Sooz, I absolutely hate Citizen's United decision-that is one of the decisions that soured me so on the USSC...and I agree with what you're saying re religion...absolutely. I think you missed my point, (or after having worked 13 hrs this past night, I did not convey my point clearly!) My point is, if the decision stands and is law that a corporation can flood our political system with political speeches and propaganda, even if I as a corporate stockholder do not agree with the corporation's political actions, if the corporation has the same civil rights as an individual, why does this not hold for religious exercise also?

This part of the "slippery slope" of Citizen's United is also what makes it such a bad decision: by giving civil rights to corporations, it makes possible court cases such as Hobby Lobby's and brings theocracy closer to reality...

IOW, if the country has to abide with all the political crap that the decision has wrought in our country, then we either have to live by (under?) that decision, or it needs to be rescinded...Let me put it another way: the USSC can't grant freedom of speech to corporations and then in the next breath say they can't have freedom of religious exercise...that horse just won't race...

Cannalee, I do not support anything about the Citizens United decision, but I see it slightly differently than you do ~ corporations can enjoy "freedom of religious exercise" ~ what they canNOT do is force their religious belief set on others ~ that is clearly prohibited in the First Amendment ~

Sooz

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Aug 3, 2013 10:01 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is a look at some of the religious rhetoric coming from Virginia Republicans, which strayed awfully far from the American norm.

On Thursday, E.W. Jackson, the Virginia GOP's right-wing candidate for lieutenant governor, doubled down on his previous theological condemnations of those he disagrees with politically.


As a rule, major-party candidates for statewide office simply don't talk this way in the United States. American politicians have argued about religious issues since before we were even a country, but those hoping to represent a diverse constituency of millions of people generally don't argue -- out loud and in public -- that one party is "anti-God" and one party is pro-God.

Jackson, in other words, whose rhetorical excesses have made him a caricature of what a ridiculous candidate looks like, is pushing the envelope beyond traditional American norms. He's also lying -- while most secular voters gravitate towards Democrats, there's literally nothing about the Democratic Party or its platform that's hostile towards religion or the supernatural, and most Democratic voters nationwide consider themselves religious.

Indeed, Jackson went so far that Pat Mullins, chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, distanced himself from the candidate's extremism. "I do not agree with that statement," he told Salon in a statement. "My parents were Democrats, and I've got a lot of Democratic friends in Christian churches all around Virginia."

To provide some context, it's not at all common for a state GOP chair to criticize a statewide GOP candidate's rhetoric three months before Election Day. Jackson has apparently gone so far, he's too extreme for far-right Republicans.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* Pope Francis raised eyebrows around the world this week when he said, "If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?"

* A church in Minneapolis has been vandalized three times in recent months after expressing its support for marriage equality. According to a local media account, "Officers say the reporting party said several eggs were thrown at the front door and messages 'referencing homosexuality' were written on the siding."

* Expanding hate crimes data: "The Justice Department will begin keeping numbers on hate crimes committed against Sikhs and six other groups, in connection with Monday's one-year anniversary of the killing of six Sikh worshippers in Oak Creek, Wis." (Thanks to my colleague Tricia McKinney for the heads-up.)

* An unexpected success story: "Lukas Novy says he's a member of the 'Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster,' a satirical faith which teaches that a creature composed of pasta and meatballs 'created the world much as it exists today.' ... Novy, a resident of the Czech Republic, insisted that he be allowed to wear a pasta sieve on his head while being photographed for an official government ID. And he succeeded."

* Anti-Islam activists in Tennessee continue their efforts to block construction of a mosque in Murfreesboro, including appeals to the state Supreme Court. (Thanks to reader R.P. for the tip.)

* The Kentucky chapter of the American Family Association is not only pushing for government-sponsored religion in public schools, it's now arguing that government-sponsored religion will "boost student test scores, lower the crime rate and even decrease the rate of HIV infection."

* And radical TV preacher Pat Robertson was asked by a viewer this week what to do about his home, which the viewer believes may be "haunted." The televangelist replied, "[I]f it was me I'd burn the house down and move on," but added that an exorcism might be more cost effective.


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/03/19849968-this-week-in-god?lite

Robertson is working on his second career... that of a clown.

