William Barr Claims ‘Militant Secularists’ Are Persecuting Conservative Christians
MICHAEL STONE



U.S. Attorney General William Barr claims “militant secularists” are persecuting conservative Christians by driving religion “out of the marketplace of ideas.”

Barr, speaking with Cardinal Dolan on his SiriusXM radio show “Conversation with Cardinal Dolan,” attacked “militant secularists,” claiming that they “are trying to impose their values on religious people.”

Barr told Dolan:



Barr continued:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmh8ah5 ... e=emb_logo

Barr is wrong when he claims “religion is being driven out of the marketplace of ideas,” and he is being dishonest when he implies conservative Christians are being persecuted by “militant secularists.”

In fact, religion is not being driven out of the marketplace of ideas by “militant secularists,” and conservative Christians are not being persecuted for their backward and ignorant beliefs. Instead, religious superstition continues to be abandoned by reasonable people who choose to think critically about such matters, and the fact that religious conservatives continue to support the person and policy of Donald Trump is only further indication of the moral and intellectual depravity entailed by conservative Christianity.

As for the separation of church and state, Barr has demonstrated on multiple occasions that he has no respect the separation of church and state.

For example, in a 2011 address to “The Governor’s Conference on Juvenile Crime, Drugs and Gangs,” Barr condemned church/state separation in public schools:


Bottom line: U.S. Attorney General William Barr is a dishonest and dangerous religious conservative who rejects the separation of church and state, and makes the false claim that “militant secularists” are persecuting conservative Christians.

SOURCE

militant Christians have been attacking secularists for over 1000 years.

Well, as a so-called Constitutionalist he can't very well admit that those demanding religion not be involved in governing are the ones following the Constitution. Better to label them "militant secularists" than to admit they are in the right.

Since US news is so depressing I thought a little good news from across the pond is in order....

Franklin Graham’s UK tour left in tatters as nearly every venue drops anti-LGBT hate preacher
NICK DUFFY

More venues have cancelled planned appearances by anti-LGBT preacher Franklin Graham, leaving his plans to tour the UK up in the air.

The Trump-supporting preacher, who is known for praising Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay laws and blaming gay people for a “moral 9/11”, is set to visit the UK at the start of Pride Month in June as part of an evangelist tour.

However, the plans are now coming apart at the seems, after a number of venues booked for his rallies opted to cancel his appearances.

Following decisions from arenas in Liverpool, Glasgow and Sheffield earlier this week, his appearances in Birmingham and Newport have now been dropped – while another in Milton Keynes is also set to be axed.

Birmingham, Newport, Milton Keynes venues drop Franklin Graham

A spokesperson for the Arena Birmingham confirmed to PinkNews that his June 17 appearance had been cancelled, saying: “Following a review of The Graham Tour, Arena Birmingham has made the decision to no longer hold the scheduled event at the venue.”

The ICC Wales venue in Newport also confirmed that it has dropped his planned June 14 rally in the city.

A spokesperson told PinkNews: “As a venue, our policy is to remain impartial to the individual beliefs of both our clients and visitors but, over the past week, we have been made aware of a number of views held and comments made by the Graham organisation which are incompatible with our own values of equality, diversity and inclusivity.

“Opposition to this event has come from numerous sources, and from across the community.

“As a result of this, we can no longer reconcile the balance between freedom of speech and the divisive impact this event is having in our community. We have informed the organisers of the event that the booking will no longer be fulfilled.

“ICC Wales is proud to represent all communities and looks forward to hosting events of all sizes, promoting Wales as a destination for business events, and bringing huge benefits to the visitor economy.”

His June 10 appearance at the Marshall Arena in Milton Kenyes has also been scrapped.

A statement to PinkNews says: “The Marshall Arena has taken the decision to cancel the event due to be held at the Arena on June 10.

“This decision has been taken due to our concerns that the event may lead to a breach of the peace, which we believe would have a disruptive effect on our staff, our neighbours at Stadium MK and the inclusive Milton Keynes community.”

