CNN: Asking the Wrong Questions About Islam
…than blasphemy and a crude film. Watch:…
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National Catholic Reporter Endorses Women’s Ordination
…off overwhelmingly positive but have grown just slightly more mixed as it spreads to conservative corners of the internet. Those Catholics are no more surprised than I am. The back and forth online may indicate a small victory for NCR. Though the bishops may have succeeded in ending the conversation elsewhere, this discussion is definitely not over….
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The Master: “It’s Not the L. Ron Story”
…r Hoffman), a fictional stand-in for Scientology’s founder L. Ron Hubbard. Online comments sections were rife with speculation that the Church of Scientology would stop at nothing to keep Anderson from revealing “the truth” about Hubbard. But Anderson has insisted that the movie is not about Scientology. “It’s not the L. Ron story,” he explained. Either way, I think The Master qualifies Anderson for an honorary degree in the study of new religious…
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Enlightenment’s Islam: A “Necessary Fiction”
…“Muslim Mural is UNNECESSARY provocation.” Tempers are running even higher online, where noted blogger and Islam critic Pamela Geller called the mural “a stab in the eye”…. None of the above is really fictional. All of the quotes are authentic; I just borrowed them from the “Ground Zero Mosque” saga. The “Islam” mural is real, too. You can see it for yourself in a proud spot on the dome of the Library of Congress, part of a series called “Human Kn…
Read MoreSenate Candidate Todd Akin’s Anti-Abortion Acquaintances from the Late ’80s
…wn for its role in creating and compiling the so-called “Nuremberg Files”: online dossiers on abortion providers and abortion supporters including their work addresses, photos, and places of worship. There was a trial, and Dreste himself was fined millions in damages, according to a 1999 investigative piece on Dreste by the St. Louis Riverfront Times: The defendants, two anti-abortion groups and 12 individuals, including Dreste, were not charged w…
Read MoreDrop that Candy Bar, Pagan!
…on the earth. Don’t despair if you can’t make it to Dallas, you can watch online starting at 7 p.m. Central. But if your kids really like candy, you can comfort yourself with the approach to Halloween taken by Mars Hill church, the authoritarian megachurch phenomenon associated with hipster homophobe Mark Driscoll that has spawned survivors’ blogs. In an article promoted by the church’s Resurgence ministry, Pastor Justin Holcomb says Halloween’s…
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Safety Not Guaranteed
Looking at the online flood zone map of our neighborhood, I feel calm. I’m a bit of a map freak and I appreciate how clearly this one presents the information and how easily I can navigate within it. I know, vaguely, that the East Village is vulnerable to flooding from the East River but now I can see the facts. Zooming in, I see the exact boundaries of Zone A—the mandatory evacuation zone. It extends from the river up to the public housing blo…
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Pope Follows Himself in Twitter Echo Chamber
…and 42 fellow bishops, a number of vicars, religion writers, and community service organizations among those he follows. Mark Driscoll, arguably the pope of conservative smack-talking hipster evangelicalism, boasts more than 300,000 followers, and follows 4,000. Though religious participation in the twittersphere often echoes the man-cave qualities of institutional religious leadership in general, women religious leaders are likewise signing on….
Read MoreBachmann’s “Dangerous” Summit
…, even though the tax returns show that she did. Tax returns are available online for the filing years 2001-2009, and show Bachmann’s service on the board from 2001 through the middle of 2008. Oakes said that the organization is “legally still viable” but is in the process of liquidating its assets. The 2009 tax return shows it donated computer and other equipment to The King’s College. Bachmann served in the Minnesota Senate from 2000 through 200…
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Premature “Gay Marriage Defeated” Post Removed from National Review
…n for Marriage’s Cultural Director Thomas Peters posted to National Review Online a joyous post declaring “Gay Marriage Defeated” and boasting about the coalition that had defeated marriage equality in New York. Strangely enough, no news outlets were reporting the defeat of marriage equality. A few hours after NOM’s claim, CBS news reported that negotiations over the scope of the religious exemption—reportedly the sticking point for a number of Re…
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