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The “Shrinking Influence” of Social Conservatives at the United Nations

By Sarah Posner

…ese decisions granted such status to an LGBT group for the first time. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission finally prevailed in its three-year effort to obtain the status, a sign “of the shrinking influence of American social conservatives at the United Nations.” Congressional conservatives Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Christopher Smith (R-NJ) — heroes of the religious right — had joined with Muslim countries in an effort to block…

The Cubit Vs. “New Age Colbert,” JP Sears

By The Editors

JP Sears describes himself as “an emotional healing coach, international teacher, world traveler, and curious student of life,” the kind of description that, for many, suggests a very particular kind of humorlessness and self-righteousness. But Sears, who is well aware of such associations, also happens to run a prolific YouTube channel, AwakenWithJP, where he’s developed a following for his wry send-ups of New Age culture via his alter ego “Ultr…

David Barton: Falling from Grace?

By Paul Harvey

…s, comes “verbatim” from Deuteronomy 17:15—a verse which reads, in the New International Version, “be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite.” To Barton, this Old Testament-derived requirement to show the birth certificate “drives the secularists nuts because the Bible’s all over it! Now we as Christians don’t tend to re…

New Study Touts Success of “Praying Away the Gay”

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…ouse, and his colleague, Rob Tisinai, gives a better breakdown of what the numbers really mean—and it isn’t a rousing success story about “change.” “Out of 98 highly-motivated subjects, the authors found that a small, unspecified number can use prayer and counseling to shut down their sexual feelings or become a bit more bi. And possibly none who turned straight.” Even the researchers call their conclusions “overly optimistic.” “These results do n…

Southern Baptists Embrace Minorities, but Not Gays

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…d, has been working for more than a decade with the “ex-gay” outfit Exodus International. With these sorts of resolutions and statements being made by denominational leaders, it’s easy to see that a petition for an apology to the LGBT community would be a bit like spitting in the wind. But with their membership numbers dwindling over these past few years—and younger people increasingly growing more tolerant and accepting of LGBT people—the handwri…

Finding the Missing Airliner with Coconuts

By Joseph Laycock

…estion ever since a bomoh (a Malaysian shaman) arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and attempted to locate Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 using a magical ritual that combined Islamic elements with shamanic practices. On Thursday Ibrahim Mat Zin, also known as Rajah Bomoh Sedunia Nujum, delivered a press conference (in which he demonstrated a squint that bore an uncanny resemblance to Pat Robertson.) He initially stated that he had be…

Death of a Self-Proclaimed God-Man: Sai Baba’s Controversial Career

By Andrea R. Jain

…personal charisma, marketing skills, or both—was extraordinary. Today the International Sathya Sai Organization disseminates Sai Baba’s teachings and manages a network of over 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba centers in 126 countries. Most of his devotees came to acknowledge him as god-man without ever meeting him in person. Sai Baba’s devotees include powerful politicians (including former prime ministers of India), celebrities, and entrepreneurs. Followi…

Are You There God? It’s Us, Googling

By Michael Schulson

…r, were: A short essay on Creation.com, the website of Creation Ministries International, an evangelical Christian organization devoted to “providing credible answers that affirm the reliability of the Bible.” Another article from Creation.com, asserting that the question is actually illogical. A post from GodandScience.org that, among other things, explains that Stephen Hawking’s research upholds the Genesis account of creation. A post from Every…

After Westboro: The Trouble With “Tolerance”

By Cody J. Sanders

…oro continue their hate-filled protests, other anti-gay groups like Exodus International are beginning to qualify their speech in very peculiar ways. Alan Chambers, president of Exodus, is reported to have said, “All the recent attention to bullying helped us to realize that we need to equip kids to live out biblical tolerance and grace while treating their neighbors as they’d like to be treated, whether they agree with them or not.” Focus on the…

Conservative Christians Insist the Toxic Theology Portrayed in the Duggar Family Doc is ‘Fringe’ — But is it Really All That Different?

By Caroline Matas

…and the U.S. District Attorney’s office. Out of Character First! grew the International Association of Character Cities (IACC), founded in 1998 to implement Gothard’s character qualities in city government structures and leadership. At its peak in the late 2000s, the IACC boasted over 150 verified “Character Cities” in the U.S. and another 48 outside the U.S.. In her role as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin attended an IACC conference and la…