Shootout at the Olsteen Corral

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If you’re familiar with Prosperity Gospel, then you know who Joel Olsteen is. With a net worth of over 50 million, Olsteen has used religion like a piggy bank, enriching himself by promising that large donations to his church, or seeding as they like to call it, would financially bless those stupid enough to give him money.

Now, instead of being just a con artist, Olsteen has joined the ranks of churches that have experienced serious gun violence during their services. The details are still a little fuzzy, but we do know that at around 1:50pm, a middle aged woman with a 5 year old child began opening fire in the church just as the Spanish translation of their sales pitch was about to begin:

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Estimated to be between 30 and 35 years old, she was not immediately identified by authorities. Finner said that the woman had threatened she also “had a bomb,” but authorities searching her backpack and vehicle had been unable to locate any explosives.

The child was also hit with gunfire, though it’s not clear if it was the result of the shootout with police. He’s still in critical condition. Thankfully, there were only a few injured people. Had the woman showed up a little earlier, when there was a full house of over 45k worshippers, things could have been a lot worse.

All we can do at this point is speculate about what happened. Considering the predatory nature of the church, I’m willing to bet that perhaps this woman’s had a financial bone to pick with Olsteen and his church. We’ll need for the investigation to be completed. With the woman now dead, it may forever be a mystery.

Aspiring Priest Caught with Disturbing Child Porn

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When atheists say that the Catholic Church attracts pedophiles, we aren’t just making a crass joke. The way the Church has shielded it’s members from prosecution, the effort its put into lobbying governments to lower the statues of limitation on sexual crime, and the amount of money they have given away to keep mouths shut sends a clear message that if you are attracted to innocent children, you should join their ranks.

It seems as though Broderick Witt got the message. He was studying to become a priest, until he was eventually arrested after the police were tipped off that he possessed a bunch of really disturbing child pornography, including images with victims as young as 6 years old.

The Archdioses of Cincinnati released this rather amusing statement:

“The seminary and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati have strict policies against, and take significant precautions to prevent, anyone from possessing or accessing material of this type, regardless of whether they are a student, faculty, or staff. Discovery of such material will result in immediate termination or dismissal and notification of law enforcement,” Rev. Anthony R. Brausch, Rector said in a letter to the seminary community.

They’re finally notifying law enforcement now? That’s a pretty big departure from their regular mode of operation. You may recall that former Pope Benedict XVI had issued a memo during his tenure as the head of the Inquisition (renamed “Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith” as it seems the centuries of bloodshed had somewhat tainted the name). It specified that Church leaders were to keep any information of abuse secret, and authorities were not to be contacted without approval from the higher ups (which they never would). I guess when you haven’t yet joined the club, they take a bit of a different approach to dealing with child predators. That means we just have to catch them before they can benefit from the protection of a trillion dollar organization. Good to know.

Kenyan Pastor Pleads Not Guilty for Death of 400 People

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Africa has become the wild west of religion. Every other day, there’s a tragedy happening on the Continent, all because of a toxic mixture of traditional beliefs and Abrahamic faiths.

When Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 29 of his other accomplices were arrested in connection with the death of over 400 of his followers, 191 of them being children, they seemed unusually calm and cool, all things considered. His ministry, Good News International, had told their followers that the End Times were just around the corner, and that only through starvation could they meet the bearded hippie. When these followers inevitably died from a lack of food, they were buried in mass graves and simply forgotten about.

Mackenzie was a taxi driver before becoming a preacher. He quickly gained a following with his fiery sermons, and with his uncanny ability to predict events before they would happen (no doubt a result of simply reading the newspaper). His brainwashed followers were so convinced that he had special powers that when he told them to stop eating, they refused to do so even when they were dying at the hospital:

Several emaciated children escaped from the forest and locals alerted the authorities. Police found many followers close to death and took those still alive to nearby hospitals, where medical staff tried to feed the group. Many refused food, however, and as the situation grew more dire, the director of public prosecutions charged almost 65 people with attempted suicide for refusing to eat.

