I'm sorry you feel SOCAS is not important (1)

Generally not something I would expand upon but this "head in the sand" attitude needs to cease as it has been going on for way too long. Due to space considerations I could not elaborate as much as I would have liked concerning some points I made. So here we go, and this is gonna be long, very long!

As I noted, religionists have a troubled relationship with race and segregation.

In May 1969, a group of African-American parents in Holmes County, Mississippi, sued the Treasury Department to prevent three new whites-only K-12 private academies from securing full tax-exempt status, arguing that their discriminatory policies prevented them from being considered “charitable” institutions,,,

In  Green v. Kennedy [https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/309/1127/2096127/] (David Kennedy was secretary of the treasury at the time), decided in January 1970, the plaintiffs won a preliminary injunction, which denied the “segregation academies” tax-exempt status until further review. In the meantime, the government was solidifying its position on such schools. Later that year, President Richard Nixon ordered the Internal Revenue Service to enact a new policy denying tax exemptions to all segregated schools in the United States. Under the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which forbade racial segregation and discrimination, discriminatory schools were not—by definition—“charitable” educational organizations, and therefore they had no claims to tax-exempt status; similarly, donations to such organizations would no longer qualify as tax-deductible contributions.

What Balmer argues, Paul Weyrich used this opportunity to organize the Religious Right as the IRS began sending questionnaires to church-related “segregation academies.” One such institution which become the battleground is Bob Jones University. While the initial legal battle began in 1971, it wasn't until 1983that SCOTUS upheld the right of the IRS to rescind the tax-exempt status of the University in Bob Jones University v. United States 461 U.S. 574 (1983).


From Amanda Marcotte,

Balmer doesn't mention it, but there was one other shift in the public consciousness going on at the time. The "Stop ERA" campaign, headed up by Christian right leader Phyllis Schlafly to kill the Equal Rights Amendment banning sex discrimination, got moving in 1972. By the time male Christian conservative leaders like Weyrich and Falwell decided to make abortion a centerpiece issue, Schlafly had done the yeoman's work of convincing huge numbers of evangelical Christians that feminists were a threat to the very fabric of society. With hostility to women's equality rising, making the anti-abortion pitch was probably much, much easier.

In regards to the Bible being used as a sledge-hammer (justifying slavery and anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination), two books come to mind: Saving The Original Sinner: How Christians Have Used the Bible’s First Man to Oppress, Inspire and Make Sense of the World, by Karl. W. Giberson (2015) AND The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It by Peter Enns (2015). Both books explore the intellectual games used by conservative Christians to “protect” the Bible and justify their actions or in-actions.

It is in chapter 9 that Giberson explores racism and slavery. Contrary to AiG some of the most ardent racists were so-called Christians who used the Bible to support such. (I contrast with Ham and AiG as I am more familiar with their stance than any other creationist/religionist organization.) Just for shits-n-giggle, this is AiG's review of Giberson's book (abstract).

According to Dr. Karl Giberson, the molecules-to-man evolution that supposedly spawned us also made us the morally messed up creatures that we are. In Saving the Original Sinner he attacks belief in the historicity of Adam. He teaches that we are “original sinners” not as Adam’s descendants but as a result of our evolutionary heritage. Believing sin and death did not enter human history through Adam but are the natural results of evolution, he considers Adam irrelevant. Gone with Adam is the biblical foundation for understanding why the “last Adam” Jesus Christ came to die for the sins of the first Adam’s descendants. Bible-believing creationists who believe Adam and Eve were the first parents of all people refuse to accept Darwinian evolution’s explanation of human origins. Therefore, belief in Adam is a stronghold that evolutionist Karl Giberson assaults with this book, hoping to precipitate a crisis of faith in biblical creationists.

While I would have to review my copy of Giberson book to be sure, but this goes to Ham's fear of losing authority, something I have written about before - specifically The Evolution Connection.  Why he pushes so hard for creationism to be taught in schools.

As for my take away from Enns' book, while he was a bit more fluffy for my overall liking, he makes an interesting point that I believe highlights the mind-set of the Religious Right, "God never told the Israelites to kill the Canaanites. The Israelites believed that God told them to kill the Canaanites."

Again for shits-n-giggles, AiG's critique.

What we know of Jesus Christ’s love and grace comes to us through the reliable testimony of God’s Word. That simple and beautiful biblical truth, summed up in the familiar phrase “The Bible tells me so” from the hymn “Jesus Loves Me,” introduces many children to the love of Jesus. This sweet refrain also reminds adults that God’s revelation to us in His Word is the foundation for faith and the ultimate source of truth. A new book capitalizing on the familiar song—The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It by Dr. Peter Enns—is a collection of compromises, written for the layman. The book wastes a great deal of ink claiming that the Bible is simply not to be trusted or taken seriously. In it Dr. Enns continues his destructive influence on the Christian faith and biblical understanding through his relentless assault on God’s Word.

We are all well aware of the "clobber passages" used to justify hatred and discrimination, re-hashing them now would be a bit redundant (and make this post even longer).  What I want to focus on are some of the preachers of hate both members of clergy and pols-n-pundits.  As I said many years ago, this type of rhetoric is no longer fringe.

Sorry to say, if you do not speak out against the extremism you condone it, it is no longer fringe when it is occurs in our everyday life. To borrow a phrase from a wise friend, I leave you with this: "The religions of "love" teaching hate!!"

Scott Lively in his own words,,,

"There is no question that homosexuality figures prominently in the history of the Holocaust. … The first years of terrorism against the Jews were carried out by the homosexuals of the SA."
– The Pink Swastika, 1996

"Homosexuality is thus biologically (and to varying degrees morally) equivalent to pedophilia, sado-masochism, bestiality and many other forms of deviant behavior."
– “Deciphering 'Gay' Word-Speak and Language of Confusion," May 2002

Lively is currently running for Governor of Massachusetts, is responsible, in part,  for the "kill the gays" bill in Uganda. With author Kevin Abrams, wrote The Pink Swastika (1995); which is thoroughly debunked. Believes his advocacy helped inspire the Russian law passed in 2013 that bans “propaganda for non-traditional sexual relations among minors.”

Next comes a man who is of the opinion all gays are pedophiles and will have sex with anything, believing all homosexuals should kill themselves. (See:: America's Hate Preachers a BBC documentary, highlighted below, and this little gem.)

ANDERSON: To normal people, homosexuality [and] pedophilia are disgusting. To a normal person.
LIVINGSTON: Why do you put pedophilia and homosexuality in the same group?
ANDERSON: They are in the same group! Because any man who would have sex with another man would have sex with anything. Period. Like, I’ll put it this way: Any man who would have sex with another man would have sex with an animal.
LIVINGSTON: That’s blatantly not true, though!
ANDERSON: It is true! That’s reality. Even if you don’t think it’s reality…

… LIVINGSTON: What do you think homosexuals should do, then?
ANDERSON: Kill themselves, as far as I’m concerned, because they’re horrible, wicked people. They’re just gonna keep molesting and destroying people. So I don’t have any advice for homosexuals, except to put a bullet in your own head so that you don’t molest my kids or anyone else’s kids.

