WEEK IN REVIEW: Goodbye, church/state separation
The Supreme Court’s attacks on actual religious freedom, Franklin Graham’s awful advice, the arrest of a New IFB church member, and more!
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I know, I know, everything is awful right now. More on that in a moment. I just wanted to drop a quick personal note saying that all of my *paid* Patreon and Substack subscribers will soon get an invitation to a virtual “open house” on Sunday morning where they can pop in on Zoom and ask me questions. (If that time/day doesn’t work for you, don’t worry. I’ll switch it up next month.) It’s just my way of saying thank you to supporters! And if you’re not a paid subscriber, please consider becoming one!
Now onto the hellscape that is the news…
The Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade. The decision was widely expected, but that doesn’t make it any less devastating. I compiled my thoughts in a much longer rant here, beginning with this line “On Sunday, conservative Christian pastors across America will celebrate the terror they’ve unleashed upon the nation.” It gets more frustrating from there.
There’s good reason to be sad and angry. Be sure that your frustration is pointing in the right direction, though. There are people in power who are effectively powerless, and there are people who claim to have no power who nevertheless have plenty of influence. Direct your criticisms appropriately. And then figure out what you can do to take action in a productive way.
The same Court dealt yet another big blow to the wall of separation between Church and State, ruling 6-3 in Carson v. Makin that the state of Maine is obligated to use taxpayer dollars to fund private religious schools as part of a larger commitment to education.
The state actually has a vital program in place to help students in rural areas receive a secular education (even at private faith-based schools)… but this decision opens that door to schools that focus on religious indoctrination as well. It’s a disaster for those who believe taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be used for the advancement of a religious agenda.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented with her usual bluntness: “Today, the Court leads us to a place where separation of church and state becomes a constitutional violation…”Here’s one bright spot in the world of religion news: After Maine passed a law completely eliminating the statute of limitations when it comes to suing the perpetrators in child sex abuse cases, three men have now sued the Catholic Bishop of Portland for what they endured as children.
Whether the lawsuits will succeed remains to be seen, but in all the states where the statute of limitations was lifted, two things have been very clear: The Catholic Church has opposed the law, and the Catholic Church has been sued by numerous people even though the laws never singling out that institution specifically.An investigation found that allegations of sexual misconduct by the popular Christian singer Chris Rice were “credible.” He was given access to children because of his musical success and he took advantage of it. While that’s very disturbing, it’s sadly not that shocking. But you might appreciate how the church that gave him that platform has responded to the allegations and the conclusions of the investigation. Far from downplaying the seriousness of the situation, this church appears to be reacting in all the right ways.
We’ve always known Christian evangelist Franklin Graham was a Trump-supporting anti-LGBTQ extremist with one of the biggest mouthpieces on Facebook with over 10 million followers. But it’s still shocking to learn how he advised a woman whose husband was abusing her.
The Washington Post learned that Graham worked closely with Naghmeh Panahi, the wife of Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor who was imprisoned in Iran in 2012 in a textbook case of religious discrimination. She fiercely advocated for his release and he was finally freed in 2016. But not long before that, she told people he had been an abusive husband. Graham, instead of giving her the support she needed, told her to stay by his side because she wasn’t really being abused. He told her abuse was a “gray area” and that a True Abuse Victim was someone whose husband “stomped” on his wife every night.
Also horrible? He told her to avoid seeking out abuse counselors because they might be “godless.”
Graham was already known for downplaying abuse. He did the same thing when Brett Kavanaugh was accused of it. But Graham gaslighting Panahi by saying she didn’t really suffer any abuse because it didn’t fit his clear-cut faith-based definition of abuse is something else. It’s the same kind of dismissal we’ve seen from a number of conservative religious leaders who have downplayed sexual abuse for decades by pretending there’s only one kind of act that qualifies. Anything that doesn’t boil down to a physical sexual assault by a stranger in a dark alley isn’t really that bad, is it?I often post videos in this newsletter and online of New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist preachers saying the worst things imaginable, like calling for the execution of LGBTQ people by the government. I often get criticized for going after low-hanging fruit. Those guys don’t represent Christianity, so why focus on them?! My response is that those guys say out loud what many other mainstream preachers say using coded language. Other pastors are just as bigoted and cruel, but they usually know how to deliver that message so it doesn’t sound as awful as it is.
But that hate speech has consequences. Last week, cops in the state of Washington arrested Tyler Dinsmoor, a member of one of those New IFB churches, after he suggested he was going to commit an act of violence at a Pride parade in Anacortes, WA.
Among other things he posted, Dinsmoor said he “might not make it through this f*g month” and that he “was 9mm away from fedposting two f****ts at home depot yesterday.” He also posted a flyer for the Pride event with the words, “talk me out of it.”
Cops thankfully stopped him before he could hurt anyone.
Dinsmoor’s arrest was the result of being indoctrinated into believing the worst kind of lies about LGBTQ people. The conservative Christians in his echo chamber just constantly reinforce the hate speech that thrives in right-wing circles, and the people who disagree but exist in those circles rarely have the courage to condemn it.
Meanwhile, Christians have raised thousands of dollars for his legal defense.
On side note, it all led to this very bizarre exchange with the Twitter account for Sure Foundation Baptist Church (whose pastor is apparently Dinsmoor’s pastor):I mentioned this in the last newsletter, but this promo for an upcoming event sponsored by Christian scamvangelist Kenneth Copeland is nothing more than a luxury car ad with commentary about the convention replacing the usual fine print.
