Religion Dispatches
…the urban poor are losing their subsidies. But for Obama not to stand his ground and say that the cheap, low-level policies that many healthy people now have should be cancelled for the sake of the common good: that’s just inexcusable. On the other hand, he’s not getting a lot of help from his Democratic “friends” on this one, and for the same reason: They likewise don’t know how to speak ethically. Thus, Obama special friend Bill Clinton: “I pers…
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…at in the long run it’s going to hurt the church, and shrink the church in numbers. We’re supposed to be known for our love for one another, and for our compassion, and this is just not it.” Many younger Christian communities around the country would agree with Bakker, and have adopted the kind of positive, inclusive messages he refers to, marking a definitive shift away from the type of pro-Amendment 1 voices heard in the debate. But—unlike Bakke…
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…television interview, “I just went wild.” Lobért did drugs and she slept around. She was insecure and felt unloved, so she started stripping to prove her worth. And before long, she fell in love with a regular customer who, after they moved to Las Vegas, eventually became her pimp. “I never knew when I got older that I would be a prostitute,” Lobért says. “I wanted to be like the stars. I wanted to have happiness like they did… I thought the casi…
Read More…hey don’t have it as bad as gays in ISIS-held territory. So let’s put that cheap argument to bed. At Patheos, Benjamin Corey shakes that cheap argument awake: Can we stop complaining about this bogus idea that American Christians are persecuted now? I mean, really. Can we stop? The world needs us to turn from ourselves and focus on this real persecution, because it’s evil and must be exposed and stopped. However, our own self-centeredness as Ameri…
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…h tremendous latitude, forging business and security relationships on the ground that will make them very difficult to extract should the politicians ever want to. Already outnumbering the regular soldiers deployed in Iraq, this highly adaptable force blurs the lines between business and warfare, military and civilian. Contractors have taken part in human trafficking, accounting fraud, and murderous outbursts that usually escape prosecution. In pl…
Read More…Tony Abbott, a fierce opponent of marriage equality, is making his second trip to the U.S. at the invitation of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a U.S. based group that resists LGBT equality around the world. Abbott also addressed ADF last year. The Financial Review notes that Abbott is scheduled to talk about his belief that marriage equality threatens religious liberty. ADF is representing a baker who refused to make a cake for a gay couple’s we…
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…heology. In 1902, in his journal, Leaves of Healing, Dowie explained: Zion City is founded and is being built, for the purpose of the extension of the Kingdom of God upon the earth. It is to this end that it is made a City where God shall rule in every department of family, industrial, commercial, educational, ecclesiastical, and political life. Zion was also the birthplace of James Gordon Lindsay, an early Latter Rain proponent and later the foun…
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…ues to grow more visible. PFLAG Vietnam officially launched in Ho Chi Minh City in May 2011, and it has grown to include hundreds of members across the country. Vietnam’s first Pride parade took place in Hanoi a little more than a year later. A number of popular Vietnamese television shows now feature gay characters. The Vietnamese Ministry of Justice in June 2013 proposed a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry and extended right…
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…ding to Moses, a gift, a blessing, and its own salvation. A Biblical Magic Trip Actor Peterson Toscano was inspired by what he calls the secret history of transgender people in the Bible. He started workshopping a play on the topic almost two years ago. He named it Transfigurations, a reference to the metamorphosis of Jesus to a being with a visible divine radiance. Toscano describes the play as “a biblical magic trip.” It’s a one-man show that ex…
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…ade a fabulous video, and tweeted it, and you should watch it.” The Panama City twitter account joined in, declaring, “The City of Panama belongs to all those who live in it. From the Mayor’s Office we promote respect for diversity #CeroDiscriminacion.” Armenia: Justice Ministry says couples married in other countries should be recognized The Justice Ministry has confirmed that a same-sex couple married abroad should receive the same benefits in t…
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