Pharyngula

Posted by: Sastra | March 9, 2009 5:24 PM

I'm rather impressed that he didn't bring up Fatwah envy. No, he's ready to commit the Catholics to treating blasphemers as they deserve. Death.

Posted by: Kel | March 9, 2009 5:24 PM

"Greetings from Vancouver, Canada" - The subject heading made it sound so nice. You're just being rude and/or arrogant because you're an evolutionist who hates that almighty God. Maybe you evolutionists need to be nice and everything will go away...

Notice how Christians never leave an omnipotent omniscient being to defend itself?

Posted by: Anon | March 9, 2009 5:25 PM

"thanatos_4u" is certainly more imaginative than many names, at least.

Posted by: xeric | March 9, 2009 5:26 PM

If the Lord God is so Almighty, why does it need defending, particularly by morons?

Posted by: Norm Olsen | March 9, 2009 5:28 PM

If these people really believe in the might of their "Lord God Almighty", why do they so readily feel the need to defend him?

Posted by: Cruithne | March 9, 2009 5:29 PM

PZ, out of interest, do you ever consider taking these things to the police?
No one ought to be allowed to threaten anyone in this manner and get away with it.

Posted by: Sili | March 9, 2009 5:30 PM

I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice.

(Or is it the defence that uses letters?)

Hmmm. Don't we have a Thanatos here that's quite reasonable? Or am I thinking Thalarctos?

Posted by: Auraboy | March 9, 2009 5:32 PM

Your or You're? Those English pedants will kill for that.

This just needed the five exclamation marks at the end.

Hosts? Are they breeding? They sound like Clones. Send in the Hosts...Hosting...Hostages...Jesus Crackers Everywhere...

Posted by: ChrisGose | March 9, 2009 5:32 PM

When I was a Catholic I was always told that a good Catholic should DIE for their beliefs but they should never kill for them.

Posted by: AdjacentOrigin | March 9, 2009 5:35 PM

I live in Edmonton, Alberta, which is a strictly conservative Province. I don't know how strong sky daddy's influence in Vancouver is but I having visited it once, besides the fact it is a beautiful city, it also has a tendency for scumbags and street violence to thrive.
Meyers --> Myers. When threatening someone at least spell their name properly.

Posted by: IceFarmer | March 9, 2009 5:36 PM

Don't worry PZ, he's from Vancouver. Tell him he should get some BC Bud so he can mellow out, get hungry and forget all about you.

Am a bit suprised though. I would have thought a death threat more likely from Alberta (my neck of the woods) than Vancouver or BC in general.

Posted by: hje | March 9, 2009 5:37 PM

Religious fundamentalists are frustrated than ever that they are slowly losing influence in society and politics. I think we see an example of that with Ray Comfort's behavior in the last week--there's nothing he hates more than irrelevance.

I think we can expect more of the same angry rhetoric for decades to come. Let's hope they leave it at idle threats and flaccid attempts at intimidation. I do think members of the North American religious right are more than capable of outright violence, but they do know that it is likely they will be imprisoned or killed if they engage in acts of terror. And to my knowledge, they are not being promised 72 complimentary virgins with their martyrdom--so where's the upside for them?

Posted by: Brownian | March 9, 2009 5:43 PM

I live in Edmonton, Alberta, which is a strictly conservative Province. I don't know how strong sky daddy's influence in Vancouver is but I having visited it once, besides the fact it is a beautiful city, it also has a tendency for scumbags and street violence to thrive.

Maybe AdjacentOrigin, but let's not sell ourselves short; Mill Woods has gotten pretty stabby and shooty as of late, and dodging angry drunks on Whyte has become a popular Saturday night activity.

Posted by: BJ | March 9, 2009 5:46 PM

If this wackaloon is actually from Vancouver, I'd like to apologize on behalf of my city and say that there are many here who would indeed like to welcome you, should you choose to visit. We have several fine universities doing world-class science, including research into evolution. (As I am sure you are aware, being from Washington.)

Posted by: John Phillips, FCD | March 9, 2009 5:49 PM

Nija, see the grey box top left under the red A.

Posted by: arekksu | March 9, 2009 5:51 PM

let's just hope he's as good at following up on threats as he is at grammar.

