Purity Ball?

This is the kind of thing that fetishizes virginity. I would prefer someone with experience, thx.

how much longer before these dads feel they need to veil their daughters?

Ick.

And fairly egotistical on the part of the fathers.

BTW Cato- I thought the cross was burning too, but with a closer look I saw it was just blurred back lighting.

Uh, that is kind of the point to EVERYTHING!

Also, @7 only the ridiculous can be ridiculed.

But... for some damn reason at the end of the article, the focus on the dads trying to be better dads and the mention of the dad with terminal cancer taking his two daughters was slightly touching to me. They just want to be good dads, and it's freakin' terrible that this is how their crazy fundie religion tells them to do it.

Right, girls are more emotional than boys, good luck with that then.

And people who are REALLY bored with something generally don't waste time or effort on commenting about their boredom.

The boys have integrity balls, where they're admonished not to ruin other men's property (oops, I meant daughters) before the ritualistic handing over of that property (oops, I meant wedding).

Personally, I would rather believe God didn't exist than to hate him.

For those of us practicing in one of these traditions, Evangelical Atheists are just as alienating and offensive as the fundies, and I wish they'd realize that and decide if that's really what they want. I think it's silly for people who are opposed to the theocracy and oppression of the church - any church - to not be unified. Loving and supporting freedom means loving and supporting people's rights to do with their freedom what they wish - including things you yourself find stupid.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humor

Some people find tremendous comfort in believing in a higher power, and that is fine ... it personally doesn't work for me.

And there are a number of people who do simpathize and support people who are trying to utilize the pleasentries, comforts, and communities of religion with resorting to the hatred. And that's fine. If religion is the opiate of the masses, opium still feels good.

Personally, I don't "hate" evangelicals, but I pity them. Maybe you want to help them, but perhaps I've resorted to a live and let die attitude, if they want to live in squalor and be uneducated that's great but I would rather it not effect my world. They have studies for this, religious people are generally happier (Remember ignorance is bliss) But loyalty and pride, and devotion to ones family and upbringing is a very strong force (They have a commandment for that, "Honor thy father and mother"). Because the irony is that deep inside they seem more lost when they are promised more and more universal truths.

I guess, I can summarize it best when I was at a funeral for a woman who committed suicide. The priest who spoke, gave the best, most honest, and heartfelt cermon I have heard. Basically that when he was a young man, he felt so confident in the world and that he had an answer to everything, but as he got older and older he found himself with more and more questions that didn't have answers. Maybe it's about time we started taking responcibility for own actions, our own happiness, and our own destiny and not rely on the god that made a bet with the devil to test a man's devotion to him. (Job?)

It looks wicked not pure!

Who writes this stuff?

Gee this is creepy. And I'm in favor of teenage girls remaining abstinent.

Yes. We'll go meekly into the corner and not make a peep. You're in charge!

#37 - why is it so hard to grasp? Aggressively proselytizing ANY religious belief is an annoyance to those who don't share it. Alliances should be made based on the idea that all people be free to believe whatever the fuck they want, not on forcing any version of the "right" belief down people's throats.