The stupid things religious wingnuts say

I know, I know -- it's a broad topic. But you have to start somewhere. For me, one of the most irritating things religious loons do is when they place themselves in cosmic dramas. They're just so important, doncha know.

For example, you're watching a TV report about a rape that was stopped when a woman happened upon the perp and victim as it was going down. The rapist runs; the woman is saved. Hallelujah!

But when the hero is interviewed, she says: "Do I think I was in the right place at the right time by coincidence? Do I think it was an accident that I arrived in time to stop this? No, I was supposed to be here."

That's right, dear. All the goings-on in the cosmos are about you and your random walks through the neighborhood. Makes perfect sense. It wasn't just that your hemorrhoids hurt so much that you had to stand up and walk around, and stumbled upon these two. That can't be it. No, it's God hisself who put you there.

I swear, these twits make me ill.

What drives you crazy about the things religious nitwits say? Again, I know: it's a hugely broad topic. But if you had to pick one thing that drives you batty, what would it be?

The popey guy's empty words

The popey guy did an Easter-themed Q&A on TV yesterday and the subject was, by and large, human suffering. Here's an excerpt from an article on MSNBC, recounting the exchange he had with a 7-year-old girl:

The first question posed came from Elena, a Japanese girl who told the pope many children her age were killed and asked why children have to be so sad.

"I also have the same questions: why is it this way? Why do you have to suffer so much while others live in ease?" Benedict said. "And we do not have the answers but we know that Jesus suffered as you do, an innocent." Trying for words of comfort, the pope told her that "even if we are still sad, God is by your side."

He said the girl should tell herself: "One day, I will understand that this suffering was not empty, it wasn't in vain, but behind it was a good plan, a plan of love."

Christians have been trotting out this inane "argument" for as long as they've been around. Apparently this is why, after a massive earthquake, children are buried alive and then eaten by rats as they suffer their last moments on this Earth -- because "behind it [is] a good plan, a plan of love."

These people are monsters. What kind of scum do you have to be to make an argument like this -- and in public, no less, and when speaking to children? Anyone who hears this and thinks it makes sense is intrinsically disordered -- just like the popey guy.