Religion Dispatches
…tween the lines here: Monk is, quite literally, the best example of discrimination against Christians in the military that the Liberty Institute could find. He was chosen not so much because his case is strong, but because he was willing. So it’s quite possible that they’re unwilling to let Monk’s case go because he’s all they have….
Read More…are the correct ones. Think about the term “jihad.” It’s one of the most abused and misused terms of its kind. The vast majority of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims understand the concept in a non-violent way; it’s a struggle, they say, to live a pious life in the face of challenges. Writes Asma Afsaruddin here in RD: If we put on our historical glasses, a considerably different picture emerges. The earliest connotations of jihad had to do with pat…
Read More
…lding, and the need was soon felt in official and certain legal circles to promote the military jihad as a religiously meritorious activity. This is precisely what happened during the expansion of the Islamic empire after the death of Muhammad during the late seventh and eighth centuries of the Common Era. Certain hawkish scholars, starting already in the late seventh century, framed Realpolitik concerns focused on security and territorial expansi…
Read More…never be discovered embezzling money, enjoying kinky sex, or (The Da Vinci Code notwithstanding) fathering surprise children. It’s not necessary to label something a “cult” to understand the potential peril involved in looking to a living guru. However honest and virtuous that guru might be, she—like the rest of us—is susceptible to tripping and falling right up until the day she dies. What makes some folks willing and able to trust in a charismat…
Read More…our guns. It would take a lot of the guns that we now own away from us because they are not suitable for sporting use, and they would register all the rest. Since registration has never solved a crime in Canada, or in Hawaii, where they have registered handguns since the ‘30s, I wonder what they want that registration list for. I think most of the rest of the world has experienced what they want it for. It’s a grab list when the government decides…
Read More…ably biased toward consciousness, that it rewards intelligence in part because the universe enjoys its elegance being observed. And who am I, living in the middle of history, to tell the universe that it—or my observation of it—is temporary? Here it is, a cosmology for our times: a passive yet hopeful plea to a vast, personified universe. In the book, Hazel’s father credits this inspiration to a college professor. In interviews, Green credits it t…
Read More…idst of the hullabaloo? Why write before it is over? Why write at all? Because the ultimate response to the show’s questions have already been answered. The ending of the finale is (spoiler alert) not important. There are no answers that can be given that will leave anyone feeling satisfied. It’ll be like a Thanksgiving feeding frenzy: gobble it up and think we are satiated, but an hour later we’ll be wanting more: “But, but, wait a minute, what a…
Read More
…ly life), told me when the book came out: “I don’t like your book, not because it is not good enough, but because it is GOOD! Your book helps legitimize a way of life I deeply resent.” Leonard Plotnicov, editor of the journal Ethnology, whom I didn’t know at the time, wrote a most flattering blurb for the cover of my book. Leading gay/lesbian colleagues whom I also didn’t know at that time were supportive in reviews and comments (Ellen Lewin, Esth…
Read More
…med genuine. It would be very difficult to fake a conversion in prison because someone’s observing your actions 24 hours a day. For example, if someone converted to Pentecostalism, that means they didn’t use drugs. If they did, there would be serious consequences. They would be kicked out of church, and the gang would respond to the betrayal with violence. You had no prior experience as a filmmaker. How did the film come together? A friend of mine…
Read More
…e. I have not been able to find reference to them in the criminal or civil code of Illinois, where the movie is set. I did learn that many EMTs in Chicago are employed by private companies, in which case such an employee would not be violating the establishment clause by proselytizing.) This is the movie’s big theological problem: a firm certainty that if it seems Christian to you, it probably is Christian, and is therefore a good thing in exactly…
Read More