Steven Anderson has been banned in Jamaica (2018), Botswana (deported - 2016), South Africa (2016), the UK (2016) and Canada.  He is known for, not only the above, but also calling on the government to execute homosexuals as well as declaring there are  “50 less pedophiles in this world” after the Pulse nightclub shooting. (Theodore Shoebat is another anti-LGBTQI+ crusader who has also advocated for executing homosexuals. Along with his father Walid "more than a few holes in his backstory" Shoebat, they are a potent hate duo.)

[Besides advocating for the death of LGBT people, Steven Anderson also made an antisemitic film and promoted Holocaust denial (“Marching to Zion.” released in March 2015 - mirror site), saying the Jews lied about the Holocaust in order to create the state of Israel, and that slave laborers at Auschwitz were compensated for their work and could buy items at a commissary.  This is a horrid little film and if you have a strong stomach, it is worth the watch.]

Next on my list is Gordon Klingenschmitt (sadly a hometown boy as he was born in Buffalo and hence my interest), this man should be a nobody but for his one claim to fame. In 2006 he was court-martialed and subsequently ousted from the Navy and sued in the Court of Federal Claims, claiming that he was wrongfully discharged from the Navy and seeking reinstatement, and arguing that his First Amendment rights were violated. (Readers Digest version.)

Now Gordon has had a fairly long career by hate-mongers standards.  While not as vitriolic as Anderson, he is anti-LGBTQI+; he's a bizarre little man. Although he has a thing for "demonic spirits". What makes Klingenschmitt so dangerous, he has served as a state legislator (CO) and is considering another run in 2018.

As Luning notes,

A lightning rod for controversy who put actual lightning rods to shame during his one term in the General Assembly, Klingenschmitt maintained President Barack Obama is possessed by demons and once performed an exorcism on him. He accused U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, who is gay, of wanting to “join ISIS in beheading Christians,” although Klingenschmitt later said the remark wasn’t meant seriously. He was admonished by House GOP leadership for calling it “the curse of God upon America for our sin of not protecting innocent children in the womb” when a pregnant Longmont woman was attacked and her baby was cut from her womb.

Not only is he considering another run for office, he does have the ear of some notable if not infamous politicians. As I have sated before, Klingenschmitt is guilty of biblical hyperliteralism; it is a false way of biblical interpretation which leads to his many bigoted statements.

While Gordon is in some cases mild, not so with our next homophobe,  Kevin Swanson.  He like Anderson and Shoebat advocate for the execution of homosexuals.  What's worse is he has political clout as demonstrated by the 2015 National Religious Liberties Conference. An event he organized featuring, then, three Republican contenders for the presidency:  Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, and  Ted Cruz.

As Katherine Stewart notes for the NYT,

The comfortable thing to do would be to dismiss Mr. Swanson as just another wombat from the embarrassing fringe of American politics. But that would be a mistake. Mr. Swanson’s murderous imaginings did not interfere with his ability to attract senior Republican figures to his conference, including as a keynote speaker Bob Vander Plaats, an Iowa politician who will grant the “Most Wanted Endorsement of 2016,” according to the Conservative Review.

Mr. Swanson is the product of a significant political movement that has coalesced around the theme of religious liberty. Many of its leaders and their allies appear at the Family Research Council’s annual Values Voters Summit. Other power centers include Liberty University (now a required stop on the campaign trail); conservative policy organizations like the American Family Association and Concerned Women for America; and Christian legal advocacy groups like Liberty Counsel (whose co-founder, Mat Staver, acted as Kim Davis’s lawyer) and the Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal powerhouse behind the Hobby Lobby decision (whose president, Alan Sears, co-wrote a book in 2003 titled “The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today”).

When talking about religious conservatives in America, we might perhaps conjure up an image of a farmer in Iowa or a small-business owner in Ohio who goes to church and holds traditional values. But the leaders to whom such conservatives deliver their votes have a distinct, often different, political vision.

Speaking of Ted Cruz (and by proxy his father Rafael) let's take a look-see first at elder Cruz and his dominionist ideology, "that fundamentalist Christians should take over, well, just about everything".

It’s not hard to figure out Rafael Cruz’s basic message. He has given scores, probably hundreds, of sermons and talks at religious and political gatherings, and many are on YouTube. His primary theme is that the United States is a “Christian nation” and that only true believers who adhere to biblical principles—that is, who accept the literal truth of the Bible, as Rafael Cruz and other fundamentalists see it—are worthy of guiding the United States forward. He regularly rails against pastors and church leaders who eschew politics and do not enter the political fray to combat the enemy: secular humanism.

Rafael Cruz is an advocate of Christian dominionism, which essentially holds that fundamentalist Christians should take over, well, just about everything. Speaking at a Texas church in 2012, Rafael Cruz told the crowd that God instructed Adam and Eve to go forth, multiply, and, as he put it, “take dominion over all my creation.” He said this meant that true-believers ought to dominate all areas of life: “That dominion is not just in the church, that dominion is over every area—society, education, government, and economics.” (During that sermon, he also noted that husbands, not wives, should be the “spiritual leader” of their families.) In Cruz’s view, those who accept Christ and his word (as Cruz believes it should be understood) will prosper spiritually and financially. In that same sermon, he noted that God not only anoints priests to lead the faithful, but also anoints “kings…to take dominion.” By that, he means those who rule a nation, and, he adds, these rulers one day (and he makes it sound as if this day will come soon) will transfer the wealth of the “wicked” to the “righteous.”

So, how far do you think the apple falls from the tree? Rafael Cruz is not only Ted Cruz's father, he is also his closest personal and professional mentor who actively campaigned for his son among evangelical voters in regards to the 2016 Presidential election cycle. While Junior's speeches are not laden with hate like his father's, he does accept his father endorsement and council.

It's difficult to succinctly pin a direct statement like Swanson's "kill the gays" on Cruz; but he sure does attract a, shall we say, questionable crowd. For example, Mike Bickle (IHOP) has notably claimed God sent Adolf Hitler to hunt down Jews who refuse to convert to Christianity; James Dobson of Focus on the Family, who has suggested taking up arms against transgendered individuals; Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty who in 2013 had the infamous GQ interview where he stated, 

"Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men," he says. Then he paraphrases Corinthians: "Don't be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won't inherit the kingdom of God. Don't deceive yourself. It's not right."

Bob Vander Plaats of Family Leader,  who led a successful 2010 effort to oust three state Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of marriage equality.

Pamela Gellar, the anti-Muslim activist who claim to fame is her 2010 campaign in opposition to the Park 51 Islamic Center project in Manhattan, which she deemed the “Ground Zero Mosque”. Not only is she associated with National Security Advisor John Bolton, but Richard Spencer and Milo Yiannopoulos as well.  She is an active columnist at Breibart and WND (note:: direct link be careful!) 

Now just to demonstrate how wacked these associations are, consider this,,, Theodore Shoebat has, in the past, called for Pamela Geller to be put to death for associating with “faggots” and “sodomites” at the “Gays for Trump” event during the RNC convention noted above. I shit you not!!

The list of influences on Cruz is endless in regards to what I consider far-right crazies (for complete list.) But,,, it highlights very well that no matter how small the crazies influence, it has ramifications  for a wider audience.  In some case individuals that are responsible for making our laws. It is why I personally bitch so much in regards to SOCAS.

