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WEEK IN REVIEW: Jim Breuer has given up on comedy

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WEEK IN REVIEW: Jim Breuer has given up on comedy

Kitty litter boxes, blessing gay couples, a religious push to protect abortion rights, and more!

Hemant Mehta
Jan 27, 2023
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WEEK IN REVIEW: Jim Breuer has given up on comedy

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Over the weekend, during the right-wing “ReAwaken America" event at Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke's tent church, former SNL cast member Jim Breuer did what some people might call a “comedy” routine… in which he mocked flu shots, vaccines, and NFL player Damar Hamlin.

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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
During the "ReAwaken America" event at Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke's tent church, former SNL cast member Jim Breuer mocked flu shots, vaccines, and Damar Hamlin.
2:53 AM ∙ Jan 22, 2023
2,218Likes474Retweets

My clip from that event received over 1.2 million views, got picked up by Keith Olbermann, Rex Chapman, The Majority Report with Sam Seder, Newsweek, and more.

Less noticed was how the traffic for the event clogged up the streets and created potential safety hazards.

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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
After causing serious traffic problems yesterday, Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke responded by… trashing LGBTQ people. (via @JGrimmJr1)
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2:37 PM ∙ Jan 21, 2023
131Likes17Retweets
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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
Mount Juliet, TN officials are “making efforts to document all costs associated with the response to be reimbursed” after Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke jammed up roads to host his MAGA gathering. mjpdnews.org/2023/01/20/sta…
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6:35 PM ∙ Jan 20, 2023
47Likes9Retweets

As always, I appreciate your support through Patreon and Substack, which allows me to pursue these efforts while working on articles and other projects.


13 clergy members have filed a lawsuit "challenging Missouri’s abortion ban and several related abortion restrictions." They say it's an imposition of "one narrow religious doctrine on all Missouri residents."

Clergy members sue Missouri to block faith-based anti-abortion laws | Clergy members gather in Missouri to announce their lawsuit

Unlike similar attempts to override abortion bans, though, this one has receipts.

The most damning thing in the lawsuit is the collection of statements from Republican lawmakers who cited their religious faith as justification for their support of the anti-abortion bill, suggesting that the legislation wasn’t motivated by any kind of secular intent.


Pope Francis said homosexuality should be decriminalized, which is great, but reiterated that the Catholic Church’s views on homosexuality haven’t changed one bit. He doesn’t seem to get that religious tradition is often the basis for laws that demonize LGBTQ people.

But while the pope’s comments have been dissected all over the place, less attention has been paid to a different story with a similar twist. An out-of-context clip from Pastor Andy Stanley, the leader of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, went viral because he appears to welcome gay people in his church in a way that seems unusual among evangelicals. (The tweeter below is not a fan.)

Twitter avatar for @AdamPage85
pagemasta @AdamPage85
What on earth… let this be a lesson. Much evil can be done against you, others and your church under the banner of evangelism.
1:58 PM ∙ Jan 23, 2023
1,320Likes165Retweets

His message is that straight evangelicals could learn a lot about commitment to their churches by taking a cue from gay Christians who’ve been persecuted by church leaders yet remain devoted to the faith. Stanley’s not wrong on that point.

What’s frustrating is that Stanley was being praised online as some kind of Christian hero to LGBTQ people when nothing he said supports civil rights, accepting/affirming same-sex relationships, or anything of the sort.

I wrote about why his rhetoric fooled so many people.


Earlier this month, Victoria Rose Waldrip (a.k.a. Woah Vicky, “Atlanta’s new age trap queen”) visited Jonesboro High School in Georgia and preached to the girl’s basketball team, telling them to accept Jesus, remain celibate until marriage, and that LGBTQ people exist as a result of sexual abuse.

The question is why the school allowed this to happen. The answer seems to be a woman who helps the school with social media thought it would be a great idea. If that’s true, though, then her access to students—and how she used that opening to get her friend to push Jesus on them—is especially troubling.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is now calling on administrators to investigate the matter and make sure it doesn’t happen again.


If you want to be a member of the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, you must believe Jesus died for your sins, that gay people have no business getting married, and that transgender people don’t exist.

And, honestly, that first one may be optional.

First Baptist Church in Florida will force members to sign anti-LGBTQ contract | Senior Pastor Heath Lambert has spent months obsessing over LGBTQ people

Senior Pastor Heath Lambert says the church will now force the whole congregation to sign a document confirming their opposition to LGBTQ rights if they want to remain members. They have until mid-March to turn in their hate-group application.


What do you speak about at a “pro-life” rally? You cheer for death, of course. That’s what Nathaniel Darnell, the Georgia director for the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, did during the state’s March for Life rally last Friday.

He referenced the former State House Speaker David Ralston, who recently died. Ralston was a staunch opponent of abortion rights, like most other Republicans, but before Roe was overturned, Ralston didn’t believe abortion bans were worth pursuing since lower courts would simply nullify them. Darnell saw that thinking as an impediment and celebrated Ralston’s death.

At 'pro-life' rally, speaker thanks God for killing 'obstacle' to abortion ban | Republican operative Nathaniel Darnell speaks to the camera

Darnell proves yet again that the “pro-life” crowd doesn’t give a damn about actual living people.


The Church of England, in a remarkably progressive move, will finally bless same-sex marriages… would be an incredible thing to have said in 2003.

But it’s 20 years later, and this weak attempt at cultural relevancy by a religious denomination struggling to be taken seriously shouldn’t be praised as anything more than a PR campaign.

