Right Wing Religion

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Trump-Loving Evangelicals Say They’re Grateful Trump Has Saved Them From Seeing Obama’s Rainbow White House

Trump-Loving Evangelicals Say They’re Grateful Trump Has Saved Them From Seeing Obama’s Rainbow White House By Brad Reed Raw Story (8/13/19) Conservative evangelical Christians in the United States are President Donald Trump’s most staunch supporters, despite the fact that the president is a serial adulterer who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault and who regularly deploys racist attacks on political opponents. A Washington Post profile of Trump-loving evangelicals shows that many of them felt they were under assault by former President Barack Obama — and one of them pointed to the Obama White House lighting up in rainbow colors in…


Right Wing Religious Ways: Pastor Claims He Was Sucking Demons Out Of Sexually Assaulted Men

By Bob Bigham Raw Story (7/18/19) Multiple victims have come forward to accuse a New Jersey pastor of sexually assaulting them as part of exorcism rituals. “Three men have come forward claiming Rev. Dr. William Weaver performed sex acts on them when they came to him for private counseling at Linden Presbyterian Church,” Newsweek reportedThursday. “Weaver, 69, would allegedly tell the men that he needed to ‘suck’ out demons through their semen, citing Native American rituals and a verse from Ephesians telling Christians to ‘put on the full armor of God.’” “According to impact statements the men submitted to the Presbytery of…


Right Wing’s Religious Ways: OMG! A Biblical Book Of Trump? Really?

Miriam Adelson Longs For A ‘Book Of Trump’ In The Bible By Josefin Dolsten Jerusalem Post (6/29/19) It isn’t news that Sheldon and Miriam Adelson are big fans of President Donald Trump. The Republican mega-donors gave millions to Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. But Miriam Adelson took it one step further on Thursday. The Israeli-American physician compared the president to biblical prophets in an article in which she asked why he has not enjoyed higher support among American Jews. “That this has not been the case (so far, the 2020 election still beckons) is an oddity that will long be pondered…


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‘Forgive Us Our Ineptitude!” — Thousands Of Christians Petition Netflix To Cancel Amazon Prime’s ‘Good Omens’

“I love that they are going to write to Netflix to try and get #GoodOmens cancelled. Says it all really. This is so beautiful … Promise me you won’t tell them?” By Alison Ford The Guardian (6/20/19) More than 20,000 Christians have signed a petition calling for the cancellation of Good Omens, the television series adapted from Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s 1990 fantasy novel – unfortunately addressing their petition to Netflix when the series is made by Amazon Prime. The six-part series was released last month, starring David Tennant as the demon Crowley and Michael Sheen as the angel Aziraphale, who collaborate to…


The Right Wing’s Religious Ways

The Commoner Call (6/20/19) Given the untoward influence far right evangelical and fundamentalist churches have on the republican party and public policy, it is important to expose the multiple hypocrisies to be found among many in the fundamentalist religious/political movement. Throughout all fascist governments far too many churches and clergy play important roles in defending, promoting, excusing, minimizing and sometimes even participating in government abuse. This is a pattern that is certainly seen with the Trump administration. The Commoner Call will be running an occasional feature of recent reports of fundamentalist religious abuses. As the collection of tawdry church news…


As San Franciso D.A., Kamala Harris’s Office Stopped Cooperating With Victims Of Catholic Church Child Sexual Abuse

  “I think the whole cloak of secrecy with the Catholic Church needs to be exposed.” [Harris’s presidential campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Intercept.] By Lee Fang The Intercept (6/9/19) KAMALA HARRIS, SURROUNDED by thousands of cheering supporters, kicked off her presidential campaign in Oakland earlier this year, declaring that she has always fought “on behalf of survivors of sexual assault, a fight not just against predators but a fight against silence and stigma.” Fighting on behalf of victims of sexual abuse, particularly children, has been central to Harris’s political identity for the better part of three…


‘This Is A Battle To The Death’: Self-Declared Prophet & Christian Author Says Trump Will Soon Execute His Political Enemies

