Vox Day, the reactionary fantasy author and pickup guru who was recently expelled from the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America , has convinced himself that education for women leads to “demographic implosion” because uppity educated women don’t have enough babies.
Indeed, Vox — real name, Theodore Beale — is convinced that education for women is such a bad thing that he actually thinks that “the Taliban may not, in fact, be the stupid ones with regards to this particular matter.”
By this he means not only that they’re right to keep girls out of schools, but that they’re also probably justified in shooting teenage girls for the terrible crime of speaking up publicly in favor of education for girls like themselves.
No, really:
[I]n light of the strong correlation between female education and demographic decline, a purely empirical perspective on Malala Yousafzai, the poster girl for global female education, may indicate that the Taliban’s attempt to silence her was perfectly rational and scientifically justifiable.
It’s quite telling that it is the “shooting-girls-in-the-head” issue that turns Beale — a right-wing evangelical Christian — into something of a fan of the Taliban.
@Argenti – well you could still have your fun! Just as a backstop when the trolls get boring, we’d send them off into the wilderness of the intartoobz to find another troll! Everyone wins!
Works for me!
And, speaking as an American, I hate all things salty. Gets interesting seeing how it’s in EVERYTHING.
Inb4 smart asses with gutter brains, yes, all things.
::snicker::
Even the tears of the poor oppressed white menz?
I like spitz and pretzels, and popcorn if it’s more buttery than salty… Buttered popcorn with chocolate drizzled over it is fucking delicious.
Fi, gotta bake them into something first?
There’s a cookbook for you — Baking with the Tears of Oppressed White Men
Fi’s right, Argenti, surely you’d make an exception for the delicious salt of dudebro tears?
Ninjaed! 😀
I dunno if there’s enough recipes in the world for that never ending supply…
Think of it this way, one would never starve.
Out of all this debate about religion – which I didn’t understood fully – I noticed that this guy brings the argument of “demographic implosion” as currently the world is experiencing a demographic explosion. Obviously this is nonsense. If we are already seven big billions of humans on our planet (which is enormous), it is, for a part of it, because a lot of women don’t receive enough education and information, whether it is about contraception or anything else. I wonder who keeps listening to those kind of clowns…
By the logic above we can argue that the MRM causes hypertension (by cultivating the salty dudebro tears), right?
Aw, I missed MORE trolls? I am so saddened! Enkidum’s a Gilgamesh fan, I presume?
Aw, jinxmchue left without even trying to put together an argument on why “must believe in the trinity” is a requirement for Christianity. Probably because s/he realized there is no such argument. While the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Bible, the Bible never says anything about it being part of a trinity. The Holy Spirit could be another sort of supernatural force/being under God’s control just like the angels.
I’m also amused by jinx’s characterization of Christianity as monotheistic. It’s really not. Christianity isn’t the only religion with one major deity (with multiple aspects) and other deities in his or her service after all. The fact that you conflate three of the beings as one and call the other minor deities “angels” doesn’t really change the fact that your religion is esentially polytheistic.
Can we be a little less ‘splainy about telling other people what their own religion teaches? Kthxbai.
Sorry, Katz. I was just speaking from my own experience being raised Roman Catholic.
I was basically taught that somehow being monotheistic made a religion more “mature” somehow. As I learned more about religion in general, this just seemed really disingenuous. Yes most form of Christianity claim monotheism, but if we pray and ask for intercession from various angels, patron saints, aspects of God, etc. depending on our situation are we really any different then “the foolish pagans”?
The whole, “monotheism = a mature religion, polytheism = an immature religion,” thing just really bugs me.
Yeah, that’s obnoxious. And there’s a rather culturally imperialist narrative that cultures start out with a primitive polytheistic religion and then it eventually coalesces into a monotheistic religion and that’s more advanced somehow, which is silly.
Gonna have to agree with whomever said there is no such thing as a “true christian” any more so that there is a “true muslim”, “true jew”, “true hindu”, et cetera et cetera. Christianity and Islam are rival religions but they have far more in common than they seem to realize. Organized religion(not to be confused with faith/spirituality: the belief in supernatural powers and divine being(s)) advocates social policies that they see as being good for society as a whole even if they are unfair and harmful to individuals. The pragmatic purpose of organized religion is to preserve the social order(including the “culture”) and maintain the status quo. This is how it has been used for thousands of years. Now if women do not have children in a given society, then the population will start to decline and will die out within a generation. What religion aims to do is to ensure that every woman who can have children ends up having children whether she wants to or not because by bearing children she is “contributing to society”. Men cannot bear children, so that is why religion imposes these double standards.
As for me, I am a devout agnostic. And most feminists I’ve run into are staunch atheists or pagans(they have their own, self-styles form of polytheism that is not institutionalized).
katz, LadySunami – iirc I think the other Abrahamic religions look on Christianity as not-really-monotheistic, because of the Trinity.
Agreeing on the whole monotheistic = superior/mature notion as obnoxious.
Could you elaborate on what you mean by “organized religion”, and why you think it doesn’t include “belief in supernatural powers and divine being(s)”?
Citation please? I’ve definitely seen examples of religion being used to pressure women into having children, but I don’t buy that it’s the aim of every religion.
And? Is this meant to prove that religion is inherently anti-woman and people who are pro-woman should/do reject it?
@LadySunami
IIRC, the “holy spirit” in Greek could just as easily be translated as “breath of God”. Certainly, “spirit” is from the same root as “respiration” (and “inspiration”).
@BlackRockCastle, sorry, one more thing
Again, I have to ask what you mean by “institutionalized”. But there are definitely Pagan groups to which words like “organized” and “institutional” can be applied. British Traditional Wiccan covens have hierarchy and rigorous training requirements, and place a strong emphasis on tradition and orthopraxy. Corellian Wicca has a central authority, as do the Church of All Worlds and most of the major Druid orders.
Ok, I can’t read Greek, but both the verses emilygoddess mentioned, in the Vulgate, say Spiritus Sancti — Holy Spirit. I think that’s even the wording the Catholic Church still uses.
Now, the one in Matthew is “[stuff] baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”…so yeah, that one is unqualified. The Corinthians one though is “…grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (interestingly, that’s lord, like Mr. Kitteh, not Deus = God), and the love of God (Deus => Dei), and the communion of the Holy Spirit”.
Take that for what you will, but by the time the Vulgate was written, it was definitely Spirit (and yes, I’m copying those capitals from the version I’m looking at)
Had to check since Aertheri, minus that rogue r at the beginning, is æther — which means a whole variety of things. But no, the Vulgate at least clearly says Spirit.
emilygoddess:
As I read it – and it’s commonly used, as in “spiritual but not religious” – it’s not saying being a member of an organised religion precludes the belief; it’s saying spiritual beliefs do not require/imply being a member of a religion. It’s pretty much how I describe myself, f’rinst: the things I believe in are what would be called supernatural by an atheist or someone who believes only this physical world exists, but I’m not part of any religion, let alone the organised ones – the Abrahamic ones being the obvious-to-a-Westerner examples.
Just saw that! 🙂