The Non-Prophets

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Too Many Christians Blur Facism Lines Jul 29, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.29 1-4 featuring Cynthia McDonald, Aaron Jensen and Teo el Ateo
For too many Christians, the lines between dominionism, nationalism and fascism are blurred Religion News Service, By Karen Swallow Prior, July 11, 2023 https://religionnews.com/2023/07/11/for-too-many-christians-the-lines-between-dominionism-nationalism-and-fascism-are-blurred/
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Affirmative Action Ends? Jul 26, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.29.2 featuring Cynthia McDonald, Aaron Jensen and Teo el Ateo
How The End Of Affirmative Action Reroutes The Talent PipelineForbes, By Corinne Lestch, July 9, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/corinnelestch/2023/07/09/how-the-end-of-affirmative-action-reroutes-the-talent-pipeline/?sh=518ad1495886
Clarence Thomas Wins Long Game Against Affirmative Action Bloomberg Law, By Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, June 29, 2023,https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4073736-thomas-in-rare-occurrence-reads-affirmative-action-opinion-from-bench/
Supreme Court Decision https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf
“In the decades since, I have repeatedly stated that Grutter was wrongly decided and should be overruled. Today, and despite a lengthy interregnum, the Constitution prevails,” - Justice Clarence Thomas.
Recently the Supreme Court decided that affirmative action is no longer constitutional because it ruled that it violates the 14th Amendment which states that there should be no laws that restrict people based on color or their race.
What had made the 14th amendment relevant was it’s attempt to even the playing field among all constituents in the United States when it came to them being able to get employment and for them to be able to go to school but that is not what happened.
Even though black people were citizens and paying taxes they did not have access to the same facilities as their white counterparts. Plessy vs Ferguson (a decision made in the 1800’s) allowed schools to be funded separately.
In most black neighborhoods, especially in the south, there were substandard school buildings, and children in the sixth and seventh grade that were provided books from second and third grade. Plessy was used to uphold Jim Crow and specifically segregation laws saying that separate but equal was okay.
The modern Civil Rights Movement really started to take a new form after the death of Emmett Till. Black rights activists like Dr. King, Malcolm X, Philip Randolph, Ralph Abernathy, and James Baldwin were all a part of this movement.
The Movement wasn't necessarily pushing for integration they were just pushing for equal facilities. One of the reasons being is when they started to integrate the schools black students faced violence from white mobs, white students, and parents who were vehemently trying to keep black students out.
Ultimately, Thurgood Marshall argued before the US Supreme Court in the Brown vs the Board of Education case. The court overturned Plessy vs Ferguson by ruling against the Board of Education and Marshall later became the first black Justice on the court.
This helped pave the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which allowed Affirmative action. Which required organizations to select people with more diverse backgrounds. It was not limited to black people, it helped any person that was considered a minority. The data has shown that white women have been one of the groups that happened to benefit greatly from affirmative action.
Affirmative action has caused schools to make more of an attempt to recruit students who actually had the grades and merit but may not have gotten into a particular school like a Harvard because of their minority status.
When the Court’s decision was released, Justice Thomas took the unusual step of actually reading from his own concurring opinion. Something not typically done, but this has been a goal of his for decades. For a Justice who is known for saying nothing for years, it is not unlike him to take a victory lap.
It's interesting to specifically question how Justices like Clarence Thomas really would want to go back to a colorblind Constitution when in actuality the Constitution was never colorblind.
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Tulsa Massacre Doesn’t See Color Jul 24, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.29.1 featuring Cynthia McDonald, Aaron Jensen and Teo el Ateo
Let's not tie it to skin color': Oklahoma superintendent says racism not to blame for infamous Tulsa massacre Raw Story, By Matthew Chapman, July 7, 2023, https://www.rawstory.com/oklahoma-superintendent/
State Supt. Ryan Walters defends comments on Tulsa Race Massacre, claims words taken out of contextFox 25 News, by David Chasanov, July 7, 2023 https://okcfox.com/news/local/state-superintendent-ryan-walters-oklahoma-department-of-education-tulsa-race-massacre-critical-theory-crt-classroom-class-hannibal-johnson-raymond-doswell-greenwood-rising-black-wall-street-history-center-racist-evil-terrible-color-skin-controversy
"Let’s not tie it to the skin color and say that the skin color determined that," - Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters.