Posted by: Brownian | March 9, 2009 5:52 PM

"I take it you've been to Vancouver before..."

Don't get me wrong: I love Vancouver, but it's hard to take death threats seriously when they're coming from a city that becomes immobilised every time 3 mm of snow makes the slog to Starbuck's too tough...

Posted by: Interrobang | March 9, 2009 5:56 PM

Sorry. I wouldn't say we're nice, particularly (in that Canadians do tend to be stand-offy), but we are polite. And you have to admit that is a rather well-written example of the genre. Whoever he is, he at least went to a decent school or two.

Btw, does anyone know what happened to the loonie at large?

Down to $0.77 USD last I checked, why?

Posted by: NPD | March 9, 2009 6:01 PM

I'd like to join BJ in apologising for sane Vancouverites. But though we do have a lot of spiritual-not-religious people, into communing with Gaia and aligning chakras and whatnot, the Greater Vancouver area does contain nests of hardcore fundamentalists as nasty as any the US has to offer. Except without guns. I hope.

And hardline Catholics, too. I've met a couple.

Posted by: Dennis | March 9, 2009 6:07 PM

Well- it is your birthday.

It's mine as well- and I have no death threats from fanatics- but I think that's for the better.

Posted by: cs | March 9, 2009 6:10 PM

PZ you must be a very powerful entity since they have to kill you in order to defend their almighty lord.

Posted by: Newfie | March 9, 2009 6:14 PM

I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice.

I am nice, dammit!

Unfortunately, we have our share of wackaloonies, too. Some people take this literary Jeebus guy very seriously. I wish more Christians would learn some first century Christian and other Mediterranean religious history.
Hint: Saul of Tarsis was the L. Ron Hubbard or Joseph Smith of his day.

Posted by: Badwolf | March 9, 2009 6:18 PM

PZ, you mentioned the other day about spamming the morons who email you, but just to let you know, by posting their email on your website it is enough for the website scrapers to find those emails. So most likely nobody submitted them to porn sites, the spammers are quite capable of finding them all by themselves.

Posted by: blueelm | March 9, 2009 6:20 PM

I have sort of a weird thought about some of the crazy letters. It seems like people who are unstable have a hard time seeing the difference between themselves and other things such as the boundaries between themselves and other people, or between themselves and some larger body. I wonder if these people get so upset over having their faith mocked because they actually have trouble telling the difference between their actual beings and the ideas with which they identify. I don't know, but if anyone knows of an interesting book on that matter I'd like to read it.

Posted by: Scott Hatfield, OM | March 9, 2009 6:22 PM

It is strange that someone would refer to God as 'Lord Almighty', yet somehow believe that same requires them to commit mayhem in their defense.

But (keeping in mind that I'm also a faith-head of sorts), here's the deal: zealots of all stripes are ultimately control freaks, and what they want is an internal locus of control where reality is concerned. Their belief system gives many of them the illusion that they can somehow bring the circumstances of their life under their control. While giving lip service to an external locus of moral and physical order, these self-possessed individuals are really indulging their desire to be in control themselves. When you pooh-pooh their beliefs, you are in effect undermining their conviction that they are in control, or at least the conviction that they are allied with one who is in control of everything (Big Sky Daddy).

This is incredibly destabilizing for many of them. Is it any wonder that some of them respond to this rejection of their beliefs as if they had been personally attacked? They are really so invested in the whole business that they can perceive no other outcome but chaos, including the moral chaos that they presume the rejection of God necessarily entails.

Now, some of these folk when confronted by non-believers of obvious virtue will claim that they the latter are parasites of the moral order derived from God. From where I sit, we could read that argument as a profession of envy: that is, non-believers seem able to derive a certain amount of certainty on matters of conduct without having to formally invest control in an external locus (God). To put it in game theory terms, the fundies think virtuous atheists are cheaters....

Posted by: Screechy Monkey | March 9, 2009 6:23 PM

I like the fact that he's willing to commit murder, but only if PZ comes to Vancouver and gives him a heads-up first. I suppose PZ should be grateful to have such lazy enemies.

