Monthly Archives: January 2022

I was working as a part-time activity director at a nursing home when Anna approached me, her face shrouded in bewilderment. This morning, she said in a shaky voice, a man on the radio said there are people who dont believe in God. Is that possible?

Anna and her late husband had fled Soviet oppression in the 1920s, finally obtaining a heavily wooded homestead in eastern Alberta. Before we could afford a mule, Anna once told me, I would pull the plow myself. Her social life had been confined to her Ukrainian Pentecostal church. Anna had lived out her 85 years believing that belief in God was universal.

We dont live in Annas world. A recent study found that only 56% of American citizens claim to be religious. That compares to 37% in Canada, 27% in Great Britain and 31% in Australia.

The rapid retreat from organized religion has created a happy hunting ground for New Atheist authors like Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell), Sam Harris (The End of Faith), and the late Christopher Hitchens (God is not Good: How Religion Poisons Everything). If these self-proclaimed Four Horsemen have it right, religious belief isnt just silly; always and everywhere, it has been an unmitigated disaster.

This makes for a wonderful story, and Dawkins, Dennet, Harris and Hitchens have exploited it to the full. It is also, as serious intellectual historians have repeatedly argued, demonstrably false.

In recent years, scores of legitimate scholars religious, atheist and agnostic have pieced together a more accurate and, admittedly, more complex, historical portrait. But these weighty tomes havent enjoyed the commercial success the Four Horsemen have enjoyed.

This makes for a wonderful story, and Dawkins, Dennet, Harris and Hitchens have exploited it to the full. It is also, as serious intellectual historians have repeatedly argued, demonstrably false.

I have spent the past month with three thoughtful responses to Enlightenment mythology: John Dicksons Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History, Tom Hollands Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, and David Bentley Harts Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and its Fashionable Enemies.

Dicksons Saints and Bullies is a humble attempt by an Australian Anglican scholar to reckon with the admittedly spotty resume of the Christian Church. Jesus Christ composed a beautiful melody, Dickson says, which Christians have labored to reproduce. More often than not, we have made a mess of it.

Rejecting Christianity based on the terrible performance of some Christians, Dickson argues, is like dismissing Bach after hearing my feeble attempts to play his Cello Suites. Sometimes Christians play the melody of Jesus well, sometimes poorly, and there are times when we seem to forget about it altogether. Some Christians have lived like saints; others (the bullies) have invented forms of muscular Christianity calibrated for quick results.

For Dickson, genuine Christian faith flows from the teaching of Jesus, most specifically, the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:27-36 and Matthew 5:38-48) which he calls the most sublime ethical teaching ever given.

In the formative centuries of Christian history, Gregory of Nyssa emerges as a saint (largely for his unrelenting opposition to chattel slavery), while Ambrose of Milan rates as a bully (for arguing that Christians have the right to persecute Jews).

Unfortunately for Dicksons argument, most Christians are neither saints nor bullies. Augustine of Hippo, in Dicksons view, could play the Jesus melody to perfection (love and do what you will), but often butchered the tune (for instance, his willingness to consign unbaptized babies to damnation).

Although the Christian revolution has produced spectacular feats of radical love, Dickson concludes, it has not changed the fundamental thrust of the societies it has touched.

Violence has been a universal part of the human story, he admits. The demand to love ones enemies has not. Division has been a norm. Inherent human dignity has not. Armies, greed and the politics of power have been constants in history. Hospitals, schools and charity for all have not. Bullies are common. Saints are rare.

That said, Dickson sees a discernible movement toward ethical Christianity, a deep appreciation for the Christian moral vision independent of Christian metaphysics. Tom Holland, a British historian with a flair for narrative prose, is Exhibit A.

Hollands Dominion begins with a whirlwind tour of the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman Empires. The imperial mindset, he insists, had no place for Christian tenets such as love for ones enemies, compassion for the poor or the conviction that people, regardless of race, gender or social status, are all equal in the eyes of God. Empires are built on strength, the submission of the strong to the weak and, when necessary, spectacular displays of cruelty.

