Religion Dispatches
…em. Particularly bothersome is the effort to throw out supposed statements of Jesus as though that should resolve the matter. Religions cannot be reduced to their sacred texts, as though though texts dropped out of the sky and require no interpretation. Moreover, there’s little reason to rest with Jesus as the sole authority. Jesus wasn’t even a Christian. Why not Paul? Why Not Moses? Why not Calvin or the Pope? Why not my mom?…
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…ankind. At this point in the film, Steve flies an airplane bomber into the sky, carrying lethal chemicals and sacrificing his own life to save others. Diana, inspired by Steve’s act of selflessness, chooses to let humanity live and destroys Ares instead. A final theological parallel, as I read it: The biblical God can be moved to loving intervention by imperfect human beings. Steve admits his imperfection—he is a thief, a murderer and a smuggler—a…
Read More…that killing people who act badly only results in more evil; charging sky-high interest rates offends the common good. Male-only deacons (priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes while we’re at it) contradict postmodern norms of gender equality and limit the pool of those who are enabled and empowered to engage in ministry. Revelation provides direction toward increased justice; it’s not a checklist of historical givens. One cannot help but notice…
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…ir populations are not physically decimated, and isolated peoples are also highly susceptible to diseases to which missionaries have immunity even in the best of times. To carry out missionary efforts to contact such peoples now is all the more reprehensible given that the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage in Brazil. To be sure, Ethnos360’s drive to reach uncontacted peoples contravenes standing FUNAI policy. It’s also certainly a violation o…
Read More…unction as a kind of deus ex machina to keep Toller from blowing the joint sky high during the anniversary event at First Reformed. Mary steps into the parsonage and discovers the half-crazed pastor (who’s late for the service) about to do the deed; she embraces him, and they’re filmed in a kind of swooning motion as we hear “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” being sung haltingly in the church next door. One could read this juxtaposition as a hint…
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…ssured their congregations that morality would not take a nosedive and the sky would not fall in if committed same-sex couples were granted civil rights. Their efforts helped. Trans women of color remain among the most oppressed members of an LGBTIQA community that has seen remarkable progress for some and precious little for others. They are survivors of racist and sexist violence; they report an astronomical HIV/AIDS rate. Many are shunned withi…
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…s, the shelter refused him. “I gave up,” he told me, “and looked up at the sky and said, ‘Lord, I’m in your hands.’” Branch found his salvation in Step Out, a service group that helped him drop his drug habit, secure a steady job, find a church and become “born-again.” The nonprofit is part of Out4Life, a new program run by the evangelical powerhouse Prison Fellowship Ministries (PFM) solely devoted to ex-offenders. First launched in two Bible-bel…
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…aveheart cosplay. The fearful times we live in didn’t just drop out of the sky. Trump just turned up the volume on what’s been cultivated for at least a half-century: a steady, shrill white noise that drowns out other voices in America. It’s much easier to double down on the idea that we’re embattled, especially when we’re not, than to admit to ourselves we need to rethink certain fundamental realities: like who “the people” are. While white racis…
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…on Caprica. I felt similarly when Baxter chided the “destructo God” in the sky. The distance/no-distance between Caprica’s God and our own gave me pause. Anthea Butler _________________________ This week, the most titillation I received from Caprica was the foursome at Sister’s house waking up in the morning and flipping over to switch to other partners! That was my last moment of fun, unfortunately. I’m tempted to quote a phrase from BSG: “Ever…
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…. There’s that great part in Acts where this trippy sheet comes out of the sky and it’s filled with crawling things and snakes and pigs and insects and spiders and God says to Peter, You should eat. And he says, I can’t eat this, it’s all unclean. And God says, How dare you call unclean what I’ve made. I’ve made everything. Did writing about this change your experience at all the way you operate in community? Paul Fromberg, the priest in charge of…
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