Posted by: deatkin | March 9, 2009 6:23 PM

If you ever are in the Vancouver neighborhood, PZ, do let us know! Let's just say some Vancouverites are willing to stand in line politely for a lecture and submit themselves to a few stout drinks in the name of supporting good biology.

Posted by: Frac | March 9, 2009 6:32 PM

Unfortunately, even we Canadians have wack-jobs in our midst. Such thinly veiled death-threats are illegal here, too.

That's a Shaw Cable IP, by the way. A huge service provider. I'd send them a copy:

https://secure.shaw.ca/need_help/Request_Help_Form.asp

Posted by: JD | March 9, 2009 6:35 PM

Godz iz Canadian? Must be the work of Robert Pickton.

Posted by: Brownian | March 9, 2009 6:37 PM

"All sorts of reasons for that, I suppose."

No, just one: it's too &$^%*#! cold.

Posted by: MikeM | March 9, 2009 6:39 PM

Yeah, I think it's WND. Figures.

They've given us a poll to crash, too:

http://forums.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=354

What do you think of Wikipedia scrubbing Obama's page of negative information?

There was no choice for, "It's about fucking time", or else I'd have voted by now.

Posted by: Wendy | March 9, 2009 6:41 PM

Ditto to the apologies from Vancouver! Freaks like this are extremely rare here, though.

"...it's hard to take death threats seriously when they're coming from a city that becomes immobilised every time 3 mm of snow makes the slog to Starbuck's too tough..."

Funny you should say this Brownian! We just got 1cm of snow today (unheard of for this time of year!) and I finished an entire venti latte while waiting and waiting outside of a Starbucks, for a bus that never showed (no doubt due to the "snow")! I'm not even kidding. Lol! And they say stereotypes are wrong...

"He talks about the willingness of religious fanatics to commit murder as if it were something new and unusual."

Or like it's something that's not totally deplorable.

Posted by: viggen | March 9, 2009 6:42 PM

Amazing how they set aside that whole "Thou Shalt Not Kill" thing so easily. I love how the ten commandments are such a vaunted code of ethics that people can just choose to ignore them when they're angry about something.

Posted by: Silver Fox | March 9, 2009 6:43 PM

What's all that routeing information at the front of the thread?

Posted by: AJ | March 9, 2009 6:44 PM

Awesome. So many goodies and so few sentences.

Misspelled PZ's name... check
Grammar befitting a three-year-old kid scribbling with his first set of crayons... check
Death threat... check
Will pray for you... check

I especially love how he can't decide whether to kill you or pray for you.

Posted by: DaveL | March 9, 2009 6:45 PM

What's all that routeing information at the front of the thread?

Umm, you mean the e-mail header?

Posted by: jmac | March 9, 2009 6:46 PM

Why should people have to kill to defend God? Is he not able to defend himself?

Posted by: Silver Fox | March 9, 2009 6:48 PM

When some one sends me an email, how do I get all that route information?

Posted by: FunkyDays | March 9, 2009 6:50 PM

It seems a little contradictory to be a Catholic, and yet be perfectly fine to commit murder (isn't that a deadly sin? Wrath?).

Plus, crusades have been over for quite some time (although, I guess there are plenty of people who think it's still going on...).

Posted by: Wowbagger | March 9, 2009 6:51 PM

Silver Fox wrote:

When some one sends me an email, how do I get all that route information?

What's the matter, Silver Fox - some irritating non-Christians insisting you provide disproof of their gods? See how annoyingly stupid it is when someone does it to you and you have to try and point out you don't have to?

Posted by: DaveL | March 9, 2009 6:54 PM

SilverFox:

In MS Outlook XP, Use View->Options. The headers will appear in a text box in the dialog's lower portion.

Posted by: debaser | March 9, 2009 6:56 PM

I dunno, maybe when he said some Catholics are ready to kill for the lord allmighty he meant like, "I'm willing to give a killer comedy show for a man of your stature". He could read from the catechism or something. I used to be a catholic, and there is plenty you could work into good routine. I mean, unlike protestants who twist themselves up into knots reading the bible, catholics have just had the fun to make shit up.

