In this episode (that’s admittedly a little late), we talk about the growing fascist movement in the US called Christian Nationalism, the Mormon church being sued, and why Protestants are walking away from religion. Don’t miss this one!
There is a trick that religious institutions like to use to get people to look the other way at their myriad crimes: accuse your enemies of everything you are guilty of in order to throw people off your scent. This is why the LGBT community is often the target of accusations of grooming and child abuse. This is literally what the world’s great monotheistic religions do: they groom kids into their death cult, scar them with threats of damnation for not believing, and force them to be something they are not.
Let’s not forget that a disturbingly high percentage of them will also be sexually abused, something that happens so often that TGA has run out of ways to write “Youth Pastor Abuses Children”. So, despite the fact that children are statistically safer at a drag show than a Sunday sermon, it doesn’t stop religions from using them as their major distraction.
While folks are outraged at the wrong people, they use the opportunity to try and pass laws that make the abuse of kids and women even easier. In Iraq, a draconian new law is being proposed which would make it legal for men to marry children as young as nine (you know, the age that their pedophile prophet married his favorite sex slave). The horrible taste in your mouth is the result of all the bile that’s invading it at the thought that this has a very good chance of passing.
Women and children’s rights campaigners in Iraq have pushed back at proposals that could enshrine sectarianism in family relationships, hand more power in family matters to clerics and open the door for marriage to be legalized for children as young as nine years old.
The amendments to Law No. 188, the Personal Status Law of 1959 have been heavily promoted by the Coordination Framework, a coalition of conservative Shia Islamist parties that form the largest bloc in parliament.
Wow, with that kind of endorsement, who can lose? Only the poor people who have to live in this country! This is the true face of Islam, and when they are in full control of government, it doesn’t take long for their intentions to be known. The Koran is all the justification that these perverts need to rape children that are in the most vulnerable years of their existence.
Is it the religion that attracts these pedophiles, or does it create them? It hardly matters which one. I suspect it’s both, which to me only amplifies what I have been saying for a long time: this religion is a curse on humanity, and only when the last Muslim has awakened from there toxic fever dream, realizing they supported a faith with irredeemable elements, will we ever live in peace. The marrying of child brides is but one of these toxicities that continues to plague this religion. It is but one great evil among countless others. Any rational and caring human being must reject this philosophy of submission and death before the rest of the world pays a heavy price for the fanatics within their ranks.
In a legal battle that lasted 8 years, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has won their lawsuit against Gov. Gregg Abbott, who had censored a display of the Bill of Rights back in 2016. In total, the state of Texas had to pay the organization over 350,000 dollars. The amount could have been lower, but due to the governor trying to delay a judgement that dated all the way back to 2017, it cost the taxpayers even more to settle the affair.
The lawsuit began in February 2016, after Abbott ordered removal of FFRF’s duly-approved and permitted Bill of Rights “nativity” display from the Texas state Capitol. Abbott ordered the display removed only three days after it was put up on Dec. 18, 2015, lambasting it as indecent, mocking and “contributing to public immorality.”
Now, I must admit a little bias in my reporting. You see, I’m the artists that created the display all those years ago. It was a special request, done in a style that actually mirrored the nativity display, but instead of a baby Jesus, the founding fathers are kneeling to the Bill of Rights, which had been adopted in late December 1791. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are the “three wise men”, and Mary is the Statue of Liberty. To say it was designed specifically to annoy Christians would be an understatement. It was created specifically to drive them nuts.
The solution to avoiding the display was simple: don’t put a nativity scene, and FFRF won’t put their display. Religious zealots like Abbott can’t help themselves, which is where this puppy comes into play. To say I’m proud of this work is an understatement. Every Christmas I look forward to this artwork appearing in the news. It’s one of the most effective ways to get under the American Taliban’s skin.
How many times have you been told as an atheist that religion helps provide comfort to people? I’ve always felt that this claim was highly suspicious. Sure, the promise of heaven might sound good (to those without a proper understanding of eternity), but there is always the threat of hell that looms. Rare is the strong believer that isn’t living in fear that they might accidentally slip-up, and spend their after-life getting pineapples shoved up their asses.
