News Tidbits

The Hill: LGBT group accuses Trump of courting hate groups 

Tampa Bay Times: LGBT pride flag raised after Orlando shooting 'unbearable' for Christian employee, Hillsborough commissioner says

Fox 4: Fort Worth pastor praises Orlando nightclub deaths

Associated Press: Religious conservatives attempt balance in Orlando response 

WHIO 7: UD faculty publish book examining Creation Museum

Christian Today: Josh Duggar sex scandal: Another girl steps forward to say she was also a victim

Military Times: Human cloning fear could stymie effort to provide wounded vets with fertility care 

Globe and Mail: Canada: Catholic school board chair revises sex-ed view after son reveals sexual abuse

LGBTQ Nation: UK: Because of bar sign supporting Orlando victims, customer accuses owners of ‘promoting homosexuality’

Commentary Tidbits

Out from Under the Umbrella: Atheist Outrage: Checking Your Christian Privilege

Freedom from Religion Foundation: Nothing fails like a National Prayer Breakfast

Sarah Over the Moon: 16 Things That Happened When I Went to The Creation Museum

The Guardian: 'It's never the science itself': Why the right questions climate and vaccines

Washington Post: Jindal: ‘The Medieval Christian threat is under control, Mr. President.’

Huffington Post: "Wage War To Restore a Christian America", Urged Pastor Behind Reince Priebus' RNC Israel Trip

Right Wing Watch: Mike Huckabee: Gay Marriage 'Lies' Reminiscent Of Nazi Germany

Commentary Tidbits

The Daily Beast: The Adrian Peterson Beating and the Christian Right's Love of Corporal Punishment

Mother Jones: Texas' New Public School Textbooks Promote Climate Change Denial and Downplay Segregation

Religion Dispatches: Are Religious Leaders Prepared to Engage “Religious Liberty” Questions Post-Hobby Lobby?

The Atlantic: The Genesis Code

Edge Boston: The Homophobia-Christianity Complex

GLAAD: Mainstream media is catching on to NOM's broader agenda

RH Reality Check: The Aftermath of ‘Hobby Lobby': Multiple Attacks on Contraception Access

News Tidbits

Associated Press: Oakland University: Ex-Coach Abused Players, Pushed Church

WITF: Rally pushes for "In God We Trust" in all public schools

KPBS: Creation Museum Denied Membership By San Diego Museum Council

Bloomberg: Noah’s Ark Depends on Faith in Default-Plagued Debt

Gay Star News: Family refuses to tip waitress, former marine due to her ‘gay lifestyle’

USA Today: Mall arrest sparks free-speech debate

Pink News: Christian Concern: Stonewall need to help us place anti-gay bus adverts on London’s buses

New York Times: God Called Them to Adopt. And Adopt. And Adopt.

Washington Post: Catholic fringe defies Pope, disrupting interfaith Kristallnacht ceremony Argentine cathedral

NPR: With Echoes Of France, Debate On Religion Divides Quebec

News Tidbits

Washington Post: Tentative settlement reached in suit over Jesus portrait displayed for decades in Ohio school

Huffington Post: Fuller Theological Seminary's Acceptance Of LGBT Group, OneTable, Creates Ripples

WKRC 12: Ark Encounter Project Delayed by Money Woes

Christian Post: South African Pastor Calls Prosperity Gospel Damaging, Asks 'Where Are We Heading To?'

Commentary Tidbits

Right Wing Watch: MassResistance Praises Nigerian Bill Criminalizing Homosexuality and Gay Rights Advocacy

God Discussion: Southern Baptist Convention losing members, baptisms in decline, according to self-assessment

Daylight Atheist: Winning a Two-Front War Against Anti-Feminists

Friendly Atheist: Ken Ham: If You Criticize the Creation Museum for Not Teaching Science, You’re Just Intolerant Against Christians

News Tidbits

Washington Post: Catholic influence wanes as leaders break with members on gay marriage

WSBTV 2: Marietta church drops Boy Scout troop over acceptance of gay members

Canton Rep: Ohio school district considers teaching creationism

The Advocate: Gay Kiss Silences Antigay Preacher on Campus

NKY.com: Creation Museum adding some 'zip'

AFP: Controversial Brazil evangelical pastor draws ire     (Hat tip to Deep Thoughts)

A New Bible Museum in Washington D.C.

A new museum of the Bible is coming to Washington D.C. within the next four years. The New York Times reports that the museum is the brainchild of Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby. The museum's collection will reportedly include more than 30,000 items, such as illuminated biblical manuscripts, ancient papyri, and Torahs. Among items in the Green collection are the Codex Climaci Rescriptus, unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls, and the earliest known translation of Psalms.

Green told the New York Times that “The goal is to create a museum around the story of the Bible." He claimed that “No book has been persecuted as much or loved as much. Its incredible story needs to be told.”

While a museum devoted to the Bible is intriguing, several facts surrounding the museum give me pause. First, the Washington Post reports that the CEO of the Museum of the Bible is Cary Summers, a consultant on the Creation Museum's planned Noah's Ark.