Okay, he doesn't believe in ghosts but he believes in demons....lol

I have to say, telling them to burn the house down and move on is the smartest thing I have ever heard him say. Look folks, if hear moaning coming from my walls, lights turning off and on on their own, the tv changing channels on its own, the BED MOVING, stuff FLOATING OFF TABLES.....hell, that's good enough for me. Where's the matches???

Before striking that match call up your local earthquake center.

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:08 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is a story about Mike Huckabee, the pastor turned governor turned presidential candidate turned media personality, who used his platform to go after a specific religious minority.


Huckabee later clarified that he did not mean to refer to all 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. How nice.

The Huffington Post's report noted that destructive demonstrations are more common in the Middle East on Fridays, but "there are numerous factors that have made Friday the most popular day for protests, including the fact that most of the Muslim world gets the day off and frequently congregates in large communal areas to observe the day of prayer." For Huckabee to suggest prayer services themselves generate violence is unfounded.

Huckabee, one of the nation's most prominent religio-political voices on the American right, has a long history of provocative rhetoric, and these comments follow remarks Huckabee made after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, when he tied the lack of government-sponsored religion to the tragedy.

Huckabee has also falsely claimed that President Obama “grew up in Kenya"; he's endorsed “death panel” garbage; he's equated the national debt with the Nazi Holocaust; and has gone after the LGBT community with over-the-top rhetoric. In August 2009, Huckabee even argued on his own radio show that Obama’s health care reform plan would have forced Ted Kennedy to commit suicide.

But Huckabee going after religions he doesn't like is fairly new.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* Cathie Adams, the former chair of the Texas Republican Party, fears that congressional approval of immigration reform may "lead to an identification system indicative of biblical End Times."

* The Supreme Court is set to hear a case out of upstate New York, challenging the constitutionality of opening sessions of the town board with an official prayer. This week, both Congress and the White House weighed in, siding with the town practice. In a rather crass move, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has begun fundraising on the issue (thanks to reader R.B. for the tip).

* An unfortunate development in Massachusetts: "Monsignor Arthur Coyle, a top official in the Merrimack Valley area for the Archdiocese of Boston, was arrested Sunday and charged with soliciting a prostitute, after having been spotted by police circling around known prostitution spots in the city more than a dozen times in the past 10 months." Late last year, Coyle was given the title of Prelate of Honor by then Pope Benedict XVI (thanks to reader R.P.).

* And TV preacher Pat Robertson was asked by a viewer about video games, and he replied, "If you're murdering somebody in cyberspace, in a sense you're performing the act." Good to know.


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/10/19963142-this-week-in-god?lite

Robertson needs to be on the Daily Show.

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Aug 17, 2013 9:58 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is an unexpected legal fight in Tennessee, where a 7-month-old boy had his name changed by a state judge who disapproved of his parents' choice in monikers.


It seems pretty obvious that the Tennessee judge went too far. State restrictions on parental naming rights exist, but general apply to practical considerations: names can't be so long that they no longer fit on a birth certificate, and some states prohibit non-letter characters -- exclamation points, ampersands, etc. -- from being included.

But for a state court to reject a name because the judge considers it religiously inappropriate seems pretty outrageous. Indeed, according to the Social Security Administration database, there were 762 American baby boys named "Messiah" last year -- making it roughly as popular as the name "Scott." There were also were 3,758 Americans given the name "Jesus," which appears to be more common in families of Hispanic ancestry.

While we wait for Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew's ruling to be overturned, however, the New York Times report on this story included an interesting twist: what happens when parents use their naming rights as a form of proselytizing?


The NYT's Mark Oppenheimer added that the New York ruling "is not binding in Tennessee, but it reminds us that whenever religious language is involved, whether etched into public buildings or slapped onto a Social Security card, there are competing claims of religious freedom."

Also from the God Machine this week:

* Oklahoma's pointless efforts to ban Sharia law in state courts isn't going well: "A proposed amendment to Oklahoma's state constitution that would have prevented state courts from considering Sharia and international law was struck down by a federal judge on Thursday."

* Bad advice on church politicking: "Even as polls show Americans broadly oppose electioneering from the pulpit, a new report by a group of faith leaders working closely with Capitol Hill argues for ending the decades-old ban on explicit clergy endorsements. The report being given Wednesday to Sen. Charles E. Grassley -- the Iowa Republican whose office for years has been probing potential abuses by tax-exempt groups -- comes as the ban has become a culture-war flashpoint."

