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Does the Bible Really Call Homosexuality an “Abomination”?

By Jay Michaelson

…s, and Jebusites. So, toevah is serious, but it is serious as a particular class of cultic offense: a transgression of national boundary. It is certainly not “abomination.” Toevah is used four times in Leviticus 18—once to refer to male homosexual acts, and then three times as an umbrella term. As in Deuteronomy, the signal feature of toevot is that the other nations of the Land of Israel do them: “You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgm…

Glenn Beck Takes on Liberation Theology

By Elijah Prewitt-Davis

…nifier, then liberation theology is still important and clearly has a future. Unlike Beck, I look forward to the day that a young immigrant worker picks up a copy of God of the Oppressed and realizes her humanity through it. James Cone once said in class that if you can write a book that people are still talking about 40 years later, then you might have had something very important to say. At the 41st anniversary of Black Theology and Black Power,…

Obama Recognizes Gay Dads

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…atement this past weekend in recognition of Father’s Day, he mentioned one class of fathers that no other president before him has acknowledged: gay dads. Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by a father and mother, a single father, two fathers, a stepfather, a grandfather, or caring guardian. His acknowledgement of the labor of love two men may put into their relationship with their children drew quick reaction from t…

Seeking Jobs, Beach Clean Up Workers Come From All Walks of Life

By Lauri Lebo

…said. People seeking jobs have come from all over the Gulf region. Middle-class plant workers who lost their jobs in the recession and convicted felons recently released from prison. Mothers and sons and uncles and nephews. The work is hard. There is no shade and when the heat gets too unbearable, they can’t run into the water to cool off. They are black, white and Hispanic. I guess Kumrits and Jones fill the demographic of designated hippies. Th…

“A Feminine Complaint Against Theologians”

By Susan Henking

…more; Saiving quotes Lionel Trilling as well: The American educated middle class is firm in its admiration of non-conformity and dissent. The right to be non-conformist, the right to dissent, is part of our conception of community. Everybody says so… Admiring non-conformity and loving community, we have decided that we are all non-conformists together. In the face of memory and nostalgia, what the phrase “I am a student of theology. I am also a wo…

Closing with Gospel in Morocco

By Hussein Rashid

…s. I am not sure why, but the Moroccan audience—and Bab Makina has a large number of upper-class Moroccans in attendance—really enjoy gospel. It’s an appreciation that appeared to cut across generations. Based on comments I heard, people are aware that many of the songs praise Jesus as the son of God, an idea that is anathema to Muslims. Unfortunately, I could not understand the appeal, outside of the aesthetic, but it was wonderful to see so many…

Glenn Beck’s ‘Social Justice’ Heresies

By Sarah Posner

…using his anti-government heresies to produce a false, ahistorical civics class that distorts his viewers’ understanding of the role of government in serving the needs of its citizens. Beck is our 21st century red-baiter, our go-to guy to tar any government services as “socialism.” Beck didn’t invent this, and he certainly won’t be the last demagogue to pollute our airwaves. But as the Republican Party and the conservative movement have fallen of…

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

By Joanna Brooks

…k alongside with or provide ecclesiastical and personal support to working-class Latino Mormon immigrant families. And many have benefited personally and financially from the underpaid immigrant labor that has refigured California’s economy. Complicated relationships, difficult questions, and few easy answers: immigration reform will take, as LDS Church leaders pointed out in an offical statement last week, “the best thinking and goodwill of all a…

Are You There God? It’s Us, Googling

By Michael Schulson

…s per month in the US, is “Who created God?,” followed by that old Job-ian classic, “Why does God allow suffering?” But we should be careful here; Google search data offers a skewed sliver of insight into the full range of human motivation and behavior. The population of people who ask Google about God may not be reflective of the full population of people who have divine-related questions. And while Stephens-Davidowitz engages in some discussion…

Can the Catholic Church Survive Trump?

By Patricia Miller

…administration and the mandate. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of white Catholics who said the Obama administration was “unfriendly to religion” more than doubled from 17 percent to 36 percent between 2009 and 2014. And starting around 2012, white Catholics broke for the GOP by historic margins. It’s also worth noting, as Michael Sean Winters has, that this occurred around the time the administrative staff of the bishops’ confer…