These are but a few individuals, some I have had personal run-ins with but most interactions have been on the inter-web.  I am going to leave with one last person, someone whom falls into the former category mentioned; Michael Brown.

(Some individuals I have mentioned for a specific reason.   Currently Ted Cruz is up for re-election in Texas against Beto O'Rourke.  While he is not well liked by his colleagues, Cruz does wield much power - w/ Mike Lee of UT - and like Mike Pence, his notion of theocratic control concerning the "Seven Mountains Mandate" is scary, the individuals listed endorse his brand of dominionism, it even scarier.)

Like Scott Lively, Brown has no problem exporting his hate nor like Klingenschmitt claiming homosexual demonic forces or some such shit. Brown is also a big purveyor of the "Christian persecution" narrative (I am a fan of JMG and use him as reference in many a posting, including this one.)  But what makes Brown dangerous, (besides his association with Lou Engle, founder of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) and leader of TheCall; a man who believes the LGBT fight for equality is a bigger threat than Islamic terrorists), he employs verbal and religious violence as a tool of thought and instruction. "[V]erbal, spiritual and theological violence will be to silence and strip all LGBT people of their legal, civil and social equality, freedom and liberty, effectively creating a theocracy governed by the principles they believe are set forward in both Old Testament and New Testament law."


IOWs, while Brown may not advocate for physical violence, his "imagery and allegory, are a threat to LGBT people, even if he and his organization are not,,, there is a thin line between violent thoughts and words, and violent actions and deeds. I believe it is this precariously thin line Brown seems to disregard,,," (From  “Jesus Manifesto,” via Interstateq.)

“Revolution means upheaval. Revolution means the overthrowing of the status quo. We dare not downplay the significance of the word. Revolution is a matter of life and death, and our revolution flows from the blood of the Savior to the blood of the martyr. We put down our sword and take up our cross, overcoming Satan by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony, and by not loving our lives so much as to shrink from death (Rev. 12:11).”

Our revolution is fueled by the power of the gospel, and the gospel does violence to the forces of hell. We must recover the fullness of the gospel of Jesus! It is nothing less than a direct assault on the kingdom of Satan, a frontal attack on hostile, spiritual powers, a mortal confrontation of light against darkness. It brings about the ultimate counterculture conflict.”

"We’re in a war, and war means conflict, hardship, and sacrifice. As Leonard Ravenhill wrote, ‘When a nation calls its prime men to battle, homes are broken, weeping sweethearts say their good-byes, businesses are closed, college careers are wrecked, factories are refitted for wartime production, rationing and discomforts are accepted — all for war. Can we do less for the greatest fight that this world has ever known outside of the cross — this end-time siege on sanity, morality, and spirituality?'”

"Our society is deteriorating all around us and even non-believers sense that something is wrong. Why? It is because we, the people of God, the army of the Lord Jesus, the messengers of liberation, the ambassadors of reconciliation, have been sidetracked by the love of this world and distracted by the cares of this age.”

Matt sums up the issue well in the comments, responding to Brown,  "my utmost concern is your verbally and theologically violent rhetoric and language. People have a right to be aware of what you are teaching and how it is being taught. People have a right to be aware of the possible threat — not from you or your group — but from others who hear your words and are unable to distinguish between your “spiritual concepts” and allegory, and real calls for physical violence."


So I will end there (I leave out Westboro as they are no longer the only player in the game), but to say I am "reeeeeaally reaching with those examples. Especially if you're trying to use them as examples in the present day," is utter bull-fucking-shit. You and your head-in-the-sand ilk need to start paying attention.  Hell even my 16y/o co-worker is more aware of the religious batshittery going on without doing a deep dive into all the religious rhetoric.

Show Notes:: Chris Rodda on Anti-LGBTQI Captain Sonny Hernandez

As you know we are  not a scripted show, so the dialogue will not follow this "outline". Due to the nature of the topic and the amount of material, I made notes for myself and co-hosts of what I hoped to cover and the material available for background information

Chris's original story appears here and here.

IMO::  At the heart of it, this is a SOCAS issue complicated by the inclusion of the military.  A point that will become clear as we talk.  What Hernandez advocates is Christian theocracy, or as I prefer Christian Sharia.  The mentality he promotes is no different than the more ardent forms of Islam; Daesh comes to mind.  It is a point many former and current military member have remarked to me and in comments of the various articles.  I am sure Chris is well aware of theses sentiments.  It is why MRFF is so important. (And by proxy Chris's work with Liars as this is a notion espoused by Barton.)

The controversy raises questions over the role of chaplains and where the boundaries lie between spiritual leadership and innate freedoms of religion and speech guaranteed under the Constitution that all service-members swear to “support and defend.”

In some strange ways, this issue also ties in with the current flap of DayGloMan v the NFL and the Pledge debacle in schools.

Q:: What is MRFF, who is Mikey, and what is your role?

Before we get going, as of Sunday night I have 40+ articles concerning the debacle and related issues with Hernandez.  This story has taken off like no one expected and I believe (OK I know) you and MRFF are a big reason as to why. (About fucking time the MSM didn't just blow MRFF.)  Q:: How do you feel about that notion, especially considering some of the public criticism (ie FOX news) that Mikey gets as well as MRFF?

So, this first point is one you open with in your article concerning the oath that Hernandez took but isn't there something in the Christian Bible, in Matthew about if you speak an oath you will be bound by it? Every person that enters military service in the US swears an oath to the US Constitution to protect and defend it. This so called Chaplin would have them break faith with their god. I'd ask, who is the one worshiping Satan?

Q::  So who is this Sonny Hernandez character?
Article in question (BarbWire)

• Misogynistic statements about the military having female chaplains, expressing his opinion that “women are not called to be pastors, and since a chaplain is supposed to be a pastor in uniform — it exposes their rebellion,” 
• “There is no such thing as transgenderism”

Background per MRFF

Some of the previous writings of Chaplain Hernandez, along with his “tag team” Bible-believing blogging buddy Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Dowty (a.k.a. the “Christian Fighter Pilot”), which led to MRFF’s filing of its initial DoD/IG complaint in April and other supplemental complaints, see these prior posts:

• “Christian Fighter Pilot” Jonathan Dowty Accuses First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant Of Being A Liar”
• “Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?”
• “The Glaring Double Standards Of The Air Force’s Most Homophobic, ‘Bible-Believing’ Chaplain”
• “Chaplain Who Said There’s ‘No Such Thing As Transgenderism’ Now Says Obeying Constitution Serves Satan”

Q::  Concerning his misogyny statements, Hernandez was writing as a blogger on Air Force Lt. Col. Jonathan Dowty's “Christian Fighter Pilot” blog.  Without getting too far into the rabbit hole, can you explain the import of this? 

Also mentioned, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/gay-bashing-chaplain-endo_b_13867166.html

[Dowty was the slime ball who went after Brig. Gen. Kristin Goodwin (then Select), who had been nominated to be the Air Force Academy’s next commandant of cadets, of being a liar. Dowty’s basis for this accusation? Goodwin graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1993, but the policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) wasn’t implemented until 1994. Therefore, according to Lt. Col. Dowty, Goodwin, who is a lesbian, must have lied about her sexual orientation in order to join the Air Force.]