Choirs of angels? Transubstantiation? A children's crusade? Inventing and then un-inventing a purgatory? How about all them shrouds of turin? Who wants to buy an authentic foreskin of jesus? I'm telling you this shit could KILL a receptive audience

Posted by: 12th Monkey | March 9, 2009 7:00 PM

#16: "They sound like Clones"

So this is a Jedi matter now.

Posted by: jmac | March 9, 2009 7:08 PM

Why should people have to kill to defend God? Is he not able to defend himself? Why the hatred? That doesn't seem to represent God very well.

Posted by: CJO | March 9, 2009 7:12 PM

Inventing and then un-inventing a purgatory?

Limbo. It was Limbo they now "prayerfully hope does not exist," or some equally hilarious way of saying "Okay, yeah, that part was BS."

Purgatory, on the other hand, that shit is serious.

Posted by: Samuel | March 9, 2009 7:14 PM

send it to the RCMP in Canada. We don't tolerate such hate speech here.

Posted by: funda62 | March 9, 2009 7:18 PM

Wow PZ these people sound scary. Please look after yourself.

Posted by: Jeanette | March 9, 2009 7:24 PM

These people need to spend less time threatening you and more time using a dictionary.

Posted by: Jeanette | March 9, 2009 7:27 PM

Hey, don't worry PZ, the threat's intended for someone named "Meyers."

But seriously, can the police or someone do anything about these kinds of emails?

Posted by: Frank | March 9, 2009 7:34 PM

I apologize on behalf of rational Canadians, eh?

Posted by: Travis | March 9, 2009 7:37 PM

cpsmith,
I am from NB and while not actually from a place really near the ocean that also made me a bit homesick. I am also sitting here in Ottawa missing the ocean and forests and well, lots of things.

I also lived in Burnaby for a few years. While I found the Vancouver area to be largely pretty liberal I am not really surprised, you did not have to look hard to find people like this and in general there was a good deal of soft headed thinking.

Posted by: Ken | March 9, 2009 7:42 PM

Being a a regular reader and recovering Catholic living in Vancouver, I thought I'd check this out. I don't think there's much to worry about. If his superhero costume is any indication, he probably can't afford the trip to Morris.

http://www.youtube.com/user/thanatosdarkavenger
http://thanatos2008.spaces.live.com/
http://www.reallifesuperheroes.org/heroes_thanatos.html
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2009/200903/20090306.html

Posted by: Blah | March 9, 2009 7:51 PM

Huh. He acts as if the catholic god isn't willing to kill to defend himself.

If god's been reduced to anonymous emails sent by bloodthirsty followers to defend him, he's really come down in the world.

Posted by: Paul Johnson | March 9, 2009 8:02 PM

his email has thanatos in it but he claims to be christian? don't they have to not idolize other gods?

Posted by: Lyra | March 9, 2009 8:25 PM

I find it amusing that their "all-powerful" god needs mere humans to defend him. Can't an omnipotent being take care of himself?

Posted by: Mike Haubrich, FCD | March 9, 2009 8:28 PM

No one ought to be allowed to threaten anyone in this manner and get away with it.

I am not really sure that this could be treated seriously. He posted an empty, cowardly threat contingent on PZ desecrating another cracker. From my understanding, the thrill was not sufficiently exciting for PZ to repeat the feat.

Posted by: Snowbird | March 9, 2009 8:42 PM

I also feel obliged to apologize for this jag off who happens to be a fellow Canadian. I used to live on Vancouver Island, and Vancouver was always a great place to visit. Canada is actually quite a liberal country. Hell, I'm an officer in the Air Force, and I sometimes feel we are the largest group of heathens and atheists on the planet.

On the bright side, you have to admit that only a Canadian would invite you to an ass-kicking rather than threatening to come and get you . :D

Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | March 9, 2009 8:52 PM

Misspelled PZ's name... check

Have a look at the two e-mail addresses the threat was sent to. The moron was aware of the correct spelling and just couldn't believe it.

When some one sends me an email, how do I get all that route information?

In Outlook Express, right-click on it, and then click on "Properties". (Shut up, Owlmirror. Yes, I know, Mucuswaft Outbreak Expose and all, but with a modern antivirus program and an IQ above room temperature in Fahrenheit that's not a problem. Outlook, now, Outlook is trash.)

