Valerie Tarico wrote an article at Alternet, republished at Salon, that should get her a lot of invites to ironically themed liberal Christmas parties.  The title: "Why rape is so intrinsic to religion." Tarico lays out a series of myths from pagan traditions, mostly Greek and Roman, in which women are abducted, violated, and coerced.  We have Danae, Europa, Rea Silvia...and, what do you know, the Virgin Mary. Notably, Tarico avoids using the same dire language for the Blessed Mother that she uses for the pagan myths: "[I]n the Gospel of Luke, the Virgin Mary gets pregnant when the spirit of the Lord comes upon her and the power of the Most High overshadows her."  No "cutting" or "overcom[ing]" or "imprison[ing]" here – but it still, per Tarico, equates to Mary not "giving consent." At this point, anyone with even a passing understanding of the Bible must be hearing alarm bells.  That, and...(Read Full Article)