawaii itself has marketed a sexy, silly, version of Hula for some time.

This instance is not easy to be judgemental about. Native Hawaiians have the right to define what their cultural and religious properties mean to them, and are more than justified in being offended. At the same time, "mainstream" western culture has a tradition of treating its own religions irreverently.

The Hula people most likely believe that the controversy will blow over. In the meantime, they will probably actually benefit from the publicity, since everyone now knows who they are.

Meanwhile, the Hawaiian students have an international stage on which to start to redefine the way we perceive and treat indigenous cultures and their best-known rituals.

In a weird, cynical, marketing-world way, everyone kind of wins this one.

American Apparel touts "sweatshop-free" with a topless woman from Bangladesh

Via American Apparel

Of course they did. Maks is a Bengali-American woman who works in their merchandising department. Here's the copy (transcribed by Stylite):

Meet Maks 

She is a merchandiser who has been with American Apparel since 2010. Born in Dhaka, the capitol of Bangladesh, Maks vividly remembers attending mosque as a child alongside her conservative Muslim parents. At age four, her family made a life changing move to Marina Del Rey, California. Although she suddenly found herself a world away from Dhaka, she continued following her parent’s religious traditions and sustained her Islamic faith throughout her childhood. Upon entering high school, Maks began to feel the need to forge her own identity and ultimately distanced herself from Islamic traditions. A woman continuously in search of new creative outlets, Maks unreservedly embraced this photo shoot. 

She has found some elements of Southern California culture to be immediately appealing, but is striving to explore what lies beyond the city’s superficial pleasures. She doesn’t feel the need to identify herself as an American or a Bengali and is not content to fit her life into anyone else’s conventional narrative. That’s what makes her essential to the mosaic that is Los Angeles, and unequivocally, a distinct figure in the ever expanding American Apparel family. Maks was photographed in the High Waist Jean, a garment manufactured by 23 skilled American workers in Downtown Los Angeles, all of whom are paid a fair wage and have access to basic benefits such as healthcare.

How many buttons can AA push with one ad? They take a shot at the competition, like Gap, who were implicated in worker abuse and deaths in Bangladeshi sweatshops. They continue the sexual exploitation of young, attractive, female employees in their ads. They use this woman's ethnicity as a prop. They have a go at traditional Muslim notions of modesty. And, of course, they have everyone talking about them again.

I have no idea where this ad has been placed, or even if the advertiser feels the need to throw any media money at it. It's posted on their site, and has been covered by Elle, NY Daily News, Jezebel, The Daily Beast, SMH, HuffPo, Daily Mail, and elsewhere. Just more proof that the internet gives us the collective intelligence of a hamster in heat.

Nina Agdal's breasts promote Lentburger

Video tip via Burger Business

While exploiting women's sexuality to sell fast food is nothing new for Carl's Jr./Hardee's, there are some things else worth mentioning in this one:



That's 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model Nina Agdal and her Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Sandwich.

Atlantic cod is a problematic fish. Once a staple of northern Atlantic nations, the cod population has collapsed on the North American side. The European population, with the exception of "the northeast Arctic, Iceland, Baltic and Celtic Sea" is considered overfished. Fortunately, this source quotes Hardee's (CJ's eastern counterpart) saying that their fish "comes from 100 percent sustainable fisheries in the Icelandic Exclusive Economic Zone."

That's a relief. But there's another interesting backstory to this promotion. Apparently, the reason you see so many fish burgers promoted in the late winter is because of Lent. From Ash Wednesday to Easter Eve, many pious Christians (especially Catholics) symbolically fast by giving up meat and other rich foods. Fish, which was not considered "meat" in the Middle Ages, became the go-to protein during this several-week abstinence.

Think this is an obscure motivation for a fast food marketing program? Here's a Time Magazine article from last year:

McDonald’s isn’t the only quick-serve chain that’s chosen the early part of the calendar year to launch a big fish initiative. This week, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s introduced the Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Sandwich at all locations around the country. The company announced the new sandwich was aimed directly at consumers tweaking their diets during Lent, and also folks concerned about eating more healthfully in the new year:

“For almost half-a-century, whenever fast food customers wanted to get a fish sandwich during Lent, they had one choice: fried,” said Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. “With our new Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Sandwich, we’ve changed all that. For the first time in the industry, our guests can get a premium-quality fish sandwich that tastes great and is lower in calories because we charbroil it just like we do our burgers.”

