Religion Dispatches
…the government, industry, universities, and scientists at the federal and international level should be and are discussing and monitoring such issues; Homeland Security should be (and of course is already) aware of and monitoring such research. But I have a suggestion: let’s take this—the language of creation and religion crossing into science—as a positive, if provocative sign, perhaps even as a call for engagement. Where ethicists, religious le…
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…g as a resource/publications specialist for the ex-gay organization Exodus International. These seminars, most led by former TG/TS folk who had come to accept their birth gender, were geared to give hope to those struggling with their gender identity and seeking change to live a “biblical lifestyle,” which constituted heterosexual marriage or celibacy. Andrew Marin, founder of evangelical-based The Marin Foundation has been working for over ten ye…
Read More…aking of poor judgment, a non-denominational Florida church plans to host “International Burn a Qur’an Day” on the anniversary of 9/11. The same Gainesville church made news in the past with its “No Homo Mayor” signs opposing an openly gay mayor. Lt. Governor of South Carolina André Bauer discusses how he uses shoes to save souls. New York Governor David Paterson denied reports that he had swapped Judaism for his Catholic faith. However, Gwyneth P…
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…s the Green Movement continues to agitate. I think we also need to look at international context as well. The spate of anti-Muslim debates in Europe, including the French ban of the burqa, demand Iran respond in a manner that indicates Islamic solidarity. The language of the haircut restrictions centers around “Islamic” and “Western.” It is not coincidental that these events are happening in close temporal proximity to one another. The New York Ti…
Read More…Anglican traditionalists, the Church of England is moving one step closer to the ordination of women bishops; a move that some fear will further fracture an Anglican Communion already split along international faultlines over the ordination of gay clergy. Will diverging perspectives on gender and sexuality determine the shape of the 21st-century Christian world?…
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…e seen it. U2’s “City of Blinding Lights” plays over the rolling images of international footballers in moments of rapture. The Edge’s epic guitar riff complements the moment. ESPN knows what that threaded riff does to people like me when accompanying emotionally piqued football highlights. Over the top of that, the pop prophet Bono speaks: “If history means anything, the world as we know it is about to change.” Melodrama? Maybe, but so are many o…
Read MoreWho knew? Andy Stern, the former head of the Service Employees International Union who now sits on President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, said the United States needs an economic plan that does not include “worshipping” the free market. “America needs a 21st century economic plan because we now know the market-worshipping, privatizing, de-regulating, dehumanizing American financial plan has failed and should ne…
Read More…ous forms of torture on detainees,” in violation of numerous U.S. laws and international conventions. The video, which features religious leaders, focuses attention on Alyssa Petersen, a devout Mormon who served in Iraq and committed suicide after refusing to participate in the torture of naked detainees. Like Peterson, who said she could not be “two people,” one who opposed torture yet one who participated in it, Jim Winkler of the United Methodi…
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…y and Banking. In that book, North explains his view that the cause of the international debt crisis of the 1980s was the Federal Reserve System. The solution, he maintained, rested in eliminating that institution and moving to a hard money standard. It sounds familiar to Paul-ites, but for North it is all based in the biblical command to have “just weights and measures.” Paul, in very similar language, attributed our current debt and economic cri…
Read More…t, no one would’ve cared about this anniversary, so they shouldn’t make an international situation out of it. Second, even if they felt they needed to be alert, but not alarmed, empowering the people most likely to lash out is not constructive. Third, if you create an environment where Danish Muslims feel engaged and part of the society, it’s a lot harder for false indignation to gain traction overseas. This is an unfortunate decision by the Danis…
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