Religion/ Spirituality

Patrick Mahomes is sticking up for Harrison Butker ... praising the kicker as a man of good character following his controversial commencement speech earlier this month.

Butker is at the center of a ton of criticism after speaking at Benedictine College's graduation ceremony ... in which he shared his views that many considered sexist, anti-gay and politically divisive.

The Kansas City superstar addressed the Butker backlash with reporters at Chiefs practice on Wednesday ... and while he said the two might not see eye-to-eye on every issue, he still understands his teammate to be a good guy.

One lucky Elvis Presley fan's gonna need more than a hope and a prayer to get his personal Bible, they'll need a lotta money, too, as it's about to go up on the auction block.

GWS Auctions already has one bid at $30k, and will open up the live auction starting May 25. The Bible has "Elvis Aaron Presley" embossed in gold, and is chock-full of bookmarked pages and underlined passages that hit home for the singer.

The Bible is accompanied by a handwritten letter from Elvis' cousin, Patsy Presley ... and according to the auction house the book was 1 of 3 found by her and Elvis' dad when they were packing up his stuff shortly after he passed.

They say this particular one up for auction was found in Elvis' nightstand.

Diddy's apology video for his brutal 2016 assault of ex-GF Cassie Ventura has blossomed a ton of new opinions and commentary ... from Bad Boy associates and beyond.

Kelly Price -- who recorded with Diddy and the late Notorious B.I.G. several times in the '90s -- didn't cast the disgraced mogul out completely ... offering up prayers of encouragement on social media, while commenting underneath his upload this weekend.

The gospel singer's benevolence while the Cassie video is still on top of people's minds didn't sit well with many though -- and the intense backlash forced Kelly to clarify herself in a 12-minute rebuttal, with her message being ... hate the actions, love the man in a nutshell.

Harrison Butker's critics are on the move, but so are his defenders -- 'cause 2 different petitions are floating around ... one wants him off the Chiefs, another wants him to stay.

A Change.org petition is circulating and going viral -- as it demands his dismissal from the Chiefs over what they believe to be discriminatory remarks ... and at this point, it's got a helluva lot of signatures, nearly hitting its 150,000 goal since it started a few days ago.

The petition, which popped up 2 days after his polarizing commencement speech, really goes after HB ... accusing him of using his platform to spread harm instead of unity, and pushing harmful stereotypes that threaten progress. However, there's an opposite movement in his favor.

Seeing David Archuleta's mother watch the music video for his new song -- one he could not have written without her -- might be more emotional than the song itself.

TMZ got this exclusive clip ... showing the former "American Idol" runner-up sitting with his mom, Lupe Bartholomew, for her first viewing of the vid for, "Hell Together" -- as he tells her she's the inspiration behind the track.

Lupe visibly reacts to the images -- it features a lot of home video footage she helped pick out, scenes of David singing in a church with angelic-looking women dancing.

We're only a few days into a new week ... and there's already so much to discuss!!!

First up, on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles discuss Brian Cox slamming the Bible as the worst book ever ... sounding off on organized religion altogether.

There's been jarring imagery coming out of college campuses embroiled in pro-Palestine protests -- including Jewish students being blocked off, which Brett Gelman finds disgusting.

We got the 'Stranger Things' star at LAX Tuesday, where he weighed in on everything going on at Columbia University and other schools ... namely, demonstrators who are sympathetic to what's happening in Gaza assembling en masse and setting up encampments.

A lot of this unrest has actually made its way out west -- including at UCLA ... where one student this week was filmed apparently being barred by protesters from entering campus.

El profesor de Columbia Jack Halberstam está analizando las crecientes tensiones en el campus, luego de que los manifestantes pro-palestinos ocuparan un edificio en la escuela de la Ivy League.

El profesor de Estudios de Género e Inglés estuvo el martes en "TMZ Live" y defendió la toma de Hamilton Hall el lunes por la noche ya que los manifestantes estudiantiles han ocupado edificios en el pasado -incluyendo Hamilton Hall- para llamar la atención sobre las injusticias relacionadas con el apartheid sudafricano y la guerra de Vietnam, por ejemplo.

