Billy Ray Cyrus: Athiest 'Adopt-a-Highway' Sign Foretold Miley's Hell Spiral

If there's one thing that's clear from Billy Ray Cyrus's highly publicized GQ interview, it's that Mr. Soulpatch takes no responsibility whatsoever for Miley's troubles. He's blaming everything from Mickey Mouse to Hollywood for his failed marriage and poor parenting.

But this nugget, from page 5 of the interview, really lays it on thick:

"Somewhere along this journey," he says, "both mine and Miley's faith has been shaken. That saddens me the most." When they first came to Hollywood for Hannah Montana, the two of them would drive down the freeway together to the studio each morning, and every day Miley would point out the sign that said

ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY
ATHEISTS UNITED

Just before moving out to Los Angeles, the whole family had been baptized together by their pastor at the People's Church in Franklin, Tennessee. "It was Tish's idea," he remembers. "She said, 'We're going to be under attack, and we have to be strong in our faith and we're all going to be baptized...'" And there, driving to work each day in the City of Angels, was this sign. "A physical sign. It could have easily said 'You will now be attacked by Satan.' 'Entering this industry, you are now on the highway to darkness...'"

Do you really see it in such clearly spiritual terms—that your family was under attack by Satan?

"I think we are right now. No doubt. There's no doubt about it."

And why is that happening?

"It's the way it is. There has always been a battle between good and evil. Always will be. You think, 'This is a chance to make family entertainment, bring families together...' and look what it's turned into."

Perhaps Mr. Cyrus could have prevented some of his problems by focusing more on being together as a family.  Perhaps doing something that allowed his family to bond while doing something positive, like, say, adopting a highway.

Iowa Grandmother Speaks in Favor of Gay Marriage

A Sequence of Lines Traced by Five Hundred Individuals

One of the most common statements from those who deny Evolution is: "How could something so complex start from something so simple?" Part of the difficulty lies in the inability for most folks to fathom millions of mutations over millions of generations.

This below video does a great job of demonstrating how, over time, something simple can evolve into something unrecognizable. The premise is simple: One person draws a straight line. The next person is asked to trace the previous line. And so on -- like a game of Telephone. Although this model doesn't actually demonstrate how evolution works, it is remarkable in its ability to distill a simple evolutionary idea into something compelling and eye-opening.

A Sequence of Lines Traced by Five Hundred Individuals from clement valla on Vimeo.

Justin Bieber's Christian Entourage

Most of us have already heard about Justin Bieber's "swagger coach." One would think that his job is made more difficult by The Bieb's spiritual entourage, which includes a "travel pastor," a "Christian tutor," and a "Christian adviser." Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette, has employed the team to surround her son as he encounters the temptations that come with success and a life on the road.

Charisma News Online reports that Mallette has also issued a prayer request for her son:

Mallette, who is asking fans to pray for Bieber’s well being as his popularity surges, employs a "travel pastor" when they're on tour as well as a Christian tutor to help develop Justin's scripture memory and knowledge of Christian history. She also employs a Christian advisor, who along with manager Scooter Braun, an observant Jew, provides "a great moral base and model for Justin."

"I'm aware of the dangers," Mallette says. "He's my son and I'm accountable by God and by the law to protect him, which includes covering him spiritually. Justin's faith is strong but he's young and hasn't come completely into himself yet. So what I can do is pray, teach and continue surrounding him with strong Christian influences."

Lady Gaga: More Christ-Like Than The Christian Right

Over at the Washington Post's 'On Faith' blog (via Busted Halo), an interesting question has been raised. Is Lady Gaga, who has been scorned by the conservative right for her flamboyancy and gay rights activism, actually more Christian than her detractors? Whether intentional or not, the article points out, Gaga explores Christian themes of suffering and of humankind's fallen nature in her latest release, Born This Way. Couple these themes with the song's (and Gaga's) reaching out to the marginalized and maligned, and it's not so hard to make analogies.

Regardless of her spirituality (or lack thereof, as the case may be), it does underscore the fact that so many Christians on the conservative right have lost sight of what Jesus was supposed to be all about. As strange as it may be to admit it, Lady Gaga is more Christlike in her actions than the Sarah Palins and the Rick Santorums of the conservative right.

Palin Offers Her Perspective on the Situation in Egypt

"And nobody yet has, no body yet has explained to the American public what they know, and surely they know more than the rest of us know who it is who will be taking the place of Mubarak, and I'm not real enthused about what it is that that's being done on a national level and from D.C. in regards to understanding all the situation there in Egypt." — on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Feb. 4, 2011

Extreme Makeover: Scientology Edition

This new TV commercial from the Church of Scientology makes you almost forget for a second just how entirely insane the Church of Scientology is.