For those not aware, far-right Oklahoma State Superintendent Walters was talking about the Tulsa race massacre in an area called Black Wall Street. This was a self-sustaining community filled with banks, schools, doctors offices, dentists, and shops. Everything that a township could use in order to be sustainable was there.But, in 1921, Dick Roland shared an elevator with a white woman named Sarah Page. While they were in the elevator Sarah screamed and then went to the authorities. She falsely accused Dick Roland of trying to assault her.The Tulsa Police put him in in jail, then a white mob went to the jail and demanded Dick to be handed over to them, the police refused. They released Dick to WWI black soldiers on the scene who had showed up to defend him against the mob.White rioters then deliberately destroyed an estimated 1,200 homes, along with churches, schools, businesses, even a hospital and library. The police force in that area even deputized citizens to become law enforcement so they could take up arms against the black township.Now moving forward to 2023, well in some places that may be more of a lateral move, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters seems to think that a white mob attacking and destroying a black township can be taught without discussing race. The next day Walters claimed that he always said that the race riot was evil. But he still is firmly in the camp of not wanting to bring up skin color when talking about it.Critical race theory is the the study of how laws, social, and political movements are impacted by race and ethnic concepts in our society. It also delves into ways it is baked into our our systems, like our Justice systems, employment and many others.But it has become a buzzword in the right’s rhetoric because they want something that gets people up in arms. So they say that critical race theory is teaching white people to be ashamed of being white and that black people are better.
The attack on anything race-related has brought the troll known as Marjorie Taylor Green from under her bridge. She defines critical race theory as something that teaches white children to hate themselves and to feel guilty while lifting black children up.A lot of people hold the view they just don't want to see things that make them uncomfortable, they rail against CRT without even understanding what it is. They want to change the history of the USA, to hide the truth, to instead say things that really happened didn't happen.How exactly are we to teach about one group killing others over race without discussing race Superintendent Ryan Walters?
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Israel Ambassador stands for Trans Rights Jul 22, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.28.4 featuring Kelley Laughlin, Kara Griffin, Helen Greene and Teo el Ateo
In notable stand, Israel’s ambassador to US says ‘trans rights are human rights’, Jewish Telegraph Agency, By Ron Kampeas, June 30, 2023 https://www.jta.org/2023/06/30/politics/in-notable-stand-israels-ambassador-to-us-
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Misogyny Elevates No One Jul 21, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.28.3 featuring Kelley Laughlin, Kara Griffin, Helen Greene and Teo el Ateo
North Carolina megachurch exits Southern Baptist Convention after expulsions over women pastors, AP News, By Peter Smith, June 30, 2023 https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-megachurch-leaves-southern-baptist-convention-f21a86e67c713765b9ace02f609e24c0
A North Carolina mega-church called Elevation Church, exited the Southern Baptist Convention after the expulsion of other churches over them having woman pastors.
The Southern Baptist Convention has seen consistent membership declines for the past two decades. You would think that they would realize that they're doing something wrong, look around at the churches who are accepting female ministers, and realize this is one of the things that we're doing wrong and we need to change. But fear not, it doesn't seem like it registered in their heads at all.
With a history of taking the worst possible position on social issues and then digging in based on cherry-picked verses and then say they're literally interpreting the bible. The Southern Baptist Convention seems to love picking out certain verses that always seem to affect marginalized or disadvantaged groups
Originally formed in 1845 as a separate convention from the Northern Baptists because the southern slave-holding Baptists wanted to continue being pro-slavery while they continued to advocate for racist policies. Well into the 20th century they advocated for things likesegregation and rejecting interracial dating.
Some of the leaders in this current debate are saying they are trying to right a ship that has been veering too far into the liberal realm in terms of sexuality, gender, and politics. Does it really seem too far for women to be allowed to preach in their churches? God is the head misogyny.
The Billy Graham rule which was made famous recently by Mike Pence when he was saying that you know he doesn't ever dine alone with women comes from the same source. Basically it is preventing women from being able to move up in organizations because you are treating women like they're some kind of sexual object that you have to keep at arm's length.
In this scenario women are not intended to succeed at anything, preach, teach, or do anythingoutside of the home. This is a group of people using their God to further marginalize a group of people who have already been excluded.
It's great that the Elevation Church is sticking to their guns and are not bowing to the SBC but at the same time why would you want the approval of anyone that has this old antiquated misogynist view? But the drama is a bonus.
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Slain because they are Christian? Jul 19, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.28.2 featuring Kelley Laughlin, Kara Griffin, Helen Greene and Teo el Ateo
Pope Francis asks Church to identify 21st-century martyrs slain ‘only because they are Christians’, AP News, By Frances D’emilio, July 5, 2023 https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-francis-martyrs-saints-fe125ca264867e14770cd407f5c4be18?utm_source=RecoReel&utm_medium=articlePage&utm_id=Taboola
Pope Francis has set up a special commission tasked with identifying those he calls the new Martyrs of the 21st century. Christians who have been slain in some cases simply for attending to mass or for helping the poor. It's sad that people died for such reasons but making their death a thing to celebrate is sick.
At the pope’s direction, the commission’s members will research cases of non-Catholic Christian martyrs, too. Why stop at capitalizing on your own martyrs when you can monetize someone else’s dead too?