Computers, you see, are not for adults. You must play with them, childishly, or you shall learn nothing!

Posted by: Jason Thibeault | March 9, 2009 9:06 PM

Allow me to join in the chorus of Canucks that have a shred of rationality and condemn this whack-job. Sorry Pee Zed. Canadians are like ninjas: most are totally awesome and sweet (and by sweet I mean cool), but a few will flip out and totally kill you and uppercut everyone in the whole town without even a second thought.

Posted by: Benjamin Geiger | March 9, 2009 9:35 PM

Funny, I imagine him looking something like this.

Posted by: Katy | March 9, 2009 9:42 PM

oops sorry - we usually are nice - especially here in BC.(even if we did get snow today)

PZ when are you visiting Vancouver?

BTW nice to see so many from Vancouver replying here

Posted by: brokenSoldier | March 9, 2009 9:48 PM

Annick @ 119:

That website is hilarious - especially the ones like Crimson Fist who list things like "95k Volt Stun-Knuckles" alongside "Helping Hands" as tools in humanitarian aid...

Posted by: Richard from Red Deer | March 9, 2009 9:53 PM

I originally am from the Vancouver area myself{ Now living in Alberta } and in my experience such threats are , by and large, made by people who lack the cojones to follow through. The structure of his sentence is typical of someone who is all mouth, hence the oblique reference to "some Catholics" rather than a direct reference to themselves.
They thereby impress themselves as having made a claim of willingness to kill you so that they can feel important in their weird way. In all likelihood they are not to very bright and wish to think of themselves as some "knight in God's army" or some such similar deluded fantasy.

The dangerous ones that will do such acts wont be spending time issuing warnings to you. They will simply go for it at whatever opportunity they find available.
So even though Vancouver has its fair share of crazies, this is not one of them IMHO.

Posted by: Monado | March 9, 2009 9:56 PM

Pcsmith, travis, at least you can slip over the Ottawa river into Quebec and take a look at the Gatineau hills. Look for Pink Lake - it's meromictic - doesn't turn over spring and fall. It has no streams running in or out; and the water lost its salt so slowly from when the area was covered by ocean that it has a remnant population of sticklebacks. The lake has unique bacteria that are both anaerobic and photosynthetic.

And are you skating to work on the Rideau Canal??? And now that it's summer, you can go white-water rafting.

I know it's not multicoloured houses and the Atlantic, but think of all the blizzards and freezing rain you missed this year.

PZ! Happy birthday! How did your students like the pop quiz?

I'm sorry this loser is in Canada. You can get in touch with the RCMP through their web site and ask them how they want any threatening letters that you receive, one at a time or in batches? Or you could get in touch with the police in Burnaby (a suburb of Vancouver). Or you could give it to your homeland security, they'll tell the RCMP that Thanatos is a dangerous desperado, and he'll be exported to Cuba or perhaps Purgatory. 

Posted by: Kate | March 9, 2009 10:07 PM

@Monado:

Nope, they'll be sentenced to a fate worse than death. A Celine Dion concert.

(Apologies to Celine Dion fans, whoever you are.)

Posted by: Sven DiMilo | March 9, 2009 10:14 PM

that should be the species name for the Polar Bear!

Posted by: thalarctos | March 9, 2009 10:17 PM

And indeed it used to be. Without the "death" part.

Yup. No offense to other bear species, but Ursus maritimus is kind of an anti-climactic comedown.

Damn molecular biology....

Posted by: Ichthyic | March 9, 2009 10:19 PM

Without the "death" part.

unfortunate; it really needs that part. as it is, doesn't the name (genus and species) basically just translate to "sea bear"? IIRC, it's still Ursus maritimus?

I've often thought of those things as death incarnate.

Have heard MANY personally related stories from behaviorists who have studied them, up close and all too personal, over the years.

one of the singularly most impressive predators I can think of.

...well, that breed on LAND at least.

:)

Posted by: thalarctos | March 9, 2009 10:31 PM

Yeah, but it used to be split out into Thalarctos maritimus, which is kind of redundant (sea-bear of the sea).

As if that's not bad enough, you'll sometimes see Ursus malayanus in the literature as well.

