Religion Dispatches
…Graham rushed to its defense. Rep. Randy Forbes, leader of the congressional prayer caucus, is proud of his association. Rep. Frank Wolf and former Rep. Tony Hall took to the pages of Christianity Today to publish such a disingenuous defense that even USA Today scoffed. But that didn’t shake them. It’s taken a hit from its own members, but it’s not down and out….
Read MoreToday, Mitt Romney released a new video attacking Rick Perry as being “soft” on immigration. Romney is aiming at Perry’s support for a Texas state policy that permits the young people who came to the United States “illegally” as children to attend public universities paying in-state tuition. It’s not radical policy, but Romney’s criticism is yet another point—like Social Security—he’s using to draw a strong contrast with Perry. But doing so puts…
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The Greater St. Mark Church was raided today as St. Louis County Police thought that protesters were spending the night in the church, which has been used as a staging area for protestors. Police have since closed the building and stated that if anyone congregates on the premises at night, there would be arrests. One member of the Dream Defenders said “what [the police] did today is tell us, what? There is no safety here.” The Pastor of the churc…
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…arge again after running against the tariff and the Silver Act, they, like today’s GOP, were in the hook to make good on their promises of returning America to better, simpler days without government interference. Then, the worst depression of the nineteenth century, the Panic of 1893, hit. The Democrats put all their efforts into repealing the Silver Act, which it blamed for the country’s financial difficulties. But when that didn’t end the panic…
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…inancial power comes from a huge and profitable life insurance business it promotes through local councils and parishes. It funnels millions of dollars to the pope and bishops’ conferences as well as to more service-oriented charities. “The Strong Right Arm of the Bishops: The Knights of Columbus and Anti-Marriage Equality Funding,” documents $6.25 million in direct Knights funding to anti-marriage equality campaigns at the national level and in…
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…Gospel and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) rests on the elevation and promotion of these practices above all others. The deviations then, are important to understand how Pentecostalism is being reshaped and redefined. Prosperity Gospel The Prosperity Gospel has had several names throughout its history, including the “Health and Wealth Gospel” and the “Word of Faith”. The movement’s Pentecostal antecedents arise out of the healing movements of…
Read MoreToday, the Washington Examiner published an op-ed from Mitt Romney, “President Obama versus Religious Liberty:” The Obama administration is at it again. They are now using Obamacare to impose a secular vision on Americans who believe that they should not have their religious freedom taken away. This is the same Mitt Romney who could barely utter a word about religious freedom for his own faith when it was under assault by some of his fellow conse…
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…his head, killing him. Cain and Abel’s remarkable argument is little known today, but it is not a mere blip on the radar of biblical interpretation. It exists in different versions in other Targum manuscripts, including fragments found in the Cairo Geniza, showing that it was discussed, revised, and transmitted across Jewish communities. And it is representative of a concern with justice we can see in many other texts where Jewish interpreters gra…
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…“Christ figure.” In the immortal words of Woody Allen, “If Jesus came back today and saw what was going on in his name, he wouldn’t stop throwing up.” It is safe to say that Allen’s comments can be applied to a lot of religious film criticism. Did you have a specific audience in mind when writing? As with the above point the main audience is, I hope, students. I tried to write this in an accessible way, introducing key themes in religious studies…
Read More…stem works, and that good can come when we choose to be our better selves. Today, as was the case in 1979, religious leaders have set aside their divisions and have stood united in their strong commitment to aid and resettle Syrian refugees. Last week, as Congress debated the fate of Syrian refugee resettlement, organizations representing the entire gamut of American religious communities—Muslims and Jews, evangelicals and Unitarians, Catholics an…
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