Category Archives: Atheist

Good heavens, this show!Fleabagmade our hearts quiver and brains wander by casting Andrew Scott as an unnamed 'hot priest' in season 2 who successfully did two things- a. Preach the word of God and b. Make our ovaries explode.

The excruciatingly charming priest is witty and intuitive and if we say we were simply gushing over him, it would perhaps be an understatement.

After binge-watching the orgasm-inducing moments of the hot priest, we bring to you the tantalizing moments that prove he's the 'father' women truly crave.

Just a question and we screamed THEY ARE MEANT TO BE.

Two seconds ago she'd admitted that she was an atheist but the priest was all she'd been praying for since the time they met. Cue Fleabag realising, 'Oh God, I fancy a priest.'

'oooh'- That's it. That's literally it.

Can't lie I could watch him all day as his eyes gleamed while talking about God or... the fox.

We knew he was here to f-king stay.

That neck, though.

I'd be lying if I said we didn't knowthe mere thought of the hot priest thinking about her tits made Fleabag orgasm.

When they winded up in a steamy make-out in themidst of the church, I literally gasped.

There, he said it.

He says this before the inevitable sex happens, of course.

I am not crying, you are.

My heart didn't soar but twinge in pain.

Out of all the unavailable men we've ever been fascinated with, this one ranks first.

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12 Hot Priest Moments From 'Fleabag' That Prove He's The Father Women Truly Need - ScoopWhoop

GAINESVILLE, Texas A theater group in a North Texas istelling the story of Jesus gathering his disciples, using a modern lens that strips away stereotypes.

Godspell, a musical by John Michael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz, debuted this week at the playhouse in downtown Gainesville.

We wanted to do something thats light and that speaks to the idea of unconditional love and acceptance, said Gene Matthews, Butterfield Stage Players director.

Matthews has performed in and directed multiple shows at Butterfield since 2016, including the last four summer musicals. He was eager to share a new take on the musical for Gainesville theatergoers.

I really wanted the opportunity as an atheist to direct a show about God and whittle it down to its basic concepts of unconditional love, acceptance and joy, said Matthews. People have misinterpreted Godspell over the years to be a musical about Jesus coming down back to Earth and leading his people through the story of his life, but its not about Jesus. Its about a bunch of lost individuals who rally around this one charismatic individual who helps them see there is more out there, that there is more to believe in, more to love, that they arent alone.

This message becomes clear in the casting.

This show is traditionally cast with five men and five women. I decided to be more open-minded about my casting choices and not necessarily stick to those traditionally gendered roles, said Matthews.Ive cast a plethora of people, some of whom dont believe in God; I am an atheist. Politically, weve got Republicans, weve got Democrats, weve got conservatives, weve got liberals. And when it comes to beliefs, weve got people who believe in all manner of different charities or social justice situations or social justice causes. Ive got members of the LGBTQ+ community onstage, and since they are playing exaggerated versions of themselves, I absolutely encourage them to bring some of their own life to their representation of themselves on stage."

There are only two characters in Godspell who arent listed as playing themselves: Jesus and Judas. However, according to Matthews, the actors are still playing themselves. Eryka Kitundu, a black woman, plays Jesus a casting decision that has raised a few eyebrows and led some Butterfield patrons to pass on seeing the show.

Nonetheless, Kitundu relishes this opportunity.

Its inspiring that I could get an opportunity like this, especially in a small town, said Kitundu. Im playing someone who is very controversial, especially in this day and age, and people dont see him as my skin color. I also have to tackle that issue when putting on this show, but Im still going to rock it, because I got casted for a reason.

Matthews stands by his casting decision.

I didnt cast a black woman as Jesus. I cast Eryka as Eryka. Shes listed in the playbill as Jesus so that audience members know that this woman is meant to represent a charismatic individual who has all the qualities of Jesus, said Matthews. Its never been about sex or gender for any of these roles."

In researching the show, Matthews discovered that Stephen Schwartz originally wrote the song "Beautiful City" back in 1972 for the release of the film version of "Godspell." But after the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, he rewrote the lyrics to better reflect of the racial tensions present then and now in America.

One of the contributing factors that led to the 1992 Los Angeles race riots was the killing of Latasha Harlands, a 15-year-old African-American girl, which happened only 13 days after the brutal, videotaped beating of Rodney King, said Matthews. I think its appropriate and beautiful that we have cast a Black woman as Jesus, and that we will get to experience her singing this song, which was reconceived as an anthem to the beauty of Black lives, the fact that they do matter, and to show that in a world where so much hate can seem overwhelming, sometimes one person standing up to that hate can make a difference."

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Director, actors offer new spin on classic musical 'Godspell', without stereotypes - Weatherford Democrat

Courtesy of Pixabay

In my last article, I (and Matthew Graham) responded to atheists claims of greater rationality and consistency in the atheistic position. In this article, we tackle more responses to my appeal. As before, The Latin Rights response is listed under TLR Answers. Any corrections will be to grammar only. Thank you.

Response #4

Illithid

Wow, Im so very late to the party! Quote any of this you wish. For whatever its worth, I trust you to do so honestly, which I cannot say for some (*cough* Dave Armstrong).

