Not that we need another reason to think less of Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in North Carolina, but this one’s too entertaining to ignore. His church, like many evangelical churches, loves to tally up how many people get baptized there — one mark of how many converts the church has created. In fact, Furtick’s team put together an entire resource guide to help other churches put together “spontaneous baptisms” that would allow church attendees to get baptized right then and there without having to think about it. (Because thinking gets in the way of blindly following.) What’s the benefit to the church? Well, it’s kind of like carving notches in a bedpost — it’s an unofficial way to claim superiority over your competitors. Plus, if you’re baptizing more people, you must be doing something right (at least in places where people take baptisms seriously), so attendees may be inclined to donate even more money to you(r church). Furtick even provides a template script that other pastors can use: It is my great privilege today to be able, after months of planning and a whole lot of prayer, to offer thousands of you at our church and even in sites all over the world, one of the greatest opportunities I think you’ll ever have in your life. It may be something you’re not expecting at all. We’ve been planning on doing baptisms at the church this weekend for a long time, but what you may not have known is that you’re going to be the one getting baptized. I can feel the confusion in the air. You’re saying to me, But I didn’t sign up for baptism. Do you mean you’re going to give me a chance to sign up for baptism today? No not to sign up for baptism today; to be baptized today. I’m going to give every single person in this church today, who has never been biblically baptized as a public profession of your faith in Jesus Christ, the opportunity to be baptized today. Not in a month, not after you’ve gone through training for three years, I’m talking about you came dry, you’re leaving wet, dripping wet, baptized in Jesus’ name today. … This is a new beginning! This is a new day! I’ve decided to follow Jesus! May hundreds come now. Do it, God! One (this is it!), two, three! Move right now! Right now! Right now! Don’t let the Devil talk you out of it. Right now! Right now! Get off the fence! Right now, Uptown! Right now, Matthews! Right now, Blakeney! Right now, Providence! Come on, you feel a little hesitation? Let God push you in the deep end today. It’s all about Jesus! It’s all about His grace! This is how peer pressure works, kids. But I guess it’s not enough. What if no one wants to get baptized? What if no one wants to take the lead? Furtick’s answer: Plant a few “volunteers” in the crowd to respond to the baptism calls first, and others will surely follow. Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, responds to the idea that atheists will convert on their deathbeds: We’d love to hear your thoughts on the project — more videos will be posted soon — and we’d also appreciate your suggestions as to which questions we ought to tackle next! Read more
A new report just released by the Public Religion Research Institute takes a look at the “shifting landscape” regarding attitudes toward same-sex marriage and LGBT issues in general. As you might expect, there’s a lot of good news here. 53% of Americans now support same-sex marriage while only 41% oppose it. (Even in the South, the numbers are dead even at 48% on each side.) Furthermore, an astounding 69% of people ages 18-33 support it. Even among evangelical Christians, 43% of Millennials have no problem with gay marriage compared to only 19% of the “Silent Generation.” We’ve known this for some time now, but when it comes to gay marriage, the question is not “If” but “When.” So let’s get to the heart of what the report says about religious attitudes toward LGBT issues. In general, people of all religious stripes are less likely to say gay marriage goes against their beliefs than they were a decade ago. Hallelujah! Read more
The Illinois Science Council is sponsoring a Pi Day Pi K run — and I can’t resist posting about a run that’s not 3.1 miles like your typical 5K, but 3.14 miles instead! Tickets for the March 14 run in Chicago are $25 and include a t-shirt and post-run party. Sign up before the slots are taken! Read more
It’s been almost a year since David Yonggi Cho was indicted. Cho, whose Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea has more than a million congregants, was charged with fraud in an elaborate and bald-faced stock scheme. Prosecutors said Cho, 78, who preached the gospel of prosperity, arranged for the church to buy his son Cho Hee-jun’s stock at greatly inflated prices, enriching himself and his offspring to the tune of twelve million dollars. Read more
After a Republican gay rights group had problems getting into CPAC, I was stunned that American Atheists managed to get a booth at the uber-conservative conference so easily… and it appears that CPAC finally realized what they had done. Less than a day after AA made the announcement, CPAC has booted them from the conference. Why? Check out this reaction from Christian Right leader Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council: “CPAC’s mission is to be an umbrella for conservative organizations that advance liberty, traditional values and our national defense,” said Perkins, who spokes at CPAC in 2012. “Does the American Conservative Union really think the liberties and values they seek to preserve can be maintained when they partner with individuals and organizations that are undermining the understanding that our liberties come from God? Thomas Jefferson warned against such nonsense.” The social conservative leader added: “If this is where the ACU is headed, they will have to pack up and put away the ‘C’ in CPAC!” What Perkins wants, Perkins gets. So CPAC is now telling American Atheists they will not be allowed to attend: Dan Merica of CNN has the updates on Twitter: Breaking: Organizers plan to pull @AmericanAtheist booth from CPAC. Said group left them "with no choice but to return his money."— Dan Merica (@danmericaCNN) February 25, 2014 Read more
We often hear about how religious believers and their ideas and inventions shaped modern history, but less examined is how atheists — with their persistent questioning and challenging of orthodoxy — influenced the world in which we live. Mitchell Stephens has written a new book exploring precisely that aspect of religion. (Call it the “Old Atheism,” if you will.) His book is Imagine There’s No Heaven: How Atheism Helped Create the Modern World (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). In the excerpt below, Stephens looks at unbelief in places where the written word wasn’t a part of society: Read more
Over the past week, nearly all of the NFL’s top prospects have been in Indiana for the league’s Scouting Combine. It’s a chance for coaches, executives, and other decision-makers to check out what players have to offer in terms of speed and ability before the official NFL draft this coming May. But Adam Muema, a running back from San Diego State University, didn’t stick around for the Combine. He arrived, but then left on Sunday (without working out) for an intriguing reason: He said he was “following God,” who told him if he missed workouts, he’d play for the Seattle Seahawks. Playing for Seattle is his “dream,” Muema said. NFL teams are aware of the decision. “Can’t go wrong with God,” Muema said. … “(God) told me to sit down, be quiet, and enjoy the peace,” he said. Funny how God didn’t tell him to break any records while his future bosses were watching… Read more
I try never to utter the words “Westboro Baptist Church,” lest I give that group more of the media oxygen it craves. Today, I’ll make an exception, though (sorry folks), because I’d really like to point out that many times, Fred Phelps and the other moral mongrels of the WBC don’t actually show up to picket when they say they will. My guess is they have neither the budget, nor the time, nor the courage. But that doesn’t always matter a great deal to the media (social and otherwise). Any mention of Westboro is sure to inflame passions, and thus draw extra eyeballs, Facebook shares, and mouse clicks. What’s regrettable is that these days, whether or not Phelps and his posse make an appearance, they reap tons of publicity and build their public awareness. Westboro is locked in a highly symbiotic, co-dependent relationship with the very media who proclaim to be against the group. All the Phelps camp has to do is issue a press release announcing that they’ll protest at another funeral, and the fever pitch of the gullible and the indignant, whipped up by a bevy of concerned articles and angry Tweets, starts building. Take the vigil for a young murder victim in Springfield, Missouri. Read more