Of his original eight planned tour dates, just one currently has a venue – Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on June 3.

Newcastle Council leader Nick Forbes has called on the Utilita Arena to drop Graham, telling Pride Radio: “I don’t think there’s any room for him in our city… that kind of act does not match the values of our city.”

SOURCE

And the good news continues ...

Every single UK venue has now dropped hate preacher Franklin Graham
NICK DUFFY

Every single UK venue booked by anti-LGBT preacher Franklin Graham has now ditched his events, after an outcry from activists.

The Trump-supporting preacher, who is known for praising Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay laws and blaming gay people for a “moral 9/11”, is set to visit the UK at the start of Pride Month in June as part of an evangelist tour.

However, every single venue booked for the eight-date tour has now cancelled, after being made aware of his extreme anti-LGBT views.

Last UK venue drops Franklin Graham

The Utilita Arena in Newcastle was the final venue to announce it had axed the preacher, following the lead of venues in Birmingham, Newport, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Liverpool. A London date, also planned, never secured a venue.

Newcastle’s Utilita Arena confirmed on Wednesday: “Following talks with our partners and relevant stakeholders we can confirm that the Franklin Graham event scheduled at the Utilita Arena Newcastle in June will not take place.”

Ste Dunn, chair of Northern Pride, told PinkNews: “Having led the call for this to be cancelled and coordinated the support of numerous groups throughout the city, we are obviously delighted by this decision.

“We would like to thank everyone who got behind the campaign and signed our petition, to make a stand and show that anti-LGBT+ speech is not welcome in Newcastle.”

SOURCE

TOP EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN WEBSITE SAYS PETE BUTTGIEG'S HOMOSEXUALITY MAKES HIM 'DESERVING OF DEATH'
EWAN PALMER

leading Christian website has published a column in which a preacher and author describes 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg as bringing the "death rattle of a nation" with his homosexuality.

Writing for Charisma News, a website associated with the popular Christian magazine Charisma, Bert Farias decried how people are celebrating that a presidential candidate is publicly introducing, and even "kisses without shame," his husband in the name of progressivism.

"The constant compromising of preachers to avoid controversy is creating much damage—not only to the world, which is looking for a clear sound from preachers, but also to believers who have little discernment or are growing tired of ambiguity," Farias wrote.

"For example, one very influential and popular minister who has millions of followers was asked if homosexuality was wrong, and his general response was that his views were evolving. Evolving? That's like saying the Bible is evolving. How pathetic of an answer.

"In fact, when those who practice such things that are 'deserving of death' also approve of others who practice them (Rom. 1:32), it is one of God's final signs of His wrath on a society.

"This is a description of gay activism and constantly pushing for its normalcy and marginalizing those who disapprove. This is present-day America. How far we've fallen."

Farias went on to claim that the shock factor of seeing two men kiss has been so reduced so much that "the rest of us are numb and desensitized to this most shameful and abominable behavior."

Farias also suggested it was hypocritical to attack President Donald Trump over accusations of adultery and sexual assault if you do not question Buttigieg's "abominable lifestyle."

He added Trump has apologized for his past behavior, including boasting how he grabs woman "by the p****," whereas Buttigieg is "pushing his homosexuality, not apologizing for it."

"Buttigieg and others of his kind will do everything in his power to normalize homosexual relationships even more in the eyes of America," Farias added. "They are products of what the Bible calls a "debased mind" or a mind void of judgment (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28) that God Himself has given them over to.

"Buttigieg will also do his best to marginalize those who are convinced that these relationships are contrary to the will of God."

Buttigieg and his husband Chastern have been the subject of a number of homophobic slurs during the former South Bend mayor's surprising rise to one of the frontrunners for the 2020 Democratic candidacy.

Buttigieg was also confronted by protesters from a group called Queers Against Pete at a fundraising event at the National LGBTQ Center for the Arts in San Francisco on Friday.

In an open letter on the group's website, Queers Against Pete say they cannot support his campaign to become president because of "gaps" in his policies that will affect the LQBTQ community.

