Religion Dispatches
…principles.” Similar denunciations have come from leading Muslim clergy in Egypt, Turkey, and around the world. Still, the leaders of ISIS claim Muslim authority for their actions, strict Shari’a law as the basis of their jurisprudence, and the promise of salvation for those recruited into its ranks. In a recent essay in The New Republic, Graeme Wood described the core supporters of ISIS as an uneasy coalition of three groups: psychopaths, believe…
Read More…losophy, is co-founder of a blog called Spiritual Friendship that seeks to promote celibacy as an admirable option for gay Christians. He said he believes that a majority of U.S. Catholics now support same-sex marriage, which became legal in all 50 states under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June. Mr. Belgau doesn’t expect the church to change its teaching, but suggests that there might be ways to make gay couples feel more welcome — comparable to…
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…example, shows God forming a new society out of the disorganized slaves of Egypt. That society comes complete with its own form of government. When that structure doesn’t work for the humans, God endorses a change. God warns against the change, but does go along. Later, when the new form doesn’t work out, God endorses another change. Again, the approval comes with a warning, but in the end God says, “If that’s what you really want…” This sets up t…
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…bbouni “is, in fact, excellent Mishnaic Hebrew” because “It is attested in Codex Kaufmann of Mishna Ta`anit 3.8.” This sounds impressive until one actually reads Codex Kaufmann, a priceless source for early Rabbinic Hebrew. What Buth neglects to mention is that this form appears only once, as opposed to over 50 instances of the normal Hebrew forms “rab” or “rabbi.” He also doesn’t mention that, by contrast, this Aramaic term for “lord” is overwhel…
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…und the world and Tibet is no exception. If things could change so fast in Egypt or in Libya, then why not Tibet? Even as China has been clearly intensifying its crackdown on religion, Tibetans are ramping up their campaign to raise awareness and bring attention to their predicament. And of course, the participation of monks and nuns in freedom movements is not new—the peaceful ‘Shangri-La’ image of Tibetan monks belies a history of many armed str…
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…ough the new office, the US is also likely to directly support groups that promote particular interpretations of their own religion—specifically those that are friendly to US policy. Here, “moderate Muslims” are first on the list. As Elizabeth Shakman-Hurd has pointed out, the decision of which groups to support, with funds and perhaps visits from the Secretary of State, is fraught in ways that US policy barely acknowledges. Throwing US power and…
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…y in the Western media for the plight of minority Christian communities in Egypt or Syria today. Or, what of the French mandate that created the modern nation-state of Lebanon largely to protect its Christian population after the fall of the Ottoman Empire? Were the Russian Empire’s campaigns against the Ottomans into Georgia and Armenia similarly devoid of globalizing sympathies with fellow Christians? But, if we insist upon thinking that religio…
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…n people their own territory after having suffered 400 years of bondage in Egypt. Although that territory was already occupied, God authorized his chosen people to invade, rape, pillage, massacre and even commit genocide against their Baal-worshipping Canaanite neighbors. But rarely do I read any commentary about this narrative of terrorism in the Bible when perusing critical articles on white Christian supremacy. It’s like decrying the increased…
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…fierce beatings at the hands of his brothers, who sold him into slavery in Egypt. That violence, Toscano continued, “is a part of the long history of oppression of gender non-conforming and transgender people by other people of faith.” “Who Drafted Me as a Gay Icon?” There were some jarring exceptions to the generally welcoming atmosphere of the festival. While helping set up his booth, Justin Lee of the Gay Christian Network was confronted by a m…
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…Meanwhile, governments that fear the power of Islamist movements, such as Egypt and Tunisia, have been reluctant to put their support behind the industry. There are some loose connections to radicalism. Sayyid Qutb, a hero of Osama bin Laden’s, was an early advocate. In Iraq, Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, the father-in-law of Muqtada, made important theoretical contributions on the Shia side of the movement. The fledgling Islamic banks in the United St…
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