In Hollands view, the Apostle Paul resolved this ancient tension by declaring Christ crucified the Savior of the world.

Paul was preaching a deity who recognized no borders, no divisions, Holland explains. Christ, by making himself as nothing, by taking on the very nature of a slave, had plumbed the depths to which only the lowest, the poorest, the most persecuted and abused of mortals were confined. As a consequence, the world stood transformed.

As Paul told the Galatians, There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Still, this revolutionary new understanding of God created an unresolvable tension between the volcano-blast of revolution and the shelter from it provided by tradition. Throughout Christian history, Holland says, settled tradition has lived in an awkward tension with the call for reformatio.

Christians become agents of terror, Holland believes, when they enforce uniformity either by enforcing tradition or pressing for reform. They have put the weak in their shadow; they have brought suffering, and persecution, and slavery in their wake. But, at the same time, the standards by which they stand condemned for this are themselves Christian.

Hollands central insight is borrowed from Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). In Hollands paraphrase: Freethinkers who mock the very idea of a god as a dead thing, a sky fairy, an imaginary friend, still piously hold to taboos and morals that derive from Christianity.

This insight applies equally to the icons of pop culture and ivory-tower academics. Holland draws a devastating contrast between John Lennon and Martin Luther King Jr. Although Lennons Imagine has become the unofficial anthem of contemporary atheism, Holland says, his vision of a brotherhood of man was Christian through-and-through. King, who cast a similar vision, understood its biblical roots. While King was leading his people against police dogs and fire hoses, Holland notes, Lennon was tooling around his estate in a Rolls Royce.

But if, as Holland suggests, we have tossed out the bathwater of Christian metaphysics while retaining the baby of Christian ethics, are we living on borrowed time? Holland sees no reason why not.

As a consequence, post-Christian civilization will always lack the spiritual resources, or the organizing myth, necessary to produce anything like the cultural wonders that sprang up under the sheltering canopy of the religion of the God-man.

Whenever the post-Christian world consciously eschews Christian morality (the Reign of Terror, the Nazi death camps, the Soviet Gulag, Maos Cultural Revolution) the results have always been horrific.

Hart never has suffered fools gladly and, in Atheist Delusions, his critique of the Four Horsemen is utterly brutal. How can men so pitifully ignorant of the Western intellectual tradition Christian theology in particular presume to pontificate on the triumph of reason over faith? Fortunately, Hart says, serious students of intellectual history have largely abandoned the trappings of Enlightenment mythology:

The classical world was not congenial to scientific endeavor; Christian Europe was.

The fruit of classical learning is available to us because it was preserved by Christian monks (especially in the Greek-speaking East).

The Inquisition, although unquestionably horrendous in its earliest phase, emerges late in the Christian story and, when compared to secular regimes of the 20th century, was typically cautious, fair-minded and deliberate.

The wars of religion were driven by the rise of the secular state and human ambition, not religious fanaticism.

Galileos famous conflict with the Renaissance papacy was more a clash of egos than a rejection of science.

Unfortunately, Hart laments, the reading public has displayed a marked preference for the sensational oversimplifications of the Four Horsemen.

Dickson, Holland and Hart distinguish the Jesus story from the world of organized religion. To be honest, Hart admits, my affection for institutional Christianity as a whole is rarely more than tepid; and there are numerous forms of Christian belief and practice for which I would be hard pressed to muster a kind word from the depths of my heart, and the rejection of which by the atheist or skeptic strikes me as perfectly laudable.

Hart isnt even arguing that the Jesus story is true; simply that it is singularly compelling and irreplaceable. Holland, for his part, never asks whether the God-on-the-Cross story is historical. All the same, he finds it unspeakably precious.

This pragmatic approach reminds me of George Macdonalds The Curate of Glaston.

I would live my time believing in a grand thing that ought to be true if it is not, the curate confides to an intimate friend. If these be not truths, then is the loftiest part of our nature a waste. I would rather die forevermore believing as Jesus believed, than live for evermore believing as those who deny him.