They'll have my Helarctos when they pry it out of my cold dead paws!

Posted by: Pak40 | March 9, 2009 10:45 PM

@57. Stephen Hawking is British :(

Posted by: The Scallop | March 9, 2009 11:06 PM

Well, at least he'll pray for you before killing you. I guess that's something.

Posted by: Leigh Williams | March 9, 2009 11:17 PM

PZ, I do hope you're archiving these emails and sending them to the proper authorities. It's hard to tell the mean-crazies from the homicidal-mean-crazies; best to let the experts sort them out . . . and check them out.

I'm very, very serious. No doubt you've seen the American Religious Identification Survey results showing an upsurge in atheism and lost ground for traditional Christian denominations. Scott is right in pointing out that zealots are control freaks who are profoundly disturbed by threats to their belief systems. Headlines like today's from ABC News -- American Is Becoming Less Christian, Less Religious -- are going to make them nuts.

These people aren't very stable to begin with; it doesn't take much to send them over the edge. I beg you, take precautions.

Posted by: Nick | March 10, 2009 12:11 AM

Why does it appear that none of the fanatics that write have ever taken an English class? Or a science class? Or any class? Well, I guess that question answers itself.

Posted by: me | March 10, 2009 12:24 AM

Bloody hell people, just because Alberta has some oil and some christians doesn't make it texas north. I work in a very public area and don't encounter anywhere near the amount of fundies one would expect from the stereotype of this province. Quit it!

PZ, you really should forward this death threat to the RCMP. Sick little coward deserves it.

Posted by: Rob | March 10, 2009 12:53 AM

Sorry on behalf of my fellow British Columbian. It's the Olympic fever, I think. It affects people in strange ways.

#54:

If you ever are in the Vancouver neighborhood, PZ, do let us know! Let's just say some Vancouverites are willing to stand in line politely for a lecture and submit themselves to a few stout drinks in the name of supporting good biology.

I second that!

Posted by: Owlmirror | March 10, 2009 1:20 AM

Silly PZ, only Jews have horns.

(Seriously, I've had people ask me, completely earnestly, where my horns are when I tell them I'm Jewish).

WTF?

Do they think you are Moses or something???

Posted by: Azdak | March 10, 2009 2:43 AM

At the risk of raising the ire of my brethren across the straight, I've found over the last decade or so that Vancouver has become a distinctly unfriendly place, relatively speaking. Way too many self-consciously cosmopolitan, too-cool-for-school poseurs running around. Which isn't to say that there aren't lots of lovely people there, too; just that the "Starbucks-North" or "stoned Whistler dude" stereotypes really don't seem to fit anymore. Vancouver seems more uptight than Toronto, now, and that's saying something.

As for the douchenozzle who sent the email... what are you gonna do? These people seem to crawl out from under the rocks in every region. At least they're rare enough here that they aren't likely to be establishing public policy or school curricula. Or stoning rape victims to death in the town square. We've reduced them to writing strongly-worded letters, and there's nothing more Canadian than that...

And I'd echo the advice above: forward the email to Shaw and the RCMP.

And if you do make it out this way, I'd say the only real danger you'll face is that you will be given a welcome befitting your stature -- and find yourself prevented from paying for your own beverages for the duration of your stay.

Posted by: Owlmirror | March 10, 2009 4:23 AM

Recently stumbled across the following quote, which seemed appropriate, given the above e-mail and the other recent e-mail:

"You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." -- Tom the priest, via Anne Lamott

Posted by: Freidenker | March 10, 2009 7:04 AM

You guys, I don't think he actually means "defending his God", although admittedly, using the word "defend" here is misleading. He probably thinks that he's "doing God's work" by combating infidels, or something similarly ridiculous. He doesn't think that god can't defend his own name, only that god "shouldn't be wasting his time on infidels, that's what I'm here for".

I think he's just some sad little fuck who wishes to be a little more important than the utter nonce that he is by propitiating his imaginary friend. The combination of pretending to be strong or dangerous and the possibility of being the errand boy of the creator probably makes that cocksucker drool.

Not a poe, in my opinion.

