Tag: Religious Babble

Those Religious Hypocrites

I grew up in the South and the Southern Baptist tradition…..no I was not a member of that bunch….my grandfather always told me to never turn my back to a Baptist or a knife will be the result.

I also remember in the 1980s when the “Religious Right” rose with Reagan and became the “moral compass” of the GOP…..and ever since the GOP has pretended to hold the “moral high” ground because of the support from the Southern Baptist pulpits.

And then Trump was elected and their “moral high ground” and the Baptist found themselves wallowing in the slime and muck of sexual issues…plus turning blind eyes to sexual abuse and assault in the name of Jesus (personally thought….a bunch of assholes that need to burn)

I bring all this up because of something I recently read……

In all, since 1998, roughly 380 Southern Baptist church leaders and volunteers have faced allegations of sexual misconduct, the newspapers found. That includes those who were convicted, credibly accused and successfully sued, and those who confessed or resigned. More of them worked in Texas than in any other state.

About 220 offenders have been convicted or took plea deals, and dozens of cases are pending. They were pastors. Ministers. Youth pastors. Sunday school teachers. Deacons. Church volunteers.

Journalists in the two newsrooms spent more than six months reviewing thousands of pages of court, prison and police records and conducting hundreds of interviews. They built a database of former leaders in Southern Baptist churches who have been convicted of sex crimes.

The investigation reveals that:

• At least 35 church pastors, employees and volunteers who exhibited predatory behavior were still able to find jobs at churches during the past two decades. In some cases, church leaders apparently failed to alert law enforcement about complaints or to warn other congregations about allegations of misconduct.

• Several past presidents and prominent leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention are among those criticized by victims for concealing or mishandling abuse complaints within their own churches or seminaries.

• Some registered sex offenders returned to the pulpit. Others remain there, including a Houston preacher who sexually assaulted a teenager and now is the principal officer of a Houston nonprofit that works with student organizations, federal records show. Its name: Touching the Future Today Inc.

• Many of the victims were adolescents who were molested, sent explicit photos or texts, exposed to pornography, photographed nude, or repeatedly raped by youth pastors. Some victims as young as 3 were molested or raped inside pastors’ studies and Sunday school classrooms. A few were adults — women and men who sought pastoral guidance and instead say they were seduced or sexually assaulted.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Southern-Baptist-sexual-abuse-spreads-as-leaders-13588038.php

This is a disgusting lot.  Granted not all are of this ilk but if you turn a blind eye to this abuse then you are part of that problem

This is just another reason why I continue to say that these religious types have lost any claim to the “moral high ground”….

I do not mind a religious person….but live by what you preach or shut the fuck up.  PERIOD!

Then some say that the rise of Trump came from ex-churchgoers that had lost faith in the government…..

If you’ve ever been to a Donald Trump rally, you’ll notice it doesn’t match the impression left by the media coverage of the president’s base.

Anger, for instance, isn’t the prevailing mood. Hopefulness is more characteristic. But there’s more. There’s something about these rallies that goes beyond politics, and his harshest critics have found it fearful. “Trump has harnessed the kind of emotional intensity from his base that is more typical of a religious revival meeting than a political rally,” liberal religion scholar Reza Aslan wrote, “complete with ritualized communal chants.”

This isn’t unprecedented. At Barack Obama’s 2008 rallies, fans fainted, and those blessed with an Obama handshake pondered never washing that hand again. Obama was more than a politician. He was nearly a religious figure for his base. Something similar is going on with Trump.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/why-ex-churchgoers-flocked-to-trump/

“The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that’s also a hypocrite!” ~ Tennessee Williams

“The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.” ~ Andre Gide

And favorite…

“Hypocrites are those who apply to others the standards that they refuse to accept for themselves.” ~ Noam Chomsky

A wee bit of music……

That “War On Christmas”

The day before and what is being done?  Darting from store to store looking for that last gift…..shelves are bare and there is one lone box of chocolate that was there when Rome was sacked…..