If thats the shape of post-Christian Christianity, I will happily sign on.

Alan Beanis executive director of Friends of Justice, an alliance of community members that advocates for criminal justice reform. He lives in Arlington, Texas, and is a member of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

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The Four Horsemen of the New Atheist apocalypse meet world history through the lens of three new books - Baptist News Global

Suffocation will hit the road this May with Atheist, Soreption, and Contrarian. The tour will be Suffocation's first in nearly three years and is sure to kick every ass within a few miles of each individual venue.

"We are beyond stoked to return to the road with the Forces Of Hostility North American Tour 2022!" said Suffocation guitarist Terrance Hobbs. "Well be joined by our good friends and brothers in Metal Atheist as well as the technical metal powerhouse Soreption and death metallers Contrarian! This will be our first tour back in almost 3 years due to COVID so we are eagerly awaiting the stage and all our fans to blow off some well-awaited steam!"

Get the dates below.

5/26 Brooklyn, NY The Monarch5/27 Baltimore, MD Maryland Deathfest (Suffocation & Atheist only)5/28 Rochester, NY Montage Music Hall5/29 Chicago, IL Reggies5/30 Madison, WI The Crucible5/31 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater6/1 Denver, CO Roxy Theater6/3 San Francisco, CA DNA Lounge6/4 Los Angeles, CA 17206/5 San Diego, CA Brick by Brick6/6 Pomona, CA Glasshouse6/7 Mesa, AZ Nile Theater6/8 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater6/9 El Paso, TX Rockhouse Bar & Grill6/10 Austin, TX Come and Take it Live6/11 Dallas, TX Trees6/12 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall6/13 New Orleans, LA Southport Hall6/14 Tampa, FL The Brass Mug6/15 Jacksonville, FL 1904 Music Hall6/17 Jonesboro, GA Furnace 416/18 Spartanburg, SC Ground Zero6/18 Louisville, KY Diamond Concert Hall6/19 Detroit, MI Sanctuary6/20 Toronto, ON Velvet Lounge

w/ Atheist & Soreption

6/21 Ottawa, ON Mavericks6/22 Montreal, QC LAstral6/23 Quebec, City QC Imperial Bell6/24 Boston, MA Middle East Downstairs6/25 Clifton, NJ Dingbatz

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SUFFOCATION Announces Tour With ATHEIST, SOREPTION & CONTRARIAN - Metal Injection

Former Growing Pains actor Kirk Cameron said he decided to embrace Christianity when he was 17 after being an atheist.

During an interview with PragerU, Cameron explained how he began acting in Hollywood at the age of 14 and quickly became inducted into the society of Hollywood.

"When I was a kid, I would have called myself an atheist until I was about 17 years old," Cameron said.

The actor said he began to wonder at a young age if there was a heaven or hell and figured that "if there was a heaven, I wouldn't be going there because of my attitude and my self-centered, conceded, 'I'm all that, I'm the GOAT,' celebrity Mike Seaver guy."

INTERNET TEARS INTO MAN FOR NOT HELPING WIFE SHOVEL DRIVEWAY: 'TIME TO MAKE HER SOME BREAKFAST'

Cameron said that as he began to pray, he felt a significant change in his life. He added that a note written by his daughter prompted him to reexamine his rise to fame in Hollywood.

"It's the same boiling water that softens potatoes that hardens eggs. It just depends on what you're made of," the note said.

Cameron explained what the note meant to him, saying, So the same difficult challenges and influences of Hollywood that turn some people sour and make them narcissistic and bitter and joyless and afraid to not fit in is the same pressure that actually softened my heart and caused me to embrace gratitude and be thankful for the life that I have and want to use a platform and this Hollywood industry to advance the good."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

I really think its what youre made of," he added. "And if you dont know what youre made of, dont look to your environment or your industry or other people to give you an identity. There was somebody who made you ask him. And you can be sure that the ending of the story is gonna be fantastic."

