Taylor Road Baptist Church has been, until recently, a quiet church in Chesapeake Virginia that is so small one is hard pressed to find a website or a Facebook page for it or its pastor, Mel Kunkle.
This can be all the more frustrating for those who have questions as a result of a message the pastor posted on his church sign earlier this week and have no idea where to send them to have them addressed.
While the church's message is clearly provocative - equating demands for equal rights to Satan (that's right women, people of color, gays - your desire for equal rights is Satanic-level evil) - it is hardly original.
Sadly, Taylor Road Baptist Church isn't even original in their offensiveness.
But just so we're all clear, Baptists seem to believe demands for equal rights are evil, which serves to underline the point many of us have been making that much of organized religion exists to keep people down and to reinforce the white, hetero patriarchy.
He's the head of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, an organization whose mission is "To defend life and family at international institutions and to publicize the debate."
This past week, he said on American Family Radio:
"The toxic stew of the modern university is gender studies, it’s 'Sex Week,' they all have 'Sex Week' and teaching people how to be sex-positive and overcome the patriarchy. My daughters go to a little private religious school and we pay an arm and a leg for it precisely to keep them away from all of this kind of nonsense. I do hope that they go to a Christian college or university and to keep them so far away from the hard left, human-hating people that run modern universities, who should all be taken out and shot.
So the public execution of Liberal college professors is now a Catholic form of Human Rights.
FOX News host Dana Perino used that network's airtime this past week to tell atheists to leave the United States.
Regarding atheists, Perino said during a live segment, "I'm tired of them." She continued, "I remember working at the Justice Department years ago when I first started right after 9/11 and a lawsuit like this came through, and before the day had finished, the United States Senate and the House of Representatives had both passed resolutions saying that they were for keeping ‘under God’ in the pledge."
"If these people really don't like it, they don't have to live here," she concluded.
Co-host Bob Beckel agreed, "Yeah, that's a good point."
Yes, it's a good point if you think a "My country, love it or leave it," attitude makes any kind of sense whatsover instead of being a kneejerk response by idiots.
Atheists catch a lot of shit. Especially when they push back against this kind of ignorant bullshit.
The next time you atheist-bashers and self-loathing atheists want to bemoan some imagined persecution of the devout by the godless, just think back to the last time you heard a TV host on a major news network use airtime to suggest that perhaps Christians should leave the United States if they don't like the separation of church and state. Oh right. That doesn't happen.
But religious people telling Atheists to leave the country? That is, evidently, just dandy.
"Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?" the pontiff said, speaking in Italian. "You can't marginalize these people."
It's still unclear what this means for millions for millions of conservative Catholic Americans' intolerant beliefs, policies and political activities.
While a majority of Americans celebrate the Supreme Court rulings on the Defense of Marriage Ace and California's Proposition 8, it is important to remember that these decisions do not legalize same sex marriage in states that refuse to allow it.
And that while this should seem to resolve the issue of the legality of same sex marriage for most rational people, there are forces of intolerance and cruelty that are determined not to accept marriage equality because of their own ridiculous fears and beliefs.
Even right here in Maryland, where we have marriage equality.
Archbishop William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, issued a statement saying:
“The Supreme Court’s decisions to overturn Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act are the latest in a troubling trend of decisions by lawmakers, judges, and some voters which ignores the fundamental truth about marriage: it is the most valued, most important social unit in our society and as such is deserving of the protection and special recognition societies have afforded it throughout human history. Today’s decisions will undoubtedly have far-reaching consequences, most especially for children, and are another serious blow to the institution of marriage.
“Sadly, the Courts have chosen to follow at a time when our Nation most needs strong leaders—leaders who wish to promote strong families instead of dismantling them. In a society such as ours, the Catholic Church may indeed be counter-cultural in its defense and promotion of a family built on the foundation of a healthy marriage between a man and a woman. Our consistent teaching on marriage is reflective of our respect for the dignity of the human person and the belief that children have the best chance to succeed when raised by both a father and a mother.
“Today’s decisions will also undoubtedly contribute to concerted efforts not just to redefine marriage but to dismantle it, efforts which represent a serious threat to religious liberty and conscience rights for countless people of faith. This threat to religious freedom is one of many, locally and nationally, that has prompted our current Fortnight for Freedom, which we hope will inspire people throughout the country to prayer, education, and action to preserve religious liberty.”