That’s the level of control that someone can have over others, thanks to the submissive nature of believers. Now the survivors of this cult have the difficult task of being deprogrammed. There’s bound to be more tragedy before this thing is all over.

No Justice for Young Woman Stabbed by Father

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If I were to tell you that a young woman was stabbed for dating someone outside of their religion, do I even need to specify what faith it was? We all know that Islam has a severe violence problem, and it’s only getting worse. In the UK, honor killings have increased by a staggering 81%, but even this figure is estimated to be a gross underestimation, as victims are either unlikely to come forward, or they simply “disappear”.

Australia is now reporting that it too is seeing the practice on its home soil. In November of last year, a young woman in Adelaide was attacked by her own family. She had begun dating a young Christian man, and this outraged her pea brained father. It wasn’t just him that was angry. Her entire family participated in the barbaric ritual:

During Thursday’s sentencing submissions, prosecutors told the court that family members worked together to track down the woman, 21, and help hold her down as her father stabbed her with a large kitchen knife at Sefton Plaza Shopping Centre in November 2021… The woman suffered a perforated kidney, lacerated liver and significant internal bleeding and was “bundled into the back” of a car after the attack occurred.

The whole thing played out like a scene from Scarface, leaving the young woman on the brink of death. Her family had originally been charged with attempted murder, but for whatever reason, the prosecutors decided to lower the charges to aggravated charge of causing serious harm, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years. Her mother, who held her down while she bled in the shower, was given the lesser charge of on-aggravated charge of causing harm with intent, which has a maximum sentence of 7 years. And while I know it’s always important for any criminal to get a good defense, I can’t help but shake my head in disbelief at his lawyer’s defense strategy:

“His daughter was with a man … a man who he did not know and he also had concerns that the man might of not had his daughter’s best interests in mind,” Mr Weir said. “It was his intention to remove her from that situation and bring her home.”

In what, a body bag? The father was essentially given a slap on the wrist all things considered. What kind of message are we sending to other fundies who think that they are above the law? Honor killings are on the rise, and why wouldn’t they be when the perpetrators face such pathetic sentences. This girl will be physically and mentally traumatized for the rest of her life, all because these people put their faith above their families. It’s distasteful, disgusting, and a bunch of other D words I don’t want to repeat right now.

The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 349

This week we cover disturbing news, as a New York Rabbi continues to give babies herpes, and a Muslim Imam argues that child marriage is good for society! Don’t miss this one.

The Good Atheist
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The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 349
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Belgian Church seems mass exodus over Abuse

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A television series in Belgium has recently exposed the Catholic Church and their history of abuse in the country, and this has left many Catholics upset, so much so that many have requested that they be “debaptised”.

The documentary series called “Forgotten by God” is what we’ve come to expect: it’s a exposé about the church’s coordinated attempts to cover up child sexual abuse. It centered around a man named Roger Vangheluwe, who had been abusing his nephews since 2010. The church was aware of what was going on, and because the statues of limitation has expired on the crimes, Vangheluwe was free, and had even retained his job as an ordained bishiop. The people were not pleased.

The Belgian Church, facing rising protests after a television film on sexual abuse and cover-ups in its ranks, has appealed against a government data protection agency ruling that the Diocese of Ghent must let a person be “debaptised”.
The Church considers baptism a permanent act that cannot be done away with, but the agency ruled in December that the plaintiff’s personal data record overrides the Church’s interest in preserving its records.

The reason that the church is appealing the decision is that they never like the idea of ever removing someone from their little registry. It’s how churches around the world operate: once you’re in their little cult, they never want you to leave. Plus, it help them to pretend that there are way more active Catholics than there really are.

Local Rabbi is Infecting Babies with Herpes

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The ritualistic mutilation of young boys is a practice that will forever baffle me. Originally it was an Egyptian tradition, reserved only for the royal family. Like all fads, it was eventually abandoned by most of its practitioners, save one: the Jews, who believe that the act of cutting off the foreskin of the penis is part of their covenant with God, who does not seem to be a fan of this particular piece of flesh.

