The Religion Thread

[Vrede too]

Prosecutors in AP report on (evangelical) church abuse no longer employed

It just gets ickier.

"The church has 750 members in North Carolina ..."

I thought it was smaller, this is going to be a mess for a long time.

[Vrede too]

After playing all season, Maryland girl held out of basketball game for wearing a hijab

Tell the National Federation of State High School Associations to lift the ban on hijabs now!

[Vrede too]

A Vast Majority Of Americans (71-22), Including White Evangelicals (56%) And Republicans (63%), Believe Houses Of Worship Shouldn’t Endorse Political Candidates

New Poll Shows Majority Of Americans Oppose Discrimination In The Name Of Religion

... 64 percent of respondents oppose allowing the owners of small businesses to be able to cite religious beliefs as justification for discriminating against LGBTQ people.

An even larger majority – 70 percent – said LGBTQ people should be protected from discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing.

... 53 percent – oppose laws that would prevent transgender people from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

... While a majority of overall respondents opposed businesses being allowed to cite religious beliefs as an excuse to discriminate, white evangelical Christians bucked the trend: They were the only religious group in which a majority were in favor of permitting discrimination. A majority of Republicans also favored giving businesses the right to discriminate as well as preventing transgender people from using facilities that correspond with their gender identity....

Yep, only white evangelical Christians and Republicans stubbornly adhere to their hateful Jim Crow traditions. History, the future, the Constitution and America are opposed to them.

[Mr.B]

Digitally created photo of the Swan Nebula. I like it!

"NASA is not sure what this is~ brought into our view by Hubble ...
but they're calling it Heaven's Gate..."

[rstrong]

Digitally created photo of the Swan Nebula. I like it!

"NASA is not sure what this is~ brought into our view by Hubble ...
but they're calling it Heaven's Gate..."

Funny how your link debunks this claim.

[Vrede too]

(WNC) Faithful march in support of sanctuary for undocumented immigrants (article)

A DECLARATION OF SOLIDARITY WITH IMMIGRANTS BY PEOPLE OF FAITH IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA (petition)

[Mr.B]

Digitally created photo of the Swan Nebula. I like it!

"NASA is not sure what this is~ brought into our view by Hubble ...
but they're calling it Heaven's Gate..."

"Funny how your link debunks this claim."

Sorry that sailed right over your head ... the 'Heaven's Gate' text was part of the photo; now check out again what the link is ... a debunk.
Don't look too fast, it'll escape you again ...

[rstrong]

Digitally created photo of the Swan Nebula. I like it!

"NASA is not sure what this is~ brought into our view by Hubble ...
but they're calling it Heaven's Gate..."

"Funny how your link debunks this claim."

Sorry that sailed right over your head ... the 'Heaven's Gate' text was part of the photo; now check out again what the link is ... a debunk.
Don't look too fast, it'll escape you again ...

I pointed out that your link was a debunk. Still, it has no mention of NASA as your added description does.

You seem confused.

[bannination]

Definitely confused me.

[rstrong]

Maybe Herr Schrodinger was "just joking" again.

[Mr.B]

"Funny how your link debunks this claim.
I pointed out that your link was a debunk. Still, it has no mention of NASA as your added description does. You seem confused."

"Definitely confused me."

"Maybe Herr Schrodinger was "just joking" again."

"Digitally created photo".
No joking. That's not allowed here. It creates too much confusion, panic, and pants-wetting® among the elites. It happened.

[rstrong]

"Digitally created photo".

Hint: ALL photos on this forum - including those of real things - are digitally created.

[Mr.B]

"Digitally created photo".

Hint: "ALL photos on this forum - including those of real things - are digitally created."

Whooosh!®

[Vrede too]

... Still, it has no mention of NASA as your added description does.

You seem confused.

Digitally invented supposed quote.

[Mr.B]

"... Still, it has no mention of NASA as your added description does....You seem confused."

Oops! You're correct! (I didn't add the description; it's a copy and paste)

Y'all go put you some dry panties on; here's the correct description ...

"A manipulated photograph of the Swan Nebula is being passed around as an image of "The Gates of Heaven."

[Vrede too]

Muslim Schoolchildren Bullied By Fellow Students And Teachers

... 42 percent of Muslims with children in K–12 schools report bullying of their children because of their faith, compared with 23 percent of Jewish and 20 percent of Protestant parents.