So, our "benighted researcher", you seemed to really get under his skin in one particular article.  Q:: What makes Hernandez's "case" so important? Besides the fact he has been a thorn in MRFFs side 

http://christianfighterpilot.com/2017/06/27/us-military-continues-to-ignore-mikey-weinstein/ 
and
http://christianfighterpilot.com/2017/06/06/mrff-operates-in-the-red-takes-government-money-but-mikey-weinstein-profits/

He has flat out and very publicly instructed members of the U.S. military to disregard and disobey the Constitution.

In his article, Hernandez did nothing short of instructing service members to disobey the Constitution that they swore an oath to uphold, with statements such as these,,,

• Christian service members who openly profess and support the rights of Muslims, Buddhists, and all other anti-Christian worldviews to practice their religions — because the language in the Constitution permits — are grossly in error, and deceived.
• “There is no exegetical support, and no moral justification for any Christian service member to openly profess or support the alleged rights of anti-Christians. Christian service members must share the Gospel with unbelievers so they can be saved, not support unbelievers to worship their false gods that will lead them to hell.”

To layman eyes, the anti-LGBTQI stance and his misogyny aside, that really is not the issue here is it.  At least based on your response, "No, Chaplain Hernandez, the right to religious freedom is not just an “alleged” right, nor is this right something that the Constitution merely “permits.” It is a right that the Constitution mandates!"  Q::  Can you expand on that a bit as to exactly what you are referring to?

A third point that you note, "baffling them with bullshit".  I have read and re-read his supposed instructions to fellow Bible-believing chaplains and I can't make head or tails of it.

Therefore, if military chaplains are criticized by individuals for not accommodating all service members, and are told to resign from the military since they cannot care for all, just ask them this question: ‘Does the free exercise of religion apply to ‘all’ service members or only service members whose beliefs concur with yours?’ If the response is: ‘Military chaplains must provide for all or they are not fit to serve,’ they are now guilty of violating their own criteria of providing for all, since they are establishing a religion that requires every service member to accommodate evil even if their sincerely held convictions prohibit them from doing so. However, if they respond to the question by saying that the free exercise of religion is for ‘all,’ simply tell them: Thank you very much.

From what I can make of his statement, Hernandez is stating that HIS interpretation of HIS religiondictates that HE is allowed to and MUST discriminate against others HE deems less worthy.  Basically HIS interpretation of the Bile trumps the Constitution - which is against the oath he took when entering the service.  It's the "I'm Special" treatment that Kim Davis expected.

A point in an article from AFTimes. Don Byrd writing for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, states, that the idea of ”[d]enying the rights of non-Christians is an offense to American liberty. But it also undermines the strength of the Christian faith by suggesting it is threatened by a truly free conscience.  The success of a religion should not depend on the extent to which the rights of others are restricted.”  Basically Byrd underscores your contention that Hernandez publicly instructed members of the U.S. military to disregard and disobey the  Constitution.

MRFFs response
Initial complaint about Captain Hernandez was in April. It called for the chaplain to be investigated over a blog post titled: "How was Col Goodwin - an open homosexual - able to enter the Air Force?"  The complaint accused the chaplain of believing his "bigoted, homophobic, misogynistic" beliefs "take a higher precedence than the law and federal ethical standards".

In a response to the Friendly Atheist, you stated,  and I loved this,

Imagine if a Muslim chaplain tried to pull this shit. He’s be out of a job immediately — and cause Fox News to talk about Sharia Law for the next week. I would say imagine a Humanist chaplain doing the same… but there are none in the military. Meanwhile, Christians like Hernandez have plenty of power in the military and they want to make sure that no other religion gets any respect — even when all those soldiers share a mutual goal of protecting our country.

Which brings us to the crux of the matter, Hernandez's latest article "blatantly and indisputably advocates the subordinating of the U.S. Constitution to his personal Christian ideology and violated his Oath of Office as a commissioned officer, as well as Title 18, U.S. Code § 2387’s criminal prohibitions against counseling or urging insubordination, disloyalty, or ‘refusal of duty’ to other military members."

Complaints of military chaplains engaging in overtly sectarian behavior have doubled since Donald Trump became president, according to MRFF. The Hernandez piece was evidence of President Donald Trump emboldening the far fringes of the Christian right.

"America’s military members look to the president for direction and inspiration," he said. "Trump’s statements and actions have fully endorsed and validated this unbridled tidal wave of fundamentalist Christian persecution, which is now more inextricably intertwined into the very fabric of our Department of Defence than ever before."

Might be a good point to interject this observation, one in which you commented concerning Salon's comparison to Gordon Klingenschmitt.  Hernandez actually appeared on Klingeshmitt's "Pray in Jesus' Name" program.  I consider him a Klingenschmitt wannabe.

Salon writes,

Perhaps Hernandez is trying to horn in on the turf of Gordon Klingenschmitt, a former Navy chaplain, who currently is the most notable Christian nationalist chaplain. Klingenschmitt became a minor Religious Right celebrity after he unsuccessfully and falsely claimed that punishment he faced for engaging in political activity in uniform was somehow a religious persecution.
,,,
Klingenschmitt created a myth around himself that he was persecuted for trying to pray in the name of Jesus. After Klingenschmitt was removed from the Navy, he turned his fake story into a web and local television show. He later successfully ran for the Colorado House of Representatives, serving a single term, in the process becoming legendary within the state for his numerous erratic and offensive statements.

I have also posted quite a bit concerning the douchenozzle, ripping into his terrible understanding of the Bible.

AF response
As for the AF response , there seems to be some confusion which you address here,

And it is the statement made by Lt. Col. Gibson — that the Air Force is not conducting an investigation — that makes the Stars and Stripes article very misleading, and led many to wrongly believe that Chaplain Hernandez has been cleared. This is not the case. Although it is true that the Air Force is not conducting an investigation, that’s because it wasn’t the Air Force that was asked to conduct the investigation in the first place. The complaint, filed by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), was filed with the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD/IG), not the Air Force, so it is the DoD/IG that is conducting the investigation — an investigation that is still open and ongoing. (The Stars and Stripes article has now been corrected to correctly state that the complaint was filed with the DoD/IG, not the Air Force.)

Q:: Why is this important?
Initially reported by S&S that they were "standing behind" Hernandez's right to express his own views.

To wit Mikey responded,

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) and its legal counsel have reviewed the terribly erroneous Stars and Stripes article authored by its reporter Dianna Cahn released earlier this Tuesday evening and would like to make the following rebuttal. The second paragraph of the article incorrectly states, “The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which advocates on behalf of a pluralistic military with sharp separation of church and state, CALLED ON THE AIR FORCE TO INVESTIGATE HERNANDEZ after the chaplain called Christian servicemembers who give credence to other faiths ‘counterfeit Christians.’ At the very outset, let me emphasize that MRFF NEVER ‘called on the Air Force to investigate Hernandez.’ Indeed, we at MRFF long ago gave up expecting ANYONE in the Air Force to enforce its own regulations and the Constitutional mandates to separate church and state and guarantee religious equality within its own ranks.