I have not heard the usual chanting that there is a War of Christmas this year….maybe I was just fortunate to have missed it.  I do not believe that there is some cabal out there trying to crap on Christmas….

Blind consumerism is replacing the religious aspect of the day…..today it is more about spending money than remembering what the day is suppose to signify.

I will admit that with each passing year there seems to be less and less religion involved in the Christmas celebration…..

It’s not a war on Christmas; Christmas as a yearly event seems robust. But the de-Christianization of Christmas is a real thing. From the Pew Research Center:

Not only are some of the more religious aspects of Christmas less prominent in the public sphere, but there are signs that they are on the wane in Americans’ private lives and personal beliefs as well. For instance, there has been a noticeable decline in the percentage of U.S. adults who say they believe that biblical elements of the Christmas story – that Jesus was born to a virgin, for example – reflect historical events that actually occurred. And although most Americans still say they mark the occasion as a religious holiday, there has been a slight drop in recent years in the share who say they do this.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/america-christless-christmas/

This may be true….but that still does not mean there is a “war on Christmas”…..

Just a thought for the day before…..

Be well, Be safe

The Devil Made Them Do It!

Sunday before the day every child looks forward to….Christmas….and I do not post much on religion or religious stuff but from time to time I read something that makes me want to post something and this Sunday is NO different…..

A little news……my granddaughter made me proud…..she became 2nd chair flute in the concert band…..sadly she is so busy these days that our gaming has suffered…..but that aside I am truly proud of her accomplishment.

Then there is MoMo…..she was up most of the nite arguing with a opossum….

She has this thing about this snake…..it just pisses her off…..

Enough of the “homey” stuff…..let’s get to the post shall we?

It seems that rural Alabama is having an increase in crime and a usual “suspect” has been identified……

Taking a page (or several) from the Old Testament, a police department in rural Alabama is blaming an increase in local discord—namely five homicides this year—on the community’s rejection of God, the Hill reports. In a Tuesday Facebook post (since deleted), the Opp Police Department wrote in all-caps, per the AP: “THESE MURDERS HAVE BEEN DONE BY OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. THIS IS HAPPENING BECAUSE WE HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM GOD AND EMBRACED SATAN. WE MAY HAVE NOT MEANT TO DO SO BUT, WE HAVE. IT IS TIME TO ASK FOR GOD’S HELP TO STOP THIS.” The post, which you can see here, goes on to chastise parents and imply that the community does not support police, ending with: “BOTTOM LINE, THERE ARE SHEEP; THERE ARE WOLVES AND THERE ARE SHEEP DOGS. WHICH GROUP DO YOU BELONG TO?”

Some people on social media are having some fun with the whole thing. A Thursday post by the department warning of wet roads garnered comments like, “Satan’s fault.” On an earlier post about an approaching storm, a person commented, “Cloudy, with a higher than average chance of brimstone.” But the group Freedom From Religion says that the police department’s post isn’t funny at all. “The department has very directly endorsed one religious ideology to the exclusion of minority religions and atheism, and decried Satanism. Neither message is permissible,” Sam Grover, a lawyer for the group, says in a statement. (Satan made an appearance at the Illinois statehouse.)

Sounds like a cop out by the authorities…..it is an easy answer to a situation…..

These crimes are created by “Man” (generic not gender)……Period.

But I am sure that some will disagree with me…..and that is why I live in America.

Have a good day and if you are off to the relatives for Christmas have safe journey and enjoy yourselves…..chuq

Closing Thought–06Nov18

The cooler weather did not last too long…it is back up to 80 today….oh goody….more sweat to look forward to…..

AS we prepare to go to your local polling station there is a story that has not gotten the attention it deserves…it is religious babble from a theocrat wannabe…….

A Washington state lawmaker who moonlights as a wannabe theocrat has stumbled into FBI scrutiny over a how-to guide he wrote on killing non-believers and establishing a Christian theocracy.

Five-term Washington state Rep. Matt Shea has been circulating a manual for holy war in the United States, the Seattle Times reported.