This is the actual promo video for scamvangelist Kenneth Copeland's upcoming "Southwest Believers' Convention." There's no Jesus in the video, but that car appears to be a 2022 Audi R8 Coupe, which retails for $148,700 (minimum).That car is a 2022 Audi R8 Coupe, a luxury car that retails for $148,700… without any additional bells and whistles.
It’s not just the fact that a luxury car is in the ad that’s troubling. It’s that the car is pretty much the only thing in the ad. It’s not like Jesus appears in it. Even Copeland himself can only be seen as one face out of many photoshopped onto the convention center.
But that’s what his followers want. None of them care about Jesus. None of them care about Christianity. They believe Copeland has the keys to financial freedom. What they’re too ignorant to realize is that Copeland sees all of them the exact same way.The Republican candidate for Senate from Georgia, Herschel Walker, once said that Multiple Personality Disorder isn’t a problem because Jesus had it too—after all, he was the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
In an old interview, Herschel Walker explains why he didn’t think his Multiple Personality Disorder is a mental illness: “Do our Lord Jesus Christ have a mental illness because he said he’s the father, the son and the Holy Spirit? To me, those are 3 different personalities.”If Sen. Raphael Warnock (who’s being challenged by Walker) said the same thing, I feel like conservative Christians would raise hell over it. And yet when the Republican on the ballot does it...
It’s one thing to find a silver lining where you can. But I will never understand the people who celebrate a cross that's still standing after the ENTIRE REST OF THE CHURCH HAS BURNED DOWN, which is what happened after a climate-induced fire at Balsora Baptist Church in Bridgeport, Texas on Friday.
If you’re looking for a sign from God, maybe focus on the smoke and wreckage…?
At least no one died from the fire.One of the two least insane Republican members of the House, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, says his family (including a newborn son) received a death threat in response to his work on the January 6 Committee. Notably, the writer invoked the Christian God in the threat… which tells you a lot about what the GOP has become.
Speaking of the Committee, at least one rioter fully admits it was a Christian event:
Ark Encounter still hasn't returned to its pre-pandemic attendance numbers based on the latest public information. I wrote about what that means (for paid subscribers).
A reminder that there’s more than one kind of Christian in Congress:
Thanks for the shoutout! I too am a Christian, and I practice my beliefs by fighting for workers, the marginalized, and the poor. The Bible has some great lessons on taking on the greedy and powerful instead of doing their bidding through politics. You should check it out! https://t.co/6h91AuzlvHLast year @RepMarieNewman targeted me and attacked my Christian beliefs by planting the trans flag next to her office door. Imagine if MY STAFF attacked her trans flag! They’d be rotting in jail! But they never have nor ever would & it’s hanging across the hall untouched. 1/3 https://t.co/2G5Uoc8Ydo
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 @RepMTGHate-preacher Greg Locke is teaming up with anti-abortion propagandist Abby Johnson on a new movie. If you remove the lies, I’m sure it’ll run for a good three or four minutes, tops.
I had to listen to this, so now you have to listen to this:
Speaking of broken brain thinking, one of the advisors for the right-wing group Atheists For Liberty is speaking at a pastors’ conference with several people known for spreading misinformation. Quite a leap to go from in-your-face atheism to promoting Christian Nationalism and conservative lies while pretending all those things are actually aligned. You make sense of it because I sure can’t.
Christian love is conditional, Part 230402332:
Fundamentalist Christian grandmother Lori Alexander, a.k.a. The Transformed Wife, posted the following story on her website and it’s horrifying.
And now for your weekly dose of fundie insanity:
Christian hate-preacher Jonathan Shelley says he got "another strike" on his YouTube channel. I wonder why...Christian hate-preacher Tanner Furrh says it's unfair that people say he wants LGBTQ people murdered. "We're not saying that they should be murdered! We're saying that they should be lawfully criminalized and punished with death."Christian hate-preacher David Berzins, who's called for the death of LGBTQ people, says he and his church have been shut down by PayPal and Venmo.Christian hate-preacher Sean Conlon has a message for The Ladies... (I'm no relationship expert, but I'm pretty sure comparing a random man's generic job to the pain of childbirth won't go over well.)Christian hate-preacher Roger Jimenez opened a sermon last night with this homophobic and antisemitic anecdote.Christian hate-preacher Roger Jimenez says (very loudly) that his position on LGBTQ people is that "they should be made un-alive."Christian hate-preacher Steven Anderson says the government ought to "be run 100% by Christians—no Hindus allowed, no Muslims allowed, no atheists allowed."This week in Atheist Bible Study? Numbers 7: Have you ever wondered what gifts to give God? You're about to get the list. Many, many, many times over.
I spoke with my co-host Jessica Greiff about many of the stories in this newsletter during this week’s podcast:
I mentioned last week that a bunch of Christian cops in San Diego were claiming that COVID swab tests (the tests!) violated their religious freedom… even though their reasoning, as you might guess, is completely insane and falls apart immediately. I made this video about it:
Purity Culture, what the hell is going on in your world?
Finally, The Onion is all too real:
That’s it for this week! Stay safe. Get vaccinated. Get boosted. Please become a full subscriber or share this with someone who may enjoy it. It would mean a lot to me :)
I am fully expecting a resolution to revive witch hunting in America as part of the GOP platform.