Something you also replied to via FB,

I am sitting here right now writing something about this as quickly as I can, but for now please read Mikey's statement, which he wrote immediately upon our seeing this completely misleading and inaccurate article from Stars and Stripes last night. The article's inaccuracy makes it sound like Hernandez has been cleared by quoting an Air Force spokesman saying that the Air Force is not conducting an investigation. That's true -- the Air Force is not conducting an investigation. But there’s no reason it would be. Why? Because it wasn’t the Air Force that was asked to conduct the investigation in the first place! It was the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD/IG), not the Air Force, that MRFF's complaint against Hernandez was filed with, so it is the DoD/IG that is conducting the investigation — an investigation that is still open and ongoing.  (Stars and Stripes has now corrected its article to correctly state that the complaint was filed with the DoD/IG, not the Air Force.)

To which the S&S issued a correction, (a sloppy correction IMO),

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the agency to which the Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed its complaint. It was filed with the Department of Defense Inspector General. The story also mischaracterized a christianfighterpilot.com blog post that questioned the integrity of a newly promoted brigadier general. This story has been corrected.

But the best part is this,

You know how I posted the Stars and Stripes article about the Air Force clearing Hernandez from the other day was wrong, and wrote about it on HuffPo yesterday? Well. lookie lookie at what's on the front page of Stars and Stripes right now!

It seems the AF is investigating,

After initially denying an investigation, the Air Force said Friday that its inspector general’s office is reviewing complaints against reserve chaplain Capt. Sonny Hernandez, who proclaimed that Christian servicemembers are wrong to support the rights of other faiths to practice their religion, actions that he said will lead them to hell.

“I can confirm that the Air Force is reviewing IG complaints made against Chaplain Hernandez that were referred to the Air Force Inspector General’s office,” Air Force spokesman Col. Patrick Ryder said Friday. “At this time it would be inappropriate to comment on the nature of those complaints or speculate on potential outcomes.”

An Air Force Reserve spokesman said earlier this week that the service was not investigating Hernandez.

See also

Even FFRF has voiced there opinion,

As a military chaplain you have a duty to aid our service members in the free exercise of their religious beliefs. Accommodating the free exercise of religion is, in fact, your only job. Military chaplains exist to grant our service members access to a church or religious leader of their chosen religion while they live on base or travel overseas.

While the military chaplaincy has unnecessarily expanded and in many cases now provides redundant access to Christian chaplains in areas where private Christian churches are available, the justification for military chaplains nevertheless remains rooted — tenuous though those legal roots may be — in the constitutional principle of free religious exercise. Your call to openly disregard the Constitution is particularly hypocritical, given that the Constitution justifies your existence.

After the show Deb and I did a we bit of digging,

The Hernandez video we spoke of,,,  https://www.youtube.com/embed/xm_qN4ieCr4

Tennessee Temple University 
Is a TRACS accredited school, which IRL means nothing,

The organization was founded in 1979 to "promote the welfare, interests, and development of post-secondary institutions, whose mission is characterized by a distinctly Christian purpose."^[3] According to the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), TRACS is a "product of the ICR" and was created "Because of the prejudice against creation-science, outspoken creationist schools" that had "little or no chance of getting recognition through accreditation."^[5] TRACS requires all accredited schools to have a statement of faith that affirms "the inerrancy and historicity of the Bible" and "the divine work of non-evolutionary creation including persons in God's image".^[6]

January 7, 2016::End of the day round-up

Gordon Klingenschmitt Says Gays Are Driven By A 'Demonic Spirit Of Lust' To Persecute Christians

"They're coming after us," Klingenschmitt warned. "They don't care about the First Amendment. They don't care about the Constitution. They just want power. And this is not about sexuality any more, it's about power and that's a demonic spirit of lust; not just lust for another man, but lust for power over the Christian people who yearn to breathe free":

Court: Christians rejected as foster parents for spanking kids suffered no constitutional violation

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Monday that the substantial burden on couple’s religious beliefs was outweighed by the state’s interest in protecting the emotional and physical well-being of foster children, report the Legal Profession Blog, the Worcester Telegram, the Boston Globe and the State House News Service.

The court ruled against Gregory and Melanie Magazu of Fitchburg, who disclosed they have spanked their two daughters on the buttocks with an open hand in the privacy of their bedrooms. Spanking is only a small part of their parenting style, the Magazus said, and it is used only when necessary.

The Magazus said they were willing to refrain from spanking foster children, and said the foster children would not witness the spankings of their daughters because they were carried out in private. The Department of Children and Families denied the Magazus’ foster application, citing the Magazus’ use and belief in corporal punishment as an appropriate and effective means of discipline for their children.

Father of Bristol’s newborn daughter sues for child support — so Sarah Palin goes bonkers

Besides child support, the lawsuit also demands that Meyer be allowed to list the girl as a dependent on his income tax returns in alternating years. Bristol Palin has earned as much as $262,000 as a public speaker regarding teen pregnancy. Her mother, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), quickly denounced Meyer’s lawsuit as his attempt to “save face.”

“For many months we have been trying to reach out to Dakota Myers, [sic]” the former vice-presidential nominee said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “He has wanted nothing to do with either Bristol’s pregnancy or the baby.”

PeTA feeds Oregon terrorist vegan jerky, enabling terrorism for media attention

The publicity stunt was intended to raise awareness asking the ranchers slash terrorists to “raise crops, not cows.”

In reality, the publicity stunt did nothing but offer support to the wannabe freedom fighters and will do nothing to convince these men to adopt a vegan lifestyle.

Perhaps for PeTA’s next stunt, they can deliver vegan tofurkey’s to ISIS.

Saudi Arabia: 'one year since flogging' vigil (Fri 8 Jan) for Raif Badawi as crackdown intensifies

Amnesty International is holding a protest vigil for the jailed blogger and free speech activist Raif Badawi outside the Saudi Arabia Embassy in central London on Friday morning to mark the one-year anniversary of his flogging last year, as a human rights crackdown in the Kingdom continues to intensify.
,,,
Despite an international outcry - including demonstrations around the world and over one million people supporting an Amnesty campaign for the blogger - Mr Badawi, a 31-year-old father-of-three, is still in jail and could still be flogged at any time.

Amnesty activists will take a 250,000-strong petition calling for Mr Badawi to be released to the Saudi embassy, as well as a separate petition for the release of Badawi’s lawyer, Waleed Abu al-Khair, who has also been unfairly jailed in the country’s human rights crackdown.

House Republicans define insanity, vote to repeal Obamacare. Again.

You might remember that the Senate passed this resolution back in December. In order to talk their extremists out of trying to shutdown government again over Planned Parenthood and Obamacare, Republican leadership promised them they get this vote, and that they would really stick it to Obama by making him veto it. They did that under special budgetary rules known as reconciliation which allows a bill to pass with a simple majority vote—Democrats in the Senate couldn't filibuster it. So, here we are.

