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Queer activists are putting pornographic books in Little Free Libraries
Texas school district cancels prayer event, caving to pressure from out-of-state group
A Texas school board planned a prayer marathon in the lead-up to the new school year. The prospect that educators, parents, and students would voluntarily appeal to an unspecified higher power for safety and wisdom ahead of the fall semester proved too much to bear for one activist group from out of state.
The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation appears to have successfully pressured the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District into canceling the event and agreeing to refrain from proposing something again online in the future.
In the revisionist history on the FFRF's website, the group alleges that "most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion," making no mention of the atrocities secular regimes have been wont to commit ever since the French Revolution.
The group further boasts that the irreligious have been, in modern times, "the first to speak out" in support of euthanasia, abortion, contraception, and sterilization.
Extra to promoting the separation of state and church, championing the legality of eugenicist practices, and advocating for LGBT dogma to be peddled in schools, the group has taken on an evangelical role: "to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism."
The group appears particularly hostile to public prayer, havingcharacterized it as "unnecessary, ineffective, embarrassing, exclusionary, divisive or just plain silly."
On July 25, the Burnet CISD shared a now-deleted post on Facebook that read, "Join us beginning tomorrow as we pray to the first day."
The post assigned different schools and groups within the district, from custodial staff to parents and guardians, a different day to voluntarily pray, starting July 26 and running until August 16.
Samantha Lawrence, a legal fellow at the FFRF, apparently caught wind of the marathon and penned a letter to Superintendent Keith McBurnett on July 27, claiming a "concerned complainant" had flagged the event.
Lawrence suggested that the optional prayer event — which did not appear to specify a style or method of prayer, a corresponding creed, or an object of the transcendent appeals — displayed "clear favoritism towards religion over nonreligion by promoting and encouraging prayer."
"The District serves a diverse community that consists of not only religious students, families, and employees, but also atheists, agnostics, and those who are simply religiously unaffiliated," wrote Lawrence. "By promoting prayer, the District sends an official message that excludes all nonreligious District students and community members."
The FFRF activist demanded that the Burnet CISD "cease promoting prayer and refrain from doing so in the future," as well as remove the post from its Facebook account.
Hemant Mehta of the Friendly Atheist newsletter highlighted how this was neither a lawsuit nor a threat.
Nevertheless, the school complied, reported the Washington Times.
In an Aug. 3 statement, the FFRF noted that McBurnett had written back, "The Facebook post has been removed, and the district will refrain from posting anything similar in the future."
Annie Gaylor, the co-president of the FFRF, celebrated the capitulation, writing, "We're glad that school officials are taking action to uphold constitutional neutrality."
"A school district does not need to pray for their students and staff. It needs to focus instead on providing a secular education free from religious indoctrination," added Gaylor.
Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch appears to be of a different mind.
In a June 2022 decision, where the Supreme Court ruled a high school football coach had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard line after his team's games, Gorsuch wrote, "Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse republic — whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a bowed head."
TheBlaze reached out to McBurnett and Burnet CISD Board President Earl Foster for comment, but had not received a reply by the time of publication.
It remains unclear whether educators, students, and parents will continue their prayer marathon, albeit without the official sanction or direction of elements of the district.
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Psychological Thriller ‘The Wonder’ Is A Depressing Rejection Of Both Religion And Reality
Atheists will hail films like 'The Wonder' as beautiful and true because they have disavowed complexities of the soul, miracles, and God.Bibles removed from Easter display at veterans medical center gift shop after atheist group objects to them
Bibles recently were removed from an Easter display at a New Mexico veterans medical center gift shop after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation — an atheist activist group — objected to them.
What are the details?
The MRFF noted Wednesday that it managed to convince leaders at the Raymond G. Murphy Veterans Administration Medical Center in Albuquerque to remove a display of Bibles and related Christian reading materials on "prominent display" in its Patriot Store facility on the first floor of the main medical building.
