A rural Georgia monument that some conservative Christians criticized as satanic and others dubbed “America’s Stonehenge” was demolished Wednesday after a predawn bombing turned one of its four granite panels into rubble, NPR reports.
Pope Francis Denies He’s Planning to Resign
“Pope Francis has dismissed reports that he plans to resign in the near future, saying he is on track to visit Canada this month and hopes to be able to go to Moscow and Kyiv as soon as possible after that,” Reuters reports.
Florida Tells Teachers Religion Belongs in Schools
A new civics training program for public school teachers in Florida says it is a “misconception” that “the founders desired strict separation of church and state,” the Washington Post reports.
FBI Opens Sweeping Probe of Clergy Sex Abuse
“The FBI has opened a widening investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans going back decades, a rare federal foray into such cases looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them,” the AP reports.
Lauren Boebert Blasts Separation of Church and State
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) told worshipers at a religious service: “The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church. That is not how our Founding Fathers intended it.”
She added: “I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk that’s not in the Constitution. It was in a stinking letter, and it means nothing like what they say it does.” Her comments were first reported by the Denver Post.
Supreme Court Sides With Coach Over Prayers
“The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a high school football coach had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard line after his team’s games,” the New York Times reports.
“The vote was 6 to 3, with the court’s three liberal members in dissent.”
“The case pitted the rights of government workers to free speech and the free exercise of their faith against the Constitution’s prohibition of government endorsement of religion and the ability of public employers to regulate speech in the workplace. The decision was in tension with decades of Supreme Court precedents that forbade pressuring students to participate in religious activities.”
Josh Hawley Thinks Abortion Ruling Will Strengthen GOP
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) predicted that people will base where they live on whether abortion is allowed, the Kansas City Star reports.
Said Hawley: “I would predict that the effect is going to be that more and more red states are going to become more red, purple states are going to become red and the blue states are going to get a lot bluer.”
He added: “And I would look for Republicans as a result of this to extend their strength in the Electoral College. And that’s very good news.”
A Pro-Religion Court
Ian Prasad Philbrick: “The Supreme Court has become the most pro-religion it’s been since at least the 1950s, and it appears to include the six most pro-religion justices since at least World War II.”
“Yesterday’s ruling striking down a Maine law that blocked taxpayer dollars from funding religious school tuition furthered a transformation decades in the making. Since John Roberts became chief justice in 2005, the court has ruled in favor of religious organizations in orally argued cases 83 percent of the time. That is far more than any court in the past seven decades — all of which were led by chief justices who, like Roberts, were appointed by Republican presidents.”
Justices Reject Maine’s Ban on Aid to Religious Schools
“The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Maine may not exclude religious schools from a state tuition program,” the New York Times reports.
“The decision, from a court that has grown exceptionally receptive to claims from religious people and groups in a variety of settings, was the latest in a series of rulings requiring the government to aid religious institutions on the same terms as other private organizations.”
“The vote was 6 to 3, with the court’s three liberal justices in dissent.”
Washington Post: “The case involves an unusual program in a small state that affects only a few thousand students. But it could have greater implications as the more conservative court relaxes the constitutional line between church and state.”
Herschel Walker Cheered by Evangelicals
“Herschel Walker received resounding applause from evangelical Christian activists on Saturday, following revelations he had fathered three children he had not previously discussed publicly,” Politico reports.
“The reception Walker received at the conference is an early indication that self-identified religious conservatives will give him a pass for a biographical detail at odds with their stated mission.”
Belief In God Dips to New Low
A new Gallup poll finds the number of Americans who believe in God has dropped to the lowest level in the 78 years of asking the question.
That said, 81% of U.S. adults say they believe in God.
Christian Pastor Calls for Gay People to Be Executed
Pastor Dillon Awes delivered a sermon saying that all gay people should be killed, LGBTQ Nation reports.
Said Awes: “Every single homosexual in our country should be charged with the crime, the abomination of homosexuality, that they have. They should be convicted in a lawful trial. They should be sentenced with death.”
He added: “They should be lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head! That’s what God teaches. That’s what the Bible says. You don’t like it? You don’t like God’s Word, because that is what God says.”
Christian Nationalism on the Rise
Associated Press: “Christian nationalism is often accompanied by a belief that God has destined America, like the biblical Israel, for a special role in history, and that it will receive divine blessing or judgment depending on its obedience.”
“That often overlaps with the conservative Christian political agenda, including opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage and transgender rights. Researchers say Christian nationalism is often also associated with mistrust of immigrants and Muslims. Many Christian nationalists see former President Donald Trump as a champion despite his crude sexual boasts and lack of public piety.”
“Candidates seen as Christian nationalists have had mixed success in this year’s Republican primaries, which typically pitted staunch conservatives against opponents even further to the right.”
Southern Baptists Release Secret Sex Abuser Database
“Southern Baptist leaders on Thursday evening released a list of alleged church-related sexual abuse offenders that denomination heads had kept secret for more than a decade,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Executive Committee for the Southern Baptist Convention said earlier this week it would publish the names after it issued a third-party investigation that suggested a widespread coverup by top leaders who ignored and even ‘vilified’ people who came forward with stories of abuse.”
GOP Candidate Will Only Pick Christian as Running Mate
Colorado gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez (R), who hopes to unseat Gov. Jared Polis (D) this November, “said in a Republican primary debate over the weekend that he would have a No-Jews, No-Muslims, No-Atheists policy when it comes to selecting his potential Lt. Governor,” Next reports.
He said would only consider other Christians.
Republicans Ignore the Southern Baptist Scandal
Paul Waldman: “There are few things that members of the American right emphasize more often about themselves than their deep commitment to protecting children — particularly when it comes to the threat of sexual abuse. In recent months, they’ve shown how intense that commitment is by labeling just about anyone who supports equality for LGBTQ people as ‘groomers’ who are preparing children to be sexually abused.”
“So when news broke this past weekend of a blockbuster report about sexual abuse (including of children) and a coverup within the Southern Baptist Convention, the GOP and conservative movement rose up in outrage. Republican politicians such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis demanded further investigation, QAnon adherents turned their focus to this conspiracy, and conservative media couldn’t stop talking about the story.”
“Actually, none of that happened.”
Southern Baptists Refused to Act on Abuse
“Armed with a secret list of more than 700 abusive pastors, Southern Baptist leaders chose to protect the denomination from lawsuits rather than protect the people in their churches from further abuse,” Christianity Today reports.
“Survivors, advocates, and some Southern Baptists themselves spent more than 15 years calling for ways to keep sexual predators from moving quietly from one flock to another.”
Washington Post: “The findings of nearly 300 pages include shocking new details about specific abuse cases and shine a light on how denominational leaders for decades actively resisted calls for abuse prevention and reform.”
How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church
Tim Alberta: “Having grown up just down the road, the son of the senior pastor at another church in town, I’ve spent my life watching evangelicalism morph from a spiritual disposition into a political identity. It’s heartbreaking. So many people who love the Lord, who give their time and money to the poor and the mourning and the persecuted, have been reduced to a caricature.”
“But I understand why. Evangelicals—including my own father—became compulsively political, allowing specific ethical arguments to snowball into full-blown partisan advocacy, often in ways that distracted from their mission of evangelizing for Christ.”
New York Times: As a “seismic shift” fractures evangelicals, an Arkansas pastor leaves home.
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