Religion Dispatches
…just to touch it. This is again because of the things associated with the word taharah. The Qur’an says none will touch except the muttataahirun. There are some who interpret this to mean those who are in a complete and undeterred state of purity, and this can only be angels. They justify this by the words used before this statement which refers to the Qur’an as a pre-text lawh-al mahfuz, the sacred tablet. And for this we really need to say some…
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…allies are promoting a vision of the church that’s much more live-and-let-live, repeatedly turning to the word “mercy” to describe how they view the application of doctrine to the actual lives of Catholics, guided by a sense of the larger mission of the church as spreading the Gospel, not enforcing laws. Conservatives, led by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, are insisting that there can be no change…
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…with the aggressive cadence of a preacher trying to exorcise demons. Every word seemed a defiant strike against the shame, abuse, and evil of this scandal: “May the truth be known, may justice be known, may You protect the victims!” Ron Brown seemed poised for this moment, prepared to lead an evangelical assault against moral turpitude and to champion grace and healing in the process. “There are a lot of little boys watching this game” Brown’s pra…
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…he teaching of creationism into science class, the Discovery Institute has run away from a school board after members there actually used the word “creationism.” Because of his recent response in American Spectator to the Livingston Parish School Board, I compared Discovery Institute president Bruce Chapman to Monty Python’s Brave Sir Robin. As the song goes, “when danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled.” Some folks at DI…
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…nd exciting side of 21st century blares out in the lead article in today’s New York Times: “Rare Sharing of Data Led to Results in Alzheimer’s: Collaboration Between Science and Industry Seen as Model for Parkinson’s Studies.” Here is science at its biggest and collaborative best. Here we have the vast private biotechnology and pharmaceutical enterprise—much of it spawned by the legislative changes I mentioned—collaborating with university researc…
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…I believe that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible verbally inspired Word of God. I believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the great news that any sinner who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.” A pastor who instructs a wife to submit to her abusive husband—as Patterson did—is therefore not truly following complementarian theology. Any abuse justified by complementarianism, in Mohler’s eyes, is not true complementarianism an…
Read More…y, why are you (called) Romeo? We can figure it out with references to the usage of language at the time, but we cannot construct it now with the same sha-zzam and eloquence. That is one of the reasons why it is called inimitable (I’jaz). So, with respect to understanding it, anyone has equal chance, but only if they prepare for it as a composition within itself and as a style much, much higher than even the most eloquent of poetry from that time…
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…havez terminated the fast—his longest ever at thirty-six days, a duration trumping even those undergone by Gandhi, his Indian guru. Like Gandhi, Chavez staged three public fasts, including the “Love Fast,” begun on February 14, 1968, which ended twenty-five days later with an ecumenical mass in which he broke bread with Robert Kennedy. Each of Chavez’s three public rituals was dubbed a “spiritual fast,” during which he took communion from priests…
Read More…Aqua-Buddha college pranks notwithstanding, Rand Paul embraces Buddhist notions of the interconnectedness of everything and the illusion of difference; “nothingness” is The Word. Thanks to my colleague Jon for sharing. The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c The Word – Nothingness www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive…
Read More…is better than your religion.” Truth is a tall order. Good thing I’m the ‘truth’ out of the truth and dare question. Here’s the thing: I read the Qur’an to command honesty and integrity in all of your affairs. So, it is not whether we agree, but whether I follow through with what I say I am all about. It’s also about consistency between the inner and the outer. In doing gender work, this applies to the relationship between the public and the priva…
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