The Church of England will 'bless' same-sex couples. It's utterly meaningless. | A priest prepares Communion in the Anglican Church

Allowing bishops to pray for God’s blessings on a gay couple after they got married (somewhere else), while simultaneously banning same-sex weddings in their institutions, the Church of England has made it clear that their faith is built on bigotry.


Conservative Christians spent so much time pretending gay parents are evil that they almost forgot to demonize gay parents who are wonderful.

Twitter avatar for @RightWingWatch
Right Wing Watch @RightWingWatch
Religious-right attorney Mat Staver says Christian schools must ban children of same-sex couples otherwise students might have positive "personal experiences" with such families, which could undermine their understanding of "biblical doctrine." bit.ly/3GZ3vkR
8:09 PM ∙ Jan 23, 2023
856Likes294Retweets

I made a video about how the Norwegian government punished the Jehovah's Witnesses... and why it's entirely justified.


Weird how youth pastors keep getting arrested for being child predators.

Twitter avatar for @kylegriffin1
Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1
46 men — including a high school football coach and a youth pastor — were arrested during a multi-agency operation targeting sex trafficking in North Texas. There are no reports of drag queens being arrested in the operation. bit.ly/3D0zikf
2:00 PM ∙ Jan 22, 2023
82,785Likes22,029Retweets

Former NFL coach and current commentator Tony Dungy hid behind his faith during an acknowledgment that he lied to people about kitty litter boxes in classrooms:

Twitter avatar for @hemantmehta
Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
He's not apologizing for spreading a right-wing lie, or explaining why he fell for it, or promising to stop trusting conservative propaganda. Even worse, he's using his Christianity to distract from taking responsibility.
Twitter avatar for @TonyDungy
Tony Dungy @TonyDungy
This past week I posted a tweet that I subsequently deleted. I issued an apology but not everyone saw it. So I am reposting my apology here. As a Christian I want to be a force for love to everyone. A force for healing and reconciliation-not for animosity. https://t.co/esew5wjUyD
2:10 AM ∙ Jan 22, 2023
109Likes23Retweets

How come the usual suspects don't call this "grooming"?

Twitter avatar for @ChristnNitemare
Christian Nightmares @ChristnNitemare
Just a young kid in a black leather jacket (next to a stuffed animal) preaching about “the anointing”
4:23 PM ∙ Jan 25, 2023
274Likes17Retweets

Expert trolling: Asking Republican legislators all your medical questions since they all act like they’re your doctor anyway.

Twitter avatar for @RowanAstra
Rev. Rowan Astra @RowanAstra
Asking Herndon if he’s my dr, since he apparently can make medical decisions for the people of Idaho with his anti-abortion legislation.
6:26 PM ∙ Jan 20, 2023
199Likes33Retweets

Fundamentalist Christian grandmother Lori Alexander, a.k.a. The Transformed Wife, thinks using a microwave is going to destroy you.

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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
I am dumber for having read this.
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6:26 PM ∙ Jan 22, 2023
673Likes18Retweets

And now for your weekly dose of fundie insanity and right-wing preaching:

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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
Christian hate-preacher Jonathan Shelley slams former Southern Baptist Convention leader J. D. Greear for once saying you should use a trans person's preferred pronouns out of respect. Then he just spews more bigotry.
7:04 PM ∙ Jan 20, 2023
61Likes9Retweets
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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
Christian hate-preacher Jonathan Shelley says his medical advice comes from the Bible, so he'll never get a prostate exam. He adds (falsely) that getting your prostate examined creates problems... and that coffee enemas are for gay people.
6:11 PM ∙ Jan 25, 2023
128Likes16Retweets
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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
If churches can't handle a rainbow flag, they're really persecuting themselves.
Image
1:02 AM ∙ Jan 27, 2023
201Likes11Retweets
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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
Christian conspiracy theorist Johnny Enlow says the scores of Saturday's NFL playoff games point to a Bible verse. (He didn't say any of this in advance, of course.)
1:35 AM ∙ Jan 25, 2023
81Likes10Retweets
Twitter avatar for @ChristnNitemare
Christian Nightmares @ChristnNitemare
It’s the year 2023 and this Baptist pastor is upset that women wear pants and shorts in public, among other things… h/t @BadSermons
4:04 PM ∙ Jan 26, 2023
43Likes10Retweets
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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
That’s Hell. You’re talking about Hell.
Image
7:57 PM ∙ Jan 23, 2023
586Likes35Retweets
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Hemant Mehta @hemantmehta
Preacher Kent Christmas says COVID was "planted" to "bury the Church." But God told him "there will never be another plague" as long as the Church exists.
2:10 AM ∙ Jan 24, 2023
122Likes20Retweets

This week in Atheist Bible Study? Deuteronomy 2. We are currently in Part 2 of Moses' speech to the Israelites. How many parts are there? I'll never tell. (But the answer is not just two.)


I spoke with my co-host Jessica Greiff about many of the stories in this newsletter during this week’s podcast:


Finally, “pro-life” marchers are unable to grapple with God’s bloodlust:

Twitter avatar for @TheGoodLiars
The Good Liars @TheGoodLiars
Talked to a guy with a “God is Pro-Life” sign at the March for Life and asked about God being very Pro-Death in the Bible.
8:01 PM ∙ Jan 23, 2023
25,007Likes4,357Retweets

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WEEK IN REVIEW: Jim Breuer has given up on comedy

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WEEK IN REVIEW: Jim Breuer has given up on comedy

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Kevin Bealer
Jan 28

Jim Breuer has given up on comedy? I wouldn't call what he does "comedy" unless"pathetic" is a new subgenre.

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