acroyear | I have nothing to add here

Except that it's nice to be able to use this icon as it was intended.

Pharyngula: ABC thinks we're all morons:

Who knows? Maybe they're right. They're planning a program for "Nightline" (which, I seem to recall, at least used to be a pretty good news program) which will probably get them some decent ratings.

They're going to have a debate on the existence of Satan.

Yeah, you heard that right…on a so-called news program. But it gets worse! They have 4 people coming on to yell at each other.

On the "Satan exists!" side, they have Pastor Mark Driscoll, head of a megachurch in Seattle, and Annie Lobert, former prostitute and founder of a group called Hookers for Jesus. Sensationalism is already rearing its gaudy head, you can tell.

Even worse, the "Satan does not exist!" side is a joke. It consists of Bishop Carlton Pearson, who doesn't accept the doctrine of hell but is a Christian, and…unbelievably…Deepak Chopra. Not an atheist or skeptic among them, just hardcore believers in woo vs. fluffy believers in woo.

Meanwhile, the contemporary equiv of buying salvation continues, even without the indulgences...

Pharyngula: Preying upon the gullible:

Do you feel like you don't pray enough? Are you too busy working, or playing golf, or fornicating to actually take the time out to get down on your knees and praise the invisible man in the sky? Well, there is a service for you: Information Age Prayer. For the low, low price of $3.95 a month, they will run your prayer of choice through a voice synthesizer every day, and allow the computer to speak to god for you. Is a loved one sick? For only $9.95 per month, the computer will beg god to help them 5 times a day! Throw enough money at this service, and you can just skip church altogether, not waste any time with the holy muttering, and get all the benefits of piety, every single one. Sign up today!