By Kyle Mantyla Right Wing Watch (5/24/19) Dave Hayes, a self-declared prophet, Christian author, and online activist who is better known as the “Praying Medic,” streamed a video on Periscope last night in which he declared that President Trump’s political enemies—including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and other supposed members of the “deep state”—will soon be swept up in mass arrests, tried, and executed for treason. Hayes is one of the leading proponents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and his videos promoting and explaining QAnon’s cryptic postings have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. “I’m here to tell you,” he said, “these people are going to face…


Read The GOP’s Secret Talking Points Defending Alabama’s Forced Pregnancy Law

The republicans speak! By Daniel Newhauser VICE News (5/23/19) WASHINGTON — In the days since Alabama’s passage of the most restrictive abortion law in the nation, national Republicans have tried to distance themselves from its most controversial provisions that would outlaw abortion even in the case of rape or incest. Now, there are clear signs that is changing. Secret talking points obtained by VICE News show national Republicans are preparing to defend the law, which has not yet taken effect, but will almost certainly be struck down by the courts. The law, which only allows abortions if a pregnancy poses a…


The Abortion Debate Is Not About The Sanctity Of Life — It’s About Fodder For Corporate Capitalism

Tens of millions of young Americans who struggle financially and see little hope for the future. By Chris Hedges TruthDig (5/20/19) On Wednesday, the day it was announced that the U.S. birthrate fell for the fourth straight year, signaling the lowest number of births in 32 years, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law the most draconian anti-abortion lawin the country. That the two developments came at the same time could not have been more revelatory. The ruling elites are acutely aware that the steadily declining American birthrate is the result of a de facto “birth strike” by women who, unable to afford…


What Does A Post-Roe America Look Like? As Anti-Choice Laws Multiply, Many Already Are Living In It

Democracy Now! (5/17/19) Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer issued what many considered a dire warning from the bench this week, implying that Roe v. Wade — the landmark ruling that recognizes the constitutional right to an abortion — is in danger. He wrote the comments in a dissent for an unrelated case in which the court voted to overturn a 40 year-old precedent. Breyer wrote “Today’s decision can only cause one to wonder which cases the Court will overrule next.” We speak to journalist Robin Marty about what a post-Roe America would look like, and how many people are already…


The Story Of Jesus & The Roman Empire Shows What Happens When Dissidents Become Enemies Of The State

For those who truly study the life and teachings of Jesus, the resounding theme is one of outright resistance to war, materialism and empire. By John Rutherford The Rutherford Center (4/16/19) “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are being ruled by criminals. In the current governmental climate, where laws that run counter to the dictates of the Constitution are made in secret, passed without debate, and upheld by secret courts that operate behind closed doors, obeying one’s conscience and…


Not Only Was America Not Christian But Founders Invented A Pagan Goddess Upon Which To Found The Government

Salvation for sale in the Walmart checkout line…   By Thom Hartman (4/4/19) Despite popular misconceptions from right wing media, America, the United States was not founded as a Christian nation. America has roots in the deism of the founding fathers, atheism of the enlightenment. The Founding fathers even went so far as to create an American God (Far before Neil Gaiman). The Goddess Columbia was the creation of the founding fathers who thought the nation should have their own goddess to protect the young nation. This doesn’t sound very christian does it? 8+-Minute Video “Cannons Of Christianity” by Phil…


Women On Vatican Magazine Editorial Board Quit En Masse

  Morning Edition / NPR (3/27/19) The founder and all-female editorial board of a women’s magazine for the Vatican have quit. They say they were being delegitimized. Link to 3-Minute Video ***** The Revolt At The Vatican Shows How The Church Stubbornly Fails Women ‘We are throwing in the towel because we feel surrounded by an atmosphere of distrust and progressive delegitimisation.’ By Tina Beattie The Guardian (3/27/19) he editor of the Vatican women’s magazine, Lucetta Scaraffia, has announced that she and her all-female editorial team are to suspend its publication. In a letter to Pope Francis, which she has also made…


The Supreme Court Is Quietly & Methodically Changing The Status Of Religion In American Life

