Religion Dispatches
…n of the longtime mayor of Jerusalem), depicts the reunion of Moshe, a down-and-out Israeli poet in New York, and Tzach, the son he abandoned as a baby, now an elite sniper discharged from the Israeli Defense Forces. The Zohan, starring Adam Sandler (who also co-wrote and produced the film), resembles such willfully vulgar satires as Talladega Nights and Superbad. A renowned soldier and lover, Zohan gives up fighting terrorists to follow his dream…
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…not conclude that the app effects an absolution or otherwise replaces face-to-face confession with a priest. However, it has seemed easy enough for the average user to misunderstand the developers’ intention that the app be used as an incentive to go to church. Indeed, enough that Vatican officials were moved to issue a statement yesterday making clear that use of the Confession app—or any technological devise—cannot substitute for the sacrament…
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…tive. How do you feel about the cover? I love it. The first edition of the book, which I published myself, had a really cool retro-’70s like cover designed by the great graphic artist Dan Shepelavy. The current edition, published by Amazon, is a little more 1940s, and is also fantastic. Is there a book out there you wish you had written? Which one? Why? Pick a bestseller, any bestseller. I love what I do, but my ultimate dream is to put aside the…
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…ight be willing to give Christianity a second look—those who are “spiritual-but-not-religious” and the “church alumni club.” And those who might be completely post-religious and just want to read a good story about interesting people in the past. Are you hoping to just inform readers? Give them pleasure? Piss them off? I always want my readers—of my books, blogs, or articles—to say, “I’ve never really seen the world from that angle before.” It is…
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…d to leave out? More discussion about abortion and reproductive justice vis-à-vis all of the draconian legislation that’s come down from states like Kansas, North Dakota, Texas and Mississippi. The fact that abortion and birth control policies continue to be hijacked by the extreme right is an atrocity, as is the destructive whitewash of the devastating impact of climate change. I believe that legal abortion and universal access to contraception a…
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…atingly perverse sexual fantasy, in which a hairy little near-sighted comic-book geek obsessively worships the powerful woman who had come to life in the Q & A line at the JCC. In the comix, the artist was no superhero fantasy of masculine power but rather the very embodiment of male sexual vulnerability. That there were men out there that were turned on not by the airbrushed blonde cheerleaders of Playboy but rather by, well, big women, with stra…
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…ose special-use limited-access buildings used for rituals (not the regular open-access church buildings used for Sunday services). In the pioneer period, temples were grand edifices that echoed Utah’s mountains in their architecture. Each was different. But since 1997 the Church has built or authorized the construction of one hundred “mini-temples,” most of them beyond the Mormon Culture Region. In the pursuit of globalization, it is no longer pra…
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…distinct from the SBNR ethos. So the stereotypical SBNR individual can pick-and-choose, and even combine, but she doesn’t actually have to sit down and practice scales for hours a day. I’d love to hear more about how the bodily practices involved with jazz influence the way musicians talk about spirituality. I think it influences in almost every way. So on the most general level, when we think about embodiment I think of again another contrast bet…
Read More…tside MacArthur’s “Strange Fire” conference and had copies of his book sort-of-confiscated. It was weird. It was particularly weird given that both men are staunch theological conservatives, strident Calvinists, and megachurch pastors. For those who don’t know him, John MacArthur is an old school fundamentalist whose church draws over 8000 weekly attendees. He also believes all Charismatics are blasphemers, and ultimately hell-bound, which is t…
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…tuating, constructing, and disseminated the culture of courtship. But this newest book also reveals an irony imbedded in courtship and purity culture: the movement encourages women to take an active role in constructing their own passivity. In order to be empowered, women must be start by actively embracing systems that are designed to undermine female autonomy. While “purity rings” have gained mainstream appeal, even making appearances on the han…
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