In America, plenty of Gentiles are also circumcised. It’s estimate that about half of American males have been mutilated. It doesn’t hurt that this practice is a cash cow for doctors, who often cite poorly conducted studies on its supposed health benefits. Little is discussed of the physical trauma of cutting off one of the most sensitive areas of a young child without any anesthesia. After watching a few of these procedures, where the children often go into a kind of shock, you’d have a hard time keeping your lunch down.

The pain of this procedure is not the only dangers that these vulnerable children face. In Orthodox Judaism, the mohel who cuts the foreskin will also use his mouth to suck on the penis of the baby, supposedly in an effort to “disinfect” the wound. Instead, these disgusting individuals often carry sexually transmitted diseases, which are then passed on to the child. Naturally, this religious minority is extremely secretive, which means that this kind of abuse goes completely under the radar. Even when it comes to light, authorities will usually trip over themselves to avoid arresting or pressing charges against these mohels, for fear that they might anger the Orthodox community, which tends to have a great deal of voting power.

So, what is Rochester doing to prevent more babies from getting infected? Well, they certainly aren’t prosecuting the people involved. No, instead they are printing out brochures warning people not to allow their religious leaders to engage in their disturbing practices. “you can do it if you want, but know the facts” was one victim’s statement.

I guess giving diseases to babies is kosher, so long as there’s a religious ritual to justify it!

Oklahoma Senator wants to jail you for Sexy Selfies

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Are you feeling strangled by religious conservatives? Are you tired of zealots trying to control every aspect of your life? Well, too bad if you are, because these religious nutballs are just getting warmed up.

Oklahoma Senator and all around ballbag Dusty Deevers has introduced a bill that would outlaw sexting to anyone other than your spouse. This is all part of a larger effort to try and outlaw pornography altogether.

How he plans to accomplish this reminds me of bounty posters in the Wild West. You see, a person can file a lawsuit against someone they suspect of enjoying their freedom as an American, and they can receive up to 10k for snitching. The person you accused of witchcraft, I mean sexting, would face up to 25 years in jail, and a fine of up to 25k (presumably to help fund this sick game of tattle tale).

You might be wondering how broad this ridiculous and unconstitutional law is. It’s so broad that just about anyone who participates in any remotely sexual activity would instantly become a criminal:

This bill is broad enough to include any person’s, like butt selfie for example, it includes live performances in play. So that would seem to include strip clubs definitely and maybe also burlesque and drag performances and things like that,” Nolan Brown said.

The good news is that there’s no way in hell is this thing going to pass. Even in some Christian Nationalist nightmare world, I find it hard to fathom that any prosecutor would dare go after people for living their best life. Considering that Oklahoma is considered one of the worst states to live in, it sounds like there are more important priorities to focus on, like ranking 48th in healthcare, or almost dead last in educational standards.

Apart from crazy, unpredictable weather, the study said Oklahoma has one of the nation’s highest rates of drug abuse, and the second highest rate of people without health insurance. Homelessness is another big issue.

You know, there are way more serious problems in your state than people sending themselves sexy pictures, Dusty. If you want to help improve your state, maybe don’t create ridiculous laws that create dangerous witch-hunts.

Border Trucker Convoy Cancelled due to Paranoia

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Well, that didn’t last long did it? Just a day ago, TGA reported on a convoy of truckers calling itself “God’s Army” that was supposedly headed to Texas to “defend the border”. The event was cancelled, because many of the organizers started to think that the whole thing was an FBI operation, and that they were going to get coaxed into violence so that the feds could put cases on them.

According to Vice’s report, the less-than-stellar turnout was likely due to theories circulating in right-wing circles that the convoy could be a “psyop” or “honeypot” trap laid by the federal government to coax people into committing violence.

At least these guys were aware enough to know that when you put a bunch of these clowns together, people start getting hurt, or even killed. I also have a bit of news for these weirdos: people are not “coaxed” into acts of violence when they bring weapons to a protest. That shows that they are planning on getting their hands dirty.

We’re getting to an inflection point in Q-Anon it seems, where there’s a smattering of self awareness brewing at the service. Conspiratorial thinking is like a snake eating its tail. When you base all of your thinking in the idea that you can’t trust anything, eventually it all breaks down.