A few of the things you cite as appealing about atheism, I do find appealing. Mostly 3 through 6. Number one is a relief for those previously indoctrinated into belief in Hell, but I wasnt raised with much religion, so it hasnt been an issue for me. And I find that I dont require meaning in the way that many say they do. But those arent reasons to be an atheist, just cool things about it. The reason to be an atheist is one from your list: objective truth. A rational epistemology which leads to verifiable, objective truth in other areas of life leads naturally to disbelief in religion, just as it leads to disbelief in astrology, homeopathy, and psychics.

For a rationalist, belief isnt a choice (I dont claim to be a perfect rationalist, but I try). Pending good evidence, I can no more believe in gods than I can believe in ghosts or magic spells, or that the world is flat. And I find it interesting to observe the mental gymnastics that intelligent and otherwise rational people will undertake in order to preserve their religious beliefs.

For example, my MIL is an intelligent and independent woman with a legal education. Shes no easy prey for scams or con artists. She understands rules of evidence and burden of proof. And all that flies straight out one ear when she goes to church, where she will swallow any fool thing that preacher says, on any subject whatsoever. Because hes a man of God, and so, trustworthy. Thats a flawed and dangerous mindset, and Im pleased not to share it.

I find it interesting that tough minded atheists place such a high value on objective truth. This is something I think thoughtful Christians have in common with such atheists. Unfortunately, most of the atheists I have dialogue with use lay church goers and pastors as their intellectual foil. Unfortunately, most church goers and even pastors are underwhelming in their ability to understand and or defend historic Christianity.

I appreciate the tough minded atheist. We may not agree on what is true, but I think we both have a dedication to the truth. I do wonder, why would you want to be a rationalist? That philosophical school doesnt really carry much weight these days. The empiricists and then Immanuel Kant moved philosophy away from a rigid form of rationalism. Im not familiar with any philosophers who think we need to go back to Descartes or Spinoza.

Good epistemology doesnt demand claims be verifiable (certainly not empirically verifiable) to be warranted. Im not sure if you are going in this direction, but empirical rationalism/verificationism/logical positivism have long been set aside due to numerous problems they present as restrictive criteria for knowledge.

In sum, I appreciate your dedication to the truth! But I wonder if there is some work to do in your underlying epistemology if in fact you lean towards some kind of rational empiricism/logical positivism.

Response #5

Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz

I am an atheist simply because of the fact that I have not seen any compelling argument or evidence for a deity.

What is your account for the existence of matter and consciousness? You are also a mind that uses reason, correct? In what way is a belief in another higher mind irrational? To me, the most convincing proof God exists is existence itself. I simply find it irrational to believe that something came from nothing without a cause. It seems like magic to me.

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Answers for Atheists Part 2: Objective Truth and No Evidence for God - Patheos

Having spent a good amount of printer ink writing about the religious experience I had on pilgrimage in Mexico, it is only a logical progression that my tangled mind should turn its energy toward my new favorite atheist.

My old favorite, Christopher Hitchens, passed away years ago may God have mercy on his soul so I have been in the market. If my new favorite atheist heard me say, God have mercy on you, he would likely not be as visceral as Hitchens, but I can almost guarantee his retort would be funny, incisive, and I would have to go back to Chesterton or Fulton Sheen to refute it.

British actor/writer/comedian Ricky Gervais is an exceptionally talented guy with a long history of success, and it is another logical progression that he would create a series that has a powerful and even spiritual component to it, but cemented in his own deep disbelief in God.

The Netflix series After Life is not suitable for family viewing, but even in its more offensive and adult content, there is something of value here. Gervais talent and thoughtfulness is worth exploring. If anyone was going to make a limited-run comedy series about a man horribly damaged by the death of his one true love and make a throughline of the main character seeking to destroy himself to stop his pain, Gervais is that guy.

His character is devastated by the premature death of his wife to cancer, and she becomes an integral cog in the story arc, as Gervais character constantly watches old digital videos of her on his computer. He is still deeply in love with her, and all the videos are slices of a life of bliss and happiness.

The corresponding sadness that we see in Gervais widower colors every aspect of his life, whether it is dealing with the cast of screwball characters he works with at the local village newspaper, where he is a most disinterested human-interest reporter, or the equally odd inhabitants of the village where he makes his home.

There is a beautiful relationship that develops between Gervais widower and a widow. They meet regularly on the bench in front of the graves of their respective spouses. The widow becomes his muse, and in Gervais fashion, also shares his views that believing in an afterlife is for other people, not them.

Yet, she is positive about life and positive about the memory of her dead husband, just as Gervais character is consumed by grief over the loss of his wife. It is through her that Gervais character begins to slowly climb out of the psychic black hole he inhabits and discovers by acting kindly and mustering herculean forbearance, his character begins to get better and believes he is doing what his late wife would have wanted for him.

Gods feelings about lying are so strident that he had them written in stone, so the whole idea of lying for a good reason is theological quicksand. Yet Gervais character tells a beautiful lie in the series. He is doing one of his mundane human-interest stories in the mundane little village he covers when he finds himself in the pediatric cancer ward of the local hospital.