A recent study on sleep has shown that atheists sleep more hours than their religious counterparts. The study could not find the reason why, and some of their conclusions are suspect to say the least:
“Mental health is increasingly discussed in church settings — as it should be — but sleep health is not discussed,” said lead author Kyla Fergason, a student at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. “Yet we know that sleep loss undercuts many human abilities that are considered to be core values of the church: being a positive member of a social community, expressing love and compassion rather than anger or judgment, and displaying integrity in moral reasoning and behavior.
First, I’d like to point out the elephant in the room: any church that discusses mental health is totally out of their league. Pastors are not psychologists. They are literally experts in nonsense. You’re better off getting advice on mental health from a hobo off the street than you are a priest. You’re also less likely to be sexually or physically abused by avoiding these sanctimonious jackasses.
Second, you should never take Christians a their word, especially when they claim that their church emphasizes values such as love and compassion. They are far more likely to be stressed out, judgmental and angry at their current status within American society. As religion erodes from public life, believers are more and more distressed by the thought that they are no longer culturally dominant. Meanwhile, nonbelievers are sleeping like babies knowing that in a few decades, no one will be left to preach hatred, suspicion and anger anymore, and that churches will slowly crumble from lack of maintenance.
So, the conclusion is simple: if you’re having sleep problems, stop praying to a guy that wants to send you to hell for touching yourself. Sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it?
How do you know you’re in a death cult? Well, for starters, your first clue would be that everything you dislike is always characterized in apocalyptic terms. Don’t like rock music or rap? It’s the work of the devil, you see! Painting everything with this brush ensures that you are constantly afraid, which is another important aspect of death cults. If you’re not scared all the time, you’re doing it wrong.
Most Christians out there have no idea they are in a death cult. That’s because it’s been around for so long that folks are just accustom to it. It’s a bit like how people in wars get used to the constant bombardment around them. Eventually, they are just blind to it, despite the fact that the real danger of death has not fundamentally changed. Merely their perception of it has.
So we can’t be surprised at all by conservative christians who support Donald Trump from behaving in some very strange ways. Since they have adopted the orange turd as their messiah, the departure of Joe Biden from the presidential race, and his biracial female replacement has sent waves of fear among their most loyal supporters. Seeing the writing on the wall, many are now claiming that she is the personification of all the evils in the world:
In just the past week, popular MAGA pundits warned that Harris is “Hitler and Stalin combined but times 200,” and also a “commie” who will choose a running mate who supports “allowing men to beat up women in the Olympics.” They also expressed outrage over the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics as the end of “Western civilization,” and singled out one woman on a Zoom fundraiser call for Harris’ campaign as another harbinger of end times.
Their list of grievances is perhaps some of the most pathetic braying in history. Transgender athletes and artistic depictions of The Last Supper are not exactly barnburner issues. If anything, it only demonstrates that the things that Christians fear as demonic is pretty milk toast. Meanwhile, this is the same group of people that want to outlaw all abortions, force the Bible to be taught in schools, and essentially blow up the separation of church and state in order to officially make America into a theocratic nightmare.
The only bit of good news in this is that Harris is genuinely terrifying these weirdos. The thing to remember is that the country is a vastly different place than when Donald won his presidency is 2016. Over 22 million baby boomers, which make up the vast majority of his base, have died since the last election. That’s a significant number, and with more young people being energized, this election is beginning to look like it could go Harris’ way. This means that as election night gets closer, you will begin to see the true desperation of these Christian Nationalists on full display. When the stakes are risen to the point of apocalyptic language, it’s difficult to predict exactly what will happen, but it’s safe to say that people should be extremely worried. Never forget that those who believe in absurdities can be easily convinced to commit atrocities.
If you’ve never heard of Jeff, he’s been studying Christian Nationalism before it was given that moniker. His illuminating book, “The Family”, is a must read for those interested in learning more about how religion is fusing with American politics.
In this interview, he talks about the mutation of Christianity, and what it means for the future of the country.
I am not, by nature, a negative person. I like to see the best in people, and while I would like to think that I have a fairly positive outlook on life, I must admit that I have become completely disillusioned with America; specifically her commitment to secularism. The recent rulings by the Supreme Court allowing for the funding of religious charter schools, is but one of many attempts by Christians to formalize their alliance with government. School districts across the country are being forced to teach the Bible, and the 10 Commandments are popping up all over the place. The Republican nominee for President of the United States has allied himself with the religious right, and they have big plans for the country if he wins.