Here’s hoping that the Q-Anon people take the same approach to everything else in their lives. Maybe now instead of causing disturbances, they will all just stay home, since the outside world is just a giant conspiracy against them.

American Religious Wackos Headed to Border

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American conservatives have it all backwards. When you hear about evangelicals going nuts about all the illegal immigrants that are entering the country, there’s an important variable that I think they are ignoring due to their overwhelming distaste for different skin colors: they are chasing away the last group of religiously minded folks. Allow me to explain:

In Canada, my home country, the conservative side of the isle love immigrants. That’s because in an overwhelmingly secular nation, the people who wish to make the Great White North their new home are usually quite religious, especially when compared to their counterparts. These recent immigrants tend to be anti-abortion, have a deep hatred of LGBT people and their issues, and tend to dislike liberal policies. This means that the conservative parties are always trying to solicit their support. It’s very rare that you will hear them speak ill of immigration, and they would rather attract the votes of these religiously minded people than ire.

So when conservative Christians decide that they are going to show up at the border in Texas intent on trying to take the law into their own hands, they are chasing away the only people that “mostly” support their religious agenda. One such group planning on adding to the chaos south of the border is called “Take Our Border Back”.

The group said that one of their goals is to stop illegal immigration immediately and close the border. It is not clear how the group plans to confront migrants at the border and stop them from entering the country.

My guess is that they will show up with weapons, and someone is going to get hurt, or possibly killed, all because of the fear that they have for people who literally believe in exactly the same God that they do. They do this, while also believing that they are preventing an “army of darkness” from entering their country. What they really mean is “an army of darkies”, but that would be an unsavory thing to say in this day and age. Better to just imply it and shoot your guns at people.

It’s inevitable that if religious voters want to maintain their power base, they are going to need to dip outside of the white, evangelicals base that they’ve historically counted on for votes. In fact, this group is shrinking so fast that the Republican reliance on them as their voting base is going to blow up in their faces spectacularly. The face of America is changing. Religious “Nones” now outnumber white evangelicals, and the gap is only going to increase.

Still, we cannot be complacent simply because our enemies are slowly dying. A cornered animal is at its most dangerous. Before we are free of religious interference in our lives, these wackos will try every trick in the book to force their faith down our throats.

Russian Scientist Fired for Creationist Beliefs

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Creationism is always rearing up it’s ugly head where it doesn’t belong. In America, schools are always being bombarded by creationist propaganda masquerading as science. Religious folks know how devastating evolution is to their pet theory of how life originated, which is why they will do anything to undermine it. They will lie, obfuscate the truth, and make wild claims without evidence, all to further their pathetic agenda of turning the world into their little religious playground.

In 2023, a Russian scientist by the name of Alexander Kudryavtsev, did a presentation for his colleagues that left many of them in disbelief:

Kudryavtsev, who headed the Russian Academy of Science’s Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, made a presentation at a conference in 2023 in which he said people had lived for some 900 years prior to the era of the Biblical Flood and that “original, ancestral and personal sins” caused genetic diseases that shortened lifespans.

What I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall for that conference. I can picture his colleagues squirming in discomfort as he tried to argue that the claims of the bible have scientific merit. It’s one thing to have a religious nut in the soft sciences; it’s another completely when it’s in the one profession that so clearly demonstrates that we are the product of natural selection.

This notion that death is caused by sin, or causes genetic disorders is so backwards that the Academy had no choice but to sack Kudryavtsev. This caused his beloved Orthodox Church to cry discrimination as a result. The irony of an institution that regularly blesses missiles headed to kill Ukraine children crying foul should be lost on no-one. A scientist being fired for not doing his job isn’t “discrimination”. It’s called standards, and without them, there is no discovery and progress.

Besides, it seems to me that Kudryavtsev should change his career to pastor. It sounds like making shit up and trying to make other people feel bad is in the job description, and from the look of it, that’s right up this guys’ alley.

West Virginia Senate wants Creationism in School

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In American politics, the only thing their government is capable of, is trying to pass laws that serve the religious community. Forget about actually trying to balance the budget, or reform immigration. The most important thing is to make sure that kids are protected from all that secularism in schools!

