Wednesday Religion Report II

Tags

albert einstein, america, antonin scalia, ark, atheist, AU, barbie, bill maher, bill o'reilly, brands, caregiving, catholic, chaplains, christians, church, counselors, court, debate, evangelical, extremism, faith, FFRF, gay, god, hindu, historian, humanist, humphreys county, islamic, islamophobia, israel, jerry davich, jerusalem, jesus, jim garlow, ken ham, killing jesus, marcus velleius paterculus, methodist, miracles, mormon, national geographic, persecution, politics, public, pulpit freedom, rabbi, ray comfort, religion, religious, reza aslan, sam harris, school, schools, science, secular, slaves, space, spiritual, supreme court, symbols, universe, veganism, wedding, world religion, zionist

Humanist Caregiving: Do We Need Chaplains or Counselors?

Humanist chaplains take on a variety of roles, such as leading regular programming, creating space for interfaith collaboration, encouraging service work, and educating their communities about the experiences of the nonreligious. [Read more]

Preaching Politics, Pastors Defy Ban

Pastor Jim Garlow began his preaching with a Scripture-filled discussion of Jesus’ disgust with hypocrisy—typical fare for a Sunday sermon. [Read more]

Ken Ham’s Ark May Be Sinking

One of our clandestine operatives has given us some breaking news. He’s been working full time investigating the Ark Encounter project planned by Ken Ham (ol’ Hambo). [Read more]

Transgender Minister, Baptist Theologian hHeadline Conference Promoting LGBT Acceptance

The week after Southern Baptists complete a national conference on “The Gospel, Homosexuality and the Future of Marriage” in Nashville, Tenn., some other Baptists will gather in a church in Washington to explore an alternative view. [Read more]

Jesus’ Miracles Documented In Newly Found Eyewitness Statement By Roman Historian Marcus Velleius Paterculus?

In a related report by The Inquisitr, controversy has erupted over an article published in Free Inquiry that claims Jesus Christ never existed. But historians and even atheists have responded to these ideas by claiming the “Jesus myth” concept is false. [Read more]

Israel’s Chief Rabbis Sat No to Christian Zionist Event

The event, a prayer vigil marking the end of ICEJ’s annual five-day commemoration of the Feast of the Tabernacles, or Sukkot, is scheduled to take place October 15 at the southern wall of the Temple Mount. [Read more]

Atheist Group Voices Opposition to Sheriff’s Award

An atheist group said a medal handed out by the Humphreys County sheriff violates the First Amendment. Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis gives the medal to a deputy or citizen who has gone beyond the call of duty. [Read more]

Supreme Court Made The Right Call On Marriage Cases, Says Americans United

Church-State Watchdog Group Calls For Marriage Policy Based On Constitutional Principles, Not Theology. [Read more]

‘Faith In America’ Painting Ignites Debate Between School District, Freedom From Religion Foundation

The painting in question is Faith in America, a painting by Donald Zolan featuring two young children kneeling with their hands clasped in prayer as an American flag hangs in the background. [Read more]

Jerry Davich: ‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday’ Polarizes Preachers, Public

Should a church pastor preach about politics and policy from the pulpit, especially with Election Day around the corner? If so, should that church lose its nonprofit status and related tax exemptions? [Read more]

If God Destroyed the Universe

It sounds like something straight out of a science-fiction novel—a shockwave rips through space, obliterating all matter in its path and re-constituting it in new and bizarre ways. In fact, it is not a work of science-fiction, but the musings of famous physicist Stephen Hawking. [Read more]

Religious Symbols in Classroom Stir Dispute in Peoria Schools

A debate over separation of church and state is playing out in the Peoria Unified School District, where a teacher was told to remove religious symbols from her classroom after a complaint by the national Freedom From Religion Foundation. [Read more]

Nat Geo’s ‘Killing Jesus’ Cast Revealed

More than a year after signing on to adapt Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Jesus, National Geographic Channel has set the all-star cast for the TV movie. [Read more]

Do Brands Make People Less Religious?