 NM judge wants to cut sex-offense sentence for cult leader Wayne Bent

Bent, who’s been in prison for nearly seven years, also was convicted of criminal sexual contact and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Bent, also known as Michael Travesser, was the leader of a religious community called the Strong City compound. He was charged with criminal sexual contact with minors based on ceremonies he claimed were cleansing
ceremonies, convicted in a jury trial in Taos in 2008 and sentenced to 10 years.

Bent claims God spoke to him in 2000 and told him he was the messiah.

He was accused of lying in bed with naked 14- and 16-year-old sisters in separate incidents in 2006. He and the girls testified that the incidents were spiritual exercises and that nothing happened sexually.

In October 2012, the New Mexico Supreme Court overturned a state Court of Appeals ruling and reinstated Bent’s convictions, saying that even though his sex crimes indictment was flawed, the remedy could not be a new trial.

January 5, 2016::End of the day round-up

This Pastafarian just schooled Georgia officials for refusing to respect his spaghetti-worshipping religion

A so-called “Pastafarian” who claims to worship the “Flying Spaghetti Monster” is fighting Georgia officials for the right to wear a spaghetti colander in his official driver’s license photo.

Chris Avino said the state’s decision to bar him from wearing the religious headgear violated his First Amendment rights — and on Twitter he suggests he’s preparing legal action against the state.

The state initially allowed Avino to wear a colander on his head for a temporary driver’s license photo, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explained, but officials recently decided that he would need to take a new photo — without the colander.

A follow-up to a story posted previous,,,

Raw Story Uses Video Editing To Defame Kent Hovind

The section that Raw Story excerpted from starts around 4:56 and runs to around 8:00 for a total of over 3 minutes of which Raw Story included less than half. The part that Raw Story left out was Kent explaining why he did not think the particular passages from Acts under discussion were contradictions. Kent's riff, included by Raw Story was about what purpose apparent contradictions might serve. There is a bit of Hovind grandiosity there as he indicates that the heavenly father is doing things much as Kent would if he were the big guy, but Kent Hovind is not saying that there are contradictions in the bible,

 Pennsylvania Man Fakes Tumor To Swindle Church, Friends: Cops

To pay tribute we wanted to reflect on what she meant to others and listen to their stories and experiences with this amazing individual who has passed away on December 25, 2015. To honor her legacy, a panel made up of Aron Ra, David Fitzgerald, Miguel Conner, and Dr. Robert Price along with the Mythicist Milwaukee team, discussed the impact that Acharya’s work and friendship had on their lives.



A New Year's Resolution For Science Advocates: Don't Cry Wolfe

A Challenge to WND and David Barton on Thomas Jefferson and Slavery

Let me issue a challenge to Barton and World Net Daily: Allow me space to rebut these promo pieces. Stop misrepresenting my arguments and the evidence and link to this post. Right now, your behavior is a right wing version of the liberal bias you assert is true of the mainstream media. If you are so sure you are correct, then have the courage to back it up.

 Gordon Klingenschmitt Blames Demonic Influence For Failure To Defund Planned Parenthood

"So you see the invisible spirits, the Holy Spirit of God with his angels and the demonic spirits are speaking to each of these human actors in this scenario. And we can discern, for example, upon those who promote a pro-abortion agenda the demonic spirit of murder who is influencing them and forcing us, as taxpayers, to collaborate with them to fund the killing of innocent children and that is wrong and that is evil and that is demonic."

Pondering,,,

We all know that Ray Comfort is an idiot and any other adjective you would like to assign to him. I like to "know thine enemies" and came across this gem whilst looking for something else. I didn't make it past the first 10 minutes of the promo before vomit began to rise.

Anyways, I know this hack job is a few years old but the first thing that jumped out was Comfort's attempt to equate evolution to a religious belief.. But there is no "faith" involved (something he tries to make a point of further along). 

One either accepts the evidence for evolution or one does not. Evolution is based in the scientific method, religion is not. Religion is based on revelation and can not be objectively verified.

Evolution answers "how" life came to be where it is today. Religion tries to provide an answer for "why" we are here. Two distinct questions. Regardless of whether Creationism or ID, evolution is scientific fact.

I know I'm speaking to the choir but there is a point that I hope to get to later in the month (maybe,,,lol) that goes along the line of, "woo" never saved anyone's ass but science does. It is something I am reminded of every morning since July when I wake up and pop my pills that keeps my brain from exploding again

Theocracy alert! Justice Scalia says U.S. honors ‘God,’ not religious neutrality

Clearly, Justice Antonin Scalia does not understand what the framers understood. In a speech Saturday at a Louisiana Catholic high school, he claimed that the Constitution doesn’t require governmental religious neutrality. He also made an embarrassing show of “God is on our side” hubris by proclaiming:

“God takes care of little children, drunkards and the United States of America. I think that’s true. God has been very good to us. One of the reasons God has been good to us is that we have done him honor.” (The first part of the quote was lifted from a very similar one that first appeared in 1856 in Harper’s magazine.)

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Scalia told a small audience at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie that just because the First Amendment forbids the government from playing favorites among the various sects, that doesn’t mean the government can’t favor religion over nonreligion.

If people want strict prohibition against government endorsement of religion, let them vote on it, Scalia said, adding ungrammatically, “Don’t cram it down the throats of an American people that has always honored God on the pretext that the Constitution requires it.”

Scalia thus denied that the Bill of Rights was adopted, in part, to ensure that some rights, such as freedom of conscience, would be placed above the vicissitudes of tyranny of the majority.

 Kim Davis Predicts She Is 'Just The First Of What's Going To Be Very Many'

“The stand I took affects every church, every person that lives and loves God, that holds the word of God precious and dear and intimate in their lives,” Davis told EWTN’s Catherine Szeltner in an interview broadcast on December 17. “I’m just the first of what’s going to be very many. You can rest assured of that. And it’s not if it happens, it’ll be when it happens. And maybe my stand will encourage others who will be in the same position.”

Szeltner reported that Davis told her that her time in jail was a “joyful and peaceful time” and that she “knows that it is a possibility” she’ll return.

 

5th Annual International Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion - taking place on January 23rd of 2016

Cancer quack Dr. Stan Burzynski is attempting to dodge his court hearing date. He brought a doctor's note. Really, it's a note. "Please excuse Stanley (sic) from gym, I mean, the hearing." He is suffering from heart artery blockages. See the court filling here. https://t.co/NcsRq8MLUG

UPDATED::Just plain bizarre,,,for shits and giggles (see highlight)

RWW makes an interesting point,,,

Staver: Marijuana Should Be Illegal Because Pot Smoking Crane Operators Are Putting Everyone At Risk

Of course, driving or operating heavy machinery under the influence are already crimes in every state and legalizing recreational use of marijuana will not change those laws in any way. But if Staver is so concerned about remaining "safe in his person" in all public situations, we have to wonder how long it will be before he is launches a crusade to also outlaw the recreational use of alcohol and reinstate Prohibition?

Gay people on mission to put all men in 'tight pants', says church leader

Gay people are on a mission to put all men in tight pants, a Jehovah's Witness leader has claimed.

Anthony Morris III, a member of the ruling council for Jehovah's Witnesses and appears to prefer a loose slack, warned gay fashion designers could be 'recruiting' people into wearing indecent clothing.

