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UN Human Rights Council Creates LGBT Watchdog; Orthodox Council Affirms Traditional Teaching on Family; Pope Francis Says Church Should Apologize to Gays; Global LGBT Recap

…apology was made more urgent by the killing of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida this month. He recalled Church teachings that homosexuals “should not be discriminated against. They should be respected, accompanied pastorally.” He added: “I think that the Church not only should apologize … to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologize to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been expl…

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Perry Taps Anti-Gay Crusader and “Prayer Lady” for Florida Team

…rganize the “Rediscovering God in America” Pastors’ Policy Briefing by the Florida Renewal Project, which focused on engaging pastors in the presidential campaign and was widely seen as supportive of Huckabee. One of the key organizers of the Renewal Projects was David Lane, who told me in early 2008, “What we’re doing is the mobilization of pastors and pews to restore America to her Judeo-Christian heritage. That’s our goal.” Lane was the nationa…

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Glenn Beck’s Cheap Grace

…way from the hard work of repentance, who tickle our ears with promises of cheap grace, and offer a vision of the cross of Jesus that has nothing to say to the crosses, and lynching trees, of history. But, if we do, we will be settling for the gospel of Caesar, not the good news of Jesus Christ. Perhaps it is time to put down the chalk, stop drawing pyrotechnical conspiracy theories that play into our worst fears and listen, instead, for the diffi…

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Put Your Money Where Your Mind Is: A For-Profit Meditation Studio Opens in New York

…e romance with Eastern spirituality,” Michelle Goldberg wrote last year on newyorker.com. “For well over a century,” she continued, “business-minded Americans have been transforming Hindu and Buddhist contemplative practices into an unlikely prosperity gospel.” Prosperity gospels and contemporary mindfulness practice share a profound belief in the power of the mind. Redirect your faith, prosperity gospel preachers claim, and you will be rewarded w…

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Florida Gov’s Plan Would Aid those who Seek Biblical Law

…an “education savings account,” rather than a voucher system, it is not a new idea. Florida already has a voucher system serving low-income students and students with disabilities. Florida also has a state-sponsored virtual school that is promoted as an option for home schoolers (other independent virtual schools—many used by home schoolers—are likely to be included in this new plan as well). For decades, there has been a spectrum of support for…

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Florida Qur’an-burning Pastor Terry Jones Shoots Himself in the Foot (well, almost)

Florida’s permit is the most widely accepted (some 30 states recognize the Florida permit and Florida even issues non-resident permits to non Floridians that are accepted in many states). Florida’s permit is also really easy to get: I called the gun shop up the street that offers the classes and was told you must be 21, have a drivers license, a “clean record,” and take a $49 two-hour course that doesn’t even include any real shooting. Moreover, M…

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A Meditation on Shopping and Desire

…ds and advertisements that tell us our life is not enough without that new phone, that new gadget, that new dress. And yet the minute you purchase your phone or laptop, it is obsolete. Every six months, fashion editors tell us our entire closet is out—our clothing is disposable. Shopping is not only a lifestyle, it is a form of entertainment. Whether it is infomercials and shopping networks or makeover shows, we not only shop, we watch people shop…

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Are Evangelical Films Destined to Leave Secular Audiences Behind?

…ider audience, selling millions of copies and reaching the top slot of the New York Times bestseller list. The films should be able to appeal to anyone who liked a good thriller, which would require higher production values, actors known more for their acting than their religious commitments, and a real understanding of the business of movies. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court. Paul Lalonde got the rights to make the movie again and…

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The Faith that Faith Produced

…ou’ll read an excerpt below—has surprised me, too.  I wish I could find my airline companion and give him this book, to surprise him, too—in a good way. (I would accept Lakers tickets in lieu of apologies, but I think that particular era is done.) This whole book is a result of a profound evolution, and needs to be seen as such. American Muslims have gone through a lot over the last few decades. We were never the caricature Islamophobes made us ou…

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‘Enchanted New York’ Offers a Journey Through the City’s Magical History — With Some Mystifying Oversights

…center driven by real estate, banking, and the stock market. Yes of course New York is the American center of theater, fine art and publishing; but even with these folks the talk is of money, financing, advances, sales figures. The pandemic will change a lot of things about New York City, but not its obsession with money. Of course, I can think of a few complicating factors. The outgoing president is the Emperor of BS, and he is, or was, a New Yor…

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