In what is a rather cynical effort, he made an announcement during an audience with the Coptic Orthodox pope, where the Vatican formally recognized 21 Coptic Orthodox workers who were beheaded by militants in Libya as martyrs with their own feast day. A gesture aimed at forging unity between them and Orthodox churches.
The church celebrates Jubilee year in 2025 too so this is a whole big celebration of people dying and being viewed as heroes for something that you cannot prove even exists is really disturbing, but very profitable. They are expecting over 35 million pilgrims to arrive to Rome in order to celebrate and spend their money.
There seems to be a consistent interest in celebrating the Macabre coming out of the Vatican. This concept of martyrdom is especially pernicious in that it seems to be preying on the devotion and the fears of an afterlife for their the most faithful believers.
It's making people believe that their current life is worthless in comparison to some eternal reward that you'll get if you become a martyr. We have already seen what happens with that mentality. If you're able to convince people that whatever happens to them in this life is nothing compared to an eternal reward you can convince people to do just about anything even if it's against their own interests or their own survival.
This is the height of manipulation and disrespect for people's basic humanity, that's something that the church is doing to its own followers.
It also promotes the idea that Christians are being persecuted. This gives them an end-time complex. Christians are very good at feeling persecuted, where in many cases they are just being told to stop being evil.
The Catholic Church is known for their own terrible acts, their newest fixation of death and blood sacrifice is not helping. Calling for believers to see the reasons of life and of good by drawing inspiration of martyrs can only end poorly. How do you choose life when your example is death?
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SCOTUS Hands Victory to Christian Website Designer Jul 17, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.28.1 featuring Kelley Laughlin, Kara Griffin, Helen Greene and Teo el Ateo
The Supreme Court rules for a designer who doesn’t want to make wedding websites for gay couples, AP News, By Jessica Gresko, June 30, 2023 https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-gay-rights-website-designer-aa529361bc939c837ec2ece216b296d5
Question abound, how did such a contrived scenario get to the U.S. Supreme Court in the first place? It seems only for the purpose of allowing it to rule that you don't have to make a website for a gay couple when no one had even asked for one.
Lori Smith does not even build websites yet. She said she wants to do so but her Christian faith would keep her from creating websites celebrating same-sex marriages.
Things got heated up when concerns about Lori Smith’s claims of supposed clients proved fruitful. One person doesn’t seem to exist, and another claims to have been happily married already for well over ten years.
Many predicted that this outcome based on the makeup of this court and there were a lot of people who voted in the previous presidential election specifically because they were want to roll back women and LGBTQIA+ rights and other marginalized groups.
Are we seeing that effort coming to fruition? Is it okay for businesses to decide whether or not they want to provide a particular service based on their whim? It reminds one of Jim Crow laws, what else is going to be rolled back in this spiral of looking to the past for the wrong answers. Could we see religion and race used to deny services again?
Justice Gorsuch who wrote in the majority opinion that the First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish not as the government demands. The statement is really telling about the narrative that is being spun. People are claiming that the government is trying to force them to tolerate the existence of queer people and this conflicts with their religious beliefs.
In dissent, Justice Sotomayor wrote “Today is a sad day in American constitutional law and in the lives of LGBT people. ... the immediate, symbolic effect of the decision is to mark gays and lesbians for second-class status.”
The real issue is a large group of people in the United States think queer people are gross and that the opinion they hold is more important than anyone else's rights or legal protections. And that is very concerning
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Catholics for Abortion makes Statement Jul 15, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.27.4 featuring Secular Rarity, Helen Greene, Phoebe Rose and Kelley Laughlin
Catholic Democrats issue new ‘statement of principles’ defending abortion rightsReligion News, By Jack Jenkins, June 24, 2023, https://religionnews.com/2023/06/24/catholic-democrats-issue-new-statement-of-principles-defending-abortion-rights/
This next story is about a group of Catholic Democrats in the U.S House of Representatives who unveiled a new statement of principles last week reaffirming their support for abortion rights and expanding on a similar letter that they had sent back two years ago.They referenced a poll from the public religion Research Institute that shows 61 of Hispanic Catholics 62 percent of white Catholics and 71 percent of Catholics of color all say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.While it is good to see anyone facing the right direction, you have to be concerned about people who admit to basing their life on guidelines from an organization that has condoned child abuse. It shows a lack of continuity in people's morals in such a way that is deeply deeply disturbing.Can people who follow a code coming out of the backside of a Papal headdress really be useful allies? How comfortable are you with them making laws that affect everyone?While their effort is in the right place, this time, should we congratulate these people for doing the most basic of good. How often will these same people be on opposite sides tomorrow? As said in the episode , “I'm not going to cheer you for not stabbing me today you would have done it yesterday oh you didn't do it today”The pope is not quaking in his bed hiding under the covers because these 30 Democrats signed a piece of paper , just a baseless symbolic thing in many ways.But in a more charitable view those individuals who signed this statement likely don't think this was a ploy, it is literally the exact same thing that has been done for decades. Perhaps just 30 individuals who genuinely believed things and wanted to put it out there to people and that's what you do as a public official.Does their statement have the potential of reaching people in the middle who are both religious and against abortion who see this as a tool to swing their vote? Perhaps helping people to sway more towards secular humanism?
