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The Heresies of Christopher Hitchens

…ittle bit heretical. By breaking from the stance of complete opposition to American hegemony, Sontag had betrayed a loyalty that was foundational for her comrades. One of the more revealing sentences of Hitch-22 appears as Hitchens describes his growing alienation from the Left as a supporter of the US invasion of Iraq. He borrows a line from Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia, in which West’s guide and lover C…

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Texas Textbook Massacre

…e or similar versions to other states as well. In response, People for the American Way has begun a petition to send to publishers urging them to ignore the new guidelines. Others, including those who count themselves among the board’s most vehement critics, say the impact on the actual writing of textbooks may not be that dire. Still, that doesn’t spell good news for public education. For no matter what the outcome of the standards on textbooks—e…

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A Reforming Tradition Struggles With Change

…easingly irrelevant. Surveys consistently show that younger generations of Americans are becoming more accepting of LGBTQ persons, and none other than former first lady Laura Bush admitted recently that same-sex marriage “will come.” It is also important to remember that the ELCA is not a denomination on the far-left fringes of American Protestantism; it is a traditionally moderate, left-of-center body whose historic heartlands are the Mid-Atlanti…

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Planetary Profiling: Dr. Who Part II

…ilitary commander who identifies himself as “Father Octavian—Bishop Second Class, 20 clerics at my command.” Clearly there is some interesting church history in the thirty centuries between that future and our present, but the episode doesn’t explore it, beyond a throwaway line to the effect that “it’s the 51st century—the church has moved on.” Of course, Father Octavian isn’t what’s exciting about this episode. It’s the return of the Weeping Ange…

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Magic v. Science: Doctor Who Part III

…they do in order to survive. Because of this insight, the Doctor is not a classic vampire slayer, so much as an ecologist. He stops the Saturnynians for the same reason that environmentalists in North America combat the snakehead fish. Finally, it is fitting that Calvierri offers an alliance with the Doctor. Like the vampire, the Doctor is also an immortal outsider walking among us. He too has unnatural abilities and is alluring to the opposite s…

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Art(ful) History in Texas

…d members are rewriting it to fit their ideal of the future, and using the classroom to further that ideology. For instance, McLeroy said the board has added many Hispanic names to the curriculum, but it also downplays the struggles that countless Americans have made against oppression. McLeroy said his goals have always been: Students should learn about “divine providence” and “In God We Trust”; children should understand the Constitution; they m…

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Religion or Ethics at the Supreme Court?

…“Hypothetically speaking, how would you weigh the competing interests in a class-action lawsuit seeking an injunction against all future offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico?”* To which the answer would be, “I don’t want to comment on any potential litigation that may come before me,” because our political process is stupid and nominees have to tap dance around what they actually believe lest somebody place an anonymous hold on them for pla…

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Persecution of Ugandan Bishop Continues In United States

…y, the Marxist-influenced school of thought developed by Central and South American theologians, and waged an aggressive media campaign in support of the Reagan administration’s policies in Nicaragua, El Salvador and elsewhere, alleging links between liberal church leaders and Marxist guerillas. After the Cold War, Naughton continues: The IRD turned its attention from the mainline churches’ activities in Central America to the churches’ internal a…

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Who’s Afraid of Sacred Soccer?

…tualized—New Agers with crystals, meditation retreats for the professional class. Instead, both old and new media have lit up the religious landscape, illuminating what is still an unconventional, and nebulous, but certainly increasingly capacious, understanding of the sacred in everyday life. Rock and roll can be religious, according to The Hold Steady; a recent Los Angeles Times article explores how celebrity doctors blur the lines between faith…

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Immigration and Anti-Immigration in the Book of Mormon-Belt

…’s strongest growth in the United States is in Latino communities. The old American saying that “Sunday is the most segregated time of the week” holds largely true for Mormonism too. Even though Mormon congregations are organized geographically, Spanish-speaking members and English-speaking members living in the same communities often attend different services. Still, many of the conservative Anglo-Mormons I know here in Southern California work a…

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