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Kirk Cameron details path to Christian faith: 'If there was a heaven, I wouldn't be going there' - Washington Examiner

Orrville school board prayer wrong

Regarding the Jan. 2article, 'Orrville school board prayer criticized,I agree that no prayer should be held in a public school board meeting as it is wrong and must stop.

As a local atheist, I wanted to applaud and publicly support the local parent who brought attention to this issue. Public school board members were elected to represent everyone in the Orrvilledistrict, and therefore must be inclusive, secularand neutral in their official duties to include every taxpayer in their community. The school board president stated that the prayer was said before the meeting is called to order, which suggests he may recognize that the prayer may be seen as unconstitutional and that the board is just trying to find a loophole to do what they want.

It is also concerning to read that another school board member may have used his religious beliefs to discourage a mask wearing policy; this is ridiculous because science shows that wearing a mask and getting vaccinated are ways to save lives, fight a deadly virusand keep public schools open. The Freedom from Religion Foundation is right to send a letter to the district because the Orrville school district's own policy doesn't discriminate on the basis of religion.

I would like to add that a moment of silence would not be an option either, and I strongly oppose Ohio Senate Bill 248 that was introduced in Octoberto potentially mandate this activity in Ohio public schools. If we want every student, parent, guardian or resident to feel welcomed and fully participating in any school activity, then keeping schools neutral without religion is the only way to run a public school.

Nancy Dollard, Lake Township

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Letter to the editor: Keep it inclusive, secular and neutral at public school meetings - Akron Beacon Journal

Sir, My first reaction, as a priest in a city parish, when I read that front-page article on multidenominational schools in Mondays Irish Times (Progress on multidenominational schools too slow, News, January 10th) was to wish that things could change quickly with regard to faith-formation in our parishes.

For a long time, we have been fooling ourselves into thinking that the faith was being passed on through our Catholic schools.

However, I rarely see a young person in church or young parents, for that matter.

We seem to have forgotten that the faith is passed on to children through a series of developmental stages that begin in the home, with the parents as the source.

Unfortunately, we have been working from an old model of church and state enmeshment, which took it for granted that the vast majority of Irish citizens were baptised as Catholics, had prayers in the home, and went to Mass on a Sunday.

The new reality is that this basic foundation for the faith is no longer there.

We are depending on an educational system where the majority of the teachers in our Catholic schools, who teach religious knowledge as part of the official curriculum, are not practising Catholics themselves. It is a sham.

What we need to do is what every other church, in every other country does have a parish-based catechetical programme for those who choose to commit themselves to their faith.

With non-denominational schools, we would unfortunately miss out on the benefits of the Christian ethos.

However, children who were of a different religious background, or none, would be treated the same as the Catholic students, unlike those times, at present, when schools prepare for the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation.

Yes, the future will be challenging. But we need that challenge. Yours, etc,

PATRICK SEAVER,

Farranshone,

Limerick.

Sir, Atheist Ireland has asked the United Nations to raise religious discrimination in Irish schools when it next questions Ireland on economic, social, and cultural rights. We have also made a complaint to the Comptroller and Auditor General about the misuse of public funds regarding the teaching of religion in Irish schools.

The Government aims to have 400 multidenominational schools by 2030. This clearly is not happening, as the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has told the UN. And even if it did happen, it would not address the problem.

Schools that are multidenominational are still religious schools. They do not respect the freedom of conscience of atheist families. Instead we need non-denominational schools, which treat everyone equally and do not promote either religion or atheism.

Also, even if they existed, having 400 multidenominational schools would not solve the problem, as most parents would not be able to access these schools. Having multiple school patrons, each with their own ethos, is the problem not the solution.

As an immediate step, schools must allow children to leave the classroom during religion class. Atheist Ireland has made a complaint to the Irish Comptroller and Auditor General about this, as schools that receive public funding are constitutionally obliged to do this.

Parents have a legitimate expectation that the State will fulfil its constitutional duty to protect their constitutional rights, and to fund the protection of these rights, and to not fund the erosion of these rights. The Department of Education is aware that many schools refuse to vindicate this right, yet the department still gives them funding.