The MRFF said 10 employees and patients — seven of whom "identify as avid practitioners of the Christian faith" — complained and reached out to MRFF "for help regarding the unconstitutionality of that sectarian Christian literature display; especially as it was juxtaposed right next to an otherwise non-objectionable display of 'secular-ish' chocolate Easter bunnies, related holiday candy. and Easter bunny cutouts, et al."
According to MRFF, the displayed Bibles "completely violated the time, place, and manner restrictions of the VA’s own regulations as well as the No Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and its construing Federal caselaw."
The Bibles and other religious items were gone within 24 hours of the request, the MRFF added while praising the VA's quick actions.
Hold on a second
The American Center for Law & Justice caught wind of the issue and said it penned a legal letter — dated March 31 — to the interim director of the VA to "inform her that her decision, rather than upholding the Constitution, actually violated it" and "to demand that the display of Christian literature be returned forthwith to the gift shop."
The ACLJ insisted that the Constitution "requires the government to be neutral toward religion, to neither favor it nor inhibit it. By removing only the religious display while leaving the secular display of Easter bunnies, the government singled out religion for special detriment — which it may not lawfully do."
In addition, the ACLJ said "Easter is a time when many Christians exchange gifts. It makes sense for a gift shop to offer the type of items popular at Easter. Offering a religious product that visitors to your gift shop are looking for and wish to purchase — even in a gift shop in a federal facility like a VA Medical Center — does not mean that the government is either endorsing the message contained in the literature offered or favoring the faith group the literature reflects. To suggest otherwise is nonsense."
'Fighting Christian nationalism'
It isn't clear how or if the VA has responded to the ACLJ's demand to place the Bibles back on display in the gift shop. But the MRFF added on its website that the ACLJ is "constitutionally ignorant and religiously bigoted" and that the ACLJ's post about the controversy "repugnantly libels MRFF as 'anti-religion crusaders.'"
The MRFF added that it has "consistently – 24/7/365 – been at the forefront of fighting Christian nationalism in the military and our veterans' facilities."
As readers of TheBlaze are well aware, this is far from the first time the MRFF has raised objections of this sort:
- Last June, the MRFF ordered a naval facility to remove a Bible from a POW-MIA table as its presence goes against the military's core values and hurts unity, morale, and diversity.
- In May 2020, the MRFF requested that a senior Army chaplain be punished for the "absolutely egregious and deplorable act" of sharing a digital copy of the evangelical book "Coronavirus and Christ" with 35 subordinate chaplains.
- In early 2020, the group reportedly got up in arms over an Air Force base selling "Jesus" candy.
Atheist activists want Bible verse scrubbed from sheriff's office wall — but sheriff refuses to back down
If the Freedom from Religion Foundation thinks it can pressure Sheriff Jody Greene into scrubbing a beloved Bible verse from his office wall, Greene is telling the atheist activist group that it has sorely underestimated his resolve.
"Just look at where our society is headed," Greene wrote Monday on the Columbus County, North Carolina, Sheriff's Office Facebook page. "It is time, past time, to stand up. So let me be clear, I will not waiver [sic] on my stance and Christian beliefs."
What's the background?
FFRF representatives said "a concerned citizen" told them Greene had the verse, Philippians 4:13 — "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" — prominently displayed in his office in Whiteville, which is about 115 miles south of downtown Raleigh, the News & Observer reported.
Greene has an "obligation to provide all citizens with an environment free from religious endorsement by removing this exclusionary display," the FFRF said in a Dec. 14 news release, the paper reported.
What's more, the FFRF is demanding the verse be taken off the wall — and is hinting at legal action if its demand isn't met, the News & Observer said.
“The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office must serve all citizens equally, whether Christian or non-Christian,” FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor added in the release, the paper noted. “A blatantly Christian message in a law enforcement division sends a message of exclusion.”
How did the sheriff respond?