Recently, a research team led by Keisha Cutright, a marketing professor at Wharton, wondered: What’s the relationship between all these brands and people’s religious beliefs and behavior? [Read more]

What’s Wrong with the Virgin Mary Depicted as a Barbie Doll?

Catholic and Hindu leaders—two religions that normally appreciate religious statues and images—have decried “Barbie: The Plastic Religion,” a new exhibit by Argentinian artists Pool Paolini and Marianela Perelli. [Read more]

Did the Jerusalem Temple Use Slave Labour?

Discussions about slavery in the Bible tend to focus on the treatment of slaves in the Jewish law as described in the Pentateuch. These passages, however, concern only private ownership of slaves. [Read more]

The Madness of King Jesus

All the information I’ve seen about the figure of Jesus leads me to conclude he, as an actual person, never existed. However, the believer I spoke to believes otherwise. This is the “Jesus” I will refer to. [Read more]

Scalia Defends Keeping God, Religion in Public Square

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Wednesday that secularists are wrong when they argue the Constitution requires religious references to be banished from the public square. [Read more]

Why Evangelical Christians Think They are America’s Most Persecuted Minority

Given the reality of other people’s lives, a widespread Evangelical perception of their group as mass victims reveals a lack of empathy that should give thoughtful believers reason to cringe. [Read more]

The Odd Couple: Ray Comfort & Albert Einstein

The sub-title gave us a sense of what was coming: “Jim Fletcher reviews ‘Einstein, God & the Bible’.” Ah, it’s a book review of something Comfort has written. [Read more]

Is This the Face of Jesus?

According to Discovery News, one of the earliest known images of Jesus has been recently discovered on a glass plate. [Read more]

‘Courts Have Spoken’ on Gay Marriage, Says Mormon Church

Utah’s predominant religion, which has opposed same-sex marriage for decades, now acknowledges the issue is largely settled. “As far as the civil law is concerned,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday afternoon, “the courts have spoken.” [Read more]

Here’s What Happens When Evangelical Christians Debate Science

The stereotype of Evangelical Christians is that they are anti-science, and therefore don’t believe in climate change. But in fact, they are deeply divided over environmental issues. [Read more]

Veganism As a Secular Spiritual Practice

It has been a few weeks since Vlad argued that all atheists should be vegan, but the conversation has continued though responses here on NonProphet Status, on NPR, and in Time. [Read more]

Mom Furious That Islam Is Part Of World Religions Assignment In School

Jennette Hall, a mom in Jenison, Michigan, recently attacked a world history assignment because part of it included Islam. [Read more]

Methodist Clergy Escape Sanctions Over Gay Wedding

Dozens of United Methodist ministers who blessed a same-sex wedding in Philadelphia will face no discipline for breaking church law, but acknowledge they could be punished if they do it again, according to a settlement announced by the denomination. [Read more]

Keep Religious Spats Out of Public Schools

Separation of church and state has a long, grand tradition in this country, where religious and political refugees found a home away from the controlling hand of the British monarchy and the Church of England. [Read more]

Islamophobia, Sam Harris, and the Prevalence of Islamic Extremism

Criticism of religion isn’t bigotry, but I’m pretty sure statements like that are. [Read more]

In a D.C. Rabbi’s E-mail, Revelation and Relief: ‘I Am a Gay Man’

The leader of one of the Washington region’s most prominent synagogues on Monday came out as gay, telling his thousands of congregants in a brutally personal e-mail that a lifelong effort to deny his sexuality was over and that he and his wife of 20 years would be divorcing. [Read more]

Reza Aslan Responds to Bill Maher: Genital Mutilation is Not an Islamic Problem

On the September 29th edition of CNN Tonight, Reza Aslan provides a measured and patient reply to a recent segment that aired on Bill Maher’s show this past Friday. [Read more]