"We cannot in good conscience allow Mayor Pete to become the nominee without demanding that he address the needs and concerns of the broader Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA) communities," the letter said.

"While many see different issues in silos, we are clear that LGBTQIA people are directly and disproportionately impacted by police violence, incarceration, unaffordable healthcare, homelessness, deportation, and economic inequality among other things."

Buttigieg's office has been contacted for comment.

SOURCE

BTW - claims like that are fit right in on the website in question

https://www.charismanews.com/

I just find it interesting how so many "Christians" focus on homosexuality and abortion, to the exclusion of just about everything else, when, as far as I can tell, Jesus didn't say even one word about either of those things.

Somehow I don't think Pete or any other Dem was pinning their hopes on the Evangelical vote anyway. They'll probably pick up a lot of Christian votes, though.

Christian Lawmakers Group Blames Satan After Twitter Poll Goes Badly Awry
Ed Mazza

A group ostensibly representing Christian lawmakers launched a poll on Twitter over the weekend asking if America would be better off with more Christians in elected office.

It didn’t go well:


After more than 16,000 replies, the answer was an overwhelming “no,” which received 95.8% of the vote. In response, the group accused “atheists and Satanists” of “religious persecution” for voting in the poll.

Congress is overwhelmingly Christian, far out of proportion with the people they represent. According to a Pew survey last year, the Senate and House are nearly 90% Christian, compared with 65% of America as a whole.

One in four Americans now considers themselves atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” a position publicly held by just one member of the current Congress, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who lists her religion as “none.” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) describes himself as a humanist, while a handful of others haven’t acknowledged a faith or lack thereof.

The National Association of Christian Lawmakers was started last year by Arkansas State Sen. Jason Rapert (R), who warned about the rise of witches in a recruitment email. It’s not clear how many members the group has, but its board of advisers includes a number of current and former elected officials, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

An attempt to raise $500,000 via GoFundMe stalled at less than $20,000, more than half of which came from a single anonymous donor.

SOURCE

live links at source

AG William Barr: “Men Are Far Likelier to Obey Rules That Come from God”
BY HEMANT MEHTA

Last October, during a speech at the University of Notre Dame, Attorney General William Barr blamed social problems like drug addiction and mental health issues on a lack of religion. He even condemned the “militant secularists” pushing for progressive values.

Months later, he blamed “militant secularists” for imposing their values on religious people when the reality is that (1) militant secularism is an oxymoron in the U.S. and (2) that sort of thing only ever happens the other way around.

Barr went even further yesterday during a speech at the 2020 National Religious Broadcasters Convention.

It was his most blunt argument so far to justify the Christian Right’s takeover of the U.S. government.

And as with all things Trump, Barr deliberately lied to his audience.



Take this passage for example:


Adams indeed said those words to the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts in 1798. However, Barr left out an entire sentence. Perhaps for a reason. Here’s what Adams actually said. Note the bolding.


When you take that in context, it’s clear Adams is using religion and morality as synonyms against all kinds of human problems. He’s not saying Jesus is the solution to our woes. Indeed, years later, Adams summarized his religion in four words: “Be just and good.”

Barr got worse when he ranted against atheists, though.



If you need the threat of God to obey sensible rules, you’re not a moral person.

In any case, all of that comes from a man representing an administration run by conservative Christians who have used their power to inflict all kinds of suffering upon the “least of these.” We’re not better off because Christians are in charge. Under almost any measure, the most freedom-loving countries in the world are ones that are the least religious by choice. (We’re not talking about North Korea here.)

Put another way, Barr wants us to believe religion makes us more moral. But this administration is nothing if not religious, and there’s nothing moral or kind or wise or compassionate about it.

It’s ironic, then, that Barr warned the audience that “the very essence of Christ’s message counsels for modesty and restraint in secular politics.” There’s no modesty or restraint in this administration.

And then Barr trashed the very idea of a less religious society.


No one is calling for the government to “promote” atheism. But what Barr wants is for Christianity to become a de facto national religion. It’s what his justice department has argued in court time and time again.