The topic of heaven comes up, and one of the sick children asks Gervais character if he believes in heaven. The pain and conflict his character is feeling is palpable. He then says, of course he does. It makes the sick child feel good even though we know Gervais is lying.

The series really is all about his characters search for meaning in a world without a prime mover. Of course, it would be a journey wrought with detours and dead ends that we see him come up against. But there is one thing his character does believe in with all his might: love.

And a door opens just a crack he discovers that love survives the death of his wife. He cannot see love. He cannot touch or see the love of his dead wife, but it is so real to him that his character does not believe he can live without it. And whether the writer/performer Gervais realizes it, he is making a compelling case for the supernatural and the place everlasting love has in this world and beyond.

No spoiler alert needed here. There is no way, at least not now, that a series created and written by Gervais is going to end with an epiphany or choir of angels escorting him into the Beatific Vision. But what he does come to realize at the end of the series, and what makes this rewarding, in its own, weird way, is a faith in the now invisible love of his late wife.

It does not bring him an inch closer to God this is Ricky Gervais after all but his understanding of the eternal aspect of love is at least a start.

See the article here:

Where theres love - Angelus News

Catholic legislators who voted for legislation to enshrine abortion rights and defy Catholic leaders' request to not partake of the Eucharist commit a sacrilege and live in contradiction, behavior that, under church teachings, can only be remedied byrepentance and absolution.

But the Catholic leaders said the church won't monitor whether the 10 Catholic members of the General Assembly who voted for House Bill 1279 the Reproductive Health Equity Act that affirmed the right to abortion in state law abide by that request. Instead, the Colorado Catholic Conference, which wrote the open letter, said that burden rests on the legislators whom they described as having committed a "gravely sinful action" to follow their conscience.

"Voting for RHEA was participating in a gravely sinful action because it facilitates the killing of innocent unborn babies, and those Catholic politicians who have done so have very likely placed themselves outside of the communion of the Church," Colorado Catholic Bishops said, criticizing legislators, particularly Catholic members, who voted in favor of the bill as it was moving through the General Assembly in March.

The law, signed by Gov. Jared Polis on April 4, affirms a woman's right to abortion or contraception. Democratic lawmakers said they wanted to ensure that, if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, a decision expected this month, Colorado maintain abortion rights.

The issue pitted Republicans against Democrats, but it also illustrated the clash of religious teaching and public policy. That conflict is often more pronounced among policymakers who consider themselves Christians but also support abortion rights.

One of the bill's supporters, a legislator that the Colorado bishops had directly named in their advocacy against abortion, described the letter as frustrating.

Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Democrat from Denver, also called the Catholic bishops "out of touch" with their congregations.

"Like most Colorado Catholics, I trust a pregnant Coloradan to make their own decisions about their own body. Im in line in my advocacy for RHEA, affirming the right of any pregnant Coloradans, whether faithful, atheist or agnostic, and put the trust in them to make their decisions, free from government interference," Gonzales told Colorado Politics. "I would invite them to read the language of the bill that affirms that decision that should be free from government interference."

Gonzales also noted that testimony on the abortion bill included comments from Coloradans who said they were driven by their faith to continue pregnancies, despite a doctor's advice to discontinue those pregnancies to save the life of the mother, and they now have healthy toddlers.

"It is trusting pregnant Coloradans to make that decision for themselves," she said.

"I think that church leadership has strayed too far from its principles around Catholic social teaching," Gonzales said. "This type of politicization of the pulpit is disheartening and out of line with where most Colorado Catholics find themselves."

"Christ did not stop Judas from taking Holy Communion during the Last Supper, but it was on Judas conscience and soul to do so," said CCC Director Brittany Vessely. "Similarly, this pastoral letter to Catholic politicians and Faithful places the burden on their conscience."

The June 6letterwas authored by Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila, Denver Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez, Pueblo Bishop Stephen Berg and Colorado Springs Bishop James Golka. In the letter, the bishops said by voting for the abortion law,legislators regarded the "pre-born babies" as "worth less than those who have had the gift of being born, according to this morally bankrupt logic."

That act placed them in "mortal sin," they said.

"Receiving the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin is sacrilegious because it is 'a failure to show the reverence due to the sacred Body and Blood of Christ,'" the bishops, encouraging the Catholic lawmakers who voted for HB 1279 to voluntarily refrain from taking communion.

The "yes" vote is considered a direct defiance of Church teachings, according to Vessely.

It is not ordinary bread and ordinary drink that we receive in the Eucharist, but the flesh and blood of Christ, who came to nourish and transform us, to restore our relationship to God and to one another, the bishops said.

As noted by the Colorado bishops' letter, voting "yes" on the abortion law puts lawmakers outside a state of grace.

To be absolved in the eyes of the church, the 10 Catholic legislators would have to publicly repent, discern their actions through prayer, and seek absolution through the confession, Vessely added.

Vessely told the Gazette the issue came up in November 2021 at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, when the group of religious leaders wrote "The Mystery of Eucharist in the Life of the Church," a document which explains the importance of the sacrament. Colorado's four bishops decided to write their own open letter after their request to meet privately with Catholic lawmakers was ignored.

