Religion Dispatches
…or who strikes it rich through oil and blood, but about the rebirth of the United States as a world force at the start of the twentieth century. And his first great film, Boogie Nights, is about a porn star, but also a cultural history moving from the 1970s to the Reaganite ’80s, and shifting attitudes toward sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He’s a great filmmaker, with a brilliant grasp of imagery (even the choice to shoot much of the film in 65mm…
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…evel Muslim Brotherhood member proves that mainstream Muslim groups in the United States are engaged in a secret plot to subvert the Constitution and install a theocracy governed by shari’ah law. Gingrich’s film uses the same star used in The Third Jihad to promote that claim, Zuhdi Jasser, who was also the chief witness in Rep. Peter King’s hearings on “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community:” Unlike more wild-eyed anti-Mus…
Read More…on to maintain that because homosexuality hasn’t been “restrained” in the United States, “I don’t think it’s going to be good for the nation, it sweeps into the education system, and the church is going to end up losing its privilege to have its own voice. Gender rights, will trump religious rights. I think it’s wrong, it’s not good for society. Those are the statements I came with, so frankly I was quite surprised to be thrown into this huge con…
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…k the federal courts with Christian nationalist ideologues, is pushing the United States backwards on civil rights. Seidel also addressed the history and significance of drag as an art form, noting that Shakespeare can’t be performed without crossdressing as it’s central to the plots of many of his comedies. As he made these points, Seidel changed into drag himself, concluding his talk in a long black skirt, pantyhose, robin egg blue heels, and a…
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…with their beliefs” routinely demonized by the soon-to-be President of the United States. Although he doesn’t mention specific legislation, it’s not hard to read between the lines and infer that Perkins is referring to the so-called First Amendment Defense Act, a sweeping federal bill that could allow any individual, health care provider, business or corporation to refuse to serve or treat LGBT people or unmarried mothers, so long as they cite a “…
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…In a small-town Pentecostal church I visited, for example, during a Sunday service the pastor painted a vivid picture of a world descending into chaos, listing a coming “holy war” with Iran, Christians being persecuted around the world, the inability to pray in school (“These days you get in trouble if you say ‘bless you’ when someone sneezes at school!”), and the way society increasingly “exalted the homosexual lifestyle” as signs that the end t…
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…actually have the opposite effect: the warfare imagery is drafted into the service of the gospel, rather than the reverse.” We observe Paul, then, as actually re-visioning violence in light of the gospel. We see in the life and teachings of Paul a inculcation of a Christian lifestyle of justice and nonviolence through the cross; one that imitates the crucified Christ who did not inflict suffering on others, but who embraced it for the sake of othe…
Read More…tes celebrated outside the office of the Civil Registry and Identification service as the country’s civil unions law went into effect on Thursday. It had been signed by President Michelle Bachelet in April, to the dismay of some religious conservatives. Activists, and Bachelet herself, hope that the legislature will take the next step toward full marriage equality. At Towleroad, Michael Fitzgerald notes that Chile was the last country in the weste…
Read More…tive of someone who says that faith is separate from public law and public service; it really isn’t. We have, as a country, a founding perspective that we’re founded under God; our founding documents reference and acknowledge God, and acknowledge that our rights and privileges come from our Creator. For those who have an interest in or passion about an issue, being involved in the political process is important. It isn’t for everybody; there are o…
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…permit evil? If Trump is truly under divine protection, what’s the Secret Service, a bunch of potted plants? And what sort of cockamamie God would protect someone like a presidential candidate, only to allow him to be nicked in the ear? Either God’s protection isn’t worth very much, or there’s some kind of warning in there for Donald John Trump. Most of all, why would God place a shield around Trump, but not those at his rally or the hundreds of…
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