ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 102

Greek Orthodox Church: Coronavirus Not Transmitted Via Holy Communion

By Michael Stone Stupid For Jesus: In a disastrous public health move, the Greek Orthodox Church has issued an official statement declaring that the coronavirus is not transmitted via communion. Greek Reporter reports: The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece issued a statement on Monday referring to the Covid19 coronavirus outbreak, maintaining that Holy Communion …

Are the Southern Baptists, America’s Largest Evangelical Denomination, About to Get Even More Conservative?

By Chrissy Stroop There is perhaps no easier way to illustrate the history and present realities of white evangelicals’ pluralism problem than by turning to the Southern Baptist Convention. These days, the range of acceptable political opinion among white Southern Baptists ranges approximately from very right-wing to ultra right-wing. But even as the SBC struggles to come up with an effective …

Betelgeuse Isn’t Exploding: Mysterious Dimming Turns Out to Be Giant Dust Sneeze

By Michelle Starr The official verdict is in. As the red supergiant Betelgeuse once again returns to normal brightness levels, astronomers have taken the star’s temperature to identify the cause of its recent dimming. It turns out the star wasn’t fluctuating internally; rather, Betelgeuse sneezed out a huge cloud of dust, which obscured its light for …

Youth Pastor Who Impregnated Teen Now Charged With Hiring Hitman

By David G. McAfee A youth pastor who was jailed for raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl has now been charged with hiring a hitman to kill the judge who sentenced him as well as the leader of his church. Not sure which Bible verse justifies that one, but there you go. The 37-year-old Pennsylvania …

The Most Important Religious Category Of The Primaries, The Non-Religious, Doesn’t Break Down As Cleanly As You Think

By Daniel Schultz It’s been noted that Bernie Sanders’ youth revolution failed him on Super Tuesday. It’s not so much that young voters stayed home, contrary to the headline on at least one article. In real numbers, more young voters turned out this year than in 2016 in most states. (The two exceptions were Alabama …

Evangelical Christians are linking LGBTQ people to the coronavirus now

By Bil Browning Evangelical Christians have blamed LGBTQ people for all sorts of natural disasters and diseases, from Ebola to earthquakes, and now they’re starting to falsely link the community to the new coronavirus COVID-19. Steven Andrew from USA Christian Church has named March “Repent of LGBT Sin Month” to protect “the USA from diseases, …

NASA’s new Mars rover gets a name — Percy, for short

By Denise Chow First came Sojourner. Then Spirit and Opportunity. Curiosity followed. And now there’s Perseverance. NASA unveiled the name for the next Mars rover on Thursday, the culmination of the agency’s “Name the Rover” essay contests that kicked off last August. The winning name was sent in by Alexander Mather, a seventh grade student …

Great Barrier Reef enters crucial period in coral bleaching

By Rod McGuirk The Great Barrier Reef is facing a critical period of heat stress over the coming weeks following the most widespread coral bleaching the natural wonder has ever endured, scientists said Friday. David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the government agency that manages the coral expanse off …

Dozens of Catholic Priests Credibly Accused of Abuse Found Work Abroad, Some With the Church’s Blessing

By Katie Zavadski, Topher Sanders, ProPublica, and Nicole Hensley, Houston Chronicle The Rev. Jose Antonio Pinal, a young priest from Mexico, arrived at his first parish in rural Northern California in 1980, fresh out of seminary. The priest befriended the Torres family, helping the parents, also immigrants from Mexico, to fill out an application for food …

N.Y. attorney general to televangelist Jim Bakker: Stop peddling unproven coronavirus cures

By Julie Zauzmer The Rev. Jim Bakker, televangelist and salesman, has long promoted “Silver Solution” — a scientifically dubious medication made from the precious metal — to cure all sorts of ailments. On Feb. 12, just as the novel coronavirus was starting to make worldwide headlines, Bakker asked a guest on his TV show whether …