Vessely compared the power of politicians to that of celebrities in that they have the power to sway public opinion by their actions.

As politicians, they have public influence both in their speech and in their vote. Their sin is a public one and thats why the bishops asked for public repentance, Vessely said.

Indeed, in crafting the letter, the bishops drew upon the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' 2021 documentoutlining Catholic teaching on the Eucharistand why it's important for Catholics to partake of the sacrament or not to do when under a state of mortal sin.

The document says the bread and wine "become the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ," and that the "real, true, and substantial presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the most profound reality of the sacrament." Catholics believe the Eucharist is the "representation of the sacrifice of Christ by which we are reconciled to the Father," according to the document.

Vessely wouldnt identify the 10 Catholic lawmakers who received the letter. She insists the letter was written in a pastoral vein and not a political one.

"We dont fit into any partisan box. We worked with Democrats on the death penalty in 2020. We've also consulted with them on immigration and we have worked with Republicans on life issues," Vessely added.

In a 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Study, 65% of Colorado Republicans said they believed that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases compared with only 20% of Democrats who felt the same way. In the same poll, 27% of Republicans believed abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 56% of Democrats agreed with that sentiment. The remaining respondents either leaned one way or another but did not feel strongly about the abortion issue.

Efforts by the Catholic Church against the abortion bill appeared to rely in part on 2019 nationwide polling that showed Hispanics are slightly more opposed to than in support of abortion. One alert from the Colorado Catholic Conference prior to the bill's March 17 Senate hearing specifically mentioned two Democratic senators the bishops said are Catholic: Gonzales and Robert Rodriguez, both of Denver.

It's not a new tactic. In 2004, then-Archbishop Charles Chaput weighed in on the abortion issue, stating that Catholic politicians who ignore church teachings, especially when it comes to abortion, are not real Catholics and should refrain from taking communion. Chaput made the comments during the election season, when two Catholics fought for the U.S. Senate: then-Attorney General Democrat Ken Salazar and Republican Pete Coors. Salazar was pro-abortion, Coors was anti-abortion.

Gonzales, who was singled out by the bishops, said she was raised "culturally Catholic." That is, her family members are Catholic, but they gave her the ability to make her own decision when she went through catechism classes. She decided not to be baptized, an important distinction, and said she chose not to become Catholic because there were too many questions around why women couldnt be ordained or surrounding women's subservience.

Those were "questions that the Catholic faith could not resolve for me," she said.

But being "culturally Catholic" is vague, according to Vessely.

"We didn't look up the legislators' baptism records," Vessely said. "I don't know what 'culturally Catholic means. If she's calling herself Catholic, that's why the bishops reached out to her."

Gonzales told Colorado Politics the June 6 letter frustrated her, arguing the church is not consistent in its advocacy. She pointed out she had been a co-prime sponsor of the 2020 bill to abolish the death penalty and said the church did not send out letters to Catholic lawmakers who opposed the repeal. At least one Catholic Republican, Sen. Jim Smallwood of Parker, voted against the repeal.

"Catholic social teachings speak about advocacy for the poor or the stranger among us," Gonzales said.

But the church, she argued, had not sent out letters to lawmakers who support anti-immigrant or policies against the poor.

The Catholic church has argued for a more humane approach to America's immigration issues, arguing Catholics a "moral obligation to treat the stranger as we would treat Christ himself."

Mykala Aguilar, deputy director of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), said her group conducted a survey last year that showed of those polled, 66% believed in expanding access to abortion, and the view cut across party lines.

"Thats what were seeing in our communities," she told Colorado Politics. "So many support access to abortion because of their faith, not despite it."

Aguilar also noted that the winning "no" vote margin on Proposition 115 in 2020, which sought to ban abortions after 22 weeks, resulted from the Latino community's opposition.

"It's incredibly sad to see the Catholic church to being so divisive and targeting Latino legislators," Aguilar said. "We would like to see the Catholic church take on other issues important to Latinos."

Those issue, Aguilar said, include climate change and the pandemic, which disproportionately affected people of color.

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Bishops to Catholic legislators who voted for abortion bill: Don't take communion - The Denver Gazette

Raised By Wolves

Death can be very unpleasant when youre intelligent. ~ Father, from Raised By Wolves on HBO Max.

Sometimes, a TV show lives beyond its expiration date. A show like Fear The Walking Dead shuffles on in perpetuity, even as it loses its best cast members and despite its diminishing quality. Weve just witnessed Season 7 take the AMC zombie drama to new lows, and yet a Season 8 has already been greenlit.

Sometimes, a TV show is sent to an early grave. Netflix has been notorious for cancelling shows that still had plenty of life in themlike The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistanceor that had almost wrapped up the storylike GLOW.

But I admit, I expected more from HBO. I dont know why. The rushed, botched ending of Game Of Thrones should have taught me to keep my hopes and expectations in check. Now, HBO Max has cancelled perhaps the best science-fiction show on TV: Raised By Wolves. It seems that the shakeup over at Warner Brosand merger with Discoveryhas claimed this casualty. It wont be the last.