* The Gastonguay family made a very bad decision: "A northern Arizona family that was lost at sea for weeks in an ill-fated attempt to leave the U.S. over what they consider government interference in religion will fly back home Sunday."

* And Darek Isaacs, a creationist author and filmmaker, insisted this week that dragons actually existed and interacted with people. And what makes him think this? Because, Issacs argued, there are Biblical references to dragons, which necessarily means dragons were real.


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/17/20065765-this-week-in-god?lite

* And Darek Isaacs, a creationist author and filmmaker, insisted this week that dragons actually existed and interacted with people. And what makes him think this? Because, Issacs argued, there are Biblical references to dragons, which necessarily means dragons were real.

Step aside, Pat. Dere's a new clown in da house.

* The Gastonguay family made a very bad decision: "A northern Arizona family that was lost at sea for weeks in an ill-fated attempt to leave the U.S. over what they consider government interference in religion will fly back home Sunday."

Just in time to go to Sunday mass in one of the millions of government-restricted churches!

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Aug 24, 2013 10:44 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is a provocative debate over houses of worship and tax policy.

Throughout the United States, churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples are considered tax-exempt entities, and the rationale has always been the same: because houses of worship are considered to be charitable institutions, without profit-making goals, government has always given them a pass on any kind of tax burden.

Matt Yglesias raised a few eyebrows this week, arguing that it's time to treat houses of worship like every other tax-eligible entity, which in turn raised a related question: just how much money is at stake?

Researchers at the University of Tampa set out to quantify the answer, and Dylan Matthews summarized the findings.


So, how much money are we talking about here? The University of Tampa research puts the total at $71 billion, which is obviously an enormous chunk of change. Note, however, that it's on the low end of possible estimates -- as Matthews explained, the figure doesn't include local income and property tax exemptions, or charitable deductions worth additional tens of billions of dollars.

The appetite among policymakers for any kind of changes in this area is practically non-existent, even as a simmering debate over tax reform and a reevaluation of deductions unfolds behind closed doors on Capitol Hill. But given the sheer number of houses of worship, the amount of property they own, and the apparent interest in moving governmental budgets closer to balance, this would, at a minimum, be the basis for an interesting public conversation.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* The Arkansas Christian Academy near Little Rock this week posted signs notifying the public that school staff is now armed. One sign in particular warns, "Any attempt to harm children will be met with deadly force."

* The Ridgedale Church of Christ in Tennessee forced Linda Cooper out of the congregation recently, despite her family's membership in the church for the last six decades. Her transgression? She sat with her gay daughter, a local police detective, at an event on same-sex benefits for the local police department.

* BuzzFeed this week published a series of interesting maps, offering a visual breakdown of Congress' religious makeup (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).

* Given the importance the religious right movement places on a sense of victimization, Amanda Marcotte this week highlighted the "five most absurd, self-pitying gripes of the Christian right."

* And on a related note, the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer was outraged this week about a New Mexico court ruling that said a wedding photographer couldn't discriminate against a same-sex couple. According to Fischer, this means the courts "have turned Christians into Dred Scott." He added, "[T]o me this looks like Jim Crow is alive and well, we've got Jim Crow laws right back in operation, Christians are the new blacks."


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/24/20169494-this-week-in-god?lite

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Aug 31, 2013 10:26 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is a story out of Texas, where a megachurch's leaders are starting to regret preaching against vaccinations.

Officially, measles has been eradicated in the Western Hemisphere, but incidents like these still occur.


"This is a classic example of how measles is being reintroduced," said William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told USA Today. He added, "This is a sadly misinformed religious leader."

He's referring, of course, to the megachurch's senior pastor, Terri Pearsons, who has advocated faith-healing and questioned vaccines. If her name sounds familiar, she's the daughter of prominent televangelist Kenneth Copeland.

Even now, Terri Pearsons, continues to express misgivings about vaccinations. That said, after the outbreak, she nevertheless said she now believes "children and even adults of all ages need to be immunized now to stop the spread of measles and prevent those potential complications."

Indeed, soon after, the megachurch abandoned its previous positions and began organizing free vaccination clinics, while posting information to its website about other nearby vaccination clinics.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* Arkansas state Senator Jason Rapert (R), perhaps best known for his aggressive social-conservative activism, said this week that he believes it's "more important to do what is right by God" than anything else, which presumably includes doing right by his constituents.

