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Defying Gravity Defies Sci-Fi Conventions

By Gabriel Mckee

In a 1972 speech, science fiction author Philip K. Dick expressed his concern over the increasing dehumanization that 20th century culture forced upon its inhabitants. He feared that, just as we were beginning to reach toward the stars, we were becoming emotional androids. “Our flight must be not only to the stars but into the nature of our own beings,” Dick wrote. “Because it is not merely where we go, to Alpha Centauri or Betelgeuse, but what w…

Is The Episcopal Church Driving Drunk?

By J. Terry Todd

…re complicated than the simple right-wing Anglican formula that liberalism = death. But let’s face it: this has been a tough few months for the Episcopal Church, and the Cook case must feel like a punch in the gut. Take the case of the denomination’s seminaries, so many of which are struggling. The Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge almost imploded last spring after a showdown that pitted faculty against an unpopular dean and the trustees who…

Pope Benedict’s 2006 Islamophobia Controversy Wasn’t an Isolated Incident — Islamophobia is an Integral Part of His Theological Legacy

By Wendy Mallette

…athers, Benedict contends that the Logos—the divine Word made flesh—in John 1 proves the “inalienable right of Greek thought to a place in Christianity.” While Benedict’s claims about compatibility between Greek philosophy and Christian faith aren’t particularly controversial, his insistence on a unique alliance between Greek thought and Christianity sets the theological backdrop for the Islamophobia and Euro-Christian supremacy seen across his la…

Religious Resistance to Bolivian Gender Law; US Religious Right Celebrates Court OK For Romanian Marriage Initiative; Will LGBTs Be Banned from Indonesian TV?; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ing, and deriding their sexuality. The United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 established that individuals with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted” based on membership of a “particular social group” are entitled to seek asylum abroad. Today, homosexuality is illegal in nearly 80 countries, and at the time of the convention, it was still illegal in Australia, the UK, most of the United States, and most of Europe—in Australia and other form…

From Organized Religion to Organizing Religion: Brian D. McLaren Wants Christians to Be Better

By Peter Laarman

…ple like Brian McLaren are still trying to crack it. McLaren, the author of 15 previous books and tireless lecturer and movement-builder, is the very best of the progressive evangelicals associated with the Red Letter Christians group: a group that includes Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, Ron Sider, Shane Claiborne, Lisa Sharon Harper, and others. McLaren has also been very active in the formation of a newer initiative called the Convergence, which is s…

Mexican Marriage Marches Show Struggle Between Church and Secular State; Pro-LGBT Mormon Group Grows After ‘Apostate’ Declaration; Botswana Gives Anti-Gay US Pastor the Boot; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…ic Church, which opposes such unions. Chile, which returned to democracy in 1990 after a brutal 17-year military dictatorship, is by many measures Latin America’s most economically developed country, but is less socially progressive than many of its neighbors. In 2004, it became the last country in the Western Hemisphere to legalize divorce, and it is one of the few that still outlaws abortions in all cases – something that center-left Bachelet is…

My Congregation Tried to Help a Syrian Family Settle in the US

By Thomas Warming

…It does make me wonder, though, what would happen if this family got their flight waivers tomorrow and showed up next week. Would they be redirected to Connecticut like the family turned away from Indiana this week? Would they face open hostility, suspicion, even violence, as Muslims in many states have? Would my parishioners still want to befriend them, or would they be cowed or converted by the mean-spirited rhetoric that has been flying loose r…

In Case You Missed Them, the Top Pope Francis Quotes of 2016

By Patricia Miller

…He referenced a decision by Pope Paul VI to allow nuns in the Congo in the 1960s to use contraceptives because they ran a risk of being raped, but refused to extend the analogy to other situations where a woman becoming pregnant might not be desirable (or desired). A pastor cannot feel that it is enough to simply apply moral laws to those living in ‘irregular’ situations, as if they were stones to throw at people’s lives. –In the long-awaited apo…

Dear Readers: Letter From an Anonymous Liberal Pastor in Trump Country

By Thomas Warming

…the light comes again. We’re going to be okay, I think. But I’m still going to call the ACLU and give them my congregants’ exact flight information. Just in case….

The Democrats’ Real Religion Problem, And All Of Ours

By Daniel Schultz

…s the evangelical president. Q: Have Democrats lost their way? A: Since the 1980’s Democrats no longer speak the language of faith. Q: Who are the Real Americans? A: Real Americans are the religious. Q: Do Democrats have a religion problem? A: Democrats must learn to speak the language of faith. Q: Are Democrats too secular? A: Democrats must create a big tent for pro-life voters and those who believe in traditional marriage. Q: Are Democrats host…