  When it comes to religion, the Court’s direction is clear—and Trump’s core supporters have every reason to be pleased with it. By Jeffery Toobin The New Yorker (3/6/19) Donald Trump may be imperilled by the ever-growing number of investigations into various avenues of his conduct, but his agenda continues apace at the Supreme Court. There, the President’s appointees and their allies are making quiet progress on another key goal of his political base: transforming the place of religion in American life. The changes involve both religion clauses of the First Amendment—the one that prohibits the “establishment” of a state…


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There Is A Taboo Against Criticizing AIPAC — And Ilhan Omar Just Destroyed It

We should thank Omar, the freshman lawmaker, for having the guts to raise this contentious issue. By Mehdi Hasan The Intercept (2/12/19) In 2005,  Steven Rosen, then a senior official with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, sat down for dinner with journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, then of the New Yorker. “You see this napkin?” Rosen asked Goldberg. “In twenty-four hours, [AIPAC] could have the signatures of seventy senators on this napkin.” I couldn’t help but be reminded of this anecdote after Rep. Ilhan Omar, of Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, was slammed by Democrats and Republicans alike over her suggestion, in a pair of tweets, that U.S….


“I Was Absolutely Afraid”: Indigenous Elder On “Mob Mentality” Of MAGA Hat-Wearing Students In D.C.

  Democracy Now! (1/22/19) On Friday [2/22], thousands took part in the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, D.C. The next day, video went viral of an interaction that took place soon after the march ended between an indigenous elder and a group of Catholic high school students from Kentucky who had attended a March for Life protest the same day. In the video, Omaha elder Nathan Phillips is seen peacefully playing his drum and singing while being encircled by the students—some of whom were wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats. The video appears to show the students taunting and…


I Grew Up In The Westboro Baptist Church. Here’s Why I Left & How Social Media Helped Me Do So

  TED Talk (3/6/17) What’s it like to grow up within a group of people who exult in demonizing … everyone else? Megan Phelps-Roper shares details of life inside America’s most controversial church and describes how conversations on Twitter were key to her decision to leave it. In this extraordinary talk, she shares her personal experience of extreme polarization, along with some sharp ways we can learn to successfully engage across ideological lines. Link to 5-Minute Video


Silent Night In ‘Christian’ America: In Immigrant Childrens Shelters, Sexual Assault Cases Are Quietly Open & Shut

  By Michael Grabell, Topher Sanders & Silvina Sterin Pensel ProPublica (12/21/18) A World Cup soccer match was playing on the shelter’s TV when the two older teenagers tackled Alex on July 1 and dragged him into the empty bedroom. Wrestling him onto his stomach, one of them, a tattoo on his forearm, got on top. As Alex struggled to move, he said he could feel the teen’s penis grinding against his butt. “Take off his shorts!” he heard the other teen, who’d bragged he’d been a gang member in Honduras, shout. “Let’s get him naked!” Just 10 days earlier, Alex, 13, had…


Trump’s Fake ‘Merry Christmas’ Pledge Doesn’t Show Up At His Own Businesses

‘ Tis The Season To Be …Hypocritical! By Adam Gabbat The Guardian (12/23/18) During Donald Trump’s presidential campaign he talked often about his determination to win one particular war. A war that had been raging for years, he said. Specifically: the war on Christmas. But despite Trump’s repeated claims that “people are saying Merry Christmas again” instead of the more inclusive “happy holidays”, there are several places where the Christmas greeting is absent: Trump’s own businesses. This week a visit to Trump Tower, Trump’s signature New York City erection, revealed that Christmas is not mentioned anywhere in the building’s public space….