* The far-right Family Research Council, a leading organization in the religious right movement, was apoplectic after the Supreme Court's ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, but is now trying to argue that the court's decision wasn't too big a deal.

* Alabama evangelist Matt Pitt, who has "led thousands of young Christians in high-energy worship services across the United States in recent years," has been arrested on charges of impersonating a law enforcement officer. He's continuing to lead worship services from recordings in a county jail.

* And a sign in front of St. John's Anglican Church went viral this week, thanks to its simple, progressive message. It reads, "Jesus had two dads and he turned out just fine!"


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/08/31/20270747-this-week-in-god?lite

WHAT? Nothing from Pat this week?

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Sep 7, 2013 10:04 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is the latest controversy surrounding the Pledge of Allegiance, which some media personalities aren't handling well.

A lot of folks aren't aware of the backstory on the Pledge, so let's briefly recap. For generations, Americans cited an entirely secular Pledge that ended, "One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." That was the Pledge recited during both World Wars, for example. (Yes, the Greatest Generation turned out all right despite having a secular Pledge.)

Congress changed it in 1954 to spite godless communists. A family in suburban Boston has gone to court in the hopes of bringing back the original Pledge, arguing that under Massachusetts' Equal Rights Amendment, atheists are being treated unfairly.

The legal dispute hasn't been well received by all.


Perino added that Americans who prefer the original Pledge should consider leaving the country. "If these people really don't like it, they don't have to live here," she concluded.

Co-host Bob Beckel agreed, saying, "Yeah, that's a good point."

It's really not. This notion that a religious minority should stop bothering a religious majority is, alas, not uncommon, but it's nevertheless offensive. A Jewish family might move into a Christian community, for example, where they may hear that if they're uncomfortable with the way Christianity permeates the public sphere, they don't have to live there.

But as a rule, whether one likes the original Pledge or the more religious version, telling Americans they shouldn't feel welcome in America because of their religious beliefs is never a "good point."

Also from the God Machine this week:

* Radical TV preacher Pat Robertson is sending his lawyers after two filmmakers "over their documentary depicting the televangelist's egregious misrepresentations of the activities of his charity, Operation Blessing." The film, "Mission Congo," is set to premier at the Toronto International Film Festival, and reportedly "depicts how Robertson diverted charitable activities to help mining projects that he owned and grossly exaggerated the work of Operation Blessing among Rwandan refugees."

* This house of worship is ironically called the Freedom House Church: "Churches often do their best to welcome new members and make new congregants feel welcome, but one North Carolina congregation caused a firestorm when a lead pastor requested 'only white people' serve as greeters."

* And Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council, arguably the religious right movement's most powerful organization, argued this week that Congress should only authorize the use of force in Syria if Democrats agree to take away health care benefits from Americans. "If the President wants to expend resources in going into Syria, maybe you should have to choose between funding Obamacare and funding a war in Syria, can't do both," Perkins said.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/07/20375059-this-week-in-god?lite

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Sep 14, 2013 10:15 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is a textbook controversy in Texas, where a new fight over creationism and far-right efforts to gut biology lessons is stirring all kinds of trouble.

In recent years, education officials in Texas pushed for sweeping changes to the state's social studies curriculum, replacing accurate versions of American history with one conservatives found more ideologically appealing. As Sarah Jones noted this week, a similar effort is now underway in which far-right activists hope to replace biology lessons with their own version of science.


Right Wing Watch highlighted concerns raised by Jimmy Gollihar of the University of Texas at Austin's Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, who noted that the panel responsible for reviewing the textbooks featured anti-science activists. Gollihar wrote to the State Board of Education, detailing "how the creationists who are serving on the panel not only lack any credentials but seem not to understand basic science, such as the one panelist, a dietician, who demanded that biology textbooks incorporate 'creation science based on biblical principles.'"

For the record, this is the 21st century. I just thought I'd mention that.

If Texas continues on this path, lawsuits are inevitable, and the right is unlikely to prevail. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that creationist pseudo-science is legally impermissible in public school science classes because it violates the separation of church and state.

Still, far-right activists in the Lone Star State appear ready to take their chances. The next public hearing on the science curriculum is this week, with a meeting scheduled for Sept. 17.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* An unexpected perspective from Rome: "The Vatican's new secretary of state has said that priestly celibacy is not church dogma and therefore open to discussion, marking a significant change in approach towards one of the thorniest issues facing the Roman Catholic Church."

