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.

The best (accidental) equal rights PSA you will see today

This refreshingly cool video, shared by It's ok to be Takei, works as a spontaneously-generated PSA:



It's a great answer to those who believe evolving social norms, particularly when it comes to equal marriage rights, will somehow corrupt the young.

That's just not how kids' minds work. As each new generation faces the new social reality, they learn the new "normal" effortlessly, while the rest of us struggle to unlearn our prejudices.

For example, my son has a friend at school with two dads. When I first met him in the schoolyard, and I was trying to make arrangements with his parents for a playdate, I gave him a note and told him to give it to his mom.

"I don't have a mom," he said matter-of-factly. "I have two dads."

"...well, give it to one of your dads, then."

"OK!"

Sadly, this is also a reminder of why significant social change takes decades to achieve. It requires generational turnover to fully reset perceptions.

Getting medieval on social marketing

Flashing, sexting, girls kissing girls just for the attention, drinking and smoking dope 'til you pass out or puke...

Artist Erin M. Riley has woven cautionary life lessons for young women into a very, very old medium — tapestry:

I love the juxtaposition of modern vices with classic artisanship. It's like a Bayeux Tapestry of fail. You can see more of Erin's work at her Flikr.

Link via The Buzz Brewery