ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 100

‘A ticking time bomb’: Scientists worry about coronavirus spread in Africa

By Linda Nordling Late on Sunday evening, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a televised address to the nation, declared that COVID-19, the respiratory disease spreading globally, had become a “national disaster.” The declaration allows his government to access special funding and instigate harsh regulations to combat the viral outbreak. “Never before in the history …

Trump and His Religious-Right Allies Continue To Send Mixed Messages on Coronavirus

By Peter Montgomery Religious-right leaders and media outlets have been sending mixed messages about the coronavirus pandemic. For some, it is a sign of God’s judgment or evidence that we are living in the End Times. And for others, it is something that has been blown out of proportion by media and politicians who will do anything to bring …

Pastor says only “sissies” & “pansies” wash their hands to prevent coronavirus

By Alex Bollinger A conservative Christian pastor issued an angry rebuke of churches taking measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, calling them “sissies” and “pansies” who have been “neutered.” Jonathan Shuttlesworth, a televangelist who co-founded Revival Today TV, called out European churches that are taking measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. “Shame on …

Coronavirus Exposes the Religious Right’s Racism

By Samuel L. Perry, Andrew L. Whitehead, and Joseph O. Baker On March 10, President Trump retweeted a post from conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who referred to the coronavirus (COVID-19) as the “China Virus.“ Kirk also exclaimed in his tweet, “Now, more than ever, we need the wall…the US stands a chance if we can …

How artificial kidneys and miniaturized dialysis could save millions of lives

By Charlotte Huff From the start, Mat Risher swore that dialysis wouldn’t upend his life. He had been working at a software company, conducting research on a car-racing simulator, when kidney damage from lupus forced him to start the blood-filtering treatments three times a week. Five years have slipped by, and the sessions have sapped …

Jerry Falwell Jr. goes on Fox News and spins unhinged coronavirus conspiracies to defend Trump

By Brad Reed Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. on Friday uncorked an unhinged rant on “Fox & Friends” where he said that the entire world has deliberately overreacted to the coronavirus pandemic solely to hurt President Donald Trump. Falwell started out his rant by claiming there wasn’t nearly this much hysteria surrounding the H1N1 pandemic …

Florida Bill Would Let Christians Pray Over the Loudspeaker at Athletic Events

By Hemant Mehta Republicans in the Florida legislature are attempting to pass a bill that would force the state’s athletic association to permit Christian prayers over the loudspeakers during football games. It’s an unconstitutional bill right from the start, but they’re trying to appease the Christian Right, laws be damned. All of this stems from …

How “The Seven Missions” of the “Doomsday Couple” Connect Them to the Larger LDS Prophecy Subculture

By Christopher James Blythe Apocalypticism was once part of the mainstream of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but, as was the case with polygamy a few years prior, Church leaders successfully pushed it to the periphery of the faith in the early twentieth century. In the digital age, a network of authors, …

United Methodist bishops ask church court to review proposal to split denomination

By Emily McFarlan Miller A proposed plan to split the United Methodist Church is on its way to the denomination’s top court to decide whether the legislation that would implement it is constitutional. If the Judicial Council rules the plan is constitutional, delegates could take up the proposal, called “A Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace …

Roy Moore Group Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Marriage Equality Ruling

By Peter Montgomery The Foundation for Moral Law, a group founded by the intensely anti-gay former Alabama chief justice and failed Senate candidate Roy Moore and currently headed by his wife Kayla Moore, filed an amicus brief Thursday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider and overturn its 2015 decision in Obergefell, which ruled that it was unconstitutional …