Religion Dispatches
…financial experts is to stress that Jesus talked a lot about money—not because money makes a nice metaphor for spiritual rewards, but because, according to Hyman, “the carpenter from Nazareth was a shrewd businessman.” Throughout the hour-long video I kept wondering what the angle was; it finally came, of course, towards the end of the seemingly endless 60 minutes. Hyman is selling subscriptions to his monthly “Ultimate Wealth Report”—one year, al…
Read More…powers of autonomy. A draft bylaw sent to AFP on Saturday outlaws anal sex between men and “the rubbing of body parts between women for stimulation”, and for the first time applies Islamic laws and punishments to non-Muslims. The bylaw also punishes adultery with 100 lashes of the cane. The bylaw reinforces previous sharia legislation that bans alcohol consumption, gambling, fraternising between unmarried men and women, and physical displays of af…
Read More…he petitioners were in effect asking the court to formulate a new criminal code because they feared parliament would took take too long to enact changes wanted by the Family Love Alliance. But, in a sign of the challenges that continue to face LGBT people, Associated Press reported on December 15 that a court “has sentenced 10 men arrested in a raid at a gay club and sauna to between two and three years in prison, an activist and a relative of one…
Read More…bill, asserting such involvement by government in the work of NGOs would abuse freedom of association and expression. Organizations are also worried that if the bill is passed in its current state, it will hinder Ugandans from freely working with any local or international NGOs, as some activities, like those helping LGBT persons, might be viewed as illegal by the government. Argentina: Government recognizes three parents The government of Argenti…
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…on to the depth and complexity of this tradition of thought, not least because it’s been actively repressed by a series of military governments in Burma/Myanmar from 1962-2011 and because it’s been actively utilized in recent years to demonize and exclude Muslims from membership in the political community. Despite this, I’m very excited at the re-emergence of a domestic public political discourse in Myanmar over the past few years and hope that th…
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…mor in the Syrian war frontlines, among other things. As a critical space, Free Arab should be commended for promoting individual rights and civil liberties in the Arab context. The site’s work is also significant because it tries to locate secularism as a vernacular practice, a lived experience in a part of the world exclusively defined by a narrow religiosity and a perpetual combative relationship with the West. The founders believe the remarkab…
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…y,” were deported: Local police chief Lazaro Mambosasa said they had been “promoting homosexuality”. “Tanzanian law forbids this act between people of the same sex, it is a violation of our country’s laws,” said Mambosasa. Just days later an NGO, the Community Health Education Services and Advocacy (CHESA) centre, was suspended on the same charge and accused of organising a workshop at the Peacock hotel. CHESA and ISLA insisted they were merely co…
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…e of social and community values in pictures.” For the next 38 years, that code shaped Hollywood’s output. The Production Code insisted that movies were primarily “to be regarded as entertainment” that would “improve the race.” As such, movies should avoid explicit images that would be upsetting or play to “the lower and base element.” Those images included graphic violence, “excessive passion,” “white-slavery,” “scenes of actual child birth,” and…
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…n this story? Is it, as the dominionist interpretation argues, a matter of use value? Are animals and the rest of creation there for humankind to use, a bounteous gift of “natural resources”? The fact that, after each stage of creation, God declares that it is all “good,” in and of itself, without reference to humans, already suggests otherwise. Not once does God say “The humans are going to love this! I can’t wait to see what they do with it.” In…
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…er were still alive, but Willie looks like a pawn that will continue to be used between Sam—who represents the old ways and traditions of Tauron— and Joseph, who has assimilated in the Caprican World. The funeral ritual may have served as a rite of passage, but for Joseph, who finds out that Tamara still exists, the ritual fades into nonexistence as he runs down the street, trying to catch up to the young man sent by Tamara. Joseph’s choice is not…
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