Showing posts with label Sue Engle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sue Engle. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Abolishing Abortion
Sue Engle, who won the republican primary in Nevada is just the latest republican politician who would restrict abortions even in the case of incest and rape. Her latest comment is that pregnancy is "God's will" and therefore should not be disrupted. Scientifically and biologically a woman becomes pregnant when her egg is fertilized by a sperm, it is not a "spiritual" phenomenon, but a consequence of the forces of nature. Let me say it again, fertilization is a scientific, biologic phenomenon not a spiritual phenomenon. We have no evidence that everything or anything that happens in our world is "God's will". The ancient book of Job attritubed both his blessings and calamities to God. Some modern day believers have adopted Job's theolgy and have come to spiritualize everything in their lives as well as acts of god. Modern believers are looking to god for complete protection and intervention at every moment of every day. This is certainly their right, but do they have a right to force that level spiritualization on society as a whole? If god broke your arm should you attempt to mend it? If god broke your hip should you intervene or accept it as god's will? If god gave you high blood pressure should you ignore it and "pray" god will take it away or should you see a doctor and take blood pressure medications. If you are pregnant with a baby that has severe birth defects and you are 45 and cannot afford to raise a child with birth defects should you be forced by political laws to keep the pregnancy? Difficult issues to be sure. Does Sue Engle have the right to make that decision for the girls and women in the USA when she comes to power as a politician? She thinks so and so do her supporters. Sue Engle did not win the republican primary in a vacum. Many republican men and women agree with her and are striving to get her elected just so political pressure can be applied to restricting women's rights. In Brazil, where abortion is illegal thousands of women die from attempts to self induce abortions. This will soon be the case in america where the pro-life politicians are crafting state and federal laws that will make abortion obsolete without overturning Roe v. Wade. Governor Bobby Jindal just signed a law making it illegal for an abortion provider to be sold insurance in the state of Louisiana. Even the most passionate providers would not risk to liability of performing abortion without insurance coverage. Every abortion provider is a target for potential assassination by rabid pro-life forces. To put your very life at risk in order to practice medicine is something only a few brave doctors are willing to subject themselves to. It is not easy for women to find an abortion provider now, how many will perform abortions without malpractice insurance? Let's be honest, Roe v Wade could be overturned. The surpreme court has a conservative majority that were appointed by republican presidents who promised the public that they would abolish abortion. Why has it not happened? Because it is a dangling carrot. Pro-life forces are the republican party's base and a very secure source of loyalists. To get rid of Roe v Wade would be shooting themselves in the foot. Local and state level pro-life politicians will continue to craft laws that will make abortion inaccessible thus eliminating abortion without having to overturn Roe v Wade and the conservative anti-choice female politicians often times lead the charge to take away a woman's right to decide whether to keep a pregnancy invoking religion. If the alarming trend of restrictive state laws continue we are not many years away from women having no choice. Right now, wealthy girls and women can travel and pay for an abortion. It is the 6th grade girl in Dumas, Arkansas that does not have the funds or the ability to access a safe legal procedure that would allow her to continue her childhood. Who is speaking up for the 13 and 14 year old girls? Certainly not self righteous politicians like Sue Engle, Sara Palin, Michelle Bachman and Tom Coburn and Bobby Jindal. The pro-choice voices are being silenced by elected officials who ran on a pro-life platform who would punish women with unwanted pregnancies. 1 in 3 female soldiers are raped while serving in the military and yet abortion outlawed on military bases and the military will not pay for an abortion under any circumstance. Not only are female soldiers intimidated into not reporting their rapes, but they cannot terminate the pregnancy if they get pregnant from the rape. Dr. Tiller wore a button that said, "Trust Women" but he was silenced for doing so. Descent into theocracy is never good for women.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Gang rape OK with "angels" and Lot
Genesis 19:8
"Behold now, I have two daughters which have no known man; let me I pray bring them out to you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof."