I wrote an article not long ago about the fact that the IRS has essentially abandoned its own rules concerning churches getting involved in politics. The punishment is simple: get involved in politics, lose your tax exempt status. For almost a decade, not one organization has been held accountable for their gross violations, and the message is clear: regardless of how blatantly churches violate this law, they will never be in any danger of facing consequences for it.
Recently, the Catholic League has been making its stance on the presidential race quite clear. Over the last several weeks, they’ve published a number of articles attacking the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, and said (without any proof), that she would be harmful to religious freedoms if elected. This was quickly followed by another article defending the Republican Vic-Presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, and making it abundantly clear that a “good catholic” should vote red. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is not having it, and so they’ve lodged a formal complaint with the IRS over this extremely obvious infraction.
The problem is that this is going to do absolutely nothing. There is zero probability that the IRS will get involved. If anything, by acting, they could unduly influence the results of the election by actually following their own rules. The religious right would use the opportunity to claim that they are being targeted under the Biden administration, and this would only feed their claim that Democrats are dangerous to religious freedom. The fact that the rules were never being enforced means that doing so now would look suspicious. All this toothless and pathetic organization can do is continue to allow scofflaws to operate with impunity. I cannot imagine a scenario in which violators would finally face the same fate that we all do: pay our fucking taxes. It’s as though a wealthy organization like the Catholic League thinks that not having to pay their fair share is fine, since they are busy doing “charity” work, like acting as another wing of the Republican party.
Domestic abuse is no joke. Every year, roughly 47,000 women and young girls are killed by their partners. That translates to a sobering average of one woman being killed every 11 minutes. One of the worst offenders of DV is Islam. With it’s perpetual fear of women, it’s not enough that they force them to be constantly covered up, lest they tempt their morally repugnant men to lust. Forced marriages are still a common practice, even when these people live in democratic countries.
Ruqia Haidari was a young woman who was forced into a marriage she did not want by her mother, Sakina Muhammad Jan. The family had already been paid a bride-price, and so the mother wasn’t interested in the strong objections of her daughter. The two live in Australia, which has strict laws forbidding the practice. This did little to dissuade Jan, who told her daughter that if she did not marry a man named Mohammad Ali Halimi, she would be kicked out of the house. At only 21, Ruqia had dreams of attending school to pursue a career. Alas, it was not meant to be. Her violent and controlling husband waited only a few weeks before he slit her throat with a knife.
Now, an Australian court has found the mother guilty of breaking forced marriage laws, and was sentenced to 12 months in jail. The conviction was only made possible when members of her own religious community came forward to inform police of the situation. The irony here is that the family had moved to Australia in order to escape persecution from the Taliban. It appears that while you can take people out of religious oppressive places, you sometimes cannot get take oppression out of people. The Taliban only exists because of the willingness of people to follow edicts and rules that are disasterous, specifically to young women.
When the decision was made by the courts, unsurprisingly, Jan said she refused to accept the verdict, presumably because she still thinks she did nothing wrong. She was eventually led away by court officers. So at the end of the day, we have a young woman dead, an older one jailed, and a murderer in prison for life. I wonder if there will ever be a time when the so-called “religion of peace” will no longer cause countless tragedies. My guess is that none of us will ever live to see that day.
If you’re a straight man, odds are you have a tertiary knowledge of an app called “Grindr”. You probably know that it’s a program used by gay men looking to hook up. It’s used extensively by religious conservatives, who have to hide their sexuality from others. One such closeted man, a now former priest by the name of Jeffrey Burrill, was forced out of the church when he was exposed as gay by an organization called The Pillar, which seeks to expose gay priests in order to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the church. This angered Burrill, who is now suing Grindr for allegedly selling his information.
The ex-priest alleged in his lawsuit that The Pillar received that data from Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal (CLCR), a Christian non-profit that bought data from queer dating apps to track down Church leaders using them against their vows — implying that Grindr had sold it to the organization…Burrill said he’d never have joined the app had he known his data would be available to the public, according to the lawsuit.
