Well, this is amusing. Someone sent in a complaint to Donald Wildmon's American Family Association about this post using my email address, which meant that the helpful people at AFA sent their response to me. Here it is:
Thank you so much for sharing this information with us. We are aware
that there are hate-filled groups out there that are trying to disrupt
our work for Jesus and we are taking steps to fix the problems they have
created with the pastor's pledge.We would encourage you to add these groups to your prayer list, what a
blessing it will be when God takes what Satan meant for evil and turns
it into good!Again, thank you for your willingness to get involved.
Sincerely,
Anelese
AFA Staff <><-----Original Message-----
From: anon [mailto:pzmyers@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 8:59 AM
To: faq
Subject: faq: fyiThis is an enquiry e-mail via http://faq.afa.net from:
anon
The SPAM at http://www.afa.net/pastorspledge/ you are experiencing is
partly due to this -http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/09/take_the_pledge.php#comments
I guess I'm on another prayer list now.
- Log in to post comments
Tsk tsk... You guys need some lessons in trolling. Try a little more subtlety next time. ;)
Too bad they can't devote all of their political energy to their prayer lists.
PS:
Rev.
August
Molly
For a minute there, I thought they were referring to the AFA...
A small edit:
"Thank you so much for sharing this information with us. We are aware that there are faith-deluded groups out there that are trying to disrupt our work for Reason and we are taking steps to mock the problems they have created by spamming the pastor's pledge.
We would encourage you to add such groups to your spam list, what a blessing it will be when Reason over-takes what's stupid and puerile and sticks one up God!"
Wow, prayers coming at you.
Ready to give up yet?
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
It is odd how Jesus cannot seem to do anything for himself.
With all the people praying for you surely it cannot be too long before God touches you and changes your evil atheist ways.
Maybe they need some wine with that cracker.
I wonder what *exactly* it is that they're praying for you to do?
Oh no! Incoming prayer! Everyone duck!
Tsk tsk... You guys need some lessons in trolling. Try a little more subtlety next time. ;)
... then you need to learn what trolling means, and the value of a non-subtle approach.
If I end up on a mail list, I'm going to kidnap you PZ, then throw you in a dungeon where you can only eat crackers and wine.
At the first twinge of godliness PZ, alert me and I'll start the chicken soup and sugar tits. That bein' prayed at can cause all sorts of indelicate symptoms.
A prayer mailing list seems a far more effective thing to do than just prayer; a mailing list would actually have an effect - it sends mail.
You should respond with a request for the From-IP header so we can isolate who sent it.
@kobra
It really isn't important. With an organization with as large of a cult following, we were bound to be caught sooner of later.
Oh no! Incoming prayer! Everyone duck!
"He's got huge, sharp-- eh-- he can leap about-- look at the bones!"
post script: what are the strikeout tags. I tried to strikeout cult but it didn't work. Anyone know the strikeout tags for HTML?
(goes off to google)
just [s]text[/s]
using the angle brackets instead, of course.
Danke, Ichthyic.
so...fuck those screw those god damned gosh darned spamming assholes spamming assholes!
Strikeout
Thanks Ichthyic! I never knew that either! :-)
I have a flu, and how godless?
With a million fervent prayers combined
It won't be long until you find
The mighty force that lies behind
The simple-seeming prayer.
The "clasp your hands and kneel" routine
Has power that is unforeseen
By heathens (and by that I mean
PZ), but which are there!
So when they say "I'll pray for you"
Remember, it's a heady brew--
The Holy Spirit must come through,
You must already know.
And whether they are priests in collars,
Pastors, Rabbis, even scholars,
Remember--Prayer, plus five more dollars
Will buy a cup of joe.
Anelese is such a pretty name.... Too bad it belongs to fundie fruitcake.
In New Zealand the Exclusive Brethren christian sect tried to secretly influence our last elections by paying hundreds of thousands for advertisements against our center-left government. It led to a major law change. The EB won't vote because they say they believe world governments are selected according to god's will. At the same time they're hypocritically prepared to shell out big money to influence the votes of others, and reject the obvious conclusion that god's will seems to prefer a left coalition.
*bows before the mighty cuttlefish*
In case nobody has been reading the news today, the despicable Jack Thompson, self-pronounced Christian conservative, was debarred and compelled to pay (some) damages by the Florida Supreme Court for inappropriate conduct. Thompson was an attorney who used the legal system to pursue a self-righteous moral crusade against the video/computer game industry (and other parties), forcing the unnecessary expenditure of millions in defense against his meritless lawsuits.
The problem here is that he also believed he was working for Jesus, and that this superficial contrivance conferred him with the moral imperative to act.
Danke, Ichthyic.
bitte.
