Religion IS crazy!

Pastor Who Praised Pulse Nightclub Gunman Resigns After Allegedly Paying for Sex
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A Baptist minister in Texas who came to national attention in 2016 when he praised the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., resigned from his ministry last week after allegedly using drugs, gambling and paying for sex with prostitutes.

Donnie Romero, who founded the Stedfast Baptist Church in Fort Worth in 2014, told congregants at a church meeting on Jan. 2 that he had not “been ruling my house well.”

“I have been a terrible husband and father,” Mr. Romero said, according to video of the meeting that was posted to the church’s official YouTube channel. “This is the best decision — for my family and this church — to make.”

Mr. Romero did not elaborate on his alleged impropriety at that meeting, which was largely run by another pastor, Steven L. Anderson. Mr. Anderson told congregants that “the lord says” Mr. Romero was “disqualified” to lead them.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/09/us/donnie-romero-orlando-shooting-prostitutes.html​

‘Gay conversion therapist’ comes out: Exclusive interview
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He was a leader of the controversial 'gay conversion therapy' movement in the United States - so it came as a shock when David Matheson publicly came out as gay.

For decades, Mr Matheson - a Mormon - ran retreats offering therapy to suppress or manage sexuality, - claiming to help people live as straight men rather than gay.

In an exclusive interview [...] he's now conceded that the practice, which almost 700,000 Americans have undergone, is not only built on a harmful philosophy but should be banned.​

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https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/unerased-smid​

'Church' to offer 'miracle cure' despite FDA warnings against drinking bleach
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Group to hold ‘effective alternative healing’ event in Washington state in which they peddle a ‘sacrament’ known to be industrial cleaner

A group calling itself Genesis II Church of Health and Healing plans to convene at a hotel resort in Washington state on Saturday to promote a “miracle cure” that claims to cure 95% of all diseases in the world by making adults and children, including infants, drink industrial bleach.

The group is inviting members of the public through Facebook to attend what they call their “effective alternative healing” at the Icicle Village Resort in Leavenworth on Saturday morning. The organizer of the event, Tom Merry, has publicized the event on his personal Facebook page by telling people that learning how to consume the bleach “could save your life, or the life of a loved one sent home to die”.

The “church” is asking attendants of the meeting to “donate” $450 each, or $800 per couple, in exchange for receiving membership to the organization as well as packages of the bleach, which they call “sacraments”. The chemical is referred to as MMS, or “miracle mineral solution or supplement”, and participants are promised they will acquire “the knowledge to help heal many people of this world’s terrible diseases”.

In fact, MMS consists of chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach that is used both on textiles and in the industrial treatment of water. It has been banned in several countries around the world for use as a medical treatment.

In the US, the chemical cannot be sold for human consumption. In 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put out a public warning after it was notified of many injuries to consumers from drinking the fluid, with symptoms that included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe dehydration and one person who had a life-threatening reaction.

The FDA issued the blunt advice: “Consumers who have MMS should stop using it immediately and throw it away.”

A spokesman for the FDA told the Guardian that the agency could not comment on possible civil or criminal law enforcement actions, but added: “The FDA continues to advise consumers about the dangers of Miracle Mineral Solution and the agency has issued warnings to consumers over the past decade.”

The headline attraction of Saturday’s event in Leavenworth is Mark Grenon, a self-appointed “bishop” of the Genesis II Church. He is author of a book titled Imagine A World Without Dis-Ease: Is It Possible?

In a video posted on the “church’s” website, Grenon says that the “sacramental protocols” sold by the group can eliminate 95% of the world’s diseases, including malaria, ebola, dengue fever, all types of cancer, diabetes, autism, HIV and multiple sclerosis. It sells 4oz bottles of sodium chlorite as “sacramental cleansing water” for $15, giving instructions on how to mix it with citric acid to make chlorine dioxide.​

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ent-despite-fda-warnings-against-miracle-cure​

The Satanic Temple in Salem is now a tax-exempt church​

SALEM, Mass. - The Satanic Temple says it's been designated a tax-exempt church by the Internal Revenue Service.

The Salem, Massachusetts-based organization said Wednesday it recently received notice from the federal agency of its new tax status.

The organization says the designation will help in its legal battles against religious discrimination, allow it to pursue faith-based government grants and guarantee the same access to public spaces as other religious organizations. The IRS didn't comment.

The Satanic Temple says it's a "non-theistic" group and members are not literal devil worshippers.

The group temporarily placed a statue of the goat-headed creature Baphomet at the Arkansas State Capitol last year after a Ten Commandments monument was installed. It also sued Scottsdale, Arizona after members weren't allowed to deliver the opening prayer at a City Council meeting.​

https://www.boston25news.com/news/the-satanic-temple-in-salem-is-now-a-tax-exempt-church/943434601​