Posted by: Klank Kiki | March 10, 2009 8:05 AM

Crackers are serious business. The Cracker Defence Force has targeted you.

Posted by: speedwell | March 10, 2009 9:31 AM

You're almost there. Notice how they always misspell his name in that certain way, "Meyers". Folks, they're accusing him of being a Jew. (As my bubbie would say, "Nu, he should be so lucky." LOL)

Seriously, though, the name "Meyer" wouldn't even be that inappropriate, seeing that it means "doctor" or "scholar", or may even come from the word for "light".

Posted by: bmeissner | March 10, 2009 10:12 AM

@#65

You said: "The musicians, actors, and scientists alone make Canada a cool place."

Funny, I thought it was the latitude that made Canada a cool place.

Posted by: The Biologista | March 10, 2009 10:43 AM

Why does the dude who created the universe need defending from anyone?

Posted by: Craig | March 10, 2009 11:24 AM

One disturbed person does not a Canadian make. Just because you guys had W. didn't mean that we painted every American with a Bush brush. Please don't drop ad-hoc statements like "I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice" in the context of a death threat e-mail. We are good people, just as you are in the US. Every country has its lunatics.

Canada & USA BFF.

Posted by: Zorpheous | March 10, 2009 11:34 AM

On behalf of my fellow sane Canadian brothers and sister, I would like to say sorry for on behalf of the other idiots.

Also, anything you want to come up here and eat some crackers, I'll make sure we have enough and some goat cheese to go with them.

Posted by: EatenByChutulu | March 10, 2009 12:24 PM

I second the goat cheese & crackers, as well as the apology on behalf of Canadians. Vancouver is a largish city (about 580,000 people -3rd largest city in Canada!) and so has a few cells of lunatics. Fortunately, the cold keeps a leash on them for the most part.

Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | March 10, 2009 12:38 PM

As for Canadians being nice, we invented hockey. We do have a tendency towards violence, we just prefer to leave the projectile weapons at home.

Plus, if you drink the last beer they'll put you in the loony bin.

Posted by: Judith | March 10, 2009 1:00 PM

I LOVE that all of we Canadians are rushing in here to apologize. On an American TV show recently a character was 'outed' as a Canadian when someone deliberately bumped into her, and it was one stereotype I was rather glad to resemble.

And to my fellow Ottawa residents, if you can't find forests around here you're not looking for the trees! I'm looking at one out my cublicle window and watching a woodpecker make short work of the insects waking up after last week's warm (up to 45 F!) temperatures.

Posted by: faux mulder | March 10, 2009 2:24 PM

i have taken a consecrated host hostage...i'm sending an envelope containing a crumb as proof...

if anyone calls the police, i will kill it.

if you want to see it alive, ever again, collect half of what benny hinn spends in a week and wait for instructions.

Posted by: Smidgy | March 10, 2009 4:03 PM

Let's just say that some Catholics are willing to kill to defend the Lord God Almighty.

Ironic, considering that their beliefs include one that this 'Lord God Almighty' specifically told them never to kill under any circumstances.

Posted by: Janine, Insulting Sinner | March 10, 2009 5:52 PM

Let's see what was the content of your e-mail?

If your in the neighborhood and would like to descrate some more Hosts. Please feel free to let me know........and I will give you a welcome more befitting a man of your stature. Let's just say that some Catholics are willing to kill to defend the Lord God Almighty.

...some Catholics are willing to kill to defend the Lord God Almighty.

So either you are a liar, you said nothing about being willing to die for you belief. Or you did not think about what message you were sending out. Neither speaks well for you character. But please, pray for us. It means nothing to me but it will use up time you could be using killing and dying for you god.

Posted by: Lowell | March 10, 2009 5:58 PM

I will pray for your souls.

And a hearty "fuck you" to you, too!

Posted by: John Morales | March 10, 2009 6:00 PM

Thanatos, I recommend proper Catholic prayer aids.
Handcrafted by Italian nuns! Free shipping worldwide!

Posted by: Lowell | March 10, 2009 6:08 PM

I was not threatening Mr. Myers

Umm,

If your in the neighborhood and would like to descrate some more Hosts. Please feel free to let me know........and I will give you a welcome more befitting a man of your stature. Let's just say that some Catholics are willing to kill to defend the Lord God Almighty.

