…exas’s H.B. 45 (codified at § 22.0041 and § 22.022 of the Texas Government Code), states that “litigants in actions under the Family Code involving a marriage relationship… are protected against violations of constitutional rights and public policy in the application of foreign law.” The bill doesn’t explicitly reference sharia or Islamic law (likely because a similar bill in Oklahoma that did specifically mention sharia was struck down as discrim…
…reasons. Although Congressional Republicans tried to make a scandal of the application process, further congressional investigation showed both conservative and progressive applicants were scrutinized for possible political activity, and that there was no partisan motive. Churches and other houses of worship, whose tax exempt status is under section (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, risk their tax-exempt status if they use tax-exempt resources…
By Randall Balmer, Anthea Butler, Evan Derkacz, Jeff Sharlet, and Diane Winston
…ere is a nagging question I ask my conservative evangelical friends: what happens when abortion is illegal? What happens when everyone is a Christian on the Supreme Court? What happens when you bring back prayer in schools? What happens when these wretched amoral leaders and avaricious politicians pray? When all of those things come “back,” they say, Jesus has returned for a 1000-year reign; or that it’s what Christians need to do. I tell them tha…
…n, unfortunately. I’m tempted to quote a phrase from BSG: “Everything has happened before and will happen again.” Why? Because I’ve have seen this show in composites of other shows. I am not quite sure about the “film noir” feel of Caprica. It’s a cross between a 1930s pre-code movie and Metropolis. The cops, the smoking, the old-fashioned cars; I thought Caprica was supposed to be technologically savvy, not a cross between the future and the past…
…institutions like the 1788 Constitution, the presidency, and the military code of honor. But at what costs do we maintain a revered institution like the military code of honor? Holocaust levels of genocide threaten the Syrian Kurds. Why isn’t the prospect of mass murder enough to make Mattis reconsider the politics of personal honor? If that grim prospect is not enough, what is? Mattis’ deferral to presidential rights, for instance, should challe…
…elve multinational banks asked the Court of Appeals for permission to intervene on behalf of a lesbian couple. A woman whose partner has a job in Hong Kong has been seeking a dependent visa based on their British civil partnership. The immigration department rejected the application and a court sided with the government. The case is now on appeal. Vietnam: Queer artists as democratizing force Cristina Nualart at the Universidad Complutense de Madr…
…n that kind of guy. He is self-contained and he’s not worried about public approval or disapproval, which I really appreciate. I wasn’t as brave when I was young but stepping forward and trying to do the right thing is something to really be applauded for.” She said she has heard from critics: “I feel for those who live here, who have to deal with it on a regular basis,” she said. “I have already had phone calls from irate family members: ‘how cou…
…, urging him to take action to repeal the provision of the country’s penal code that criminalizes homosexuality. The Queer African Youth Network and partner organizations have published a report, “We Exist: Mapping LGBTQ Organizing in West Africa.” From the report: Almost no work is being done to support LGBTQ people and MSM to reconcile their faith with their sexual orientations and gender identities. House of Rainbow in Nigeria is the only LGBTQ…
…des, but exploded in 2003 with the publication of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code which, more than anything, showcases Brown’s muddled if provocative incorporation of the Gnostic worldview into the novel. Fans of The Da Vinci Code don’t need to go out and purchase Robinson’s translation, they can simply read the Gnostic texts online at the Gnosis Archive. Or, if they’re interested in other early contenders for New Testament inclusion—the Gospel of P…
…ed faith.) Still, West is correct. Discovery Institute folks had long been promoting critical analysis – when they weren’t busy also promoting intelligent design. As is their modus operandi, they switch between intelligent design and coded phrases like “teach the controversy” when it serves their purposes. For an example of their promotion of intelligent design in public school science class, see their 1999 booklet Intelligent Design in Public Sch…