'What’s happened now is that it’s really caught on more, the tight suit jacket and the tight pants,' he said in an audio clip posted recently.

'Better known as tight pants. They are tight all the way down to the ankles. It’s not appropriate. It’s not sound of mind.'
,,,
Morris continues: 'This is a fact. The homosexuals that are designing these clothes—they like you in tight pants. That’s who likes it — not spiritual people.'

GOPer Who Wrote 'Parasite' Muslims Should Be 'Fragged' Loses Day Job

The chairman of the Big Stone County GOP in Minnesota just lost his day job, after his Facebook posts about Muslim Americans received a larger audience than he intended.

GOP official Jack Whitley was fired from his post at Hardware Hank for publishing screeds that called American Muslims "parasites" that should convert to Christianity or be killed, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

"They are muslims, they are terrorist (sic), we know where they are from, we know where their buddies are, we know where thier mosque’s (sic) are, we know millions of these parasites travel to Mecca every year and when…FRAG ‘EM!" he wrote in one post.

The state GOP condemned his remarks as "outrageous," and on Monday it was his employer's turn. Bob and Sue Kulbeik, owners of Hardware Hank, fired Whitley from their store after confronting him over his remarks, according to the Tribune.

Colorado GOPer Gordon Klingenschmitt's 10 Craziest Moments: Homophobia, Exorcisms And More!

Televangelist and Religious Right activist Gordon Klingenschmitt will soon be starting a new job as a Republican member of the Colorado House of Representatives. This is a big promotion for Klingenschmitt, who has until now been laboring away as the host of a TV program called “Pray In Jesus Name,” where he offers his own special brand of unhinged comments on issues ranging from gay rights to Obamacare and the animal kingdom.

Klingenschmitt, an exorcist who goes by the nickname “Dr. Chaps,” has promised to “tone down” his rhetoric now that he’s an elected official, but it will take a whole lot of toning down for him to sound even like a run-of-the-mill extreme anti-gay activist.

In honor of Klingenschmitt’s election by the good people of Colorado Springs, we’ve collected ten of the greatest hits of “Dr. Chaps”:

I do not understand how this woman is allowed to home-school her kids. Aren't there some type of standards that must be met?

Watch a home-schooler mom go through a science museum and destroy evolution

In the video embedded below, fundamentalist Christian home-school mom and conservative cultural critic Megan Fox — no relation to “Transformers” actress Megan Fox — visits the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and purports to “audit” the museum for its “liberal bias.”

In the description of the 30 minute video she uploaded to YouTube to document the visit, Fox wrote, “In November 2014, Megan Fox toured the Field Museum’s ‘Evolving Earth’ exhibit to audit it for bias. She found many examples of inconsistencies and the Field Museum’s insistence that people support opinion as fact without proof. The Field Museum pushes certain theories as if they are absolute proven law when that is not how the scientific method works.”

[,,,]
“It’s not like their fins fell off and they grew feet,” she says. “That’s what they want you to believe, that their fins fell off and then they grew some feet and started walking on the land. This is the dumbest theory I’ve ever heard in my whole life. It’s not good, it’s really not good. It’s bad. It’s very bad. Do you know how complex feet are?”

At one point, Fox argues levelly into the camera that evidence of the existence of dragons exists, but that liberals and scientists are covering it up because “it would throw off their whole time line of what they want you to believe.”

This is a strange story I came across whilst attempting to catch up on my news. Somehow I missed this but it's too good not to share.

Glenn Beck’s diagnosis and treatment are quackery, say medical experts

The illness, Beck said, baffled doctors all over the world, but has now been diagnosed as “adrenal fatigue” by maverick “chiropractic neurologist” Dr. Ted Carrick.

Beck said that the mysterious ailment came on gradually over the course of the last few years, causing him to lose his memory and to suffer seizures, intense pain in his hands and feet and fits of vocal paralysis. He had long bouts of insomnia, mental “fogginess” and a spate of emotional outbursts that he said “quite honestly has made me look crazy.”

[,,,]
“Chiropractic neurology” is a controversial branch of medicine that Yale University neurologist Dr. Steven Novella dismissed outright as “pure pseudoscience” in a column from November of 2011.

“Chiropractic neurology does not appear to be based on any body of research, or any accumulated scientific knowledge,” Novella wrote. “I am not aware of any research that establishes their core claims. A search on PubMed for ‘Carrick T’ yielded nothing, and searching on ‘chiropractic neurology’ yielded mostly studies about neurological complications from chiropractic treatment.”

[,,,]
In a conversation with Raw Story, Novella said, “If you’re going to use your personal medical history as a public figure in order to make a point, then I think you’re obligated to make your medical record public.”

The doctor is skeptical of Beck’s desire to “have it both ways, saying, ‘I’m going to use this publicly to make a point, but nobody else should look at this information because it’s privileged and it’s private. Well, you’ve just made it no longer private.”

“I care about this because I’m a physician,” Novella explained, “and he’s promoting a dubious diagnosis and a dubious practitioner and we have absolutely no way of knowing if anything he’s saying about his own medical history is accurate.”

UPDATE::  For some odd reason this story re-appeared in my news feed.  BUT,,, so also did this, Stop Spreading the Story About the Pastor Who Drowned After Attempting to Walk on Water, also from 2014.  January of 2014, seven months prior.

This story initially went viral in 2006 after WND, the Christian tabloid that cares little about the truth, posted about it. It’s been repeated in several sources ever since. Needless to say, WND is not a credible source for anything.

Furthermore, I dare you to find evidence of what church Kabele led. Or pictures or video of the water-walking attempt (it was 2006; it’s not like that technology wasn’t available). Or, frankly, anything about the pastor outside of stories about how he supposedly died.

A search for the pastor’s name on the Daily Record‘s website also comes up empty.

Yes, it’s amusing to believe someone would be so foolish as to actually try walking on water… at least water that hasn’t turned into ice. But we skeptics of all people shouldn’t be so gullible as to believe this without more evidence.

Guilty as charged!!
_____
For some odd reason this story re-appeared on my timeline. It is from August, and I do remember reading it initially, but like many it got lost in the shuffle,,,

Nigerian Pastor Tries to Walk on Water Like Jesus, Then Drowns in Front of His Congregation

Walking on water is not easy. Not too many people have the ability. Let’s see, there’s Jesus, and well, that’s about it. Unfortunately for one pastor on the West Coast of Africa, his attempt to become the second man to make this impossible feat a reality cost him his life.

Pastor Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation that he was capable of reenacting the very miracles of Jesus Christ. He decided to make it clear through way of demonstration on Gabon’s beach in the capital city of Libreville.
Referencing Matthew 14:22-33, Kabele said that he received a revelation which told him that with enough faith he could achieve what Jesus was able to.

According to an eyewitness, Kabele took his congregation out to the beach. He told them that he would cross the Kombo estuary by foot, which is normally a 20 minute boat ride.

Sadly by the second step into the water Kabele found himself completely submerged. He never returned.

As you know I "enjoy" following some of the woo,,,err medicine, uh - homeopathy bullshit that floats around. Regretfully the recent Ebola outbreak has left no shortage in that regard.