Second, Hobby Lobby and the Green family are publicly Christian and have a history of ties with Religious Right groups. According to Hobby Lobby's statement of purpose, the board of directors are to honor God by "operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles." Hobby Lobby has endured because of "God's grace and provision," the statement claims.

Hobby Lobby regularly buys full-page newspaper ads that promote Christian messages. For instance, in 2012, Hobby Lobby ran an Independence Day ad entitled "In God We Trust," featuring quotes that promoted the idea of a "Christian nation."

Among Hobby Lobby's affiliated companies are Mardel, a Christian store chain, and Every Tribe Entertainment, a Christian film studio based in Studio City, CA. Every Other Tribe's film offerings include Blink of an Eye, about a Muslim princess escaping "her veiled existence" and a forced marriage, and 1 Soul, about an African woman who must "confront the deceptions of ancient tribal beliefs and battle demonic forces" that seek to subjugate her.

Mart Green, CEO of Every Tribe Entertainment, produced two films about the Waorani tribe of Ecuador, Beyond the Gates of Splendor and End of the Spear. A 2007 commentary at Daily Kos argues that the films do a disservice to the Waorani people.

"Probably the best term for them is "Injun Exploitation"--the two movies produced by [Mart Green] are "End Of The Spear" and "Beyond The Gates of Splendor", both of which focus on the religious conversion of the Waorani people of Ecuador.  Sadly, the Waorani people are often used as a sort of "Wild Man of the Amazon" type show by dominionists (you know, the sort that went out of fashion at carnival sideshows back in the 40's) where they are pimped as "The Most Violent People In The World"; Ron Luce's "Teen Mania" group actually used the movie "End Of The Spear" as a lead-in for one of his "Wild Man of the Amazon" shows with a converted Waorani.  (The truth about the Waorani people is far sadder.  The Waorani are among the most endangered indigenous peoples on the planet, in large part due to missionaries invading their lands often in conjunction with oil companies; their population has declined rapidly, from 25,000 people in the 1950s (when originally contacted by missionaries and when they fought to remain uncontacted (outsiders are literally seen as cannibals by the Waorani)--the subject of the "Injun Exploitation" films) to only 2000 today.)"

The Green family behind Hobby Lobby has a history of ties with conservative religious groups. In 2007, the Green family pledged a $70 million donation to Oral Roberts University, according to Tulsa World. The Greens have also donated a $10.5 million building to Liberty University, as well as a 170-acre ranch to Rick Warren's Saddleback Church.

The idea of a Bible museum is fascinating, as the Bible has a long and rich history. However, the involvement of the Green family and Cary Summers makes me nervous about what messages the museum could possibly send. Will the museum depict the Bible in a historically accurate manner, or will a religious agenda be present?

I would welcome a Bible museum that explored the Bible's evolution through history, noting how scribal additions, translations, and social climate have affected its content. The Bible is not a single static document, but a dynamic collection of documents that evolved over centuries and cultures. If the proposed Museum of the Bible takes this approach, I will be relieved. However, given the conservative Christian roots of the Greens, I wonder if a more fundamentalist vision of the Bible will prevail.



For an overview of the Green family and its ties with conservative Christian groups, check out these commentaries  at Talk to Action and Daily Kos. For additional commentary on the Bible museum, visit the following links.

Salty Eggs: Mr. Jesus Goes to Washington

Friendly Atheist: Washington D.C. Will Be Home to 'Bible Museum'

News Tidbits

Washington Post: Teens suffered abuses at Legion school; Vatican urged to close program

New York Times: Rift Forms in Movement as Belief in Gay ‘Cure’ Is Renounced

Yahoo News: Hoping to add a life-size ark project, Creation Museum museum hits fundraising trouble

Toronto Sun: Mormons Quit in Mass Resignation

Raw Story: Alabama pastors conference invites only ‘white Christians’

Lancaster Online: Atheist files complaint over restaurant's Sunday promotion

Commentary Tidbits

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Heathens Visit the Creation Museum

Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: The religious right never wants to talk about same-sex families

San Diego Gay and Lesbian News: Why are Republicans in bed with known anti-gay hate groups?

The New Republic: Has the Mormon Church Truly Left Its Race Problems Behind?

Mother Jones: Aborted Fetuses to Star in 2012 Election Ads

Media Matters: As Art Exhibit Moves To Brooklyn, Right-Wing Activists Renew Their Anti-Gay Outrage Campaign

RH Reality Check: New Religious Right Ploy to Defund Planned Parenthood: Tie them to OWS

RH Reality Check: In Kansas, A Public Conference Reveals Deep Contempt for the Poor and for Women

Commentary Tidbits

Fallen from Grace: One Million Moms and Their Homophobic Agenda

Sibboleth: Christian Nation? Nope.

Aljazeera: Exposing religious fundamentalism in the US  

Cognitive Discopants: Nothing Says Fun Like Dead Egyptians! 

Huffington Post: Denying Evolution and Denying Global Warming: Is There a Biblical Link?

