about 2 months ago - 17 comments
I like how Pat knows the “devil” so well that he knows what was said in this “deal”.
There is no hell, so I can’t tell this crazy man to go there and hide in a lonely corner to fuck himself with hot pokers. Robertson, you’ve lost your marbles and we all know it. Go take More >
about 2 months ago - 9 comments
First, you must know I am a very enthusiastic fan of Harry Potter and his universe. I am not embarrassed by this in any way, but I have not reached true fangirl status (dressing up, fan mail, fapping to movie posters and the like). Still, if the HP universe existed, I would be leaking happiness! More >
about 3 months ago - 5 comments
I’m subjecting myself to seeing New Moon today with my girlfriends [Edit: I was going to see it, but then I came down with some nasty virus]. I am the only non-fan among them, so I’ve been acting out by glorifying all that is horrible and hilarious about the book series. Not familiar with Twilight? More >
about 4 months ago - 3 comments
Your favorite ex-beauty-queen-conservative-showgirl and mine, Carrie Prejean, took an interview with Christianity Today magazine that inspires many thoughts and a few chuckles. I may not hit on half of them here so go check it out.
The former Miss California contestant says that she is ’still standing,’ and called a recent video of her ‘the worst More >
about 5 months ago - 9 comments
All of these books have won the Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year. It’s my dream to one day make that list. Maybe one person will judge the book by its title and buy a copy!
If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start with Your Legs (2007)
Natural Bust Enlargement with Total Power: How More >
about 5 months ago - No comments
When I was in high school, my Christian club secured a legal team to help us navigate what we were allowed to do on school property. Could we have a Bible study during lunch time in the courtyard? Could one of the boys preach like Ray Comfort near the front doors of the school? Was More >
about 6 months ago - 4 comments
So says Richard Dawkins–scientist, author, and activist for atheism–in his upcoming book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution.
Later today, I’ll ask you what you think about this method of vocal confrontation and if it’s the most effective means for spreading the truths of science.
I’ve included a few excerpts from his book below. More >
about 7 months ago - 5 comments
There are certain things I think every child does at camp. One of them is to simulate a rain storm using only your body. All at once, the group starts out brushing their palms together, swishing like a gentle drizzle. Then they transition gradually into snapping fingers (light rain), then clapping hands (a shower) and More >
about 8 months ago - 11 comments
It was a Wednesday night and I was on the ground, rolling and gasping for air, laughter coming in wave after wave, cramping all my muscles and pushing tears out of the corners of my eyes. I was lost to the world, convulsing in heavy, wheezing laughs. But I hadn’t heard a good joke nor More >
about 8 months ago - 5 comments
It all started in early June with a challenge. The Atheist Missionary (TAM) was contacted by a Christian missionary known as da:
I am a convinced theist (new-born christian) and also a missionary. You propose a book I will read, I propose a book you will read. … If your book is convincing you might convert More >
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about 2 months ago
oh, dear! Wow. . .
about 2 months ago
Ritual abuse crimes are very real. They happen worldwide. see http://ritualabuse.us for more information
about 2 months ago
So glad you posted this. I was reading about this recently and I'm very interested in getting my hands on a copy. Of course it's like a $100 + collectors item. But I'd at least like to see more pages.
about 2 months ago
Unfortunately I could only find 4-5 images of this book online. More pages would perhaps put some of the more puzzling passages in context.
about 2 months ago
Though this book may not be appropriate for children, the topic itself is important for those of us that have gone through ritual abuse and recovered from it.
about 2 months ago
I feel bad if I've brought offense to people who have personal insight into this topic. I found the book's writing amusing, especially the bits about halloween and such. Since I do not believe in Satan or anything supernatural, that is where the ridiculous eyerolling comes in for me. Abuse is real and not funny, you're right. I may have given the impression that I don't believe it exists.
about 2 months ago
See what Wikipedia says about Ritual Abuse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_abuse
Looks like it has about the same degree of credibility as vaccine conspiracy theories. This is not to say RA has never happened to anyone, but it's not a statistically significant public safety issue, as far as I can tell.
about 2 months ago
The Wikipedia page is a one-sided, unbalanced version of the topic, written by those that want to deny the existence of ritual abuse crimes. Wikipedia in general is often inaccurate. Most of it is written by anonymous writers with unknown credentials and biases and there is no guarantee that any of it is double checked or accurate.
Even Wikipedia itself makes "WIKIPEDIA MAKES NO GUARANTEE OF VALIDITY." Wikipedia also states "Please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by people with the expertise required to provide you with complete, accurate or reliable information" and "all information read here is without any implied warranty of fitness for any purpose or use whatsoever."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_di...
A more accurate wiki page on ritual abuse is:
http://childabusewiki.org/index.php?title=Ritual_...
about 2 months ago
I checked out the "more accurate" wiki page on ritual abuse, and noticed that almost all of the references were before 2003, which is about the same time that SRA and RA fell out of favor as diagnoses. Which is consistent with the idea that it was a poor diagnosis to begin with.
Are there more recent studies available? Not just eyewitness testimony?
about 2 months ago
Karriker, Wanda (2003). Morning, Come Quickly. Catawba, NC: Sandime, LTD. ISBN 0‑9717171‑0‑9.
Lacter, E.; Lehman, K. (2008). “Guidelines to Diagnosis of Ritual Abuse/Mind Control Traumatic Stress”. Karnac Books Ltd. Issue Volume 2, Number 2 / July 2008 Pages 159‑181
Noblitt, JR; Perskin PS (2000). Cult and ritual abuse: its history, anthropology, and recent discovery in contemporary America. New York: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-96665-8.
Noblitt, J.R.; Perskin, P. S. (eds) (2008). Ritual Abuse in the Twenty-first Century: Psychological, Forensic, Social and Political Considerations. Bandor, OR: Robert Reed, 552. ISBN 1-934759-12-0.
Rutz, Carol (2001). A Nation Betrayed. Grass Lake, MI: Fidelity Publishing. ISBN 0‑9710102‑0‑X.
Scott, S. (2001). The politics and experience of ritual abuse: beyond disbelief. Open University Press. ISBN 0335204198.
These books cite research and legal evidence to back up the existence of ritual abuse crimes.
about 2 months ago
Most of the "skeptical" refences on the wikipedia page are from the 1990's when the debate occurred. RA and SRA are not diagnoses, but are child abuse crimes.
RA/SRA references from the last ten years:
The Extreme Abuse Survey (2007) http://ritualabuse.us/mindcontrol/eas-studies/
Publications on Ritual Abuse and Mind Control in 2008
http://www.endritualabuse.org/citation%202.htm
Hell Minus One http://childabusewiki.org/index.php?title=Hell_Mi...
Forensic Aspects of Dissociative Identity Disorder – Sachs, Adah & Galton, Graeme (Eds). Publisher : Karnac Books, 2008 ISBN 1855755963 (has chapters on SRA)
Griffis, Ph.D., Dale, Cheryl and Lynn Hersha, Ted Schwartz (2001). Secret Weapons. Far Hills, NJ: New Horizon Press. ISBN 0-88282-196-2
about 2 months ago
I know I read this and other books in the series this belongs to as a child. There was one about divorce, one about drug abuse, one about sexual abuse, one about death…
They really freaked me out. The satanic abuse one definitely gave me nightmares. After reading the one about sexual abuse I was utterly terrified of my friends' fathers. And the drug abuse one was pretty frightening too.
I would like to say that my parents never read these to me or gave them to me to read. I just stumbled upon them in the church library or something and…started reading. They were right there with all of the other children's books about Jesus and Noah and stuff.