* Remember this clown? "Controversial Gainesville Pastor Terry Jones, known for his plans to publicly burn copies of the Muslim holy book, was arrested Wednesday with thousands of kerosene-soaked Qurans, authorities said. Jones, 61, was arrested on felony charges after a traffic stop near a pharmacy in Mulberry, a small town in Polk County, just before 5 p.m. He faces charges of unlawfully transporting fuel and openly carrying a firearm" (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).

* And finally, radical TV preacher Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network launched an effort two weeks ago to cover up Robertson's on-air claims. Specifically, the televangelist said gay men in San Francisco sometimes wear special rings to draw blood from others in the hopes of spreading HIV/AIDS. This week, the Christian Broadcasting Network lost the fight, and to honor the occasion, here's the video Robertson and his lawyers didn't want you to see.


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/14/20492527-this-week-in-god?lite

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:22 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is a look at Pope Francis, who continues to shake up the Roman Catholic Church in ways that were hard to even imagine up until very recently.

[Sooz says there is a video clip in the original.]

To be sure, the still relatively new pope -- Francis' papacy only began six months ago -- has been challenging a variety of church traditions since being elevated. He made international headlines suggesting atheists can reach heaven through good deeds, when he washed the feet of a Serbian Muslim, and when he proclaimed, "If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?"

But this week, Francis went even further.

Pope Francis said in an interview published Thursday that the Catholic Church cannot focus only on abortion, contraception and gay marriage, and that the moral structure of the church will "fall like a house of cards" if it does not find better balance.

The pope acknowledged in the interview that he has been criticized for not speaking more about those three issues, but he said that the church must "talk about them in a context."

While the teaching of the church on those subjects was clear, he said, "It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time."

It's worth emphasizing the pope hasn't articulated a shift in position on issues such as homosexuality, abortion, and birth control. Rather, Francis is talking about tone -- he's making the case that it hurts the church when these social issues come to define the faith's message. He warned of a ministry needlessly "obsessed" with the culture war, urging the church to find "a new balance."

In the same interview, the pope added, "A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: 'Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?' We must always consider the person."

As several joked this week, Pope Francis would clearly be vulnerable to a Tea Party primary challenger, outraged by his break with conservative orthodoxy, if only the Vatican worked this way.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* Pastor Kevin Swanson, a Colorado minister with a reputation for extremism, thinks he can explain the flooding that devastated parts of his state this week: a photograph of State House Majority Leader Mark Ferrandino (D) kissing his partner published in the Denver Post: "Swanson said that it is not a coincidence that the state experienced deadly floods at the same time Colorado 'legislators committed homosexual acts on the front page of the Denver Post' and made sure to 'kill as many babies as possible' and 'encourage as much decadent homosexual activity as possible.' He even mentioned the new liberal marijuana law as a reason that the state is witnessing 'the worst year ever in terms of flood and fire damage in Colorado's history.'"

* And in an unexpected move, TV preacher Pat Robertson told his viewers this week that faith healing is "like Santa Claus." A regular part of Robertson's broadcast is a segment in which he talks about ailments being healed through the television.


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/21/20619391-this-week-in-god?lite

* And in an unexpected move, TV preacher Pat Robertson told his viewers this week that faith healing is "like Santa Claus." A regular part of Robertson's broadcast is a segment in which he talks about ailments being healed through the television.

Indeed, only TV can heal you. All those other guys are charlatans so send ME all your money as I'm the one with the TV station.

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Sep 28, 2013 10:23 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is a look at a curious fight in Kansas, where religio-political conservatives believe science lessons violate the separation of church and state.


As Simon Brown reported, the organization is filing a lawsuit on behalf of 15 local Christian parents. Steven Case, director of the science center at the University of Kansas, added that this argument has been tried before in court, and it's always failed. "This is about as frivolous as lawsuits get," Case said.

What I find especially fascinating about the argument is its implications. For COPE, the absence of religion is necessarily evidence of a "non-theistic religious worldview," promoting "materialistic" or "atheistic" views. In other words, from their perspective, anything that's secular should be seen as a rejection of religion.

By this reasoning, if you have lunch without a prayer, it's an atheistic lunch. If you play baseball without including religion, it's a "non-theistic" game. And a school teaches biology, it's entangling itself in religion by omitting supernatural stories from science classes.