According to this ancient tale about a sheepherder who is living in a city called Sodom, god sends angels to convince Lot to leave the city and travel elsewhere. Lot is living with his wife and two daughters. The angels did not protest when Lot offered his daughters to become victims of gang rape. Lot is revered as a prophet by muslims and jews, but the muslims exclude the part of the story where Lot's daughters get daddy drunk and have sex with him in order to preserve the lineage of the tribe. In the Old Testament "Thou shalt not Kill" applied only within the tribe and did not apply outside the tribe. In the story we are supposed to believe that God rained fire and brimstone and killed all the inhabitants of the cities and on the plains as his judgement agains their sins. As Lot's family was fleeing the city the angels told them to not "look back" (vs 17) and escape to the mountains as God was going to destroy the city. But Lot's wife looked back and God turned her into a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters were terrified and felt like their only hope was to great pregnant by their father in order to preserve the family line. As the story goes they got their father drunk and he had sex with him. They got pregnant and they both had son's.
From a woman's perspective this story details how little Lot thought of his daughter's. At a point of conflict with the men of the city the only thing he thought of was to offer his daughter's up to the men of the city for gang rape. As this story has been handed down over thousands of years it points to what little value daughters and women had to these ancient men. In the story, Lot is important enough for God to send angel's to deliver him from fire and brimstone and destruction. He is a prophet. We are supposed to believe Lot became so drunk that he did not know he was having sex with his own daughter's. And lastly, the harshness of the immediate death of Lot's wive for the simple act of looking behind her to see what was going on between God and the city she called home was worthy of instant death. The women of this story are not protected, are given no mercy, and do not fare well at all. The women are traumatized, judged and put to death by God. Lot's wife was not valuable enough to preserve and his daughter's were victims of incest in which they are blamed.
The moral of the story is God's extraordinary measure of sending "angels" to deliver Lot out of an "evil" city. In ancient times it was imperative that everyone lived in a tribe in order to preserve traditions and beliefs. The whole moral of the story is that God has "special" people that he goes to extraordinary measures to take care of and the rest of the world he does not care about. This is called "exceptionalism". Being a part of a "preferred" religious group that God approves of gives you an extraordinary measure of God's favor necessary for survival. Humanity outside the exceptional group is doomed. This ideology is pervasive in modern day christianity, judaism and islam. Whole groups of people believe their beliefs are exceptional and their group is exceptional and that God views them as special and deserving of favor and deliverance from hell. This story was no doubt useful for centuries to keep the tribal lineage and tribal lore intact, and has been useful to keep people rigidly in fear of God's judgement and anger against people who disobey in the slightest way. (Lot's wife) Lot as the patriarch was given a pass. He was not corrected when he offered his daughters to be raped. He was not corrected for becoming drunk and impregnating his daughter's. The women of the story were traumatized and judged. It is only in the past century that women have won some rights. Male dominated religions and male dominated cultures have kept women from equality for centuries. How do you see women as dominated even today by the church and society? Does the pope care about women's rights? Are male pastors willing to see women as equal? Why has the equal rights amendment failed to be ratified and obstructed by the "moral majority" and women such as Phyllis Shafly and Beverly LaHaye? Has Sarah Palin used the feminist movement to her benefit, but denies girls sex education and birth control even within her own family? The current republican candidate for Senate in Nevada does not believe victims of rape and incest have a right to terminate their pregnancy as the pregnancy is an "act of God's will". She has obviously not been a victim of rape or incest and forced to carry and deliver and raise a baby from these crimes. This is fake feminism for it does not value the women's rights. Fear of God's wrath and fear of certain doom drive our society today. Michelle Duggar has 19 children because she is afraid not having children is against God's will for her. She sees herself as useful only as it pertains to bearing children and claims she will not stop even if it means her death. She is no doubt influenced by Lot's wife and Lot's daughter's who felt they only had value to God by birthing children. All the above mentioned women work very hard at being "exceptional" and "favored" to the harm to those around them.
"Behold now, I have two daughters which have no known man; let me I pray bring them out to you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof."