Mother (Amanda Collin) and Sue (Niamh Algar)

The Ridley Scott-produced space opera is something unique in the TV landscape. Raised By Wolves ifs intelligent and well-writtenbut also something of a fever dream to watch. Theres almost a bit of a vintage feel to it, like something plucked from the weird science-fiction of an older era. Its dark and intriguing, exploring not just the division between AI and humanity, but between religious zealots and equally radical atheists and the aftermath of a war that left Earth completely destroyed.

The show delves into the mysteries of humanitys new home on Keppler-22b, a habitable-but-hostile plane, replete with acid oceans and terrifying monsters. Creator Aaron Guzikowski has spun a deftif absolutely bizarretale of shifting alliances, power struggles and humankinds last ditch effort to survive so far. The story isnt done yet, however.

Raised By Wolves also boasts a stellar cast. Travis Fimmel, fresh off his role as Ragnar in Vikings, plays Marcusan atheist who has disguised himself as one of the religious Mithraic soldiers along with is wife, Sue, played by Niamh Algar. Fimmel does a tremendous job as we see Marcus descend into madness, somehow possessed by what seems to be the planet itselfa powerful and twisted entity they refer to as the Mithraic god, Sol.

Travis Fimmel as Marcus

Meanwhile, Amanda Collin plays the AI Mother across from Abubakar Salims Father. These two androids have been tasked by the atheists with raising children on Keppler-22b ahead of the arrival of the atheist colony ship, and are the first to start uncovering its dark secrets.

Collin is simply brilliant in this role, at once portraying Mother as a caring, sympathetic nurturer and one of the most terrifying AI youll ever come across in any movie or TV show.

Salim is equally adept at portraying Father as Mothers cautious, and much less dangerous, counterpart. Hes just so damn likeable, you cant help but root for him.

Children make up much of the cast and all these younger actorsmost notably Winta McGrath who plays the OG Keppler-22g child, Campiondo a terrific job as well.

The acting, the special effects, the set design, the costumes, the weird music, the phenomenal world-buildingits all great and it all just feels extraordinarily unique and unlike any other show on TV. Its truly tragic that Warner Bros has pulled the plug on it. I have a feeling this will become quite the cult classic, and its just so frustrating that the storywhich was just getting going!wont get the ending it and its fans deserve.

Yes, Im sure its very expensive. Season 2 had a bigger cast and more special effects and just more of everything and there was certainly a part of me that was nervous this might happen. Its so weird and so different and so obviously expensiveand it doesnt have the same big draw as something like Westworld, though if I had to choose Id much prefer they cancel that showwhich did a fine job wrapping up its best story arc at the end of Season 1.

Abubakar Salim as Father

Salim maintains that there is still hope that Scott Free Productions could find a second life for Raised By Wolves elsewhere. This would not be unprecedented. Weve seen shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine get cancelled and find a new home at a different streamer. The Orville left Fox and moved to Hulu for its third season.

Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Paramountany of these would be wise to snatch this premium sci-fi show up as quickly as possible. It would bring some much needed top-tier content and a flood of grateful fans. Netflix, which has been struggling lately and will soon have another content problem when Stranger Things 4 airs its final two episodes in July, could especially stand to gain here.

Ill be crossing my fingers. And fans of this show should make their voices heard. As Salim wrote on reddit, Im asking that you show that love, and have your voice heard throughout socials and help us find a new home.

Theres a petition you can sign here and a fan-made website with some resources to help spread the word. Get on social media, share posts like this one on Twitter and Facebook, do whatever you can to save the show.

Maybe it will all come to nothing, but it never hurts to try. Each of the big streamers could use a genuinely good science-fiction drama to add to their rosters.

Make some noise.

I made a video about this as well.

Spread the word!

Also, this is nice:

Excerpt from:

Raised By Wolves Cancelled, But This Sci-Fi Masterpiece Deserves A New Home - Forbes

(RNS) When he first felt called to be a pastor, Tom Ascol thought God was playing a joke on him.

Ascol grew up in a troubled family in a house owned by a Texas church where his dad was a deacon and Sunday school teacher. When the family couldnt pay the rent, a pastor tried to kick them out until a deacon intervened.

The experience left him bitter toward pastors. Complicating his view of church, his dad led what amounted to a double life: one as a respected church leader and another as a drunk and a womanizer and an abuser, Ascol told Baptist Press, the official Southern Baptist news service, in a recent interview.

Were Baptists, and you know, my dad had no business being a church member, much less a deacon and a Sunday school teacher, he said. That created a lot of angst. Not just in me, but in the community.

Once he accepted his own call, Ascol decided he did not want to be an ordinary pastor. Instead, he wanted to do things by the book, the way the Bible said things should be done.

That approach to ministry has stuck with Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida, and leading candidate for president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The theme of his candidacy can be summed up in four words: We have a book.

But Ascols focus on the Bible has led him to become a vocal critic of the SBC in recent years. Liberalism, critical race theory and women preachers are leading the denomination away from Scripture, he believes. Ascol has long argued that Southern Baptists have been too eager to embrace pragmatic ideas on how to attract people to church and have been too accommodating to the broader culture.

In a recent essay for Founders Ministries, a Florida nonprofit that Ascol heads, he argued that Southern Baptists are embarrassed of the teachings of the Scripture.