Atheist Ireland has also asked the UN to raise the right to objective sex education, and Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act, which allows publicly funded schools to discriminate against teachers on the ground of religion.

Ireland is no longer a Catholic country. We are now a pluralist country with Catholic laws that we are gradually dismantling.

The most important next step is removing the anachronistic control that the Catholic Church has over the education of our children. Yours, etc,

MICHAEL NUGENT,

Chairperson,

JANE DONNELLY,

Human Rights Officer,

Atheist Ireland,

Drumcondra,

Dublin 9.

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Religion in schools - The Irish Times

Eric Andre. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Eric Andr is sort of the perfect person to play a hard-Christian-rocking, Holy Spiritwielding Texan preacher when you think about it. Sure, hes Jewish and an atheist and has dabbled in the satanic, at least on his Adult Swim show. But he cares about people, can speak in tongues, and his disciples would follow him to the ends of the Earth.

On the new season of The Righteous Gemstones, which premiered Sunday, Andr plays Lyle Lissons, a celebrity preacher who represents the new generation of megachurch worship in contrast to Eli Gemstones (John Goodman) old guard. He line dances with Joe Jonas, owns some sort of child ranch, and is trying to rope in Jesse (Danny McBride) or at least Jesses daddys money on his grand designs for a Christian resort in Florida. Andr spoke with Vulture before the premiere about how preachers are like WWE wrestlers, actors are like furniture, and horses are like demons straight from hell.

Hows it going?My exterminator thinks I look like Eric Andratti. He goes, Did anyone ever tell you you look like Eric Andratti? I go, Nope! Not specifically that, but Ive gotten similar comments.

Thats an interaction Im kind of amazed didnt happen more often filming Bad Trip.Ill tell you why it didnt happen: Notice the age range of the people we pranked. The majority of people we pranked were over 45. You dont notice a lot of skateboarders in the movie.

So what youre saying is it was basically your version of Betty Whites elderly prank show, Off Their Rockers.I forgot about that. I should rewatch that. That can go south, though, because what if somebody has a heart attack or something?

Or poop themselves.Aging is so miserable.

When you last spoke with Vulture, Bad Trip wasnt out yet. Now its on critics year-end best-of lists. Whats it been like to get that kind of reception?It was so heartwarming after making the movie and trying to get it to see the light of day. It took eight years from conception to release, so that fills my heart with joy, hearing that.

Between that and Righteous Gemstones, youve done a lot of line dancing and Florida-based, Americana-themed comedy this year. What drew you to Gemstones? I know the great Brandon James, a producer at Rough House. We were talking about a different project, and then he hit me up for this, and I put myself on tape and booked it. I think that they are so brilliant. I love Danny, and I love everything that they put out. Their horror movies are incredible, too. I just think theyre a really smart team of people, and theyre state-of-the-art as far as scripted comedy goes. I dont think anybodys getting away with or doing anything at their level in the scripted-comedy and situational-comedy space. So it was like, Im a fan of their work, and hell yes, I want to collaborate.

It wasnt this academic thing right after Bad Trip. It wasnt that masterminded. It was more just like I love these guys and everything they do, and I want to work with their company. Bad Trip was a road-trip movie. Road-trip movies by design are kind of a love letter to the nation. It wasnt cynical, it wasnt punching down, and it wasnt trying to embarrass people. It was showing the beauty and humanity of everyday Americans people of color and the working class.

Your character, Lyle Lissons, is introduced as this counterpoint to Jesse Gemstone. Hes a Texan pastor just as ridiculous and ostentatious but maybe 40 percent smarter. What was it like to film those scenes, playing the high-status one shaking things up? What is the energy like on set?Those guys are really nice. Theyre very polite and respectful and collaborative. They create a very welcoming and nourishing environment. Theres no egos or assholes on set. So I felt very comfortable. The industrys chock-full of damaged people. They were not. They were just very supportive. I felt like I was with a supportive peer group that was on the same wavelength. Ive been watching their material for over ten years, so I had already done my research. I know their style from being a fan of their style.

