Monthly Archives

October 2017

Alberta’s Sex Miseducation Lessons

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Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

— Arkansas State Senator Jason Rapert and the Ten Commandments monument going up (again) in Arkansas. (0:30)

— Alberta Catholic schools want to teach an alternative sex ed curriculum. (13:25)

— The dad from Duck Dynasty is spreading the lie that crime soars in areas without God. (24:40)

— A new Satanic billboard says “Our religion doesn’t believe in hitting children.” (32:10)

— No one in this TX school district understands the Establishment Clause. (36:40)

— The Catholic Church won’t allow a gravestone marker calling out abusive priests. (43:36)

— Pastor Robert Jeffress says we’ve let atheists “seize control of this country.” (49:13)

— An Indiana county ended a life-saving needle exchange program because Jesus said so. (55:49)

(Image via Shutterstock)

Jacindamania

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Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

— The new Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, is an ex-Mormon who describes herself as Agnostic. (1:41)

— There’s a push for Christian churches to clarify where they stand on issues involving LGBTQ rights. (8:18)

— An ad campaign for the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter makes no sense at all. (19:40)

— Most Americans no longer believe you need God to be good. (28:00)

— Here’s how a Religious Right group is misleading Congress about support for the Johnson Amendment repeal. (35:06)

— The Boy Scouts of America will let girls join! But open atheists are still banned. Don’t worry. A Christian alternative still proudly bans everyone who isn’t a straight, cisgender boy. (44:04)

— Young people are shedding their faith long before they go to college, contrary to the plot of movies like God’s Not Dead. (56:35)

— Go watch this incredible (and short) documentary of an atheist who escaped the train to Auschwitz during World War II. (1:11:00)

(Screenshot via YouTube)

Stephen Mansfield, Author of Choosing Donald Trump

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Hemant is Kickstarting a new book! Please support it here!

81% of evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump last year, despite his bragging about sexual assault, despite his multiple marriages, despite his wealth and complete lack of concern for the poor, despite his flip-flopping on matters of abortion and saying women who had them needed to be punished, despite the lies and racism and bigotry. It seems like they were going to vote for whoever the Republican candidate was no matter what.

And that no matter what continues to play out today. Trump is a deeply unpopular president whose decisions and morals are constantly questioned. He may be nominating the Religious Right’s Dream Team to judicial seats, including the Supreme Court, but beyond that, it’s hard to see how he fits the mold of a “family values” conservative who inspires loves for Jesus.

So how did he do it? How did he convince evangelicals to support him, not just in the election, but to this day? And will there be any consequences for evangelicals moving forward?

Stephen Mansfield explores all those questions in his new book Choosing Donald Trump: God, Anger, Hope, and Why Christian Conservatives Supported Him.

Mansfield is the New York Times bestselling author of The Faith of George W. Bush, The Faith of Barack Obama, and Lincoln’s Battle with God, among other works of history and biography. Founder of The Mansfield Group, a research and publishing firm, he is also an in-demand speaker and consultant. He holds a doctorate in history and literature and makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee, and Washington, DC, with his wife, Beverly.

I spoke with him about whether Trump’s presidency will hurt evangelical Christianity, if there’s anything Trump can do to lose the Religious Right’s support, and why Trump’s pandering rhetoric is so powerful.

Your Post-Vegas Thoughts and Prayers Aren’t Helping

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Hemant is Kickstarting a new book! Please support it here!

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

— Your thoughts and prayers after the shooting in Las Vegas aren’t helping. (1:06)

— The folks at Fox and Friends think the shooter just “didn’t believe in God.” (14:31)

— The worst response to the shooting came from a Mormon who blamed the victims. (22:02)

— What should we make of the survivor who said he found God after surviving the massacre? (24:25)

— A woman says God protected her… after surviving an awful car accident. (32:53)

— The 14 Attorneys General who say a Giant Christian Cross in a Florida park is totally secular. (36:27)

— It’s okay to question a judicial nominee’s religious history. (43:31)

— Anti-abortion politician Rep. Tim Murphy is resigning after allegedly texting his mistress to tell her to abort their possible lovechild. (53:27)

Flipping the bird in church is constitutionally protected speech! (56:47)

— Happy stories… about why Olive Garden is ruining Hemant. (1:02:22)

(Image via Shutterstock)