Critical Analysis of Christian Influence in Modern Society

4. What the Chronicle has to say about Christians: “They're the ones who've made all the headlines and influenced all sorts of laws and national policy changes lo, this past half-decade concerning everything from stem cell research to gay marriage to evolution, sanitized school textbooks to failed abstinence programs to RU-486 restrictions to silly anti-science rhetoric, the ones who gasped in horror at a woman's bare nipple and made a disgusting mockery of Terri Schiavo and actually applauded when John Ashcroft spent $8,000 of taxpayer money to throw some heavy drapery over the shamefully exposed breasts of the bronze (female) Spirit of Justice statue in the Hall of Justice. And so on. They are, in short, responsible for a great many of the most notable social and intellectual embarrassments in America since the new millennium took hold, and rest assured, we and the rest of the civilized world shall recall their bleak accomplishments for much of our natural born lives, and shudder.” - Mark Morford, San Francisco Chronicle, “The Fall of the Godmongers”, September 2007

5. Online Comments in Response to the Article: mizplacement wrote: Praise Jesus … and not THAT Jesus -- the one wielding the machine gun -- but the other one I was taught as a child was about love and forgiveness and tolerance. midvanisle wrote: There are various versions of Jesus, and all of them are based on this or that translation of the New Testament, which have had additions and, uh, modifications over the centuries. There IS no "one true version" of the Gospels or any other part of Jewish-Christian Scripture . . . that is simply untrue. Angry_American wrote: …Their absolute faith leads to absolute disaster and intolerance. superpinky wrote: There is a God and right now she is laughing from reading this column. Jesus loves Polar Bears...not Dick Cheney! -SFGate.com

6. “Randomly throughout the semester, numerous vendors set up their booths on campus and peddle their wares. Not that strange, I guess. Until you come across one of the tents that sells smoking paraphernalia. Only in San Francisco can you buy a bong from a bona fide vendor on a college campus. It’s as if our administration is saying to us, “light up, kids!” -The Golden Gate [X]press, “SF State Offers a Unique Brand of College Experience”, May 2007

7. “As with every year, SF State has explicitly stated what it does not want at the 2007 Commencement Ceremony. No beach balls, no booze, no bare breasts. Just how are students supposed to enjoy graduation when the school has banned these very things that are as closely associated with graduation as mortarboards and tassels?” -The Golden Gate [X]press, “What Not to Bring to Commencement Ceremony in 2007”, May 2007

8. “You know, I really wasn’t worried about it at all. Like, at all,” said Jennifer Garner, 25. “I smoked a joint with some faceless dude next to me without care.” Garner contends that engaging in her regular weekend behavior was harmless, and couldn’t see why it would matter. “I mean, its not like it affected my experience at the graduation,” said Garner, who graduated with her B.A. in fine arts.” -The Golden Gate [X]press, “What Not to Bring to Commencement Ceremony in 2007”, May 2007