Some Idiots Flew to Liberia to 'Cure' Ebola Patients with Homeopathy

Dr Richard Hiltner is a really nice guy. He's in his sixties (but seems younger, in that way that Californians often do) and has a very West Coast way of making everything sound super positive all the time, up to and including the fact that, a few weeks ago, he and three other practitioners flew to Liberia to try and treat Ebola patients using homeopathy.

Hiltner says, "We landed in Monrovia on the 17th of October, then had to spend three days training to use the PPEs – the personal protective equipment, those big suits you see everyone wearing – before heading up to the hospital in Ganta."

It was only when they got to Ganta, a province hit hard by the Ebola epidemic, that problems arose.

The team suited up, broke out their homeopathic treatments and tried to get to work on some patients. At which point the medical staff and administrators at the Ganta Hospital realised what it was they were attempting, before completely banning them from the ETU (Ebola Treatment Unit).

[,,,]
While the expedition itself may come off as merely chaotic, there's also a slightly sketchier side to the story.

Derpity, derpity

Go ahead and gloat Todd,,,

Tennessee Pisses Off Right-Wingers By Recognizing… Divorce Equality? (VIDEO)

According to WBIR, everything about the change was fine until Memphis attorney Kendra Armstrong did an interview with Starnes on his Fox News radio show. Armstrong told Starnes,

Why are heterosexual parents having their rights violated? So now it’s improper and inappropriate in a court of law to refer to a parent as a mother and a father?

Only in the mind of someone like Armstrong does including same-sex couples in a document’s wording violate the rights of those in a male-female marriage. But wait, it gets better. She also told Starnes,

It’s absolutely ludicrous to make the term mother and father obsolete. Quite frankly, the terms ‘Parent 1′ and ‘Parent 2′ seem more offensive than mother and father. It’s implying that one parent is the first parent and the other parent is secondary.

First of all, changing the language of one court form is highly unlikely to make “mother and father” obsolete. Especially considering that mothers and fathers would never see the form unless they are getting a divorce. Then there’s the matter of one parent being “secondary.” No, it’s not subordinating one parent, it’s merely a way of identifying one parent from the other.
,,,
But thanks to Starnes, and Armstrong, Tennessee has reversed the change, and has gone back to the old forms. Starnes suggests that the credit is all his. “A few hours after my column was published the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) announced they were reversing the policy,” he wrote on the Fox News website.

Fischer: Natural Disasters, Military Defeats And Economic Catastrophes Are Always Warnings From God

"God uses military defeats, natural disasters, economic catastrophes," he said, "they are God's way of rousing a deaf nation. These things are megaphones that God uses to call a wandering and wicked nation back to himself in repentance and prayer."

"So the bottom line with these catastrophes," Fischer concluded, "whether they're military, whether they're natural, whether they're economic, this is God's way of calling a nation back to repentance. The only question is will we listen."

Far-Right Pastor: US Turning Into Gay Dystopia, Unlike Putin's Christian Russia

End Times preacher Carl Gallups spoke to WorldNetDaily yesterday about the Shemittah prophecy of something bad happening in September, citing an article from a Russian government-owned news agency, Sputnik, claiming that the U.S. is “gearing up for onrushing economic collapse.”

Despite the fact that the Russian media has been a mouthpiece for President Vladimir Putin’s government, which is attacking Protestants in Russia and occupied Ukraine, Gallups praised the “reliable” Russian media for covering the Shemittah prophecy (actually, the article doesn’t mention it at all) and the government’s “infusion of ‘Christian influence’ in Putin’s ‘new’ Russian culture.”
,,,
In a separate interview with the far-right outlet, the preacher attacked a public school in San Francisco for organizing a gay history class, claiming that the classes won’t tell students about “the history of the major civilizations that ultimately met their demise concurrent with the rise of rampant sexual promiscuity and deviancy within those cultures, especially embracing and accepting homosexuality.”

Describing homosexuality as “one of the most dangerous sexual lifestyles on the planet,” he lamented that “this is just the beginning of the social rot that is to come.”

Far-Right Activists: Gay People Will Lead To The Downfall Of The Military, Civilization

Gaffney asked Lyons about Pentagon’s plan to work toward allowing transgender people to serve openly in the armed forces, saying, “One of the things that I just can’t get my head around is what do you when you have to have — as apparently the administration is going to insist — transgender individuals as well as females on these vessels. How does that work, practically speaking?”

Lyons called the plan “pure nonsense” and cited Paul McHugh to claim that “transgender is not a civil rights issue, it is a mental disorder,” saying that all transgender people need is to be “treated” and “returned to a normal lifestyle.”

Lyons then paraphrased the late conservative writer Stan Evans,  saying that “the gay, lesbian, transgender lifestyle is nothing but a return to a pagan ethic…which has led to the downfall of previous civilizations.”

Noebel: Teaching Gay Tolerance In Schools Is 'Child Molestation'

Gay marriage, Noebel warned, is going to “affect everything,” pointing out that even before the Supreme Court ruled on marriage equality, children in public schools were learning about the existence of gay people, which he said amounts to “child molestation.”

“They were already down in kindergarten, first, second and third grades teaching the younger innocents,” he said, “And you talk about child molestation. This, to me, was child molestation. When you start teaching first-, second- and third-graders about the glories and wonders of the homosexual lifestyle, you know you’ve got a problem.”
,,,
“The game plan is to destroy Christianity,” he concluded, to Scott’s agreement. “That’s the game plan. Because they contend that Christianity has been very tough on the homosexuals for 2,000 years and now it’s time to get back at the whole thing and show them who’s really boss. So we’re in a very explosive cultural revolution.”

Klingenschmitt's Defense: Gays And Pedophiles Are Possessed By Different Demons

"There are clearly two different demons at play here," he said. "There is, of course, a demon of homosexuality in those who openly parade their sodomy in the streets. But then there's a different demon of child molesting that is inside some of these reported molesters ... I'm not saying that all of the homosexual are child molesters, I never claimed that. But I'll tell you in this case, all the child molesters in the Boy Scouts are homosexual. And how can I tell that? Very simple, it's logical, there were no girls in the tents. Those are men molesting boys and their attraction to other men, or even other boys, is a different demon and we're calling that out."

Former CIA Director Stops By Insane Conspiracy Theory End Times Show

While Wiles didn’t share with Woolsey his theories about demonic flies, the Illuminati’s role in the 9/11 attacks or how gay super-soldiers are taking over America, they did chat about nuclear threats, with the ex-CIA director saying that the U.S. shouldn’t even try negotiating with Iran because its regime can’t be trusted. He said any deal with Iran on its nuclear program would be “suicidal” and “sheer madness.”

 Nevada Rep. Michele Fiore Has Girl Parts On Her Nakedness Area, And So Should You!

“I was raised by my best friend in the whole wide world is my mom and she is a lesbian. But I will say with the bathroom issue is as a heterosexual female I want to be in the bathroom, I want to be in the shower with other girls and if you are transgender and you have a penis… I don’t feel like looking at your penis! Nor do I want you looking at my Va Jay Jay. So I don’t care if you want to have a Va Jay Jay, until you have a Va Jay Jay stay out of my nakedness area! That’s it.”