Evengelical Propaganda - the "Museum of the Bible"

While Syrian children are dying while fleeing civil war and religious extremism, American evangelicals - in particular, the founders of Hobby Lobby - are squandering millions of dollars building a massive propaganda vehicle in Washington, D.C., just a short way south of the National Mall.  For me, it's a symbol of the misplace values of the "godly folk" whose only real agenda is to force their childish beliefs on all of us whether we like it or not.  For these folks, the Gospel message of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and sheltering the homeless doesn't exist.  Instead, the engage in conduct that makes the Pharisees of the Bible sound upright and the height of morality.  The Washington Post looks at this travesty being built in the nation's capital.  Here are excerpts:

To many in the scholarly community, the museum seems like an oversize piece of evangelical claptrap. Some academics and curators also worry about the origins of its collection — the more than 40,000 biblical artifacts were amassed in a remarkably short time by Hobby Lobby President Steve Green.

Why did Green want to turn his private collection into a museum? A number of academics have questioned his family’s motives. “I don’t expect the Bible Museum to be anything other than a tax-deductible kitsch attempt at spreading Christian fundamentalist propaganda,” archaeologist Dorothy King said. In an interview with NPR, Jacques Berlinerblau, a professor of Jewish civilization at Georgetown University, questioned the location of the museum, two blocks south of the Mall, where it might overlook periodic rallies opposing abortion or same-sex marriage, offering brick-and-mortar moral support to conservative causes. Sarah Posner concurred, writing in Talking Points Memo: “The museum will be a living, breathing testament to how American evangelicalism can at once claim it is under siege from secularists, the LGBT rights movement, or feminism — yet also boast of acquiring a prime private perch, strategically located at the nation’s epicenter of law and politics.”  

There also have been questions about what approach to the Bible the museum will take. Green has promoted a public school curriculum based on the Bible as a factual historical text. Another ideological red flag: Museum President Cary Summers consulted for the Creation Museum in Kentucky, which teaches creationism as fact, with didactic material showing dinosaurs and humans living side by side on a 6,000-year-old planet Earth. The Summers link has prompted unflattering comparisons of the two museums.

The Green family’s initial public line on the Museum of the Bible seemed to confirm some of the concerns. The museum’s 501(c)(3) filing in 2011 declared that its mission would be “to bring to life the living Word of God, to tell its compelling story of preservation, and to inspire confidence in the absolute authority and reliability of the Bible.”

Beyond the possible motives for the Museum of the Bible, some scholars question the collection itself. Green began spending heavily on it in 2009. He had amassed more than 30,000 items by June 2010 and has added 10,000 more since.

That 40,000 number, however, is suspicious to Roberta Mazza, a leading scholar and professor at University of Manchester in Britain. The UNESCO convention controls the export of antiquities and makes it bureaucratically difficult to legally sell abroad objects that were excavated after 1970. Mazza wonders how Green managed to collect so much “in such a brief period of time and in the context, in theory, of a strictly regulated antiquities market?” 

Heightening their skepticism, Mazza and other scholars identified one item in the Green Collection — a Coptic papyrus fragment with lines from Galatians 2 — that was once advertised on eBay by a seller who was later banned from the site for allegedly selling looted antiquities.

Apparently mindful of skeptics, the Greens hired David Trobisch, a prominent liberal academic, to head its collection.  If Trobisch doesn't sell his soul for money, then the museum will document that there is no "official version" of the Bible and that the text was re-written at will over the centuries after first being authored by ignorant goat and sheep herders in the case of the Old Testament.  If done right, the museum would show that the Bible is anything but the "inerrant word of god."  I suspect, however, that this is not the Greens' agenda to tell the truth.  Propaganda is the real goal, in my view.

Study Of Children Raised By Same-Sex Parents Shows They’re Healthier Than Their Peers

More bad news for anti-gay Christofascists who would have the public believe that gays make inferior parents and that the children of gays turn out less well adjusted than those raised by heterosexual headed homes.   However, a new study that utilized the largest data base of children and families to date found that contrary to the propaganda of Christofascists and hate groups like Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage, Children of same-sex parents are doing as well or better than the rest of the population on a number of key health indicators.  The findings are the direct opposite of the allegedly found in the discredited, Christianist funded report by Mark Regnerus.   The Age reports on the study and its findings.  Here are excerpts:

Children of same-sex parents are doing as well or better than the rest of the population on a number of key health indicators.  That is the initial finding from the world's largest study on the children of same-sex parents, under way at Melbourne University.

The Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families collected data on 500 children nationwide, up to the age of 17.

An interim report found there was no statistical difference between children of same-sex couples and the rest of the population on indicators including self-esteem, emotional behaviour and the amount of time spent with parents.

However, children of same-sex couples scored higher than the national average for overall health and family cohesion, measuring how well the family members get along.

''Because of the situation that same-sex families find themselves in, they are generally more willing to communicate and approach the issues that any child may face at school, like teasing or bullying,'' lead researcher Dr Simon Crouch said.  ''This fosters openness and means children tend to be more resilient. That would be our hypothesis.''

The New Civil Rights Movement notes as follows:

Unlike the “deeply flawed” and “disgraced,” Regnerus study, The Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families looks at children of actual same-sex couples.  This is but one of a number of studies on children raised by same-sex parents, which all have similar findings.

Proposition 8 Returns to Court on Whether Trial Videos to be Released

The proponents of Proposition 8 continue to do all they can to block the release of video tapes of the trial in Judge Walker's court. As the American Foundation for Equal Rights notes, the video recording of a trial—which was conducted in an open courtroom and of which the transcripts are public record. Yet the Prop 8 supporters demand that they should be hidden from the American people forever. Why? I suspect because reading a transcript is one thing (and something many will not bother to do) but watching a video where demeanor and animus are more easily picked up upon is something else. The Christianists and Mormons behind Prop 8 do not want their true face - and the fact that their ONLY basis for Prop 8 boils down to religion - to be easily shown to the public at large. Likewise, they do not want the public to see the lie in their claims that Judge Walker (a Republican appointee) was biased. Here are highlights from Huffington Post:

SAN FRANCISCO — The legal sparring over California's same-sex marriage ban returned to a federal courtroom Monday with a judge hearing arguments on whether he should unseal video recordings of last year's landmark trial on the constitutionality of the voter-approved measure.

Lawyers representing two same-sex couples, the city of San Francisco and a coalition of media groups that includes The Associated Press asked Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware to make the recordings public.

They maintained that allowing people to see the proceedings for themselves was necessary to demonstrate why Ware's predecessor, former Chief Judge Vaughn Walker, ultimately struck down the ban, known as Proposition 8, and to counter any perceptions that Walker was biased against same-sex marriage opponents from the start. Ware did not rule at the end of Monday's hearing but said he would issue a written ruling at a later date.

Walker's ruling from last August overturning Proposition 8 as an unconstitutional violation of the civil rights of gay Californians is currently on appeal. The recordings are part of the case record before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Also before the federal appeals court is the proponents' challenge to Ware's refusal in June to vacate Walker's decision. The ban's sponsors have argued that Walker should have revealed he was in a long-term gay relationship before he presided over the closely watched trial.

Gay rights supporters already have used the written transcripts to recreate the full 13-day trial for online audiences. Next month, Morgan Freeman, Marisa Tomei and other big-name actors are scheduled to perform a dramatic play about the trial that screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who won an Academy Award for the film "Milk," created from the written testimony.

Gay rights supporters claim the footage is their smoking gun, proof that arguments against same-sex marriage cannot hold up under rules of evidence sustained scrutiny and legal standards.

They want to use live segments, especially the cross-examinations to which the expert witnesses called by Proposition 8's supporters were subjected, to nudge the American public further in its embrace of same-sex marriage, although it's unclear what the vehicle for the snippets would be.

"There really is only one question--what do they have to hide?" said American Foundation for Equal Rights President Chad Griffin, whose group is funding the Proposition 8 case.

It sickens me that those who want to make LGBT Americans don't even have the courage to go public on their hate an animus. Instead, they want to hide behind violations of campign finance disclosure laws and hide their faces from the public.