*a cleavage baring curtsy to the Cuttlefish*
They tried something similar here across the Tasman, although the organisation forbids it's members from playing any part in the political process (they aren't allowed to vote), the leaders saw fit to donate to the Liberal party (for those overseas, the Liberal party is our conservative party) hundreds of thousands of dollars and were in the ear of John Howard. Hypocritical arseholes!
Well, you can't blame them for not being inventive.
As long as they don't send any of those Klingons For Jesus after you, you're probably pretty safe.
Gotta love how Landover Baptist has a few of the top spots on the list of pastors who signed the pledge...
:)
~Dan
http://jazzsick.wordpress.com/
Oh no! Incoming duck! Everyone pray!
Has anyone figured out what free speech rights they're supposed to be losing? The right to hate speech?
Wow PZed! FIrst the crackers, now your minions are goofing on fundie pledge sites (or whatever they are)! Will atheist mischief never end!?!?
Boy I hope not.
(for those overseas, the Liberal party is our conservative party)
*sigh*
why MUST you people insist on doing everything backwards and upside down?
;)
Meanwhile, their counterparts at the Catholic League are defending Palin's association with Mutha on the basis that witchcraft is real.
/offtopic
Ichthyic, to be fair, most country's conservatives are very similar to the U.S. liberals...
Ichthyic, to be fair, most country's conservatives are very similar to the U.S. liberals...
which removes the upside down part, but not the backwards part.
:P
(also, do note the emoticons being liberally used)
I spent the first 20 or so years of my life thinking that liberal was the same as conservative. Took a lot of effort to deprogram that word association, though even now I won't call myself a liberal in this country. It's more accurate to describe myself as a libertarian in Australia, though describing myself as a libertarian on the web makes me seem like those anarcho-capitalist arseholes.
/me braces for another huge text-dump by Oregon Scott
*Raises libation in toast to Cuttlefish*
It's more accurate to describe myself as a libertarian in Australia, though describing myself as a libertarian on the web makes me seem like those anarcho-capitalist arseholes.
something is always lost in the translation.
frankly, I'm very much looking forward to joining the rest of the world outside of the US that prefers to aspire to some form of reality.
...still, I just don't see why you all can't just adopt the SAE system. Base 10 metric... phht. what're all trying to accomplish? efficiency?
:P
Yes! So many words experienced from hollywood have confused me at one time or another.
A few from memory:
* gas (as in fuel) -> petrol* pick-up truck -> ute (or utility vehicle)* sandwich (like at McDonalds) -> hamburger * cell phone -> mobile phone
* fruit cup -> cordial * aluminum -> aluminium * fall (season) -> autumn
*nuclear->nucular
:)
http://www.slate.com/id/2071155/
Ich, that was a cheap shot the likes I've never seen. I'm actually a bit pissed that they want them to spam prayer emails at me, as I have been a reverend for over 1 1/2 months now at a legitimate church. The church not be called the "united church of saint pharyngula", but I'm a reverend nonetheless.
also: did anyone know that in America the conservatives sport red, and the demoncrats blue? In almost every other country the color division is the opposite.
Given the staunch anti-communist leanings of the republican party, I always found that really odd. I assume they were red long before Marx made it cool ;)
Not to mention the conservatives held their big rally on Labor Day (which, in all fairness, is oddly timed here in the states)
Oh noes, it looks like my addition to the pastor list has been raptured. I've been called to the clouds my brothers!
I posted about this when I got the AFA action alert in my e-mail box.
One of the AFA goons showed up and called me a "loser" and an "asswhipe".
Nice Christian values there...but I guess i should be happy that they didn't threaten my children or my life.
I got one of the nice ones, I guess.
Damn, Cuttlefish. That was good. :D
god damn it, they purged 90% of them. SUBMIT MOAR HURRY!
mine is still up though...they honestly can't catch the "saint pharungula" bit, how sad.
Rev. Enshoku, You're confused by all the glitter, but it's OK. Strumpets and Sluts sport the color red. It's part of the uniform of scarlet women.
Hey PZ, I'll add you to another prayer list.
Oh great and powerful Cthulhu, eater of dreams and destroyer of worlds, please eat PZ last.
Cthulhu Fthagn
Prayer huh? So they're bringing out the heavy artillary. Heartless bastards!
Oh, almost forgot. Nice one Cuttlefish! :)
Patricia, I could have lived without knowing that, but thanks... I have to go wash my brain now, it feels dirty.
Come on buck up y'll. If they try lobbing those prayer bombs at us PZ can ink em. The frelling sissies!
I love the Rev. Wildmon. Really. He makes up these 'urgent action alerts' and sends them to all the people on his mailing list. They usually warn about people or corporations who do nice things for gay people and other reprehensible types.