For example, in West Virginia, their state senate has been a bunch of busy bees. Not passing any bills that are meaningful mind you. No, they were too busy passing bills to introduce creationism in classrooms, only to top it off with a bill to mandatorily display “In God We Trust”.

Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said SB 280 would prohibit public school boards, public school superintendents and public school principals in K-12 from preventing teachers from “discussing or answering questions from students about scientific theories” related to the origins of the universe and how life came to exist.

This kind of vague language is meant to introduce creationist propaganda into the classroom. They like to pretend that “intelligent design” is a scientific theory, which only demonstrates how little they understand the term. Its vagueness could also spell tons of lawsuits for violating the Establishment Clause of the constitution.

So what was the point in all of this? Again, religious people are so scared that they are in danger of becoming extinct that they are doubling down on forcing religion on the rest of us. My guess is that this will actually blow up in their faces. The more we see this type of encroachment, the more people will react negatively. Hopefully, this will have some influence in the polls, especially for people who want meaningful legislation, no showboating for their imaginary friend in the sky.

 

Muslim Imam says 4 year olds are Wife Material

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I’ve often criticized Muslims for being dishonest about their beliefs. There are many morally repugnant attributes to this religion, but the most disturbing by far is the story of Mohammad’s marriage to a 9 year old girl named Aisha. Most modern Imams will jump through hoops to try and explain their prophets disgusting pedophilia. Not this guy. During a debate with a a Christian apologetic channel called “Inspiring Philosophy”, Daniel Haqiqatjou, who goes under the moniker “MuslimSkeptic”, tried to argue that there was nothing morally repugnant about child marriage. He defended consummating an arranged marriage with a child as young as 4 years old, so long as she was already menstruating.

Daniel specializes in arguing against other faiths. His own website advertises this as a feature. He’s proud of the fact that he tries to debunk other faiths:

We pore through the texts of other religions and see if they can stand up to the same scrutiny they aim towards Islam. Already we have published over a dozen articles on Hinduism, Qadiyanism, Nation of Islam, Atheism, and Christianity.

Gee buddy, you’re almost all the way there with your skepticism. You just need to apply the same scrutiny to your ridiculous beliefs. There has to be a point where a person realizes that perhaps raping a young child isn’t the best way to honor your imaginary friend. What do I know? I’m just a filthy atheist!

Religious “Nones” In the Majority Now

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Religion has certainly lost its luster. Slowly but surely, people have been abandoning organized religion in droves in the western world. The combination of sex abuse scandals, and the ability to research the claims of the church has created an information was that religion is losing. It’s gotten to the point where those that profess no religion are now the majority of the population. In less than 2 decades, we went from being 16% of the population to 28%. That’s a few percentage more than the evangelical population. Let that sink in for a second.

There are a few consequences for not being affiliated with a church, and some of it is not ideal. For instance, the “Nones” say they have less of a connection to their community. That’s because there hasn’t yet been something to replace it. Eventually we might figure it out. For now, religious people can boast this one benefit we still lack.

The only sad news is that the movement is still predominantly white, and male. We’ve always known that this group was always prominent in the community. It had been hoped that there had been some improvement, but it still looks like there’s a lot of work to be done, especially in Black and Hispanic communities.

The other thing to note is that despite now being a majority, they have yet to exercise their political power, due mainly to the fact that they do not show up at the polls:

However, Smith points out that Nones are also less civically engaged than those who identify with a religion – they’re less likely to vote. So, while they identify as Democrats, getting them to the polls on election day may prove to be a challenge.

Now, part of the blame does lie in the apathy of voters. However, the other part of the blame goes to both parties who have been unable to find a way to reach this group, too frightened that doing so might alienate their base. Considering how massive this population is, it’s a mistake to ignore them, especially as this number is bound to keep growing.

The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 348

This week, we discuss Christian Nationalists wanting to beat up gay kids, Scorsese wastes his time trying to propagandize Jesus, and a mathematician tries to prove god, and fails.

The Good Atheist
The Good Atheist
The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 348
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