Religion Dispatches
…ion. The suit was settled.” The company also runs WinShape Foundation that promotes “traditional” marriage as well as a retreat center near Rome, Georgia. Gays and lesbians looking for a retreat should look elsewhere, however. In an email exchange with one gay blog, the retreat center made it clear that it defines marriage as being between one man and woman and gay couples would not be welcome. Boycotts of Chick-fil-A have been called for, but as…
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…the soul-destroying practice of theologized tolerance that says, “You are welcome to exist among us, but we cannot affirm the goodness, value, or worth of your life(style).” This is a particularly popular discourse among “moderates” who rest proud that they aren’t like Westboro and for whom tolerance seems virtuous. Secondly, free speech does not necessarily lead to greater freedom for the marginalized. Free speech and a tolerance for all views p…
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…as occupiers in over a hundred American cities feel the power of worldwide welcome and affirmation. There is obviously more to be felt and said about this than any journalistic treatment could hope to engage; one senses in many recent commentaries the strain of needing to say more and not quite having the words. Over the course of a couple of days, four regular RD contributors, moderated by Senior Editor Sarah Posner, shared their own thoughts abo…
Read More…is more inclusive of converts now than before, she doesn’t feel completely welcome in the Indian community. Her husband’s family has trouble accepting her and even tried to delay the couple’s marriage. A common perception exists of converts as less knowledgeable or authentic Muslims than those in the immigrant communities. My father struggled with this when teaching at mosques in New York. Although he had studied Arabic and Islamic fundamentals fo…
Read More…iolence towards LGBT people. And the emotional pain as well of not feeling welcome, supported, and connected. The leadership of the LDS Church has taken a lot of steps forward, and I’ve been really happy and excited about it. In trying to become more educated on gay issues, I’ve felt in alignment with Church leadership. I think it’s fair to say that some of the LDS membership has not completely caught up to where the leadership is now. When you us…
Read More…l material* about Jesus dates from at least two generation after his life. Welcome to the wonderful world of pre-modern history. Literacy is not such a big deal. A good resource for learning about this is Monty Python’s “Holy Grail.” It’s probably a more accurate portrayal of Medieval English history than anything Spencer concocts. How six decades passed before the Arabian conquerors—or the people they conquered—even mentioned Muhammad, the Qur’a…
Read More…ive into its tagline of Open Hearts, Open Doors, Open Minds and extend its welcome to LGBT people and unfortunately, chose not to do that. We grieve that UMC continues to harm and discrimination against LGBT people. We’re already here in the United Methodist Church and we will continue to be that shining light on top of the hill to show the world what it means to be UMC, and that is to welcome all people.” Even if this petition failed, said Danie…
Read More…ty and assuring students struggling with same-sex attraction that they are welcome in the Biola community. This is Biola’s version of “welcome:” Biola students are required to sign a contract affirming their agreement with the university’s belief that “sexual relationships are designed by God to be expressed solely within a marriage between husband and wife.” The new statement goes into more detail, looking at God’s design for marriage, offering h…
Read More…ore “enlightened” if he had the privilege of living in our society? One is welcome to believe that, of course; but it should not become the official state religion, at least not in a land that still fancies itself free. Surely there must be a way to properly respect people who are gay or lesbian without using civil law to undermine the nature of marriage. There’s an embedded fallacy there, of course, that gay marriage “undermine[s] the nature of m…
Read More…at Brentwood, which, given the craziness of the rest of the weekend, was a welcome respite. We had several more visitors than usual, and our blog stats are through the roof, but nothing entirely out of the ordinary. This may change over time, we’ll see. I guess all we can do is take it one step at a time. You’ve written one book, edited another, and co-authored another with Emily Bowen. Can you tell us a bit about each of them? My most recent book…
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