{"id":338,"date":"2008-07-16T18:35:55","date_gmt":"2008-07-16T22:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=338"},"modified":"2008-07-16T18:35:55","modified_gmt":"2008-07-16T22:35:55","slug":"brazil-tries-to-get-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=338","title":{"rendered":"Brazil Tries to Get it Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

On July 7, 2008 LifeSiteNews.com <\/a>reported that a Brazilian judge has ordered the removal of a Catholic priest\u2019s book from bookstores. Father Jonas Abib\u2019s book, titled \u201cYes, Yes! No, No! Reflections on Healing and Liberation\u201d, cautions readers about the dangers of the occult, which includes the Afro-Brazilian religion Spiritualism. <\/p>\n

According to LifeSiteNews.com<\/a>, public prosecutor Almiro Sena is quoted as accusing the Priest of \u201cmaking false and prejudiced statements about the spiritualist religion as well as religions from Africa, like Umbanda and Candomble, as well as flagrant incitement to destruction and disrespect for their objects of worship.\u201d Sena also added that \u201cthe State Constitution (of Bahai) says that it is the obligation of the state to preserve and guarantee the integrity, respectability, and permanence of the values of Afro-Brazilian religion.\u201d The court agreed.<\/p>\n

Man, where to begin. Banning books, censoring books, seizing books, it\u2019s all wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I\u2019m sure I disagree with Father Jonas Abib, I\u2019m kind of used to not being on the same page as the Catholic Church, that said, he should be allowed to spew out whatever nonsense he wants in a book. I highly doubt his book was going to change any minds. I suspect if you bought the book, you were already on his team. Let\u2019s try this another way, David Icke, who for the record I just love, cranks out book after book of total artwork quality out there-ness. Yet, no one seems overly concerned about the impending lizard threat, and I\u2019m pretty certain he\u2019s sold way more books than Abib! <\/p>\n

I find it noble, and wonderful, that the Bahai government is concerned about maintaining the \u201cintegrity, respectability, and permanence of the values of Afro-Brazilian religion\u201d but, with all due respect, at what cost? Will it be at the cost of the other faiths in their state being denied those things? The courts also censored an organization that initiated a campaign to condemn homosexual behavior. And just in case you haven\u2019t been playing along, I have no problem with homosexuality\u2026I backed Dennis Kucinich for crying out loud! (One of the only Democrats who ran for the Democratic nomination for President who was for gay marriage. The other one was Mike Gravel.) Yet, they have the right to be against homosexuality, however wrong they are in their belief. I mean, however wrong I find their belief.<\/p>\n

Although not always executed the way I would like, America has got it right Brazil. First Amendment, all the way. Protect all the religions and all the speech, and then let God, the free market, or the history books decide which of them has it right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"