El profesor Halberstam también arrojó luz sobre cómo el conflicto entre los manifestantes pro-palestinos y los manifestantes pro-Israel en realidad ha ido en aumento durante meses, con la universidad supuestamente haciendo poco para ayudar a los estudiantes de ambos lados.

Columbia Professor Jack Halberstam is weighing in on the growing tensions on campus ... after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a building at the Ivy League school.

We got the Gender Studies and English prof Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and he defended Monday night's takeover of Hamilton Hall ... as student protesters have occupied buildings in the past -- including Hamilton Hall -- to draw attention to injustices related to South African apartheid and the Vietnam War, for example.

Professor Halberstam also shed light on how the conflict between pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel protesters has actually been growing for months ... with the university allegedly doing little to help students on either side.

Brian Cox se caga en la religión organizada y especialmente en el cristianismo, llamando a la Biblia el peor libro de la historia de la humanidad, porque ha engañado a los tontos por años.

La estrella de "Succession" concedió una entrevista a "The Starting Line Podcast" y hablaron de un montón de cosas, incluyendo pensamientos introspectivos sobre la religión, Dios, la espiritualidad, y todo lo demás. Desde el punto de vista de Brian, todo es un montón de bazofia.

Puedes ver el video completo para ver todo su proceso de pensamiento, y como explica por qué la sociedad necesita moverse más hacia un matriarcado.

Brian Cox is crapping on organized religion, and especially Christianity ... calling the Bible the worst book to ever grace human history, 'cause it's duped so many suckers and fools.

The "Succession" star sat for an interview with 'The Starting Line Podcast' ... and they talked about a lot of stuff -- including introspective thoughts on religion, God, spirituality, and all the rest. From Brian's POV ... it's all a bunch of hogwash, not buying any of it.

You can check out the full video to see his whole thought process -- but this clip here gets the job done ... with Brian explaining why society needs to move more toward a matriarchy.

Eric Church is doubling down on his spiritually-charged Stagecoach set ... despite the fact his performance appears to have left a lot of attendees thoroughly underwhelmed.

In response to the criticism -- check X and you'll see what we're talking about -- Eric defended his appearance at the famed music festival this weekend as the "most difficult set" of his career ... explaining he attempted to take a risk with an unexpected lineup.

For those who missed it, EC gave an unplugged performance of hymns and gospel covers, prompting several festivalgoers to bounce to Nickelback’s set at another stage. He was seated for most of the show ... and like we said, there really wasn't much to it besides him, his guitar and a choir.

Russell Brand's taking a big step in his faith journey ... announcing he's getting baptized -- and saying it's an opportunity to move on from the past.

The controversial actor/podcast host posted a video to his Instagram recently ... telling his nearly four million followers he's scheduled to be baptized today and asking those who'd been through the process to share their experiences.

After waxing poetic on religion for a bit, RB makes a pretty eye-opening statement ... saying he's heard it's an opportunity to be reborn -- and leave the past behind.

Professor and activist Marc Lamont Hill is weighing in on the pro-Palestine protests on the Columbia campus, saying recent antisemitic acts are the work of a few bad apples, and not the majority of students.

We got the former CNN commentator and current CUNY professor Tuesday on "TMZ Live," where he shared his observations from the demonstrations ... which have led to hundreds of student arrests, but also countless others feeling unsafe.

According to Marc -- who's a former Columbia professor -- most of the protests he's observed have been peaceful, with students simply speaking out against Israel's actions in its war with Hamas.

The vast majority of FCC complaints made during and after Super Bowl LVIII had to do with a pro-Israel ad that ran ... and it appears to have been planned that way.

TMZ has obtained FCC filings -- including all of the complaints made pertaining to the Super Bowl in February -- and there's a recurring theme in just about all of them ... namely, people pissed the State of Israel was allowed to air a commercial in the broadcast.

Per the docs, hundreds complaints were filed ... and a handful of them were about the usual -- indecent exposure, risqué outfits, language, etc. And a fair amount even complained about showing celebs ... including Taylor Swift, Ice Spice, Usher and others who were in the house.