His complaints arise from Southern Baptists who have urged the denomination to come to terms with its history, welcoming ideas drawn from academia about racisms pervasiveness in society. Resolution 9, passed at the SBCs 2019 annual meeting, referred to critical race theory and intersectionality as useful analytics tools. Ascol views the resolution as an intolerable distraction from biblical truth.

Brothers and sisters, it should not be this way, he wrote in his Founders Ministries essay. The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword and will not return void. But if we muzzle ourselves out of a misplaced desire to placate the culture, how can we expect the Word to have that effect?

RELATED: Video links Beth Moore, Russell Moore, James Merritt to Trojan horse of social justice

Resolution 9 and Ascols concerns about the liberal drift of the SBC are the subject of a documentary from Founders Ministries called By What Standard, which includes footage from the 2019 SBC meeting. The films trailer begins with Ascol saying, Weve been played.

The film also captures part of a conversation between Ascol and Georgia Baptist pastor Josh Buice, in which they say that asking women to take a role in the church that God did not intend is abusive. Ascol has also argued that churches that have women preach during worship services have no place in the SBC.

Tom Ascol of Founders Ministries. Video screen grab

Much of Ascols support comes from the so-called SBC pirates, a coalition of SBC-related groups that claim the denomination has drifted away from the Bible toward liberalism. Those groups include Founders Ministries, which promotes Calvinist beliefs; a Christian nationalist group called Sovereign Nations founded by a cruise organizer who works closely with atheist hoaxer James Lindsay; and the Conservative Baptist Network, founded by allies of disgraced SBC legend Paige Patterson. Those groups all share concerns about CRT, social justice and conservative politics Ascol himself has done interviews with a series of Trump-friendly podcasts and media outlets in the run-up to the election.

His positions, he says, are driven by a concern about the health of local SBC churches. In an interview last year, Ascol told Religion News Service that pragmatism has resulted in Southern Baptist churches being filled with people who think they are Christians but who really are not. Its an alarm he has been sounding for decades, calling the SBCs membership statistics a sham because so few church members actually show up in church.

RELATED: At Founders event, Southern Baptists urged to choose Bible over paganism, CRT

While Southern Baptist churches claim 13.7 million members, actual attendance at church services both in person and online was closer to 5 million people in 2021. Ascol sees the discrepancy as a sign that Southern Baptists no longer practice regenerate church membership the idea that only true believers who have been born again, been baptized and are active in the church, should be counted as members.

In 2008, he supported a resolution about regenerate church membership passed at the SBC annual meeting that called on churches to maintain accurate membership rolls and to discipline wayward members. Ascol told the Conservative Baptist Network in a recent interview that more work is needed in this area for the SBC to be healthy.

I think if we were to practice regenerate church membership and church discipline more carefully than we have, our churches would look more like what the New Testament calls churches to be, and the message that we preach would be more commended by the way that we live, he said.

If elected, Ascol would be the first SBC president in decades who is not a megachurch pastor: Grace Baptist has 224 members and an average worship attendance of 280 people, according to data from the congregations SBC profile.

He believes in the primacy of the local church in the polity of the SBC: Its a message he stressed at a forum for SBC presidential candidates, saying that churches, rather than the convention, should lead any response to sexual abuse.

It is hard, but its not complicated, he said. And we just need the faith and the humility to look to the Word of God and say, this is what God tells us to do. Were going to do it and were going to leave costs and consequences to him. And I believe if we were to do that, we would find ourselves caring very well, much better than we have in the past.

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Tom Ascol, would-be SBC president, worries churches have lost hold of the Bible - Religion News Service

Religion is a strictly private matter of every citizen in which the state has no role to play except to foment discord when its spokespersons make disparaging comments about a holy prophet. The relationship between man and God is "very personal" and should be "nobody else's business", the 43rd Chief Justice of India T. S. Thakur declared while he was in office. More lives have been lost in religious wars than due to political ideologies, he explained six years ago.

He is right. Religion is divisive and polemical which is why the former Supreme Court Judge Markandey Katju declared in 2015 that politicians from all political parties were rogues and rascals who exploited religion as they had no love for the country and should be hanged. As always, his utterances were intemperate and were like a preview of Nupur Sharma five years before she put her foot-in-her-mouth to dent Indias trade with the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries amounting to 87 billion dollars with 8.5 million expatriate Indian workers sending home millions of dollars.

But Justice Katju has a point because the Indian state is ruled by politicians who wantonly interfere in the private lives of its citizens by propagating myths about minorities to enact anti-conversion laws and regulate what we eat, drink, or who we choose as our spouse. Jumping into the fray is the Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan who has now rubbished Qatars demand for an apology and said Indians should focus on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwats vision of inclusiveness.

Faith and reason are irreconcilable foes which is why a spokesperson can point out paragraphs that defy reason in every holy text. But Article 25 guarantees every person the right to freely profess, practice and propagate any religion of his choice subject to the curbs of public order, health and morality. This right to propagate a religion even extends to atheists who can publish pamphlets to disprove Gods existence.