In addition to telling the FFRF he won't comply with its demands, Greene also wrote on his Facebook post that the Bible verse display "was paid for with private funds, not with county funding. The verse is one of my favorite Bible verses, and it seemed fitting for all the adversity I have had to endure. It is very motivational to me and my staff. Here at the Sheriff’s Office, we work hard in everything that we do. Before we execute a search warrant, or any service that puts our people in immediate harms [sic] way, we ALWAYS go to the Lord with a group prayer. ALWAYS!"
He added: "I was raised in church. I have been in law enforcement for over thirty years. My training taught me to value God, family, and my country. Going back to the Bible verse, I have taken many pictures with that Bible verse in the backdrop with not a single issue, but now that we are going into an election year, it is an issue. How absurd! It seems to me we have a few sheep in wolves [sic] clothing. That’s all. This is a political ploy. Some want a person that they can control. Companies spend thousands of dollars on motivational classes, to come up with motivational slogans. My motivation comes from the greatest motivational speaker of all times, Jesus Christ."
What does the FFRF have to say about Greene's refusal?
Chris Line, an FFRF staff attorney, said he was disappointed by the sheriff’s refusal to remove the Bible verse, WECT-TV reported.
“Right on the front page of the Sheriff’s Office’s website, it says, ‘We are dedicated to protecting the innocent and safeguarding lives and property, while always respecting the constitutional rights of others,'" Line told the station.
He added to WECT that "it is a shame that the Sheriff’s Office isn’t willing to live up to that, and instead they are choosing to violate their citizens’ constitutional rights by brazenly endorsing Christianity. The Sheriff’s Office serves all citizens regardless of belief or nonbelief, and this display alienates all of Columbus County’s non-Christian residents."
Anything else?
Columbus County Attorney Amanda Prince wouldn't comment to the station in regard to the legality of the Bible verse display: "I cannot give you a legal opinion regarding this matter."
Hobby Lobby creates Bible-based July 4 ad — and atheist activist group responds by creating web page attacking it
Christian-owned craft chain Hobby Lobby got itself in hot water with atheists and other leftists earlier this week after it ran a Bible-based Independence Day ad in newspapers nationwide, Faithwire reported.
What did the ad say?
The ad image featured a child running with an American flag on green grass under a blue sky with the words "One nation under God" superimposed on the image along with a reference to Psalm 33:12: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." – Psalm 33:12 https://t.co/wxCmPuRq1D https://t.co/yIoZU7326z
— Official Hobby Lobby (@HobbyLobby) 1625422981.0
Faithwire said the full-page ad included quotes from American founders, U.S. lawmakers, and Supreme Court justices — and that most of the quotes point to America's religious roots and ties to Scripture.
In addition, there's a small-print message at the bottom of the ad offering an invitation to interested readers to become Christians.
"If you would like to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, visit Need Him Ministry at www.chataboutjesus.com," the message states. "To download a free Bible for your phone, go to www.mardel.com/bible."
Faithwire said Hobby Lobby also shared the ad across its social media channels.
Atheist group pushes back
But upon catching wind of the newspaper advertisement, atheist activist group Freedom From Religion Foundation actually created a rebuttal web page blasting Hobby Lobby's ad. The web page is titled, "In Hobby Lobby We DON'T Trust."
The FFRF web page appears to use the quotes seen on the Hobby Lobby ad and then lets readers click on the quotes to read rebuttals.
"Do these quotes prove we are a Christian nation? Click them to find out," the FFRF instructions state.
'Dominionist propaganda'
As you might imagine, the FFRF wasn't alone in its criticism of the ad.
Faithwire pointed to a tweet from David Weisman — a U.S. Army veteran who is a "former Republican" and "former Trump supporter" and current "liberal Democrat" — that reads, "I find your statement of [sic] America should be lead [sic] by Christians to be asinine and unconstitutional. Shame on you."
