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Category: Religion

Why the Southern Baptists’ vote opposing IVF could change national politics

Why the Southern Baptists’ vote opposing IVF could change national politics

Politico reports: The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest and most politically powerful Protestant denomination, voted Wednesday to oppose in vitro fertilization. The move may signal the beginning of a broad turn on the right against IVF, an issue that many evangelicals, anti-abortion advocates and other social conservatives see as the “pro-life” movement’s next frontier — one they hope will eventually lead to restrictions, or outright bans, on IVF at the state and federal levels. The vote comes as Democrats…

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Christian supremacists in the New Apostolic Reformation pose ‘greatest threat to American democracy you’ve never heard of’

Christian supremacists in the New Apostolic Reformation pose ‘greatest threat to American democracy you’ve never heard of’

HuffPost reports: A growing Christian supremacist movement that labels its perceived enemies as “demonic” and enjoys close ties to major Republican figures is “the greatest threat to American democracy you’ve never heard of,” according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC, a civil rights organization that monitors extremist groups, released its “Year In Hate And Extremism 2023” report on Tuesday. A significant portion of the report, which tracked burgeoning anti-democratic and neo-fascist movements and actors…

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Over 600 Israeli extremists storm Al-Aqsa Mosque during Jewish Passover holiday

Over 600 Israeli extremists storm Al-Aqsa Mosque during Jewish Passover holiday

The New Arab reports: Over 600 Israeli extremists stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem early on Sunday, the Islamic Endowment Department which runs the holy site said. The storming coincided with the sixth day of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover, The extremists performed Talmudic rituals in the mosque’s courtyards under the protection of Israeli forces, the department said. Video clips shared online showed the extremists entering the site, considered the third holiest in Islam. Many prominent extremist Israeli figures…

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Naomi Klein: Jews must raise voices for Palestine and oppose the ‘false idol of Zionism’

Naomi Klein: Jews must raise voices for Palestine and oppose the ‘false idol of Zionism’

  Hundreds of protesters were arrested in Brooklyn on Tuesday when Jewish New Yorkers and allies gathered for what they called a “Seder in the Streets to Stop Arming Israel” on the second night of Passover. The demonstration, held one block away from the home of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, came just hours before the Senate overwhelmingly approved a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes about $17 billion in arms and security funding to Israel. “Too many of…

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A growing contingent of right-wing evangelical Christians view Donald Trump as an actual prophet

A growing contingent of right-wing evangelical Christians view Donald Trump as an actual prophet

Chris Lehmann writes: There’s a new entry in the warm-up material at Trump rallies, sandwiched between the classic-rock anthems and the demagogic diatribes of various local political leaders. It’s a two-minute video that Trump posted to his Truth Social account just prior to the third anniversary of the January 6 insurrection. Called “God Made Trump,” the campaign spot is brazenly messianic in tone and substance alike, directly paraphrasing the “So God Made a Farmer” speech made famous by the conservative…

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Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemns Israeli attacks on worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemns Israeli attacks on worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Days after Israel killed 7 aid workers in Gaza…on one of the holiest nights of Ramadan for Muslims…Israeli forces used drones to tear gas worshipers inside Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied E Jerusalem.Imagine the outrage if Jewish worshipers were similarly attacked in a synagogue. https://t.co/ljK0CYDw6A — Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) April 6, 2024 Arab News reports: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation strongly condemned Israeli forces for preventing thousands of people from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday. It also denounced a “blatant attack…

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The Church of Trump: How he’s infusing Christianity into his movement

The Church of Trump: How he’s infusing Christianity into his movement

The New York Times reports: Long known for his improvised and volatile stage performances, former President Donald J. Trump now tends to finish his rallies on a solemn note. Soft, reflective music fills the venue as a hush falls over the crowd. Mr. Trump’s tone turns reverent and somber, prompting some supporters to bow their heads or close their eyes. Others raise open palms in the air or murmur as if in prayer. In this moment, Mr. Trump’s audience is…

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‘We cannot be silent’: A statement from the Jesuits on Gaza