Now, the tricky thing here is that there is no law preventing your data from being sold. In fact, that’s how most tech companies make their money. You are just a series of numbers as far as they are concerned, and any method of making money is kosher to them. It’s difficult to see just how Burrill is going to make his case here. If he had an expectation of privacy, then he chose the wrong program to fulfill his desires. In any case, he should be taking the opportunity to grow. He’s gay, and obviously enjoys sex, which means that he’s not exactly a good fit for a religious organization that forbids both of these things from its members. Being a disgraced priest is a badge of honor for many former members of the Church, and now that he’s out of the closet, perhaps Burrill can seek a loving relationship rather than tawdry sex. Just like the part of his body he was taught was sinful, it’s never too late to grow.
If you’re a sports fans, odds are you may have tuned in this Saturday to watch France’s opening ceremony for the Olympics. If there had ever been a show intended to demonstrate just how much the French could piss off religious nutballs, this would be it.
The ceremony began by praising a number of historical women, which right away probably started to piss quite a few people off. However, it was their “piece de resistance” that really got to the faithful: A parody of DaVinci’s “The Last Supper”, featuring a number of non-binary and trans performers. This, apparently, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“The Olympics opens by making a demonic mockery of the Christian faith,” fumed one viewer, while others vented that it was “overt pagan and satanic symbolism”.
The scene, which actually depicts the Greek god Dionisius, appeared to Christians to be some sort of unholy symbol. These religious wackos are always accusing anything they don’t like of being “demonic”. It couldn’t occur to them that those “so called” demonic images have actually been poached from ancient rituals, later declared demonic by a church that was busy burning people alive for not being faithful enough. Of course, expecting Christians to know anything about the world other than their favorite dead guy is a stretch.
So, who are you going to listen to? An artist that made a kickass show, or a bunch of tight-ass religious losers who worship a bearded guy threatening hell for non-believers?
In a rare move of honest, a recent study conducted by the Lifeway Academy found that nearly 10% of protestants had left the church due to sexual abuse. The survey did not ask, however, if anyone had actually been abused. You don’t have to overthink why they wouldn’t do that. They just wouldn’t like the answer.
It’s not just kids that are getting abused. It appears that plenty of other unsavory things happens to adult church goers too.
Just under half of all Protestant churchgoers surveyed said they were victims of unwanted sexual joking, unsolicited sexual messages, unwanted compliments, and inappropriate glances. Twelve percent of such respondents said they endured those unwanted things while at church.
Sounds like a gas going to these churches. Who needs a subway groper when you can just get molested or harassed in god’s house of worship? What I find very telling from the survey is that only 1/3 of respondents felt that police needed to get involved whenever a case of sexual abuse happened. What the hell is that about? What percentage of people would want police involvement if it were any other institution other than a religious one? There’s even a significant portion that want these kinds of cases handled quietly. No wonder abuse continues to happen. Who wouldn’t want to work for an organization with these kinds of brainwashed idiots?
NOTE: The survey was conducted by Lifeway, which should not to be confused with Lifewise Academy, that delightful institution constantly indoctrinating kids without the parent’s approval. What is with all of these guys and the word “Life” in their title? Is it to make everyone forget that they are essentially a death cult obsessed with blood?
Here is the trailer for yet another Christian movie where the protagonists are living in a world where their beliefs are being persecuted. You might remember the entertaining but preposterous movie “Book of Eli”, where Denzel Washington played a blind man that had memorized the entire Bible, and as a result was the target of an evil Gary Oldman. At it’s heart, it was an action movie, which is what made it worth watching.
Unfortunately for entertainment, this premise wasn’t ludicrous enough. Now, a Christian production company has decided to make a distopia in which the Bible is made illegal, and the government forces people to have a more “inclusive” Bible. The main characters must now run all over the place with dramatic music playing in order to stop an evil government.
The comment section is pretty telling. A bunch of delusional Christians that feel as though the whole world is against them. These are the same people that are attempting to impose the Bible on everyone else, hoping to use the government as their cudgel to force it down our throats.
The agenda that is the teaching of the devil and is leading people to hell with him. Follow Christ’s teachings, and you will have eternal life. People different from you have every right to be on the same planet, but the right to enter the kingdom of heaven is given by it’s king, and his name is Jesus Christ. You will see him coming on the clouds, on the day he will judge you, and me, and all the living and the dead. The difference is, he is with me, and I am with him. Who are you with?
