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Falling in Love With the Earth: Francis’ Faithful Ecology

By Jacob J. Erickson

…ce between human and ecological life a zero-sum game. Pope Francis writes, Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. The letter is concerned throughout with poverty. The Pope goes so far as to say that the earth is one of those marginalized and demanding mo…

Dear Amazon Prime, I’m Not a Racist, But Why Are You Destroying My Precious Middle-Earth With Black Hobbits?

By Mary Rambaran-Olm

…rown-washing for a fantasy world based on ancient European history. You’ve ruined Middle-earth by adding things that don’t belong! Where does Tolkien ever say that hobbits are white or Brown? Look, I’ve read these works for decades, and I would know if Tolkien ever wrote** something like the following about a hobbit such as Sam Gamgee—or even the largest group of Hobbits, the Harfoots: “Sam sat propped against the stone, his head dropping sideways…

How Anne Frank Turned Up At Occupy

By Peter Manseau

…illions of copies sold, The Diary of a Young Girl is among the most widely read autobiographies in history, but its ripple effect through other works of art may have less to do with how many people have read it, than with when they did. Far from Zuccotti park, but perhaps not far from the experience of many of the young occupiers, in the pilot episode of the 1990s teenage drama My So-Called Life, Claire Danes’ Angela Chase is shown daydreaming in…

Hajj Journal: M & M

By Amina Wadud

…is already building up. Better now than to risk being caught up in the mad rush closer to fajr prayer. No extra prayers today, but a lot to think about. At the top on my list is reflecting on this cultural hajj before proceeding to Arafat. I would have preferred a hajj surrounded by religious zealots, or Sufis, but Allah chose this hajj of cultural Muslims, so I will do best to surrender to it and find both strength and humility therein. Next I wi…

Brooks Misreads Niebuhr

By Daniel Schultz

…h leads to blindness which causes sin, according to Niebuhr. But if you’ve read Moral Man, you’ll also know that Niebuhr doesn’t waste a minute on bipartisanship. To do anything worth doing, you have to work with groups, he knew. Moral life takes us beyond the life of ones and twos and into society, which means, inevitably, playing with the fire of sin. It’s that paradox that consumes Niebuhr, not Brooksian post-partisanship, which really means “D…

Ironies & Bright Spots for Gays in the Christian College World

By L Marston

…ared Christian colleges to the Boy Scouts—institutions in which a student (read Scout) can be gay and out, but a faculty member (read Scoutmaster) cannot. “One day you’re in; the next day, you’re out,” to use Heidi Klum’s ominous phrase on Project Runway. The controversy receiving the most attention this fall occurred at Azusa Pacific University in California, a Christian university with an undergraduate enrollment of 5500. In September, a facult…

Protocols of the Elders of Mecca: Hints of Anti-Semitic Playbook in Glenn Beck’s Islamophobia

By Haroon Moghul

…e allowed political correctness, fear, and simple ignorance to mask basic truths about Israel. These truths need to be confronted in order to defend ourselves, our families, and our country … We hear lies about Israel nearly every day, in nearly every place, in nearly every manner. They usually originate with elites in the media, in Washington, D.C., and in Hollywood.” It is rather amazing that only two words in the above passage have been changed…

Is Yoga OK for Catholics or Not?: The Conversation Continues

By Kyle Garton-Gundling

…s room for integrating eastern meditation into a Catholic life. Although I read the Letter differently from Jain, I share her larger concern with combatting “strong misreadings of yoga” that perpetuate fear rather than education. The Letter could have adopted a more open stern tone without abandoning its warnings against adopting practices that might go against Catholic doctrine—as Zen and Transcendental Meditation arguably do. The Letter should a…

Francis the Jesuit: a Philosopher-Pope?

By J. Michelle Molina

…ave provided is a key for pope-watchers on all sides of the political spectrum to read the style, the attitude, the “how” of Francis’ papacy. As this Jesuit’s sense of self in the world continues to unfold, it will be critical for anyone who wishes to engage the man to be attuned to the processes through which he has come to know himself. Understanding these terms might well provide a source from which persuasive power can be drawn. The specifics…

Yes, Virginia: There IS a War on Christmas: Its Revolutionary Meaning is Inverted in the Winner-Take-All Era

By Peter Laarman

…mas, one that exalts the rich while further humiliating the poor. This as true in our time as it was in Charles Dickens’ time. But unlike the Victorians who read Dickens and pressed for reform, we appear incapable of becoming outraged about it. Our best journalists give us grim reports on the shocking injury rates in Amazon warehouses (but Jeff Bezos pays his workers $12.50—hooray!) along with bulletins about the latest insults to the most vulnera…