Baptist church gives away an assualt rifle as a prize (for teenagers)

It seems guns and US Baptist churches have a lot in common - a few months ago we reported on how Baptists in Georgia were appealing for the right to carry firearms in church, and now we hear of a church in Oklahoma that plans to give away an AR-15 assault rifle as a prize in a shooting competition for teenagers.

The competition will take place at Windsor Hills Baptist Church's Annual Youth Conference, which runs from today until Friday, and the leading young Christian hotshot will walk away well-armed thanks to a church benefactor who has kindly donated the AR-15.

For the non-gun-toters among you, Wikipedia tells me an AR-15 is a is a lightweight, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed, semi-automatic, centerfire, shoulder-fired rifle capable of delivering a cool 800 rounds per minute over an effective range of 550 metres.

The shooting competition is part of a whole host of events, including a volleyball championship, a "Crunch Revival"(does anyone know what one of those is?), a "Preacher Boys' competition", Youth Workers Golf and a basketball tournament.

There seems to have been some confusion over whether the gun-giveaway was actually going ahead, with some US media reporting that it had been cancelled, but the Church's own website assures teenage Christian gun enthusiasts everywhere that the weapon will still be available. But in case you're worried that giving a gun away to a young person may lead to something bad happening from the long list of bad things that can happen when a young person (or indeed anyone) has a gun, youth pastor Bob Ross has assured the media this is not the case:

“I don’t want people thinking ‘My goodness, we’re putting a weapon in the hand of somebody that doesn’t respect it who are then going to go out and kill'. That’s not at all what we’re trying to do.”

[Thanks to reader Paul Chana for putting us on to that story]

Hitchens undergoes "waterboarding", admits it's torture

Here's a proper bit of journalism - following his earlier claim that "waterboarding" doesn't amount to torture, but rather "extreme interrogation", New Humanist honorary associate Christopher Hitchens agreed to let some scary-looking ex-special forces guys in balaclavas try it out on him for his latest Vanity Fair assignment.

The video's up on the VF website, as is Hitchens' article on the experience. As you'll see he doesn't last very long, and he now admits that waterboarding is most certainly a form of torture.

For more on America's continuing use of torture in the "war on terror", read Stan Cohen's column from our January issue.

Campaign 2008: Nailing the faith vote

Barack Obama's march to the nomination seems to be back on track following last night's victory in North Carolina (though Hilary's just lent herself $6.4m so she can carry on fighting), so this seemed like an appropriate time to shamelessly plug our May/June cover story, in which James Crabtree discusses how, in the current campaign, both parties are courting the evangelical vote.

Read it, it's very good.

For this premium unleaded, may the Lord make us truly grateful...

Fuel's in the news right now, what with the recently-ended Scottish refinery strike (advice to drivers "Don't panic". Cue mini-panic) and a convoy of truckers entering London to protest against rising diesel prices.

With this in mind, perhaps all those worried about petroleum-related matters should study the antics of Rocky Twyman (what a name) of Washington state, who last week held three separate "gas-station pray-ins".

Rocky's worried about rising "gas" prices in the States (perhaps he should try filling up over here) and has asked fellow motorists to join him in a simple call of "God, deliver us from these high gas prices."

And his efforts haven't gone unnoticed, at least here on Earth, with a representative of the group Consumer Watchdog saying: "Given the complete inertia and silence of this White House on a crisis that has people feeling just hopeless, prayer is probably as good as anything. Frankly, I wish them luck."

[Thanks Christina]

Now you can make your home smell like Jesus

Regular readers will know we're big fans of novelty religious tat, supported by the efforts of stand-up comedian Christina Martin, New Humanist's tat-finder extraordinaire. And now Christina has discovered what could be the best piece of tat so far – Jesus-scented candles.

Bob and Karen Tosterud, of South Dakota, USA, concocted the "His Essence" candle from a list of ingredients provided by God/someone who wrote a bit of the Bible (delete as appropriate to your religious views) in Psalms 45. "It's a Messianic Psalm," explained Karen, "referring to when Christ returns and his garments will have the scent of myrrh, aloe and cassia."

So, inspired by this heavenly recipe, the couple did what any other sensible person would have done and produced a scented candle that apparently produces "a flowery, cinnamon aroma". For anyone wondering what the point of any of this is, allow Karen's husband Bob to explain: "You can't see him and you can't touch him. This is a situation where you may be able to sense him by smelling. And it provides a really new dimension to one's experience with Jesus."

This may bring a smile to the faces of us rationalists, but when you bear in mind that the Tosterud's have flogged over 10,000 of these candles at $18 a pop, it's hard not to feel that they're the ones who should be laughing, preferably en route to their local bank.

Boom time for tat as New York prepares for Papal visit

Readers of our print magazine will have seen Christina Martin's collection of religious tat - the Argod Catalogue - in the current issue, and in keeping with this theme we were delighted to hear that New York is currently experiencing an explosion in the sale of Catholic tat as it prepares for next week's visit of Pope Benedict XVI.

