Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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1. 

   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

2. 

   The defence of a Christian view never seems to be settled by debate: exchange of facts, reference to historical events.…

3. 

   But …… Rwanda is a safe place: Parliament says so.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/8/contentsSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 S 2 Safety…

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   Religion can survive only on the most unquestionable assumptions. The statements made on Sundays on the BBC as if they…

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   Yes, if I’ve got anything remotely like a phobia, as an ex-fundy, its bibles, churches, tracts etc. I like to…

VARIOUS sites, including this one, estimate Graham’s net worth as $5-million at the time of his death aged 79 on May 17.

Despite this, $25,000 is being solicited for his funeral and hospital expenses via GoFundMe.

An update to the appeal posted yesterday (Monday) says:

25 thousand is needed by Friday for funeral related expenses, as well as all the other bills that have accumulated through these last, very difficult months.
God Bless you all, and thank you for all the prayers, and donations.

At the time of writing the appeal had raked in more than $23,000.

To be fair I should point out that one obvious explanation for the immediate need for funding is that it can take months, if not years, for beneficiaries of an estate to get deceased assets. This may well be the case in this instance.

Since his death, screeds have appeared on multiple Christian sites, singing the praises of the godly Graham (real name Wayne Coleman), who went from being a teenage Pentecostal preacher to professional wrestler.

Evangelism: ‘It’s pure show business’

Christianity Today, however, revealed in a lengthy obituary published yesterday (Monday) that Coleman got over his infatuation with evangelism—he called it “pure show business” in his autobiography—when confronted with the hypocrisy of fellow evangelists.

He, himself, frequently had sex with women after evangelistic events, felt bad about it, then did it again in the next town.

Writing for CT, Daniel Silliman said:

Though he didn’t lose his faith in Jesus or the power of the Holy Spirit, he was deeply confused and conflicted about evangelism and revivals. One minister confessed to Coleman that he was homosexual. Another snuck off to strip clubs.

Silliman also revealed that the man who groomed Coleman to become an evangelical preacher, Jerry Russell, was accused of sexually assaulting a child “and would eventually spend the end of his life in prison.”

At the height of his career Coleman met Valerie Irwin, who was to become his second wife in 1978.

Wrote Silliman;

They talked about how much they loved God and what they were reading in the Bible. Coleman was especially fascinated with creationism and the biblical account of Noah’s ark.

Shortly before his death, Valerie Coleman, according to Faithwire, posted a message on Facebook, saying:

Please, urgent prayers needed for my husband. The doctors wanted to remove him from life support tonight. I refused. He’s a fighter and his will is strong even if his body isn’t. God is our hope.

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If you spot any typos in this report please notify me at freethinkered@aol.com