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Electionpocalypse, Part II: The Mythical Jewish Vote

…the Times of Israel, that 85% of the 80,000 Americans living in Israel who used its services voted for Romney. Of course that doesn’t prove that Jews are voting in greater numbers for Romney this year, just that Jews who used iVoteIsrael’s services did. Certainly there are Jews in the U.S. who hold this view (the RJC, after all, is not supported by Adelson alone). Detroit Free Press religion reporter Niraj Warikoo reports on Twitter that hundreds…

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Ross Douthat’s Missing Pregnant Women

…ng and number of pregnancies they have, many of them opt to do so; not because they are mindlessly driven to do so by the sociological version of Van Der Waals forces, but because undergoing pregnancy and giving birth to babies involves trade-offs specific to women. There are health risks that come with pregnancy, up to and including death. Less dramatically, there are things you can’t do if you have three children under five and are pregnant with…

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Ten of Our Favorite Top Tens

…her than try to change God’s standards” (1-14-08). 6.) TOP TEN COMPARISONS BETWEEN RELIGION AND DENTISTRY: Between Google ads for “oral sedation” and “dental fear,” blogger Mark Wright writes thoughtfully about many things. On this list he points out, helpfully, that “Both Dentistry and Religion benefit financially from your sins” and reminds us that “In Religion there is the promise of Heaven. In Dentistry there is only Hell.” 7.) BOOKLIST’S TOP…

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Friending Pope Benedict on Facebook?

…ict was simply carrying on this tradition. Pope Benedict has more recently used text messaging to communicate with attendees throughout this year’s World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. His first message read: Young friend, God and his people expect much from u because u have within you the Fathers supreme gift: the Spirit of Jesus – BXVI. Now, as the Synod of Bishops meets in Rome, one person suggested Pope Benedict enter the blogoshere. Agnes La…

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Anti-Vaxxers Illustrate Danger of Overly Broad Religious Freedom Laws

…ontext herd immunity will protect most of the unvaccinated individuals because outbreaks will be thwarted by the high level of vaccinated individuals). The irony is that if there were no such exemptions in a vaccine law, it is unlikely that a plaintiff would be able to win a Religious Freedom Restoration Act claim (under a state RFRA or similar statute). A plaintiff with a “personal belief” claim would certainly not be able to obtain a judicial ex…

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Disaster Theology: Blame and Powerlessness in Japan

…ear reactors? Certainly. Does it strengthen our resolve to develop an ever better understanding of seismology? You bet. Do these guarantee that, going forward into an age of accelerating climate change and rapidly depleting oil reserves, we won’t take one hit after another to our most deeply-held belief as modern people: that we can do a better job of running the planet than the planet can? No. There is no guarantee whatsoever that we will emerge…

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End-Times Watcher Sees Satan in an Energy Drink

…Ever since the Book of Revelation was written, Christians have tried to decode it. They have used gematria to prove that Muhammad, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and countless popes were the Beast. Some have noted with dread that each of Ronald Wilson Reagan’s three names contained six letters. Indeed, when the Reagans retired to Bel Air in 1989, they asked to have their new address changed from 666 to 668 St. Cloud Road…

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‘Good Wife’ Alicia Florrick is an Atheist (and Drinks a Lot)

…ondering. Safe bet that this is the most often the word ‘atheist’ has been used in a single episode of a network drama. The wrinkle is that her daughter is part of a youth-y evangelical group, having converted a few seasons back. The writers use her for comic effect sometimes, as when the grownups are in crisis around the kitchen table and you suddenly hear a group of teenage girls belting hymns from the bedroom. But in this episode mother and dau…

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Lifestyles of the Rich and Pious

…ice Catholics, is adding a $500,000, 3,000-square foot wing to his $800,000, 4,500-square foot weekend/retirement home nestled on 8.2 wooded aces in New Jersey’s tony Hunterdon Country. He needed the extra space for “an indoor exercise pool”—the house already has a large outdoor pool—“a hot tub, three fireplaces and a library.” Maybe he could have Boston Cardinal and Francis ally Sean O’Malley over for the weekend. The Franciscan lives in a “rundo…

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The Ghosts and Illusions of the Occupation

…uman rights organization B’Tselem has collected evidence of beatings and abuse in custody (via Emily Hauser). Violent reaction in East Jerusalem is “no surprise,” says Jo-Ann Mort, writing in Dissent: [T]he rabid building for Jewish extremists inside of Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and the lack of adequate building permits for Arab residents has angered the population. City services are scant. The atmosphere in the city fuels discontent. F…

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