PODCAST: Chris Hedges — On Elections, ‘Christian Fascists’ And The Bipartisan Rot Within The American System

Intercepted (11/7/18) POLITICIANS LOVE TO tell us every election is the “most important of our lifetime.” With Donald Trump in power, it rings true for many voters. This week on Intercepted: Journalist Chris Hedges has spent the past 15 years trying to ring the alarm about the dangers of the U.S. political system and the impact of a corporate and financial coup d’etat that happened long ago. He talks about the growing power of “Christian fascists,” predicts a major financial crash, and offers ideas on how to fight back. In 1923, a year after Mussolini took power in Italy, one radical…


God, Media & Tribal Identity: Why Many Women Ignore Their Interests & Vote For The Frat Boy GOP

[Editor’s Note: This article provides valuable insight as to not just why many women, but many workers and members of the middle class vote Republican even though the party is a direct threat to their families, interests and needs. — Mark L. Taylor] By Valarie Tarico The Raw Story (9/24/18) Lists of crazy comments about women by Republican men have been an internet staple for years. If the party agenda were to alienate as many females as possible, they should be doing quite well. Worse yet, from an impact standpoint, the policy priorities of Republican electeds match their expressed attitudes. Equal…


Shabba rebot domda moko-dabba reboo-boo — We’re Done With Jezebel … All Praise To Trump!

Total Gibberish   By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (9/3/18) There is crazy and then there is Trump Crazy. And then there is right down the old rabbit hole evangelical Trump Crazy. The video below is a little mind boggling to watch but I urge you to because it gives a raw glimpse into an element of energized Trump support and delusion that is both real and an active part of what is going on in the nation. The video is of a recent sermon by Alabama Pentecostal Pastor John Kilpatrick of the Church of His Presence, in Daphne,…


How Future President Mike Pence Is Preparing To Take Over The White House

  Thom Hartmann Program (8/29/18) Michael D’Antonio, author of The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence sits down with Thom Hartmann to discuss efforts by the vice president and his allies to make Mike Pence the 46th President of the Unite States. Do you think Vice President Mike Pence is going to make a presidential run? Link to 10-Minute Video (Illustration by Seth L. Taylor, 2017)


Chilling Stories Of Abuse Covered Up By The Catholic Church

“The same victim also testified that the ring of priests groomed their victims with gifts. The priests would mark their “favorite boys” with gold cross necklaces.” By Carol Kuruvilla The HuffPo (8/15/18) For decades, stories about clerical sexual abuse committed by Pennsylvania Catholic priests were reportedly locked away in the church’s secret archives. These old secrets exploded into the light Tuesday with the publication of a grand jury report into six of Pennsylvania’s eight Roman Catholic dioceses. The jurors’ 884-page report allowed Pennsylvania Catholics to finally grasp the extent of the abuse ― and cover-up ― in six dioceses: Allentown, Erie,…


Ohio Legislator Described As “conscience of the conservative movement” Resigned After Found Allegedly Having Sex With Man In His Office

Facing 30 sexual misconduct accusations. [Editor’s Note: This story came out last fall, but it is always good to be reminded of the rank hypocrisy of so many of those on the right who profit off moralistically judging others. — Mark L. Taylor] By Tom Embury-Dennis The Independent (11/22/17) An anti-LGBT Republican politician who was allegedly caught having sex with a man in his office is facing more than 30 accusations of sexual misconduct. Wes Goodman, a state legislator for Ohio, has already been forced to resign after a witness to the reported extramarital affair told the Ohio House Chief of Staff. Mr Goodman, whose…


How Can America Possibly Call Itself A Christian Nation As It Treats Children Like This?

  By Michael Curry The Guardian (6/23/18) The screams of children being taken from their mothers and fathers at our border, under our flag, haunts the nation. Across political and religious divides, the nation – and the world – is aghast and Americans are refusing complicity in all the ways they can. Millions of people are crying, protesting and praying in our houses of worship and in the public square. In a moment of national shame, huge swaths of people are acting in love. The families making treacherous and often dangerous journeys to seek refuge in the US are desperate….


Are Some Evangelicals Having A Much-Needed “Come-To-Jesus” Awakening?