Christianists Spread Lies About New Hate Crimes Bill

As is all too typical of our Christianist foes, they never worry about telling the truth when it comes to relentlessly working to keep LGBT Americans second class citizens. Now that Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee has reintroduced a federal Hate Crimes Bill, H.R 256, to Congress this past week, the lies and disingenuous spin are going into overdrive once more. One would think that the Ten Commandments had been amended to delete the Commandment against bearing false witness and lying. Among those putting out lies is Vision America, a thoroughly dishonest organization, with the false cry being touted by Rick Scarborough (pictured at left). While Scarborough depicts this legislation as a "thought crimes" bill citing a very different Canadian law as proof, the reality is that absent physical violence against an LGBT victim, the bill's provisions would never even apply. But then, Scarborough cares nothing about the truth. Here are highlights of his lies:

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Preaching about to be Criminalized!!! Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee confirmed that she reintroduced a federal Hate Crimes Bill, H.R 256, to Congress this past week. We have to stop this from happening! This legislation is an immediate threat to our First Amendment right to free speech! We already have hate crime legislation. This legislation is designed to add homosexuals to existing legislation.

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The tragic consequence of this legislation is that it forces law enforcement to assess motivation to a crime. Add to that the fact that Lady Justice is no longer blindfolded, meeting out justice to the criminals. Hate Crimes legislation forces Lady Justice to raise her blindfold to see if the person meets a certain criteria before justice is administered.

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The small print is clear – you could be indicted if someone simply overhears you speaking out against homosexuality, or any other group protected by the law, and commits an act of violence as a result. There are two main groups that want this passed: the homosexual lobbyists and the Anti-Defamation League. This is a Jewish organization that wants to make it a hate crime to criticize Israel or the Jews in any way. They are responsible for the Hate Crimes laws in Canada, England, Western Europe and Australia. They have already succeeded in limiting free speech in those countries and are intent on doing the same here.

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If we value our First Amendment right to free speech we will not let this pass without a fight. You can call your representative at 202-225-3121 or 877-851-6437 and leave a message telling them you want free speech preserved and not to vote for the Federal Hate Crimes Law.

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We need to counter this effort by calling OUR representatives and making sure that they know Scarborough and those like him are not telling the truth and that this legislation IS needed. P.S. Note that the message is also anti-Jewish.

Misspent Tax Dollars: Abstinence-only Sex Education

Among the many fiascos that the Chimperator has brought to the nation during his years of misrule is the handing out of money to Christianist abstinence only sex education programs that do not work and in fact expose teenagers in health dangers and the risk of unwanted pregancies. It goes without saying that legitimate education on the issue of homosexuality for LGBT teens never occurs under these programs either. These programs are nothing more than handouts to far right religious organizations that use the funds to disseminate their poisonous propaganda. And folks like Sarah "Bible Spice" Palin and Mike Huckabee continue to laud such bogus programs. Here are some highlights on this waste of tax dollars:

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Thanks to George W. Bush and a complicit Congress, we currently spend $1.5 billion a year to fund abstinence-only until marriage sex education in our public schools. And yes, that money goes to people like Derek Dye, as he is employed by the Elizabeth New Life Center that received a $800,000 CBAE grant in 2007 to promote abstinence until marriage. His qualifications? A “Bachelor of Fun Arts” from Barnum Bailey Clown College, and an abstinence educator certification that can be purchased for $50.

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Abstinence-only programs censor information about contraception and condoms; make moral judgments students may not share; stigmatize and shame students who have already had sex; and discriminate against GLBTQ students who can’t legally marry. These programs often encourage stereotypical gender roles, use scare tactics, blur religion and science, and contain factual errors, like saying that HIV can be spread through sweat and tears.

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What’s more, abstinence-only programs don’t work – independent study after study has shown that students who receive them don’t have lower pregnancy, HIV, or STI rates. And worse, students who receive abstinence-only programs are less likely to use contraception and condoms when they do have sex.

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So… what can we do to make sure that abstinence-only programs like this one are not funded with our tax dollars? First of all, contact the Obama transition team to make sure that they ZERO OUT these programs in their first budget. Also, ending abstinence-only funding is currently 3rd place on Change.gov's user rankings, so you can go there and vote for it, too.Secondly, we must contact all of our representatives to let them know that we do not want this waste of money being snuck back into the budget through the appropriations process.