The four-page document, titled “Biblical Basis for War,” goes point-by-point over how a Christian theocratic movement could – and should – exterminate its opposition in a battle to win a hypothetical holy war.

At the outset, Shea’s holy army would issue terms of surrender to its enemies. The demands include “stop all abortions,” “no same-sex marriage,” “no idolatry or occultism,” “no communism,” and “must obey Biblical law.”

If the rest of the country refuses to “yield” to these terms, the document advocates a final solution: “kill all males.”

Most of the document veers into the absurd.

Under “Things for a Holy Army,” Shea remembers to include “Circumcision/Saved,” after Sacrifice/Worship/Prayer.

talkingpointsmemo.com)

Sounds like someone who should be in the good graces of our second in command…..Pence who himself is a theocrat waiting to assume power……a sickening bunch as there ever was…..people like these toads should be held up for ridicule and disgust by a normal society.

¡¡¡¡DO NOT FORGET TO VOTE TODAY!!!!

Closing Thought–15Jun18

No need to sweat the implementation of Sharia Law in the US…..because we have own version of the stupidity…..

But first our AG has made it clear where the laws of this country will be governed from……

Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited the Bible on Thursday in defense of his border policy, which is resulting in hundreds of immigrant children being separated from their parents after they enter the US illegally. Sessions, speaking in Fort Wayne, Ind., on immigration, pushed back against criticism he had received over the policy, reports the AP. On Wednesday, a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church said that separating mothers from their babies was “immoral.” Sessions said many of the recent criticisms were unfair and some contrary to law. “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order,” he said. “Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves and protect the weak and lawful.”

Last month, the attorney general announced a “zero tolerance” policy that any adult who enters the country illegally will be criminally prosecuted. US protocol prohibits detaining children with their parents because the children are not charged with a crime and the parents are. According to US Customs and Border Protection, more than 650 children were separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border during a two-week period in May. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that she hadn’t seen Sessions’ comments but affirmed that the Bible did back up the administration’s actions. “I can say that it is very biblical to enforce the law. That is actually repeated a number of times throughout the Bible,” she said. “It’s a moral policy to follow and enforce the law.”

No religious text should decide what the laws should say…..a guideline maybe….but word for word…NEVER!

This is silly!  NO child should be separated from its mother/father for any reason….this smacks of the old concentration camp days…..I for one do not want my country thought of in those terms.

There are more and more policies that are smacking of authoritarianism……this is just one or many…..

As our country slides into an ugly Americanized form of neofascism, there’s good news: nonviolent protest, when in the service of progressive, egalitarian goals, almost always wins out when it reaches a national critical mass. And we may well be on the verge of that right now. But we must understand what we’re up against.

Donald Trump and his neo-authoritarian acolytes are following an ancient playbook.

Part Machiavelli, part Caesar, part Mugabe/Duterte/Mao, it always includes a few simple and primary elements of seizing and subverting normal political power.

https://www.alternet.org/right-wing/9-ways-trumps-authoritarianism-taking-hold

Of course this cannot be with Trump running things right?

How does bullsh*t sound?

It was one particular remark about Kim Jong Un, however, that has raised the most eyebrows: “He speaks and his people sit up in attention. I want my people to do the same.” When asked by a reporter after the interview what he meant by that, Trump replied, “I’m kidding, you don’t understand sarcasm.” Watch the interview in full here and here.

Anybody that favors dictators to western democrats is just a budding fascist…whether joking or not.

Meanwhile back to the children…….

This is disgraceful and needs to be reversed as soon as possible…..but do not count on Congress that bag of manure will be no help…..the ballot box is the only hope these children have….it is the only hope this country has……I will do my part….will you?

Is It Religion Or Politics?

Last week the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, fired the sitting chaplain……possibly the first time ever that this has happened……

Did Paul Ryan think the House chaplain was a meddlesome priest? Father Pat Conroy says that two weeks ago, the House speaker asked for his resignation but did not provide a reason, Politico reports. Democrats believe the priest, who was nominated by John Boehner in 2011, was forced out over a November prayer in which he mentioned the GOP tax bill and said the efforts of lawmakers should result in “benefits balanced and shared by all Americans” instead of “winners and losers.” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley says Ryan’s move was “reprehensible.” That Conroy “be the first chaplain of the House of Representatives to be fired in the history of the United States is just outrageous,” he says.

