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Tuesday "social media censorship" segment on Newsmax ended in dramatic fashion as MyPillow founder and ardent President Donald Trump supporter Mike Lindell ranted about election fraud until one of the anchors walked off the set. One of Newsmax's live broadcast anchors, Bob Sellers, appealed to the show's producers "can we get out of here please," after he asked Lindell whether he should be permanently or temporarily banned from Twitter. Instead of responding to the question, Lindell launched into a tirade about voting machine fraud and other false conspiracies that pulled several TV networks into legal problems late last year. Sellers...

Joann Davis had a moon rock. Yes, it was real. A gift, she said, from Neil Armstrong to her late husband. She also had an ill son and the Lake Elsinore resident wanted to help with his medical care. So she contacted NASA about her intention to sell it. That led to a nightmare situation on May 19, 2011, when Davis stood in the parking lot of a Denny’s restaurant in pants soaked in urine, answering questions from a federal agent about a rice-sized piece of moon. “He kept saying, ‘You will be going to federal court, you will be...

Osi Imeokparia, the Clinton campaign's chief product officer (don't ask), was interviewed on NPR yesterday and asked how she would feel if Donald Trump won the election. If you listen at about the 12-minute mark, you can hear her start to sob hysterically. "If Donald Trump is the victor, how devastating will that be to you?" she is asked. "Fairly. As you can see, I am a woman of color. I also am a recent naturalized citizen of the United States. On all dimensions this campaign is very personal (sob!) ... (sob! sob! sob!) ... So to work on behalf...

WHITEFIELD, New Hampshire - Ted Cruz challenged Donald Trump directly by name for the first time on the campaign trail - despite his refusal for months to engage in a "cage match" with the GOP frontrunner. "There are many people that are observing this race nationally [who say it] is coming more and more down to a two-man race between me and Donald Trump," Cruz said. "And we're at the phase in the race where the voters are beginning to look very, very carefully at the records of the candidates." Cruz has consistently avoided attacking or questioning Trump. But on...

One day God, seated on his throne in heaven, was looking quite troubled, so his Son, Jesus, who was seated at his right hand, asked him, “What’s wrong, Father?” God replied, “Son, there are so many different ideas among humans about who you are. How can we get it across to everyone who you really are?” Jesus thought for a moment and then said, “Do you remember that popular old TV show “To Tell the Truth”? You know, the one where they assembled a panel of people who all claimed they were a particular person, but they are all imposters...

Within an hour of its online debut, the number of viewers of Reza Aslan’s now notorious interview with Fox News’ Lauren Green had far exceeded the number of Israelites who crossed the Red Sea under the leadership of the father of all Jewish nationalist zealots, Moses. Aslan was being interviewed on the occasion of the appearance of his book that places Jesus of Nazareth at the top of a long list of subsequent, rabidly nationalist messianic Jewish zealots. ...

Simcha Jacobovici is a Canadian-Israeli adjunct religion professor and filmmaker known for his biblical archaeology History Channel series “The Naked Archaeologist.” In an op-ed in the Times of Israel, Jacobovici takes Reza Aslan, author of “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” to task for referring to the land of Jesus as “Palestine,” when a review of historical sources shows the place was known as “Judea,” a word that in Hebrew is synonymous with the word “Jew.” Jacobovici writes (emphasis added throughout), “in all his interviews, Aslan goes out of his way to refer to Jesus’ Judea i.e.,...

Dr. Reza Aslan’s newly released book, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” has been at the center of considerable controversy in recent days after shooting to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list. NPR billed the work as “Christ in context,” while a number of Christians are criticizing its portrayal of Jesus as inaccurate and misleading. Wednesday night on TheBlaze TV, Glenn Beck gave his own perspective on the issue, arguing that Aslan is one in a long line of progressives seeking to re-write history. “From naming streets after communist labor activist Caesar Chavez to making movies glorifying...

Near the end of Reza Aslan's strange, 10-minute television exchange with Fox News, the author of "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth," gives voice to a thought that’s entered the mind of many an author while being interviewed: “I’m afraid it seems like you haven’t read my book.” The interview, now circulating widely on social media sites, has helped propel the book to No. 1 on the Amazon bestseller list Monday.

Reza Aslan, a religious scholar with a Ph.D. in the sociology of religions from the University of California and author of the new book, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” went on FoxNews.com’s online show Spirited Debate to promote his book only to be prodded about why a Muslim would write a historical book about Jesus.

