Religion Dispatches
…ssential part of the Republican base. Remember the incredulity about the emergence of someone with Michele Bachmann’s worldview on the national stage? The endurance of a candidate like Santorum—Catholic or not, running as the anti-Romney or not—proves that four, eight, twelve years from now, surprise is for those who are not paying attention….
Read More…of civil liberties. Again, The Daily Dish points out that the controversy erupted with the hire of a new VP for Policy, Karen Handel (since resigned), who ran a gubernatorial campaign with a plank of defunding Planned Parenthood. This is like trusting a report by Frank Gaffney on national security. No knowledge, just vitriol. Personally, this MO has proven so effective against Muslims for so long, I can easily see it spreading against other groups…
Read More…ding, or rather there wasn’t much following) produced a consensus for Santorum. But it didn’t matter, and neither did Santorum’s apparent greater fidelity to his shared faith with Gingrich. Gingrich’s bombast at the debates apparently went a long way, together with (possibly) support from the minority of religious right powerbrokers who did back him. Evangelical voters made up 65% of the South Carolina electorate, and 44% of them voted for a twice…
Read More…ng may not win over South Carolina voters, as evidenced by the boos at the CNN debate and dramatic last-minute reversals in the polls. No wonder Romney again let his prickly side come out during the debate. No wonder he’s feeling a bit defensive. His plan-ahead-work-hard-execute-precisely-and-smile strategy—equal parts technocrat and LDS corporate culture—isn’t working in the Palmetto state. South Carolina is no cakewalk for a wonky Yankee Mormon….
Read More…rtain traditions from what the Scottish Common Sense philosophers called “true religion.” This cultural hierarchy is effective because it is hidden: if “true religion” is never defined, then only the cultural elites can determine who is practicing it. What is new about Benthke’s poem is that the term “religion” has itself become a pejorative label. This is no doubt due to an increased suspicion of organized religion among the millennials. This is…
Read MoreVia @OccupyCatholic, the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins writes at CNN that Jesus, indeed, told his followers to “occupy” until he returned (Luke 19:13), but what he really meant was to be a free marketer: But just what does Jesus’ order to occupy mean? Does it mean take over and trash public property, as the Occupy movement has? Does it mean engage in antisocial behavior while denouncing a political and economic system that grants one the…
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…hould be governed by “biblical law,” given that Christianity is the only “true” worldview, in conflict with others, including Islam, secularism, socialism, and paganism. In August, with Perry’s entrance into the race, I argued that he had not internalized the worldview construct as Bachmann had, and focused more on sharing his own salvation story. But Gingrich? Sure, he recently (after two divorces) converted to Catholicism and has been extolling…
Read More…ation of church and state. * * * * Here are the candidates, in their own words, in response to Cooper’s question: 1 Santorum: it’s a legitimate thing to look at as to what the tenets and teachings of that faith are with respect to how you live your life and — and how you would govern this country. . . .With respect to what is the road to salvation, that’s a whole different story. That’s not applicable to what — what the role is of being the pre…
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…erage for June is half that. It’s only the latest in a series of flash floods. In Tennessee, 18 people died. In Arkansas, 20 were killed. The waitresses looked teary-eyed at the customers, as if they were simply unable to bear any more bad news. We stared back at the women with the same expression. What the hell has been unleashed? Of course, you don’t have to be washed in the blood of salvation to know that something truly bad is going on. The gr…
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…ty—and racism and sexism more broadly—were grounded in various theological stories that shaped American Christians and how they saw the world. At the same time, I was thinking about my three sons, who were 17, 15, and 11 when I started writing. We had been talking about everything that was happening in the world, and I wondered how I could help them understand the Christian story in the midst of this. Why was the world like this, and why does Jesu…
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