The New York Daily News reports that tat-mongers are cashing in on the Pope's visit by peddling high-class items like Papal bookmarks, coffee mugs, baseball caps, t-shirts and (our favourite) Benedict XVI cologne.

Catholic gift shop owner Neil Fusco took time off from counting his sacred cash to tell reporters that"Our Holy Father is coming, everyone is excited and every body wants a piece of him." And that wont be a problem at Neil's store – he's set up a cardboard cut-out of Benedict outside his shop so customers can stop off to have and have their picture taken with him. We're not sure if he's charging them for this, but we'd be disappointed in his tat-instincts if we found out that he isn't.

What do you REALLY need in church?

Guns, of course. The Christian Coalition in Georgia, USA has expressed its support for a piece of state legislation that would include churches in the places where citizens can legally carry a concealed firearm.

In case you're wondering why anyone would feel the need to make their religious observances while armed to the teeth, the Coalition's leader Jim Beck explained that "many of the state’s megachurches would like the option of using their congregants as an informal security force."

And why not? If you're going to gather thousands of worshippers together in one place, you may as well have them doubling up as a heavily armed paramilitary force.

This story is ultimately just another case of life imitating satire, as back in 1996 classic comedy show Brass Eye reported on the problem of guns in American churches:

Florida legislators prepare to rein in teaching of evolution

Three leading Florida state legislators are preparing to challenge new state science education standards which will make the teaching of evolution compulsory for the first time in Florida's history.

The standards, set to be approved by Florida's Board of Education on 19 February, will ensure all middle and high school students are taught about evolution and natural selection in science classes. Three Republican legislators are unhappy with these guidelines, as they believe evolution should be explicitly referred to as a "theory" and not fact. One of the three, state Senator Stephen Wise, believes creationism should be taught alongside evolution. State Representative Marti Coley, who believes in intelligent design, told the Miami Herald that evolution "is technically a theory. Let's present it for what it is."

The three, who also include future state House Speaker Dean Cannon, have said they will be willing to use the powers of the state Legislature, which can override the Board of Education, to ensure the word "theory" is inserted into the standards.

The standards have been exercising creationists ever since they were proposed last October. One Florida Department of Education employee even sent round an email calling on fellow Christians to oppose the guidelines, as they would be "a COMPLETE contradiction of what we Teach them at home."

This religious challenge to science education has alarmed the man who carried out the review of Florida's standards. Professor Joseph Travis, dean of Florida State University's Arts and Sciences College, told the Herald: "If you use the word theory to imply that scientists think evolution is just a hypothesis and is not real, that gives an incorrect impression."

Mitt Romney: give religion a greater role in US public life

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney yesterday suggested he would give evangelical Christians a greater role in US public life if elected president, the Guardian reports.

In a speech aimed at winning over Christians suspicious of his Mormon beliefs, Romney attacked secular Americans who fight to defend the constitutional separation of church and state: "In recent years the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. . . [secularists] seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgement of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong."

Romney went on to advocate placing greater emphasis on religion in history lessons, and expressed support for the display of nativity scenes in public places. He also took time criticise low church attendance in Europe, lamenting the fact that "so many of the cathedrals now stand as the postcard backdrop to societies just too busy or too 'enlightened' to venture inside and kneel in prayer".

Romney has been leading the Republican polls for the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary – which both take place in early January – but has recently been losing ground to Mike Huckabee, who has marketed himself as a "Christian leader" to contrast with the Mormon Romney. As a result Romney has emphasised the fact that he believes in Jesus.

Just to dispel concerns that either of these men might end up becoming US president, it's worth remembering that national polls show Rudy Giuliani and John McCain to be the frontrunners for the Republican nomination.

Video of the US Dover Area intelligent design case

Alan Watson at Humani has forwarded us this great resource for anyone interested in the intelligent design debate in America. Popular US science TV series NOVA have put online their 2-hour show on the 2005 federal court case over the teaching of intelligent design in the Dover Area School District in Pennsylvania.

It was a landmark case in which the judge ruled that intelligent design had no place in science lessons. It originated when a group of parents sued the school district over a statement that the school board required teachers to read out in science classes whenever evolution was taught. This stated that evolution was a theory rather than a fact, and offered students a book on intelligent design, Of Pandas and People, if they were interested.

The film is split into handy 10 minute chunks, so dig in.

Missing American pastor resurfaces as small-town mayor

Here's an amazing story. The pastor of a church in Hammond, Indiana who mysteriously disappeared in 1980 has resurfaced under a different name – and it turns out he's been the mayor of the small Arkansas town of Centerton for the past six years.

Don LaRose, who was pastor of the Hessville Baptist Church in Hammond, disappeared 27 years ago, leaving behind his wife and two daughters. He had previously claimed to have been abducted by a Satanic cult in 1975 for "blaspheming Satan", saying they had given him shock therapy to erase his memory before dumping him in Minneapolis.

An investigation by local Arkansas newspaper The Benton County Daily Record revealed this week that LaRose had been living in Centerton under the fake name Ken Williams, serving as mayor of the town since 2001. LaRose finally broke the news to his new wife of 21 years this week, telling her: "Our whole world is about to crash down because I am Don LaRose, and I am Ken Williams, sort of".

