ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 45

Cult leader who claims to be reincarnation of Jesus arrested in Russia

By Shaun Walker Russian authorities mounted a special operation to arrest a former traffic police officer who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus and has run a cult based in the depths of Siberia for the past three decades. Helicopters and armed officers stormed communities run by Sergei Torop, known to his followers as Vissarion, and …

Nuns criticize Catholic group for giving Barr award for ‘Christlike behavior’

By Justine Coleman Two nuns criticized the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast (NCPB) for its plans to award Attorney General William Barr for “Christlike behavior” on Wednesday morning. Sister Helen Prejean slammed the Catholic organization for announcing the Christifideles Laici Award would be given to Barr, who is Catholic, at the annual breakfast. The award honors the recipient …

Why Amy Coney Barrett’s Religious Beliefs Aren’t Off Limits

By Massimo Faggioli Amy Coney Barrett has risen to the top of President Donald Trump’s short list to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the United States Supreme Court. A Roman Catholic, she is a life-long adherent of the People of Praise, a charismatic Christian group with a highly authoritarian internal structure. Over the past several …

The first-ever image of a black hole is now a movie

By Davide Castelvecchi The historic first image of a black hole unveiled last year has now been turned into a movie. The short sequence of frames shows how the appearance of the black hole’s surroundings changes over years as its gravity stirs the material around it into a constant maelstrom. The images show a lopsided blob of …

As U.S. Supreme Court nomination looms, a religious community draws fresh interest

By Daniel Trotta People of Praise, a self-described charismatic Christian community, has faced renewed interest since U.S. President Donald Trump put one of its purported members, Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, on his short list of candidates for elevation to the Supreme Court. The group says on its …

Prominent evangelical church is the first to sue D.C. over covid-19 worship limits

By Michelle Boorstein A large, prominent evangelical Capitol Hill church late Tuesday filed a legal challenge to the District, alleging the city government is violating the First Amendment by facilitating and tolerating massive anti-racism protests but forbidding worship services — indoor or outdoor — of more than 100 because of covid-19. The complaint filed by …

Horsham pastor sentenced to 200 years in federal prison for taping himself abusing two children

By Jeremy Roebuck The retired pastor of a Horsham church was sentenced to 200 years in federal prison Thursday for video-recording himself sexually abusing two children over a period of years. Jerry Zweitzig, who led the nondenominational Horsham Bible Church until his retirement in 2016, apologized for his actions moments before U.S. District Judge Wendy …

Astronomers Discover ‘Pi Earth’ Exoplanet Orbits Its Star Once Every 3.14 Days

By Michelle Starr Every exoplanet is special in its own way, but a newly discovered exoplanet 186 light-years away is an especially delicious treat. It’s a smallish world around the same size as Earth, whipping around its star on an orbit that takes just 3.14 days. That’s extremely close to the mathematical constant π (Pi), …

Under GOP Pressure, U.S. Military Gives Green Light to Proselytizing Officers

By Hemant Mehta The Department of Defense, under the Trump administration, has released new guidelines that effective allow U.S. military leaders to get away with preaching to their subordinates. Consider this: Earlier this year, the official Facebook page for the 10th Mountain Division Sustainment Brigade — part of the Fort Drum Army base in northern …

Trump’s Nominee to Fill RBG’s Seat is Unfit. By Definition

By Andrew L. Seidel The name will be announced later this week. The president, a former reality show host, has a penchant for dragging out nominations in an orgy of egocentric pomp, one of his many corrosive influences. But indecent haste has driven Trump to promise to name a person willing to fill Justice Ruth Bader …