Category: Religion

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Congress GOP Religion WTF?!

Lauren Boebert: ‘The Church Is Supposed To Direct The Government’

According to Colorado Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, the Founding Fathers considered the concept of separation of church and state to be “junk” and wanted the church to directly control what the government does in the United States.

Clearly, Ms. Boebert has never read or understood the Constitution.

Speaking to a group of parishioners at Cornerstone Christian Center in Basalt, Colorado, Boebert let loose with a rant in which she called for churches and religious leaders to be the guiding force in the U.S.:

“The reason we had so many overreaching regulations in our nation is because the church complied. 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. And 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.”

The “stinking letter” that Boebert referenced was written by Thomas Jefferson, and he made it clear that church and state should always remain separate, noting:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.

Oh, and let’s not forget James Madison, who wrote most of the Constitution and was so adamant church and state should be kept apart that he didn’t even want congressional chaplains, writing:

The Constitution of the U.S. forbids every thing like an establishment of a national religion. The law appointing Chaplains establishes a religious worship for the national representatives, to be performed by Ministers of religion, elected by a majority of them; and these are to be paid out of the national taxes.

The United States is NOT a Christian nation, and that’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be. If Lauren Boebert and her ilk want to live in a theocracy, they need to pack up their shit and move to Iran or Saudi Arabia.

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Abortion Congress Religion

Nancy Pelosi Claps Back At The Archbishop Who Denied Her Communion For Being Pro-Choice

Last Friday, the Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone, the Catholic Church’s archbishop in San Francisco, announced that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) would no longer be allowed to receive Holy Communion because she’s a supporter of a woman’s right to choose.

In a letter he sent to Speaker Pelosi, Archbishop Cordileone wrote:

As you have not publically repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come. Therefore, in light of my responsibility as the Archbishop of San Francisco to be “concerned for all the Christian faithful entrusted to [my] care” (Code of Canon Law, can. 383, §1), by means of this communication I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance.

That led the Speaker to note on MSNBC that the Archbishop is a hypocrite because he has never told a politician who supports the death penalty that he or she cannot take communion:

“I wonder about the death penalty, which I’m opposed to. So is the church, but they take no actions against people who may not share their view.”

The Catholic Church (like so many supposedly “Christian” religions which claim to be based on the teachings of Jesus) has tried to make women second class citizens for centuries. Women are only good for procreation and raising children while also being fully obedient to their husbands, the church, and the government.

That, however, isn’t religion. It’s slavery. And it’s wrong, no matter how you slice it.

 

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Religion Russia

Evangelicals Hoping Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine Will Put ‘The Rapture’ Closer To Reality

As the majority of us sit and watch in horror as the Russian military inflicts damage on the nation of Ukraine to satisfy the deluded fantasy of Vladimir Putin that he can rebuild the Russian empire and once again be a world power, some evangelical Christians are actually hoping that the war in Ukraine might help speed up the end of the world and the Rapture.

In case you’re not familiar with the concept of the Rapture, here’s what it involves, according to Britannica:

In Christianity, the eschatological (concerned with the last things and Endtime) belief that both living and dead believers will ascend into heaven to meet Jesus Christ at the Second Coming (Parousia).

Is the Rapture found anywhere in the Bible? No. Not even once is the word used. Jesus himself never uttered the word, either.

Yet despite that, many Christian ministers are preaching that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may be the beginning of the end. Of course, they said that same thing during both Gulf Wars and after the attacks on 9/11.

The Associated Press notes that Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas (a megachurch with over 13,000 members) is one of those who believes we could be living in the last days:

“Why does God permit evil like this to continue? …. Are we near Armageddon and the end of the world?”

“We are living in the last days. We’ve been living in the last days for the last 2000 years. We don’t know, is this the end? Is this the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning?”

Wow! Nice gobbledygook, Pastor Jeffress. You managed to say so much while actually saying nothing at all other than, Hell if I know.

There’s also the website raptureready.com, which rates the chances that the Rapture is near:

Their “Rapture Index,” — on which any reading above 160 means “Fasten your seatbelts” — was raised this week to 187, close to its record high of 189 in 2016.

Or perhaps you prefer the opinion of Pat Robertson, who came out of retirement just so he could take advantage of the Russian move on Ukraine and proclaim:

“You can say, well, Putin’s out of his mind. Yes, maybe so. But at the same time, he’s being compelled by God. He went into the Ukraine, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.

“It’s all there. And God is getting ready to do something amazing and that will be fulfilled.”

Hogwash, according to Rev. Rodney Kennedy, a Baptist pastor, who chides evangelical leaders that insist on trying to use world events for their own purposes:

“This evangelical insistence of involving the sovereignty of God in the evil of Putin borders on the absurd.

“Rapture believers fail to understand that if they assist in bringing about world war, there will be no Superman Jesus appearing to ‘snatch’ all true believers into the safety of the clouds

“The rapture is an illusion; the rupture caused by Putin is a deadly reality.”

