Ruth Margalit at The New Yorker looks at how Israel’s own religious right has ensnared much of civic life, and public education in particular:
In the past decade, since Netanyahu came into power, Israeli society has undergone a process so transformative that a new Hebrew word had to be brought into use for it: “hadata,” or “religionization.” … Whereas schools used to promote a pluralistic approach to Judaism, with weight given to the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox movements, much of the curriculum these days is being taught through the narrow prism of religious orthodoxy. And the emphasis on Jewish studies insures that other content is pushed out. Naftali Bennett, the former leader of the Jewish Home Party and the Education Minister before Peretz, said as much, in 2016: “Learning Judaism and excelling in it is more important, in my opinion, than learning math or science.”
Kim Davis, she who would not carry out her duty to certify same-sex marriages as a county clerk, has been, as Wonkette puts it, “properly benchslapped.”
Meanwhile, a Trump appointee on a federal appeals court is keeping alive a lawsuit from a Minnesota videographer who wants to discriminate against same-sex couples.
And another appeals court says the Pennsylvania House of Representatives can indeed bar atheists from offering invocations. What a huge load of garbage.
Don’t worry, everybody. Joe Nickell went to a conference full of Shroud of Turin believers to tell them they’re wrong, and no one tried to bury him.
Alain de Botton really wants to kickstart “atheism 2.0” to replace religion for we nonreligious:
I think there are ways – and I’m being both very respectful and completely impious – of stealing from religions. If you don’t believe in a religion, there’s nothing wrong with picking and mixing, with taking out the best sides of religion. … The core of the religious sense is feeling small within the vastness. It is something that predates belief, goes beyond belief. You can have it as a nonbeliever, and I have it all the time. It’s just that religions have been onto this feeling, and they’ve made the most of it.
While the world is literally on fire, Trump skips the G7 session on climate, and the DNC bars presidential candidates from taking part in a climate-centered debate. Get my fiddle.
(Oh, and Jakarta is literally sinking, so much so that Indonesia is getting a new capital city.)
Jamil Zaki, writing at the Times, looks at how our lack of empathy for our descendants keeps us from taking real action on climate change.
Anthea Butler explains how so many on the Christian right genuinely think of Trump as “the chosen one,” sort of like Paul Atreides or Harry Potter:
Trump’s acceptance of being “the King of Israel” may just sound strange to ears not attuned to some quarters of Christian belief. But for those quarters of Christianity who believe in end-time prophecies and other beliefs about famous men, it is a sobering moment.
For some evangelicals, thinking of Trump as “King of the Jews” means that because he is the protector of Israel, Jews are that much closer to becoming “saved” and converted to Christianity. For Dominionist groups, some of which are already in Israel waiting for the “last days,” Trump’s embrace of this statement is further confirmation that he is God’s man in the last days, who will help to bring Christ back to Earth.
Muad’Dib! Sad!
Australia will now block Internet domains with extremist content when in the midst of a terror emergency. Engadget reports:
The aim for the blocking strategy is simple: Australian wants to cut off avenues that let terrorists “glorify their crimes,” according to [Prime Minister] Morrison. Recent terrorists have left manifestos, livestreams and other material across a variety of websites ranging from known havens like 8chan to mainstream platforms like Facebook. In theory, blocking access to these sites denies attackers the spotlight and reduces the chances of copycat attacks.
Paris Martineau at Wired talks to scholar of misinformation Whitney Phillips about why we fall for hoaxes on the Internet:
When confronted with new information, humans don’t always do the logical thing and evaluate it on its own merits, Phillips says. Instead, we often make snap decisions based on how the information adheres with our existing worldviews.
If the story pushed by a meme or hoax fits in a way that feels like a coherent narrative to a critical mass of people, it’s game over, says Phillips.
Joe Schwarcz, writing at the Montreal Gazette, debunks the claims about essential oils and aromatherapy:
There’s no question that a massage with an essential oil or soaking in a scented bath may have a pleasant, relaxing effect, but it is not going to “align your DNA,” “repair your energy field” or “keep your nerves in balance.” Actually, the only thing such claims can do to nerves is fray them.
The Walkerspace theater in New York City will stage a production of Eureka Day, a new play about a school facing a disease outbreak while parents fight over vaccinations.
Once again it’s reported that Trump wants to stop hurricanes by dropping nuclear bombs on them.
Trump also wants to buy Greenland, and dealing with the international flap is our ambassador to Denmark, a chiropractor and former B-movie star. Cool.
Northern Ireland is seeing a huge spike in humanist/nonreligious weddings. Paul Malone, whose marriage to Emma Taylor was the first official humanist ceremony in the country, says, “It was about 30 minutes long and instead of religious readings, my nephews and a couple of friends read some funny poems and lyrics from a Johnny Cash song.”
Quote of the Day
The Onion on a remarkable archaeological find:
Marveling at how well preserved the archaic opinions were, a team of archaeologists from the Smithsonian Institution announced Thursday the discovery of a fully intact 17th-century belief system in Ohio congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH). “It’s just extraordinary to come across a perspective that dates back to the the mid-1600s and shows absolutely no signs of decay,” said Dr. Claire Goedde, explaining that while it’s not uncommon to encounter partial remains of convictions from that era, it’s exceedingly rare to recover a specimen this pristine. “All the 400-year-old viewpoints remain almost completely untouched, from religion’s place in society to the rights of women to the attitude toward science. I can only imagine the insights this single sample will provide as to how people who lived centuries ago saw the world around them.” Goedde added, however, that the congressman’s belief system was fragile even in near-perfect condition and could deteriorate rapidly if examined too much.
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