So basically you only really have the right to follow the Bible, and everyone else can burn in hell. What a pleasant god you believe in! No wonder his followers are all so fucking annoying: they keep thinking that if they aren’t in charge, the whole world will fall apart. This kind of fantasy is probably intended to make them believe that their attempts to undermine the separation of church and state is ultimately for the greater good. It just the kind of delusional, non-reality based thinking that these clowns are famous for.
So, whose in the mood to watch a bunch of crappy, third rate actors cry over not being able to read about how Jesus cursed a bunch of pigs. So sad.
If you’re a hard core listener of TGA, you might remember that we reported on a whistleblower in the LDS church that exposed its massive financial coffers: over 100 billion dollars and growing. The whistleblower reported that the Mormon church was spending practically nothing on charitable services, this despite the fact that it has told its members that their money was being used almost exclusively for such purposes. Instead, they are hoarding money, and using it on private investments that have nothing to do whatsoever with the supposed “mission” of the organization.
A group of 9 church members are now suing the church in court for failing to properly use the money they had donated for charitable purposes.
“Despite [the church’s] representations to the contrary, a substantial and significant amount of the donations it receives are not directed towards humanitarian aid, nor any other philanthropic or charitable purpose,” the suit states.
Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of the fraud, the suit has a copy of the 2007 tax form that their investment organization had. As you can see, it’s pretty egregious:
…[A] portion of a 2007 tax form on which Clarke, Ensign Peak’s CEO, declared the book value of all the fund’s assets at $1 million — when, the suit says, it was closer to $38 billion.
Only off by 3800% you say? Why, not even hucksters like Donald Trump would dare cook the books that bad. Of course, the government did so little to actually stop the fraud that it’s practically a joke. The SEC fined Ensign Peak, the group that committed the fraud, a paltry 4 million dollars for using countless shell companies to hide it’s income. That’s roughly 0.00004% of their actual fortune. To call that pathetic would be a disservice to the word. It would be more accurate to call this whole thing immense corruption, or intense cowardice. Both are likely.
The good news is that this small class action lawsuit could balloon if the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals allows the suit to go through. Meanwhile, lawyers on both sides are still trying to make their case, or in the defense’s end, to try and dismiss it. We’ll need to wait and see what the results of this are. Given the fact that the IRS hasn’t done anything to religious orgs that break their rules, I have very little faith that anything will happen. Society tends to give an infinite get-out-of-jail-free card to religion. I can’t imagine a time where that will ever change.
By now, you are all aware of the assassination attempt on Presidential candidate Donald Trump. A lone gunman, whose motives are still a mystery, shot at him but ultimately killed an innocent bystander instead, but not before grazing Trump on the ear. It was a surreal event, which is why so many people are still in shock.
Shock has now turned into the familiar cries of miracle, thanks to the gullibility of his followers. Where once they thought that perhaps he was the chosen messenger of God, now they are now certain of it. The recent Republican National Convention made it clear that this was divine providence. The people who spoke from the podium were all in unanimous agreement. God himself had stopped a bullet for this man.
With his recent brush with death, Trump seems to be convinced that he is now a God, although it is difficult to know if he has felt this way for a while now. One thing is clear: the religious right is now at his feet, ready to kiss them for the hope of entering his new kingdom, one that would be unrecognizable to the America of today.
I have to imagine that it must be a weird time for Republicans that are not evangelicals. They could always convince themselves that Trump was one of them, and was simply using religion, as they all do, to maintain the reigns of power. These rich, white men thought that they could control the more extreme religious fringe with a little money and a lot of propaganda. It is fringe no longer. Instead, Christian Nationalism, which is merely a disguised word for fascism, has become mainstream in the party. Many Congressmen are now openly calling themselves Nationalists, since it opens the door for the theocracy they have been hoping for.
As for Trump, while he may not believe in the Christian God, he knows that he is now completely interwoven into its American fabric. He is like a new prophet, and he brings with him the hopes and dreams of citizens who imagine a very different world than they live in today. This is an America to be feared and loathed. Gone would be its secular values of its founding, replaced instead with a newly mutated Christianity with Donald J. Trump as their messiah.