The man whose job is to protect church/state separation wants to tear down the wall between them.

It was an embarrassing speech from a corrupt lawyer who wants to whitewash American history in order to advance Christian Nationalism. And Republicans will never do a damn thing to stop it. [Shift's comment - it's not just "stopping" it - many will do whatever is in their power to encourage it.]

SOURCE

Morality and and conscience are not predicated on rules. The test of person's character is what they will do when no one is looking. There are times when the moral course conflicts with rules.

Hopelessly optimistic timeline

The Christian Right could be irrelevant by 2024
By Laura Clawson

We know now that the core of Trump’s voter base is the white evangelical demographic, and we know the issues with it: the main underlying drive of fear, the us-vs.-them mentality, the easy brainwashing due to being conditioned from childhood to mindlessly obey authority and believe lies, the anti-intellectualism, the false worldview generated from the pulpit and from the right-wing noise machine, the sexism, racism and many other bigotries, the authoritarianism, the “prosperity gospel” worship of wealth and the wealthy, the opposition to equality, freedom and democracy. They’re even talking about Trump being a God-sent king, so perhaps we have to add embrace of criminality, treason and sexual predation.

But it appears the numbers of white evangelicals are dwindling enough that they might become irrelevant as a political force as soon as 2024, and direct opposition to their toxic worldview is being led by an increasingly strong and vocal movement of their own disaffected youth: the Exvangelicals.

Nina Burleigh, Newsweek, Dec. 13, 2018:


One of these demographers is Robert Jones, who heads up the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and published a book in 2017 entitled The End of White Christian America. Jones, Burleigh writes,


See the Dem side of the new House of Representatives? That’s the long-term future of American politics.

While the older cohort of the Christian Right is aging and dying out, the younger is abandoning it due to being fed up with hypocrisy and bigotry. Burleigh, as well as providing an overview of Christian Right history, presents the stories of three young men who are now leaders in the Exvangelical movement: Blake Chastain, whose podcast “Exvangelical” gave the movement its name, felt his church’s support of the Iraq War conflicted with biblical teachings. Jason Desautels left his after his preacher mis-blamed the Oklahoma City bombing on Muslims and didn’t apologize when the truth came out. Alex Camire left his church after his mother was demonized by his pastor for her alcoholism and his horizons were broadened by a secular education; his pastor’s endorsement of Trump sealed the deal, exemplifying Burleigh’s point that the Trump phenomenon, while it did not start the Exvangelical exodus, certainly hastened it.


Consider this as a two-birds-with-one-stone best-case scenario: Trump ultimately destroys both the GOP and the Christian Right’s already-weakening political clout.

Another Exvangelical leader, Christopher Stroop, calls 2018 “the Year of the Exvangelical” and identifies five key crucial events/factors of last year in a Dec. 26 article in Rewire.News.

Stroop concurs with Burleigh that Trump’s election was a “flashpoint and catalyst” for the unification and activation of the Exvangelical movement, many of whose members, he notes, are survivors of religious trauma (link provided by Stroop). “Because the exvangelical community consists of those who repudiate evangelicalism for its pervasive authoritarianism, we also tend to affirm that which most white evangelicals—a literally uniquely conservative, uniquely pro-Trump, and nativist demographic—stand against… feminism, intersectionality, racial justice, and LGBTQ rights.”

A thought of my own about the timing of the exvangelical phenomenon: part of the evangelical strategy for raising docile, pliable members is—as with any cult—isolation from the outside world and its information. Religious home-schooling, Christian camps and Christian colleges provide a cradle-to-adulthood indoctrination pathway. However, it is simply not possible to isolate young people as they could 20 or 30 years ago. The whole world is accessible through a little device everyone under 30 constantly has in their hands. It’s no accident that Exvangelicals first connected online.

Robert Jones sees white Christian Americans as working their way through Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief over the loss of their supremacy (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance).


See why the impossible wall is so important to Trump anyway? For all it started as a mnemonic, it is a potent symbol.