And Mary Ellen Russell, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference promised:
“For those of us who recognize that truth about marriage, it’s important that we become all the more vigilant in defending our right to uphold the basic understanding of marriage and the human person. The debate about marriage is going to continue in our country.”
Pastory Derek McCoy, the executive director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance
“Any Supreme Court ruling, any policy decisions legislatively around our country does not change the fundamental definition and fundamental truth that marriage is a unique special relationship between a man and a woman, and it serves society well. Most people still believe that marriage is fundamentally between a man and woman.”
Well... not really, but Christian revisionists would have us believe that Superman's willingness to sacrifice himself for humanity makes him just another version of Jesus - whom they seem to be under the faulty impression was the "Original Superhero."
In fact, in conjunction with the release of the new Warner Bros. Superman movie Man Of Steel, there's a whole mess of Christian resources being made available to churches to encourage this Christ/Superman conflation.
According to CNN, Man Of Steel is being marketed to Christians as a Christian movie.
Warner Bros. Studios is aggressively marketing "Man of Steel" to Christian pastors, inviting them to early screenings, creating Father’s Day discussion guides and producing special film trailers that focus on the faith-friendly angles of the movie.
The movie studio even asked a theologian to provide sermon notes for pastors who want to preach about Superman on Sunday. Titled “Jesus: The Original Superhero,” the notes run nine pages.
“How might the story of Superman awaken our passion for the greatest hero who ever lived and died and rose again?” the sermon notes ask.
... “When I sat and listened to the movie I actually saw it was the story of Christ, and the love of God was weaved into the story," said the pastor [Quentin Scott of Baltimore].
"It was something I was very excited about that with the consultation of our senior pastor, we could use in our congregation.”
I thought something smelled a little off when a local church had got itself excited about superheroes right before Man Of Steel opened and was offering a series of sermons conflating superheroes with Christianity. They were passing out these snappy brochures:
"Oh, no, no, no," I thought. "The only thing the Bible and superhero comics have in common is that they are both works of fiction requiring an immense amount of suspension of disbelief to succeed."
I briefly entertained the thought of attending these Jesus/superhero sermons and pointing out any superhero-related leaps or inaccuracies, but honestly, I'm not the "getting up early on Sunday mornings to force my intolerant beliefs upon others" sort of guy.
Superman is not Jesus, regardless of what Zack Snyder's new movie (or its marketing) is trying to assert. Jesus was not a superhero, regardless of what preachers desperate to connect their message to an increasingly disinterested mainstream via a momentary/popular trend or fad might have you believe.
Superheroes, by and large, are products of science (or, more specifically, science-fiction - not fantasy/magic). Superman is an alien from another planet - the sort of lifeform, that if he did exist, would shake the tenets of Christianity (which has a significant portion of its followers still wrestling with the existence of dinosaurs) to their foundation.
Batman is a man. With gadgets. The sorts of gadgets that are created by science (and a whole lotta money).
Iron Man? The same thing.
Spider-Man? A radioactive spider bite causes a genetic mutation. Again, science.
And the Avengers - well, they do have Thor, and he is a god, but he's a Norse god, not a Christian one. Captain America is a product of science - the Super Soldier Serum, The Hulk is a product of science - gamma rays, actually (similar to that ones that turned a group of scientists into the Fantastic Four).
Interestingly, the church promotional card above makes no mention of the X-Men or Wolverine. They are, after all, mutants. You know, evolution. Also science.
This is not to say there aren't superheroes that are magical in their origins, but I somehow don't see a church giving a sermon on Dr. Strange, Dr. Fate, Sandman, or John Constantine. Most of the magic-based superheroes tend to be more occult-oriented than Judeo-Christian.
Science is the antithesis of religion. Both compete for ownership of same territory - to explain that which we don't understand. The former uses a method of observation and testing relying on empirical, measurable, reproducible, verifiable data and the latter relies on magic and authoritative proclamations and a strong insistence that questioning is a character flaw.
But to claim superheroes to be gods - or to try to conflate them with some form of Christian mythology is to not only misunderstand (or even try to claim ownership of) the concept of a hero, but to attempt to culturally usurp and historically revise beloved characters for a narrow agenda (which, if we're being totally honest is just the sort of thing Christianity excels at).