Piety, abstinence, sexual voyeurism, and dieting.  It all makes sense together. At least, in the United States it does.

This Mormon morality video is all kinds of awkward

This bizarre video, produced for male students at Brigham Young University, is making the rounds of social media. It's awkward, it's painfully slow, and it's actually kind of offensive when you consider how a serious issue such as the mental health of veterans is being exploited to try to convince young men to help their friends stop looking at porn and touching themselves sexually:



The voiceover, according to Business Insider, is delivered by Brigham Young University-Idaho President Kim B. Clark.

I don't have much to add to the internet mockery free-for-all that this video well deserves, except to share the unintentionally hilarious "about" description from the official YouTube channel:

Ontario Catholic schools play "holier than thou"

Update: The video has been removed from the official YouTube channel. The replacement embed is from the Globe and Mail.

Whenever I get into smug internet arguments with Americans about their religious craziness, I am always afraid they'll trot out an obvious problem with Canada's secular la la land. That problem is publicly-funded Catholic schools.

The reason for their existence is complex, and has to do with Canada's history as a state of compromises. In our early days, both the Anglican and the Roman Catholic churches received land and special rights — including separate education systems. This was partly because Canada was essentially a French colony conquered by the English, and religious, linguistic and legal accommodations had to be made to keep the place together. As well, Canada had large populations of Anglophone Catholics who regularly fought with their Protestant neighbours.

Education is under provincial jurisdiction in Canada, and in Ontario the "Protestant" school system evolved into a secular public system, while the Catholic one remained religious. This has caused continuing debate in Ontario, but the provincial parties tend to shy away from addressing the issue. It is interesting to note, however, that in the recent teacher labour disruptions the Catholic elementary school union was quick to accept a deal from the Premier while the public teacher's union fought long and hard. Another compromise for continued support?

I won't get into all the reasons why I believe that separate religious education needs to be ended in Ontario as soon as possible. In skipping over this, I hope I don't cause too much offence among friends who have graduated from the system, and have sent or are sending their children to it. I'm not judging you, I'm just pointing out that the separate system goes against the secular nature of our modern world, and having parallel boards of education is a massive waste of taxpayer money when the government tells us they can't afford the status quo.

This is an advertising blog, so obviously this short rant was inspired by an ad. Here it is:



There are lots of things that bother me about this video, but the worst thing about it is how it directly attacks the public system by claiming the religious values in Catholic schools make them "better."

Michael Barrett, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, is quoted in the Globe and Mail:

“There’s certainly always been a partnership that exists between the two boards, and I think that the message that is being sent certainly would indicate that the public school board somehow does not have a values-based education because it’s not religion-based. I find it hard to believe that the only way you can have a values-based education is indeed within that context.”

Me too. And I'm further annoyed that school systems are spending their funds to compete with each other for students. Yet another waste resulting from clinging to outdated educational separatism.

Disclosure: I am married to a public school teacher.

Is this the most dangerous ad of all time?

We complain quite often about ads that reinforce stereotypes, sexually objectify people, and promote bad lifestyle choices. But if a conspiracy-minded blogger is to be believed, this Vodaphone ad from Egypt may be at a completely different plane of evil:



Aljazeera describes the ad scenario, starring starring well-known puppet Abla Fahita:

Fahita and her daughter Karkoura search for her deceased husband's sim card, while explaining to her friend over the phone about another character "Mama Touta." In the background, a radio anchor explains how to make "stuffed turkey'' for Christmas while sitting next to a cactus from which ball ornaments were dangling. 

She said she asked the building guards to get a sniffer dog of a shopping mall to search for missing things and gets money in return.

Weird idea for an ad anyway,  but it gets weirder.