Reza Aslan, author of the new book, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” has been interviewed on a host of media outlets in the last week. Riding a publicity wave, the book has surged to #2 on Amazon's list. Media reports have introduced Aslan as a “religion scholar” but have failed to mention that he is a devout Muslim. His book is not a historian’s report on Jesus. It is an educated Muslim’s opinion about Jesus -- yet the book is being peddled as objective history on national TV and radio. Aslan is not a trained historian.

Before posting this video, my co-editors and I detected what we heard as someone saying the word “zealot” in the above video at 1:34 while the Governor was speaking. We verified the separate version of the video posted at RightScoop by asking the site owner and they heard it there as well. It has now hit Twitter and Jedediah Bila says it best: “What .The. Hell.” Absolutely unbelievable. I am no expert on microphone or feedback issues. But, I do know that two completely separate versions of the video (ours from SarahNet and the version RS put up) both have...

Last week, a Texas jury convicted Warren Jeffs, leader of the polygamist FLDS Church, of two counts of child sexual assault...For Americans who are increasingly interested in the religion of the two Mormons running for president, Jeffs' conviction raises what could appear to be difficult questions about modern Mormonism. There is no formal connection between Jeffs' FLDS Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... From 1852 until 1890, however, the Mormon Church did publically teach and practice polygamy... Given that history, many Americans ask themselves whether Jeffs' cocktail of religious authority, polygamy and child sex represents some...

During the early 1830s, Emma Smith was beginning to have some strong suspicions that her husband, Joseph (Mormon prophet) might be involved in infidelity. While these were only suspicions, Oliver Cowdery (one of the three “witnesses” to the Book of Mormon) had proof of Smith’s adultery and confronted him on it. Smith denied to Cowdery that he was in any such activity. Cowdery would be excommunicated from the Mormon church on several counts including, “by falsely insinuating that he [Smith] was guilty of adultery.” 1 Emma’s suspicions were confirmed when she caught Joseph and 19-year-old Eliza Partridge locked in a...

<p>CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor Eric Marrapodi jumped into the fray on the topic with Foreman as well. He said while religious views shape Mormon politicians on a macro level, there is no evidence Mormon politicians have a "bat phone" to Utah and take orders from the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the church is formally known.</p>

Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Mormon church that practises polygamy, is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars after he was given the maximum sentence for taking girls as young as 12 to be his brides. SNIP ...a Texas jury took just 40 minutes to hand him the toughest sentence open to them – life in prison for aggravated sexual assault and 20 years in prison for sexual assault of a child... SNIP The polygamist Mormons, under Jeffs's leadership, refused to renounce plural marriages and now have about 10,000 followers. The jury heard that Jeffs...

The Companionship of the Holy Ghost By Elder Carlos E. Asay Of the First Quorum of the Seventy For many unmarried Latter-day Saints, particularly some of the single sisters, courtship and eternal companionship are unrealized dreams. You long for them, you know eternal companionship is a crucial part of the gospel, and yet you feel frustrated because no worthy partner is available.It is tempting to wish that I could match you with perfect companions in an instant and send you off for the eternities in joyful marriages. But such a solution would be satanic. Satan, you will remember, wanted...

In a recent letter to the editor, the author of “The right vs. the law (5/26)” compared illegal immigrants to the early leaders of the church. He observed the early church members violated the law to practice polygamy and those men were still doing what was right, therefore there are cases when it isn’t wrong to break the law. This is all true. But then he implies by this same reasoning, illegal immigrants may not be doing something wrong. This is a false analogy, because the two situations are not the same in the relevant way. What made the church...

As can be expected from a book published by Greg Kofford, Craig L. Foster’s A Different God? is well researched and engaging. This book begins by examining the rise of the religious right and the power it exerts on the current political landscape. Foster presents a good deal of information that most Latter-day Saints will not be well acquainted with, such as the difference between evangelical and fundamentalist Christians, the emergence of the charismatic movement, the rise and fall of the Moral Majority, and the subsequent establishment of the Christian Coalition. This background is particularly pertinent to the majority of...

Friday, January 5 Dear Damon, I appreciate your moderate and respectful reply to my objections. It is often hard for non-Mormons to understand how Mormons believe all we do. You at least see how Mormon beliefs and our way of life could be satisfying to educated, reasonable people, among whom you presumably would include Mitt Romney. What troubles you is the implication of belief in prophetic revelation: Would Mormons perform any dire deed for their prophet no matter how contrary to conscience? And what about the belief that the United States and the Church might combine to dominate the world...