Religious Boneheads Of The Week

Two different people did stupid things in the name of their religions in the last few days. First up, the latest chapter in Des Moines Area Transit's struggles with atheism:

A bus driver suspended for refusing to drive a bus bearing an advertisement for an atheist group met with Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority officials Wednesday to discuss her future.

Angela Shiel, 41, said she was aware her actions could lead to termination when she walked away from her assigned bus on Monday. The bus had an ad for the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers that read: "Don't believe in God? You are not alone."

"I'm not driving that bus with that sign on it. It goes against everything I believe in," said Shiel, a four-year DART driver.

DART Gives Suspended Bus Driver Four Options

Apparently, this woman believes that her religion's founder died a slow, agonizing death so she wouldn't have to be reminded that other people believe differently than she does. I wonder how she feels about bank advertising. I wonder if she understands the irony of that last statement. Now she faces being fired unless she accepts one of the work assignments offered her, which if one excludes the choice of just getting in the bus and driving no matter what the advertising on it says, sound like a demotion to me.

The second honoree is god-bothering imbecile Charlie Crist, governor of Florida. He seems to think that his god spared him the trouble of dealing with hurricanes since he's been in office:

Gov. Charlie Crist believes in the power of prayer.

He recently told a group of real estate agents Friday that Florida has been hurricane free thanks to prayer notes he placed on the Western Wall in Jerusalem. He said each year he has placed them there or has asked someone to place them. The notes, he said, say this: "Dear God, please protect our Florida from storms and other difficulties. Charlie."

Crist Says Prayer Has Spared Fla. From Hurricanes

So, who or what is Crist going to blame when a hurricane finally does reach Florida? If Angela Shiel has anything to say about it, I'm sure it will be DART and atheism, since inevitably these things are caused by whatever annoys thoughtless people like her.

Come to think of it, I suppose that means thought could be blamed.

UPDATE: A commenter to that article on Gov. Crist wondered if Crist had ever read Matthew 6:5-6, which goes like this:

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

I suspect Gov. Crist has read it, but it's not a passage he quotes publicly very often. He's probably counting on the fact that most Christians in America don't know squat about their own religious text.

I also added a link that explains the irony of bank ads.