A pro-Mubarak, blogger, Ahmed “Spider," reported to Egypt's prosecutor general that the ad contained a coded message from the Muslim Brotherhood, including details of an upcoming terror attack at an unspecified shopping mall:

Spider explained the alleged code on the Al-Tahrir network on Tuesday night: the mall and the dog refer to the planned site of the attack, and "Mama Touta" is the Brotherhood's secret name. 

"The dog, garage, guard, mall and next to us these are elements tell us that there will be a big mall and an explosion after a dog fails to find the bomb in a car," Spider said. 

... 

His lawyer told another TV network, el-Faraeen, that an ornament on the cactus refers to the bomb. The cactus has four branches referring to Muslim Brotherhood group's Rabaah sign, commemorating the victims of a deadly crackdown on a protest camp held next to Rabaah el-Adawiya mosque in eastern Cairo. Rabaah is Arabic for "fourth" and is also a name.

Vodaphone described the accusations as "irrational," telling the Associated Press, "The advertisement carries no other meaning and any other interpretation other than that is mere imagination or personal opinion of some of the audience."

Prosecutors are investigating the allegations. This could get interesting, or it could be nothing. But at least 2014 is starting with some interesting advertising news.

The War on Yule

Image via

My friends, some of our oldest traditions are under attack. The faith that sustained generations of our ancestors through the long, dark winter nights is falling victim to the forces of "political correctness" that say there is no place for religion in public. They won't be happy until the only answer to "is nothing sacred?" is YES!

Via

That's right, I'm taking about the War on Yule. I was just at my son's school "holiday concert" this week, and they seemed to take great pains to avoid talking about any of the things that make Yule cool: There was no mention of Yuletide, no gigantic burning log, and not even one song about throwing a virgin in the bog for Mōdraniht. What the Hellmouth?

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for other religions. I would fight to the death to defend the gods-given right of my Druidic neighbours to burn their enemies in giant wicker statues, or my Olympian friends to anoint themselves with olive oil, tie up their foreskins, and do a public workout in the nude. It's a free country!

But some people hate our freedom. Just this week, Pope Francis of the Roman Catholics referred to paganism as "not nice". That's antipaganism! 

His people are quite happy to appropriate the traditions of the great holiday of Yule from "not nice" people — the tree, the mistletoe, the fire — without really understanding the reason for the season: binge drinking,  animal sacrifice and decking the halls (and ourselves) with the still-warm blood of the slain:

It was ancient custom that when sacrifice was to be made, all farmers were to come to the heathen temple and bring along with them the food they needed while the feast lasted. At this feast all were to take part of the drinking of ale. Also all kinds of livestock were killed in connection with it, horses also; and all the blood from them was called hlaut, and hlautbolli, the vessel holding the blood; and hlautteinar, the sacrificial twigs. These were fashioned like sprinklers, and with them were to be smeared all over with blood the pedestals of the idols and also the walls of the temple within and without; and likewise the men present were to be sprinkled with blood. 

Doesn't that bring back wonderful Yuletide memories? I can almost smell it. But perhaps soon, our children won't know the visceral pleasure of the holiday slaughter. It's a bloody crime.

You know who's behind this, don't you? The Atheists. Just look at what they're trying to ram down our children's throats:

Via

Via

I'm not buying any of it. If I want to wish people a "Good Yule" on the sacred solstice, I'll keep doing so, godsdammit! If we let these unbelievers sanitize our holidays, what's next? Will they take the gods out of the days of the week? I grew up with Tīw's Day, Woden's Day, Thor's Day and Frigg's Day, and I'll be damned if secular humanists will destroy our most beloved and sacred traditions:

Good Yule, dear readers. And Merry Christmas. Stay warm, stay safe, and don't take yourselves too seriously.

Terrifying demon child defends Christmas

 St. Mary's Church, a Catholic congregation in New Jersey, recently released this bizarre and confusing PSA about the "War on Christmas":



It was actually aired on Fox News and MSNBC. Its equally confusing YouTube description states, "Happiness can be expressed through a smile or a religion. Will negative people try controlling the way we smile next?"

The narrator, Jim Flood, sounds a little like Leonard Nimoy. And the girl, whose name is kept secret (thankfully) sounds like a banshee from the darkest depths of superstition.

Here's two of their other contributions to the weird video literature of religious fundamentalism: