Pharyngula

Posted by: Heather | April 24, 2008 8:11 AM

Wow, how'd they know it was a tentacled being that would poison the earth?

And all along, we thought it was just ink. Nope, it was super-special secular-spreading ink. Wow.

Posted by: Seth | April 24, 2008 8:18 AM

I tried to read the kooky bits but calling an ancient city a harlot and being completely deaf to modern ethics and psychology just made it too painful.

That squid/octo thing is going to be awfully chilly up in space like that. Why can't secularism be a tree or an elephant perched gently on the world.

Posted by: Zeno | April 24, 2008 8:25 AM

The world-engulfing ink is symbolic. It represents PZ's atheistic writing. Beware!

Posted by: danley | April 24, 2008 8:26 AM

With squid ink no doubt.

Posted by: Martin | April 24, 2008 8:32 AM

I notice the Earth is not a globe. Could they possibly be a flat earther too? I'd go and look more closely but the website hurts my lonely, bitter, god rejecting mind. :D

Posted by: Masks of Eris | April 24, 2008 8:41 AM

And of course that site has to give parenting advice, like this:

Chastisement can be noisy! Neighbors sometimes get concerned when they hear your child screaming. They do not see your caring love nor your long-term plan.

We have trained our children, especially the loud criers, to cover their mouths when they cry. It works!

Choose to discipline in private places that absorb sound. If you live in apartments, flats or condos, choose the room away from the halls and with more insulation like a rug. You might cover an air vent for the brief moment. Walk-in closets are great.

Posted by: unicow | April 24, 2008 8:51 AM

Judging from the picture, I'd argue that the giant octopus of secularism merely poisons a map. Robinson projection perhaps?

I thought maps were already pretty secular. Except the ones with "dragons be here" on them, which are awesome in their own way.

Posted by: Brian Tani | April 24, 2008 8:53 AM

Look how eerily similar the head of the squid/octopus is to the shape of the Earth.....

...maybe the giant space squid is just looking for a partner.... or a mate.

Posted by: Ian H Spedding FCD | April 24, 2008 8:58 AM

I have to agree with the sentiments, it's a real shame Babylon 5 got the chop.

Posted by: Laser Potato | April 24, 2008 9:05 AM

Maybe it's a kiddy pool.

Posted by: Stephen D Moore | April 24, 2008 9:05 AM

Do these fundies even understand what secularism is, because it is secularism that allows them to hold their loony ideas. If they want religion to be an integral part of the government they may just find that their particular beliefs are condemned as blasphemy, heresy, and treason, with the power of the state to 'correct' them of their errors. Or are they just that dumb that it doesn't occur to them?

Posted by: Steven Seagal's Genius | April 24, 2008 9:09 AM

OH Knows ! Seclarism creating a level playing field for all religious idea's and opinions. Truly the hand of Satan himself is at work. To bad being that one true message from one true almighty God couldn't defeat the inferior man made philosophies.

Posted by: brokenSoldier | April 24, 2008 9:10 AM

So I take it from this picture that we secularists are like the Sherwin Williamses of the ideology world...

(...as if there's an Abrahamic faith that doesn't claim the right to "Cover the Earth"...)

Posted by: Kay | April 24, 2008 9:19 AM

"Choose to discipline in private places that absorb sound. If you live in apartments, flats or condos, choose the room away from the halls and with more insulation like a rug. You might cover an air vent for the brief moment. Walk-in closets are great"

Holy Crap!(both figuratively and literally)

I can't imagine what kind of discipline needs to be handled in an insulated room. We have two active young boys. People in public are usually impressed when they see us discipline them--you know...patience...consequence of their action...the 4-part apology (enough to make any young kid behave)...and of course, "no" always means "no".

Posted by: Sarcastro | April 24, 2008 9:30 AM

Wait, they're giving parenting advice AND quoting Revelation 14?

... the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth ... These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.

Posted by: brokenSoldier | April 24, 2008 9:37 AM

"Whether it is going into a battle or stepping into a new job, we must realize the trust in God is what is so important.

It is oh-so-apparent that this statement was written by someone who has never set foot in battle (or, in context of the whole page, grammar class, either).

While a good deal of soldiers are very religious and hold their faith seriously dear to their heart, see what happens if you make them choose either pure trust in God and the option of wearing their body armor before going outside the wire. While the soldiers who believe will not go out with both, given the dichotomy they are rational enough to know which of them is more immediately requisite.

Posted by: Tom | April 24, 2008 9:44 AM

My favorite passage from the site:

"Psalm 20 is rare in that it so commonly speaks of God. There is no doubts of it."

LOVE the Charlie Chan-speak.

Posted by: Brian | April 24, 2008 9:47 AM

That octopus could be misconstrued as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Posted by: Ryan F Stello | April 24, 2008 10:01 AM

Foundations of Freedom?

I thought the point they were trying to make is that G-d's 'instruction' is unconditional and immutable, and violable only on pain of death. Doesn't sound much like "freedom".

Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | April 24, 2008 10:46 AM

Chastisement can be noisy! Neighbors sometimes get concerned when they hear your child screaming. They do not see your caring love nor your long-term plan.

All glory to the glorious Five-Year Plan! We shall exceed it!

I think comment 38 has a point.

Posted by: LOLcaptions | April 24, 2008 10:57 AM

CEILING OCTOPUS CREATEZ THE WURLD

ERF GOOD! OM NOM NOM NOM NOM

I'M IN UR ATMOSFEER, POIZONING UR PLANNIT

O HAI! HAZ U SEEN MAI OCTOPUS? IZ VERY VERY BIG!

Posted by: Carlie | April 24, 2008 11:30 AM

I think in that one the earth looks like a Gonatus onyx brood sac.

Posted by: Angel Rose Young | April 24, 2008 11:39 AM

David (#22) quoted from obscene website: It is essential that you start training [read: beating] your child when he is a baby. This will enable you to gain the child's respect your 'no' very early This will not eliminate the need for chastisement, but it will greatly limit it.

Like hell it does! It makes you fear and loath them - does nothing to earn a child's respect. I can say that from personal experience. I literally hated my parents by the time I left home at sixteen. I hated their religion even more.

Again from the obscene website: "The rod is a little branch of a tree, sometimes called a switch. Rulers break. They cost money. Switches have a nice swoosh sound. One can use it softly with a tinge of pain or rather strongly, depending on the situation. Get a switch that bends easily not an old hardened or heavy one. Using plastic tubing does the same job.

I hate to disappoint this guy, but tree switches can and will leave lacerations if the strike is hard enough, which really isn't as hard as some people think. They can be worse than a belt or razor strap if you get one thin and pliable enough. It would be just like using a short, thin whip.

My kids were exposed to religion, but they were rarely ever in a church. None of them ever go that I know of. My grandkids don't go either but they've been exposed to this disease as well. I wonder if some scientist somewhere will develop an innoculation for the religious bacteria that infects the minds of human beings, or at least come up with something that alleviates the symptoms of religious exposure - something that can be easily supplied through the water systems, like chlorine and flouride?

Someone should really put a clamp on this cat's balls...

What a fucking jerk...

David said: "What a sick fuck. Is this kind of thing common?"

Moreso than many people probably realize. You'd be surprised what a child can keep suppressed when it fears for it's own safety. When and where I was growing up, this attitude was fairly mainstream. Sucks, don't it?

Posted by: LP | April 24, 2008 12:11 PM

WHY DO THEY HAVE TO EXPLOIT THE OCTOPUS FOR THEIR GAIN? HOW DARE THEY!!!

Posted by: Larry | April 24, 2008 12:29 PM

Looks like either Kang or Kodos to me. I never can tell those two things apart!

Just to be safe, however, I, for one, welcome our octopus-like overlords.

Posted by: Angel Rose Young | April 24, 2008 1:07 PM

From the obscene website again: "What does Mommy do when the baby cries? Does she always pamper the baby or sometimes allow the baby to cry when only seeking attention?"

Of all the child-demeaning quips I heard growing up, and as a parent, this is the one I hated second most. I always picked my babies up when they cried. I always figured if the baby was crying it was relaying that something was wrong with it. What damn difference does it make if the problem is emotional and not physical? I spent countless hours with an infant or a toddler in my lap or under my feet (unless I was cooking). I nursed all of them, so I would often sit and read, crochet, or write while they fed. It was a wonderful experience! And daddy was always there in the middle of it when he wasn't out in the field playing soldier boy.

It is the way you coddle them that makes a difference. They eventually get bored with you and look for something else to catch their interest. Of course, if the child is throwing a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store isle, you take them out to the car and set them straight. You don't have to beat them to do that. You just have to be clever. Children are a lot more aware of what goes on around them than they are given credit for. The saying I hated most though was that "Children should be seen, but not heard."

As far as the bribing of children vs the admonishment of children - What is wrong with incentives? I paid my kids an allowance for doing their chores. They got paid up to a specific amount each week according to their job performance. If their performance was lacking they forfeited a certain percent of their allowance based on how bad said performace was rated. This was governed by a daily point scale. The difference between what they did get and what they would have gotten with a high point value went into another kitty. This was the one I kept so I could come home from work one weekend evening and tell them that if the house is completely clean by eight o'clock I'd take them to get a burger or tacos and then go to the movies, bowling alley, arcade, skating rink, etc. It always worked so sinfully well.

And I truly despise this inhumane BDSM prick...

Posted by: Angel Rose Young | April 24, 2008 1:23 PM

Muffin (#38) said: "I'm calling Poe's law. (At least, I really hope it's a parody...)

Keep hoping really hard that it is a parody. Because whether it is or not, the website clearly promotes "closeted" child abuse, and if I'm not mistaken, that just might fall in the realms of the laws regarding the exploitation of children. Besides, if everybody hopes hard enough that it is a parody, perhaps everybody will feel better about having it going on, sight unseen and voice unheard, in their midst. If it is a parody, it's not the least bit funny. Not in the least.

It sure does have a familiar ring to it...

Posted by: Rey Fox | April 24, 2008 1:48 PM

Secularism is awful, yes. Much better to have a thousand splinter sects fighting with each other. Yeah, much better.

Posted by: Gav | April 24, 2008 2:25 PM

... anyway for what it's worth I've forwarded the link to a friend who works in child protection in the UK.

Posted by: Les Lane | April 24, 2008 2:41 PM

I was wondering why PZ posted an image of Sherman-Williams logo.

Posted by: JJR | April 24, 2008 4:38 PM

HP, #44 above - I agree with you, I was going to say it, too. It's using cutesy, Disney-esque images, but the historical anti-Semitic reference they're riffing on is definitely there.
Christianity and Fascist regimes had and continue to have a close relationship.