The followers of Trump believe so overwhelmingly in his victory that they think the rest of the country is with them. Those that aren’t will be magically swept under the rug, only to go away. This religious pipe dream has one benefit: it is completely out of touch with reality. Viewership of the RNC was at a historic low. Many Republicans are being pushed away by the more fringe factions, and the common interests of the business elite and their once easily manipulated religious allies are dwindling. Trump’s choice of running mate, another religious nutbag who is willing to anoint a man he once compared to Hitler, does little to dissuade fears of a complete religious takeover.
The right’s capitulation to Trump has sealed their fate. The moderates will either remain silent in the hope that he will go away, or they will march in step with the people that terrify them, too afraid that another 4 years of a decrepit old man will turn their country into a transgender paradise. In any case, it is a party at war with itself. The RNC had none of the old guard show up. This was a not so subtle message that his endorsement is through coercion. The long term effect of this could very well be that the party implodes on itself, since there will come an irreconcilable rift that will split it in half. Trump’s anointment is merely the beginning of that rift.
The reality of the situation is that unless Trump is willing to kill his opposition, they aren’t going anywhere. The dream that progressives will simply lay down and die is born out of faith, and not reality. To rule a country, you need consensus, and that means you must appeal to more than a lunatic branch, no matter how large. In every fascist state, lethal methods were required to maintain control. Countless artists and writers had to be eliminated or silenced to maintain order. How is this to be done in a time and place in which innumerable people express themselves on a daily basis to millions of followers?
Are the people who failed to show up to elect him in 2020 suddenly convinced to show up now? If anything, I would say that it has done little to move the needle in his direction within the party itself. The old guard hope simply to outlive him. Trump is a useful idiot no longer, and his ability to try and bridge the gap with the moderate wing of his party is all but gone. He has only several months to change their mind, but with his assassination attempt, it’s a fair bet that the religious rhetoric is about to hit the stratosphere. His choice of vice-president is more self serving than strategic. Trump wants only people willing to kiss his ring.
Lastly, it’s critical to consider what happens to his allies. Trump loyalists never get that loyalty back. Most of them are either in prison or facing bankruptcy. A presidential pardon would do little to fix their reputation. Having 20% of the population love you is not enough to compensate for the 80% who loath you. The message is clear: when you base your entire career on this man, prepare for it to be a short one.
Trump’s only hope is the electoral college. There is no chance of winning by popular vote in any case. Only by exploiting the broken, archaic system that was invented specifically to impede the voice of the people can he hope to achieve victory. He may succeed. Trump loyalists should keep in mind, however, that as you grow in strength, so do your enemies. Politics, as they say, makes for strange bedfellows. The question is this: which bed will the people chose?
If there’s one thing that fundamentalists hate, it’s joy. They seem positively allergic to it. When all you have in your life is religion, it seems to create in a person a sense of violent superiority, and the sight of anyone enjoying their life outside of the narrow confines of faith drives them to violent madness.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban has been in power for nearly 3 years now, and in that time, they have banned things like music and dancing. Worst still, their religious thugs patrol the streets, enforcing this ludicrous ban on the simple joys that humans have.
A man by the name of Jalili Ahmad said that during his wedding, a bunch of enforces showed up to the celebration, beating him and several family members, and arresting his father-in-law for 10 days.
“They humiliated us and destroyed the best day of my life,” he said. “They are at war with happiness.”
Afghan weddings used to be the stuff of legends, with lively music and dancing to celebrate the union of two people. Now, these joyless hypocrites attack anyone that dares to shuffle their feet a little too gracefully. Well, not everyone exactly. You see, so long as you’re part of the “winning team”, you can do whatever yo like. For instance, a number of Taliban officials have been caught on video dancing in celebration after their commander’s son was born.
What a surprise that religious assholes would have different rules for people who are part of their clique. It’s always like this. Religion is just an excuse for tiny minded thugs to control the lives of others, all the while engaging freely in the things they ban. I bet you these jerks secretly drink alcohol, watch porn, and do just about everything they claim to hate. Did you ever see Osama Bin Laden’s porn stash? No? Well, that’s only because it’s never been declassified. Wonder how sick that shit was…