Right Wing Watch: Bachmann Gushes, Says Schlafly "Most Important Woman In TheUnited States In The Last 100 Years"

Commentary Tidbits

Talk to Action: Dirk Smillie's Falwell Inc.

God Discussion: Personhood Mississippi Sponsors 'Conceived in Rape' Tour

Mother Jones: Does Michele Bachmann Think the Apocalypse is Imminent?

USA Today: Kentucky taxpayers will help float Noah's Ark

RH Reality Check: The Neon Elephant in the Room: What the Media and Pundit Class Keep Missing About the "Abortion" Debate

Miranda Celeste: A Worthless and Dangerous Report

2011 CHAP Convention -- Ken Ham

Smoked ham, not Ken Ham

On May 13th and 14th, I attended the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania (CHAP) annual convention in Harrisburg, PA. Held in the sprawling Harrisburg Farm Show Complex, the CHAP Convention attracts thousands of Christian homeschooler families from across Pennsylvania, as well as prominent Religious Right organizations and speakers. This year's line-up of speakers included Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis, Doug Phillips from Vision Forum, Phillip Telfer from Media Talk 101, and many more.

A homeschooling convention offers a unique opportunity to learn about fundamentalist Christian thought, given that it focuses on presenting distilled, basic ideas about fundamentalism to the next generation. Let's start with some of Ken Ham's workshops, which addressed everything from creationism to deconversion among youth. Ham, founder of the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY, briefly appeared in Bill Maher's 2008 film Religulous.

In a Friday morning workshop entitled "Already Gone: Why Your Kids Will Quit Church and What You Can Do to Stop It," Ham addressed widespread deconversion among formerly Christian youth (a topic addressed in his 2009 book Already Gone.)

News Tidbits

BBC News: Westboro Baptist Church targeted by Anonymous

The Advocate: LGBT Groups Protest Lou Engle’s Uganda Ties

Washington Post: Ten Commandments in school stirs fight in Virginia district

Edge Boston: Two Men Claim to be Gay Couple; Creation Museum Denies Them Entry

Kaiser Health News: HHS Overturns Bush “Conscience” Rule for Workers Opposing Abortion

Vancouver Sun: Publisher: Benny Hinn violated our morality clause

Beliefnet: Marriage Seminar Sparks Chik-Fil-A Boycott

News Tidbits

Louisville Courier-Journal: Beshear Says Ark Park Contract Will Prohibit Religious Discrimination

CNN: Conservative Christians ask Apple to reinstate controversial app

Toronto Sun: Salvation Army Bans Harry Potter and Twilight Toys

Newsweek: One Nation Under God

Indy Week: Abortion protesters target Enloe High School

The Advocate: Christian B&B Owners Sued for Discrimination

Beliefnet: Religious groups rally behind traditional marriage

Minnesota Independent: Bachmann calls for Congress to defund Planned Parenthood

Minnesota Independent: Minnesota Family Council’s Anderson talks with ‘hate group’ founder Peter LaBarbera

Radio Iowa: Bishop urges Catholics to be “cascading voice” opposing abortion clinic

Florida Independent: Texas anti-abortion group targets Planned Parenthood, African-Americans in North Florida ad campaign

Edge Boston: NOM’s Gallagher mocks pro-marriage equality Catholics

Minnesota Public Radio: Group to return same-sex marriage DVDs to archdiocese

Pink News: Anti-gay Christian preacher wins £4,000 compensation for arrest

Commentary Tidbits

MoHoHawaii: Coming Home in a Pine Box

The DV8: Resisting the Green Dragon

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Creationists Fight Over "Real" Noah's Ark

Americans United for Separation of Church and State: Iowa Supreme Court Judges Voted Out After Religious Right Smear Campaign

Mother Jones: The Video John Boehner Doesn't Want You to See

Mother Jones: The GOP's New Abortion Agenda

SPLC Hatewatch: A Poll of Their Own: Family Research Council Takes on the Pentagon

CNN: Maher: Glenn Beck Like L. Ron Hubbard

Think Progress: Kentucky Creationism Theme Park Set to Open in 2014 Will "Include Dinosaurs"

Truth Wins Out: What’s So Unholy and Un-American about the Manhattan Declaration

U.S. News and World Report: The Religious Ties of the Republican Party

RH Reality Check: "The Assassination of George Tiller:" What It Got Right, What It Left Out

Religion Dispatches: McCarthy, Born Again and Retooled for Our Time

Commentary Tidbits

Truth Wins Out: Hate Groups Waiting in the Wings

Prop 8 Trial Tracker: NOM Opposing Civil Unions in Illinois: "We just don't like the gays"

Religion Dispatches: Glenn Beck Hijacks It’s a Wonderful Life 

Ms. Magazine: I Am Biblical Woman, Hear Me Roar?

Right Wing Watch: Tea Party Leaders Urge GOP to Keep DADT and Defund Planned Parenthood

Friendly Atheist: A Creation Museum Theme Park Contest

An Apostate's Chapel: Clueless Conservative Christian