The Baptist Joint Committee says COPE is effectively pushing for "no science at all" in Kansas' public schools, which I imagine is precisely the point.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is releasing a new book about Jesus, which he said is the result of God communicating with him in a dream. "All of the ideas come to me in the middle of the night and one night, I just woke up and I went, 'Killing Jesus,'" he told CBS this week. "And I believe because I'm a Catholic that comes from the Holy Spirit. My inspiration comes from that ... so I wrote 'Killing Jesus' because I think I was directed to write that."

* In an interesting cultural shift, the faculty and staff at Moody Bible Institute will now be permitted to drink alcohol. That may not sound like much of a breakthrough, but the New York Times noted it's "symbolic of a shift in evangelical attitudes away from teetotaling and the theological desirability of strict systems of rules."

* David Lane, an influential evangelical and political operative, has created an evangelical group called the American Renewal Project, which contacted more than 10,000 U.S. pastors this week, urging them to join him in an effort to "save America." The message argued, among other things, "Unless politicians see scalps on the wall, they will never respect our policies, marches, sermons or prayer rallies.... Registering the Christian constituency to vote, and getting them to vote is the game. Game on" (thanks to reader R.P. for the heads-up).

* And the Family Research Council, a heavyweight in the religious right movement, argued this week that there's "nothing more Christian" than slashing food stamps for low-income families. I don't think it was intended as a joke, though with the FRC, it's sometimes hard to tell.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/28/20732562-this-week-in-god?lite

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Oct 5, 2013 10:41 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is a major national retailer with a religious agenda, which is becoming famous for all the wrong reasons.

Hobby Lobby, an arts-and-crafts chain owned by conservative billionaire Steve Green, generated headlines recently when it filed an anti-contraception lawsuit, arguing that since the company's leaders opposed birth control, it should be able to restrict contraception access among Hobby Lobby employees. The business' lawyers have said corporations are people with religious liberty, and contraception access under the Affordable Care Act conflicts with Hobby Lobby's spiritual beliefs.

This week, however, Hobby Lobby was at the center of a different controversy when Jewish customers claimed the chain will not carry merchandise related to Hanukkah. One New Jersey customer, Ken Berwitz, claims he asked a store clerk about bar mitzvah cards, and a Hobby Lobby salesperson replied, "We don't cater to you people."

It sparked a larger controversy, which Hobby Lobby tried to resolve yesterday (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).


Though the issue now appears to be nearing a resolution, when it comes to the culture war, it looks like Hobby Lobby is quickly joining outlets like Chick Fil A as private chains making a larger religio-political footprint.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* A public middle school in Ohio finally agreed this week to remove a portrait of Jesus from school property. It will, however, have to pay nearly $100,000 in local taxpayer dollars in legal fees after initially resisting church-state separation.

* Speaking of church-state trouble, an Alabama town suffering through a terrible crime wave has launched "Operation Good Shepherd," in which the town of Montgomery will spend taxpayer money to bring Christian pastors to crime scenes to counsel and pray with victims and witnesses. Local officials hope government-sponsored evangelism may reduce crime rates.

* And speaking of Alabama, a public high school near Mobile asked a former University of South Alabama professor to teach Arabic as an elective, alongside Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese. This has not gone over well with local Christian culture warriors.

* The Family Research Council, a powerhouse in the religious right movement, has begun promoting its upcoming "Values Voter Summit," and its materials are relying on a James Madison quote that was debunked nearly 20 years ago.

* And radical TV preacher Pat Robertson told an elderly woman this week that she would have fewer financial and health problems if she gave more money to her church in the form of tithing.


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/05/20831389-this-week-in-god?lite

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
By Steve Benen - Sat Oct 12, 2013 9:55 AM EDT

First up from the God Machine this week is a special kind of elected member of Congress who is convinced that President Obama may be ushering in a Biblical apocalypse. You get one guess as to which member of Congress is espousing this theory.

If you said, "Hey, that sounds like the sort of madness we might hear from Michele Bachmann," give yourself a prize.


The right-wing Minnesotan said the president unilaterally "waived a ban on arming terrorists" -- a development that did not occur in this reality -- in order to "give arms" to al Qaeda, which also did not occur. Based on these imaginary events, which Bachmann perceives as real, the congresswoman openly speculated about the End of Days.

