Religious People Are the Best People LI
24 September 2007 by vastleft
Three more stories that prove what you already know: that Religious People Are the Best People.
Coral Eugene Watts, one of America’s most prolific serial killers, died on Friday of natural causes. He made a habit of murdering women on Sunday morning before church.
…according to Watts biographer Corey Mitchell, Watts killed women because he thought they were evil. It’s a word he used very often. He was deeply religious and a regular churchgoer all his life. He was concerned about being haunted by the spirits of his victims, so he took strange steps to keep the “spirits” at bay, i.e. in one case, after murdering a woman in her apartment, Watts disrobed and bathed her in what the author dubbed an “evil baptism” to keep her spirit at peace and at bay. In other cases, he took the women’s shoes or purses and then burned them, for the same reason, he said, to keep their spirits away.
Communion, Las Vegas-style:
A Roman Catholic priest who smashed a wine bottle over the head of a woman in church pleaded guilty to felony battery with a deadly weapon.The Rev. George Chaanine admitted Thursday in Clark County District Court that he smashed the bottle over the 54-year-old woman’s head at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church in January….
The woman sang at the church and was hired by Chaanine in October as the parish events coordinator. She accused Chaanine of hitting her in the head with a wine bottle on Jan. 26, stomping on her hand, groping her and choking her until she began praying. She said he suddenly stopped and fled.
Chaanine was arrested almost a week later near Phoenix. The woman was treated for a broken hand and a gash on the head, authorities said.
Orthodox Jew Charles Jay Wolff is suing the State of New Hampshire for $10 million because his prison food includes hard-boiled eggs (don’t they serve roasted or boiled eggs at Seders?). The judge waxes Seussian in response to receiving an egg as an exhibit. But why is the pious plaintiff, whose holy needs are getting their day in court, locked up?
Wolff is serving 10 to 20 years for sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl.
God enables us to have morals, ethics, and values. If you don’t believe in and love Him, you are amoral, unethical, and valueless. Think about it — how could you be a good person without an invisible guy setting you straight? You couldn’t, silly.
24 September 2007, on 10:45 am
A standing ovation to Judge Muirhead!
24 September 2007, on 11:08 am
But there is no atheist ideology other than nonbelief, and even on that front we have diverse viewpoints. There’s nothing wrong with that, but a candidate worth fronting would have to have something more to stand for other than faithlessness. There’s Republican atheists, progressive atheists, libertarian atheists, socialist atheists, etc. You couldn’t get the whole atheist body behind a candidate for that reason.
24 September 2007, on 1:30 pm
One of the best posts on this blog! Lovely tidbits.
24 September 2007, on 4:07 pm
Ummm…. shouldn’t Jay Wolff be more concerned about his religion’s stance on the fact that he sexually assualted an innocent child rather than what it teaches about what he eats in prison?
Stuff like this confuses the hell out of me. I swear, someday I’m gonna go crazy trying to figure these religious freaks out!
24 September 2007, on 4:16 pm
Sarah,
So you won’t go crazy trying to figure him out — maybe there’s a connection between his egg phobia and his preference for pre-menstrual girls?
24 September 2007, on 5:52 pm
Has there ever been a serial killer whose motive was “Well no one in particular told me to?”
It seems that a lot of serial killers murder because they’re religious and believe gawd wanted them to.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the gawd of the bible ordered genocides.
24 September 2007, on 6:21 pm
The correlation between killers and the church is so stunning.
Like, remember the “BTK killer“?
I’m not saying that all religious people are killers. I’m fairly sure that some are not.
But when you read about a particularly ghastly murder or series of murders, scan down a couple of paragraphs, and sure-as-shooting/stabbing/etc., you’re going to see what a devoted churchgoer the killer was.
24 September 2007, on 8:04 pm
Everybody sing!:
“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
that saved a(check one) ___ Serial Killer
___ Child Raper
___ Arsonist/Bedwetter
___ President
like meeeee!
I once was a(choose one)___ Serial Killer
___ Child Raper
___ Arsonist/Bedwetter
___ President
but now I’m not(apparently).
‘Twas blind but now I’m, well, still pretty much blind but oblivious!”
Wow! I feel like a former slave ship captain!
“Captain Newton, welcome to heaven.”
“Thank you”
“Welcome to hell, thousands of abused and tortured African folk.”
“Excuse me?”
24 September 2007, on 9:45 pm
I heard on the teevee that it’s Sexual Assault Awareness Week. So, stay out of church.
24 September 2007, on 10:53 pm
I live in Vegas and work with a woman who goes to Chaanine’s Church, she swears that the woman (victem) was the crazy one.
Did anyone see Bill Maher’s “we’re not the crazy one’s”? very funny
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/20070923_bill_maher_were_not_the_crazy_ones/
25 September 2007, on 12:13 am
Nathan, “I can’t trust you at the levers of government because there’s an electrical fire going on in your head.” Maher is beautiful, good clip.
25 September 2007, on 1:29 am
I’ve just got this picture in my head of all the religious as paroled or probationary sex offenders gathering every Sunday for their Eucharist of Depo-Provera & Saltpeter, though it’s a poorly guarded secret that said host is naught but a placebo…and it’s all that stands between them and their degenerate, baser instinct for persistent felony offending. Comforting…
25 September 2007, on 2:41 am
Remember, religion has brought us such egalitarian tidbits as the command from gord to Moses to “kill all of the inhabitants of the city, except the virgins, to whom you can do what you like,” and “Honor Killings” in Islamic countries and the witch hunts in colonial America (and on and on). These were/are all sanctioned by the predominant contemporary religious entities. Watt’s horrendous crimes are rather benign by comparison.