And of course a raging, destructive, sociopathic chaos agent given the enormous powers of a US President is the perfect vehicle for thwarted-authoritarian anger.

Jones’s notion of Trump as a crazy desperate Hail Mary effort to maintain white/Christian/male/hetero supremacy in the face of unstoppable demographic forces—even at the price of selling America out to foreign enemies, destroying democracy and perhaps the nation itself—is the most plausible explanation of the Trump phenomenon I’ve ever encountered.

That Hail Mary will never work, however. So long as the Exvangelicals and other supporters of democracy, equality, freedom and realism who form the true moral majority of Americans don’t let it.

The Man Who Mobilized The Evangelical Vote | AJ+



What you need to know about evangelicals in the Trump era



What Is The Future Of Evangelicalism? | VICE on HBO (Bonus)



SOURCE

Numerous live links at source

shiftless2 wrote:

If the only reason someone behaves morally is because of they anticipate punishment or reward in an afterlife they aren't a moral person to begin with.

If they believe God is the only thing between them and rape and murder, the U.S. has some serious problems coming up. Remember these are the same people who have been able to rationalize sexual assault, adultery, repetitious lying, bullying, vindictiveness and outright corruption into something they can whole heartedly support.

AG Bill Barr: Only theocratic U.S. government can control citizens
U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr is at it again — this time promoting a Christian theocracy in America, a government ruled by what he likes to loftily refer to as “the Judeo-Christian tradition” but which is actually just the Bible.
RICK SNEDEKER



I dare you to read this transcript of Barr’s Feb. 26 speech in Nashville, Tennessee, at the 2020 National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) Convention and not be simultaneously horrified and fearful for the nation’s future. (Watch a video of the sermon-like speech above)

Note that this was an official U.S. government-endorsed speech by the head of its Justice Department speaking in his formal, governmental capacity, not a private lecture delivered by a private citizen randomly exercising his First Amendment free-speech rights.

I should also point out that the speech transcript is posted on the official U.S. Department of Justice website.

So, what Barr was doing at the NRB confab was officially promoting, on behalf of the U.S. government, not only religion but creation of a theocratic Christian government to ensure the nation followed the Christian God’s commands.

Keep in mind that that’s exactly what, also with the First Amendment, the Founding Fathers passionately, emphatically tried to prohibit: the federal government officially endorsing anything religious or privileging ...

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numerous live links at source

well, he is half right. only a top down authoritarian regime can CONTROL citizens.

the rest have to LEAD.

Interesting. Isn't it his job to prosecute violations of the constitution?There is no one with any authority who is going to hold him accountable.Our only recourse is the upcoming election.

Gorsuch has gone on record as saying that no-one can sue to prevent the gov't from establishing a state religion (post #2 of this thread).

http://churchandstate.org.uk/2019/03/ne ... -religion/

Something Americans and the rest of us should be concerned about is the "National Emergency" declaration opens up a whole pantheon of new powers for Grabem. And we all know that, if a power can be abused he will abuse it....especially if there's a buck or two that can slither into his pocket.

I would be more worried if he were competent.

he can't even seem to organize a decent press conference.

prediction: it is just another way for him to siphon off money to his donors.

This dates to 2013 - the handwriting was on the wall then (but I don't think anyone expected someone like Trump appointing so many of "them" to senior positions)

Christian fundamentalists are driving our country into the Dark Ages
By Dakota O’Leary

America has an infection. Whether it is terminal remains to be seen. The infection is that of anti-intellectualism, a steadfast refusal to acknowledge that one’s worldview is mutable, a worldview in which facts are only facts if they fit that worldview, and that anyone who disagrees with a Christian fundamentalist worldview is an “enemy” of God. The infection has taken hold in conservative politics, where it has spread to a significant portion of the American population, and even into a significant amount of the Canadian population. In Katherine Stewart’s article in the Guardian entitled “How Christian Fundamentalism Feeds Into the Toxic Partisanship of US Politics,” Stewart notes:


Christian fundamentalists are not to be confused with mainstream evangelical Christians. While Christian fundamentalists may be evangelical, not every evangelical Christian is necessarily a fundamentalist. The symptoms of the infection of anti-intellectualism are as follows:

1. Erosion of education — escalating attacks on teachers as bad citizens, teachers’ unions as greedy “takers”, the evolution vs. creationism debate, resistance to stem cell research (or any kind of scientific research that conflicts with their Biblical worldview), fundamentalist emphasis on voucher system to create taxpayer funded fundamentalist schools, fear of a changing, increasingly pluralistic society (the current face of which is the extraordinary power fundamentalists give to the LGBT community as the force eroding American morality and bringing down the entire nation), and a negative economy which is generating public support by those who consider themselves members of the Religious Right by demonizing public education as a “liberal conspiracy” to take their children away from God.

2. Biblical Literalism: The Bible is the foundation of “truth,” from science to social interactions, and anything that disagrees with a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible is a product of Satanic manipulation, of which the by-product of Satan is secularism.

3. Oversimplification: The idea that there is a clear right and wrong (based on Biblical laws, or cherry-picked verses), the universe is either moral or immoral, and that so-called “assaults” on religious “freedom” of fundamentalists signify an invisible war between the forces of God (or “good”) and the forces of Satan (or “evil”).

4. Assertion of the patriarchal right to control women: To fundamentalists, women are second-class citizens, subject to a strict social hierarchy. This hierarchy can be observed in every stripe of fundamentalism, from Islamic fundamentalism to Christian fundamentalism and it goes like this:


Woman is subjugated to a status which is wholly reliant on having “faith” that her husband will do the right thing because he is specially influenced by God by special decree of the Bible. Fundamentalist website after website counsels women that if her husband does wrong that the only thing she can do is pray that God will guide him to a different decision, that she is not to disagree with him publicly (or in front of children). She is free (sometimes) to give an opinion, but the ultimate decision is the man’s, because he has special dispensation by God to be in that position. The equal status of women is a threat to this hierarchy, and thus, a threat to God.

Woman is subjugated to a status which is wholly reliant on having “faith” that her husband will do the right thing because he is specially influenced by God by special decree of the Bible. Fundamentalist website after website counsels women that if her husband does wrong that the only thing she can do is pray that God will guide him to a different decision, that she is not to disagree with him publicly (or in front of children). She is free (sometimes) to give an opinion, but the ultimate decision is the man’s, because he has special dispensation by God to be in that position. The equal status of women is a threat to this hierarchy, and thus, a threat to God.



Susan Jacoby, author of “The Age of American Unreason” and “Freethinkers” sums up the problem of fundamentalist anti-intellectualism succinctly:



Copernicus and Galileo were persecuted by the Catholic Church for suggesting that humanity on earth was indeed not the center of the universe. Copernicus did not suffer much persecution while he was alive, but after he was dead, his hypothesis that the earth revolved around the sun certainly did. Galileo dared to revive Copernicus’ idea, and packaged it in a mock debate between characters in a book he wrote called Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo) in 1632. The Catholic Church’s militaristic arm, the Inquisition, caught wind of what he had written, and ...

CONTINUED>

The New White House Chief of Staff Will Give the Christian Right Even More Power
BY BETH STONEBURNER

Mark Meadows, the latest White House Chief of Staff and former GOP congressman, will inevitably strengthen the power of the Religious Right, as if they need more of it. That’s because Meadows has long been an advocate for using the government to promote his religion, and his new position will allow him to do that through the West Wing.



Right Wing Watch’s Peter Montgomery explains Meadows’ background for anyone unfamiliar with it:



The irony of all this is recalling how many times Jesus spoke out against power and against the desire for domination and control. What he preached was counter-cultural thousands of years ago just as it is now: True power comes through meekness. Historically, the Church has been a complete dumpster fire when given political power. Conversely, it thrived when under duress, in places where religious freedom was legitimately at stake.

That’s not here. That’s not now.

But these Christians revere Trump far more than they care about Jesus. MAGA Christ is their true Lord and Savior.

SOURCE

Live links at source

Like these people needed more time on their hands...