‘We cannot be silent’: A statement from the Jesuits on Gaza

The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) has issued the following statement in Rome: Almost six months of war in Gaza, and the guns have not fallen silent. We, the members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), like so many other Catholics, Christians, men and women of all faiths and non-believers, refuse to be silent. Our voices continue to be lifted up in prayer, in lament, in protest at the death and destruction that continue to reign in Gaza and other…

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U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops calls for ceasefire ahead of Easter

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops calls for ceasefire ahead of Easter

Middle East Eye reports: The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a ceasefire in Gaza ahead of the Christian Easter holidays. “Thousands of innocent people have died in this conflict, and thousands more have been displaced and face tremendous suffering. This must stop,” the group said in a statement. “To move forward, a cease fire and a permanent cessation of war and violence is absolutely necessary. To move forward, those held hostage must be released and civilians must…

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The political earthquake that could shatter Netanyahu’s coalition

The political earthquake that could shatter Netanyahu’s coalition

Yair Rosenberg writes: The most controversial Israeli comedy sketch of the current war is just 88 seconds long. Aired in February on Eretz Nehederet, Israel’s equivalent of Saturday Night Live, it opens with two ashen-faced officers knocking on the door of a nondescript apartment, ready to deliver devastating news to the inhabitants. The officers are greeted by an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man who is similarly stricken when he sees them. “I’ve been terrified of this knock,” he says. “Ever since the…

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Israeli rabbi calls for killing all Palestinians in Gaza

Israeli rabbi calls for killing all Palestinians in Gaza

  He’s not just head of a yeshiva; he’s head of a hesder yeshiva. Many yeshiva students do not serve in the military, but hesder yeshivas combine Torah study with military service. So young military recruits are being taught that genocide is a religious duty. https://t.co/gpzBny5pkv — Barnett R. Rubin (@BRRubin) March 10, 2024 They are proud to murder a 73-year-old deaf man. That's the type of savagery we are facing in Gaza https://t.co/VRxeW1DYTh — Khalil Sayegh (@KhalilJeries) March 9,…

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Chief Sephardic rabbi says ultra-Orthodox will leave Israel if forced into army

Chief Sephardic rabbi says ultra-Orthodox will leave Israel if forced into army

The Times of Israel reports: Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef warned Saturday that ultra-Orthodox Jews will leave Israel en masse if the government ends exemptions of mandatory military enlistment enjoyed by the community. “If they force us to go to the army, we’ll all move abroad,” Yosef said during a weekly lecture. “We’ll buy a ticket… We’ll go there.” “The [biblical] tribe of Levi was exempted from the army,” he noted by way of comparison, referring to the biblical tribe…

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Evangelicals’ Trump worship looks more like QAnon every day

Evangelicals’ Trump worship looks more like QAnon every day

Ron Filipowski writes: I have watched every Donald Trump rally, interview, and speech since he left the White House in Jan. 2021. It’s certainly been interesting to observe the evolution of his political messaging over that time—as he went from desperately trying to resuscitate his political image and career in 2021 following the Jan. 6 attack, to reclaiming his role of Republican kingmaker through his use of primary endorsements in 2022, to crafting his rally speeches and policy positions in…

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A plurality of Americans are not affiliated with any religion

A plurality of Americans are not affiliated with any religion

NPR reports: When Americans are asked to check a box indicating their religious affiliation, 28% now check ‘none.’ A new study from Pew Research finds that the religiously unaffiliated – a group comprised of atheists, agnostic and those who say their religion is “nothing in particular” – is now the largest cohort in the U.S. They’re more prevalent among American adults than Catholics (23%) or evangelical Protestants (24%). Back in 2007, Nones made up just 16% of Americans, but Pew’s…

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King Bibi, false messiah

King Bibi, false messiah

David Stromberg writes: Watching Bibi speak ever since October 7, one senses that, for far too long, he has been told that he is King Bibi—and that he truly believes in the prophetic claims of his role as Israel’s unrivaled and divinely installed leader. Even though Bibi is not religious, he presides over the most religiously extreme and messianic coalition in Israel’s history, a throwback to the kind of ideologically tainted mysticism invoked by Nathan of Gaza to elevate Sabbatai…

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