The outlet also noted a tweet from another critic who called Hobby Lobby's ad "dominionist propaganda":
Full page of dominionist propaganda in this morning’s @BostonGlobe courtesy of @hobbylobby.… https://t.co/InCD7CHkVT
— Kim Leonard (@kimleonard) 1625416980.0
Faithwire said it reached out to Hobby Lobby for comment and will update its story if a representative responds.
Rev. Franklin Graham has his say
But the Rev. Franklin Graham on Tuesday defended the chain in a Facebook post:
"Hobby Lobby is being attacked for running some beautiful full-page newspaper ads on July 4. The ad was titled 'One Nation Under God' and included the Bible verse, 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord' (Psalm 33:12). These positive advertisements have outraged enemies of God's Word such as the Freedom from Religion Foundation. I hope this exposure for their ads, even though it was intended for harm, will actually allow even more people to read the message and appreciate what Hobby Lobby's owners, the Green family stand for. I thank God for the Green family, their Christian-run business, and their strong public stand for the Word of God and biblical values. Let them know you stand with them in the comments below."
Graham's message of support has attracted about 31,000 comments as of Friday afternoon. One of them reads, "Thank you, Hobby Lobby! I stand with you as we stand with God!"
(H/T: Pure Flix Insider)
Atheist activist group wants Bible removed from POW-MIA table at naval facility: 'Not every sailor is a white, straight Anglo-Saxon Christian male'
An atheist activist group is ordering a naval facility to remove a Bible from a POW-MIA table as its presence goes against the military's core values and hurts unity, morale, and diversity, Stars and Stripes reported.
What are the details?
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation last week sent a letter to Capt. John Montagnet — commander of Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan — after receiving 15 complaints about the Bible from personnel at the installation, MRFF founder Michael Weinstein told the paper.
The MRFF also sent the letter to Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker, Stars and Stripes said.
POW-MIA tables — which honor missing and captured service members — often are set up in military dining facilities, the paper said, adding that official instructions concerning such tables say they must be round and include a white tablecloth, an empty chair, a black napkin, a single red rose, a yellow candle and ribbon, lemon slices, salt, and an overturned wine glass.
Stars and Stripes added that the regulation also says the displays include a Bible to represent "faith in a higher power and the pledge to our country, founded as one nation under God."
Weinstein, an Air Force veteran, told the paper "this is not a move against Christianity, but one toward inclusivity. Not every sailor is a white, straight Anglo-Saxon Christian male."
Weinstein noted to Stars and Stripes that he hadn't received a response from NAF Atsugi as of Monday.
What did the naval facility have to say?
Base spokesman Sam Samuelson told paper Monday he wasn't aware of the letter.
"The POW-MIA table here is a significant legacy display intended to memorialize and honor American POWs and MIAs among a varied military demographic and is certainly greater than the sum of its parts," Samuelson told Stars and Stripes. "We can absolutely balance the larger meaning of the table with appropriate policies and the interests of our diverse base culture."
More from the paper:
Over the past five years, the MRFF's petitions resulted in the removal of Bibles from POW-MIA tables at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; four Veterans' Administration offices in Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio; and an allergy clinic at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
In 2018, the MRFF filed an inspector general complaint against the Navy over a Bible that was included in a POW-MIA table display at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa.
In May of 2019, the MRFF backed a federal lawsuit filed against the Manchester Veterans Administration Medical Center in New Hampshire for including a Bible on its POW-MIA table following complaints relayed through the foundation.
Weinstein said the goal of the MRFF is not to eliminate Bibles, but to promote religious diversity.
'Wrong on every possible level'
"The POW-MIA table is a somber and emotional display," Weinstein told Stars and Stripes. "Including a Bible alienates service members of other cultural or religious groups and is wrong on every possible level. No religious text, not just the Bible, has a place in that display. If the table included a Quran, Book of Mormon, or a Satanist text, there would be blood in the streets."
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