But to denigrate a revered holy prophet who is seen as the perfect man by billions of Muslims around the world constitutes creating enmity between citizens of India on the grounds of religion or ethnicity which carries a jail term of up to three years. This is why the OIC has flayed India for its alleged Islamophobia which after the two Dharam Sansads in 2021 at Raipur and Haridwar was waiting to happen.

What causes consternation is the state has furnished her with 24x7 police protection after Nupur Sharma received death threats for her remarks. She could be made to pay for this police protection. She and her colleague, Naveen Kumar Jindal claim to be proud Hindu nationalists. But they are responsible for Saudi Arabia, Iran, Bahrain, Afghanistan, the UAE, Jordan, Oman, Indonesia, and the Maldives condemning India for its alleged so-called Islamophobia. This row provoked by these two so-called nationalists proves that nationalism and religion do not go together.

No less a person than the former Vice President of India, Abdul Hamid Ansari pointed out in an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai on Tuesday that Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal were official spokespersons of the ruling political party which did not condemn those who called for ethnic cleansing of the minorities during the Haridwar and Raipur Dharam Sansads in 2021. Hence, by no stretch of the imagination could they be described as fringe elements by the ruling political party which has dumped them for damage control.

What we forget is the Constitution creates a social contract between the government and its citizens. This social contract comes into effect when a new government is sworn in to maintain law and order and govern as per the diktat of the Constitution which nowhere declares the governmentof-the day is charged with stereotyping citizens by their religion to enact laws which infarct Constitutional morality.

Constitutional morality is the antithesis of religious morality which is based on the holy texts of different religions as interpreted by the high priests of those religions. Unlike Constitutional morality, religious morality is not gender-neutral because it is based on what the prophets declared in various holy texts aeons ago.

Changing climes ensure new governments invidiously support crimes against minorities so that the motto of one nation-one religion-one language-one culture is insidiously introduced through the backdoor while the state temporarily dumps its spokespersons like Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal to mitigate the backlash from the OIC.

As the ex-Vice President Hamid Ansari pointed out, spokespersons of the External Affairs Ministry always make the right noises to defend India and condemn those who condemned India. But the Hindutva values propounded by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar permeate this governments policies as reflected in its laws having pitribhumi (fatherland) and punyabhumi (holyland) at its hushed core. Savarkar had his plus points because unlike Mahatma Gandhi, he was against casteism which is the core of the Manusmriti.

This is why religion is best left to the choice of the individual with the mandate of the government being to preserve law-and-order. The government must not sermonise its citizens on religion and culture which is why Nupur Sharma ended up denigrating the holy prophet of Islam. And just as we have the right to freedom of speech and expression, so do the 57 OIC members who profess to represent the voice of global Islam.

It is inconceivable that the State will allow us to decide which God we choose to worship, how we choose to worship Him - within the privacy of our homes or even allow some of us to deny His very existence. There is not a single declared atheist among the 32 Supreme Court judges which would have resulted in developing a non-conformist jurisprudence. For it has often been said, the Supreme Court has never declared something which was never declared before.

Religion camouflaged as nationalism has become an explosive concoction as Nupur Sharma has learnt to her chagrin.

(Olav Albuquerque holds a Ph.D in law and is a senior journalist-cum-advocate of the Bombay High Court)

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Religion and nationalism must never mix, writes Olav Albuquerque - Free Press Journal

NCP sees vested interest behind attack; experts say its an attempt to demolish his political credibility

NCP sees vested interest behind attack; experts say its an attempt to demolish his political credibility

From labelling him an atheist to claiming he started caste politics in Maharashtra, Opposition leaders and right-wing trolls in the State have found a common target in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar. The attacks are not purely political; some have gone on to issue death threats, commented on his illness, age and even wished him hell.

The veteran Maharashtra politician whose stature has been acknowledged even by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who once had said in a public event that he used to take advice from him has come under a well-co-ordinated attack from the right-wing ecosystem, both online and offline.The line of attack, however, has been different while the BJP has questioned his faith, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has accusedMr. Pawarof dividing Maharashtra along caste lines.

Last week, the Twitter handle of the Maharashtra BJP posted an edited video of Mr. Pawars public rally in Satara where he recited a verse by new-age Marathi poet Jawahar Rathod about atrocities on people from lower castes. The tweet said atheist Sharad Pawar always hated Hindu gods. The social media troll army immediately picked up the issue and targeted the NCP chief. Joining in the chorus were some BJP leaders, including party MLA Nitesh Rane, who questioned Mr. Pawars interpretation of the poem, claiming the poet did not use certain words that Mr. Pawar added to his speech.

Dismissing the controversy over the poem, Mr. Pawar said the poet had voiced the pain of labourers who sculpt idols but they are stopped from entering the temples. The poem depicts pain but if some people want to spread misinformation, they are free to do so, he said.

NCP Minister Jitendra Awhad said Maharashtra has a thousand-year-long tradition of rebellion against the manuvadi social structure, be it the saints or the kings from the region. The poem is simply a part of that tradition. Only those who support caste hierarchy will oppose Pawar, he said.

