Religion Dispatches
…ds and advertisements that tell us our life is not enough without that new phone, that new gadget, that new dress. And yet the minute you purchase your phone or laptop, it is obsolete. Every six months, fashion editors tell us our entire closet is out—our clothing is disposable. Shopping is not only a lifestyle, it is a form of entertainment. Whether it is infomercials and shopping networks or makeover shows, we not only shop, we watch people shop…
Read More
…ohibited from purchasing them. “Today those homes sell for $500,000 or $600,000,” Rothstein told me. “The result is that white working class families that moved to suburban communities with a federal subsidy 50 or 60 years ago have gained over the course of the last half-century $300,000 or $400,000 in equity.” White families could use this nest egg to send their children to college and provide for their retirement. Black families of the same econ…
Read More
…e). NOM wasn’t embarrassed by the low turnout of its previous rally in Lima, Ohio, touting on its blog, “Another successful rally in Lima, Ohio,” where it noted that “about 30 Ohioans braved the blistering sun to stand for marriage.” There was no mention, however, of crowd size in Indianapolis. Freedom to Marry is shadowing the NOM bus tour with a tour of its own, but instead of organizing the protest rallies, the group is using its time to organi…
Read More…t people think of her.) So, I feel like calling up McLeroy and saying, “You, sir, are a cheater!” Because from the perspective of the literal-minded (and fundamentalists are nothing if not literal-minded), it’s not unreasonable to argue that separation of church is a myth because nowhere in the First Amendment does it actually say that. Of course, such an argument reveals an utter lack of understanding of the inter-workings of the three branches o…
Read More
…m to be pretty good data supporting it, as part of the story at least. Then, number three, is that the studies that actually ask a person the same question a year or two later are finding that individuals change their minds a lot. That seems to occur especially with people who are identified as Nones. One paper identifies at least half of the Nones as “Liminals,” people who are trying to decide, on the cusp of making up their mind. You ask them on…
Read More
…l values. The first letter, Alef, is also the number one; the second letter, Bet, is also the number two; etc. Vav, the sixth letter in the Hebrew alphabet and has the numerical value of six. Therefore, according to Weick, Vav Vav Vav is 666—the infamous number of the Beast. The 666 theory does not, drinkers of Monster will be glad to hear, hold up. Here is the relevant passage from Revelation 13:18: “let anyone with understanding calculate the nu…
Read More
…ing “hotel staff” be swayed by the protesters outside. The vibe was strange, eerie, and excited—a cross between a White supremacist sorority meeting; a capitalist love-fest with deep bonding over hatred for “the Left,” the LGBTQ+ community, and anti-racism efforts (all dressed up as expressions of love for their children); and a Pentecostal revival with some distinct NAR overtones. “Our children belong to the Lord, not the government,” declared Pa…
Read More
…ol to show opposition to Oklahoma fetal personhood legislation. Personhood USA, the national group behind a lot of the state personhood measures, responded by issuing a press release saying that Sen. McIntyre was “disregarding the decorum due to her office.” And, honestly, this probably is the sort of thing that they warn you against doing in Politician School. But what fascinates me are all the conclusions that we can evidently draw about the sen…
Read More
…r Jim Inhofe, Senator Tom Coburn, Senator Sam Brownback, Senator Jim DeMint, and, now infamously, Senator John Ensign, Governor Mark Sanford, and former congressman Chip Pickering, all of whom turned to The Family to help cover up sex scandals this past summer. The reason you may not have heard about the group is that it doesn’t want you to hear about it—“the more invisible you can make your organization,” preaches leader Doug Coe, “the more influ…
Read More
…ch other. It was a cause of great consternation for Fuller’s administration, and, because of problems in the course, they asked Wimber to leave. Wagner, as a tenured professor, continued to teach the class with lay persons, which also became problematic. It was in the late 1980s, however, when Wagner turned to “spiritual mapping.” One of the first books that outlined spiritual mapping was Breaking Strongholds in Your City: How to Use Spiritual Map…
Read More