Speaking to the Daily Record on Tuesday, having finally broken his silence, LaRose attempted to explain his disappearance. He claims the same Satanic cult that abducted him in 1975 – who he now says are an "underworld" crime group – returned in 1980 and ordered him to disappear, threatening to kill his family if he did not cooperate.

Adopting the name and social security number of a Bruce Kent Williams, who had died in a car crash in New York state in 1959, LaRose says he drifted for several years before settling in Arkansas. Since becoming the mayor of Centerton as Ken Williams in 2001, LaRose has twice been re-elected.

LaRose, who now intends to resign as mayor, says he fears the publicity he has received this week could put his family in danger from the group that forced him to flee.

It has also been revealed that the website DonLaRose.com, which details his missing years, was set up in March this year by LaRose himself. He claims he did this in the hope of getting attention from police, who he says ignored him when he tried to report his alleged abduction in 1975.

New Humanist editor: How should we brand non-belief?

Our editor Caspar Melville posted on the Guardian's "Comment is Free" site late last week with a piece on Sam Harris's suggestion that atheists should ditch the term "atheist", along with the endless list of other labels the godless tend to employ - "humanist", "secular humanists", "rationalists", "brights" and so on.

Harris's words stand in stark contrast to Richard Dawkins' US-based "Out Campaign", aimed at encouraging atheists to "come out" and admit their non-belief, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a big red "A" for Atheist. Dawkins was in the audience for Harris's speech to the Atheists Alliance International Conference, and afterwards said he was still thinking about his reaction to it. On Comment is Free our editor jokingly suggests he may be considering rebranding his "Out Campaign", and asks what "A" stands for if it no longer stands for "Atheist"? Needless to say Comment is Free's readers have weighed in with their suggestions. Take a look, it's all good fun.

US Senate votes for plan to divide Iraq

The US Senate this week endorsed a plan for a political settlement that would divide Iraq into three semi-autonomous regions, the Washington Post reports.

The plan, devised by Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joseph R. Biden suggests a federal system for Iraq, with separate regions for Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish populations. It was approved in an overwhelming 75-23 vote, in a rare show of bi-partisan unity over Iraq. However, the Senate can not force President Bush to act on the vote.

Our September/October editorial warns of the dangers of partition, saying those calling for Iraq to be divided should remember the consequences of carving up India and Pakistan along religious lines.

US Anglicans will stop gay ordinations

Bishops from the US Episcopal Church have agreed to maintain a moratorium on the ordination of gay clergy, raising hopes among Anglicans that their worldwide communion can avoid a devastating split. The agreement came at a six-day crisis meeting of US bishops in New Orleans, the early stages of which was attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

However, the Guardian's religion correspondent Stephen Bates reports that the decision may not be enough to prevent a split. The Bishops have only agreed to continue a moratorium and this does not amount to a permanent commitment. Conservative Anglicans, particularly from African churches, have been calling for the 2.2 million strong US church to be expelled from the communion, and traditionalists in the US are already making plans to set up their own church.

Leading Iranian dissident's open letter to UN Secretary-General

Akbar Ganji, Iran's leading dissident, has written an open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemning both the United States' aggressive stance towards his country, as well as Iran's repressive internal politics. He writes that "the US can best help by promoting a just peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. . . A just resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the establishment of a Palestinian state would inflict the heaviest blow on the forces of fundamentalism and terrorism in the Middle East".

The letter, timed to coincide with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the UN in New York, is endorsed by over 300 public intellectuals and writers. Notable signatories include Charles Taylor, Noam Chomsky, JM Coetzee, Seamus Heaney, Eric Hobsbawm and Slavoj Zizek.

US generals under fire for evangelising in the line of duty

Seven US military officers, including four generals, have been found guilty of misconduct for appearing in an evangelical video while in uniform three years ago. Members of the US military are banned from seeking converts on active duty, and there is little doubt this was the aim when the seven appeared in a promotional video for Christian Embassy, an outreach group of evangelical body Campus Crusade for Christ.

As CNN's report points out (watch the video at the bottom of the linked-to page), this is particularly embarrassing for America given the fact that it has long been at pains to stress the War on Terror is not a crusade against Islam.

Ruling that the officers were "inappropriately offering support for the religious organisation while appearing to operate within the scope of their official government duties", the Defence Department's Inspector General has recommended that the Air Force and Army take unspecified "corrective action" against the men.

Scooter Libby's get out of jail free card

Notorious US neo-con Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been spared his 30 month jail sentence by President Bush. Libby was sentenced last month for perjury and obstructing justice and, while he must still pay a $250,000 fine and spend two years on probation, he is no longer facing up to life inside.
The past year has seen the fall of several prominent neo-cons, including Libby, Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld, and many commentators have predcited the demise of the ideology. Writing in the May/June issue of New Humanist the political philosopher Shadia Drury, a leading expert on neoconservatism, argued that the fall of leading neocons and the plummeting popularity of the Bush administration does not indicate the disappearance of the ideology from the American political landscape.