"[W]hat this says to me, I'm a believer in Jesus Christ, as I look at the End Times scripture, this says to me that the leaf is on the fig tree and we are to understand the signs of the times, which is your ministry, we are to understand where we are in God's end times history," Bachmann said. "Rather than seeing this as a negative, we need to rejoice, Maranatha Come Lord Jesus, His day is at hand. When we see up is down and right is called wrong, when this is happening, we were told this; these days would be as the days of Noah."

It's worth noting that House Republican leaders gave Bachmann a position on the House Intelligence Committee, giving her access to the nation's most sensitive and highly classified materials, despite her apparent instabilities.

Indeed, as tempting as it may be to chuckle at Bachmann's more fanciful delusions, let's not forget that she's an elected federal lawmaker who, for a brief while, was considered a competitive Republican presidential candidate.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* As Salon's Katie McDonough noted the other day, Internet TV host Glenn Beck told his audience this week that parents should use verbal abuse and physical intimidation to teach their children that their rights "come from God" by getting "in their face" and making them cry. That sounds delightful and inspirational, doesn't it?

* I don't even know where to start with this story out of New Jersey: "In a bizarre case involving threats of kidnapping, beatings and physical torture -- including the use of an electric cattle prod -- two rabbis were charged in New Jersey on Wednesday in a scheme to force men to grant their wives religious divorces. Two others were also charged in the case, which grew out of an undercover sting operation involving a female FBI agent who posed as a member of the Orthodox community seeking a divorce" (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).

* And radical TV preacher Pat Robertson told his viewers this week that they may unknowingly have demonic household items that will cause headaches. "What is important is: were these objects actually used in some kind of Satanic ritual? Some occult practice? If that's the case, then there might be some demonic force that attaches to that which was used in pagan worship," Robertson said. Good to know.


http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/12/20934423-this-week-in-god?lite

I still cannot belive that Bachman is on the "intelligence" committee. It's scary. She's scary.


If items in your house are possessed by demonic spirits and you don't pay for them, are they repossessed?

If I believed in demonic possession, it wouldn't be hard to believe that Ms. Bachmann is possessed by one of Satan's most seriously mentally handicapped demons. Geez, Minnesota has always seemed like a sensible sibling to Wisconsin, sort of like a more mature sister. Until they elected Jesse Ventura, and then we just thought our older sister was exhibiting some stress-related behavior problems, and she'd get over it. But now they've elected Bachmann a couple of times, what are we supposed to think of Minnesota now? Can there possibly be a whole congressional district that thinks like she does? Are they down wind from the ethanol plants? What the hell's going on?

I think our sister state may have a little early-onset something or other.

Here's this week's installment ~ "live links" to more/corroborating info in the original are accessible via the end link ~ Sooz

This Week in God
10/19/13 10:21 AM
By Steve Benen

First up from the God Machine this week is a striking reminder that the religious right movement often takes a unique view of the parts of the Bible treating “the least of these.”

In particular, Right Wing Watch reported this week on the latest from the Family Research Council, one of the movement’s largest and most powerful organizations, which doesn’t see a need for public sector to aid struggling families.


Perkins want to on to express concern that progressive Christians are “treating the government as if it had divine instructions from God to be a form of theocracy.”

First, using public resources to help the poor, whether religiously motivated or not, is hardly theocratic. Second, the irony of a religious right leader expressing concern about theocracy was, apparently, lost on Perkins.

Also from the God Machine this week:

* Germany’s so-called “Luxury Bishop,” Catholic Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg, has generated controversy among German Catholics “due to spending and huge cost overruns related to his residence at a time when Pope Francis is stressing humility and serving the poor.” All told, the bishop has reportedly spent $42 million on his personal accommodations, leading to calls for his ouster (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).

* I don’t even know where to start with this one: “Rick Scarborough invited Peter LaBarbera to address his Tea Party Unity group today, and the two anti-gay activists discussed ways to somehow file a ‘class action lawsuit’ against homosexuality just like when attorneys general of many states filed a lawsuit against tobacco companies.”

* While religio-political issues like abortion and gay rights have been staples of the so-called culture war for decades, last week’s Value Voters Summit made clear the right is taking the fight over contraception access very seriously.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/week-god-75

While religio-political issues like abortion and gay rights have been staples of the so-called culture war for decades, last week’s Value Voters Summit made clear the right is taking the fight over contraception access very seriously.

Lead by example. Expose all the dickheads in your midst.