Oh, I get it. You weren't threatening him. You were just inviting him to come to your neighbohood so you could give him some communion wafers in the hopes that you could kill him before he could desecrate them. Got it.

Nice sadistic fantasy. Did you jerk off after you wrote that one? Fucking sicko.

Posted by: R | March 10, 2009 6:20 PM

From Edmonton, AB:

Love your blog, PZ!
Always fun and encouraging to find other fellow athiests like myself!

"Every dogma has it's day"

R.

Posted by: Patricia, OM | March 10, 2009 6:28 PM

From the picture on his website he looks like that wrestler the Undertaker out trick or treating.
Superhero indeed. *snort*

Posted by: Lowell | March 10, 2009 6:45 PM

Great, another masturbatory, sadistic "scenario" from Thantos where he gets to kill some godless heathen to protect communion wafers.

What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Do you realize how ridiculous you look?

Oh, and you have to love his use of Argument 46:

CALVINIST ARGUMENT, a.k.a. TERTULLIAN'S ARGUMENT

(1) If God exists, then he will let me watch you be tortured forever.

(2) I rather like that idea.

(3) Therefore, God exists.

It's a classic. http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/GodProof.htm

Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | March 10, 2009 6:57 PM

One day you will be sorry when you appear in front of God.

I'm Shocked. Shocked I tell you that you brought up Pascal's Wager.

We've never heard that before.

When you spout your nonsensical philosophy

HAha.

Irony meter go BOOM!

Look in the mirror internet tough guy.

Posted by: Chiroptera | March 10, 2009 7:04 PM

Thanatos, #193: One of you walks into a church....

Well, since very few of us ever plan on walking into any church to commit any kind of sacrilege, I would think that it would be possible for all of us to get along or at least ignore each other.

Unfortunately, I bet you keep bringing your nuttiness out of the church and bother the rest of us with it in real life. Kind of like you're doing right now on this thread.

Not that I mind. I like watching other peoples' nuttiness. I just don't understand why you go out of your way to come to us to expose your nuttiness and then get mad when we laugh at you.

Posted by: TangoJuliett | March 10, 2009 7:30 PM

Well buzz my butt! How do you do it, PZ? It seems you've managed to uncover yet another violence-prone 'loving' Christian.

No, uh... wait. That would be an oxymoron. Any 'real' Christian could not possibly be a moron, oxy or otherwise. And as for violence, well, that's way beyond the pale. Just ask any 'real' Christian. Never mind that the terse version of Christian history reads along the lines of "We will convert you or we will kill you", or more crudely as, "Kiss our invisible sky pixie's ass or we will torture you to death". I mean, where's the violence there?

No, this clown couldn't possibly be a 'real' Christian, he's just another pimp for the Christian version of God. And Pimps-for-Jesus are a dime a dozen, even in Canada.

Posted by: RamblinDude | March 10, 2009 7:51 PM

Don’t be too hard on Thanatos. He’s not actually screwed up in the head extra special, after all. In fact, he’s pretty freakin normal for a religious fanatic—of any kind—and the world is full of them.

Thanks for posting Thanatos. It’s not just silly deities we argue against; it is an entire institution of mental enslavement, and with your perverse fantasies of a cracker being a god, and then brutally killing someone over it, you’re the perfect example of how religion poisons society.

Posted by: DrClown | March 10, 2009 8:07 PM

The Almighty needs body guards?

Posted by: Twin-Skies | March 10, 2009 9:56 PM

I will pray to god for your lost souls

May the FSM's soggy appendages find you well too, meatball.

Posted by: Philip1978 | March 11, 2009 4:18 AM

Here is an interesting thought - so lets say a church catches fire (Now, now o mighty followers of Cthulhu, no arson required here!) by some accidental manner and it just so happens the entire collection of crackers go up in flames - what does that mean for Jesus?

Is there some sort of ceremony set aside for this that Jesus's charred remains might be somehow saved?

Posted by: The Artful Nudger | March 12, 2009 3:15 AM

And yet another apology from the city of Vancouver. It's the weather here. It's normally balmy enough that the crazies don't have to seek shelter.