According to this ancient tale about a sheepherder who is living in a city called Sodom, god sends angels to convince Lot to leave the city and travel elsewhere. Lot is living with his wife and two daughters. The angels did not protest when Lot offered his daughters to become victims of gang rape. Lot is revered as a prophet by muslims and jews, but the muslims exclude the part of the story where Lot's daughters get daddy drunk and have sex with him in order to preserve the lineage of the tribe. In the Old Testament "Thou shalt not Kill" applied only within the tribe and did not apply outside the tribe. In the story we are supposed to believe that God rained fire and brimstone and killed all the inhabitants of the cities and on the plains as his judgement agains their sins. As Lot's family was fleeing the city the angels told them to not "look back" (vs 17) and escape to the mountains as God was going to destroy the city. But Lot's wife looked back and God turned her into a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters were terrified and felt like their only hope was to great pregnant by their father in order to preserve the family line. As the story goes they got their father drunk and he had sex with him. They got pregnant and they both had son's.
From a woman's perspective this story details how little Lot thought of his daughter's. At a point of conflict with the men of the city the only thing he thought of was to offer his daughter's up to the men of the city for gang rape. As this story has been handed down over thousands of years it points to what little value daughters and women had to these ancient men. In the story, Lot is important enough for God to send angel's to deliver him from fire and brimstone and destruction. He is a prophet. We are supposed to believe Lot became so drunk that he did not know he was having sex with his own daughter's. And lastly, the harshness of the immediate death of Lot's wive for the simple act of looking behind her to see what was going on between God and the city she called home was worthy of instant death. The women of this story are not protected, are given no mercy, and do not fare well at all. The women are traumatized, judged and put to death by God. Lot's wife was not valuable enough to preserve and his daughter's were victims of incest in which they are blamed.
The moral of the story is God's extraordinary measure of sending "angels" to deliver Lot out of an "evil" city. In ancient times it was imperative that everyone lived in a tribe in order to preserve traditions and beliefs. The whole moral of the story is that God has "special" people that he goes to extraordinary measures to take care of and the rest of the world he does not care about. This is called "exceptionalism". Being a part of a "preferred" religious group that God approves of gives you an extraordinary measure of God's favor necessary for survival. Humanity outside the exceptional group is doomed. This ideology is pervasive in modern day christianity, judaism and islam. Whole groups of people believe their beliefs are exceptional and their group is exceptional and that God views them as special and deserving of favor and deliverance from hell. This story was no doubt useful for centuries to keep the tribal lineage and tribal lore intact, and has been useful to keep people rigidly in fear of God's judgement and anger against people who disobey in the slightest way. (Lot's wife) Lot as the patriarch was given a pass. He was not corrected when he offered his daughters to be raped. He was not corrected for becoming drunk and impregnating his daughter's. The women of the story were traumatized and judged. It is only in the past century that women have won some rights. Male dominated religions and male dominated cultures have kept women from equality for centuries. How do you see women as dominated even today by the church and society? Does the pope care about women's rights? Are male pastors willing to see women as equal? Why has the equal rights amendment failed to be ratified and obstructed by the "moral majority" and women such as Phyllis Shafly and Beverly LaHaye? Has Sarah Palin used the feminist movement to her benefit, but denies girls sex education and birth control even within her own family? The current republican candidate for Senate in Nevada does not believe victims of rape and incest have a right to terminate their pregnancy as the pregnancy is an "act of God's will". She has obviously not been a victim of rape or incest and forced to carry and deliver and raise a baby from these crimes. This is fake feminism for it does not value the women's rights. Fear of God's wrath and fear of certain doom drive our society today. Michelle Duggar has 19 children because she is afraid not having children is against God's will for her. She sees herself as useful only as it pertains to bearing children and claims she will not stop even if it means her death. She is no doubt influenced by Lot's wife and Lot's daughter's who felt they only had value to God by birthing children. All the above mentioned women work very hard at being "exceptional" and "favored" to the harm to those around them.
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