Showing posts with label Ten Commandments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ten Commandments. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Gigi Cervantes and Johnnie Cotton: Teachers Standing Up for the First Amendment (video from the 2026 National Convention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation)

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has recognized two courageous Texas teachers, Gigi Cervantes and Johnny Cotton, with their Civil Rights/First Amendment awards for refusing to comply with the state's mandate to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. 

Both educators chose to resign rather than violate their students' constitutional rights and their own principles. 

Gigi, a high school theater teacher, and Johnny, a band teacher, shared their stories of standing up against what they saw as an infringement on religious freedom and academic integrity. Their actions highlight the ongoing struggle to maintain the separation of church and state in public education. The FFRF continues to advocate for policies that ensure government neutrality in religious matters.
Interview: 


Sunday, October 11, 2026

Friendly Atheist News Roundup 10/8/2026: The Grifty Legacy of Jim Bakker (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podcast #656)

0:00 Intro
0:21 Jim Bakker, the godfather of scamvangelism, is dead at 86.
16:27 A Christian influencer says he went to Heaven and met a testosterone-fueled Jesus.
25:47 A restaurant stood up to Doug Wilson’s Christian Nationalists—and won.
40:22 Texas judge forces Galveston school district to display Ten Commandments posters.
48:48 Idaho’s attorney general gave churches a dark-money loophole to fight abortion rights.
58:23 The Mormon Church’s own lawyer just undermined its case against John Dehlin.
Interview: 







Friday, September 11, 2026

Interfaith TX parents speak out against 10 Commandments in Public Schools (Americans United on YouTube)

Ted & Rebekah Lowe are an interfaith couple (Jewish and Christian) with kids in Texas public schools. They believe the government should have no say in the religious upbringing of their children. That’s why the Lowes and other Texas families are in court challenging the Ten Commandments in public schools. Listen to and share their story.

Texas politicians are trying to force their preferred religion on public school students by mandating the display of a state-selected, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. A federal appeals court allowed it, downplaying the display as “a poster on a classroom wall.” But the Ten Commandments is a religious document that is sacred for some — and forcing it on every Texas public school student violates the First Amendment.

Families — not politicians or the government — should get to decide what role religion plays in their children’s lives. The Lowes and other families are taking this case as far as needed to make sure religious freedom is protected.

Share their story and learn more at au.org/TenC/
Interview: 

Monday, September 7, 2026

Requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms is un-American

The Ten Commandments fight continues.

Families — not politicians — get to decide how kids engage with religion.

Requiring the permanent display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom pressures students to observe and adopt state-endorsed religious teachings. This violates fundamental American values. Religion is deeply personal, and how children are introduced to faith should be left to families and faith communities. 

Mandating a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments on every public school classroom wall crosses a line and it puts the government and school teachers in the role of religious instructors. Americans United, the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and ACLU state affiliates are challenging similar laws in Louisiana, Arkansas, and now Texas. And the brave families we represent are speaking out against these harmful displays.

Watch and share these short videos...

 

Sunday, September 6, 2026

RESIST: 4 Ways to Defend Democracy (with Andrew Seidel) (Seth Andrews; The Thinking Atheist podcast on YouTube)

Constitutional attorney Andrew Seidel told a Sarnia, Ontario audience that things in the U.S. are dire, but there are things that all of us can do to resist.
Interview: 

TX Rabbi and his Family Fight 10 Commandments in Public Schools (Americans United for the Separation of Church and State on YouTube)

Public schools are for education, not religious indoctrination. Classrooms are for teaching, not preaching. That’s why families are in court challenging a Texas law that requires all public schools to display a government-selected version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

The Fixler family understands that every student has the right to an inclusive education, free from government-imposed religion, and they’re speaking out to protect separation of church and state.

Share their story and learn more at au.org/TenC/

Allies in this Fight:
— AU: au.org/
— ACLU: aclu.org/
— ACLU-Louisiana: laaclu.org/
— ACLU-Texas: aclutx.org/
— FFRF: ffrf.org/
Interview: 

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Ten Commandments Showdown at Supreme Court (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podcast #649) Friendly Atheist News Roundup 8/19/2026

— Texas’ Ten Commandments law is heading toward a Supreme Court showdown. (0:32)

— Colorado school district dumps Bible-heavy curriculum borrowed from Texas after 3 days. (22:00)

— Satanists sue Iowa officials for blocking them from erecting a holiday display in the Capitol. (31:40)

— Arizona Supreme Court says pastor’s admission of abuse is NOT protected by religious privilege. (40:13)

— Canada’s military tells chaplains: At public events, serve everyone, not just Christians. (54:07)

— Connecticut Republicans finally rejected the Christian extremist they never vetted. (59:15)

— Christian televangelist Katie Souza claims aliens stole her eggs and made a hybrid baby. (1:06:01)
Interview: 

No Prophets (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

After announcing that we have asked the Supreme Court to rule that the Texas law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools is unconstitutional, we hear Ron Reagan interview Rep. Jared Huffman about his new book No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism.
Interview: 


Thursday, August 13, 2026

Can You Be a Bible-Believing Christian and a Socialist? (Dan McClellan and Dan Beecher; Data Over Dogma podcast on YouTube)

Pastor Mark Driscoll says you can't be a Bible-believing Christian and a socialist, and that "thou shalt not steal" settles the question.

This week, we take that argument apart: what the Ten Commandments actually presuppose, what the eighth-century prophets had to say about creditors and land consolidation, and why the economics of the New Testament look nothing like Driscoll's. Ancient Israel and Judah weren't running a capitalist economy or a socialist one, but the text has a great deal to say about who gets protected and who gets ground down.

Chapters:

0:00 Welcome and Twisted Scripture
0:48 Who Is Mark Driscoll?
1:46 The Claim: No Christian Socialists
2:52 Does Ownership Prove Capitalism?
3:31 What Socialism Actually Means
5:16 Fire Departments and Safety Nets
5:55 Ancient Economies, Modern Categories
6:53 The Generational Wealth Argument
9:28 Sell What You Own
10:07 Prophets Against Predatory Lending
11:44 Writing From Outside of Power
13:10 The Ten Commandments Problem
15:04 The Eighth Century Debt Crisis
17:23 Jubilee, Gleanings, and Deuteronomy
19:25 "Taxation Is Theft"
20:50 Acts 4 and 5: Communalism
21:31 Individual Charity vs Government
24:00 Render Unto Caesar
25:30 Why Churches Aren't Enough
27:31 Wealth for Everybody
28:11 Wrap-Up

Interview: 

Sunday, August 9, 2026

Friendly Atheist News Roundup 8/6/2026: Anti-LGBTQ Food Bank Leader Rejects Gay Food (VIDEO Podcast Ep. 647)

0:00 Intro
0:55 Annoying "Sky Evangelist" kicked off airline after scaring everyone with her preaching.
13:03 West Virginia pastor rejects food over LGBTQ support. Now his food bank is empty.
24:46 Missouri Republicans threaten to defund library over books about a rainbow dinosaur and a wig.
34:48 Florida AG threatens to defund Catholic schools unless they loosen vaccination rules.
46:20 Three Texas moms cite "religious freedom" to strike down state's Ten Commandments law.
Interview: 

Monday, July 20, 2026

Al Mohler vs. The Constitution (Warren Throckmorton; The Christian Past That Wasn’t: Formerly Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)

In this final episode of the season, there are three parts which support the concluding chapter of The Christian Past That Wasn't. The first part is former Secretary of Health and Human Services Ben Carson's false telling of Ben Franklin's call to prayer during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Carson said the delegates stopped and prayed after Franklin called them to prayer. They didn't. This is the kind of folklore which I correct in The Christian Past That Wasn't.

The second part of this segment is a brief analysis of Al Mohler's admission that the Constitution doesn't acknowledge any Christian foundation. This significant admission came in a short video this week. Even though Mohler is honest about one aspect of the Constitution, he considers the lack of explicit Christian language to be an error on the part of the founders. Here is where he is wrong and I respond to Al Mohler's opposition to the American Constitution.

The third and final part tracks with the Conclusion of The Christian Past That Wasn't. I discuss separation of church and state in light of the golden rule and the moral teachings of Christ. I end the podcast where I started it by examining the issue of posting copies of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. I come down on the side that posting the Decalogue is an imposition of one faith over others and thus an improper establishment of religion. As such it violates the golden rule. If I don't want someone to impose their faith on me, I shouldn't do that to others.

In the words of Texas state legislator John Bryant from the podcast, "That's not fair, and that's not American."
Interview: 

 

Sunday, June 7, 2026

Revival of Reason (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

Founder and President of Black Nonbelievers Mandisa Thomas tells us about the June 12–14 “Revival of Reason” in Atlanta, celebrating the lives and views of Black Americans who live without religion. We also talk about Ten Commandments monuments, FFRF victories removing religion from public schools, and public officials discussing “aliens and demons.”
Interview: 


Sunday, May 31, 2026

This Religion Wants to Destroy Your Pets (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #637)

— James Talarico will face Ken Paxton this November in a battle for the Senate. Who will white evangelicals choose? (0:20)

— A secretive Christian sect is pressuring members to purge their pets. (2:25)

— Dozens of Oklahoma Republicans fought a bill banning child marriage. (17:25)

— The evangelical Christian hit “Testify to Love” just got a powerful pro-LGBTQ reboot. (35:45)

— Ché Ahn says drug users must choose between Christian rehab or Bible lessons in prison. (45:27)

— Rockwall County courthouse in Texas unveils illegal Ten Commandments monument. (50:07)

— The rising cost of reaching secular voters is good for democracy. (57:50)
Interview: 

Monday, May 4, 2026

Top 10 Questionable Ten Commandments Claims... Destroyed by a Yale Scholar (feat Dr Joel Baden) (Paulogia on YouTube)

Are the Ten Commandments really as clear and unchanging as we’ve been told? 

Watch as a Yale professor breaks down 10 Christian apologist claims... and exposes how many of them fall apart under closer scrutiny.

 ==== SIGN UP for Joel Baden's Ten Commandments Course at http://tinyurl.com/baden10 ====

Interview: 

Sunday, April 26, 2026

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Texas Courage (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

After offering a fresh perspective on President Trump masquerading as Jesus and other news of the week, we interview Johnnie Cotton, a Texas band director who resigned rather than put up a Ten Commandments poster in his classroom.
Interview: 


Sunday, April 12, 2026

Happy Easter Here’s a War Crime (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #057)

Has there been a bigger news week? 

Trump threatens to commit war crimes on Easter morning, but even before that, it was insane. 

The Supreme Court just made American healthcare worse, while a California jury may have made social media much better. 

The next Citizens United is averted, a Ten Commandments monument in Arkansas falls after a decade, and Trump stupidly goes to the Supreme Court in real life. 

Plus, Noem’s bimbofication scandal, Bondi is out, JD doesn’t know what church he attends, and Paula White thinks Trump is Jesus. And, oh yeah, we’re going back to the moon.
Interview: 


NBA Player Waived After Anti-LGBTQ Rant (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #630 on YouTube)

All the relevant links to each story can be found here:

https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/2026/04/08/nba-player-waived-after-anti-lgbtq-rant/

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast

0:00 Intro
0:54 Florida attorney general says state can ignore its own constitution to fund religion.
9:25 Bulls cut Jaden Ivey after anti-Pride rant (but not because he’s Christian).
22:30 School district cuts ties with group that secretly targeted kids for conversion to Christianity.
33:45 UK-based Bible Society admits claim of "Quiet Revival" of faith was based on bad data.
53:25 Federal judge orders removal of Ten Commandments display outside Arkansas Capitol.
1:02:35 Trump-appointed FEMA leader says he teleported to Waffle House.
Interview: 

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Conversion Therapy (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

Attorney Sam Grover describes FFRF’s court victory demanding the removal of the Ten Commandments from the Arkansas capitol. Then, activist Lucas F. W. Wilson, a survivor of “conversion therapy,” discusses his book Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy.
Interview: 


Sunday, March 22, 2026

Permanent Injunction (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

After we cover state/church news in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Maryland, FFRF attorney Chris Line dissects the so-called “Religious Liberty Commission” and FFRF attorney Nancy Noet tells us about this week’s decision by an Arkansas court permanently enjoining the state from displaying the Ten Commandments in public classrooms.
Interview: 

 







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