by Heather Hastie | Feb 28, 2017 | Australia, Middle East, Religion
Back in August last year, I wrote the post ‘More Delusions About Religion’. It was my response to a Letter to the Editor that a Chris McColl had sent to his local newspaper in Australia. I saw the letter because George Takei posted it on his Facebook page....
by Heather Hastie | Feb 15, 2017 | Middle East, Religion, US Politics
Donald Trump spent his election campaign making statements like this one from a 7 December 2015 press release. Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out...
by Heather Hastie | Feb 13, 2017 | Australia, Religion
The Australian government set up the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2013. There were ongoing revelations in the media of institutions moving alleged abusers moving from school to school rather than reporting them to the police....
by Heather Hastie | Jan 26, 2017 | Religion, US Politics
Televangelist Jim Bakker has had a chequered history. His career started with the dreadful Pat Robertson, and he had a lot to do with making him so popular. Originally, he was a strong proponent of the prosperity gospel and at one point was said to be receiving US$1...
by Heather Hastie | Dec 21, 2016 | Religion, Women
Many of you will have read Jerry Coyne’s post at Why Evolution is True yesterday: ‘Hijab hijinks at Harvard’. It refers to an article in the Harvard Gazette, ‘Islamic studies scholar addresses myths and mores behind the veil’. That...
by Heather Hastie | Dec 20, 2016 | Education, Religion
I frequently notice the difference between New Zealand media and the media in the United States. There’s plenty of lying for Jesus here, but the media is largely free of it. On the whole, our media don’t deliberately lie to push a certain point of view....
