Religion Dispatches
…n the FedEx logo, or that the eastern coast of South America fits snugly into the western coast of Africa. We want to know there is order, even if that order is malevolent. Satan, New World Order, Illuminati—any order is better than none. This is why, at the end of her talk, Christine Weick cannot help but smile….
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…imes that the group Jews for Israel 2012 ran an ad in the Cleveland Jewish News that asked, “Are you willing to bet the life of the Jewish people on this president?” Robert Goldberg, a former chair of the Jewish Federation, told Cohen, “Jews just don’t trust Obama on Israel… The president has no sympathy for Israel. His sympathy is for the Muslim world he knew as a child.” Jews responding to the AJC survey, though, not only largely support Obama o…
Read More…the housing bust. Many people may simply be postponing childbearing until better times return, and a few years of swift growth could produce a miniature baby boom. Good. Here we have actual people making decisions about childbearing, and in the process considering their own economic conditions. He goes on to say that “America has no real family policy to speak of at the moment, and the evidence from countries like Sweden and France suggests that…
Read More…ay next Tuesday as he presents the findings of his gun task force. You can bet there will be something about closing the now infamous “gun show” loophole that allows for nearly 40% of gun purchases to proceed without a background check, as well something about reinstating bans on assault weapons—like the weapon used at Sandy Hook elementary. Maybe Vice President Biden will also underscore an obvious national need for better mental health screening…
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…ploaded to iTunes. Only a handful of segments on an even smaller number of news and opinion shows on mainstream media from the historical network channels to the cable news networks actually call on the academy for trained theologians to offer their view on the social issues of the day. This is, in many ways, a slap in the face to academic theology—those same networks would never call on a law school drop out to comment on the legal ramifications…
Read More…which historically get attacked in periods of crisis. The military surely knew there would be reprisals against Christians who’ve been perceived to be in support of the coup (which disempowered a class of people long brutalized by the army.) Either the military didn’t care what happened to Copts, which based on the Maspero massacre is quite probable, or (maybe “and”) they wanted Copts to be attacked. Which is to say, they used them as bait. This i…
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…ted by actual science, is not outside the realm of possibility—and you can bet Cameron knows it. Cameron is among those made-in-America anti-LGBT activists who are exporting the US culture wars (their cause clearly losing at home) to countries where their prejudices are widely accepted, anti-LGBT discrimination is already enshrined into law or could be, and the potential harm from their violent rhetoric is that much greater. For those who may not…
Read More…Painting conservatives as out of the mainstream (at least for a state like New York) has caused a frenzy against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Charles Pierce: The other day, Cuomo gave a radio interview in which he made the unremarkable point that the kind of Republican who wins elections in, say, Alabama, likely would have something of a tough row to hoe in New York. “If they are extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New Yor…
Read More…vor marriage equality, it’s significant that Millennials didn’t migrate to new religious homes rather than abandon faith entirely. I won’t pretend to know what the precise reasons are for this shift. It’s possible that it was a number of factors about organized religion itself that put off those who left the church and that homophobia was simply among the most egregious, or possibly it’s proof of Millennials’ unfamiliarity with the diversity of t…
Read More…y members still performing after 39 years, as one of the best actresses in New York, and wondered at her decision not to work with other companies. It certainly doesn’t seem to bother her any. In Early Shaker Spirituals (which ends its successful run on June 15th) Valk steps further away from the spotlight by acting as director. Like the Sabbathday Lake Shaker site, which is both a religious community, museum, and shop, The Wooster Group has also…
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