If we were to remove the context of these actions (which we should do when we judge them) they should all appear to be unforgiveable acts; acts committed due to terrible reasoning, or simply mental illness. But of course this is not how such acts are judged, so Watt is (rightly) considered deranged–his beliefs are evil in it’s purest form, while, through the lense of cultural relativism, all these other acts are not to be condemned–”we can’t judge others by OUR cultural standards” is the arguement de rigueur.
What horse shite. A horrendous act is a horrendous act is a horrendous act.
Obviously I am preaching to the choir on this site, but the sad fact is that a majority of the population is likely to fail to see (or refuse to acknowledge) that religious faith–irrational beliefs held w/out emperical, reasoned conclusions, is mighty close to mental illness.
What really is the difference between my god telling me to do something and my dog telling me to do something? At least I can see my dog.
25 September 2007, on 6:59 am
I regularly download internet podcasts from German radio to listen to while I’m getting ready for work, doing chores, taking a walk, etc.
Freethinker that I am, I sat up and took notice when I heard described a murder trial in Lübeck, Germany where a father was convicted of stabbing his son to death. Reason? His son was too defiant and disrespectful to him. I told myself, half jokingly “wait for it”; sure enough, in the next breath the newsreader stated “The man was deeply religious, etc.”; His soon-to-be ex-wife (also very religious) was quoted indirectly as saying that although because of her faith she could forgive her husband for the slaying, she still wanted to see justice done, i.e. that her husband be tried by the civil authorities (!? hmm, secular authority not so evil after all then)
I always have felt Christians were so petulant when it came to the issue of forgiveness…”hey, Gawd forgives me, so what’s up with you?”; Hey, buddy–Jesus loves you but the rest of us think you’re a real shit.
Judaism at least acknowledges that forgiveness doesn’t come easy and must be sincere. Christianity cheapened that, much to everyone’s subsequent misery, as it gave so many pricks through the ages all the more license to act with relative impunity.
25 September 2007, on 9:17 am
OT, but a search of “god” at The Onion always turns up some funny stuff:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28484
25 September 2007, on 9:20 am
JJR,
I know exactly what you mean with that “wait for it…” moment.
When you click on a story about a Texas mom putting her kids in a blender, you just know there’s going to be a line in there somewhere about her being a church organist, and about how she prayed over each little limb as she tossed it in the Osterizer.
25 September 2007, on 9:41 am
Jesus, that didn’t take long!
I went to msnbc.com and saw a link labeled Mom convicted of killing kids gets life, so I clicked and, whaddya know:
Yet more proof that — say it with me! — religious people are the best people.
25 September 2007, on 11:04 am
“There’s Republican atheists”.
I have my doubts about that one.
25 September 2007, on 5:40 pm
Well maybe not Republican, but there are conservative atheists.
25 September 2007, on 5:47 pm
Well, at least there *were* Republican atheists. My dad was one, and so was one of my grandfathers. They’re both dead now, so they may have been the last ones.
25 September 2007, on 6:09 pm
I love the rhyme that the Judge uses:
“I do not like eggs in the file
I do not like them in any style.
I will not take them fried or boiled.
I will not take them poached or broiled.
I will not take them soft or scrambled
Despite an argument well-rambled.”
“No fan I am
Of the egg at hand.
Destroy that egg!
Today!
Today!
Today I say!
Without delay!”
26 September 2007, on 10:40 am
Republican atheists? Actually, I do know one… He’s very strict conservative and LOVES Bush, too, but is also a fierce atheist… No, I don’t know how that works together but whatever…
26 September 2007, on 6:22 pm
Cool thread! ^ Kate, I guess it just goes to show that we come in all flavors; an atheist can be just as authoritarian and militarily aggressive as fundy war-mongers.
I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, but I’ll repeat it anyway: I’m not anti-military, and I do believe there is a time and place for armed action. It’s just that I feel it should be the very last resort after all other possible avenues of conflict resolution have been exhausted, and as I say this, I realize that different situations require different responses, so I’m definitely open to the possibilities of exceptions.
But automatically and simplistically jumping to the conclusion that the best way to untie a Gordian knot is to immediately slice right through it? Especially when there are lives at stake, both those of our military and civilians in target areas? No.
Whoa. This post wasn’t about war, was it? OK, highjack over; back to the topic…
27 September 2007, on 4:13 pm
Vasleft-
I noticed this article and thought it would be perfect for your ongoing series “Religious People are the Best People.”
The head of the Catholic Church in Mozambique has told the BBC he believes some European-made condoms are infected with HIV deliberately.
I get pissed when I see the christianists trying to ruin our educational system and I hate their bigotry toward gays, but this is a whole new level of evil.
28 September 2007, on 8:12 am
Dirk,
As it happens, I posted about that very topic (though not under the “RPATBP” heading) at my other blogging home yesterday.
Thanks,
VL
30 September 2007, on 6:24 pm
I feel like emailing Chris Hansen from Dateline’s “To catch a predator” and suggesting he ask those pedophiles if they’re bible-thumpers…hmm, wonder how that might turn out
1 October 2007, on 12:45 pm
[...] When atheists confront the popular misconception that “religious people are the best people,” we are not — in your book — to be praised for challenging a widespread misconception. We are to be shunned for somehow raining on everyone’s family and cultural parade. http://gods4suckers.net/archives/2007/09/24/religious-people-are-the-best-people-li/ [...]