Mr. Raj Thackerays allegations made in the last two months circle around the NCP chiefs opposition to Brahmin historian late Babasaheb Purandare and support to Maratha youth organisation Sambhaji Brigade, which is known for its stand against RSS, BJP. Mr. Pawar has clarified that no matter what Mr. Thackeray thinks, he has differences with Purandares saffronisation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar has been accusing Mr. Pawar of neglecting the interests of the Dhangar (shepherd) community, while another BJP leader, Sadabhau Khot, has extended his support to Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale, currently in police custody for posting an objectionable message on social media against the NCP chief.

Political revenge is certainly one reason behind increased attacks on Pawar. But this is more of an attempt to demolish Pawars political credibility and humiliate him by making personal allegations against him, said Surendra Jondhale, a political commentator and former professor of political science at Mumbai University.

He said that the attacks also reflect the low levels to which the politics of the State has stooped to. The MVA government largely depends on Pawar at present. Ensuring an attack on him from all quarters affects the morale of the government and sends a message to Delhi that there is social unrest in Maharashtra against the MVA government, he said.

NCP spokesperson Clyde Castro said attacking Mr. Pawar is an easy way to gain publicity. We as a party are strong enough to answer any criticism with vested interest against our leader, said Mr. Castro.

The political attacks have also led to social media trolls making distasteful and derogatory comments against the NCP chief. While Ms. Chitale wished him death, a youth from Nasik, Nikhil Bhamre, issued a death threat with a reference to Nathuram Godse. He was later arrested for his tweet. On Saturday, a BJP functionary was allegedly beaten by NCP workers after he abused Mr. Pawar on social media.

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Pawar power: oppn., right-wing trolls find a common target - The Hindu

We need to realise that religion is a map that helps bring us to the door of spirituality; we can either open the door or wander aimlessly looking for God

Representational image. Reuters

I do not believe in religious conversion because I do not believe that a persons religious faith can decide the fate of his/her soul. Being a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or an atheist is not a gateway to heaven. Religions and religious interpretations are the root causes of conflicts around the world.

Religion corrupts the mind, while spirituality awakens the mind to the reality of our cohesive existence with all of Gods creations.

The root cause of conflict in todays world is religion because one religion wants to enforce its superiority on people of other religious faiths. I wonder if I were born not as a Christian but as a Hindu or a Muslim, how I would have been different in my thought and action. My quest to understand God and the universal consciousness would not change. I would be a seeker, irrespective of the religion I would be born into.

If most religions profess to preach unification of people, then how can religious institutions and their clerics divide people based on their religious beliefs? Such is the blind faith of people in their respective religions that they are willing to fight, and wage a war only to prove the supremacy of their religious beliefs.

Islamic radicals will go on a rampage if a cartoon is made of Prophet Mohammad. In their rage they will kill anyone seen to be standing on the other side of the religious divide. A teacher in Europe last year was brutally killed by the father of a Muslim girl, just because the young girl told him that the teacher mocked Islam and Prophet Mohammad! Upon investigations it was learned that the girl was not even in the class when she claimed the teacher mocked Islam.

Overzealous believers from the Christian community have been advocating the path of salvation being Jesus Christ alone and have arduously pursued this agenda to convert people of the Hindu and Muslim faith in India.

Priests and pastors constantly mock Hindu beliefs and gods. Many evangelicals claim that they have come to India on a mission to save the demon-worshippers and bring them to the knowledge of the true God and saviour Jesus Christ. Sometimes the allurement is education, healthcare, employment and a better life as a Christian than being a Hindu, especially for the marginalised in the social community.

Muslim preachers too have been vehemently propagating and proselytising their Islamic faith in India and around the world. In fact, Islamic radicalisation has over the years intensified globally. Most Islamic radicals want nations around the world to come under the Shariah.

To fight the onslaught of conversions in India, certain Hindu groups have initiated reconversions to bring the converted natives back to Hindu fold. I am not sure whether the person who converts and then reconverts understands the tenets of the religions he first converted to and then reconverted into.

Religion is the single most dividing factor that leads to violence and conflict around the world. I cannot come to grips with the thought that states, My God is better than your God.

Its difficult to comprehend how any sane person can kill another in the name of religion. Its difficult to fathom how one can atone for ones sins by sacrificing an innocent animal. Or, how the killing of persons from another religion will bestow you with 72 virgins in the afterlife!

The nature of God cannot be encapsulated in an image or a religion or a book or a dogma. God is an energy beyond comprehension. We come in touch with this consciousness when we empty ourselves from our religious biases and reach into the depths of our humanness or soul.

Conversion is a cruel joke on all of us, because God is within and around us. No God can be bigger or better than another God because even the religion and its institution cannot guarantee that their faith is the only true path to salvation. And seriously, what is salvation? What do we need to be saved from? If we have come into this world, we have come here with a purpose to live out our karma and do our dharma.

We need to realise that religion is a map that helps bring us to the door of spirituality; we can either open the door or wander aimlessly looking for God. We just need to open our eyes to see this truth; maybe, then, there would be peace in this world.

As Norwegian sociologist Johan Vincent Galtung once stated, Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the absence of violence in a time of conflict.

The author is the founder of GoaChronicle.com and a BJP leader. Views expressed are personal.

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In Your Face | Conversion is a primary reason for religious discord in India, must be stopped immediately - Firstpost