These results confirm recent findings by other research and advocacy groups showing that bullying of students of color is on the rise....

"... There's been a two-year spike in school bullying and harassment, and right now there is a generalized climate of permission to say hateful things to other groups that are deemed as 'different.'"

... Schoolyard bullies aren't the only ones who have taken President Trump's words to heart. The ISPU study also revealed that teachers and school officials have participated in one in four bullying incidents involving Muslim students.

Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed letters of complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education on behalf of an 11-year-old Muslim Somali refugee student who was repeatedly discriminated against by his teacher in Arizona. "I can't wait until Trump is elected. He's going to deport all you Muslims," the teacher exclaimed, according to the ACLU letter of complaint "Muslims shouldn't be given visas. They'll probably take away your visa and deport you. You're going to be the next terrorist, I bet."

Soon after, the boy's classmates followed the teacher's lead and called him a terrorist, according to the complaint. They also accused him of planning to blow up the school bus on the ride home. When the boy's mother complained to the school, administrators encouraged him to withdraw....

[Mr.B]

"Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed letters of complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education on behalf of an 11-year-old Muslim Somali refugee student who was repeatedly discriminated against by his teacher in Arizona. "I can't wait until Trump is elected. He's going to deport all you Muslims," the teacher exclaimed, according to the ACLU letter of complaint "Muslims shouldn't be given visas. They'll probably take away your visa and deport you. You're going to be the next terrorist, I bet."

Soon after, the boy's classmates followed the teacher's lead and called him a terrorist, according to the complaint. They also accused him of planning to blow up the school bus on the ride home. When the boy's mother complained to the school, administrators encouraged him to withdraw....

Stupid people everywhere.

[Vrede too]

Should Religiously Affiliated Hospitals Be Allowed To Ignore A Federal Law That Protects Employee Pensions?

... ERISA requires most employers that offer pension plans to include measures of security and transparency to safeguard employee pensions.

The law has a narrow exemption from its rules for houses of worship to prevent government intrusion into church finances. But religiously affiliated employers, particularly health systems, have been wrongfully taking the narrow exemption and converting their employee pension plans into “church plans.”

That means the religiously affiliated health systems have been underfunding their employees’ retirement plans and may be flouting other ERISA rules – putting their employees’ retirement savings at risk. And these employees, the vast majority of whom perform secular duties, often are unaware that their pensions are at risk because the hospital systems haven’t told them much about converting their pension plans from ERISA-compliant to “church plans.”

“Hospitals are not churches, and they should not be allowed to shoe-horn themselves into exemptions created specifically for houses of worship,” AU Executive Director Barry W. Lynn said in a statement. “There’s no reason to let these health systems use religion as an excuse to put their employees’ financial well-being at risk.”

Looks like some churches object to security and transparency with other people's money. I wonder why. If they succeed what's to stop them from demanding exemptions from all the laws that protect patients from poor medical care? Hell, why not open up a brokerage that claims it's exempt from all securities law?

[bannination]

Order while supplies last Mr. B.

[bannination]

Should Religiously Affiliated Hospitals Be Allowed To Ignore A Federal Law That Protects Employee Pensions?

... ERISA requires most employers that offer pension plans to include measures of security and transparency to safeguard employee pensions.

The law has a narrow exemption from its rules for houses of worship to prevent government intrusion into church finances. But religiously affiliated employers, particularly health systems, have been wrongfully taking the narrow exemption and converting their employee pension plans into “church plans.”

That means the religiously affiliated health systems have been underfunding their employees’ retirement plans and may be flouting other ERISA rules – putting their employees’ retirement savings at risk. And these employees, the vast majority of whom perform secular duties, often are unaware that their pensions are at risk because the hospital systems haven’t told them much about converting their pension plans from ERISA-compliant to “church plans.”

“Hospitals are not churches, and they should not be allowed to shoe-horn themselves into exemptions created specifically for houses of worship,” AU Executive Director Barry W. Lynn said in a statement. “There’s no reason to let these health systems use religion as an excuse to put their employees’ financial well-being at risk.”

Looks like some churches object to security and transparency with other people's money. I wonder why. If they succeed what's to stop them from demanding exemptions from all the laws that protect patients from poor medical care? Hell, why not open up a brokerage that claims it's exempt from all securities law?

But church run hospitals would never provide bad healthcare, Christians would make sure patients received only the best....... /s/s/s//s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s/s