Ike – aptly named if one knows  the history of the Turners – did a hell of a lot of damage. I don’t know how the Jesus crowd feels about what keeps happening to Galveston (it gets hit pretty regularly, and last I heard, it’s not a gay mecca), but I’m sure they’re trying to exonerate their sky daddy by any means available.

Unfortunately such means surfaced with a story on MSNBC about a lioness that ended up sheltering in a Baptist church during the storm.

The full-grown lion was from a local zoo, and the owner was trying to drive to safety with the animal when he saw cars and trucks stranded in the rising floodwaters. He knew he and the lion were in trouble.

He headed for the church and was met by a group of residents who helped the lion wade inside, where they locked it in a sanctuary as the storm raged. The water crept up to their waists, and two-by-fours came floating through broken windows. But the lion was as calm as a kitten.

Before the Christard babble begins: No, this is not a case of the lamb lying down beside the lion. Unfortunately, you know as well as I do that they’re not going to see it that way.Christianity, despite what its adherents often protest, is not a religion of peace. The Westboro camp is one extreme example, but there are others – perpetrators of attacks upon abortion clinics and employees regularly assert that it’s their god who insists on their behavior. Strange that an all-powerful entity seems unable to coordinate a series of lightning strikes or meteorite impacts on such establishments; something like that would be a clear and unmistakable sign. Instead, we’ve got behavior that simply looks deranged. Lunacy, however, is a human trait.¹

To underscore the point, lethal violence between different Christard factions in Lebanon broke out – over a banner. Yes, Lebanese godbots are actually shooting at each other over a rag.²

LF supporters had been hanging banners in Bsarma village in preparation for their annual Martyrs Mass ceremony on Sunday.

Security officials said a banner had been pulled down and the shooting started after Lebanese Forces members returned to display it again.

It doesn’t help that the Lebanese Forces group is aligned with Sunni Muslims, while the rival Marada is aligned with Shi’ite Hezbollah. It seems odd that the Christians in Lebanon have more in common with the Muslims – so much so that they’re ready to start killing other Christians – but there you go. That’s the toxic power of religion. By contrast, it’s hardly surprising at all that a lioness would be at ease taking shelter from a violent storm in a quiet, calm structure.

Is there a lesson to be learned here? Surely. And just as surely, it’ll be FUBARed utterly this weekend by the pious in histrionic blatherings that ultimately cloud reality.

I’ll be at home, watching a movie.

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1. I know most of the Old Testament stands in opposition to that statement, but let’s remember the OT is not the product of any sort of god.

2. Amazing how some people let themselves get worked into a violent rage over someone’s treatment of a piece of cloth … oh, wait.

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Crossposted from my dump.