because holy shit people, I am speechless. I shouldn’t be. I’m a trained minister. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to religion. And I’m a trained tech geek. I’ve been around a few internet blocks.

But dear god in heaven. I’m also furious.

**note: this is not my usual stuff. This is more like current events commentary, and it will likely make you mad. So if stories about death threats, misogyny, and internet bullying are not your cuppa joe, give this one a pass and I’ll be back to my usual stuff soon.**

Here’s the link: http://ittybiz.com/death-threats-online/
and here’s the next link: http://ittybiz.com/sometimes-the-bad-guys-win/

and here’s the summary, if you’re not going to go read them:
Naomi Dunford, rockin’ awesome self-made marketing coach/guru/straight shooter, is friends with Dave Navarro, aka The Launch Coach.

Dave’s stuff isn’t quite my style, but that’s not his fault, and if I sat down and followed the impressively clear step by step do-this-do-that directions he gives, I, too, could probably launch the **** out of just about anything, even a rotten tomato in a paper sock.

But I digress. Dave and Naomi are both outstanding at what they do, and they both do internet marketing. They are also friends, and sometimes-business-partners.

And Dave is getting divorced. That’s his business.

But his brother and his brother’s ideas about Christianity think that’s also their business, and his brother has threatened to kill him if he goes through with the divorce. Because killing people is WAY more Christian than quietly leaving the room.

And his brother has harnessed the awesome power of the internet to determine (a) that Naomi and Dave are having an affair and (b) they and their businesses should be killed off.

That’s right, I said they AND their businesses.

There are no words for how angry this makes me.

Oh, and there’s precedent. Dave’s father killed Dave’s mother when she left him, back in the mid-80’s.

Let’s review, shall we? Ten commandments, right? Hmmm…no gods before me, no idols, no swearing, take a day off and make it sacred, oh here it is:

Thou shalt not kill.

Right there in the middle between “honor thy father and mother” and “thou shall not commit adultery” (the one that Dave’s brother thinks he’s violating).

Could it be any plainer?

I believe….no, what I believe is going to put us way off track. Let’s take on the operating faith system here. Within Christianity, in the holy text, in very plain writing, not disputed by any scholars that I know of: no killing.

Oh, and look down there at number 9: no false witness. That means you don’t say things about someone else that aren’t true.

Hypocrisy ain’t pretty, folks.

I don’t say things like this in public very often, because for the most part I respect peoples’ rights to their own faith and belief systems. But where someone’s faith interferes with someone’s human rights, I draw the line. It’s things like this that give religion a bad name.

I don’t know if that’s all I’ll say on the subject. It’s all I’ll say today.

So what can we do? Write about it. Talk about it. Refuse to be cowed into silence. Tell the world. Do something awesome. Do something awesome in the name of women, in the name of religion, in the name of basic human decency. Act. Stand up. Be counted.

Spread the word.

PS: the other thing you can do? If you like Dave and his stuff, or Naomi and her stuff, there’s never been a better time to buy it for yourself, give it as gifts, and promote the hell out of their work.