Religion Dispatches
…d Newz Kennels (a Virginia-based dogfighting ring in which dogs were routinely electrocuted, drowned, and hung for poor performance), he signed with the Eagles at the beginning of the 2009 season. Facing an uphill battle as a surplus quarterback and the subject of public condemnation, Vick was a committed player from the outset, with a strong work ethic and a positive team attitude; a significant change from his pre-incarceration days as somewhat…
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…f the CDF sword was offered by a would-be defender of queer Catholics who delivered himself of a discourse on the need for queer Catholics to follow Jesus who was scorned, beaten, and finally killed. As one commentator pointed out, at least Jesus had some choice about suffering, unlike LGBTQ+ Catholics upon whom suffering is foisted by the Church. Such pernicious advice, made worse when offered to queer people who are already put upon, is a breath…
Read More…f Hovind’s classic silliness. (His assertions are so ridiculous that even fellow creationists like Ken Ham tell people not to use his arguments. Q: How did Noah fit all those dinosaurs on the Ark? A: He only brought little baby ones.) The network, which solicits independent paid programming, states that its mission is “to bring back the good old days when television was wholesome and family-friendly. While we do not produce programs, we are always…
Read More…garage. (Although I do expect our supplies will run out in about 48 hours because we’re the types that feed the neighbors.) Mitt Romney, this tropical storm is in your wheelhouse. I bet your pragmatic mind is spinning through all the logistics. 72 hour kits for everyone! You can do this!…
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…eativity and loving those far away from the church.” He is a superstar of televangelism; an estimated 2.7 million watch his Sunday program, “Hour of Power,” where he preaches his individualized, sunny gospel of success, self-esteem and positive thinking—or, as he prefers to call his theology, “Possibility Thinking.” — Los Angeles Times, 1983 Richard Mouw, former longtime president of Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., who now serves there as a p…
Read More…ound—with enough time, good will, and hard work. With just enough walk-shoveling. That was always a risky bet for a wonky Yankee Mormon. And evidence suggests that it hasn’t worked: evangelical Christians are consolidating behind Rick Santorum. Had Romney not spent the entire first part of his candidacy trying to pass himself off as a regular Christian conservative, he might be in a position to state the obvious: to take the Republican party by th…
Read More…bortions overseas. When the administration tardily ends “don’t ask, don’t tell,” you can bet that this action, too, will be greeted by more yawns than howls. As proof of this decline in the culture wars, Bloomberg News notes that President Obama’s nominee to head the Office of Personnel Management, M. John Berry, is expected to win easy approval, despite the fact that he is openly gay. “Voters aren’t interested in fighting the social-issue battles…
Read More…the most important the articulation of the complementarian position (I’ll bet five bucks Bachmann has this on her bookshelf), authors John Piper and Wayne Grudem argue that it violates women’s essential nature to be in authority over men in any situation. Apparently (since she is running for president) Michelle Bachmann does not agree with their position entirely—although functioning as president with the “covering” of the authority of her husban…
Read More…Jews, like members of all the other religious minorities, recognize a bad bet for religious freedom when they see one. They see how Trump treats Muslims, Mormons, and Hispanics, and they know his commitment to them is thinner than his actual hair. Anyway, you might say it’s only one state, but it’s also the one state with a sizable Jewish population and an uncertain outcome. There’s no way Trump is winning in New York or New Jersey, and if he doe…
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…nservative. He seems to have a semi-truck-sized blind spot for claims of “religious freedom,” and his testy refusal to discuss his thoughts on any potential or past case that comes before the Supreme Court is infuriating, if not unprecedented. But in the context of modern American jurisprudence, Gorsuch is hardly an ideologue. It’s a safe bet that Justice Gorsuch will maintain the conservative 5-4 split of the Court as it existed before Justice An…
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