"...[the trend of trying to conflate gods with superheroes] is contrived, because they're not at all the same. Superheroes are the copyrighted property of big corporations. They are purely commercial entities; they are purely about making a buck. That's not to say there haven't been some wonderful creations in the course of the history of the superhero comic, but to compare them with gods is fairly pointless." - Alan Moore (The Believer #99)
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were both children of Jewish immigrants and created Superman while in high school in the 1930s. Originally called "The Superman," there is an unavoidable connection between Superman and Nietzsche's Ubermensch - an idea that Hitler found particularly inspiring. Except that Siegel and Shuster put a spin on it.
Kal-El fled the holocaust of Krypton for America much in the same way Jews fled the holocaust in Germany for America. Kal-El is an immigrant, like all non-Native Americans. Like many immigrants, his name was changed/localized. He became Clark Kent, and he was raised on a farm in the heartland, later leaving it for work in the big city, and making good as a journalist - a truth seeker (this migration from rural areas to urban areas was similar to what many Dust Bowl/Depression/Industrial Era Americans had been doing). Like so many soldiers in World War II, Superman (clad in a costume of predominately red, yellow and blue - primary colors suggesting the American flag with white being replaced with yellow for printing/artistic reasons) fought against evil tyrants intent upon global domination and was willing to sacrifice himself for truth, justice and the American way.
That is to say, if Superman is a symbol of anything, he is a symbol of America itself. He is not, as some are insisting, a symbol of the Christ.
"Christliness has always been an element of the Superman myth. But this film's near literal insistence upon it becomes absurd since director Zack Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer don't dramatize the analogy, they presume it. ... The movie is so serious about comparing Clark to the Messiah that it starts to feel like church. ... Man of Steel is actually more interested in trying to conflate religiosity and topicality."
So Warner Bros. is using Grace Hill Media, a Christian marketing firm to sell Man of Steel as a Christian movie. Is it?
Is this what director Zack Snyder intended?
Is this what writers David Goyer and Christopher Nolan intended?
Should more interviewers be asking them these sorts of questions?
Is it appropriate for Christian leaders to attempt to reappropriate the mythology of Superman as a Christian parable?
But, more importantly, is it really what the creators of Superman intended?
America's top Catholic says that true Catholics must not only deny the rights of others but you have to actively support that denial.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan (America's highest ranking Catholic) warned of the possibility of the US Supreme Court recognizing marriage equality in a bulletin that he sent out to parishioners around the nation.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops warned:
“A broad negative ruling could redefine marriage in the law throughout the entire country, becoming the ‘Roe v. Wade’ of marriage. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has joined with many other organizations in urging the Supreme Court to uphold both DOMA and Proposition 8 and thereby to recognize the essential, irreplaceable contribution that husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, make to society, and especially to children.”
The bulletin then goes on to order American Catholics to actively try to coerce others to support the church's policy of discrimination:
“Be a witness for the truth of marriage in word and action. Take advantage of opportunities to speak about marriage’s unique meaning in conversation with friends, family, neighbors or co-workers. Share the truth in love.”
The bulletin also points out that supporting Marriage Equality also means you are not a true Catholic:
"It’s Catholic social teaching 101: pro-woman, pro-man, pro-child. Redefining marriage in the law says many false things: women - mothers - are dispensable; men - fathers - are dispensable; what adults want trumps what a child deserves and has a basic right to."
Daryl Banther is so mad at Ringgold, GA - he's talking about suing the city.
Parents complained when Banther, who was handing out religious pamphlets at the city's annual festival, started approaching children about Jesus Christ last Friday.
After parents complained about a strange man bothering their children in the parking lot, he was approached by the police chief and city manager who asked him to leave. After multiple requests, he finally acquiesced and left, vowing to return the next day. Which he did and was not harassed by anyone for harassing others.
Organizers explained that like most festivals, “Those exhibiting must have prior approval, and have a booth to operate the activity they are conducting.”
Regardless, Banther insists: “They were all harassing me because I have a constitutional right to do what I was doing.”
1. It sounds like he was doing the harassing.
2. It doesn't sound like people were upset by his "constitutional right" so much as being unnerved by the crazy man approaching children in the parking lot of a city festival.
3. If one has the constitutional right to bother people, one also has the constitutional right to ask you to not bother people. Banther was not arrested or fined.
Still, Banther claims: “If I’m anything else, I have rights. ...But as a Christian, we have rights no more. They’re taking all the Christian rights away and I’m going to stand for what’s right this time.”
What exactly are "Christian rights" and how do they differ from non-Christian rights?
Regardless, I'm sure Mr. Banther would strenuously defend my right to inform his children that there is no god.