Conroy is the 60th House chaplain in US history, but only the second Catholic. The priest, whose last day will be May 24, tells the New York Times that “Catholic members on both sides are furious.” The Jesuit declined to comment on whether politics was a factor in the actions of Ryan, a conservative Catholic, though he says the House is inherently political. “I don’t know if there is a religious divide; there certainly is a political one.” A bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding more information on the firing. Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly blames “anti-Catholic sentiment” for the ouster, though Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong says the speaker is a proud Catholic and the charge is “false and outrageous.”

Soon to be gone Paul Ryan has just exercised his prerogative by ousted a man of the cloth because he thought he was too political…..seriously?  That is bullsh*t from a bullsh*t pro.

But we can avoid this sort of thing by doing what James Madison suggested…..keep religion out of government and that means chaplains.

“…Is the appointment of Chaplains to the two Houses of Congress consistent with the Constitution, and with the pure principle of religious freedom?

In strictness the answer on both points must be in the negative. The Constitution of the U. S. forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion. The law appointing Chaplains establishes a religious worship for the national representatives, to be performed by Ministers of religion, elected by a majority of them; and these are to be paid out of the national taxes. Does not this involve the principle of a national establishment, applicable to a provision for a religious worship for the Constituent as well as of the representative Body, approved by the majority, and conducted by Ministers of religion paid by the entire nation.

The establishment of the chaplainship to Congs is a palpable violation of equal rights, as well as of Constitutional principles: The tenets of the chaplains elected [by the majority] shut the door of worship agst the members whose creeds & consciences forbid a participation in that of the majority.

…Better also to disarm in the same way, the precedent of Chaplainships for the army and navy, than erect them into a political authority in matters of religion.

My paraphrase of Madison’s thoughts…..”If politicians want prayer then let them adjourn to the offices, close the windows and pray their asses off.”
But that is just my take on it.

Closing Thought–09Apr18

Remember Jim Bakker?

He  had a evangelical TV show for years, the PTL Club…that is until he got caught with his drawers down with one Jessica Hahn….then he got nailed to fraud….well he got out of prison and started a new religious scam…..

Anyway I give you this short history lesson because he has weighed in on the Stormy vs Trump thingy……

Squashing accusations that President Trump had a sexual encounter with porn star “Stormy Daniels” while he was married to Melania, televangelist Jim Bakker explained to his audience Friday that he had confirmed that Trump was merely scheduling private time with the woman in a hotel suite in order to share with her the good news of Jesus Christ, as he had become acquainted with her and was very concerned that she was not a Christian.

“It is preposterous to assert that a virtuous believer like Mr. Trump would cheat on his beautiful wife so callously, and while their child was only months old,” a solemn Bakker said into the camera as colorful balloons provided a backdrop for some reason. “He was so concerned with the eternal state of Miss Daniels’ soul that he scheduled some alone time with just the two of them, so he could share with her how Jesus Christ had changed his life and how He could also save her from her sins.”

Nearly choking up with tears, Bakker went on to explain how much he loves and looks up to Trump as a model saint.

“Our president even arranged through his attorney to give this woman $130,000 in an attempt to help rescue her from the destructive adult film industry and get her life back on track. What a man of God!”

The televangelist ended his broadcast by wagering that there were probably “many, many more” sex-industry workers like Daniels who could tell a similarly inspiring story about President Trump.

(thebabylonbee.com)

Can I get an Amen?

AS I have said…the religious right has been silent or supporting Trump during all this sex stuff……to me they have LOST THE MORAL HIGH GROUND!

Should You Avoid Yoga?

It is Sunday and what better time to post something religious?  How about Yoga for an example?