As is so often the case, the real reason for sermons about how Russia is supposedly fulfilling prophecy is to get people in church and opening their wallets. It’s fear and grifting. Worst of all, it’s done in the name of God.

 

Categories
Religion Russia Vladimir Putin WTF?!

Pat Robertson’s Take On Why Putin Invaded Ukraine Is Beyond Cringeworthy

According to televangelist Pat Robertson, the Russian invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin is all part of God’s plan and is meant to help bring about the end of the world.

The 91-year-old Robertson, who was supposedly retired, made his statement Monday on “The 700 Club,” and what he had to say left many shaking their heads, according to Media Matters:

“I think you can say, well, Putin’s out of his mind, and yes, maybe so. But at the same time he’s being compelled by God. He went into Ukraine, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.”

Compelled by God? Since when does Putin listen to God or anyone else?

Robertson then added:

“God is getting ready to do something amazing, and that will be fulfilled. And what Putin is doing, by moving as he is, to set up Ukraine as a staging ground for one of the armies, and then across is Erdogan in Turkey, and you’ve got between them that little Dardanelles area. And it’s going to happen. So I say, that is what’s coming up. Is Putin crazy? Is he mad? Well, perhaps. But God says, I’m going to put hooks in your jaws and I’m going to draw you into this battle, whether you like it or not. And he’s being compelled, after the move into the Ukraine, he’s being compelled to move to get a land bridge, and then across the Dardanelles with Turkey, and watch what’s going to happen next. You read your Bible, because it’s coming to pass.”

Those of us who’ve read the Bible can tell you there is absolutely no mention of Russia. None whatsoever. Russia never comes up. Probably because it didn’t exist when the Bible was written.

That doesn’t keep people such as Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California from trying to make a square peg fit a round hole. Laurie writes:

But let’s come to the situation in the Ukraine. Many Bible scholars believe in the Ezekiel 38, as it speaks of Magog attacking Israel, that that is modern day Russia. I could go and talk about that for, you know, 30 minutes, why they believe that’s true. I happen to agree with them, but it says in Ezekiel that the Jewish people will be scattered and regathered in their land again.

We know, during World War II and after the Holocaust, Jewish people from around the planet began to return to their land. And Israel officially became a nation on May 14, 1948. So that part of their prophecy has been fulfilled. But then scripture says a nation from the extreme north of Israel will march on her called Gog and Magog.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that this isn’t the first time Robertson has predicted the end of the world is imminent, according to HuffPost:

Robertson, who turns 92 this month, is a serial doomsday cheerleader. In the 1970s, he predicted a 1982 ending. In the 1990s, he predicted a 2007 ending. In 2020, he predicted Donald Trump would win reelection ― “without question” ― and it would lead to the end. (In that case, it wasn’t a war that would end the world, as he is currently predicting, but something a lot more natural, like an asteroid.)

Someone needs to put Pat Robertson back in the crypt he crawled out of, because he has nothing valuable to say.

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Categories
Foreign Policy Religion Social Media WTF?!

Franklin Graham Gets Shredded Online After Urging Christians To ‘Pray For President Putin’

Even though Russian President/mass murderer Vladimir Putin is on the verge of attacking Ukraine and potentially killing thousands of innocent people, so-called “Christian” Franklin Graham wants other “Christians” to pray for the Russian despot.

Graham announced his call for prayers for Putin on Twitter:

“Pray for President Putin today. This may sound like a strange request, but we need to pray that God would work in his heart so that war could be avoided at all cost. May God give wisdom to the leaders involved in these talks & negotiations, as well as those advising them.”

Be sure and notice how Graham conveniently neglected to suggest that we pray for our president, Joe Biden. As Americans, shouldn’t that be our first priority if we’re going to pray for anyone?

How about the people of Ukraine? Don’t they deserve and need our prayers now more than ever? After all, they’re facing the prospect of over 150,00 heavily armed Russian troops marching into their country.

Of course, no one should be surprised by Graham’s devotion to Putin. He’s visited Russia and had a private meeting with him:

Franklin Graham pursued his connections to Russia in person in November 2015, when he flew to Russia for a speaking tour of several churches. There he met with with dignitaries including Kirill. He also echoed Hilarion’s distaste for sanctions during an interview with Russian television, saying, “I’ve never been a supporter of sanctions.”

Before he left Moscow, Graham had an unexpected 45-minute meeting with Putin, during which Putin reportedly agreed to assist with the proposed summit on persecuted Christians in Moscow, the event that Torshin later offered as an opportunity for Trump to meet Putin.

So who exactly does Franklin Graham owe his deepest loyalties to? Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, or the Almighty Dollar? Because he certainly isn’t acting in a very Christlike manner.

Lots of Twitter users were deeply offended by Graham’s call to pray for a man who has his political enemies shot, poisoned with polonium, or confined to a gulag.