Since he always includes a link where I can go to write to the company in question, I always go and use it. I do erase his pre-typed message and type in one of my own, usually thanking the company in question, or encouraging my legislators to keep on supporting gays.
I just wish the good Reverend would learn to accept his own homosexuality. It would save him so much turmoil.
The "red state/blue state" scheme comes from the way NBC coloured the 2000 election map in broadcasts. As far as I know, neither party uses the scheme as their own official colour.
Sorry Enshoku, but that's what you get for mucking about with republicans and christians. *shudder* Rinsing my brain did nothing for me. I had to pound it on the rocks by the river, soak it in battery acid and then crank it through a wringer several times. Odd, the damn thing can still churn out perfect Church Lady speech.
The Austrlian Liberal party 's name is not as silly as it sounds. Despite their conservative stance, their main policy platforms revolve around econmic liberalism. The party was named in 1945, after a merger of various conservative parties. Economic liberalism and a feverent anti-leftist stance were about all they had in common, hence the name Liberal Party (somehow the "feverent anti-left party" just doesn't have the same ring to it...)
Hey patricia, since when was I mucking around with anyone? I don't consider abusing a system to gain the title of reverend mucking around.
Enshoku
I'm still on the list too- obviously someone on the other end doesn't do too much checking. Pastor Pudenda from the Landover Baptist Church has made to cut too.
Pastor Bridey Shrek, St Bruce of the Antipodes Church.
Don't worry folks. Everyone Loves Potato Soup Church of Burlington, VT is still in operation.
Gaining the title of reverend is such a load of hen shit that it pales in the face of sour owl shit. Anyone from anywhere can be ordained for free over the intertubes. Abusing the system my finely curved ass.
That is the most awesome thing I've read in a long time.
At least with Pastor Bridey Shrek we know that there will be the Book of Unmentionables, The Psalms of Passion, and the Chronicles of Corsetry. These teachings I can live with.
So if even God, in all his omnipotence, can't prevent spam, what chance do the rest of us have. God:0 - SpamAssassin:1, hence SpamAssassin is the one true god! Oh ye of little faith.
What does that make Bayes, on whose theorem SpamAssassin is based (partially)?
The AFA could be alerted and offended if I named myself the High Priestess of Horse Shit. But I can stand firm that horse shit exists, and further more there are piles of it stacked in places all over the world. Hail Horse Shit!
Not to mention that misinterpretation of those teachings would lead to either sexy consequences or hilarious consequences.
I guess I'm on another prayer list now.
Hee hee. More true than you know!
St Bruce of the Antipodes Church.
Mind if we just call ya Bruce, just to keep it clear?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f_p0CgPeyA
Oh now see here we go, descending into hilarious consequences.
Ya try to quote book and verse of that and you just run smack dab into push up bras and leather panties with barbwire conchos.
This is supposed to be a science blog, somebody needs to inject this thread with some pressure vs mass breast numbers. (Is that possible?)
I can do some farm tit numbers for science - chickens = 0 tits. Horses = 2 tits. Hogs = 12 to 16 tits. Sarah Palin = biggest tit of them all.
Sarah Palin = biggest tit of them all.
Look out!! Here she comes now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MohiJL0KolU&feature=related
... Welp, I'm off to bed and then will be meeting with Gary Hurd tomorrow morning, and later dragging him off to heckle PZ as he delivers his communist manifesto at the bookstore tomorrow night.
;)
I'm bringing a good camera, so I'll post pics sunday or monday.
cheers
We would encourage you to add these groups to your prayer list,
Why don't they just pray for them to add these groups to their prayer list. They need prayer lists for their prayer lists. What a blessing it will be when God takes what Satan meant for evil and turns it into blessing!
Praying is the exact opposite of "getting involved."
At least if they're praying it stops them from actually doing something that could have any effect. Really, if all Xtians did was pray then we wouldn't have to worry about them. Unfortunately, they only ignore the teachings of Jebus slightly less (or in some respects, more) than we do.
Does anyone else read "pastorspledge" as pastor-spledge? It sounds pretty organic.
This thread is full of win, especially Cuttlefish the magnificent. The two sluts aren't bad either :)
I know its well played out but, BOOM!!!
Anyone know the 800 number for Irony Meters R Us?
So how do you think the great prayer sorter deals with all the prayers for smitings vs. the prayers for your salvation?
Are you detecting any hints of the odor of Brimstone?
God, PZ, your such a prayer ho.
Woodstein312 @22...
Anelese sounds like a, uh, "personal lubricant".
But I may be pronouncing it wrong.
I keep trying to register The Church of Saint Cthulhu of Pharyngula with various right wing religious groups, but they seem to catch on to that one. Who knew there were so many Arkham fans among the religious right.
