Religion Dispatches
…t would be hard to argue with the assertion that his ideas are some of the most influential of any Homo sapien to date. For this Darwin Day, to celebrate the double anniversary—the 200th of his birth and the 150th of his magnum opus—RD asked a few scientists to reflect on this question: How does Darwin affect what you believe? Though they differ in presentation, the following responses share a conceptual thread. For more Darwin Day coverage see De…
Read More…ng the Holy See’s opposition to “all grave violations of human rights against homosexual persons, such as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.” And there is some possibility that the latest version of the bill does not include the capital punishment provision, though Peter Montgomery’s sources indicate that it does. As Timothy Kincaid notes on Box Turtle Bulletin, however, none of this means that…
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…we presently recognize it) in a rapidly globalizing, postindustrial and postmodern world? Back in the 1960s, sociologists predicted that the advancement of science and technology would usher in a secular worldview and that religion would eventually fade into the past. Or if it did manage to survive, they imagined, religion would become the purview of a small segment of the population that, kicking and screaming, has refused to enter into the cont…
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…estion is asked, research also shows that about half believe in evolution. Most of these see God involved in the evolutionary process, at least to the extent of designing the initial laws of nature that make the evolution of life on Earth either possible or inevitable. Many might concede that this is not a scientific proposition, but still maintain that science does not (and perhaps can not) preclude it. Conflict is the inevitable result when prop…
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…s and lesbians in order to maintain and gain power. Why didn’t you include more Democrats, cabinet members, and UN members? We looked at a wider range of subjects, but again the issue was could we get the substantiation. But we were also looking at people at a certain level of power. Mike Rogers of BlogActive.com has at times outed staff members, and we decided that was not something we were going to do. What kind of public exposure do you want fo…
Read More…d that as he drove home from the border, Mr. Zodhiates tried to call a cellphone number registered to Liberty Counsel, an evangelical legal group. That cellphone number has sometimes been used by Mathew D. Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel, dean of the Liberty University Law School in Lynchburg, Va., and a leader of Ms. Miller’s defense team. The RICO filed by Jenkins includes information that RD readers learned last year from Sarah Posner’s…
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…e charges of anti-Semitism in an email to a Jewish-American director.) The most interesting reaction, to my mind, is represented by those Jews who have chosen to court controversy by appropriating the appropriation, participating in staged readings of Churchill’s play in Jewish settings. The Jewish Community Center in DC held one such event last week. Playwright Tony Kushner, a champion of “Seven Jewish Children,” will moderate a reading with scho…
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…lly cringe things that Robertson actually has said, in order from least to most offensively absurd. *** Openly calling for the assassination of a foreign leader In 2005, Robertson offhandedly remarked of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, “If he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don’t think any oil shipments will stop,” earning him a r…
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…nate to delay reporting of sexual abuse claims to the police until the priest in question could be defrocked, and you have set of players that would rival a mafia movie. The malfeasance and criminal behavior is shocking to say the least—and all, incidentally, coming to light during the “Year of the Priest” declared this year by Pope Benedict XVI. Outsiders might be tempted to think that all of these issues are about sex, and in one sense, that is…
Read More…ustices in this broken immigration system, family separation is one of the most egregious. Family is the bedrock of any society and is critical in the development of healthy individuals and strong communities. Immigration policies should make expeditious family reunification a top priority and should include all families as part of that foundation. For us, this is a clear matter of simple justice. UAFA has long been a flashpoint for anti-gay relig…
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