“Last week in Dallas, the Southern Baptists held their annual convention, and they invited Mike Spence to speak. This is nothing new for evangelical groups. Both President Obama, and President George W Bush spoke before such gatherings during their terms. But, when speaking to these kinds of gatherings, politicians, and especially high level elected politicians tend to minimize any political references, focusing instead on their own faith, what it has meant to their lives, and how it guides them in their governing. “Not Mike Pence, the black hole of sycophants. Pence is well known as the worst kind of evangelical,…


God Help Us: The Legislative Assault By Christian Nationalists To Reshape America & Our Lives

  By David Taylor The Guardian (6/4/18) The emboldened religious right has unleashed a wave of legislation across the United States since Donald Trump became president, as part of an organised bid to impose hardline Christian values across American society. A playbook known as Project Blitz, developed by a collection of Christian groups, has provided state politicians with a set of off-the-shelf pro-Christian “model bills”. Some legislation uses verbatim language from the “model bills’” created by a group called the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation (CPCF), set up by a former Republican congressman which has a stated aim to “protect religious freedom, preserve…


A Former Evangelical Explains How To Talk With Christian Fundamentalists

  By Nelle Smith The Raw Story (4/2/18) One of the biggest questions I received after writing about Trump, evangelicals, and the end of the world for RD was this: how do we talk to people who see the world as collateral damage in the pursuit of the Heavenly Kingdom? Is it even worth trying to nudge people out of that worldview? My post-evangelical advice? Be very, very gentle—you don’t know what you’re asking. Here’s an exhibit. When I was twenty-one years old, someone finally knocked it through my thick head that the earth was old. I was halfway through Geology 100…


CARTOON: Evangelical Disfigurement And The Last Temptation

***** How evangelicals, once culturally confident, became an anxious minority seeking political protection from the least traditionally religious president in living memory. By Michael Gerson The Atlantic (April 2018) One of the most extraordinary things about our current politics—really, one of the most extraordinary developments of recent political history—is the loyal adherence of religious conservatives to Donald Trump. The president won four-fifths of the votes of white evangelical Christians. This was a higher level of support than either Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, an outspoken evangelical himself, ever received. Trump’s background and beliefs could hardly be more incompatible with traditional Christian models…


AUDIO REPORT — Westboro Baptist Church: Escaping ‘America’s Most Hated Family’

  Heart & Soul/BBC (2/23/18) Libby Phelps is the granddaughter of the founder of Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps. Nicknamed “America’s Most Hated Family”, the church in Kansas became infamous for telling homosexuals they were going to hell and picketing the funerals of US soldiers. But it was after the church rejoiced in the attacks of 11 September, that Libby questioned her faith, packed her bags and left – she escaped from the church. Today she now advocates for the LGBT community, the people she once condemned to hell. As a young girl Libby would attend school and play with her…


Billy Graham — Over & Over Again, On The Wrong Side Of History And Morality

  By Matthew Avery Sutton The Guardian (2/21/18) When Billy Graham stands before the judgment seat of God, he may finally realize how badly he failed his country, and perhaps his God. On civil rights and the environmental crisis, the most important issues of his lifetime, he championed the wrong policies. Graham was on the wrong side of history. The world’s most famous evangelist let his apocalyptic anticipation of the coming kingdom of God blind him to the realities of living in this world. For Graham, the Bible had a clear message for Christians living in what he believed were humans’ last…


Right-Wing Preacher Tells Followers Christians Must ‘Remove Every Leftist’ From Office Because ‘The Nazis Are On The March’

  (Editor’s Note: One would hope that democratic party honchos have an understanding of the true nature of the far right movement in this country and will enact the kind truly progressive policies into the party agenda that are called for to counter right wing hate and fear. So far the signs are not too positive. – Mark L. Taylor) By Kyle Mantyla Right Wing Watch (12/15/17) Right-wing preacher Lance Wallnau streamed a video on Periscope last night in which he called on conservative Christians to mobilize for the 2018 elections in order to “literally remove every leftist from a position of…