Ciao from the Bishop of the Elder Gods
BobbyEarle@84,
In the UK, there's an anti-inflammatory of some kind sold, called "Ibuleve". I've often wondered if this is a sly reference to the placebo effect.
PRAYER LIST! ARGH! Not the prayers! We were just goofing! No need to use the prayers!
Quick, I need 14 rolls of tin foil, a half gallon of Captain Morgan, some red chalk, some blue chalk, and candles scented like horse shit. We can get through this.
Tulse, on the "Red state/Blue state" meme. It's true that the distinction was artifically created by NBC, simply as a quick way to differentiate visually between which states were leaning which way. However, the Loony Right is now able to use this as proof that the MSM is *obviously* biased towards the left. See... since they colored the republican states as red, and red is the color of communism, the MSM is subtly trying to persuade the Amurrikan voters that the republicans are *really* commies, and the *Evil Dems(TM)* are really the good guys.
It's all a conspiracy, I tell you!!!
<><
Hahahahhahahhahha!!
...for some reason the little fish was just too much for me
It actually goes quite a bit further back than 2000. I remember watching the 1980 election on a little 9" BW TV as a college student and getting very frustrated that while they were coloring the states in saturated red and blue, on a monochrome TV they were exactly the same shade of grey. As for the particular color choice, I think it is a mnemonic; Red for Republican.
I so have to learn to write poetry.
SteveM (#90), RTFA that Tulse (#59) linked to. Before 2000, broadcasters did indeed use colour to denote which parties won which states, but they didn't do so consistently. The 2000 election was the first in which all broadcasters used red for the Reps and blue for the Dems. That was because throughout the 2000 election, Reps used red signs, and Dems used blue signs.
On Liberalism and Conservatism:
Remember, countries with multiparty systems have had regular party replacement. So "Liberal" in 1857 would have been a left party at the time (at least a party pitting the middle-class versus the upper-class), which would make it today a very conservative party.
American forget that not every country has been locked in a two party system with the same bureaucracies in battle for a century and a half (Not healthy!)
Fine, it was just an excuse to tell the story about not being able to tell the difference between red and blue on a BW TV anyway.
With 4cc of mouse blood and some dribbly candles, you could do the Rite of Ashk Ente.
A barbwire river in Mexico?
Frustratingly, the colors used to be reversed - states that had gone Democrat would be colored in red, and states that had gone Republican would be colored in blue. I discovered this when I looked up the '72 election on Wikipedia, and it had this illustration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ElectoralCollege1972-Large.png
Their articles on US presidential elections used whatever color-coding was in use at the time, and there was no explanation. Some smart person has fixed this, but it did confuse me at the time.
With respect to the OP, what's absolutely stunning about this is that the person who signed up you is a) clearly aware of the fact that a prayer list is not going to convert you, and that b) the gesture was one simply to annoy and harass you. What does it say when a Christian doesn't even have enough respect for THEIR OWN BELIEFS that they have to use them in that fashion, purely as a form of harassment? This realization, of course, is lost to them.
Lame. They've already deleted all the good entries. Someone must have tipped them off about Landover Baptist.
Of course, there are still a lot of church names that were left where I can't tell if they are a joke or are real churches. "team JESUS motorsports"?
or c) thought PZ would get a kick out of it
Woot..my home state has a few Landovers , a small Darwin joke, and an openly moking one still up. Don't want to say where just in case they're on this site.
Man, I like getting my name on as many prayer lists as possible. It's like collecting bottle caps, only you get less to show for it.
At this point, I'm just asking Christians to pray that I'll end up on more prayer lists. I guess that's sort of like wishing for more wishes, but I'll see if Christ, our Lord, will allow it.
How DARE they pray at me.
I'll show them. I'm going to sit with my hands folded muttering under my breath at them. That'll teach 'em.
Kel you should try living in multiple countries. In the last five years I've gone from:
Bog->Toilet->Salle De Bain->Bathroom->Bog->Dunny->Toilet
Thats NZ to UK to France to USA back to NZ to AUS to Ireland
Back to the Bog next year. Even though I live in the Bog at the moment, but it means something different in Ireland than in NZ.
Hell, I can go from:
Bathroom -> Toilet -> Commode -> Terlet -> John -> Crapper
without leaving the US.
w00t:
Reverend James T. Feltcher Jr.
Beagle Hills Church of the Risible Lord, Est. 1859
Anchorage, AK
What a bunch of suckers.
Not to mention the conservatives held their big rally on Labor Day (which, in all fairness, is oddly timed here in the states)
Labor Day is not at all oddly timed. Ask my mom, who gave birth to her only child over Labor Day weekend.
Dunno.. too plausible. team JESUS watersports would obviously be a joke.