ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 33

Watch Televangelist Kenneth Copeland Laugh Maniacally at Media for Saying Biden Won

By Daniel Politi Evangelical leader and huge Donald Trump supporter Kenneth Copeland had a hearty laugh over Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. But the word laugh doesn’t quite capture what he does during a prayer service. “The media said what?” Copeland said before bursting out laughing in the video posted by Right Wing Watch. …

Editorial: Religious freedom is no excuse for discrimination against gay couples

By the Times Editorial Board A Catholic social services agency urged the Supreme Court this week to rule that the agency can participate in the city of Philadelphia’s foster care program while refusing to work with same-sex couples. The court should reject the agency’s appeal and make it clear that religious freedom may not be used as …

Scientists Say They’ve Found The Missing 40 Percent Of The Universe’s Matter

By Dan Robitzski Scientists have long assumed that about 40 percent of the universe’s visible matter — the kind makes up everything we can see and touch — was missing, never having been detected. Now, a team of researchers from France’s National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) says it’s finally found it — hidden away …

Study finds that queer Christians quit the church twice as much as others

By Kathryn Post Taylor Valci was 7 the first time she spoke in tongues. The daughter of a Pentecostal pastor in California’s Bay Area, she grew up watching “Veggie Tales” and attending Missionettes, the Assemblies of God version of Girl Scouts. “For me, personally, God was absolutely the most important thing in the world,” Valci …

Trump’s Lawsuit Amounts To “A Tweet With A Filing Fee,” But That’s Not The Whole Strategy

By Andrew L. Seidel Stop the counting! Keep counting! These contradictory demands lie at the heart of Trump’s legal strategy to steal the 2020 election. You can see it in the opposing chant of Trump supporters in The Recount’s remarkable side-by-side video of small MAGA mobs in Arizona and Michigan; rats piped to their nearest polling …

Exit polls show few changes in the religious vote

By Yonat Shimron Polling predictions frustrated and mystified voters on election night, as they did four years ago, when now-President Donald Trump far exceeded the prognosticators’ expectations. One area where this year’s polls were mostly in line with expectations, however, is religion. Exit polls conducted with voters by Edison Research for the National Election Pool and by AP …

Evangelical leader tries to scare up votes by warning of Biden’s ‘gay lesbian agenda’

By Casey Quinlan Evangelical leader Franklin Graham, son of the late Billy Graham, is warning voters that a Biden administration could result in the “targeting” of businesses through a “gay lesbian agenda.” Graham also baselessly asserted that Christian businesses and ministries would be put behind bars if Biden won the White House. In an interview released on …

‘The Lord says it is done’: White House spiritual adviser Paula White prays for ‘angels from Africa’ to cement Trump’s re-election

By Joe Sommerlad Donald Trump looks increasingly likely to lose the US presidential election to challenger Joe Biden, with the Democrat just six Electoral College votes shy of the 270 he needs to claim victory and four states still to declare their results. The president moved quickly on Wednesday morning to cry “fraud”, baselessly alleging election interference …

Hillsong pastor and former Justin Bieber adviser is fired for ‘moral failures’

By Scott Stump The New York megachurch pastor known for his celebrity followers has been fired from his position at Hillsong because of “moral failures” and “breaches of trust.” Carl Lentz, 41, who was a spiritual adviser to pop star Justin Bieber for years, has been fired from Hillsong’s New York City location, according to a statement released Wednesday …

An Asteroid Trailing After Mars Could Actually Be The Stolen Twin of Our Moon

By Peter Dockrill A distant asteroid trailing in the gravitational wake of Mars has been observed in greater detail than ever before, and the close-up reveals a surprising resemblance – one that raises some interesting questions about the object’s ancient origins. The asteroid in question, called (101429) 1998 VF31, is part of a group of trojan asteroids sharing the orbit …