The very first thing I booked when I moved to Los Angeles was Curb Your Enthusiasm. I had all of two lines of dialogue, but I booked that right away because I just watched so many episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm going into it. After I booked that, it was like a fluke; I didnt book anything. I didnt book a single audition for like ten years.

The scene where youre introduced is not dissimilar to an Eric Andre Show intro. There are pyrotechnics. People are falling over. Its a physical performance. What do you think megachurch pastors and comedians have in common?They want your attention. They want to command the crowd. They want money and a ton of amphetamines and no-strings-attached sex.

Was that a real Christian rock song or something made up for the show? I think that was made up for the show.

You have a music background are you the one shredding in that solo?I was faking it 100 percent. Filmmaking is an illusion. It was invented by a French magician.

Your character has to be in line with the wacky visual language of the show. How did you develop his look? The costume designer and the producers and the writers come up with all that stuff. I just show up early and try on outfits, and Im happy theres lunch. Im flattered you thought I had as much creative control as that.

When youre just an actor for hire, you just try to look like a cutie-pie in your costume, memorize your lines, and stand on a green piece of tape.

If the job is to look like a cutie-pie, you succeeded! Theyre like furniture. You just, like, move em around next to different lights and you get them to go. [Andre makes Muppet noises.]

This is a show thats full of dicks, blood, and vomit. Will we see your character show any of that this season?Theres some blood. I dont know about any dick or vomit.

Danny McBride is good at holding up the male end of HBOs nudity thing. Lotta dicks.

I read that when you were prepping for the role, you asked Danny to send you videos of really eccentric preachers. Were there any that stood out to you?One of the craziest names This guys name was, like, Bojangles Sharpton. Something insane [Andre checks his Notes app.] Oh, yeah! Creflo Dollar.

Who else did you use as inspiration for the character? Megachurch preachers are a lot like WWE wrestlers. Its all kind of the same schtick. Joel Osteen, obviously. Hes the David Copperfield of that industry.

Next question, Jew to Jew: How exaggerated or implausible does the depiction of American televangelist megachurch culture seem on The Righteous Gemstones? Im an atheist Jew, so Im not the one to ask. I dont frequent a lot of megachurches. From the videos Ive seen, its not that far off. Its an old form of therapy, and its a form of community for a lot of people. What do people want? People want to be entertained. They want to feel like their misery and their suffering on this Earth is going to be okay, and when they die, theyre going to be up in heaven playing air hockey with Jimi Hendrix. It scratches a lot of itches for a lot of people with hard lives.

Was this your first time working with a Jonas? Yes, it was. The first of many.

How was Joe? He was lovely. You never know what youre gonna get with people who have been through the Disney machine or got started young, but he was very lovely and sweet.

Favorite Jonas Brothers song?Uh all of them.

Your character owns a ranch. Will we see you on a horse this season? Noooo, no. I had to ride a horse for Im not joking ten feet one time for this show I did, Man Seeking Woman. I had to just get on the horse and enter frame, and it was the fucking hardest thing I ever had to do on camera. Any time you see one of those old Westerns where the guys are, like, looking around on horses those guys are a different fucking breed. Those are bestial fucking hell demon animals.

You didnt fall off or anything, did you? I didnt fall off, but I was holding on for dear life. Ive been bungee jumping. Id rather go bungee jumping again than get on the back of a fucking horse. Those are fucking demon animals. We actually had a horse in a bit on The Eric Andre Show, and I didnt have to ride it, and it was cool.

Jessica Lowe plays your characters wife, Lindy Lissons. How was she as a scene partner? Shes amazing. Shes a total pro. If you look at her IMDb, shes worked more than anyone Ive ever met. She is just incredible to work with sweetheart, incredibly talented, and commits to every take and gives gold every time. Shes very, very easy and pleasurable to work with. Shes awesome.

Now that youve played a preacher, what role is next? A rabbi? President?A rabbi president. President Shlomo.

Read more:

Eric Andr Thinks Horses Are Demons From Hell - Vulture