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‘He Gets Us’ Fools Evangelicals? Jul 14, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.27.3featuring Secular Rarity,Helen Greene, Phoebe Rose and Kelley Laughlin
Will evangelicals be fooled by the ‘He Gets Us’ campaign?
We are talking about an article coming to us from only sky and it's about a current marketing campaign, With billboards and TV commercials that all promote this idea that “Jesus gets us”.To the tune of a mind-boggling one billion dollars, they want to convey the message that Jesus was a super cool guy who knows how you feel. Jesus knows what it's like to not be very wealthy, to be a refugee, he just gets us.But how can those who spend a billion dollars on such a frivolous fluff campaign think this is a good way to spend their money?If they're going to preach kindness and changing the world for the better they should actually start doing it instead of making more commercials about how Jesus is your buddy.As illustrated in this episode, the number of children that could have been fed with one billion dollars would have done a lot of good in the world. Perhaps a starving child would prefer Jesus “got” a less hungry version. But when has church money ever really gone to feed children beyond a token effort?
It seems the old like fire and brimstone idea of hell isn't as appealing to modern sensibilities and they're not filling out the pews so the goal seems to be to make evangelicals feel really good about loving Jesus because he gets everybody and you'll get people too and you'll open your heart to your fellow human beings.It was also brought up that this is also a giant advertising campaign to convince non-Christians that Christians are people just like you and Jesus was just like you. That you really should join us. But the metrics don't show Muslims, Hindus, or atheists suddenly interested in Jesus and forgetting about all the bad stuff that religion has done.Is a bit of a bait and switch going on? A goal to consolidate power to get more money from telling you that you need to help us to fight the actual good fight so that we can hate on more people. A vicious cycle that keeps going round and round.With an election approaching, a billion dollars sounds like an investment, looking to get their money's worth. We see the same playbook all the time.But, the article does a really good job of showcasing how this campaign is just not successful. At least it's not being wasted on directly opposing anti-freedom, anti-abortion, or anti-LGBTQIA+ causes. Better for them to spend some money on a seemingly useless and quite frankly stupid campaign. Spend your money there instead of trying to pass laws.
Only Sky Media, By Captain Cassidy, June 27, 2023 https://onlysky.media/ccassidy/i-hope-evangelicals-arent-getting-too-fooled-by-he-gets-us-campaign/
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Federal Judge Rebukes FL Gender Care Ban Jul 12, 2023

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The Non-Prophets, Episode 22.27.2featuring Secular Rarity,Helen Greene, Phoebe Rose and Kelley Laughlin
Federal judge rips into Florida’s ban on gender-affirming care for kidsPolitico News, By Gary Fineout, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/06/florida-gender-affirming-care-ruling-00100387
In this episode, we will cover the decision made by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle to block Florida from enforcing a law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies that would ban minors from receiving “puberty blockers” and other gender-affirming care.In his decision, the Judge said, “Nothing could have motivated this remarkable intrusion into parental prerogatives other than opposition to transgender status itself,” Hinkle also added that “the statute and the rules were an exercise in politics, not good medicine. This is a politically fraught area. There has long been, and still is, substantial bigotry directed at transgender individuals. Common experience confirms this, as does a Florida legislator’s remarkable reference to transgender witnesses at a committee hearing as ‘mutants’ and ‘demons.’ And even when not based on bigotry, there are those who incorrectly but sincerely believe that gender identity is not real but instead just a choice.”Long-time viewers know that over the last couple years there has been ongoing discussions about the wave of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation in the U.S. It is good news that this would add to the five other states (Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana) that have all recently all had rulings to block or limit gender affirming bans. Oklahoma agreed to not enforce their ban pending an injunction. The Right maintain that they are trying to protect children with these bills. But they would do the opposite, leading to heightened risks of stress, depression and suicidal thoughts among an already vulnerable group.With Justices lacking transparency with gifts they receive, the company they keep, and the free vacations it is small wonder that people on both sides don't trust the Supreme Court.Will this ruling makes it more difficult for the Supreme Court to do what they did with Roe v. Wade on this issue? Chief Justice John Roberts should be careful he does not go down in history as a joke. He better hope for a liberal Justice, so he can be relevant in a 5-4 court again.
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