Let Us Pray: The Days Of Rightwing Evangelicals Swaying Politics Are Numbered

  By Daniel José Camacho The Guardian (12/15/17) A large majority of white evangelicals voted for Roy Moore – 80%, according to exit polls – in Alabama, in the deep south, in a solidly red state. And they lost. The results of Alabama’s Senate race are an omen for the future of white evangelical politics. White evangelicals, as a whole, are still flexing some political muscle. But their future outlook is of an embattled political bloc with extremist views and diminishing power to decide elections. Moore was a fundamentalist Christian hero. He was removed from office twicewhile serving as Alabama’s chief justice: first for refusing to…


With Roy Moore, Republicans Fully Embrace & Own The Ugliest Political Poster Boy, Ever

  “He totally denies it. He said it didn’t happen.” – Donald J. Trump Oh, okay, Don… By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (11/27/17) There is a very real chance that an accused multiple child sex offender is going to be elected to the United States Senate on a Republican ticket. A man, who, in his 30’s was banned from the local mall because of his reported predatory hitting on teenage sales girls. The behavior by the young assistant district attorney – who, obviously, should have known better – was so troubling it freaked out the community. With a…


Once Again, Mike Pence Gets Tangled Up In Lies: This Time About Don Jr. & WikiLeaks

The Confessor By Sophia Tesfaye Salon (11/14/17) It’s time for another round of “Is Mike Pence actually as incompetent as he looks, or is he just a liar?” On Monday, the Atlantic’s Julia Ioffe published the details of a series of Twitter direct messages between WikiLeaks and Donald Trump Jr. during the presidential campaign. Despite a flat denial previously offered by then-vice presidential candidate Mike Pence, the direct message transcripts appear to show the president’s oldest son communicating with WikiLeaks between September 2016 and July 2017. So what did Mike Pence not know and when did he not know it? Are we to…


Reckless Cartoonist Tempts Damnation & The Wrath Of God…

Evangelical Scam Artist Little Jimmy Bakker Says We Will Answer To God One Day Because We ‘Made Fun Of Jim Bakker All Those Years’ By Kyle Mantyla Right Wing Watch (10/16/17) End Times prepper pastor Jim Bakker used his television program on Friday to send a message to those who monitor or mock him that they will one day have to answer to God for doing so. Saying that he is sick of people mocking him because some of his prophetic warnings have not yet come true, Bakker bellowed that “when God says something to you, you don’t always know the exact time…


Longing To Dump Trump? Better Consider The Real Threat Of A President Pence

  (Editor’s Note: This is a superb profile and background history on who could well be the next president of the United States. One aspect that is not dealt with in detail is Pence’s extremist Christian Dominionist ideology – basically, an American version of rigid Taliban-like Christian fundamentalist orthodoxy. – Mark L. Taylor) By Jane Mayer The New Yorker (10/23/17) On September 14th, the right-wing pundit Ann Coulter, who last year published a book titled “In Trump We Trust,” expressed what a growing number of Americans, including conservatives, have been feeling since the 2016 election. The previous day, President Trump had dined with…


‘Straight Out Of The Handmaid’s Tale’: Insiders Claim CIA Director Pompeo Is Converting Intel Agency Into Christian Hotbed

  By Tom Boggioni The Raw Story (9/10/17) ccording to an investigation by Foreign Policy into changes in the intelligence community under President Donald Trump, the CIA has set aside plans to diversify and has become more white and more Christian under new director Mike Pompeo. Noting the Pompeo, a former Republican congressman from Kansas,  is a self-professed evangelical, the report states that the new director once claimed, Islamist terrorists will “continue to press against us until we make sure that we pray and stand and fight and make sure that we know that Jesus Christ is our savior is truly the…


When Religion Rules A Government: Diary Of A Pakistani Atheist

  By Mobeen Azhar BBC (7/14/17) In March 2017, a High Court Judge in Pakistan made the dramatic declaration that “blasphemers are terrorists.” The declaration is just one part of a growing national campaign to make disbelief socially, publicly and morally not just unacceptable, but one that allows Pakistani people the right to attack those who doubt the importance of Islam. Websites offer a satirical take on Islam and challenge the notion that Pakistan is an Islamic Republic, but the government replied with adverts in national newspapers and text messages to all Pakistanis, urging them to report those who express their online…