There are some Yoga Nazis next to where my daughter works…..they are forever bitching about the foul odor when I cook on the grill for the office…..so to be a dick I cooked a lot.

I think most are pretentious dicks…..there is some religious types that think it is anti-Christian to practice Yoga…..but I think these days it is a silly notion.

A Daily Wire writer caused a Twitter firestorm Thursday after comparing yoga to occult rituals like Ouija boards. Matt Walsh, who writes from the perspective of the religious right, garnered widespread attention after sharing his dismay that Christians indulge in “Hindu worship” like yoga.

https://www.vox.com/2018/2/3/16964714/catholic-blogger-christians-yoga-matt-walsh

In reality there are not many that know yoga is a religious practice….they see it as some sort of effective exercise…..besides who listen to these dorks after all they support pedophiles, rapists, abusers and the like…..

Time to relax and get ready for another week of bitching about memos, immigrants and Russia…..I can hardly wait…..chuq

Closing Thought–10Jan18

This is why I do not appreciate those religious idiots.

Pres. Trump has this religious adviser that has a plan to make Trump more successful……it will involve you and your money…..

Donald Trump’s spiritual adviser has suggested that people send her money in order to transform their lives, or face divine consequences.

Paula White, who heads up the president’s evangelical advisory committee, suggested making a donation to her ministries to honor the religious principle of “first fruit,” which she said is the idea that all firsts belong to God, including the first harvest and, apparently, the first month of your salary.

“Right now I want you to click on that button, and I want you to honor God with his first fruits offering,” she said in a video shared to her website, in which she encourages her followers to donate to her ministries to get blessings from God.

Explaining the principle of the donations, the Pentecostal televangelist, who has recently spoken out in defense of Trump’s mental health following claims in a tell-all book that the president is unwell, suggested that people would reap rewards after donating to her.

“January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the first hours of our day, the first month of the year, the first of our increase, the first in every area of our life. It’s devoted…. The principle of first fruits is that when you give God the first, he governs the rest and redeems in,” she said.

“When you honor this principle, it provides the foundation and structure for God’s blessings and promises in your life. It unlocks deep dimensions of spiritual truths that literally transform your life. When you apply this, everything comes in divine alignment for his plan and promises for you. When you don’t honor it, whether through ignorance or direct disobedience, there are consequences.”

(Newsweek)

This is why I have NO time for religious rhetoric….it is all about the cash and nothing else.

The Morals And The Virtue

Today is the day……the final minutes of the Alabama election…..after tonight the news can move on to the next story they would like to beat to death…..what fresh Hell will suck the air out of the news?

You know when the news is so concerned about a candidate and his horse then the whole of society needs a re-make. What is by-product of horse digestion called?

But until that time…..how about a short quiz?

What would you think if I wrote…..”a ship named ‘Monkey Business'”?

Think back to 1987…….presidential politics……..come up with anything?

Gary Hart……his presidential dreams were brought down by a photo of a blond sitting on his knee…….keep that in mind and now fast forward to today……look at the president not even a audio tape could bring him down and now some big eared judge from Alabama with 8 accusations of sexual content and he is leading in the polls…….what happened to America from 1987 to 2017?

What counts as virtue among Western elites? As Aristotle teaches, if you can identify what a society considers to be virtuous or good, you can understand the moral outlook of that society’s institutions, from its schools to its foreign policy. One needs only to study any gathering of American elite culture to see that virtue, traditionally centered in personal character, has become redefined as public sympathy for humanitarian causes. When watching any cultural awards program, for example, one is treated to a parade of “beautiful” souls voicing support for myriad progressive causes. This moral preening has become so commonplace that a term has developed to characterize it: “virtue signaling.”

The West’s moral outlook is now animated by the widespread belief that virtue is measured by one’s professed sympathy for causes such as combatting homelessness, extending civil rights for various protected groups, and decrying poverty in far-off places. The more publicly ostentatious one is in attaching oneself to these causes, the more virtue one is assigned by our elite culture.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/phony-virtue-is-ruining-western-society/

I cannot say about western society but it sure as well is ruining the US of A.