The Top 40

What better way to censor thought and speech, make it about offending someone and think about the lives that will be saved.
Freedom's days are numbered.

Grrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggghhhhhh.

I know no one uses it strictly, but isn't "slander" a legal term?

Plus, it ain't slander if it's true.

Speaking from a Christian perspective, I would say that Mohammed was a false prophet. He denied the divinity of Jesus Christ and relegated Him to the status of a lesser prophet. So, in other words, as a believer in Jesus, I have to say that Mohammed was either deluded or, more likely, just made up a bunch of BS to unify the Arabs and build an empire.

Are Muslims now going to accuse me of "slander" and demand that Obama silence me? Is Obama suggesting that it is wrong for Christian preachers and leaders to speak out against the beliefs of Islam?

Islam is a pretty candy-ass religion if it needs all this protecting from mere humans. Allah must be face-palming daily at the buffoonery of his followers.

As for "Plus, it ain't slander if it's true.", that's legally true in America where truth *is* a defense against a charge of defamation (yay, us!). But not so in other parts of the world. Britain is one, I believe, where you can go to jail for telling the truth.

Jesus Christ came as, among other things, the fullfillment of the Old Testament prophesies. He was the Messiah. He redeemed us from sin.

There was and is no need for any other prophet, since all Old Testament prophecies were about the coming of the Savour, Jesus Christ

Therfore, Mohammed is not a prophet, The Koran is not the word of God. Allah is the name of something that is not the One, True God.

This Arab Spring shit is the continuation of a religous war.

Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

He redeemed us from sin.

How is that working out for ya?

Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

@Mike, September 26, 2012 11:39 AM

I'm not sure what your point is.

The redemption from sin obtained by Jesus for all mankind is working out just fine for me.

I think Mike's point might be leelu's cute use of the F-word. The F-word is vulgar and often inappropriate, but it is not necessarily "sinful". It is not equivalent to taking the name of the Lord in vain -- neither is using the phrase G-dd--n when you hit your thumb with a hammer, or calling your hammer a mf'ing piece of $41t afterward -- in my opinion, as long as you don't do it in mixed company.

I learned that from my parents who were both fine Christian people.

A lot of people who are full of jealously, envy, greed, and lust get all bent out of shape if somebody says "hell" or "damn" in their presence. It's wrong to offend our brothers and sisters if we can avoid doing so, but we have some brothers and sisters who are professional "weaker brothers" and get offended very easily.

But I think Mike, like leelu, was just being cute.

Oh, okay. Now I see. Thanks for the clarification.

Re vulgarity: I agree. "Shit" means exactly the same thing as "feces", of course -- it's just the Anglo-Saxon word for merde -- and using "shit" to refer to feces is no more intrinsically sinful than using merde would be. It just sounds more coarse.

We teach our children that words such as "fuck" and "shit" are not sinful per se, but that they are rude words that could offend others, and are best not used except in the circumstances you describe.

You have to be able to shout “the king is a fink,” or the future belongs to the king.

- James Lileks

You have to be able to shout “the king is a fink,” or the future belongs to the king.

- James Lileks

@Steve S: Yes, in the US, truth is (still) an absolute defense against slander/libel. In other countries, that is not necessarily the case, although the defendant proving what he said was the truth can make it harder for the plaintiff to win significant damage awards.

I also agree that Mohammed must be pretty weak stuff if he needs the civil law to protect him. I don't see Christians and Jews whining to the authorities about people insulting John the Baptist or Moses, much less Jesus or YHWH.