Religion Dispatches
…of “no religion”—leads to questions about the usefulness or meaning of the word “religion” in relationship to Jews. As is the case with many other segments of the wider American culture Jews seem to find the word “religion” unappealing. This isn’t new. For much of history, “religion” in America has meant Christianity, and until the latter half of the 20th century the most salient part of Christianity, for most Jews, was its anti-semitism. And yet,…
Read More…d censure them as unrighteous, divisive and contentious if they dissent in word or deed. If members cannot ask questions of their leaders, it’s well past time for the all-male hierarchy to ask some hard questions of itself. Each generation of men may be able to persuade a great many people that whatever mistakes were made, they were made in the past by someone else, and the men who tell them today how to live their lives should be obeyed without q…
Read More
…to an embrace of the maniacal view forwarded by neoconservative Islamophobes like Daniel Pipes who argue that the civil war should be prolonged for as long as possible, seemingly even at the expense of blocking any possible peace. A more cynical view of Palin’s words may infer that her statement was nothing more than a play on a famous phrase (originating from Crusader Arnaud Amalric’s sacking of Beziers), which received an update by troops fight…
Read More…9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Proposition 8, the Supreme Court struck down that court’s ruling that when you give a class of people a right, you cannot turn around and take it away. “What that means is that if the Christian people in New York state or in one of the other states that recognize same-sex marriage realize they don’t want it anymore, they can change their law,” La Rue said. That’s a very good point. As we celebrate the victor…
Read More
…, and I’m not really sure how it’s happened that we equate certainty with truth. Sometimes the truth is, you don’t know the truth, and I think there’s a virtue in being able to admit that. Yet, if you look at any politician, which one would be respected if we ask them a question and they say, “I don’t know the answer to that?” Yet, we respect people when they admit that they don’t know. As a teacher, it’s important for me to model that. In the boo…
Read More
…inism’s overall impact in the late 19th century pales in comparison to the runaway impact of Russell Conway’s “acres of diamonds” preaching. He demonstrates in a similar way how the postwar flowering of a potent culture of anti-union conservatism among Southern California’s evangelical and parachurch movements was entirely self-created and not simply the result of solicitation or manipulation by that era’s business leaders. Say it again: religion…
Read More
…s life as a gift from his friends—companions who continue to help him find words to trust. “Memory pulls us forward,” says Ruth in Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping, “so prophecy is only brilliant memory.” When I think of his pastoral theology, I recall an image he’s often made use of in his preaching: I think of someone becoming all fire. Isaac ended a sermon in 2010 with a fourth-century story of two monks in the Egyptian desert—a crazy story ab…
Read More…o let Brody know it wasn’t like it sounded: “I don’t know if I’ve used the word ‘tolerance,’” Reince Priebus told David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network Monday. “I don’t really care for that word myself. I don’t have a problem with it, I just think it has another meaning politically that can go the other direction.” Brody pushed for reassurance that the GOP wasn’t going to give up on its social platform, and got this in response: “Our p…
Read More
…company” and “to walk with.” To be in solidarity means to make another’s struggle for justice, peace, and equality your struggle. People who are exploited, who see their children go to bed hungry and die before their time, cry out for justice and organize in solidarity with each other. As a result, many were killed and imprisoned. During my fifth year I was among the many arrested by the military and I was forced to leave the country. I then turne…
Read More
…culty or senior staff are welcomed if they agree to abide by the unwritten rules of the glass closet: feel free to speak about LGBT inclusion as a matter of justice but don’t self-identify or risk losing your position. It creates an environment in which other faculty and staff offer private affirmations behind closed doors but keep their distance when conflict arises. In honoring Eddie Fox, Candler’s leadership gave formal institutional assent to…
Read More