Religion Dispatches
It was a little over three years ago, on December 20, 2005, that Judge John E. Jones III issued his ruling in Kitzmiller v. Dover that intelligent design was not science, but merely repackaged creationism—and that it had no business in biology class. The hoopla was immediate and enduring. Jones’ decision launched headlines across the globe, not to mention celebrations by the trial’s plaintiffs, their legal team and science experts (who send “Merr…
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This couldn’t be a more topical interview. Aasif Mandvi might be most famous for his hilarious commentary on The Daily Show, but he’s also a very well-regarded actor, creator, artist, and writer. At a time when we’re not having a debate about Islam and extremism so much as we’re slinging talking points past each other, Aasif Mandvi took time out of a very busy schedule to talk about Halal in the Family and much more. Namely: He teases us with gli…
Read MoreThe Uganda Joint Christian Council, which includes Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox bishops, has called on parliament to move the notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill forward. According to the Ugandan newspaper The Daily Monitor: Top religious leaders from across the country have asked Parliament to speed-up the process of enacting the Anti-Homosexuality law to prevent what they called “an attack on the Bible and the institution of marriage.” Speaki…
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While Americans celebrate Labor Day with picnics, BBQs, and weekend getaways, Germany-based FIAA GmbH is releasing the beta version of The Bible Online: Heroes, the first installment of a projected series of MMORTS (massively multiplayer online real-time strategy) “games” based on the Bible. MMORTS games take place in a world that continues to exist and evolve even while any given player isn’t playing. According to the press release, there is an…
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Ellie Burrows and Lodro Rinzler had their big idea over a cup of tea. Certain details change with the telling (was it a nail salon or a hair salon?), but here’s the official version: during a teatime conversation, Burrows asked Rinzler “why there wasn’t a modern, non-religious, drop-in studio where she could meditate in the same way she could drop into a salon and get her hair done.” Rinzler, it turned out, had been thinking along the same lines….
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October 30 marked the 30th anniversary of the Vatican’s “Letter to the Bishops on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons,” which New Ways Ministry calls “probably the most influential piece of church teaching on the topic of homosexuality.” Read more for Francis DeBarnardo’s analysis of the letter’s continuing impact. The Obama administration adopted a new rule banning US Agency for International Development contractors from discriminating aga…
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“This is God’s body,” the girl says. She is one of a group of middle school students participating in a youth workshop on misogynist images in media. The subject has turned to abortion, and her peers nod vigorously in agreement. Imani Moses, a high school senior who is facilitating the workshop as a Women’s Leadership Project student, challenges her to examine her position—“does God sleep, eat, live in and control this body 24/7?” She asks, point…
Read MoreAfter Bishop Michael Bruce Curry delivered his sermon at today’s wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, many observers around the world wondered, as one headline put it, “Who was the Jesuit priest mentioned during the Royal Wedding sermon?” On Twitter, many of those familiar with the work of that Jesuit priest, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, expressed surprise and joy at the inclusion of a figure whose work had had a warning, or “monitum,” place…
Read MoreUpdate: The video, which went viral thanks to Buzzfeed, has boosted Aslan’s book sales considerably. According to the New York Times: On Friday, “Zealot” was in the No. 8 spot on Amazon.com, the nation’s biggest seller of books; by Sunday, it had hit No. 1. Random House is rushing to meet the surge in demand for the book. On Monday, the publisher ordered 50,000 copies, bringing the total to 150,000 copies in print by the end of the week. *** Cre…
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I may leave the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in the future. Whether I do or not, I believe that my story—the story of many Korean clergywomen within the PCUSA—must be told. Just as African Americans, other ethnic minorities and white women have struggled to find their place within our denomination during some of the most racist and sexist periods in our history, so now are the women of the Presbyterian Korean community. I arrived in America in 199…
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