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Conservatives Accuse Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of Misconduct

By Elizabeth Drescher

…ches. “The Presiding Bishop and the national church have had to respond at times in an ad hoc way in the spirit of preserving unity within the church,” said Mullin. “Canons that were crafted in the nineteenth century could not have anticipated the way things have unfolded in the twenty-first, so of course there will be ambiguity. But,” he adds of the AAF’s charges, “there’s nothing new here.” You Might Be an Anglican Schismatic If… The first such…

Disaster Theology: Blame and Powerlessness in Japan

By Clark Strand

…rstand this tragedy, look deep inside Rather than helplessly bemoan your cruel fate. In other words, “I hate to say, ‘I told you so’—but I told you so!” Fortunately, we know today that tsunamis are caused by earthquakes and other forms of seismic activity, and that seismic activity is caused by a shift in tectonic plates. We can’t predict exactly when they’re going to shift, but we are increasingly certain that they don’t do so in response to th…

Killer Buddhists

By Joanna Piacenza

…priation of the Asian religion, soaking up the Buddhist sunshine. Even the New York Times article, reporting on the recent conflict, depicts a group of monks praying together, under the headline that uses “clash” and “crisis,” in contrast with a recent Newsweek cover, “Muslim Rage,” which opted for slightly more aggressive imagery to illustrate religious-inspired violence. It seems all too easy to blame the media, but truly, that’s how we got in…

Trump’s “Muslim Ban” A Gift to Terrorists

By Ali Olomi

…r officers, the president signed an executive order that, according to the New York Times “suspended entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.” The response to the proposal has been swift; spontaneous protests in support of immigrants and M…

“Americans Hate Muslims, Too” (And Other Impediments to U.S. Advocacy for Religious Freedom Abroad)

By Chad Bauman

…oes on in the United States than vice versa. For example, prominent Indian newspapers reported not only Donald Trump’s well-publicized call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration, but also on his appalling call to dip bullets in pigs’ blood for use on Muslim terrorists, and his less widely-publicized vow to “protect Christianity.” While Trump’s assertion, in that latter speech, that Christianity was “under siege” around the world is supported b…

How Trump Got Absolved By a Widow’s Suffering: Carryn Owens as “Victim Soul”

By Karen E. Park

…cifically theological language of atonement, linking Owens to Christ’s own words about his crucifixion in John 15:13 “For as the Bible teaches us, there is no greater act of love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Ryan laid down his life for his friends, for his country, and for our freedom—we will never forget him.” But when Carryn Owens stood for her applause, the story changed in a way neither Trump nor anyone else could have predic…

In Time of Crisis Christians Must Reject Charlatans and Magical Thinking

By Brian Rainey

…ear dictate actions. It’s absolutely legitimate to respect the awesome destructiveness of this virus. But we need to react appropriately, listening carefully to those whose opinions are based on experienced analysis of data (CDC, WHO, respected epidemiologists), and not to social influencers, Tweets, and Facebook posts. Acting out of fear, which includes hoarding, often makes things worse both for ourselves and others. Ironically, some of the very…

Why Utah Felt the Bern: Mormonism’s Forgotten Progressive Past

By Benjamin E. Park

…volunteer organizers, who continuously rushed to print more ballots after running out several times. In Utah, voting lines stretched around several city blocks, districts that were used to double-digit numbers were overwhelmed with thousands of participants, and the vast majority were adamant Sanders supporters. The night was unprecedented in the modern Mormon world. https://twitter.com/sltrib/status/710953531021221888 Close observers expected th…

We May Be Sacrificing Our Children to the God of the Gun — But it’s Not That the God Requires the Deaths

By Stephanie Frank

…ents amounted to about seven minutes. Startlingly, he referred to God nine times in those seven minutes. These references did not seem to be overly theologically laden. He used the phrase “for God’s sake” three times and “in God’s name” four; in some forms of American English, these phrases are intensifiers. And there’s no doubt that the occasion called for intensity. But I think—particularly considering his emphasis and repetition—we should take…

Ordain Women Transforms Mormon Feminism

By Holly Welker

…ormon women. I recommend a conversation on “The Evolving Role of Mormon Women” they had last week with Doug Fabrizio of KUER, the NPR affiliate at the University of Utah—it explains some of the thinking behind their recent NY Times piece. But I was surprised when they downplayed the importance of efforts by Ordain Women and other feminist organizations. (Even as Meridian magazine goes into hysterics at the way the NY Times “lined up to help them.”…